I spent the last evening in Islamabad in bed with the thought of food very far from my mind. In the meantime, Margie calls up to the room and says…”Sheila, come down…there’s finally good food..” Forget it. A flight to Rawapindi where it all started and Irene’s luggage had finally materialized from Singapore Airlines….three weeks [...]
“Travel Tips & Advice on Pakistan”
The Pakistan Hunza Odyssey Trek and Jeep Safari Was Over
February 26th, 2008 
Sheila Simkin 
Posted in Pakistan 
Tags: adventure, Asia, destination, event, events, Hunza, information, Islamabad, jeep safari, landmark, log, nature, Pakistan, Rawapindi, sightseeing, Singapore Airlines, travel, trek, trekking 
5 Comments »
Jeeping Through Pakistan: Peshawar Was The Last Big Stop Before Islamabad
February 25th, 2008 Sheila Simkin Peshawar is the capital of the Northwest Frontier Province and who hasn’t heard of the famous Khyber Pass. We had only one day in the city and what to do…explore or go to the Khyber Pass. By this time, ex-Marine and I were completely burned out from all the driving and the thought of another [...]
Jeeping Through Pakistan: From The Kalash Valley Into Swat
February 24th, 2008 Sheila Simkin The Swat Valley is very fertile and one of the most historically interesting regions of Pakistan because of Buddhism. Buddhism flourished here from the 2nd though the 9th century, and it is believed to be the birthplace of Tibetan Buddhism. Padmasambhava was born here in the 8th century and then embarked on his journey of [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, Buddhist stupas in Swat, destination, event, events, information, jeeping through Pakistan, Kalash Valley, landmark, log, nature, Pakistan, sightseeing, Swat, Swat Serena Hotel, travel 2 Comments »
Jeeping Through Pakistan: Chitral and Into the Kalash Valley
February 23rd, 2008 Sheila Simkin There are three Kafir Kalash valleys located in the Northwest Frontier of Pakistan : Birir, Bumburet and Rumbur with 20 different villages that retain most of their animist ancestor and fire-worship religions and culture. This entire area has been invaded for eons by Alexander the Great and the Mongols, just to name a few. The [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, Chitral, destination, event, events, Hunza, information, Kalash people, Kalash Valley, landmark, log, nature, Pakistan, sightseeing, travel, trek, trekking 3 Comments »
Jeeping Through Pakistan: Over Shandur Pass to Mastuj on Northwest Frontier
February 22nd, 2008 Sheila Simkin The Shandur Pass, is the watershed between the valleys of Chitral in the Hindu Kush and Gilgit in the Karakoram. After viewing the underwhelming Polo Grounds, it was down the valley to Mastuj with cultivated fields. The upper Chitral valley was spectacular with its dry geology, glaciers, peaks and the blue sky. Mastuj is located [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, destination, event, events, Hunza, information, jeeping through Pakistan, landmark, log, Mastuj, nature, Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, Pakistan, Shandur Pass, sightseeing, travel No Comments »
Jeeping Through Pakistan: Road Blocks and Landslides Along The Way
February 21st, 2008 Sheila Simkin The days were long…the nights not long enough…and you could see the pounds falling off everyone in the group. Poor Len’s boys went to ex-Marine one day and asked…”Steve, I know you’ll tell us the truth. When are we going to get good food?” Steve’s response, “Where are you going from here?” “China and then [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, destination, event, events, information, jeeping through Pakistan, landmark, log, nature, Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, Pakistan, sightseeing, travel No Comments »
Jeeping Through Northwest Pakistan: Gulpis to Phander Lake to Shandur Pass
February 20th, 2008 Sheila Simkin We drove along the Gilgit river from Gupis on another barely passable road (what else is new). More of the same…crippled, hunched over, eating pistachios and relieving ourselves behind buses and rocks. An entire day of this with not too much scenery to reward us. It’s difficult to relate what the journey was like without [...]
Jeeping Through The Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan
February 19th, 2008 Sheila Simkin The valleys of Northwest Pakistan are very remote – blocked by snow most of the year, and hemmed in by the Hindukush Mountains. This province is the smallest in size of the four provinces in Pakistan. Our first stop was going to be Chitral, an area where the desert meets the mountains. The culture is [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Afghanistan, Asia, destination, event, events, Gilgit, Hunza, information, jeeping, jeeping through Pakistan, landmark, log, nature, Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, Pakistan, sightseeing, travel No Comments »
The brutal Hunza trek over, the group was ready to Jeep to Gilgit, Pakistan
February 18th, 2008 Sheila Simkin The weather went from one extreme to another. Broiling heat to very cool with mist. The jackets and hats finally came out of our packs and we prepared for this very long day and downhill. Downhills are always bad on the knees and I just hoped I had some left after the 1,200-1,600m/4,000-5,000′ elevation drop. [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, destination, event, events, Gilgit, Hunza, information, landmark, log, nature, Northwest Frontier of Pakistan, Pakistan, sightseeing, Silk Road, travel, trek, trekking No Comments »
The Hunza Trek Finally Reached A Plateau, Pakistan
February 17th, 2008 Sheila Simkin Victory was ours…at long last, a wide-open plateau at the top with a small stream running through the campsite. We immediately collapsed by the stream, took off boots and soaked very hot and tired feet in the ice cold water. On the other side of the valley were the magnificent snow-capped peaks as far as [...]
Posted in Pakistan Tags: adventure, Asia, destination, event, events, Hunza, Hunza Valley, information, landmark, log, nature, Pakistan, sightseeing, travel, trek, trekking No Comments »
