Into The Hunza Valley

It was suggested that when I arrive at the Gilgit bus station I should just stand near the mini-vans and yell out "Hunza" and I will immediately find a ride. It turned out to be sound advice. I was quoted a price of 350 Rupees ($1.75) for the two hour trip to Aliabad, from where I had to find my hotel in Karimabad, some 5 or 6 km away, first things first though. My smiling and very eager ticket seller gave me first boarding as about 20 others smiled and let me pass and jump on board. I was told to take the second row window as it was "The Best Seat" in the 12 seater Minivan. Then the others started jumping in. Woman in the front row only, and the men just started cramming in, filling 4 to a bench with no complaints. My hand was shaken about a dozen times followed by "What is your country?" Friendly people just being friendly. In the end there were now 16 of us plus 4 kids sitting on laps, plus I think 3 or 4 on the roof of the van with the luggage. This was not an uncommon site as we started off and headed towards the mountains.  After all the greetings and pleasantries I settled in, put on my ear buds and off we went.  It was suggested by the owners of the hotel in Gilgit that in Hunza I needed to stop in Aliabad, Gulmit, Passu and even Sost if I was going to attempt the trip to the China border. I really had no idea where I was going, what I was going to do or even what to expect for that matter, but I have learned that is when all the "good stuff" really does happen.

The ride was exception with the Karakoram mountains surrounding us on all sides. The van driver was methodical and drove with care, unlike the disaster that was the bus driver that got me to Gilgit. My day dreaming was only disturbed by the many stops along the way as people came and went from small village to small village. A sort of Karakoram Hop on Hop off bus as it were. I was offered food, snacks, water and fruit and found it polite if I accepted most things. I was tracking our journey on Google Maps knowing the bus stops and turns around at Aliabad. I was full of confidence as we pulled into town which was busy, much like Gilgit, only smaller. When It was my turn to get out of the van and wave goodbye to my fellow travelers, I asked the bus driver (thinking he knew English) if he knew how to get to Karimabad. He put his hand out and said very sternly, "wait", so wait I did on the side of the road, in a mountain town in Northern Pakistan and honestly I was oddly unconcerned. I spied a coffee shop and figured I could always sit there for a bit to figure things out. That was not needed as Pakistani hospitality came to my rescue. The van driver had gone in search of an English speaker and he brought him back to help. It turns out he was a taxi driver who did not know the name of my hotel but knew the street. At first his offer was 500 rupees, then he said it would be very difficult so it went to 1000 Rupees. Add Pakistan to the list of countries that a taxi driver has ripped me off. Fuck it, he was polite and raring to go and it was $5.

Morning Breakfast View

Now the reason it was difficult to find was the place was listed as the The Back Packers Nest Hostel while the place is actually called the Manasau Resort. The Hostel is a part of the "resort". My intrepid driver stopped a a few hotels along the way, when finally a guy came over to help and offered to call the place. We were just up the road from it and the owner told us he would meet us on the street. There is was in all it's glory, the sign for the Manasau Resort.

Now this place was about 200 metres back off the main road, down a few small steps, then a long downward sloping sidewalk. It was surrounded by fruit farms, a few small goats took no notice of us as we rounded a corner to the opening that overlooked the Hunza River valley that was surrounded by the peaks of the Karakoram Mountain Range. Tony, the happiest black lab I have ever met came surging towards me all tongue and tail. I checked in easy enough and was told to go out back and they will prepare me some breakfast. That is how I spent my first day in the Hunza valley. A late breakfast overlooking an incredible view with a happy dog curled up at my feet. 

I was going to be here for 4 nights. Now remember, this is a mountain town and all the roads either lead up or down. Karimabad itself was about a 15 minutes walk, all uphill and the Cafe de Hunza had my name on it. So, after a nice slow breakfast of a spicy egg omelet, toast with fresh jam from the local farms, milk tea and some fresh cherries I gave Tony a good scratch behind the ears and off I went to explore the absolute unknown. Along the main road there were a scattering of Tuck Shops, fruit vendors, and hotels. As I mentioned before, "the foreign tourists have all gone because of the war". I passed a very modern Best Western and an Serena Hotel which is a chain here. There was a very nice Athena hotel across from me in Gilgit. As I climbed and walked I started to enter into the roadside mountain village that was lined with more hotels, shops and restaurants. Plus, there is a construction craze so not is all bad in Karimabad. I found the Cafe de Hunza and like most places in Pakistan they know they can charge more for coffee because Western Tourists will pay. More on the double standard and tourists pricing later, but it is annoying and quite insulting. The Cappuccino was delicious so I had a second and as I was waiting I struck up a conversation with a guy at the next table who was there with his wife and 3 teenage kids. "Did you try Hunza water yet?" came the excited question almost immediately. I had no idea what he was talking about.

As it turns out there are two versions of Hunza Water. One is water that is taken directly from the glacier streams in the area and is considered high in healthy minerals. The other is illegal fruit alcohol that the locals quietly drink. The beauty, or scary part of the glacier water is that there is no filtration meaning the coloring will put you off. There is what looks like "silk" that runs within the water when you see it in the streams and water aqueducts in the area. The locals gulp it down without a care in the world. A glass full was put before me and so what the hell, down went the brownish warm health liquid that tasted like brownish warm health liquid. Everyone smiled when I finished. "Welcome to Hunza" said my new nutritionist. "You can live here on the clean air, the fresh fruit and Hunza water", which I suspect some of the poor villagers in the area did.

Delicious and Nutritious Hunza Water

Well I made it to the Hunza Valley in Northern Pakistan relatively unscathed. I have a feel for the Pakistani People and the most important thing is to smile, mostly because they are unsure of westerners at times. They know how they are portrayed in the Western Media and the goals seems to be changing it, one traveller at a time. Good for them, and I will do my best to interact with them accordingly.