Matt-Rowena

The Long Horse Ride, Pt. 1 - Shanghaiguan to Beijing

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:19:37 GMT

Cast of Characters

Me on Bei Bei, Mr Ren, Guo Sheng, Zorbee, Megan Lewis on Jing Jing

Mr Peng and his pony � the previous year he and his ponies had been all around China.

Mr Peng's ponies

Preparing for the ride.

We set off from Shanhaiguan on a warm overcast day. I travelled down with Guo Sheng in the vehicle to meet Megan, Mr Ren and the horses who had travelled down the day before in a flat bed truck. Prior to our departure we were treated to a slap up meal in a nearby restaurant by the local news channel who had come to film us as we set off from Old Dragon's Head � where the wall meets the sea.

Megan sorting out our fabulous saddles � fully adjustable for horses and with excellent saddle bag space for scrumpying and small snacks to keep us going.

Guo Sheng trying to organise the endless bags and plastic items we had, as well as all the horse feed. This was a daily challenge as the car was unpacked every evening what with getting out our stuff as well as all the stuff for the horses feed. This endless packing and unpacking was a thankless task but Guo Sheng kept on top of it and tried to control our chaos � poor man.

Mr Ren wrestling with 10 days hay supply � we picked 2 more loads like this during our trip and it was a huge task to get it all on the vehicle and make it secure. By the time we did the last load Mr Ren, Mr Peng and Guo Sheng were experts. The car in this photo looks pretty respectable, not the same story when we finally got it back to Beijing as the horses had had a good go at it what with pulling off bits when tied to it and a suspicious dent, rather hoof sized from an evening squabble. As a general rule cars are not good places to tie grumpy horses.

Megan faces the intensive media coverage � as you can see she is a natural infront of the camera

Megan and Jing Jing face the media � Jing Jing definitedly putting her best side forward � looking much more horse than camel.

Old Dragon's Head in the background.

The Welsh dragon made an appearance at our launch as Megan feels that once she makes London that will not be far enough and so she hopes to ride on to Wales: Dragon to Dragon.

Us and the media lovelies � Mr Ren is loving the attention! He was not always so happy with us as we were not ideal troop material.

On the road

The journey out of Shanhaiguan was not particularly pleasant and we ended the first day riding along the edge of a busy road in the dark trying to find somewhere to stay � this was a common occurrence during the ride. Somehow everywhere was the same mythical distance 10 Gong li which always took far longer than we had expected. Fortunately I have no vanity and regularly donned my high vis cycle sash in the vain hope that we would not be hit by the traffic which had no horse sense. We would frantically wave our arms at trucks and buses hurtling towards us trying to slow them down and their response would be to wave back cheerfully and honk their horns � not terribly helpful when negotiating dual carriage ways, tunnles and expressway tolls.

At the end of our first day we stopped at the first of our unusual night stops � a truck and coal yard.

Mr Ren and Zorbee (still friends � this was not to last long and Zorbee was soon sent away in less than 2 weeks).

Another delightfully scenic stop � with added charm of rain to help keep us cheerful.

More unusual places to see horses follow:

In a quarry.

City centre � note this was the only Wall see for sometime!

Tunnels

The worst road in China � it was solid, end to end huge lorries as we picked our way along the hard shoulder. Terrifying � we were very relieved when we made it off on to a side road.

Industrial plants �

Mr Peng on the ring road �

Mr Ren negotiating the toll.

Horse in a corridor.

Trials and Tribulations

As with all journeys there are always challenges and the combination of tarmac, long distances, quarrelling horses and Bei Bei's legs resulted in us all having a long march rather than a long ride at times.

Zorbee being led after being bitten on the back by Jing Jing. He had also had a knock the previous evening after he destroyed the pig pen he was in by jumping through it, rather than over. This was really the final nail in his coffin as far as Mr Ren was concerned and he was soon pensioned off and replaced with Mr Peng and his ponies.

Walking in solidarity with me and Bei Bei after her run in with the village farrier. After this experience her legs were bad and I got plenty of exercise walking along with her. Nothing like an early morning hike to clear the cobwebs.

The nice dumpling lady with her son and grandchild. It was her pig pen we destroyed which is rather churlish of her as she sheltered us in a town where we were told we could not stay the night. We were supposed to head on a further 30km to the nearest city with a foreigners hotel.

Not a good day as we had 2 walking and only one riding! This was when Jing Jing was still riddled with worms and was obsessed with food � resulting in Megan having some handling issues when she spotted something to eat!

'My kingdom for a horse �� and the importance of shoes!

After nearly two weeks on tarmac the horses shoes were in a poor way � in fact they had worn away to barely anything and so we had to find a blacksmith to put on new shoes. This was easier said than done � Mr Peng offered to.......

[sorry Row has given up here, took me 4 months to get her to write this, promise I will beat her severly untill she completes it. Hopefully by Weeked - MATT]

In the Beginning...

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:35:11 GMT

Just to show that Rowena was born for her challenge, here she is aged 2, already heading East:

And here she is already riding in China.

All is set in China, Megan's got the horses, guide, support, equipment, fodder, etc. it's all on. Rowena is doing this not just to escape me and the kids, but really to raise money for School Children for Children, a charity funding basic improvements to schools in developing countries, see:

www.schoolchildrenforchildren.org

It would be great if Rowena can feel that her sore backside has actually achieved something, so if you could possibly donate something to this charity it would make it worth all the effort. Rowena has set up a very simple web link, so it is easy to contribute with a credit card, and get gift aid:

www.justgiving.com/rowenagulland

Thanks so much, we would really appricate it.

The Long Horse Ride

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 03:11:45 GMT

On 1st October Rowena flys off to Beijing to join her cousin Megan for the first month of her 4 year horse ride to London. They are raising money for Schoolchildren for Children, a charity supporting local schools on her ride. Megan is presently busy in Beijing sorting things out. Read more at:

www.thelonghorseride.com

Horses are already bought, here is Rowena' stead for the next month, any suggestion for a name? I recon that after a month on this Kazakhstan will seem like paradise

More Photos from Atyrau

Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:16:50 GMT

Not quite exciting as Peshawar, but still quite interesting, here are some photos of the older Atyrau, about 5 minutes walk from the hotel. In fact you can walk from one side of the town to the other in about an hour. I believe these sort of houses are rapidly being knocked down to make way for more modern buildings.

Some are being done up, but mostly there are still the old dust streets of Atyrau, Some of the old decorations on the houses are lovely, but a lot is falling down

Water being collected from a stand pipe. There is clearly some poverty here, but not to a great level. Very little begging on the streets

I found the war memorial which is great fun. Loads of brides having their photos taken against second world war hardware.

I rather liked the plane the kids can climb all over

I was impressed with the entrance with still the USSR emblem and wonderful mural:

Next door is an old fun fair. Not quite Disney, totally deserted at 7pm on a Saturday, but some of the rides were operating

Was all quite spooky. Admittedly the roller coaster did seem abandoned.

Move to Atyrau, Kazakhstan

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 18:29:58 GMT

So, after 2 years back in UK we are off again. This time I am chasing the money as my job back in the oil businesses moves to Atyrau, Kazakhstan. I have gone out on my own for a month to check it out, returning for October to look after John and Gwendolyn as Rowena joins her cousin for the first month of her 4 year ride from Beijing to London:

www.thelonghorseride.com

In November we will all move over here, so I am here to check it out. I arrived in Atyrau last Wednesday, so not yet a week. But I must say I am quite impressed. There is not getting away from the fact that it is a small town in the middle of nowhere, miles from any hill, but it does have some charm. The weather has been lovely, beautiful blue skies, it was very warm a couple of days ago, but the breeze made it acceptable to walk around during the day. Now the temperature has dropped 10C but it is still lovely. The river Ural, as you can see is rather nice, there are a few power boats going up and down and I have seen a few canoes. I have also found a place where you can hire pedelos.

I am in a very posh Marriot serviced apartment so have sitting room and kitchen. There is a great gym on the 20^th floor with amazing views. I believe that I am down for a two bedroom when the rest of the family arrive, but I am going to try to find somewhere more suitable. I have seen some nicer flats with secure play areas outside and windows that actually open.

Although I am probably not supposed to, it is great fun wandering round the town exploring. Seems a very happy and litter free place.

Anyway here are some photos.

Here is the beach near the office, looking accross to the Renco hotel with a 10m pool on the roof, seems quite pleasent

There are quite a few play grounds around of variering states of decay

My walk to and from work. There is a lovely promonade along teh river, and it seems they are building one on both sides. Lots of access to the river for fishing and swimming.

Small resturant on way home from the office.

My hotel, note the Europe monument. My office is in Asia on the other side of the only bridge. (well there is actully another foot bridge). Who else does a daily intercontinental commute by foot?

Views from the hotel Gym

John's 4th Birthday

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:10:46 GMT

Life may now not quite be so interesting for the rest of the world having left Pakistan, but as we have this blog I thought we should keep it up to date with the excitements of a small boy.

Being 4 means presents, and the bigger the better:

And of course a cake. Now I think this could be the sign of an over competitive mummy. I think this woman needs a job�

The terror of the severn seas, well Charlbury anyway

An then a party with a real pirate...

Chaos ensues

Feeding the little angels... Is this ment to be fun?...

Wait for it..... (had to re-shoot this picture several times as John blew out the candles before they were lit)

"Ah Ha, this looks like it could be fun" - Gwennie learning the joy of knife culture.

New Starts back in UK

Sun, 11 Mar 2007 22:14:15 GMT

We returned to Charlbury last December, and on 13th Febuary Gwendolyn Aisha Moira was born.

Mum is doing really well;

.. and Dad is very prowd.

.. but John is very pleased with his new sister..

Its great to have a live toy,

Now there are two to torment mummy..

Back in England means enjoying the rain with cousin Isabel who came to visit from Hong Kong.

Have we found the pixi at the end of the rainbow?

Hotel Peshawar is now closed � the final visit

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 16:13:29 GMT

It is hard to believe that it is already December and we have waved farewell to our final visitors and are now preparing to leave Pakistan in less than two weeks�. Time has raced by and we are experiencing a mix of emotions about our departure. Pakistan, and Peshawar in particular has been an exciting and unique experience, not always wonderful but never dull. We have learned a lot about ourselves in the process and have created some unique memories for us as a family that we will treasure.

Our final visitors were my father and step-mother (Brian and Ida) and they made the trip from Australia to coincide with the celebrations for John's 3^rd birthday. Having told them the weather was warm and sunny the day prior to their departure � there was a complete turn around and when they arrived 2 days later it was cold and wet and stayed that way for some time. Sadly the poor weather meant that our planned trip to say good bye to all our friends in Chitral was cancelled as it was too risky to fly up as the road pass was closed with snow and if there were no incoming flights or limited ones then we would be stranded there for some time. So Plan B was rolled out and we set off to see Swat.

Enroute we stopped off at Takht-i-Bhai which will be familiar to anyone who has been looking at this blog (if you feel it is over familiar imagine how we feel! It has practically been our second home in the past months and now the chowkidar lets us in at a reduced rate � customer loyalty counts here too!)

Ida and I in the ruins � slightly less busy than Megan's visit and a lot colder than Emma's! As you can see Pakistani food agrees with me and the pie-belly is growing � either that or there is something else going on. . The road to Swat continues to be one of the worst in Pakistan but we are pleased to report that there are signs that things are finally happening and we witnessed road crews working on it as we drove up.

Dad and John at a great little roadside caf� on the road to Malam Jabba � Pakistan's very own ski resort! The owner had made an eye-catching feature out of the old juice cartons and crisp packets from previous clients - stringing them around his site like bunting. Definitely worked as it pulled us in for a drink and some great photo opportunities.

Testing out the chairlift at the ski resort � there was a smattering of snow about the place, just enough for a small boy (egged on by his father) to throw and snowball at his mother. Needless to say after such abuse the mother retaliated and stuffed a particularly icy lump down the paternal front.

Clouds and view on the way back down the mountain � it was a beautiful evening.

Below are two photos that escaped the sequence � they belong to Malam Jabba but who cares � a rarely seen shot of the family Gulland � usually I am taking the pictures.

Ida and John enjoying that Pepsi moment � or was it Coke?

Sunday is always a bad day to travel down the Malakand Pass and our trip was no exception � but it did provide us with opportunity to meet this charming gentleman who allowed John to try out his truck.

Small boy heaven, the inside of a Pakistani painted truck.

Dealing with the police at the check point

Talking of police Brian and Ida did the Kyhber pass trip and had the usual armed escort up the pass.

Now the main event of the visit was a small boy's 3^rd birthday party. Lots of smiles all round.

A birthday party means more presents

And Party games

Even pass the parcel.

Not Prince Charles, but Matt's Sister..

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:18:15 GMT

I had hoped this was going to be a report on Prince Charles' visit to DOST on his trip to Pakistan. Sadly the excitement of him coming to us as his only local NGO visit turned to disappointment when he cancelled the morning of the visit. It was not too great a surprise. We heard the helicopters flying over our home on their way to attack the madrassa two days previously and knew immediately something was amiss (we didn't however hear the rockets flying over our heads in the opposite direction a week later in retaliation. They didn't hit much and only appeared in the back pages of the local newspaper, missiles with 15km range were reported as just a bit of accidental 'over exuberance' from our tribal friends). The last straw was the night before the visit, a friend of mine from the US consulate called me to say he had received a specific threat on the Prince's life. I tried to persuade him to keep quiet, but he insisted on calling the Prince's security team, and the visit to Peshawar was off. Whimp.....

Oh well who needs a Prince when we had my sister visiting. As usual a trip to the 2000 year old Buddhist ruins in Takht-e Bhai.

John got down to some of his own excavating..

Emma and I went for a drive down to Lahore. We took the old Grand Trunk road and stopped at Rohtas Fort. A huge Mughal fort with 4km circumference walls, 12 gates and 68 Bastions, built in 1543. A fair sized village is situated inside and does not even stretch to the walls.

Apparently the architect was nearly put to death after the emperor saw the first construction because it was too small. I think he got the message..

Then onto Lahore and the fort. We saw that a VIP was visiting and so hung around the closed off Hall of Mirrors. Sure enough the VIP was invited in, and so we begged the guard to let us in too. Although still under restoration it was spectacular.

Lahore of course meant a meal on the rooftop of Coco's den overlooking the mosque

However I still prefer the street food.

We also went to the border closing ceremony where I got my first glimpse of India. Well the sight of a large well constructed spectator stadium. On the Pakistan side it was incomplete and pretty dangerous, but still the crowd was very enthusiastic. Both sides cheer their border guards as they close the gate each evening. Quite a display.

We also went to Jahangir's tomb near Lahore, the only Mughal mausoleum in Pakistan. Dated 1627, it is beautiful and very peaceful.

Interestingly there were a team of restorers making new marble screens. Almost exactly as they would have been made 400 years ago, but maybe without the crafty bottle of superglue to fix any breaks!

Finally, VSO wanted to make a film about me to encorage others to volenteer and come to Pakistan, so for 2 days I had a film crew follow me around and interview friends and family. Not sure what they will produce, but here is a photo they made of me cycling home from work.

Skardu and Beyond - travels with one under 3, two over 70 and one 5 months pregnant

Mon, 02 Oct 2006 16:47:24 GMT

Matt's parents came in September, and we all flew off to Skardu in the Northern Area for 10 days of jeeping adventure. With Rowena due in February and us now planning to return to UK in December, this was going to be one of our last trips.

The scenery around Skardu is beautiful, surrounded by spectacular mountains on the banks of the Indus with huge sand dunes. The town is a strange mix of purdah bazaar and lots of evidence of foreign tourists in a way that you do not see in Chitral. It is a central hub for the K2 and other adventure trips that draw people to Northern Pakistan.

We drove up the road towards K2 to Shigar, a lovely old village. The fort, around 400 years old was originally built on a huge bolder. It has been restored and is now a wonderful hotel set in delightful gardens and orchards. The fort and village was built by a tribe fleeing from Ganesh in the Hunza valley and the similarities in the architecture is striking. Our bedroom was the window at the top.

As you can see the boys were busy being useful again

There are lovely gardens just right for some daddy wrestling.

The local mosques show a strong influence from Ganesh with strands from Tibetan and Kashmiri culture as well. The mosque had been restored by the Aga Khan Foundation (who do a lot of impressive work in these areas) as well as other houses in the villages.

On the road towards the Indian boarder is Khapulu, also with a wonderful old fort, still being restored but with some wonderful Kashmiri carved and painted ceilings and window fret work. The fort commands a great position above the town under the shadow of the mountains where it was situated earlier.

We took a jeep over the Deosai Plains, a huge plateau all well above 4000m, in fact it is the second highest plateau in the world � second only to Tibet. It is was a wonderful open landscape � reminiscent of Scotland in a strange way.

It was the end of the summer and the locals were on their way back off the plains before the snow started falling.

After a long dusty day bouncing around in the jeep we eventually reached one of the most remote PDTC motels we have been to yet � Rama which lies on the Eastern side of Nanga Parbat. The hotel had great views of the peak but limited hot water and no heating � it was getting cold by now so fashion not an issue when you are wearing all your clothes..

Then on North up to Hunza. We stayed at Eagle's Nest a hotel with wonderful views. Here is John with the sun just setting on Golden Peak 7024m

The view of Rakaposhi (7800m) from our hotel room

Further up the Karakorum Highway towards China we came across an amazing bridge over the Hunza river. As you can see Matt is taking great care of his pregnant wife � again!

The major disaster was that my mother fell down the stairs in the hotel (no it wasn't while trekking!) and has broken her pelvis. Getting her down the jeep track from the hotel for an x-ray was a challenge, and the conditions of the local clinic were rather basic.

We did manage to set up a litter for her in the hotel in Gilgit

PIA have stopped flying their aging Fokker planes after a crash in Multan a couple of months back. Instead the air force has stepped in and lent their Hercules C130 planes. Quite an experience. The hooks to the right of the door are where you can attach 4 rockets to assist takeoff. Glad that we did not need them

Do we need parachutes?

The conditions inside were basic, but this is PIA. Food bags and drinks cups were passed down from the front.

Did get a view of K2 just peeking out of the clouds

More Photos in the Gallary Section, click on the left panel....

Live's not all ha ha hi hi�..

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 05:19:08 GMT

Just to show I don't spend my whole time hiking mountains I thought I should add a couple of photos of my real work. Last Friday nursing a particularly bad tequila induced hangover courtesy of the ICRC pilots, (Rowena and John have gone to Hong Kong leaving me to make the most of bachelorhood) I joined our street outreach team on one of their tours. The team (many of them ex addicts themselves) find and chat to street drug users, persuading them to come to our centres for registration and counselling, educating them on HIV giving basic first aid and condoms.

At least the needle is new�

One of the places we visited was two sewer drains under the main road where several of the addicts slept. Interestingly these were located literally under the Anti Narcotics Force head office! One sewer was dedicated to bachelors; one guy had been here over 2 years. Fortunately the overhead water mains had a leak so there was clean running water.

The other sewer was for families. I saw one woman there and her brother

An interesting fact was that every single drug user had his legs and arms covered in identical scars.

"How did you get them?" I asked one.

"Oh that's when I was last arrested" he replied

"What the police cut you?" I asked in shock

"No I did it myself. The police hate cleaning up the blood and mess, and it can get them into trouble so they let me go" the addict said proudly.

The others all agreed and happily showed me their scars.

"Don't the police search you for knives?" I asked.

"Oh yes, but I hide a razor blade under my tongue, and wait till they are not watching"

Not everyone had mastered the skill of hiding razor blades under their tongue so I'm sure they were shared. Clearly you need to think beyond just teaching people not to share needles when injecting to protect them from HIV!

All these guys (and some women) want is a chance to come to DOST to be treated for heroin addiction. Fortunately I have managed to persuade the Americans to generously donate to DOST so now wehave opened a new 60 bed treatment centre which is now in operation so there is some hope for them. Not everyone manages to recover, and many relapse, but there are some good stories.

Amjad

Our Street child outreach worker, Sharhid found Amjad sleeping on the streets. He is 14 and has been addicted to heroin for 3 years since he claims someone gave him an opium cigarette. He left his home in the small village of Dargi about 70 miles away to come to Peshawar looking for drugs. After repeated visits Sharhid gained the boys trust and convinced Amjad to come to DOST for treatment. After 50 days at our centre he had come off drugs and had started rebuilding his life. Sharhid took him back to Dargi to reunite him with his parents who were overjoyed and had thought he had been kidnapped or murdered.

The long term will still be difficult for Amjad and his family and they will need support to fight drugs, fortunately for Amjad we are in the process of establishing a pilot community drug centre in a mosque in Dargi and will be teaching religious leaders how to mobilise their community against drugs, and how to support the families of people like Amjad in their struggle with the disease.

AHISTA, AHISTA ADVENTURES � very slow travels with a wife and toddler.

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 17:23:59 GMT

(More photos in the Gallary section left)

Firstly here is a sketch of our trip, a map of North West corner of Paksitan:

On to the trip....

Two days jeep drive from Chitral, via Mastuj and up the Mastuj river valley brought us to the start of our walk up to the Broghil Festival � a further 2 days walk away. As we neared the end of the jeep road the weather turned cold and grey with fresh snow on the peaks around us and so our first night's camping was bitterly cold and slightly miserable (I eventually got used to it � Matt and John did not seem to notice as much as me). The next day dawned clear and bright and this was our view as we headed up the valley to Kishmanja village.

We gathered an assortment of travelling companions including this cheery fellow who was also heading for the festival � the local Wakhi poet who recited a literary effort for us/about us but unfortunately we were unable to translate his efforts but the amused our travelling companions.

One great advantage of this trip was that on the route up there were lots of opportunities for John to walk and here he is striding out much to the amusement of our porters. He has his special Wakhi stick with him carved with his name from a willow branch. It now has pride of place at home and was an endless source of amusement for him during our trip.

This was a walk of many glaciers, they all come off an enormous glacier than ran parallel with our route in the Hindu Raj range which was to the south of us � to the north was the Hindu Kush and the Wakhan Corridoor and Afghanistan (a mile or two away).

Me and Akbar near the end of day one and reaching close to Broghil � our first campsite. The observant amongst you might recognise Akbar as he was our guide last summer on our trip with Jude and Glenn. You would think he would avoid us having been with us last year but he was great and tolerated our cooking � including my poor chapattis, although he had to add extra chilli to everything!

John with the porters, poets and anyone else we picked up on the way. It is Day 2 and we walked across some gorgeous meadows and grasslands just full of wild flowers.

Although the day started fine and sunny the rain and cloud soon built up again and by lunchtime this was our view of where we were heading � up in the rain and cloud is Lashghargaz and the festival site.

But this being the mountains it cleared again and by the end of the day this was our view as we came to the festival site � just gorgeous.

BROGHIL FESTIVAL

Arriving for the festival

An extravaganza of donkey polo, yak polo and free-style polo (on ponies).

The crowd was mainly men from the local settlements, a few filmmakers from Lahore who had been filming Survivor Pakistan, some backpackers and a strange English family on their summer holiday.

Very free-style polo � makes Shandur look tame.

View of the festival ground from the surrounding stadium seating (hills!)

The yak polo final � John was the official Guest of Honour and threw in the ball to start the game. Not sure who won or how they won as no-one told the yaks they were playing polo and they tended just to do their own thing. Nearly got flattened on several occasions by yaks diverting into the audience with the rider exerting no control at all. Certainly a unique experience and one that provided much amusement of all and sundry.

A future yak polo champion?

Apart from the yak polo the other big highlight was Buz-Kazashi (drag a dead headless goat around for a while and then declare a winning team). Problems: who know who is on which team, goat loses limbs a the game progresses, high risk to audience as horses go anywhere in pursuit of the goat. The winner I am told is the person who goes once around the field and then drops the goat in a marked circle � not so easy with a herd of horsemen on your heels

Audience-eye view � just before having to run for your life!

Festivities drawing to an end as the sun began to go down.

The local master dancer.

Back on the trek

View of the valley.

Making mountain chapattis to keep Akbar going � as you can see it required a great deal of effort and concentration (and they were still heavy and rubbery).

Scenes from the walk up to Karambar An � a beautiful wide valley that just kept going up but never hideously steep � just the lack of oxygen caused some puffing.

Matt and John with our new porter, Ermintrude the Yak. They were hopeless yak masters � thankfully there were professionals on hand to take over and keep Florence on course.

Destination Karambar An and lakes � 4300 + m. We arrived on a beautiful afternoon but by the next day �

It was cold and snowing!

After a day's walk down from the Pass and lake we camped at a Khawjar settlement and then begin the decent to the Chatterboi glacier which we had to cross to continue down the valley � it completely blocks the river valley with the Karambar river flowing underneath it. The glacier was ok to pass � not to slippery but the lateral moraines were another matter.

We left our yak at the Khawjar settlement and picked up a donkey and driver, two cows, a calf, dog, cow herd and his mate. This is the cow man � they were bringing the cows the down the mountain hoping to sell the milk to lower villages � after their journey you would think the milk would be sour after all the stress the cows went through (thought we nearly lost one cow just getting on to the glacier as she lost her footing on the ice).

At last the end of the terminal moraines � hard work going up and down over rubble with sheets of black ice underneath so every time you went forward you just as likely slid back down where you had come from.

That night we had a lovely campsite by the river under some willow trees near to a very friendly police post. Then we continued down the river � along some precarious walkways propped up on the rock cliffs of the river.

Our final days were spent scrabbling over river beds and such dramatic walkways with the final adventure having to cross a hair-raising river torrent up to the thighs (not a good start when your local donkey man falls in as the water took his feet from under him). I could not watch Matt carry John across � luckily some locals were on hand to help guide us over as you could not see a path through the torrent. Needless to say we all made it including the donkey, cows and now two calves as one was born on route, the dog and the assorted herders.

From the end of the trek we managed to hitch a ride to the main Gilgit road with a nice army family out for a day's picnic and then it was two days back to Chitral via a night in Mastuj.

(More photos in the Gallary section left)

Drugs burning

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 19:16:50 GMT

I was invited to the Anti Narcotics Force annual drugs burning ceremony. There was supposed to be over 5 tons of hash and nearly a ton of Heroin. Here you can see lots of sealed packs of dope made in the tribal areas. It has even been branded by the guys in the tribal area who made it.

Is this my birthday? More dope than most see in a lifetime

It all goes up in flames...

What a shame

More about DOST work

Sun, 28 May 2006 04:58:33 GMT

DOST has a unfunded programme helping women in Peshawar Jail. We train women in making handicrafts which are then sold. The money raised goes to support the women's community in the Jail we have established. The condition of women in jail is very harsh. There are about 80 women, mostly still awaiting trial. Many are arrested under the hudood ordinances, usually adultery, which is often for being a victim of rape, or for a girl running away from home with a boy.

Conditions are not good, far worse than those in the men's barracks.

Cooking facilities are quite grim

DOST provides training to the women to become traditional birth attendants.

With money raised from sale of handicrafts in UK and Hong Kong, DOST has now been able to set up a small nursery for the children of women prisoners in a corner of the women's barracks. Women are reluctant to give up their children to their families when they go to prison, and many families refuse to look after children of family members who have been accused under the Hadood ordinances. We have provided the blinds, fans mats and toys.

This boy 9 year old has been convicted for 3 years along with his mother for spying for India!

Travels With My Aunt: Adventures By Rail, Road And PIA

Sun, 21 May 2006 07:42:57 GMT

Felicity came to visit for a week at the beginning of May � unluckily for her that is when the summer decided to crank up the heat (a little early). It was fantastic to have her visiting and the shop keepers of Peshawar loved her visit and are clubbing together to buy her a ticket to come back again soon!

I decided she needed to see a little of what we love about Pakistan � the mountains and so we went up to Chitral and the Kalash valleys for a couple of days. We flew up on a perfect cloudless day and F had a fantastic view of the Lowri Top pass as we flew over � John was delighted to be on a small plane and kept informing us where the pilot was. We had two great nights up at the Hindu Kush which is like going home!

Fabulous clear air meant that the views of Tirch Mir were spectacular and you felt that you could just reach out and touch it. Chitral mosque in the foreground.

Views from the Summer Palace above Chitral after a lazy picnic lunch - above is the picnic site view (how perfect is that). Below F is modelling the latest in off-road shalwar khameez � trainers really make it a special look.

Great photo of F & J hanging out in the pine woods.

Dobbin and John on the way down the mountain � see how clear Tirch Mir (7800m) is.

The next day was a trip to the Kalash valleys � enroute to the valley we had to get the standard jeep shot for F.

Has she been for radical plastic surgery, or is it a dust avoidance strategy?

Is she a lost member of the Kalash � the colouring is correct and that headdress looks as if it is made for her�

We eventually returned to Peshawar and took F for a full and varied day in the old city. Inside on the Setti Houses in Peshawar � fantastic wood carving and beautiful mirror and glass work. They are real gems of buildings.

Buying spices and marsala for Jason.

Just to see what it is all about Felicity came for a visit to the Street Drop in Centre, and met some of the heroine addicts on detoxification

More Photos of Felicity's trip in the Gallary section

Trains

The tourist steam train up the Khyber Pass ran on Easter Sunday. Sadly we can't afford to take it, but John and I went chasing it up the tracks when we heard it pass our house. I was actually much easier to catch it on its way back as the train line crosses the runway of Peshawar international airport. Sensibly the train has to wait a while to ensure that the runway really is closed before continuing.

It is a great sight, three engines to pull one carriage of tourists (and a guards van of soldiers).

After the excitement of the steam train John and his dad decided to take the normal train for an adventure. We went in late April, just before it got unbearably hot; we took the train from Peshawar over the Indus to Attock. It was great fun watching the world go slowly by.

At Attock the train crosses the Indus over a great Victorian steel bridge. At either end there are little castles, which look decorative, but on closer inspection you can see that they are actually really defensive with closable steel gates and gun emplacements.

We had hoped to stop at a deserted station just after the bridge, and walk back over it, but despite the train seeming to stop everywhere it ignored our station so we had to continue on to the next stop. We stopped for lunch at a local greasy spoon in the bus station and got the bus home.

Old City

In early April we abandoned John for a night with his Spanish speaking Norwegian friends Rodrigo and Jacob and we went off for stay at the Khan Club hotel in the old city. A wonderful old Sikh house, with each of the rooms named after a gem. We were at the top in the Ruby room where you had to climb up some stairs in the room to the bed above.

We had a wonderful view from the balcony. In the night there was an amazing dust storm. Quite amusing watching a burqa clad woman trying to negotiate the streets with a large bag on her head. The burka was bellowing everywhere and there was not a lot the men around could do to help her.

My favourite house in the middle of the old city. Sofas and TV removed from the fount room to be replaced with 3 buffalo. Quite a bizarre sight.

Then we had a visit from the Easter Bunny who left two small white rabbits to join our two large white rabbits. Mrs K is working on a marsala mix for rabbit so that we can do a fresh takeaway service as I fear that there maybe still more visits from the Easter Bunny. Mind you they are very sweet

This was a great scene we caught driving along the GT road the other day and had to add it to give every one a smile.

Takht-i- Bhai

John and I (Rowena) went for a day trip before it got too hot to Takht-i- Bhai with Liv and her two boys, Rodrigo and Jacob. The boys are all good friends � John worships the boys and has to do anything they do � so I witnessed him walking up all the steps to the monastery and over the hillsides as Rodrigo was doing it! The monastery is an important Buddhist site from the Gandhara period (when this part of the world and the Swat valley were important centres of Buddhism).

The ruins have been restored to good effect by Unesco and it is a lovely location on a small group of hills that rise up out of the plains.

Three boys having fun � picnicking in the hills of Takht I Bhai

Copy cats! If Jacob thought it was a good idea then so do I!

Lahore

For my birthday in March Rowena took us all to Lahore. It was meant to be the kite festival, and for months there have been battles in the courts to ban it. In the end the use of metal strings had caused enough decapitations of poor scooter riders to persuade the authorities to stop it at the last moment. It was interesting to see how the bikers were protecting themselves, attaching a big loop of car aerial over their bikes from front to back to deflect any wires.

Now Lahore is famous for the Mogul buildings of course. This is the Badshai Mosque which lies in the old city opposite the Fort.

Where needless to say John attracted his usual band of followers Inside the old Fort, Lahore.

But the other thing Lahore is famous for is the food. This is our first woman run juice bar. Can you find us?

Cooking fish on food street

Eating with Annie on food street. What it is to be tourists in the bright lights of Lahore!

The best restaurant was Cooccoo's restaurant with a roof top terrace overlooking the mosque. Lovely food

� and lovely views

Get me out of here � sadly Fawad and Saime have now left and John is feeling their absence.

We have begun handwriting training early to try and overcome any genetic influence from his father's scribble.

The Land of Spotty Dogs � whole villages wear the same chador print (the game is to count who the rebels are)

Engineer or artist � which one is his mother pushing for I wonder?

Life under house arrest

Tue, 07 Mar 2006 18:12:37 GMT

Bush has now left, so I hope that this means that life will return to a little normality. For the past few weeks things have been a little tense here, and we have been confined to barracks (well our house) for several days on and off as various demonstrations and strikes have been called about the cartoons, Bush�s visit, and any other excuse to have a good riot. The noise of tear gas explosions from the next block has stopped and now we are back to the normal background level of automatic gun fire every night (presumably weddings, but unsurprisingly there are regular reports of people dieing at weddings from stray bullets).

I must say that despite the very strong feelings almost everyone has here about the cartoons I have never ever felt any animosity directed to me or even to foreigners in general. The local Christian minority have had a tougher time, with schools and colleges attacked. There will always be people trying to make political gain out of any situation. The Provincial government here tries to whip up anti federal government feelings for their own agenda. Kashif, a college from DOST working with street children has recovered from the injuries he received when he tried to stop a bunch of rioters near his home. Apparently they felt that a fellow Muslim trying to argue with people to stop throwing stones was being unislamic. By working in Peshawar Jail DOST has seen that most of those arrested were Afghans.

The impact of it all has been interesting. Finding shops is more tricky now as all the posh shops have been falling over each other to put up bigger and bigger black banners over their fronts with quotes from the Koran and statements about the cartoons in the hope that rioters will not throw stones at them. After repeated attacks KFC now advertises itself as if eating a chicken burger is a brave and radical statement of self independence, which I suppose it is here. Pizza hut was untouched, but it is very near the army barracks, the rioters were not stupid.

John tunnelling to freedom with his hero Fawad and Saime

Do you think I look pretty Mummy? John is demonstrating that he is touch with his feminine side� he feels covering your head when you go out is important � is Oxfordshire ready for this radical dresser.

The Charlbury Two waiting for their parole for good behaviour. (Do you think we will ever go out again Mummy?)

Afternoon entertainments when under house arrest: take 4 small children and a feral rabbit, stand back and see what happens�.

Yes well, what about explaining what happens when two bunnies rescued from a life of feeding mosquitoes from a malaria research institution who we were assured by medical experts were female turn out not to just to have amusing lesbian tendencies? We woke up the other day to find 4 babies and two very crap teenage parents. Tali bunny decided to ignore the babies and begin nesting only after it was sadly all over. Burka bunny is off tomorrow to have his miraculous balls removed.

Memories of the glories that are beyond our gates � Looking over the Buner valley.

Drive into Punjab

Mon, 30 Jan 2006 16:45:57 GMT

Last Eid we decided to head south (taking advantage of the cooler weather) and went on a road trip into the Punjab for 6 days. A foolhardy idea, many thought given the 'lemon-like' nature of our car � but what the heck, we are young and foolish (well one of us is anyway). First stop was a large salt hole � home to Matt in 2004. We went into the Salt mine (second largest in the world) on a petit train � so John was happy and worryingly so was Matt, inside there were disco floors and mosques all carved in salt. The mine and plant are located next to where Alexander the Great crossed the Jhelum river and he is thought to have mined salt here. It is great walking around inside the beautiful salt formations.

There was a wonderful huge chamber that was dug out by the Moghuls in the 16^th century, but it collapsed in the recent earthquake.

From the Salt range we continued to head south driving through desert areas and fertile fields (the power of irrigation) We spotted these two when we reached our first desert area � rather handsome you have to agree.

Basically we followed the Jehlum river south along some minor roads though the desert. It was a wonderful journey, and a lovely temperature at this time of year. We had some great picnic opportunities (just lacked the menu as everything was shut due to Eid � hadn't thought of that before we left home!)

We carried on to Bahawalpur about half way down Pakistan on the edge of the Cholistan Desert, and on to Uch to see the beautiful mausoleums. Alexander the Great was here too. I wonder will they say the same about us?

These Shrines were built in the 14^th Century and reminded us so much of what we saw in Bukara and Samakand 1000's of miles to the north. The shrines were busy due to the Eid break and we found ourselves being encouraged to walk around a tomb six times bedecked in rose garlands for good luck � then their good luck materialized in the donations we were encouraged to make. Mind you the tomb must have worked as the car kept going through out the trip apart from a minor radiator problem which just meant we had to keep topping up the water.

We stopped for lunch in a wonderful spot next to one of the many irrigation cannels in Punjab. This view peaceful and tranquil � not what we saw much of because �..

As where ever John stops his crowd of fans soon gather.

We then drove into the desert to see Darawar Fort built around 1750. It just sits in the middle of the desert miles from anywhere. The fort looms up as you drive up to it from several miles away.

Mrs K thinks the area used to be wetter and there is evidence that a river ran nearby. The fort itself and the buildings on top are washing away, which is really sad as the buildings are beautiful. All very romantic.

Then back to Multan, also visited by Alexander the Great, I believe the locals were not quite so friendly to him (Guess what Matt is reading at present). There are stories that he actually died and was buried here. Multan is famous for its blue & white pottery, leather shoes, embroidery and they appear to be keen on extending to livestock! We really enjoyed the city and it was interesting to see somewhere that was so keen on architectural embellishment and design.

We then drove back up to Peshawar on the other side of the Indus in the tribal areas via DI Khan. Not a route greatly recommended at the best of times, and we were driving through the area the day after the Americans had fired missiles into a tribal village killing 15. Did not really enamor the locals to foreigners too much. South of DI Khan is the home of the Tellytubby burqa � caused much delight to John who was sure it was Po.

Scene from the plains � a family on the move, their entire belongings on the back of a donkey cart

I've never seen camels pulling carts before.

A lovely lady in DI Khan

Well that is the end of the road trip and not sure where we will go next or what delights we will have to entertain you. R, M & J

Go to the Gallary Section (click picture on left) to see more pictures

Watching the Sugar Harvest

Fri, 16 Dec 2005 17:46:59 GMT

With Christmas rapidly advancing we thought to sugar-load the toddler as part of his training for the main event. So early on Saturday we set off � when we arrived at the village we had the statutory tea which is always a very welcome part of any journey. John was somewhat traumatised by the Polish chickens in the courtyard of Ibrahim's cousins house � they resembled the mother of the bride in some middle England wedding who had become rather enthusiastic about feathers as a theme � they have the most amazing feather hats on their heads. The chicken trauma was only just worse than coming face to face with the family cow who happened to moo as John waddled past But back to the main theme of this update � Matt's lesson sugar�.

Last week Ibrahim took us to his village near Charsadda. It was a great day out

First the sugar is cut

The outer leaves are stripped off and the cane is put though a big mangle. This used to be powered by buffalo, but now by a diesel engine. The liquid squeezed out of the cane pores into a big tank and then transferred into a huge iron boiling pan;

This is indeed what we saw and what happens, no mention of the pistols and Kalashnikof that came too 'Pashtun jewellery' as they say � also mention of the delicious picnic we had eating chicken sitting on charpoys in the sun watching the action in the cane fields, washing it all down with fresh sugarcane juice. Not sure what the guns were for � probably to help control an over-excited 2 year old!

Underneath the pan a big fire is lit, burning the cane leaves and the dried waste cane stalks, if the weather is wet you can't make sugar.

Nearly lost John in here, Matt was pretty close behind as they are both irresistibly drawn to fire. Both survived, but sadly the same could not be said for Matt's eye brow and the tuft of hair on his forehead (and that is in short supply) � now I think about it it might explain his current choice of hairstyle � early Marines Corps.

The boiling sugar liquid produces clouds of steam

Who is that vision rising out of the steam � is it a goddess, the men seem to bowing in awe and wonder at such a sight.

The sugar is nearly ready

The thick liquid is passed onto a large dish to cool. The dish is made from pottery quarters which are joined together

When set the toffee is rolled into little balls and put into sacks. It is not too sweet with a strong flavour of molasses

The trick is to drip a cane into the sugar and coat it with the gulab (sugar) and eat it like a 5 foot toffee apple. We travelled back to Peshawar with the pick-up loaded up with sugar coated sugar canes � delicious. The balls of gulab we were given have already been put to good use in mincemeat for the mince pies and in the Christmas cake � the flavour is fabulous and is a real improvement on any brown sugar. Just wonderful.

John really loved the product.

So here ends the Pakistan version of the Teletubby infomercial that they always have toddlers introducing � somewhat different to the rest of the site, but something very special and a wonderful way to see rural life here.

Meeting Hell on a trip through Paradise

Mon, 24 Oct 2005 06:04:08 GMT

I had been meaning to write and say about the earthquake. A rather weird experience for us in Peshawar, our concrete floor turning to rubber for several minutes, but there was almost no damage in Peshawar and absolutely no sign of damage here. Anyway Rowena and John are in Hong Kong for 2 weeks so I decided to go on an adventure.

On Saturday I rather selfishly decided not to give all the money I could to the relief fund, but rather to go and see for myself the effect of the earth quake to Balakot and the Khagan valley. I bought as many blankets as I could afford and as many bananas and biscuits as I could carry. The road to Balakot was very good and clear, with only a short wait 5km before the town where a small land slide had reduced the road to one lane. Although I had passed many destroyed buildings in the towns on the way up, nothing could prepare me for Balakot. Like everyone else I had seen pictures on TV of the devastation, but seeing it in real was horrible and very different.

Every single house, shop and building had been totally destroyed. There was really absolute NOTHING there. I spend a few minutes walking around and met Ali outside a pile of rubble. This was his shop, he then showed me his house where 6 of his family had been killed. It had taken 36 hours before the first helicopter had arrived. Exactly 2 weeks on, aid was now arriving, (relief stations had opened and were giving out food and blankets., helicopters were coming and going)

There was nothing I could do there, Ali told me about the villages further north, I gave him a couple of blankets and some money and moved on. By some miracle the bridge had survived so drove on.

I picked up a couple hitch hikers, Mumtaz and Ur Rabzeb, who were headed for Shogran. Mumtaz�s father had been killed, his mother injured. On the third day the only helicopter arrived and had taken them to hospital in Islamabad. Ur Rabzeb, a relation, was taking him back to the village. About 15km out of Balakot the road ended and so we walked for 4 hours up to their village. We carried all the blankets and food we could carry. The road was so land slid out we could not even walk along it, even the path higher up was difficult to walk along. All the way we were walking past and in places over destroyed houses. Nothing was standing. Everyone we met had the same story, 3-6 of the family killed, everything lost, and absolutely no help had arrived.

I saw no signs of injured or dead; everyone by now berried or left. Loads of new graves around the place

These girls were tending a grave.

Families desperately trying to dig what ever positions they had from the rubble

I spent 20 minutes with these people just trying to dig out a plastic floor mat, with no success. As the soil was disturbed, the awful smell came though.

The road was completely destroyed

It is not a case of clearing it; rather it has to be re-built. Eventually we came to the next town on the road. The town of Kawai had a population of 5000, an estimated 2000 were killed. Again nothing standing, but here no aid had arrived, nothing.

Amazingly the people seemed so happy, greeting each other, smiling treating everything so matter of fact. The attitude of Gods Will seemed to pervade when talking about how many of their family had been killed. Even in 2 weeks with no outside help people had managed to re-build something.

4 families here all their houses had collapsed, they were now sheltering in a shack they had put together.

The story in Shogran was the same, school destroyed, but luckily the kids and teachers had managed to escape. It must be around 10000 feet up they were desperate for tents, one helicopter had come on day 3 but nothing else, except for a helicopter two days previously with nothing, asking what they wanted! I spent a night in my tent in a sleeping bad and blanket and froze.

These are the people I left my tent and blankets to who desperately tried to feed me with their meager supplies.

This was just 10km and two villages up a road that continues over 80km more. There are many more valleys just as badly affected. Ironically it is the most beautiful place, spectacular views of snow clad mountains and lovely forests. I had been thought the area twice before on holiday.

Aid is slowly coming though. Balakot will clearly need to be abandoned and a large tent city is being built just south of it. I am convinced that only large centralized relief will work, and it is being done efficiently considering the situation. Everyone there is in need, and I saw no real sign of waste. Large amounts of money are needed for a long time.

I know you can read the same stuff as this on the web and see better taken pictures of similar sights, but I do hope that me sending this note might persuade some of you to give, and justify my rather self indigent trip. I believe in UK you can go to Disaster Emergency Relief via..

https://www.donate.bt.com/bt_form_dec.html

John Reaches New Heights at Shandur

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 14:53:26 GMT

Here I am ready to take on the mountains and passes of the Hindu Kush. As you can see I am suitably attired in my camel corps headgear and an ample supply of liquid refreshments as travelling by jeep is hot and thirsty work especially as I have to pose in suitably cute ways for my public.

Sadly, my mother is not as stylish as myself and she lacks the certain something to really look like she belongs in the jeep. I fear it is the hat that is not doing here any favours, but of course with her advancing years she must try to combat the wrinkles. However, she is still not as craggy as the mountains behind. We did see some excellent views (or so I am told � not too keen myself, I prefer the bouncy road and dust of the ride).

One of the benefits of camping at 3,600+m is that you tend to wake with the sun. The view was spectacular looking over the Shandur Pass as the sun came up, however the jury is out about whether it makes up for the freezing cold night and the hard rocks that made our bed. It was not the level of luxury I had imagined for my 40^th � ho hum.

Shandur Pixy spotted in early dawn. Is this a good omen? The pixie is rather puzzled about all this interest in his pass but is glad he dressed for the occaision.

After the peace of dawn the crowds walk up to pass and jeeps arrive heavily laden with their human load. Everyone congregates around the polo field jostling for the best position on the hill tops and slopes. Some fortunate ones are in the luxury of the stands area; then it is 11am and the game begins.

What a game! There are no rules, no holds barred; hard and fast polo. Two 25 minute halves, no stopping no horse changes. Great spectator sport. We were right up on the wall marking the edge of the field and so had a horses� belly view of all the action. It was a position that requires you have your wits about you as you must be ready to duck when the ball comes your way. The winners of the big match were Gilgit. Note the helicopter coming in to land during the game.

Chitral:

The Hills are alive with the sound of music. Strange hatted lady spotted in the ruins of the Summer Palace overlooking Chitral. A wonderful day trip as a result of our flight being delayed again. From this vantage point you could see how high the mountains around Chitral really are, something you are unaware of when you are in the valley.

MacPac ad 101. Looking up another valley from Chitral Gol � it was a good spot for a picnic and wonderfully cool up there.

It was not all dead animals and latrines (the aromas of our campsite � thanks Matt for your choice). We upgraded to some luxury overlooking Chitral with an eagle�s eye view of the airport so we could observe the endless non-arrival of our flight.

Check out the Photo Gallery section for more photos