Pakistan
from July 5th 2006 until the end of July 2006

A cracked hub, free drinks, three apprehensions and a visit of the secret service
We haven't been sleeping for two hours, when somebody knocks very hard on our door. A middle-aged man with a serious and harsh face orders Peter to follow him. On the terrace of the hotel the man fires a lot of questions at Peter, in quick succession: where are we from, what's the purpose of our visit .... READ ON >>

Attacked by heat and rats
The climbs are getting longer and somewhat steeper and the unbearable heat makes us feel nauseous and faint. When we are about to literally fall off our bicycles, we are stopped by the highest traffic-police-boss of the region.
He thinks it's irresponsible to cycle in this heat and .... READ ON >>

The Karakorum Highway part 1: from Murree to Chattar Plain
He walks into the private quarters and the back-garden. Nobody. Back in the shop he feels under the counter that is draped with some carpets and feels an arm.
In one movement he pulls .... READ ON >>

The Karakorum Highway part 2: from Chattar Plain to Sazin
They wash themselves completely dressed, the man does all the shopping (including clothes for wife and children) and if a strange man sees the woman her husband wouldn't
hesitate to kill her .... READ ON >>

The Karakorum Highway part 3: from Sazin to Gilgit
On the bad stretches of road between Chilas and Afilabad last week a fully loaded truck and a minibus with twenty people aboard went off the road and into the Indus. On these spots truck drivers form prayer-circles so say farewell to their colleagues in a dignified way. The truck is swallowed by the swirling water; of the bus passengers only four bodies were found. Wisely we cycle close to the
mountain side a lot, although there the risk of falling rocks is far greater .... READ ON >>

The Karakorum Highway part 4: from Gilgit to Sost
At Nomal we cross the wild churning Hunza and then we see the blockade: there is a gap of one hundred metres where once was the unpaved road up to the KKH. A landslide of mud and rocks has dragged away the vanished road. Cars and moped can't get through; pedestrians walk over rocks, through mud and the fast flowing water to get to the other side .... READ ON >>