Naran / Kaghan Valley, Pakistan

For our October break, our original intention was to stay home and get some work done (new school, plus I was teaching 3 brand-new-to-me classes), but a few of our new acquaintances were going on a trip to Norther Pakistan to the Naran Valley area.  Well. The thing about Pakistan is that you have to go when it's relatively safe.  At that time it was, so, we went.

Words can not describe the glorious beauty that Pakistan holds.  Seriously, it was some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen.

Abbottabad - you know, that town where they found and killed Osama bin Laden?  We drove through there, and went by the military base that he was staying close to.

Our introduction to the local bridge system.  It's for people, animals and cars.  It's also only 1 lane...

This little waterfall was also a tea spot.

Chai tea is huge in Pakistan.  It has a lot of sugar and milk in it, and is really only good that way.  Without it, it's pretty yucky. We think part of the reason they drink it that way, is that it's how they get their calories.  The items used in it are pretty cheap.
I had already had enough chai, so we asked for Cokes.  This is their refrigeration system.  And yes, the Cokes were cold, as was the water!

Saif-Ul-Malouk Lake - Seriously, the most picturesque lake I have ever seen. It was absolutely stunning. These photos don't really do it justice.  Simply gorgeous.

To get to the lake you take a 4-wheel drive Jeep ride up a mountain.  It's a terrible road with ruts, no guardrails of any sort (very typical around here), and sheer drops off the sides of cliffs that make your heart stop. It was the first of many heart-stopping Jeep rides.  

Chris and I walked around the entire lake.  It was a stunning walk.  This is the delta on the opposite side from the first pictures.  The water here is melted glacier.  It is COLD!

We ended up taking our shoes off to get through the water.  My legs are shorter than Chris' (clearly) and I gave in much earlier than he did.

He finally gave in though :)

That afternoon we took another hear-wrenching Jeep ride to Lalazar Plato. It's the off-season, but you can still see how beautiful it is.

The next day was another adventure. We stopped at a charming little tea place by the water.  What a terrible view!

Homes in the mountain-side opposite of the tea place.

Our next stop was Lulusar Lake. 

Then we went up another mountain to Balbazar Pass.  If you continue on the road, it will take you to China. At least most of this road was paved.  This pass is at the base of the Himalayas.


It's cold at the base of the Himalayas!

Frozen chicken, anyone?  This truck was going over the pass.  We watched one of the guards buy a chicken off the truck.  I purposely lost track of the chicken after that...


These gentlemen went with us pretty much everywhere we went while we were up North.  When we were at Balbazar Pass, one of the guards pointed to the valley below.  He said, "Those people down there, they don't like you."  Duly noted...

Our crew - 8 of us were in the Jeep...

Our jeep was usually pretty full.  There were 6 of us, the driver from the hotel, plus our guide.  To say it was cozy would be an understatement...

An action shot showing the getting out process...getting in was just as fun ;)

The lawnmower at our hotel.  Actually, there were 2

Shogrun was beautiful.  The hotel was not.  This was the nicest part. If only they spent as much time killing rats in the dining room, picking up cigarette butts in the hallway, providing garbage cans, clean towels and linens in the rooms, and perhaps we would have enjoyed it more.  Oh, and the log chopping contest they had below our window at 11 pm was also amazing.

It was pretty, though!

Big Man + Little Jeep = 1st one in, last one out...

Siri-Paye - our last heart-stopping Jeep ride. Thank freaking god. No sleep, no breakfast (because seriously, who wants to eat in a rat-infested restaurant?), plus I was at the end of my offroad-Jeep-adventure rope meant I almost walked down the damned mountain. I sucked it up and put my non-happy-ass back in the Jeep.  

At least the view was pretty :)

Below you'll find a collection of photos from throughout our trip:

Washing your truck, car, or self in the glacier melt was a common sight.

Who doesn't want a blinged-out tractor/trailer?

Corn in the mountains.  Felt like home. Except for that whole mountain thing...