Finally meeting up with my fixer at the Islamabad airport, we were soon on our way to Peshawar. Driving out of Islamabad, we passed through a prime example of the sprawl cities in the developing world are experiencing as they continue to grow at tremendous rates. The area pictured below was forested a few weeks … Continue reading
Flying into cities in the Gulf states at night is an interesting experience. Unlike many countries, there are virtually no small towns between the massive cities. So, you will fly along in complete darkness and then all of a sudden find yourself on top of a brilliant, swirling metropolis. They remind me of elaborate crop … Continue reading
I’m going to go light on names, places and other details in this post because I don’t want to get anyone in trouble – least of all me! This visit took place while Andy, Nigel and I were in Peshawar waiting for permission to transit the Khyber Pass. An offer to visit an old Afghan … Continue reading
As I mentioned in the last post, a significant part of Pakistan is verdant agricultural land. Here is a continuation of that theme around Peshawar: These guys were selling strawberries along the road. A frequent sight (and the strawberries were really good): Now, of course, it isn’t all rolling hills and manicured fields as this … Continue reading
Most people don’t associate Pakistan with rivers and lush farmland. However, a large swath of territory around Peshawar is exactly that. One river village (that I unfortunately don’t know the name of) left a particularly favorable impression on me: It turned out that I was the first Westerner these girls had ever seen: So, naturally, … Continue reading
Now, anyone that knows me knows that I generally like animals even more than people. So, trust me when I relay that no animals were harmed in the following production… Still casting about for activities to kill time around Peshawar as we waited for the Khyber Pass to be opened again, Prince suggested that he … Continue reading
Waiting for the Khyber Pass to open up so we could make the journey into Afghanistan, we killed time by exploring the Pakistani countryside. One day on our way back into Peshawar, we came across this rather unique bridge built during the time of the Mughal Empire: Along the edge of the river was this … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 