Northern Areas Trip

Sorry I haven't been posting recently, as internet connection is quite slow here. We just had a week long break from school where we travelled to the Northern Areas of Pakistan.

From Ultar Meadow

We took a day hike to the Ultar Glacier and Ultar Base Camp with Hunza Guides Pakistan, www.hunzaguidespakistan.com

From Karimabad

800 year old Baltit Fort in Karimabad, Hunza Valley

From Minapin

Minapin Village offers stunning views of 7000+meter peaks set in a flower-filled garden. We definitely recommend staying or eating at the Diran Guest House in Minapin.

From Karakoram Hig...

We drove for over 2100km, most of which was on the Karakoram Highway or the "KKH".

Pakistan: A High Stress Country?

I was reading the BBC and found a quite accurate description of life in Pakistan.

Humour - Pakistan-style
The BBC Urdu service's Masud Alam in Islamabad tries to see the funny side of life in Pakistan, where humour allows a country in crisis to let off steam.

"Pakistan is a high-stress country.

Tensions rose in Islamabad after July's mosque siege.

Its population has to contend with long power cuts at home, various types of discrimination and injustice in the work place and routine humiliation at the hands of security officials on their own streets - and at airports all over the Western world.

There's always the possibility of a lunatic blowing himself up in a busy market, a park or a mosque. Or one can get caught in cross-fire between uniformed and civilian gunmen, and not know who to run away from.

Hot weather, pollution, rich and spicy food, an abundance of sexual desire - and no way of satisfying it - only add to the strain on already volatile tempers.

If this society is still functional then it's all down to "comic relief" which, thankfully, is in no short supply in the Islamic republic."

Read the rest here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6984262.stm

Just yesterday two women were found beheaded by tribesmen in NWFP. Notes were left with their bodies accusing them of prositution. Next week nobody is quite sure who will be in charge of the government. High stress is a good way to describe the situation! I have to read the news every day at least twice to see if anything dramatic has happened. At the same time, if I didn't read the news life would be going on just as it always does here. Wake up early, go to school, come home, visit with friends. Without the news we likely wouldn't even know about the chaos, political and otherwise, happening right here. It definitely makes our lives a little more exciting. School things happen in the same way as the government. We go there every day not knowing exactly what our schedule will be, what classes we will teach, or even if the students will be there or not. Last minute field trips and schedule changes don't seem to be out of the ordinary, and when we finally think we're almost getting some sort of a groove with the timetable, Ramadan is going to start. That means everything has to change again! There also might be elections coming up and formerly ousted political leaders might try to come back to our city. I'm wondering if this will affect school or transportation at all. As everyone seems to like saying here: "Let's see what happens."

Sixty Years After Partition

This coming tuesday will be Pakistan's 60th anniversary of independence. If you're not familiar with the birth of Pakistan, the partition that led to the largest mass migration in history, or the sixty years of political turmoil that has followed - the BBC has some great news archives and articles.

Pakistan's and India's independence in 1947 is bittersweet. Despite ousting the colonial power of the British, one of the bloodiest episodes in the subcontinents history followed the drawing of the borders. Basically, a British man who had little knowledge of India just drew a line right down the middle of the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Many Muslims were left on the 'wrong' side of the line in India, and many Hindus and Sikhs were left on the Pakistani side of the line. Families' farmlands were even cut in town between the two new countries. Mothers and fathers were separated from their children on the opposite side of the line. In the ensuing violence between 10 and 15 million people left all they had and fled for their lives to the other side of the line. Many lived in refugee camps along the way, where women were rounded up at night, gang raped and deposited back at the camp at morning. Entire trains of migrants were torched and many of those fleeing had their arms and legs chopped off by marauders. The blame lay not with only the Muslims in Pakistan against the Hindus and Sikhs, or with the Indian Hindus against the Muslims, but both sides seemed to be equally violent towards the other.

Personally, I am not sure whether August 14th should be a national day of celebration or of mourning and repentence.

See BBC News articles here:

Pakistan's political history: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6940148.stm

Sixty bitter years after partition: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6926057.stm

Partitioning India over lunch: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6926464.stm

Quick Guide: Partition: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6924732.stm

Sao Jorge (Saint George) - Photos & Travel Info.

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Natural lava arches with Pico Mountain/Island in the background

From Sao Jorge (Sa...

From Sao Jorge (Sa...

Places to Stay (Velas)

We would definitely recommened staying in Velas as it is the largest town on the island. The port is located directly next to the town and you have easy access to rental car facilities, the grocery store, and places to stay. Inquire at the tourist office for more information about lodging other than those mentioned here.

Apartamentos Rosa 35 euros
We stayed at these apartments which are conveniently located near the supermarket. We had a large fully furnished one bedroom apartment with a living room, kitchen, private laundry facility, and access to the central terrace. We wish we’d stayed there longer than two nights! Everything was neat and clean. The owner is a woman whose husband is a taxi driver, so you can easily arrange day trips by taxi from your doorstep. It is also located close to the “Rent-A-Car” office.

Hospedaria Australia 40 euros/44 euros breakfast inc.
Rua Teofilo Braga 25 Phone: 295-412-210 http://www.acores.com/australia
Located in the center of town and only a short walk from the port, this place seems to be popular with backpackers and tourists. They have rooms with private bath, Cable TV, breakfast for an extra 4 euros, a connected bar/pizzeria and scooter rental. The bar/pizzeria was hip, colorful and clean, and we can only imagine the rooms to be as such.

From Sao Jorge (Sa...

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http://umass.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2130589&l=497b8&id=9106120

Sete Cidades

I've finally managed to get our Azores pics on Picasa, so check 'em out!

Here are photos from "Sete Citades" - Seven Cities. There really aren't seven cities, but two lakes. The legend is that a princess and a pauper fell in love. There weren't allowed to get married, so their tears filled these two lakes. The princess had blue eyes, and the pauper had green eyes. Hence one lake was filled up with blue tears and the other with green tears.

From Sete Cidades

Check out the rest of the album by clicking the link below the photo.