My travel diaries
Saturday 25 August, 2007 - Islamabad, Pakistan
We catch the 11 o'clock flight to Islamabad after saying our goodbyes to Dave, Ela and Orna, who are staying in China for a little longer. At Islamabad Airport Steve gets his passport stamped at the desk saying "Unaccompanied Women and Children" then changes money at a counter labelled "P.B.S.Exchange Booth". The S and the E are suspiciously close to one another, and I have to look twice before I realise what it says.
We spend the afternoon at the hotel. Geoff and I talk about climbing mountains and determination. He tells me about the targets he set himself at the age of 21 to have achieved by the time he was 30. These included visiting 100 countries (which he achieved by 31), climbing the Seven Summits (he's now done five of them), getting a degree (which he achieved, along with a Masters, in his 20s), and cycling around the world (he's done Asia). Although he's well past 30 now, you'd have to say he's done pretty well given how ambitious his targets were. And he's incredibly self-deprecating for all that.
In the evening we visit an Italian restaurant with an armed guard which is known on the grapevine as one of the few places in Islamabad serving beer. We feel a bit like thieves as we sneak inside. There's no beer marked on the menu, but when the waiter comes round to take our drinks order, he whispers, "do you want a beer, sir?" into my ear.
Back at the hotel I say my goodbyes to the rest of the group. We've had a very enjoyable and successful trip that I will remember for a long time. At 3am the following morning, I slip out of my hotel room to catch an early flight to Delhi for the next stage of my adventure.Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
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