I managed to get a beer in the smugglers bazaar, sitting in the “narcotics” section in a stall with piles of opium and heroin on one side, and another pile of Afghan hash on the other.
While i was there i hired an armed guard with an Argentinian i met and we took a trip through tribal land along the Khyber Pass to the Afghanistan border. Took the obligatory photo at the border, trying to blend in wearing a full Shalwar Kameez and, er, holding a Kalashnikov (the guards idea).
Onto Islamabad (the capital; shit) for my Chinese visa, and up into the mountains. Northern Pakistan was great, no tourists, astonishing trekking, camping, glacier crossings, Indiana Jones style rope bridges etc. Real boys own stuff and I’d love to go back sometime. {post script: see pics in photo section, one day I’ll get my arse together to post…}.
The only thing about the country I wasn’t a big fan of was the food. I like a Kebab as much as the next man, but three times a day was a bit excessive. Every meal consisted of some kind of meat, a tiny dish of chopped tomato&onion (this would constitute the portion of vegetables), and a few chapatti’s.