Wild Frontiers Blog
Below you find on-the-road blog entries from our intrepid staff and tour leaders. This exciting, new idea will give you day-to-day updates on everything from best hotel bedrooms, eclipses in Mongolia to life on the streets of Pakistan and Tibet! So read, enjoy and be inspired to join them...
Displaying blog entries 1 to 5 of 332
Jonny back in Pakistan (02/09/2010)
I return to Pakistan just as I left it, with bomb blasts in Lahore. The mayhem on the final night of my last trip was little more than a nasty prank aimed at causing chaos not casualties. This time it was a whole lot more sinister, as Sunni suicide bombers attacked a Shia festival killing 25 and wounding scores more. Sectarian violence is nothing new to Pakistan or Lahore. But coming at a time when the country is in crisis trying to deal with the worst floods since Noah has surprised everyone and just goes to show how messed up things out here can be. It is my opinion that from a geo-political perspective Pakistan is the most important country in the developing world. Sitting as it does between the vast populations of the Indian Subcontinent and the rich natural resources of Central Asia, welding its political weight with Macchiavelian dexterity, its power in this vital region far outweighs its size. True, it is in possession of a sizable nuclear arsenal, but it also has a propensity for horrific natural disasters, boasts a radical fringe, a corrupt elite, and (worst of all) a bent cricket team; it's fought three wars and lost them all; no democratically elected government has ever served a full term; and it has been ruled by the military for more than half its life. Given all that it's hardly surprising an insecurity chip the size of the Himalayas sits uncomfortably on its nascent shoulder. But I love it and am delighted to be back. All set for the trek!
Carol finishes her Tibetan expedition (25/08/2010)
We have finally emerged from the incredible desolation of the mountain ranges standing between our route running along the Chinese side of the borders with Ladakh, Pakistan (where we were only a spit away from K2) and Tajikistan; scenery of magnificent bleakness with virtually no signs of habitation apart from a few tiny and utterly remote Tibetan settlements - and the road was nothing more than a stony cart track, so more plunging in and out of rivers!
The lack of vegetation has also meant a scarcity of any wildlife, though we did spot a few marmots popping up from their holes, the odd little rodent and some rare antelopes with magnificent horns which apparently sell for a fortune. We also spotted a couple of golden eagles, a magnificent Lammergeyer, who posed patently on his rocky perch while our cameras clicked away, and what could have been a family of Himalayan Griffon Vultures, the parents flying off and leaving their nervous offspring blinking nervously and fidgeting around on its extremely scruffy nest. That night we struggled to put up our tents on any level ground to be found between vast craters in a gale-force wind... our campsite turned out to be an abandoned Chinese Army firing range!
Happily the sun shone throughout our day in Guge (once part of Ladakh), visiting the extraordinary rock citadel of Tsaparang which thrived for seven centuries until the mid 17th century when its inhabitants were annihilated and it was abandoned. However a magnificent legacy of early Tibetan art has been preserved in its temples by the dry high altitude climate (3,800m). Until now it has been almost impossible to view the fabulously intricate paintings created by Kashmiri artists in the 10th/11th centuries because of the lack of light in the temples, but these are now visible in all their glory due to newly constructed roof-windows letting in natural light.
Yesterday, descending from the mountains, the scenery changed abruptly and dramatically as we drove along well-irrigated and cultivated valleys with housing strung along the road full of donkey-carts and colourfully dressed people milling about. We had arrived in Xinjiang, home of the Uygurs. They were incredibly warm and welcoming and in spite of mounds of melons, fruit and food on sale, we had to wait a very long time for our supper due to the laws of Ramadan! And today, having to take a diversion around the ancient Silk Road trading town of Yarkand (now called Shache), we came across a huge and very colourful Saturday Market selling a myriad of goods and services including skilled head-shaving barbers and tooth-extraction (without any pain-killing!)
So now, after skirting around the bottom of the death-defying Taklamakan desert, here we are in the vast Chinese metropolis of Kashgar. Some of the ancient mud-brick buildings and dark alleyways of the old town survive - just; piles of rubble are evidence of the Chinese move to demolish the Old Town, considered a fire and earthquake hazard. But the thriving Sunday Cattle Market looks likely to remain an intrinsic aspect of life in Kashgar; the endless rows of fat-tailed sheep having their rear ends clipped by their proud owners to expose the beauty of those fat tails; the poor hot yaks looking extremely uncomfortable in the lowland heat and the nervy horses being tried out for their speed and agility; the haggling and squeezing and prodding of fleecy bodies by the bearded Muslim farmers determined to get a good deal. All fascinating to the Western eye and sentiment (the Chinese stay away as they have no fondness for animal husbandry).
Tibet is always a raw experience and this has been an expedition with tough conditions which the group have borne with unfailing good humour and total appreciation of the adventure and the incredible scenery. And now we look forward to hot showers, clean sheets and a G&T at John's Cafe before heading for home via Urumqi and Beijing!
Amanda enjoys a bit of slap and tickle with a Chinese Massage – Silk Road Odyssey (20/08/2010)
For nearly a week we have been roughing it in Kyrgyz yurts - sleeping on the floor, no running water (other than the icy cold river) only long drop toilets in outhouse sheds – well they booked with an adventure travel company!!
But, now seemed a good time to ease those weary bones with a good old Chinese foot massage. Now this is a great Han Chinese tradition and it was Friday night, the most popular time to wash away the stresses and tensions of the working week and relax with a beautiful girl/boy having a real go at your feet. I have had many a foot massage during my visits to China ranging from upmarket bliss to down market purgatory and many variations in between.
Mama Jan (our local guide) and I decided to take them to the newest trendiest one that has just opened in the New Town. We were shown past individual rooms filled with semi-clothed Chinese men in various stages of ecstasy and taken to our room. Now a massage can be a very personal thing but this room had a total of 12 luxurious recliner armchairs with accompanying pouffes doubling as footbaths lining three walls and a cinema size plasma television on the fourth wall
12 young men and women filed into the room their baskets laden with the mysterious tools of their trade and we were served flower tea and the mandatory slices of watermelon.
We had asked for “the works” which means an all over body massage as well as particular attention to the feet and were surprised that we were not required to remove any article of clothing. Please take note, all semi-naked masseurs, that to give one of the best body experiences known to my group, it is absolutely not essential to take off any outer garment whatsoever.
So the session started. Our feet were soaked in unendurably hot water mixed with some purple sludge. And one by one the laughter died down and a blissful silence filled the room as backs were rubbed, limbs were pulled and shoulders manipulated. Then, softly and slowly at first, but with gathering intensity, began an orchestra of bodily parts being slapped, flicked, pummelled and walloped so that the room reverberated with the sound of corporal “punishments” all perfectly synchronised by our 12 “tormentors”.
They then dimmed the lights. Ahh, a considerate touch we thought as we relaxed back into the experience, imagining they wanted to create a tranquil atmosphere for us in our semi-conscious state. Imagine our surprise as they all, as one, lit their individual blow torches!
Apparently cupping is the latest rage in these parlours and so we proceeded to “enjoy” a medical practice that I believed had not been performed since the 17th Century. A process of heating up glass cups and then placing them on your soles creating suction, until you are on the brink of yelling in pain when they then pull them off! This created another different cacophony of pops and giggles or yelps, depending on the individuals’ sensation of tickle or torture!
Then finally, having undergone ordeal by water and fire, we endured bags of hot stones placed on our tummies already full with several Peking ducks! By now I was sure there would be texts and emails flying to Head Office about a tour leader submitting her group to the most heinous forms of physical cruelty but no ....
It seems my people delighted in these obscure shenanigans and they all floated back to our hotel on “cloud nine” and had the best night’s sleep of the trip! Clearly I’m not as tough as I thought I was. Give me a hard bed on a yurt floor any day!
Sleepless Nights in Tash Rabat (18/08/2010)
Silk Road Odyssey
I always have a few sleepless nights at the beginning of any trip – getting to know the group, thinking about potential problems and heading them off before they occur. But most especially, before a day’s horse riding, I lie awake considering the worst case scenarios – clients flying through the air if a recalcitrant horse has had enough, being trampled under hooves if their boot gets stuck in a stirrup during an unscheduled dismount or watching them fall over a precipice as their horse stumbles on a particularly narrow and difficult path. So, with well disguised trepidation, I encouraged some beginner riders to join the trip up to the high pass overlooking the Chinese border and Chittakol lake.
How irresponsible I hear you all chorus! Well first, in my defence, I trust my friends, Nazira and Myronbek’s horses absolutely, they are solid, surefooted and as reliable as any living being can be; and the terrain at Tash Rabat is such that the horses have virtually no chance to bolt! Secondly I believe adventure holidays are all about extending yourself out of your comfort zone whilst still within the limits of your insurance policy!! And finally Central Asian culture is still centred around the horse (nowhere more so than in Kyrgyzstan where it is the most popular daily form of transport amongst the nomadic people!) and riding one of their “celestial blood sweating” steeds in the Tien Shan provides an easy, authentic and romantic way of enjoying the remote high mountain wilderness that surrounds this pastoral idyll.
My ample reward was their ooohhhs, aaahhhhs, and gasps of excited pleasure at the totally awesome beauty surrounding them on all four sides. The weather remained unchangeably glorious and the day proved to be one of their highlights of the trip so far.
Oh.... and I returned back to the yurt camp with all 8 riders totally in tact!
To share highlights of the horse ride with us, see my video blog (Coming soon!! WF Office); and apologies for the unsteady hand held camera movement, my horse was very forward going. And just to clarify, the bandage on Judy’s leg had absolutely nothing to do with the day’s ride!!!
Carol on the Road to Zanda (16/08/2010)
Himalayan Journey from Lhasa to Kashgar (Wild Expedition)
This truly is an expedition and I cannot say enough in praise of the group's unflagging good nature, tolerance and resilience in appreciating all we have seen and done. The road to Zanda/Guge has been, like all our other routes, an adventure in itself, our vehicles plunging in and out of tumbling rivers and seas of mud with the occasional short stretch of tarmac, bringing us to this extraordinary place with its magnificent landscape looking across a canyon to the snowy Himalaya peaks. The remoteness is extreme and will continue as we skirt the Taklamakan desert to reach Kashgar in six days' time.
It's wonderful to be warm after the freezing experience of Everest Base Camp - we staggered up from the tented camp to the viewpoint, gasping for breath, in just 90 minutes - to be deluged with rain, so no view of anything but thick cloud! Though it has rained a lot since Lhasa, our camp-team have been quite magnificent, battling against the elements to keep us as comfortable and well-fed as we can be.
We have had our tough days - the Kailash kora (pilgrimage route) was the hardest thing any of us has ever accomplished - and though the yaks made a better job of the mud, rocks and rivers than we did, I wonder if my travel insurance will believe the state of my kitbag, ripped by a yak crashing into a boulder on top of the pass!
Today is a good day though as it is Nicole's birthday. We decorated the mess tent with pink baloons and banners, the cooks have created a cake with candles and we are going to down a few well earned drinks this evening, having not touched a drop since arriving in Tibet due to the altitude. From now on things should be much easier and travelling further west, we hope we have seen the last of the rain and can dry out all our kit, including the tents!
An incredible, if very testing, experience so far - hopefully with lots more to come; we have already seen hundreds of kyang (wild asses) so we are wondering what the desert will offer up.
