Archive for April, 2024
Holiday in Pakistan (8): the Hunza Valley
April 16th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Monday was very much another travelling day. Once the landslides of yesterday were reported to be clear, we were able to leave Kachura at 9.30 am. It was raining and rained all day, so the clouds were low and the sky was grey. On the early part of the journey, it was evident that the […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (7): the climb of my life
April 15th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
On Sunday morning, the weather had changed to low cloud and drizzle. The programme offered an optional hike to Shigar Rock, located next to the Shigar Fort. Accompanied by tour guide Raza and local guide Ali, nine of the 12 of us went on the hike. Only one of us then opted to climb an […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (6): travelling further north
April 13th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
It was a whole day (Friday) in the Khapu Valley. Most of us – three opted out – started the day with a one-hour hike from Garbuchong village, not far from our hotel, all the way up a rocky pathway to the Thoqsikhar Viewpoint overlooking the Khaplu Valley. It was a tough climb – not […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (5): travelling north
April 11th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
The last two days of our trip have been very much travelling days. On Wednesday, we left our hotel in Lahore and took the M-2 motorway all the way to Islamabad – a journey of 430 kms (about 270 miles). We were supposed to break the journey with two tourist sites. The first was the […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (4): more of Lahore
April 10th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
On Tuesday and still in Lahore, again we left our hotel at 9 am. We should have started with a visit to the Lahore Museum which is the oldest in the country and the greatest repository of the history and culture of Pakistan. It was first established in 1864 and moved to its present premises […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (3): Lahore
April 9th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
Lahore is the second largest city in Pakistan – the first is Karachi – with a population of over 13 million (one and a half times that of London). As the capital of Punjab province, Lahore is considered the most liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan city in the country. Under the control of numerous empires throughout […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (2): getting there
April 7th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
I’ve done so much foreign travel that I know that, on most trips (especially outside Europe), something goes wrong and one just has to accept this and go with the flow. However, this has been my first holiday abroad when the first major thing to go wrong was before I’d even left the country. We […]
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Holiday in Pakistan (1): introduction
April 5th, 2024 by Roger Darlington
I am about to go on a holiday to Pakistan with the company Voyages Jules Verne. This will the 89th country that I have visited. The country is huge and we will only be visiting the north which is the most interesting part and contains the capital Islamabad (the south is more commercial and contains […]
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An update on my latest book
April 2nd, 2024 by Roger Darlington
For five years now, I’ve lived in a block of flats on London’s South Bank called Rennie Court. It is managed and staffed jointly with another block on the opposite side of the road called River Court. The longer that I’ve lived here, the more I’ve appreciated just how fascinating are the staff and residents. […]
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