Malaysian goes on an amazing 13-day adventure in Pakistan

The beautiful Attabad Lake is just one of the many places the reader passed by while on her way to the Pakistan-China border crossing.

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Many of my friends, colleagues and family members initially thought that I was crazy when I told them that I had joined a tour to Pakistan a few years back. I didn’t bother with their opinions, thankfully, as I would have missed an opportunity of a lifetime otherwise.

When our tour group arrived at Peshawar – which is about 50km from the Afghan border – in September, our bags were all loaded on top of a minibus. This was a first for me as I had never had my luggage placed on top of a bus like that. We weren’t worried though as our driver made sure all the bags were secured tightly and covered up.

If you’re planning a visit, the weather in September is just nice – not too cold, or hot. But do bring a light jacket as well as a few pieces of warm clothing just in case.

Travelling by road in the country can get tiring but seeing the mountain ranges and beautiful lakes made up for everything.

Pakistan is known for its 1,300km Karakoram Highway, or the China-Pakistan Friendship Highway. This highway is packed with indescribable views of the highest mountain ranges in the world. This makes Karakoram Highway, one of the highest paved roads in the world, a popular tourist attraction.

Due to its high elevation and difficult conditions under which it was constructed, the highway is often referred to as the eighth “Wonder Of The World”.

I found the Karakoram Highway very bumpy, however. But we had an excellent driver who tried to make the ride as smoothly for everyone as he possible could.

We visited the Khunjerab Pass, too, which is the border of Pakistan and China. On our way there, we passed by some really gorgeous places including the Attabad Lake, Passu Cathedral and Passu Glacier.

The Khunjerab Pass is a scenic and breathtaking landmark located in the Karakoram Mountains. It is the highest paved border crossing in the world – the province of Xinjiang, China lies on the other side of the border.

After that we went to the Hopper Glacier, where we were provided with a few jeeps to check out the stunning glaciers there. We had such a fun time driving around in our jeeps.

Most of the trucks in Pakistan were elaborately decorated. — Photos: TEE SIEW LAI

Speaking of vehicles, I came across numerous interesting ones in Pakistan. The trucks in particular were fun to look at as many of them were fully decorated with plastic flowers, stickers, calligraphy and other things.

You can also find the Pakistani version of a “tuk tuk” called qingqi everywhere. These motorised rickshaws are named after the Chinese motorcycle brand, Qingqi.

People and food

I loved the children I met in Pakistan as they were just so adorable and polite. We gave them some snacks and ballpoint pens, which they love and even fought over each other for. I will make sure to bring a few boxes of these pens if I ever get to visit the country again in the future!

Before my trip, I was not aware that Pakistan and China had such a close relationship. You can see proof of this all over the country, or at least at the destinations we visited.

I even met with some Chinese engineers working in Pakistan and had a friendly chat with them.

When it comes to food, one need not worry about eating anything “strange” in Pakistan. In fact, you would enjoy the cuisine.

For breakfast, we were usually served naan chana or paratha, and lassi to drink. Many of the dishes are actually quite similar to what we have in Malaysia.

All the hotels we stayed in Pakistan came with modern amenities and facilities. Some of these hotels such as Silk Route Lodge, Hunza Serena and Eagle’s Nest in Duikar had breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains so we took tons of pictures. We even climbed up a mountain to see the sunrise (you can also view the sunset at the same place) near one of the hotels.

Our last day was spent lounging around at Hotel Islamabad, which was a grand property. Security was very tight at the hotel, but that did not stop up from taking lots of photos and videos at the many photo-worthy spots around the place.

If you’re looking for a good destination to visit after the pandemic, I would definitely recommend Pakistan.

The views expressed are entirely the reader’s own.