Karimabad

Our first shower after 2 weeks still had to wait until the next morning as we just arrived very late in the Concordia Hotel in Skardu. We were so tired after 7 hours of walking and another 7 or so hours of driving in the jeep that we went to bed straight away. We had the whole next day to shower for hours and relax in the beautiful hotel garden. The only “duty” we had was going to the Tourism Office again for some debriefing, which more or less meant to tell them that we came back from the trek alive. After this lazy day Sada, Eddy and I took the minibus to Gilgit and another bus from there to Karimabad. On the way our bus had a break down and we had to wait an hour in the midday heat before the driver got it fixed. 14 hours after having left Skardu we arrived at the “Old Hunza Inn”. It was a bit like coming home. Liaqat was there by then as well and their father, Mr Hussain also gave us a warm welcome.

The next 5 days we just enjoyed the views and the delicious food and spend the days eating, reading and sleeping. We walked around in Karimabad, everything quite unchanged since 2 years ago. Unfortunately tourists keep staying away from this paradise, which makes it difficult for the hotel and restaurant owners and shop keepers to make a living. We enjoyed the local food in the “Hidden Paradise” – a restaurant which makes traditional Hunza meals, which we already fell in love with when we were there the last time.

One very special event was organized for us by Liaqat. He invited us and the other guests at the hostel to have a special Hunza evening. First we had a multi course Hunza dinner in the “Hilltop Hotel”. After that there was a local band playing traditional music for us and Leo, Sada and their friends showed us how good Pakistani men can dance. We were all invited to join them and it turned out to be a very joyful and wonderful night.

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