Return to the tribal area’s

On arrival at the Chinese Embassy we see the notice sign immediately. Embassy is closed untill the 7th of October due to National Holiday. This is something we had not expected as it will cut our trip to the Karakoram Highway short. Bummer! But what can you do? We have a quick look at the map and decide to head to peshawar which is situated in the tribal area in the north west frontier province. The infamous Kyber pass that leads to Afghanistan can be visited in a daytrip from this city and from there we could make a side trip to the Himalayas. So off we went heading east towards the tribal area’s. The further east we drove on the remarkably good highway number 2, the less women we see. The few women we see are fully covered. We also see lots of military personel heading in the same direction and the men, some with huge guns, wave frantically as we pass by.

We decide to have a look at the famous Khan Club. A place where lots of foreigners meet or stay the night in the beautiful rooms.We hope we can bargain our way as the prices of the famous rooms are a bit above our budget. Situated in the old town the area doesn’t look ok and we park our car in front.A security men nods friendly as we walk in. The owner welcomes us friendly but has sad news. The place just closed today as there have been only a few visitors after the 9/11 disaster and the afghan war. We ask if the area is safe? Then he answers that at night the area is not safe and we have to park our car in a secure area. What to do? We look at each other and decide to stay the night in another safe hotel and see what tomorrow will bring. We have been to the tribal area in Baluchistan and if you stick to the rules, you should be fine. Then we meet Dennis en Vicky, two dutchies who are on a world tour. We decide to head for their hotel which has safe parkingfacilities. All night we sit on the roof, safe above the city, exchanging travel stories.