Tyler Sharp
Leaving Lahore Behind
After such an eventful day yesterday, and a dead of the night panic stricken dream of intruders in our hotel room, I slept in a bit, and caught up on editing and writing. Being all packed up once again, we left Lahore to get back to Islamabad, where we are meeting our next guide, and then travel into a village in the mountains.
Along the way, we stopped at the Khewra Salt Mines, which is one of the oldest salt mines in the world. We took a rickety run away mine train 7 stories down into the caves, though it is 17 levels deep. Being caverns, they were quite cool, and were a refreshing break from the relentless sun. There were pools of water in the caverns 100 feet deep, and there was even an emerald cave that was brilliantly lit up. The downside was that our “cave guide” had a whistle, which he kept blowing at me and Brady for splitting from the group to get good photographs. Perhaps he expected us to cram together with everyone else to get a photo with our cell phone or something. We didn’t care what he had to say, especially because we don’t speak Urdu. The cave guide sounded like a bored foreign auctioneer when he spoke, and seemed to revel in blowing the whistle at us. He made me feel like I was 7 years old, in Kindergarten, and was doing something I wasn’t supposed to, like pulling a girl’s hair (though it is more likely that I would’ve been trying to kiss her instead. What can I say, my admiration for feminine grace began at an early age).
Rickety Run Away Mine Train
Salt Mine Bricks
Buck in a Cave
When we reached Islamabad, we had to re-pack once more to prepare for our next expedition, and managed to consolidate everything into one bag (not including camera gear). One the way out of town, we made a quick stop at the Pakistan National monument, which was a very beautiful and impressive structure. I went in alone to take some photographs, and Brady stayed in the car to make some phone calls. You could see all of Islamabad from a certain view point, and I was scolded a few times in Urdu by guards for trying to get unusual vantage points. Sometimes my rock climbing and kung fu background find their way into my photography methods, and account for most of the unusual angles that I am sometimes able to achieve.
Pakistan National Monument
Monument Posterior
Upon returning to the car, I learned that the phone calls Brady had been making were regarding our itinerary. He had decided that, given the recent occurences, he didn’t want to stay in Pakistan until the 14th anymore. Instead, he booked us flights to Cairo, Egypt! We will be there for 4 days, and will finally get to see the pyramids. I have wanted to go to Egypt since I was a small child, getting the whistle blown at me for kissing girls on the playground. I have always been fascinated by the Egyptians, and had delved into the history when I was younger. There are many good things you could say about Brady Knowlton, but one thing is for certain, he is a man of action, who gets things done quickly and efficiently. Needless to say, it was a very welcome surprise, and an added bonus to our additional destinations of India and Nepal next week. We have had an amazing trip in Pakistan, but I must say that I am a bit relieved to know that we are leaving a little early. But there is much to look forward to…
We discussed the potential activities in Egypt on the way to the mountains, an overnight cruise on the Nile being one of them, and basked in the fading light and agricultural beauty of rural Pakistan. We are going to stay in an old house in a village on the border of the Punjab and Frontier provinces, where I will be filming Brady’s wild boar hunt. It is a traditional style driven hunt, where “beaters” will fan out through the forest, playing drums, rattling spears, and singing and shouting to drive the wild pigs out of the woods, towards us. It sounds really exciting, and should make for some really interesting video.