What not to do!
Islamabad to Hunza, Gilgit Pakistan
A road trip that turned into a nightmare!
I woke up to an unforgettable smell with a startle. I tried to open my eyes wide to adjust to the surroundings.
Hard to believe, I found myself surrounded by sheep, goats and cows in the middle of a road.
That retching smell is still stuck in my mind to this day. It is more of a reminder of what unfolded that night than what the actual smell came from.
After a minute or so I realized that it was a ‘Bakra Mandi’ (a place with livestock for sale). The smell of those poor animals’ urine in the scorching summer heat was unbearable. The smell had not only filled our car completely, but it had permeated through our clothes as well.
The car had jolted me back from my sleep onto a strange road and city. I looked around and tried to close the windows. Since the air conditioner in the car was not working so I ditched the idea.
I had been travelling to Hunza by road every year for the Eid holidays and was familiar with the roads. But that night, that road and that Bakra mandi seemed odd.
The driver kept on pushing the car forward at a snail’s speed while drowning in the noise of the sheep and goats.
Trying to understand my surroundings I looked right and left for any sign boards on the road. A little further on the way I finally saw a sign board. To my horror it said MARDAN! We were roaming in PESHAWAR CITY!
Waking up to that smell in the middle of the night was absurd. Finding myself in a completely different city was even more shocking. I wanted to scream. For a second, I thought it was a kidnap.
I was not the only passenger in the car though. I was with my sister and three other passengers and one of them was a baby. We were supposedly on the way to Hunza on the auspicious occasion of the EID holidays from Islamabad. Peshawar was not on the list when we started from Islamabad.
The driver was a local from Hunza and he did not seem the type of a kidnapper. He had a dark complexion with thick eyeglasses. He glued to the edge of the seat while tightly holding the steering wheel.
While completely freaking out in my mind, I calmly asked the driver about our whereabouts. Nonchalantly with a casual tone, he said that he had been on the lookout since Islamabad for a turn to the motorway.
And he was still looking for it!
He did not seem to realize the gravity of the situation. He had brought us all the way from Islamabad off the course to a completely different city.
It felt like my worst nightmare! I thought maybe I was dreaming or something. Maybe he was just joking OR maybe he was mad.
My sister and I by this time had completely lost our nerves and quickly took out our Google Maps. Then we started giving directions anxiously until we were on the motorway in the right direction. We had to keep up. Ensuring that the driver didn’t wander off again. it was a very difficult task for us since we were so sleepy.
The driver was a typical person with an ego. Despite wasting our time and taking us to the wrong city, he was still unwillingly taking our instructions. He did not seem to take any responsibility for putting us through so much trouble and anxiety. Instead, taking orders from two girls seemed like an insult to him. But he was stuck with us and did not know his way either.
The road from Islamabad to Gilgit is not an easy route though. It is a bumpy road, to say the least. Maneuvering at night through the mountains is best left to the experienced drivers. The road goes through sleepy cities and silent towns in the wee hours. Piercing through rain at times with the gigantic mountains on one side and river on the other side.
Don’t get me wrong. If you are with a professional driver, you get to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery on the way. But if you end up with a driver like ours in an old worn-out car then you are in for an unforgettable trip full of lessons.
The car we had hopped in at the last minute in Islamabad was not our ideal choice. We had travelled from Lahore to Islamabad hoping to catch our flight to Gilgit. However, the last-minute cancellation left us stranded in Islamabad only a day before EID. We had two options. Either go back to Lahore or book a private car to Gilgit.
So, we requested our cousin in Hunza to check if there were any cars left for booking. All the cars and public transport were either fully booked or had already left. But there was this car going to Hunza and the driver was a friend of our cousin’s, and he was taking in passengers as well.
It did not occur to us to inquire about the kind of car or driver available at the eleventh hour. We were just overjoyed with the fact that we could still go to our home to visit our parents on the EID holidays. The car was scheduled to pick us up from the hotel at night around 10 pm.
While we were waiting outside the hotel for our ride, we saw two cars from across the road. One was a fairly new car (the type of car we had travelled in the past) and the other was an old broken-down car. So, the feeling of panic started to sink in. We debated which one was there to pick us for our difficult and long journey ahead of us.
The old shady looking manually operated faded red margalla car was coming towards us. Our ride had a broken side mirror, worn-out seats with no air conditioner and a nonoperational trunk lock!
We felt trapped. I asked my younger sister to take one last call. Or brave through the journey of 12 hours till we reached home without any complaints. She reluctantly decided to stick with this ride. We were desperate to reach Hunza and clearly did not intend to go back.
The decisions of the past few hours flashed back to mind while drowsily monitoring the map and the driver. But it was no time for regrets. We were on the motorway in the right direction thanks to the google maps. The driver seemed overconfident from that point onward. However, we did not believe a word he said. We kept on explaining the way to the driver.
Also, we gave one of our phones to the passenger in the front seat. So, he could guide the driver better with Google Maps.
That passenger looked a bit indifferent. He was travelling with his wife and child cramped with us in the back seat. He was least bothered by the events. Despite sitting in the front seat, he did not guide the driver and ended up in the wrong city in the first place.
We did not think it through while giving out one phone to him. We assumed he would be cautious given everything so far. We assumed he would guide the driver considering he was travelling with his family. But little did we know that he was as useless as the driver.
Usually, these private cars leave Islamabad around 10 pm. After 3–4 hours, they stop at a restaurant for washroom and food. Since we were late and scared of getting lost again, we thought it was best to not stop somewhere unnecessary.
But the rest of them did not agree. They stopped at some random roadside restaurant. My sister and I were not thrilled about it and decided to remain near the car. I was very sceptical about the driver’s capabilities. I feared that some silly thing to happen again.
And it did!
After a while, the driver had lost the car keys. My sister and I couldn’t believe it and were furious. Terrified and angry, I asked the driver to trace back his steps and look for the keys. We all started looking for the keys. After frantically searching for a while, luckily the driver found them where he had been smoking earlier.
Finally, we were on our way. We asked the driver to fill up the fuel tank and follow Google Maps without any further stops.
By that time my father had called us on our cell phone, and we had to lie about our journey so far. We only told him we were only late but on our way.
I had to take the responsibility of keeping the driver on track by being the night guard. Despite all these things, I still couldn’t keep my eyes open for long. After some time, I dozed off. The beeping sound of Google Maps (the sound when you take a wrong turn) woke me and my sister up.
The driver had deviated from his path. I was furious. I asked him to stop but he did not and insisted he was on the right path. I had to argue with him to stop the car by the road and ask someone for directions.
It was way into the night and there was hardly any traffic. After a while, a van full of live chickens was going in the same direction. I jumped at the opportunity and forced the driver to ask them where they were headed.
They informed us that that road was going to Kashmir!
To our shock, the driver had done it again. The driver was supposed to go straight but apparently, he had taken a right turn somewhere.
That was the last straw in the hat! After that, my sister did not let me sleep. We remained awake until we had reached Naran/Kaghan Valley by morning.
Since it was EID day none of the bazaars were open. My sister and I were extremely hungry by that time. Luckily, we found a van parked beside a small building. It was a local restaurant serving fresh hot breakfast. We finally took a break. Had a delicious paratha with egg and tea.
The day was bright with a beautiful blue sky. It brought us hope after an eventful night. From that point onward there were no turns to right or left. Only one way forward in the treacherous mountains. I told my sister that I needed some sleep as my head was aching from being on the lookout all night.
I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep. The car stopped frequently since the road was bumpy and the trunk would open after every jump. I kept on sleeping.
After what seemed like an hour, the sound of vomit woke me up. The poor child had thrown up in the car.
The car had to stop so the mother could clean the child and herself. I and the driver cleaned the car with whatever courage I could muster. The thought of a smelly car grossed me out. It had rained last night apparently where we had to stop the car. There was water gathered in puddles beside the road. There was no other vehicle on the road to take any help. So, we used that water and cleaned the car floor and seats.
By the time we were done, we were super late. We were on our way. On reaching Babusar Top, we had a herculean task in front of us.
Babusar’s top is at great height. And it has very tricky turns to get down to Chilas City. Some excellent driving skills are required to complete all the dangerous downward turns without getting the car.
The driver had a big ego and was not willing to admit his mistakes. It was clear that he was an amateur, but we still wanted to guide him. While trying not to offend his fragile ego and fearing for our lives, we started reading road signs out loud. Make sure that the driver listens. With lots of prayers and indirect driving tips, we had somehow crossed all the turning points. We were on the way to Chilas.
We were still approximately 130 km away from Gilgit city. We were still on the road and in the middle of somewhere. There were no phone signals.
Finally, after a few more hours when we reached Gilgit city, we got frantic calls from our parents. We only informed them that we had left Islamabad very late, so they do not worry unnecessarily.
Other passengers had to be dropped off first. So, we had to take a turn after reaching Gilgit city and went through a rough small street to their door. At their doorstep, another drama unfolded. They did not pay the agreed amount citing all the issues on the way.
While doing absolutely nothing to help during the night, they had the audacity to not completely pay either. The driver had a fight with them for a while but gave up in the end.
The driver had been reluctant to take directions despite his repeated mistakes. Not once was he was sorry for putting us in misery during the whole journey.
Finally, we were nearing the end of our journey after almost 16–18 hours on the road. The driver witnessing other passengers’ treatment of him had a change of heart. He realized his mistakes. He did not say sorry, but he did say thanks for the guidance. He admitted he clearly needed directions to reach Hunza. He also told us that he had driven after a long break in his life and had weak eyesight as well. It was not surprising to us at all at that point. Nothing was surprising anymore.
After reaching home it all felt like an amusing nightmare. We had a lot to tell our parents and cousins about the night journey.
Hi, I am Rubina. Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this article, try these next :)
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