From Estonia with love (Round the World awesome ADVenture!!)

[beamertwin]

Hi,
Thanks for stopping to take photos, then share them and your thoughts and insight with us.
Your ride report raises the level of quality.
Outstanding.
Paul

[bhogalrajnish]

What a journey, you have re defined the definition of travel. Wonderful, You have given me my wallpapers for the times to come.


May I ask what photography equipment are you using ?

I would love to buy a BMW some day and travel like you guys.

Regards
Raj

[tsiklonaut]

Originally Posted by tylerjwhite

If you get a chance to go there, the Mongolian steep and Kyrgyzstan is one of the most amazing places I have ever been to. I would give anything for the opportunity to be there again with a motorcycle and time.

We hear you, but if we want to save funds for Africa we won't make it there no matter how much we want. Maybe some other time!

Originally Posted by bhogalrajnish

May I ask what photography equipment are you using ?

I would love to buy a BMW some day and travel like you guys.

Raj,

We're using Canon PowerShot G11 (small point-and-shoot) camera.

I'm sure you'll have a BMW (or some other, similar big trailie bike) someday, looking how fast India is growing on both fronts: popularity of motorcycle travelling and the incomes among local people.

Be safe,
Margus

[tsiklonaut]

Soon enough we realised that the words of the guest house owner in Karimabad were true - Hunza indeed had some sort of magnet that did not want to let go of us. We had thought of spending there a couple of days, but ended up staying a whole week.

It was a relaxing time. The mountain views, good food and pleasant atmosphere all contributed to recharging of our batteries and harmonizing of our brain waves. Positive thoughts towards the future returned to us. It was a total zen, if you like.

The weather, actually, was nothing too special. Hunza is a relatively dry place, so that even during the monsoon season there is not much rainfall. Maybe it is due to the climate change that while we were there it rained two days in a row so that we could barely get out of our room. When the rain stopped, however, the receding clouds and the mingling light showed us the mountains at their most spectacular.

Light play...































A white 25 000+ft top almost revealing itself...















Ultar II, clouds above and below it.
































Panorama of Hunza valley's steep rocky sides (click to enlarge).













The view...















Panorama from Ultar canyon (click to enlarge)

Since there is not much precipitation, all life in Hunza depends on the glaciers and the meltwater. Without there would not be much more than rocks and sand. But as long as the glaciers are there (and there are loads of them in the area!), the friendly folk of Hunza may continue telling stories of their ancient kingdom while drying apricots on their roof tops. The apricots of Hunza are famous all over Asia, as well as the walnuts grown there.

Hunza ismaili-muslim playing a traditional instrument in Karimabad.















Apricots drying on the house roofs.















And walnuts are still ripening...

A long time ago, there were actually many kingdoms in this area. When Marco Polo visited in the 13th century, he said the place was "noisy with kingdoms". The kingdom of Hunza is however one of those few that have left a tangible heritage - both physical and cultural which is still visible today. It is interesting to point out that officially Hunza only adhered to Pakistan and the status of its ruler was decreased to a district official in 1974. The locals, however, are still fond of the old times and their ruler, and do not really think of themselves as of Pakistanis.

One of the more prominent reminders of the glorius past is the 13th century fort overlooking the village of Karimabad. It has played host to many a ruler, and the last one to live there only moved out to more modern quarters in 1945. The fort has seen many additions and modifications since it was originally constructed. In the 17th century for example, the ruler married a daughter of the king of Baltistan, who brought a bunch of masons as a dowry. This resulted in many Tibetan style additions to the fort, and this is probably why it is now called the Baltit fort.

Baltit fort in Hunza valley.















Wall of the fort.















Panorama of Baltit fort (click to enlarge).















Fort is a combination of rock and wood - not just to stand the invasion, but also to stand the earthquakes - earth shakes in this region almost every 3 minutes!













Rock and wood in their fusion - surrounded by bluish white peaks.















Windows or doors?















Typical village architecture in Karimabad.















Artistic (and old!) wood carvings in a dwelling's doors.

Right behind the fort stands the mountain Ultar II. Not to become too relaxed, we decided to go for a walk into the canyon that leads to it. It was a true scramble and a strenuous walk uphill before we even reached the canyon, but once we were there we could really appreciate the vertical realm of it. There must have been a straight 100 metre drop from the track that had been blasted right into the rock wall, the meltwater torrent raging at the bottom.

Kariina climbing up (like a special forces squad member in her muslim dress? )














The path is carved into vertical canyon with explosives and supported by loose (!!!) rocks. Scary but also stunning to walk there with some 100+ meters of straight drop beneath your own feet.













Local flora - is that where the toothpicks come from??? :)















Panorama from the trail - see the depth from r/h side with the river and full grown trees below (click to enlarge).

When we got back to Karimabad we were exhausted, so we treated ourselves to a nice Hunza lunch. Hunza cuisine is pretty exemplary, with mostly local ingredients giving it the unique taste. Here are some examples.

Apricot soup.















Chapsuro, also known as Hunza pizza, where filling is fried into chapatis.














Burus berikutz - chapatis filled with local soft cheese (burus) mixed with mint and coriander. Apricot kernel oil on top of it gives it an extra aromatic punch.













Hoilo garma or potatoes with spinach and chapati strips (reminded us of some home food).

While we were in Karimabad, a wedding was taking place with celebrations lasting several days. Here is a short video of some funky muslim dancing on the street - the band is playing live in the back of that small bus:

And for those with specal interest in the sound of it, here's the better quality sound file:

.:: LISTEN ::.

[timk519]

[ac_elite]

Originally Posted by tsiklonaut

We had thought of spending there a couple of days, but ended up staying a whole week.

It was a relaxing time. The mountain views, good food and pleasant atmosphere all contributed to recharging of our batteries and harmonizing of our brain waves.



Not to become too relaxed, we decided to go for a walk into the canyon that leads to it.

God forbid anybody reading the Ride Report or the two lovely protagonists living it would start getting too relaxed in this adventure.

Originally Posted by tsiklonaut

Kariina climbing up (like a special forces squad member in her muslim dress? )

I love this one, its the Estonian undercover Matahari-Ninja, and actually she's relaxing......

Margus,

Were you able to do any more permanent repairs on the bike, or right now it is basically tuck-taped, until you get an appropriate fix?

You mentioned Dubai, are you planning for Dubai? Can you cross form Iran in Abadan to make it to Kuwait and South on the peninsula, or is there a boat service from Pakistan? Somewhere around Bandar-e-Abbas, the flood seems to be more in the NW than South. I am curious?

Take good care of each other.

Thank you so much for sharing.

[tylerjwhite]

Originally Posted by tsiklonaut

We hear you, but if we want to save funds for Africa we won't make it there no matter how much we want. Maybe some other time!



Be safe,
Margus

When I win the loto we will both go. Who knows it may be feasable some day in the future. The best of luck and...

EVERYONE THAT CAN, PLEASE SUPPORT THEIR TRIP BY GOING TO PAYPALL AND GIVING THEM SOME GAS OR TIRE MONEY. Think of it this way, you help this thread become even more awesome and go longer with better pictures if you support their adventure.

Thanks Margus.

Tyler

[Hootowl]

With the rain and floods in Pakistan in the news, I hope our two friends are OK.

[lovebikes]

Originally Posted by Hootowl

With the rain and floods in Pakistan in the news, I hope our two friends are OK.

They r OK as far as the rains and floods r concerned apart from the thing that they will be stuck there for a while. There is another problem they r having right now but lets wait for the update and hear it from them. It concerns bike so no worries pls.

[kwakbiker]

where you question windows or doors, could they be plates that hold the fort walls in position with a rod running to the other side , we have similar things here in the uk on older cottages/houses

[timk519]

Originally Posted by lovebikes

It concerns bike so no worries pls.

I can see the bike on the operating table now....

[tsiklonaut]

Originally Posted by ac_elite

Were you able to do any more permanent repairs on the bike, or right now it is basically tuck-taped, until you get an appropriate fix?

You mentioned Dubai, are you planning for Dubai? Can you cross form Iran in Abadan to make it to Kuwait and South on the peninsula, or is there a boat service from Pakistan? Somewhere around Bandar-e-Abbas, the flood seems to be more in the NW than South. I am curious?

Take good care of each other.

Thank you so much for sharing.

Thanks for the PM!

Yes, our GS really is like a duct-taped-up version of a bike now and we're basically limping instead of riding. All water and dust comes into the left pannier, which is bent, cracked and dented after the accident in Pakistan. Rear subframe is quite badly bent - it's kind of awkward to ride the bike with the seat feeling funny off the normal position. Bike has started to surge - for the first time - looks like a poisoned lambda sensor from the Indian and Pakistani fuel. Surging, it's a bit annoying if our bike has been silky-smooth all the time of those 118 000 miles we've ridden with it and now it's surging for the first time. Spark plugs were colored bright red (!) when I took them off for inspection - lot of s*it in the fuel here (leaded fuel most of the time) and the fuel is around octane 80-85, not much more - lots of valve noise under pressure, but fortunately our robust oldschool boxer eats anything given so far. Really hope to give a good carbon-deposit cleaning in UAE with proper high octane fuel and try to find a new lambda sensor, sync TBs and get it back into the smooth running side.

So, the plan is to get to UAE if we get the Iran visa. Yes, there is a working ferry service between UAE and Bandar Abbas in Iran, but no other passenger lines that we know of, so the only way is to go through unstable South Pakistan (security issues lately and now floods) and to Iran. If we don't get Iranian visa then the options will be few, one to get China visa and organize an escort through China to Kyrgyzstan, then the Tajik-Uzbek-Turkmenistan route and hope we can get Iran visa from any of those countries. Other, probably the safest option is to ship from Karachi in Pakistan to UAE/Dubai port with a shipping company - that'll be way too much hassle and waiting. Both are $$$ for our limited budget.

Today I got the approval from Tehran to get the visa, but ironically Kariina still hasn't got one while we applied the VISAs together - we're married and with the same nationality and same passports. Strange organizing of VISAs in Iran!

Let's see how it goes… Too many IFs in the air and our future is dark with bike's technical issues (more about it later in our coming reports).

Originally Posted by kwakbiker

where you question windows or doors, could they be plates that hold the fort walls in position with a rod running to the other side , we have similar things here in the uk on older cottages/houses

You may be quite right. By some measurements, ground shakes almost every 3 minutes in Karakoram mountains, since the Indian subcontinents is still ramming Asian plate there (that created the mountains, ...and Earthquakes!) so they built their buildings knowing earthquake can hit any time.

Originally Posted by timk519

I can see the bike on the operating table now....

The problem is - there are no proper operating tables in Pakistan for big foreign bikes :(

[ReeksyOfOz]

Hi Margus

My wife and I spent a day camped next to you guys with our Defender in the sweltering Broome heat last year (before we got a few nights free in a hotel )

Good to see you're still travelling well, taking superb photos and writing great reports. Even if there has been the occasional mishap, it's all part of the adventure i'm sure.

Ride on!

[tsiklonaut]

Originally Posted by ReeksyOfOz

My wife and I spent a day camped next to you guys with our Defender in the sweltering Broome heat last year (before we got a few nights free in a hotel )

And we remember you guys - with a Defender, with reinforced axles and a taste for a proper beer!

[tsiklonaut]

Originally Posted by ReeksyOfOz

Even if there has been the occasional mishap, it's all part of the adventure i'm sure.

Those words are golden.

Take care you two,
Margus and Kariina