KATHMANDU TO LONDON WITH ENCOUNTER OVERLAND 24th AUGUST – 22nd NOVEMBER 1976
Our ‘group’ gathered, met and stayed at the Kathmandu Guest House prior to the start of The Trip. While cheap and basic, it had a reputation for providing safe accommodation.
24th August, 7.30am Day One: Packing the trailer in preparation for leaving the Kathmandu Guest House in Thamel Street. Note the unpaved, muddy drive. These days it’s much more upmarket, paved & landscaped!
1
RXP 586, ‘Our’ truck, with a blue fire engine cab and a Perkins diesel motor - our home for the immediate future. As the trip progressed it was commonly referred to as ‘The Beast’.
Getting water for washing up – we always treated and used our own to help prevent illnesses.
2
Saturday 28th August: Khajaraho Temples “located in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, Chatarpur District, about 620 kilometres southeast of New Delhi.”
Sunday 29th August: on the way to Delhi from Khajaraho – major bridge washout so we and the truck crossed by 2 very flimsy crafts joined together to form a ferry!
3
The Grand Trunk Road “For more than two millennium this legendary road has linked the eastern and western regions of the Indian Subcontinent, running from Chittagong in Bangladesh through Howrah and across North India into Peshawar, Pakistan and onto Kabul in Afghanistan”.
The Grand Trunk Road with trunk. And yes, this narrow strip of road was still ‘The Grand Trunk Road’
4
Street scene somewhere in Northern India
At one stop, the woman were sitting in the back of the truck surrounded by curious locals and, amid much laughter and shouting, a man handed Phil the above piece of paper. Phil obligingly asked if any of us wanted to volunteer. There were no takers.
5
Locals watching the evening entertainment – Us! Stopped to camp for the night in what we thought was an isolated spot but within minutes were surrounded by locals. They stood or squatted for hours, watching our every move and occasionally snickering amongst themselves. And yes, going to the loo was a major issue
Lunch on the Grand Trunk Road. One of our 90 odd lunch stops during the trip. Again, the locals literally materialised out of nowhere. Here we discovered we were also surrounded by marijuana bushes.
6
Monday 30th August: Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. A white marble mausoleum built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It took over 20 years to build, commencing in 1631/32.
The Taj from the entrance gates
7
One of the two buildings flanking the Taj Mahal. Both were identical structures built of red sandstone in contrast to the white of the Taj
Monday 30th August: Entrance ticket to Taj Mahal – Note the 1½ paise per head. In 2012 it’s 750 Rupees a head for non-Indians!
8
Saturday 4th September: “The Gang,” From far left: ’Big Jane’, Sheelagh, Yusa’ (Houseboat owner’s son, getting a lift back to Srinagar), Michael (obscured) Anne, Toni, Annette, Lyn, ‘Little Jane’, Moira, Kathy, Liz, Kevin, Front: Teena and me (with head turned). Phil, our driver, has his head in ‘The Beast’ - a typical pose. The photo must have been taken by Rolfe.
Saturday 4th September: All very hopeful - Michael and Kevin loading the trailer –Look at the size of our sleeping bags!
9
Jane, Sheelagh, Michael and Yusaf. We seem to be “Waiting” - for what? Maybe ‘The Beast’ had to go off to find a repair shop again?! Then, finally in the truck and waiting to go!
10
Lunch - somewhere in Kashmir. From left: Sheelagh, Kevin, Kathy, Annette, Anne, Lynn.
Dishes – somewhere in Kashmir. From left: Moira, ‘Big Jane’, Michael, Ann and Sheelagh.
11
Filling water containers from a well near Jammu
On the road again, hopefully to Kashmir – these men were clearing a recent mud slide. Himalayas in the background
12
A valley on the way up to Kashmir.
Sunday 5th to Friday 10th September: Finally in Srinagar. We stayed on 3 houseboats on Dal Lake and travelled across and around the lake by Shikara.
13
Note the names of the shikaras: ‘Khyber Pass’ and ‘Apollo 11’.
“Our” Houseboats: The Montreal was large and modern; the Young Goodluck was older but adequate; and at the far left is the oldest and plainest, Green Mountain, which Annette and I shared with a too friendly water rat.
14
All our meals were served on the Montreal. Note the tall standing flower arrangements. From left: Kathy, house boat staff, “the Boss” Gulam Nabi Khan, ‘Little Jane’ hidden by the flowers, Moira, Teena and Kevin.
From left: 2 houseboat staff (possibly sons of Gulam Nabi Khan?), Anne, Phil, Lynne, Yusaf, ‘little Jane’, Chris & Toni.
15
Phil, trying on a fox skin coat watched by the salesman and an ‘admiring’ Kevin.
Tuesday 7 September: Afternoon tea at the Moghul Gardens on Dal Lake. From left: Rolfe, Chris, Toni, Annette (obscured), Liz, Cathy, Lynne, ‘Big Jane’, Moira, Michael.
16
Wednesday 8th September, Gulmarg where we went pony trekking. From left: ‘Little Jane’, Annette, Toni, Michael, Sheelagh
A street scene in Jammu on the way to or from Kashmir.
17
A camel train passed while we were camped on the banks of the Indus somewhere in Northern India - Pakistan.
15th September, The Khyber Pass
18
One of the many watch towers in the Khyber Pass
Afghanistan?
19
Afghanistan and the back of the truck, aka ‘The Beast’.
Joint venture: Phil was under ‘the Beast’ and Kevin was checking out the tyre, the axle or whatever was holding it on, somewhere in Afghanistan
20
Locals gathered to watch the entertainment.
A business card from Chicken Street, Kabul.
21
Friday 17th September General view of Bamiyan looking across to one of the Great Buddhas
Post Card of ‘The Great Buddha’, Bamiyan, Afghanistan. 53 metres high
22
The Great Buddha, more worn than the previous postcard view. Monks used to live in the hand hewn caves in the cliffs. Very intricate set of halls, stairways and homes.
View of Bamiyan looking from the priest holes by the side of the Great Buddha back over the valley. Very typical Afghani scenery, barren hills with fertile valleys following a creek.
23
Sunday 19th September: The natural limestone lakes in Band-i-mer, Afghanistan. Series of 6 gloriously blue lakes that feed into each other. One of the Natural Wonders of the World
24
Back in Bamiyan - Michael, Sheelagh and me being locals and watching the world go by.
In Bamiyan: the owner of our ‘accommodation’ on his very beautiful horse.
25
Roadside scenes on “Bloody Assam’s” shortcut from Bamiyan back to Kabul – it took 3 hours longer!
26
A camel train in transit on “Bloody Assam’s” shortcut back to Kabul. Note condition of ‘road’.
Fat tailed sheep.
27
From Friday 1 October – Tuesday 12 October – Our campsite in Mashad, Iran
Mashad campsite, ‘My’ Pi Dog and Rolf’s tent.
28
Mashad campsite and ‘The Beast’ – an immovable object for nearly two weeks!
Javad - Mashad
29
Post Card: Kurds on the way to Shiraz
Saturday 16th October, reached Shiraz - Maydane Shahrdari ‘Square’ Shiraz, Iran
30
Near the shiraz campsite – a local Kurd and his wife
Me, Jane and the deer the Kurdish man’s wife had on a string.
31
Thursday 21st October: Our turn to cook so Toni, Annette and I went shopping in Shiraz. Annette found the fruit laden donkeys.
32
Post Card: The streets of Antalya, Turkey
Post Card: The Ampitheatre in Side, Turkey, with seating for 25,000 people.
33
Post Card: The interior of the Ampitheatre at Aspendus, Turkey
Post Card: Side, Turkey
34
Pamukkale, Turkey. The baths where Queen Apolonis bathed in the year 190 BC. Marvellous place. We explored the travertine levels and swam here amongst the ruins.
Monday 8th November. Post Card: Ephesus
35
Tuesday 9th – Sunday 14th November: Istanbul. Lunch at a restaurant on the Bosporus. Toni and Annette were back!
Me, decidedly bleary eyed after a few reds, escaping the cold and ‘captaining’ the ferry.
36
The Hoi Poloi freezing on the decks below.
Post Card: The fortress and the Bosphorus
37
Monday 15-Tuesday 16th November. Post Card: Passed through Greece.
38
Post Card: Passed through Bernau am Chiemsee, a municipality in Bavaria, Germany. We camped in the snow in Austria or Germany – it certainly didn’t look like this!
Monday 22 November 1976 Ostend! And the end of the line and the queue for the ferry to England!
On a cold, damp night, Monday 22 November 1976, ‘The Beast’ driven by Philip Colbert, delivered us safely to the back of Victoria Station, London, at 11.00pm.
39