In the midst of life on the 'rooftop' of Pakistan

It's the majestic Karakoram Valley, reminiscent of the arduous journeys of camel caravans on the ancient Silk Road. It's the unique cultural nuances found on long-distance trucks, or the ethereal, cloud-like existence of life suspended in mid-air in the enchanting Hunza Valley… I came to Pakistan, as if to discover myself.

The Karakoram Challenge on the Silk Road

Originating from Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), the ancient Silk Road system stretched all the way to Rome in the early centuries AD. To transport goods from China to different parts of the world, caravans of camels once trudged arduously across towering, snow-capped mountains. In the past, merchants had to overcome two of the most dangerous stretches of road to bring rare and valuable goods to the prosperous trading cities of the time. One was the desolate and terrifying Pamir Mountains, and the other was the treacherous Karakoram Trail connecting Pakistan and Kashgar in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

While the Pamir Mountains, nestled in a secluded landscape, attract many Western bikers, the Karakoram Pass challenges the most fearless and daring, with its treacherous terrain that sometimes claims lives without warning. This mountain pass, situated over 4,730 meters above sea level, winds and twists through the gorges of the Karakoram Range, creating a majestic landscape along the Silk Road. Today, the Karakoram Pass is the highest paved international highway in the world, extremely treacherous and precarious, particularly susceptible to flash floods. Unpredictable weather has caused landslides, claiming the lives of thousands of workers involved in its construction.

To complete my Silk Road journey, I took a gamble and bought a one-way local bus ticket from Rawalpindi to the Hunza Valley, as the bus company didn't sell tickets for the return trip. Because the weather in Karakoram was so unpredictable, I didn't know if the bus would even depart for Rawalpindi on time. The bus departed at 9 PM daily and, if the weather was good, would arrive in Hunza at 6 PM the following day, covering nearly 700 km. The bus company required me to photocopy 10 copies of my Pakistani passport and visa to submit to security checkpoints, as this route, located in the Kashmir Autonomous Region, was fraught with uncertainties.

As the bus prepared to depart, a man in plain clothes, holding a small camera, quickly filmed the faces of the passengers. A Pakistani friend explained that, due to the country's instability, bus companies and sometimes the police would keep images of passengers to ensure their identity in case of trouble. I broke out in a cold sweat when I saw the long, hot gun always positioned beside the driver's steering wheel. These images confirmed the instability in Pakistan!

The bus traveled at a fairly high speed until dawn the next day, then stopped at a roadside inn for the driver to rest for about two hours. Afterward, they waited for daylight before embarking on the treacherous Khunjerab Pass. As soon as the sky began to lighten, the driver urged the passengers to get back in, having heard that light rain was about to fall ahead. In the Kashmir region, drivers fear the bus will be stranded for a whole week on this desolate road due to the constant, rumbling mountain rains that cause serious landslides.

On the way there, I was quite lucky to arrive in Hunza on schedule. But the return journey was truly perilous, with numerous vehicles having to turn back to Gilgit after half a day of driving, waiting for government rescue teams to arrive. The Karakoram Highway was completely blocked by hundreds of boulders, each weighing tens of tons. The transport company announced they didn't know when the road would be cleared. Passengers were told to wait, as clearing one section would likely lead to another becoming blocked. I stayed in Hunza for two more days, waiting for the Karakoram Highway to reopen once the snowstorm subsided.

Vehicles traveling halfway up the snow-capped mountains.

One of the surprises for me when I came to Pakistan wasn't the majestic landscapes, the enduring religious values, or any safety concerns, but rather the unique, tranquil cultural aspects that have flowed through everyday life for thousands of years. These were the vehicles that seemed to carry the entire mystical culture of Pakistan, traversing the slopes of the majestic snow-capped mountains.

In Pakistan, you'll be surprised to see, right before your eyes, the streets, highways, and winding roads shrouded in clouds, filled with the sight of large, colorful trucks. It's like a unique, mysterious cultural message that Pakistanis use to surprise and delight the world.

In Pakistan, many trucks and buses are stylized and vividly decorated by their owners. These special vehicles, known as Jingles, are even considered a unique art form in Pakistan. They are elaborately and meticulously painted, both inside and out. For long-distance trucks transporting goods from North to South or traversing the treacherous Karakoram Highway for sometimes months at a time, drivers treat them like their homes. They decorate the interior of the cabin, from the steering wheel, rearview mirrors, gear shift, to the seat cushions and ceiling, lavishly, creating a private "palace" for the drivers.

Many researchers have explored the unique cultural elements behind the elaborate paint schemes on trucks in Pakistan. They've even tried to explain how these abstract designs might influence the lives, culture, religion, and even the supernatural for long-distance truck drivers.

Tracing back through history, the tradition of painting on horse-drawn carriages dates back a long time in Pakistan, as well as in other South Asian countries such as Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh. These carriages were often used to transport aristocratic passengers. In 1920, the Kohistan Bus Company invited master carriage decorators from Ustad Elahi Bakhsh to decorate their buses to attract passengers. Gradually, they also sought out other artisans from Punjab, a region with many renowned artisans who had previously decorated palaces and temples of the Mughal dynasty. Today, with advancements in science and technology, the motifs are increasingly complex and detailed, clearly reflecting cultural elements from millennia ago as well as contemporary figures and events.

I was very curious about the patterns and designs decorating the long-haul trucks. It truly tells a rich and unique cultural story unlike anywhere else in the world. From the wheels, roof, undercarriage, and even the body of the truck, everything is adorned with mysterious motifs. I found it fascinating sitting in the truck slowly making its way up the Khunjerab Pass, at an altitude of 4,693 meters, the jingling sound of the chains under the chassis, interspersed with golden bells or heart-shaped rattles, very romantic. The driver explained that, besides decoration, the bells help the driver stay more alert while driving and ward off evil spirits and dangers lurking on the deserted roads like Karakoram.

The decorative patterns on the vehicles are very diverse, but Pakistani drivers usually divide them into five main groups:

1. Romantic motifs that celebrate life, such as Kashmiri landscape paintings, countryside scenes during harvest season, girls with radiant and expressive beauty, and romantic poems;

2. Elements from modern life, such as images of political figures or patriotic symbols;

3. Revered symbols such as mountain goat horns, Tibetan yak tails, and even traditional clothing and prayer flags at temples;

4. Abstract religious symbols such as eyes, patterns, or mascots like fish or peacocks;

5. Religious symbols or images such as Buraq - a celestial horse believed to have been ridden by the Prophet Muhammad upon his ascension to heaven.

The decorations also vary from region to region. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, is considered the capital of these unique trucks. Rawalpindi, Swat, Peshawar, Quetta, and Lahore each have their own style of decoration. Trucks in Balochistan and Peshawar tend to use a lot of wood, while those in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are more often plastic. After purchasing their trucks, owners take them to decoration shops to personalize their vehicles. The decorators will tailor the work to the owner's budget, aesthetic taste, and spiritual beliefs. Owners can spend between $3,000 and $5,000 USD on decorating their trucks.

These vehicles also represent the cultural, historical, and regional differences and customs in Pakistan. While in Vietnam, drivers often perform rituals to bless their vehicles on the 2nd or 16th of each lunar month to pray for safe journeys, in Pakistan, these colorful vehicles are like a surreal spiritual world, protecting people from the daily uncertainties on the roads high up in the snow-capped mountains.

Peaceful life in the Hunza Valley

Reading Greg Mortenson's novel, *Three Cups of Tea*, which chronicles the journey of connecting impoverished people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, filled me with a mixture of unease and longing to visit Gilgit-Baltistan. There, I've encountered remote villages notorious for banditry and state control that is merely nominal.

Gilgit is the capital of Kashmir and the largest city in northern Pakistan. About 50km away lies the Hunza Valley, a place where traditional Islamic life is preserved, offering breathtaking views of snow-capped mountains. Even Pakistanis dream of visiting this picturesque region at least once in their lifetime.

Sharoz is a doctor who brought his mother back to their hometown for about a week, and I managed to get to know him on that long bus ride. It had been three years since they had returned from Faisalabad to visit the place where he grew up and finished high school. According to Sharoz, Hunza is the land of kings and queens from the past, so life there is quieter and more peaceful than in the capital, Gilgit.

Shazon invited me to his home one foggy afternoon in the Hunza Valley. He said that the people here go to bed very early because of the constant power shortages, and every house has at least one or two generators on hand. The weather is bitterly cold at night. The mud houses perch precariously on the cliffs, scattered all the way to the swirling Hunza River below.

The people here live primarily on agriculture. Each family raises herds of up to hundreds of livestock of various kinds and grows crops for self-sufficiency or to sell at local markets, or to transport to Gilgit or neighboring areas of Kashmir. Some families are involved in tourism, but mainly in the spring when cherry blossoms bloom profusely on the snow-capped mountainsides, winding along the emerald green Hunza River.

I was invited by the Sharoz family to have dinner, enjoying a fragrant lamb stew beside a crackling fireplace where glowing embers burned. In that dreamy moment, I felt the strangely peacefulness of life in Hunza, a life lived halfway between worlds.

Additional information

Eleven things to keep in mind when traveling to Pakistan

1. Visa: You can apply for a tourist visa for up to 14 days at the Pakistani Embassy in Hanoi with the following documents: passport, 2 photos, employment certificate, and an invitation letter from Pakistan.

2. Flights: There are no direct flights from Vietnam to any city in Pakistan. Therefore, you need to book connecting flights through other Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, etc. Lahore and Karachi are two cities with many flight routes from Southeast Asian countries.

3. Public Transportation: Taxis, rickshaws, and buses are common forms of public transportation in Pakistan. Taxis and rickshaws, however, do not have meters; passengers usually negotiate the fare with the driver depending on the distance. Transportation costs within the city are quite cheap, about two-thirds of those in Vietnam, and you should still negotiate a bit with the driver to get a reasonable price.

4. Long-distance transportation: You can use airplanes, trains, high-quality buses, and local buses. If you have ample time and want to ensure your health and safety, you should use Daewoo buses, a very well-known high-quality bus company in Pakistan.

5. Cuisine: Pakistani cuisine is rich and diverse, and like some South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, it uses many spices. They love to eat chicken, beef, lamb, and goat. They don't use the skin, feet, wings, or head of chicken. Pakistan is also a fruit paradise, especially tangerines, bananas, apples, persimmons, and pomegranates. If you immerse yourself in the local culture, you'll find delicious milk tea everywhere, costing around 5,000 VND per cup.

6. Accommodation: Hotel prices in Pakistan are quite expensive and the service isn't very good. Pakistan doesn't have many hostels for backpackers; most accommodations are guesthouses with private rooms or standard 2-5 star hotels.

7. Photography: Locals love taking photos and are willing to take selfies with tourists anytime, anywhere. Even Muslim women are happy to take pictures with you, but only if they use their own cameras. Therefore, in this Muslim country, you can easily take great photos. However, it's always best to ask permission before taking pictures to gain the goodwill of the locals. Note that photography is prohibited in restricted areas, especially police checkpoints.

8. Electricity and Infrastructure: Electricity is a major problem in Pakistan. Almost every house has a generator because power outages are frequent, even in major cities. You can use a two-prong plug to charge electronic devices when needed. Roads in Pakistan are generally good, but some routes are severely degraded due to heavy truck traffic, especially the Karakoram Highway, which was built with Chinese aid.

9. People: Friendly, cheerful, and extremely hospitable.

10. Security: There are police checkpoints almost everywhere in Pakistan. On the streets, you'll also see police cars moving back and forth, fully armed. In front of every hotel, restaurant, and bank, there are one or two officers with their guns ready for use. I once passed through the jewelry district in Karachi and saw that almost every shop was heavily fortified and guarded with guns.

11. Inspiration: Read Greg Mortenson's *Three Cups of Tea* to get motivated before you set off!

Nguyen Hoang Bao: Lecturer, travel blogger

Having traveled to 72 countries and territories around the world, in 2017, this popular blogger, known by the nickname "Những Bước Chân" (Footsteps), continued his journey along the treacherous and unpredictable Karakoram Road in Pakistan. Behind the established rules, wars, terrorism, and the dangers of the terrain lies a warm Islamic spirit, the splendor of nature, and a vibrant cultural heritage. With this article, he continued his solo journey along the legendary Silk Road through Pakistan, a land still relatively unfamiliar to many Vietnamese. He still remembers the Pakistani saying: "No matter how turbulent the Hunza River may be, it still bows before the majestic Karakoram Mountains." Perhaps, despite many uncertainties, Pakistan is as peaceful as the spirit of its people!

Text and photos: Footsteps

The Thanh