Finally the Most Epic Adventure Tour Starts EP.01 | North Pakistan Motorcycle Tour
Assalam Alekum. Namaste. Sat Sri Akal to everyone from Islamabad, Pakistan. You can see the excitement on my face. We are resuming our travels after a long break now.
I have been missing the mountains for quite some time now. Didn't get to see any mentionable mountains during our Middle East tour. Even during the India tour, we focused on the main cities. Couldn't visit the north. Hopefully we will get a chance to go there very soon.
So I decided to utilize whatever time we have. Even my last tour in Pakistan's north was very detailed. So, the places that I haven't visited yet and would like to visit... This is the time to explore all those places with you.
According to our plan, we'll leave from Islamabad today and have our breakfast at some nice place. After that, we'll go towards Sharan forest or Shogran. At the moment, we don't know what the weather will be like along the way. No idea about the condition of track as well. We'll share with you everything that happens.
I think the traveling will consume our whole day. We have set up our luggage on the motorcycle. I'm traveling with this luggage system for the first time. That's why it will take a couple of days for me to get adjusted to this new system. During my India tour, I was traveling with Karthikeyan. But here, I'll be traveling with a very dear friend of mine; Ali Ahmed.
Let me introduce him. There he is. Karthikeyan was quite shy.
But we have been training Ali for the last couple of years. We also did a tour together in the past. It's been 2 years I think. Yeah. In my opinion, there are two people with whom I can travel anywhere.
One of them is Ali and the other is Karthikeyan. And here we have another dear friend; Atiq. He will join us ... Till Monal. For the breakfast.
It was long due... for so many years. Every time I would visit him, Monal was closed for some reason. I hope today we'll get a breakfast there.
You can see some more friends standing here. This is the guest house where we stayed last night. What's the name of this place? Comfort Lodge. It's a very nice place. This is G-5, right? Yeah.
In fact, it's G-6. Thanks very much. Lets get going and show you some new places. Allah Hafiz *Prayer for the journey* Allah... Please make this day, this journey and this tour, a memorable and problem free one for us. I'm feeling a bit anxious though...
Whenever I start a new tour after a break of 1-2 months... No matter where that is... Even if it's a short tour or a trip to any far off country ... The first couple of days are always...
You can feel the thrill associated with undertaking a new task. I have been receiving a lot of messages and comments. Everyone was asking me when am I gonna travel here again.
So I decided to spend 2 to 3 weeks here. Would be great to explore some new places. Islamabad is amazing.
Every time I come back to this city, it always fills my heart with pleasure. I lived here for 5 years from 2003 to 2008. This is the city where I completed my education. I did my Bachelors in Islamabad.
Right now, we are headed towards Monal. I think it's gonna be another half an hour before we get there. Check it out guys. We have reached this wonderful place after riding for just 15 minutes. It's like ... a city in the lap of mountains.
This zigzag road is nothing less than awesome. Really good for the motorcycles. So, our Monal breakfast has been served. It's my first breakfast here. As a matter of fact, this is our Take-2.
We did everything in the first take, only to find out that there was no audio. That's why we are doing it again. I still think the first take was really good.
I hope this second attempt is as good as the first one. There are two options here. The first option is continental breakfast. And the second one is desi/Pakistani breakfast. So I ordered a cheese omelette.
Along with halwa, potatoes and chickpea curry. And here you can see some parathas and puris. Here's Atiq. That's his favorite place because he comes here after hiking.
Most of the people in Islamabad come here after hiking, mainly on weekends. After developing an appetite due to hike... they sit here comfortably and enjoy their meal. We paid about PKR 1600 and that includes this juice as well.
Atiq, however, has ordered a lassi for himself. Other than that, tea and coffee are also among available options. I think the price is quite reasonable. Because you also have to take into account the value of this location. The temperature here is at least 5 to 6 degrees lower as compared to the city.
It was quite hot down there and we were sweating. We could hardly stand the heat. But we can feel a comfortable and slightly cool breeze up here. We are having a really good time here. This is something special about Islamabad and this place. Haven't experienced this in any other city in Pakistan.
That everything can get so pleasant, merely a 30 minute ride away. Let's do our breakfast now. Looks really nice. Hopefully it will also be very delicious.
Sir...lets start by the name of Allah... Starting with the puri. Thanks very much. Okay Atiq. Thank you very much. I have never been here before.
But Ali has been here a number of times before. So we'll be following him. That's gonna be really helpful for me. Otherwise, I'd have used my navigation here. Now we just have to follow Ali and ride alongside. This is a new route.
I haven't seen this one before. Some of you must have already been here; others not. So we'll try to show you this area. In this area, after every few kilometers... you get to see big resorts, cafes and restaurants.
That means this is a pretty busy area among tourists. We have now entered KPK. This is district Abbottabad ... or Haripur. I saw that on a board a few km back but I don't remember exactly.
Pir Sohawa... That's the name of this area. As you can see, we have been going through small villages one after another. The place is called Sanghra. I haven't been here before.
I always use the other road whenever I have to go to Nathiagali or Murree. Or even Kashmir for that matter. Ali is riding a GS 150. Many of my viewers from India and other countries might think...
GS150?? Because BMW doesn't manufacture it. Unfortunately, the taxes and customs duty in our country are so high... that middle class...
or even upper middle class can't afford a luxury motorcycle. For instance, I have 310. A 310 would cost about PKR 3 million in Pakistan.
That is around 10 thousand dollars. You can get the same motorcycle in about 4 to 5 thousand euros in Germany. In India, you might get it in about 3 to 3.5 thousand dollars. But here, the prices are almost three times as much.
That's why, not many people can afford to buy such motorcycles. Or even bigger cars. So, most of the people on motorcycles in northern areas have 150. However, you will see people on bigger motorcycles.
But their numbers are relatively lower in Pakistan. Look at these small villages. With beautiful traditional houses. The road has become even narrower now. Good Lord.. There's a big bus coming our way.
We have to make room for it. The best thing about today is that we are riding in very pleasant conditions. We are passing through a village for the first time today. This is a relatively flat section. You can see people doing agriculture here.
Other than this, we have been mostly passing through hilly sections. This is no doubt amazing... But you get tired easily from riding on narrow roads.
You have to fully concentrate on the road. And there are a lot of curves along the road. But the good thing is that it's not too hot here. Nothing in comparison to what we might have seen if we had taken the other route by Abbottabad. That would have been much harsher. Wow... I just noticed a beautiful waterfall down there.
Let's stop here for a minute. Ali... is that Sajikot waterfall? Let me show you the waterfall. Sure. Lets see the Sajikot waterfall. Have we already crossed the village? No. The Sajikot village is still ahead. Assalam Alekum Wa Alekum Salam How are you? Praise be to Allah.
What about you? Glad to see you in full gear with all the protection. Safe travels. There are two paths that originate from here. One of them goes to Abbottabad through Havelian. The other one reaches Abbottabad through Kala Bagh and Nathiagali. And that is the more scenic one. So we have decided to take that route.
However, it might take an extra 25 minutes or so. As soon as we ascend towards Nathiagali, it will start getting colder. I mean more pleasant weather. It's quite pleasant here as well. But it will definitely be colder up there with some rain as well. Secondly, there is good network coverage in this area.
Still the internet is very slow. Our messages get sent automatically at some points. So it's the bare minimum. Many of you have asked me to share this information. So I'll make sure to keep sharing similar info about every area that we pass through.
This is the road to Kala Bagh. Check out this amazing scenery. Exactly as Ali mentioned that the Kala Bagh road is really wonderful. Not many people take this road.
So, this is another good option if someone wants to travel to Nathiagali. It's slightly longer though... But it's pretty scenic. So, spending extra 15 to 20 minutes should be no problem. Particularly, for tourists like us. Wonderful too good.
The weather here is totally changed. That's too much variation in one day for me. Hot weather... Cold weather... Pleasant weather... all in one day... The only thing left is rain... and I can already feel raindrops falling now. Exactly as I predicted... It's very common to have rain in these areas in the second half of the day, in this season.
I think we have reached Kala Bagh. On our way to Nathiagali now. Assalam Alekum Excuse me.... Is there any petrol station here? Are you Abrar? Yes. I am.
I am a huge fan of yours. Thank you very much. You'll get fuel in Nathiagali. How far is that from here? Just a few kilometers. Sure? Or in Abbottabad. How far is Abbottabad from here? How much fuel do you have? Barely enough for 30 km or so. You should get it from here, then.
Thank you very much. I can't let you go like this. Please spend some time with us. We are already getting late. What's your name? Faizan.
Thanks very much, Faizan. Not at all. You'll have to have a cup of tea with us. Looks like you are not gonna let us go. Ali, fancy a cup of tea? How did you like Nathiagali? It's great.
I've come here for the first time, even though he has been asking me to come here for a year now. He even asked me to come here on a motorcycle. But I was like... No... So many tourists come here now. I'm sure you are my huge fan. Of course I am. What's your name? Gul Nadeem. I have subscribed to your channel and I follow all your travels.
Where are you from? Peshawar. These are my kids and they are your big fans. What's your name? Arifeen... and Tashfeen... Where are you from? From Bagh. Look at the monkeys of Murree and Nathiagali.
These are one of the main tourist attractions here. You'll see a crowd of tourists gathered around monkeys here. This is a tourist spot known as Hanoi. I can see a lot of people here. We can also stop by if we find a suitable place.
Most of the people are chilling by the river side. We have finally reached Abbottabad. I told Ali to go to Ilyasi mosque. He knows the way already. Hopefully we'll be there shortly. This is a very busy area. That's why the last few kilometers took more time.
And it was like hard work for us as well. This is a street food market. I can see chapli kebab and similar items.
Let's stop here. Assalam Alekum. Let's park here. Finally, we are in the famous Ilyasi mosque of Abbottabad. Right now we are in the food street, next to the mosque. The pakorras here are really famous. Every time someone asks me to come to Abbottabad, they don't forget to mention the Ilyasi mosque and these pakorras.
Ilyasi mosque is the oldest and biggest mosque in Abbottabad. It has a capacity of about 10 thousand people. It was built in 1932. It is said to have been built by a water stream.
These pakorra vendors here seem to be the oldest one in this market. Let me ask them. They may have some info for us, which I'm gonna share with you all. What's your name, sir? Asad. How old is this shop? It's really old. It's the oldest shop here, dating back to when there was no other shop here.
Back then, it was the only thing here; no house no shop existed. Now I can see a few shops here. Now, there are plenty of shops here. I'm talking about the time when there was neither any house nor any shop here. And I'm talking about this whole area. Okay. We'd like to try your best pakorras.
Give us a plate. Have a seat. Thanks very much. What's in this chatni? This chatni is made from amchur. What's that? Well that is made from unripe mangoes. Oi see.
Other than that, it has salt and spices. Thank you very much. The pakorras have been served so I thought to ask about the ingredients. Mouth watering... And I'm hungry as well.
So I am gonna try it and share with you as well. I just posted a story on Instagram. And since then I have received dozens of messages recommending pakorras. So we thought to give it a go.
Are you here for me? Assalam Alekum We found you after seeing your motorcycle. Wanna try these pakoras? Please keep eating. We don't want to inconvenience you. These pakoras are really delicious. This chatni is too good. Thank you Abdul Rahman. Hopefully next time. You'll have to excuse us today. .
Right now, we are passing through the center of Abbottabad. This same road will go to Balakot and Naran. So, we'll just have to follow this road. It's almost evening time and that means rush hours. That's slowing us down.
These days, people use the motorway and don't really use these roads. But I still remember the times... When traveling from Balakot to Islamabad would take up to 5 hours due to traffic. Presently, the motorway has made life much easier for people.
So they don't have to come inside the city. The weather has changed once again. It's getting windier. There's a very light drizzle as well. Let's see how far we can get. If we get to some place with a suitable hotel...
we'll stay there for the night. We can resume the ride tomorrow. So, we are in Balakot now. I can see numerous hotels by the riverside. This looks like a nice location. Also, there is not much visible at this point in the evening.
The river is right this side. Behind these restaurants. Well... that's the hotel. Thanks to Allah...
After a long day, we are finally here. Assalam Alekum Finally, at 10 in the night... After riding for 10 hours... We are in Balakot now.
As I mentioned before, there are many resorts here in this whole strip. The name of our hotel is Cordillera Resort. We've got a room here. All the resorts here are quite similar. They looked very similar from the outside. The room itself is pretty nice.
There's a clean washroom. I think it's gonna be a comfortable stay here. Regarding rates...
Wherever I called or went to... The rates are in the range of 12 to 20 thousand per night. I'm not sure if there is any variation in these rates. When I asked the hotel guys, they told me that there is not much variation. Except for Eid, when there could be a variation of a couple of thousand rupees. Otherwise, it's pretty much fixed.
We are now thinking about going for dinner. What do you say Ali? Sure, why not. He seems tired. Look at him. Let's go and have dinner. Thank you.
This is our dinner. Let me show you the food. Please take a close up shot. This is boneless handi. Is that right? Yes. I just had to check.
This is malai boti. This is our dinner tonight. Our breakfast was quite nice.
And so were the pakorras. Hopefully, our dinner is also gonna be great. Overall, we had a great day. What do you think? It was actually a great day. The ride was good.
I think our route was wonderful. It was a tiring day. But I think it's gonna be a couple of days. Since I had a long break, it's gonna take a few days to adjust. I hope you must have enjoyed this vlog.
Keep praying for me. Don't forget to Like, Subscribe and Share. See you soon again. Allah Hafiz
2023-08-03 09:51
