Covering My Head in Pakistan

May 28, 2008 · 1 Comment 

Sitting on the plane from Kuwait to Islamabad, I kept wondering how big an issue wearing a headscarf would be – I am a woman entering a Muslim country after all. Friends who had been to Pakistan several years ago said they had been given bad looks for having their ankles showing and that they wore head scarves everywhere. I had a diaphanous, purple and blue scarf that I had bought in India with me. It was stuffed in my shoulder bag. I finally decided that I would wear the scarf draped around my neck over the light,... [Read more]

Trekking up Baltoro in Pakistan

November 4, 2007 · 2 Comments 

I had heard from trekking friends that the Baltoro Glacier, in the Karakorum Range in northeastern Pakistan, was one of the most beautiful places in the world. I just got back from there and they were right!

There are two mountain ranges, the Himalayas and the Karakorum, which contain all 14 of the highest 8000 meter (26,247 ft) peaks in the world. The Himalayas actually originate in Pakistan and can be seen from the KKH (Karakorum Highway), which is a barely passable road due to the frequent rock fall. Despite... [Read more]