BASHIR THE GUARD WITH PEON GAFOOR

Here are two wonderful men and take care of me... one guards the gate and the other runs around cleaning and organizing things. Neither speaks any english but this is never a problem. We just chatter way and smile a lot and in time the message always gets across.

MY TANDOOR AND COOK WAQAS

Now that we have a local cook hired for the house, we can get serious about the local cuisine. To do that, we had to get ourselves a Tandoor. My driver picked a used one up outside of town for $40 with all tools and a peon for an hour to set it up and teach us how to use it. It took two tries to get a good one. The first one was a sheet metal fake. This second attempt has a real ceramic liner and is cast into a metal drum with handles for easy transport. It is set up just outside the kitchen door attached to the natural gas line. It is really just a small kiln... and to prove the point, we incinerated our first meal. The key is to not get it too hot.... duh!

ISLAMABAD FISHING

Now that the winter has cooled things down a bit, the fish sellers are out. This one has set up along a stream in a residential part of town and has a good selection of fresh and salt water fish... all fresh and on ice. He told my driver that he is there every morning with a fresh load, selling to the public during the day and taking all the unsold fish to the restaurants in the evenings. For cut and and cleaned "chunks" of some unknown marine fish, he charges 440 rupees per kilo... that is about $2.37/lb.

SAJID'S FAVORITE BULL

My Kashmiri driver Sajid sent me this photo of his favorite bull...
now I think every man ought to have a favorite bull and this one is so
so pretty....yes? His house is in the background. I tried to see if
I could get him to locate it on Google earth, and though he knows the
area very well, he could not orient to the photo to locate the exact
building... but he got the village. He and I will go there in a few
months... takes only 4 hours to drive.

NEWS SILKS AND THE GOLD TIE

It is not often that I get new clothes... or even a picture of
myself... but here are both! I have been throwing out my old clothes
from Romania (and beyond) and replacing them with new custom tailored
silks. There are many fabric suppliers in Islamabad and after
crawling through a few, I discovered some really fine stonewashed silk
fabrics that feel and drape like the finest of suede. I buy the cloth
where I find it and take it to a local tailor who has my measurements
and makes pants and shirts to my exacting specifications. They feel
and look great and average about $20 each... about what I can buy a
pair of jeans for at Fred Meyers or Costco in the US on the discount
pile. I am still in my room at the guesthouse, though this week I
will rent a house and staff. Life is tough sometimes.... a guy has to
do what he has to do.

I am wearing my "GOLD" tie for luck since today will be supporting the
National Highway Authority in their negotiations for a large motorway
concession contract. I will try to save 10x their cost for my
services for the year.... that should put me on the right track with
them here.

CAR AND DRIVER OF KASHMIR

I now have Sajid Khan as my driver with his wonderful car. Imagine my surprise when here, far from the nearest ocean, he drives up in a Toyota HiLux "Surf"... it even has sailboats on the door! I had to have it. He is from Kashmir and knows how to get around there... so we have made plans to go exploring. Whenever I need to go somewhere, I call his cell phone and he soon arrives. This should be fun.... if he likes my music. His English is so-so.... but he smiles a lot and when I asked him if his liked reggae... he bobbed his head vigorously... my kind of guy.

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

PACKING THE HEAT

When you leave the guest house, you have to remember to take with you the important things... like this pair of AK-47s (or Kalashnikov). If it is a short trip outside the city, you can forget about the water.... but really, you do not want to be caught dead without your HEAT?

Islamabad, Pakistan

ALL TRAVEL BEGINS AND ENDS IN THE AIR

While I rarely take a window seat, preferring the aisle for easy access in and out, on rare occasions I find myself with a good window... no wing... no partner.... daylight flight... and wild scenery that can be seen no other way. Here I am with strong moonlight in the clear cold air of winter over the Chilkat Pennisula in southeast Alaska.... a flightpath I have taken over 300 times.