Category: Americas and Eurasia and Africa

Triple K “expedition” (#18 in teaser series: crash-landed, then reborn – as a cafe)

Published June 17, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#18 in teaser series: crash-landed, then reborn – as a cafe)

Fixed-wing aircraft have never been able to land at the spectacularly-sited Shangrila Resort.

Nonetheless, one such passenger plane is there, and has for many years been one of the resort’s signature features.

Circa 30 minutes driving distance from Skardu, the resort has a heart-shaped lake, faux-Chinese buildings, and landscaped gardens – all of which are dwarfed by the surrounding Karakoram peaks.

Its most incongruous “attraction” is the resort’s cafe: a 1947-vintage Douglas DC-3.

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Triple K “expedition” (#17 in teaser series: Skardu “International” Airport)

Published June 16, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#17 in teaser series: Skardu “International” Airport)

For most of its visitors, Skardu is the “gateway” to the Karakoram – the world’s second-highest mountain range.

Arguably, the Karakoram is even more spectacular than the Himalaya; having experienced both, I reckon the Karakoram takes the metaphorical “biscuit”, handsomely.

All fourteen of the world’s “recognised” 8,000 metres+ peaks are in either the Himalaya or Karakoram; my beloved and I have seen at least six of them.

Most of the Karakoram is in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region.

At 2,230 metres ASL, Skardu’s airport sits just slightly above the bottom of a deep valley.

The pictured tarmac is two metres higher above sea level than is the Australian continent’s highest peak.

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Triple K expedition (#16 in teaser series: “killer mountain”)

Published June 15, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K expedition (#16 in teaser series: “killer mountain”)

This post’s hero is the westernmost major Himalayan Peak.

Nanga Parbat (8, 126 metres above sea level) is “our” planet’s 9th highest mountain.

Flights from Islamabad to Skardu pass by Nanga Parbat’s western and northern sides.

In terms of how it stands in relation to the terrain around its base, Nanga Parbat is enormously taller than Everest.

It is often credited as offering an appropriately-located human’s eyes the greatest amount of uninterrupted, solid “up” that a human can see, anywhere.

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Triple K “expedition” (#15 in series: Pakistan’s “Canberra”)

Published June 14, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#15 in series: Pakistan’s “Canberra”)

Whilst nobody who is familiar with both cities would ever mistake one for the other, Australia’s and Pakistan’s capital cities share many key characteristics.

Each was meticulously sited and planned.

Canberra is a deal smaller than Islamabad, but both have relatively modest populations – much smaller than several other cities in Australia and Pakistan.

Each is a young, inland city, established in the 20th century as a “showcase” national capital.

Like Canberra, Islamabad is spacious, with an uncommonly large amount of “green” and quasi-“natural” open space.

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Triple K “expedition” (#14 in teaser series: Lahore Fort’s picture wall)

Published June 13, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#14 in teaser series: Lahore Fort’s picture wall)

Arguably, India’s Taj Mahal is the most world’s most sublime building.

However, Agra is not the global hotspot for prime examples of Mughal architecture and its decoration.

Lahore – Pakistan’s second largest city – has the largest number of bona fide “jaw-dropping” Mughal constructions.

(I think Lahore is also a much more generally-rewarding/likeable destination than is Agra)

The last Mughal mosque – the world’s largest mosque, when constructed in 1671-73 – is in Lahore.

Lahore’s Old City is much less frenetic than Old Delhi, but the former is much the richer, architecturally.

Agra’s Red Fort is stupendous, but Lahore Fort is even more so.

Above, you are looking at merely a small section of Lahore Fort’s picture wall.

The world’s biggest such “mural” occupies circa 6,600 square metres of the fort’s exterior.

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Triple K “expedition” (#13 in teaser series: bigger than London)

Published June 12, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#13 in teaser series: bigger than London)

Almost any “educated” Australian could easily locate the United Kingdom’s largest metropolis on a globe or a map of the world, sans-index.

Many, however, would struggle to “find” Pakistan’s second-biggest city.

Lahore houses many more humans than does London

Both cities are fascinating, sophisticated, culturally rich.

I took the photo from a UNESCO World Heritage listed “Paradise Garden” which is at least 375 years older than the commuter trains which now zip past it, every few minutes.

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Triple K “expedition” (#12 in teaser series: roll over, John Cleese)

Published June 11, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#12 in teaser series: roll over, John Cleese)

Monty Python’s Flying Circus premiered John Cleese’s “The Ministry of Silly Walks” in 1970.

The sketch satirically skewered British bureaucracy’s upper echelons.

More than a decade earlier, India and Pakistan had already perfected the art of highly choreographed “silly walks”…but in real life, with neither satirical nor comedic intent.

Various “silly” walks are a key element in a bizarre military ritual, still conducted late each afternoon on the Indo-Pakistani border, less than one hour’s drive from both the Indian city of Amritsar and the megacity of Lahore.

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Triple K “expedition” (#11 in teaser series: massive inflation in Amritsar + musical bonus)

Published June 10, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#11 in teaser series: massive inflation in Amritsar + musical bonus)

Amritsar’s Golden Temple complex is refreshingly non-commercial; even its suitably-huge toilets are free. (and meticulously maintained)

All nearby streets are another matter, entirely; shops abound.

Rents for commercial premises are reportedly among India’s highest,

However, a lot of commercial activity does not benefit landlords – it is “informal”, “al fresco”, conducted on the actual streets.

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Triple K “expedition” (#10 in teaser series: there is such a thing as a free lunch…)

Published June 10, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition” (#10 in teaser series: there is such a thing as a free lunch…)

..or breakfast, or dinner.

Every day, the world’s largest community kitchen operates, around the clock.

In any given 24 hours the Golden Temple serves 50,000 to 100,000 hot meals; all, freshly prepared by volunteers.

As future, multi-image posts will eventually illustrate, the achievement of this feat beggars even an eyewitness’s belief.

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Triple K “expedition (#9 in teaser series: the Golden Temple)

Published June 9, 2024 by Pelidoug

Triple K “expedition (#9 in teaser series: the Golden Temple)

In my experience, not a few of the world’s renowned, allegedly “holy” places have proved underwhelming, tawdry, unfriendly, and highly commercialised – oft-grandiose, but lacking in both actual grandeur and actual humanity.

Sikhism’s most significant shrine is, however, truly grand…and this is one temple site where all comers are welcomed, warmly, and where no visitor is in any way “taken advantage of”.

Amritsar is home to circa two million people; each year, fifteen times that number visit the Golden Temple.

Many of them – whether pilgrims, tourists or simply hungry people – there enjoy what is (handsomely) the world’s most massive meal service, served gratis, no questions asked, every day.

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