“Pakistan 🇵🇰 ~Muzzafarabad in Kashmir, to Abbottabad”
🌺 “The quality of life is in proportion, always, to the capacity for delight. 🌺The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.”🌺
We just made it back to Abbottabad, from being up in Kashmir and are staying at the same place; Alaf Laila, where we were looking forward to returning to, and where we feel, right at home. Given the last few days we have had, I can only say being anyplace which feels even remotely familiar, is warming our souls. Traveling as we do, is a lot of work, tiring, and not very vacation-y. We have come to know the unfamiliar and foreign, more than with familiarities or being fully ease.
Our trip to Kashmir was full of surprises and discomforts, so we are grateful to be back in Abbottabad, where we are warm, more comfortable, have food, and heat, and most of all, friendly faces and some English.
After the shelling and conflict got underway, when we were in the Neelum Valley, from our trip; north, we were encouraged to go back to Muzzafarbad and go no further. We were told by the authorities, the next few days, things would calm down, and we could come back and continue our touring. So, we did just that. The first day, of waiting it out in Muzzafarabad, the weather took a turn, and we got storms and rain. Over the entire three day, we waited it out, the bad weather continued. Finally, this morning, we awoke to a beautiful blue sky and sunshine. The rain had really improved the air quality and gave the city a cleaning of its heavy dust, which covered everything. We saw Kashmir, and more specifically, Muzzafarabad, with more clarity. We even had snow up on the mountains, over the course of last night. We were very excited, and had high hopes of getting back up to Neelum Valley, and this time to get snow photos, as well as make it Ratti Gali Lake. BUT, our dreams were soon dashed, when we were told Neelum Valley was closed, due to the continued firefight between India and Pakistan at the border. Without WIFI, we had no idea if the fighting raged on or not. It did little good to argue any facts, because finding a driver who would go to Neelum Valley, just wasn’t in the cards. I get that the local people might not have been completely comfortable with all that was going on in the backyard with India, so we did not push the issue. We really missed out on seeing Kashmir. This is our second go at the region. We tried from the India side, two years ago, but could only see from a distance, as there was no permissions to go at that time.
We had paid for four nights in Muzzafarabad, to wait out the weather and the fighting. Since we had the best weather, but couldn’t explore where we wanted to, we opted to find a driver to take us back to Abbottabad, earlier than we had originally planned. We had just spent three really hard days and nights in a hotel with no food available, and most of the time with no electricity, thus no WIFI. It was cold enough to snow, so that’s an indicator of how cold it was. We got a driver and the hotel did give us our money back for one night, and we made the long drive back from Muzzafarabad to Abbottabad. The good news is, we got some good photos with clearer skies over Muzzfarabad, and enjoyed the crispy fall day, but the bad news is, we missed out on seeing what we went to see in the hard-to-get-to region of Kashmir, and we are very disappointed, but Oh well, that’s how the ball bounces, sometimes. I feel especially bad for the devastation this recent conflict had, once again, on innocent people.
The Red Fort gets its name from its crimson hues. It is called the Rutta Qila, which translates to Red Fort in English.
Historians say the Fort was built after the Chak rulers of Kashmir realised there was a potential threat to their city from the expansionist Mughals. The Fort was built to serve as a raised defensive post, which could be a staging ground for counter-offensives.
A strategically important location was chosen for building the Fort; on a large rock, which is surrounded by a U-shaped curve carved by the River Neelum which flows on its eastern, northern and western sides.
Initiated in 1559, during the reign of the Chak Dynasty, the Fort was built to develop a second line of defense, while at the same time providing cover to the Fateh Garh Fort in Dub Gali Pass, west of what is now the city of Muzaffarabad.
The Red Fort had three levels, with the main gate on the eastern side of the upper level. The lower level of the fort once had stairs descending all the way down to the river, with the two levels connected to one another through a now-destroyed middle level.
But all of the rulers’ precautions could not hold off the Mughal advance, and Kashmir was annexed in 1587 or thereabouts. When Emperor Akbar visited his newly-won domain, he chose this route to return to the Mughal capital as it was the easiest one. When he reached Chakrs Bahak (now, Muzaffarabad), he stayed there for a week and a royal travel lodge was built for future visits.
Muzaffarabad is the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, comprising of hilly area, located at the bank of Neelum and Jhelum Rivers. It offers breathtaking views of the Tarai Mountains at the foothills of Himalayas.
Striking scenic beauty, on a clear, good air quality day, occupies every part of the city. However, the roads are not yet well-constructed. The name “Muzaffarabad” comes from the name of Sultan Muzaffar Khan, a former ruler of the Bomba Dynasty.
Development was going strong in Muzzafarabad, till on October 8th, 2005 an earthquake tragedy destroyed almost 50% of the city, thus driving the development backwards, ever since.
The culture of Muzaffarabad has many similarities to that of northern Punjabi’s culture. It has always been one of the important cities of Kashmir showcasing conflate of various cultures and languages.
During the rainy days in Muzzafarabad……We are staying put, waiting for better weather. Tomorrow it is looking like sun. We shall see. Daryl just got wet again, going out to find us some fruit; aka breakfast. I appreciate him so much! In the late afternoon, he goes out again for some food, and what is available is a Chinese food restaurant. But, when the Pakistanis make egg fried rice spicy and hot, ya know there is no prayer in getting anything to eat that is not spicy.
Daryl just ordered us our dinner, and we already know the food here is excellent. We are so hungry! We are both giddy with excitement to be here, and have warm showers in our future. We got an upgrade at the lovely guesthouse home, and have this humungous balcony, room and bathroom. Its across the hallway from our first room, but it would appear this would have been the master suite back in the day, when this place was a private home.
Now that we have WIFI again, we can get caught up on our blogging and photos, and also have the time and WIFI to plan our next country visit, which might be Oman, if it’s in the COVID cards.
Here is what I found from my research, tonight; after we returned from Kashmir: “MUZAFFARABAD: Tourist activities in the precarious Neelum Valley are continuing, despite ceasefire violations by India.“
Now, that being said, if one can’t find a driver who is will to go into the Valley, and there are no rental cars available, for personal use (we’ve tried) there is little one can do about it.
Here is a link to coverage on the firefight and bombing which began when we were in Neelum Valley: https://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idINKBN27T23H
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About Us
Hello and Welcome to our Travel Blog Website, We enjoy writing about our experiences and taking photos of our adventuring along the way. Our names are: Daryl and Pen, but Daryl calls me “Bunny.” We met, quite randomly, whilst both… Read More