Day 159 Friday 23 February 2007 Gilgit to Dassu, KKH, Pakistan

Its a glorious morning, cloudless blue skies and fantastic panorama over the Karakorum mountains. After a heated debate as to what day it is, (apparently its Friday) we leave Gilgit to return down the KKH, but because of all the photo stops we only make it as far a Dassu by nightfall, a small truck stop in the middle of the Indus Gorge. We try the PTDC motel but its full of Red Crescent people who’s claim is greater than ours so we check into the Khyber Lodge, a zero star establishment on the bank of the river 10km further on. Still the people are friendly although the dining room doubles as a mosque on Fridays and this poses a dilemma – what is the correct form when you are eating dinner and a group of men start prostrating themselves 3 metres away? They don’t seem to be in the least fazed, so we decide to continue eating but in silence until the prayers are mercifully cut short by the phone ringing and they all adjourn to watch a bollywood movie on the telly. Later we fall asleep snuggled into our sleeping bags listening to the sound of the Indus rushing by 20m away.

Distance today 256km; Total distance 23,859km