Gilgit

After a relaxing rest day it was time to get back on the road though not too quickly. We didn't set off until around 10:30. I figured that this would mean that we'd not be able to reach Gilgit in a single day. However there was little climbing along the way, most of the way was steadily down.

Traffic on the Karakorum Highway had been gradually increasing from nothing on the section from the pass to Customs at Sost, to quite a lot today. Sometimes the habit of drivers to sound the horn got on my nerves though this was often accompanied with a smile & a wave, making it hard to remain annoyed.

We rolled into Gilgit quite late & received a warm welcome at the Madina Guesthouse, a well known travelers' hangout. At slightly less than 2USD for a dorm bed it was on the pricey side by the standards of others but still good value. The town was the largest of those passed through so far in Pakistan & seemed to have quite a bit of activity on the streets. On the way in we passed the municipal domain where there was a lot of cricket going on, bringing back memories. Gilgit had a polo field & allegedly there were practice matches for an upcoming tournament that was part of the process to decide which team would represent the region in the Shandur Cup game in July with the Chitral regional champion at the 3700m Shandur pass polo ground.

I cycled 107 km in 6 hours & 37 minutes
Total so far 10843 km in 163 days