Himalaya
Day 20: Gilgit to Skardu
Not for the faint-hearted. A chair and pulley takes a commuter across the Indus. The river is young and strong here as it cleaves a way between the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges.
The existence of a road at all in this desperately confined space is something of a miracle. It seems to be maintained by the army, and the different companies of engineers have their names engraved on a rock at the end of each section. A camouflaged vehicle comes at us round a tight bend and as we go through the elaborate ritual of manoeuvring past each other I notice the slogan on the side of its cab. 'Pakistan Army. Men At Their Best.'At Skardu, the hyperactive River Indus, which has been leaping and writhing past us for most of the day, flattens out into a wide alluvial lagoon.
We find ourselves in a very singular hotel where the lights don't always work but the waiters wear white gloves to serve dinner.
It's called Shangri La.
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PALIN'S GUIDES
- Series: Himalaya
- Chapter: Day 20: Gilgit to Skardu
- Country/sea: Pakistan
- Place: Skardu
- Book page no: 45
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