Lets start the trip 
Team 1 was already in Kalam while i got 2 tickets for Lahore - Mansehra journey from Niazi Express for Rs. 800 each.
The departure time was 11:45 p.m. and Khalid and myself were there in time. But departure got delayed by one hour. Finally, we left Lahore near 1 a.m. Nothing much happening during the monotonous journey on M2 and i started to take shots while on our way to Burhan Interchange as it was time for sunrise.
We reached Mansehra around 7:15 a.m. Qari sahib could not join this trip so i arranged for another jeep. The driver was in Mansehra already as we were late. Once, we reached the final stop, i called him and he reached the bus stop within 5 minutes.
Driver's name is Tauqeer and he is from Garhi Habibullah. His number is 0346 - 6366081. He charged Rs.2,000 per day and fuel expense was ours.
It was 7:30 a.m. but we could feel that weather will be very hot today. We immediately packed the luggage and left Mansehra. I asked the driver for a good hotel for breakfast and he said ' agey ruktey hien'. And then he forgot
I asked him to stop in Shinkiari and we did breakfast there. Only thing available was naan channa plus driver hotel double mithi chaey 
We stopped for mobile related stuff in bazaar and then continued the journey. As time was passing, the temperature was increasing. We were trying to feel good about the trip and beautiful Chattar Plains but soon the scorching heat took over our enjoyment and we were just playing the wait game to reach the next destination.
Till Thakot, we were doing excellent time. But there was huge traffic jam on Thakot bridge due to an army checkpost. It wasted almost 1.5 hrs and weather was extremely hot now.
Finally, we crossed the bridge and checkpost and were again on move towards Besham. Reached Besham around 1 p.m. Our driver wanted to cool down the radiator plus we did the fuel top up in Besham. It was a break of around 40 min with no place to sit as it was Friday and bazar was closed. We left Besham around 1: 40 p.m.
Till now, only the road between Thakot and Besham was bad but it cannot be called worst. Just like normal bad patches which slows down your speed but can be managed by careful driving.
We had the good information about Shangla Pass road that it is in excellent condition and newly built and only few bad patches. But we spent half the time passing through bad patches and half the time on good road.
The road between Besham and Shangla is half bad and half good. And bad patches are real slow. The road after Shangla town and Pass is completely paved. So, u have to spend half time through these bad patches. We stopped for prayers at a mosque before Shangla.
Weather changed a little as we neared Shangla Pass but by now we were really hard done by the heat and bad road conditions so we just wanted to reach Kalam as soon as possible. There was no major stay till Khwazakhela.
Reached Khwazakhela near 4: 45 p.m. and stopped there for lunch. Lunch was not a good experience there but we had limited choice due to odd timing of 5 p.m.
We got the gas cylinder filled in Khwazakhela as i was doubtful that by the time we will reach Kalam bazaar may be closed there.
After that, we had a non-stop but very slow drive on the worst road between Madyan and Kalam. We were hardly moving at speed between 17-20 km/hr as i was regularly checking on my GPS. Lots of patience was required during this drive. Our driver was also getting slow as night was approaching. We stopped for Maghrib somewhere between Bahrain and Kalam.
Finally, reached Kalam and Pameer Hotel around 9: 15 p.m. after total travel time of 20 hours and the jeep ride was 14 continuous hours from Mansehra to Kalam.
We were greeted by Team 1 who were all set for a wonderful self BBQ dinner. That was a great welcome as we didn't have a good meal since last night so really enjoyed meeting with other members and then the wonderful BBQ.
Later on, Nauman , Armghan and myself went to roof top of Pameer Hotel to get some night shots of Kalam.
Night stay in Hotel Pameer in Kalam
