After a wonderful meal I walked the streets for a few minutes and found a Mongh Phalli Stand. I could see steam come out of the cart which indicated there were fresh heated mongh phallis which I just had to have.
So I walked up to the cart, set my camera on the tripod and took a few pics while purchasing the peanuts which I had while casually walking the street.
I had a brief conversation with some people who were also there for hot peanuts. We shared our travel plans and experiences, and although I had originally planned on a two day stay in Naran Valley and then returning to Islamabad so that I could plan for my return trip to Karachi, the discussion led me to re-evaluate my trip and go further towards Gilgit.
I soon returned back to my hotel but at the base of the hotel I noticed a Coffee stand which for some reason I had missed on the way out earlier. So I ordered a cup of hot coffee and told the person I wanted it to go so I can have it in my room. He packed it well so it would remain warm and not spill when I walked.
I went back to the hotel room, finished the coffee and had some more warm peanuts. In the mean time I called my Uncle in Islamabad and discussed with him the scenario of me attempting a further journey to Gilgit. He said Excellent and also insisted that I extend my tour and seriously think of driving further towards the China Border .... Khunjerab Pass.
I knew full well that such a lengthy and ambitious travel plan could seriously put a dent on my office work and although there was a possibility of me extending the tour if I so choose, it would disrupt the plans for others in Karachi that I had committed to and so I decided to not consider a further delay and just stick to a one day extended tour of Gilgit.
However, the problem now was that there would not be sufficient time for me to return to Karachi so that not only do I get to Karachi by Sunday Aug 31st but also be rested up on Sunday so I could return to the office on Monday and be fresh enough to function appropriately.
I suggested to my Uncle to please arrange for an Airfare for me by Fri or Sat so I could get back and have my bike shipped at a later date. He said he will do something even better, just tell me when you are returning to Isb. I said I will be there for certain on Thurs Aug 29th some time during the evening. He said, ok then leave the rest to me since you may not have any mobile coverage once you get into the mountains until you reach Gilgit. I accepted and left the return plans to him.
I quickly repacked my stuff for an early departure for Gilgit the next morning, looked carefully at the distance on the map I had always tied to the front of my Bike and suddenly noticed that my red seat cushion was missing.
I rushed downstairs and looked all around, even in the stairs and on every floor. I asked one of the boys who worked there if they had seen a red cushion or if anyone turned one in. He had no idea and so I realized the rest of the trip will be very painful if I don't have a cushion to sit on.
I frantically walked through the market to look for open shops from where I could purchase a cushion. They all had some small and then very large floor cushions but they sold them as a set and not as a single item. I was almost ready to purchase an entire set just to get my hands on one cushion, didn't care about the rest but when I felt the cushions I realized they were full of plastic bags and not real cotton or other foam that is usually use in cushions. It was a hopeless case and so I decided to just forget about the cushion and improvise by using some of the many plastic bags I already carried with me in my back pack and use some of the clothes to fill the bags for cushion support and use that as an alternative when I need it.
So I returned to my hotel room empty handed and just decided to sleep it off because I had an early start in the morning. I would deal with this issue when my bum began to hurt during the trip.
My plan was to first go to the same restaurant for Breakfast where I had dinner, and then depart the Hotel by 8 am if possible.
