Today we started on the Silk Road, the old trade route established in
the 1st century BC between the East and West. We traveled through Taxila,
a town Alexander the Great visited. Then we drove down the Karakoram Highway
to Besham. The Karakoram Highway (KKH) isn't really a highway, more like
a 1 1/2 lane road that in some places is just a dirt track. We saw large
pyschidelic trucks and buses as the main transport. Walking around Besham
and other small towns is a step backward in time: limited electricity,
outdoor facilities, open irrigation along the walkways. |