Gilgit

I lived for a year in Gilgit and had the pleasure of traveling the Northern Areas of Pakistan. I usually travelled by air on PIA between Rawalpindi and Gilgit with my one year old son.

I can still recall like it was yesterday, my frantic tightening of my seat belt over the both of us. Listening to the air steward rattle of an inaudible, nasal rendition of the 'Safar ki Dua'. I would panic in my heart thinking I really should learn the dua and recite my own version because I had no idea what the air steward was saying. 

The old PIA Sesna plane was noisy, too noisy, and it would shake and rattle on take off. Once in the sky, the plane made a noisy humming sound but it was what I would see outside that tiny airplane window that was absolutely breathtaking. 

Beneath me were the snow filled mountains that you would only see in pictures. The pilot would always announce the majestic nazara of Nanga Parbat. My eyes would trail the snow, ice and rocks beneath me. I did always think, 'What if we crashed? Right now. What would happen if this plane just fell? Nothing would be left of us on the snow and rocks below.'

The flights always used to boast well known people, but they would be just travelling home like my son and I. We would all tuck into our small food trays of a croissant with jam and a cup of tea. I looked forward to that. There was something delicious about airplane tea served in a plastic cup.  

And I also looked forward to landing. Gilgit airport had a single landing strip, and we passengers would applaud the Captain's landing skill when he would manoeuvre the Sesna on the landing strip. He would come down between two big mountains and land that noisy Sesna and we were home. The 'Safar ki dua' worked and the Captain's manouvering was outstanding.