Is it in Lahore? How about Karachi? No. Ok, well, then it must be in Islamabad? Or perhaps Faisalabad? Ah, ok, ok, I get it. It’s obviously in Hunza. It’s Hunza everyone! What do you mean it isn’t? ….Gol? What’s Gol?.

In this Pakistani dish, we had one unique ingredient, which is common in Northern Pakistani cuisine. You could even call it a delicacy. However, I’ll warn you never to eat too much of it. Strong stomachs have tried and failed, hence why I only felt comfortable eating a small portion despite it being absolutely delicious. I had a battle with myself that day! I am, of course, talking about, Yak Meat! Yep, those shaggy buffalos? Or sheepish horses, or are they known as sheepish cows? You could describe them any matter of ways. Considered inedible by some, sure but nope, not in Northern Pakistan! Let’s talk Pakistani food.

As we disembarked the bus for the pit stop, me acting smug with my increased confidence in speaking Urdu growing stronger each day, we were invited into this tiny restaurant. Little did we know then that this would be one of our most memorable moments of backpacking Pakistan.

Growing up in England, we ate Pakistani food constantly. Of course, we did, it’s the food my family pride themselves on, and Alhamdulillah, we are blessed with great cooks, but to find such a gem in a tiny village that most people would drive by or deem irrelevant, let alone end up finding our favourite home-cooked Pakistani food. Bhindi! Bhindi is fried Okra with onions in a light masala, and I’ve been eating it my entire life. Amazing that this was being cooked as we passed by, see it’s just like I told you, ‘You’re always where you’re meant to be.’

You’ll hear me often say that the very best food places are found lacking aesthetics. By that, I mean, don’t judge a book by its cover, especially when we’re talking about food. Just yesterday, in Colombia, from Salento to Jardin, we stopped off to change buses in a city called Rio-Sucio and had the best meal we have experienced in Colombia thus far. Again, the décor was lacking, but the food was immaculate.

Back to Pakistan, we identified immediately they were cooking Okra over an open flame; we also saw the chef toss the pan using a pair of pliers as the handle. We didn’t think much of it because, well, this is Pakistan, and in truth, it’s a genius cooking life hack! His colleague tossed nan from hand to hand with more showmanship than an eccentric pizza maker on the streets of Napoli. Once the nan was ready, he plunged his hand into, quite literally, a fiery cauldron to attach the nan (ok, it was a hot clay oven, but I feel a fiery cauldron is more akin to the drama we had at that moment!) Ladies and gentlemen, seeing food cooked in Pakistan is a show in itself.

We conversed and ordered one plate; as I struggled to identify what meat they combined the Okra with, we finally confirmed that it was Yak meat. It may surprise you to learn, as it certainly did us, that Yak meat is a local delicacy in that area of Pakistan but heed this warning carefully, one should NOT eat Yak Meat whilst backpacking Pakistan. It will not end well.

Fortunately, we were ok. Natalie didn’t eat any because she was vegetarian, and my stomach held up. As we left, we thought we would take a stroll through this seemingly random Pakistani village called Gol. We saw these fantastic colourful trucks, and as one subscriber notified us, these trucks were built in Bedfordshire, England and then shipped over to Pakistan some 50, 60 years ago. Of course, the designs were not part of the export, that was all Pakistani, and as you can see from the video, some of the designs were so precise. Pakistanis really do have talents that should be spoken about more.

Isn’t it sad that opportunity evades those in lesser developed regions? So when you have the opportunity, as Natalie reminded me of one of my favourite mantras a couple of days ago. Whilst I was struggling on a 9km hike through the Cocora Valley, ‘you’re not doing this for you, you’re doing this for everyone who isn’t able to.’

Toodles

USEFUL TIPS FOR BACKPACKING PAKISTAN:

How to eat the best Pakistani meal of your life!

This sounds like it would be a complicated journey, but in truth, it’s pretty simple. As is the norm in this area of Pakistan, you will first need to head to Skardu, Pakistan. Skardu will be the central point for a lot of your excursions. Skardu certainly was for us, as you can tell from the numerous videos we have filmed there. We documented our flight from Islamabad to Skardu, showing you how to do that journey.

Once in Skardu, ask your hotel for the bus to Khaplu, and they will tell you where to go. We cannot give you a pinpoint location because there isn’t a bus station for departures going to Khaplu. You won’t find any schedules online, nor will you find an actual bus station. The buses depart for Khaplu on the edge of town, and your hotel will direct you there.

Tickets to Khaplu from Skardu will cost 300PKR per person for the minibus with a food break after an hour or so, and if you’re lucky, your bus won’t break down as ours did. Trust us, take the bus and enjoy the most amazing Pakistani food on route to Khaplu. You’ll have a chance to visit the colourful teeny tiny village of Gol, which serves up some of the best food in Pakistan! Being constantly surprised is one of the glorious perks of travel.

Enjoy! and don’t forget to tag Calamity Travels on Instagram. We’d love to see if you enjoyed backpacking Pakistan as much as we did!