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Google Maps / Terrorism / Political Travel / Pakistan Travel / Death / Osama Bin Laden / Military Travel / → All Tags

Osama Bin Laden's Compound in Abbottabad Has Tourist Destination Potential

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Last night, when President Barack Obama announced the killing of terrorist al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, history was made at the same time as a town in Pakistan lost its innocence. Abbottabad was named by Barack as the place in which bin Laden had made his mansion hideout home. He wasn't in caves, he wasn't in Afghanistan, and he wasn't going to escape this time. A recently built home, surrounded by walls and within an affluent community, was where the last stand between Osama and the USA took place, with the US' Navy SEALS emerging victorious in under 40 minutes of covert operations.

As such, Abbottabad is today the center of much curiosity; it's even been trending on Twitter all night thanks to Abbottabad-based Twitter user Sohaib Athar—@ReallyVirtual—who lives in the town and who unknowingly live-tweeted the mission several days ago, hearing as he did helicopters overhead and bursts. Sohaib moved to the relative calm of Abbottabad to work on his IT business and escape the fighting in Lehore, Pakistan. This isn't all that extraordinary, since Abbottabad is a huge tourist destination; in fact it is considered one of the most beautiful cities in Pakistan.

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K-2 / Mountain Climbing / Mountains / Adventure Travel / → All Tags

Mountaineering Is Still Dangerous: K-2 Claims at Least Nine Climbers

When it comes to mountaineering safety, famed climber Ed Viesturs has a saying: "Getting to the summit is optional, getting down is mandatory." This weekend, at least nine climbers on Pakistan's K-2 will, sadly, not be coming down alive. Details are still sketchy, but officials are reporting that an expedition of 22 climbers was hit by an ice avalanche shortly after summiting the world's second highest peak, killing seven and leaving three unaccounted for. In addition, there are reports of three other climber fatalities on the mountain in unrelated incidents.

The gist of Viesturs's advice is to turn back if conditions get too dangerous - even if the summit is just minutes away - but I'm not sure these climbers had any prior indication of the impending slide. It sounds more like simple bad luck, an unfortunate reminder that no matter how controlled a modern climbing expedition might seem, a significant risk always remains for those who take the challenge.

In the seat-belted, air-bagged, sanitized-for-your-protectioned, guard-railed, helmeted, over-insured world many of us live in, it's no surprise that people are drawn to pursuits that take them to the edge. Something inside us all needs to feel the energy that can only be found at the edge, if only to help us appreciate our cozy lives even more. The trick is finding a way to get close enough to the edge to take a good look at the vast beyond, and then safely take a step back with your new perspective now a permanent part of your life.

Related Stories:
· Officials: At Least Nine Die Scaling K-2 [USA Today]
· Factbox: World's Deadliest Mountaineering Disasters [Reuters]
· Mountain Climbing Coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pakistan Tourism Office via Reuters]

China Travel / Olympics / 2008 Olympics / Beijing Olympics / Beijing Olympics 2008 / Sports Travel / Olympic Torch / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Torch Travel

After passing through San Francisco, the Olympic Torch didn't find much trouble in Buenos Aires, Dar es Salaam or Muscat. Now in Pakistan, the torch is prepping for a tour of the rest of Asia before heading back to China.

Among the upcoming stops are Kuala Lumpur, Canberra and Nagano, and today's relay through Islamabad was incident-free. But beware, torch watchers: Protesters in Australia are already agitating, so we could be in for more drama.

Related Stories:
· Tracking the Torch [Google Maps]
· Tracking the Torch's Carbon Footprint [Slate]
· Chinese in Australia Vow to Defend Torch [Telegraph]
· Olympic Torch Run has Sparse Crowd in Pakistan [AP, via Google]
· China Completes Blacktop Road to Mt. Everest [AP, via IHT]

[Photo: Google Maps]

Islamabad / Food / Pakistan / Menupages / → All Tags

Menupages War Expands to Pakistan

All dressed up with nowhere to go in Islamabad? Simply got the munchies? Perhaps Foona can steer you in the right direction. No, that's not the name of a Lonely Planet author, it's Islamabad's latest (and maybe only) website dedicated exclusively to restaurant listings.

Whether you crave a 'round the clock hangover-smiting serving of chicken tikka (Food 24 Hours), a fix of sugary kulfa (Rasheed Sweets), or, gasp, American food, Foona will tell you where to go and how much it will cost you.

You can search by neighborhood, cuisine, price, or all three, but remember this brand new site is still in its beta phase. Could that explain why Subway qualifies for the "Garden Fresh" category? Beta or not, Foona's mission to serve foodies and draw attention to even the tiniest mom-and-pop grub stops is honorable.

The website is in English, but gets its name from a combination of the word "food" and its Urdu equivalent ("khana").

Sports / → All Tags

Kite-Flying Gets a Bad Rap

Kite-flying is usually a competitive sport in Pakistan and India, one in which kids and adults glue glass or metal on the string and try to use it to cut loose other kites. The problem is that sometimes motorcyclists and kids get their throats cut by the string in the air.  Reuters claims that there are "dozens" of injuries and/or death each year, but we wish they'd been able to get a better sense of the danger of this very old tradition. Since kite-flying is only allowed in Pakistan from Feb. 25 to Mar. 10, and some Islamists in the country have recently declared the sport un-Islamic, it sounds as if it might very well be getting rarer.

Photo by François Gonnet

Related Stories:
·   Bombs, guns, knives, kites. [Reuters]
·   Police chiefs, nazims responsible for enforcing kite-flying law [DAWN]
·   Indian Fighter Kites