On Friday May 16, 2008 we (Clara and Markus) leave Vienna International Airport at 11:50 and after a short stop at Doha we arrive in Islamabad early in the morning. Tommy will join us on May 29.

Karim and Markus, Lunch

In Islamabad we meet our friend Karim who will organise the logistics for the base-camp (BC) and support our final preparations for the expedition. This includes getting 375kg of luggage from the cargo, shopping in Islamabad and travelling to BC. Rawalpindi is an old city that has merged with the newer city Islamabad.

Karim's family welcomes us with traditional Pakistan food. This is our last chance to put on some weight so we eat more than we can actually digest. In between the meals we have to do some work like producing lists and documents for cargo and ministry. Electricity is shut down every couple of hours in order to save energy.

Posters announcing candidates for Pakistan elections remind us of the European Football Championships in Austria. The political situation in this part of Pakistan is rather calm by now, as Karim tells. We have not perceived an signs of insecurity so far.