Islamabad Diary

Last night I rang Dell in Germany as I am trying to buy one of their Mini Laptops with a solid state drive (SSD). The reason why I need  SSD is that computers with a normal hard drive often die (forever) at high altitude. A hard drive sits…

I never thought I would enjoy being cold as I spend a lot of time freezing in the mountains, wishing for warmer weather. However, trying to lead an outside life in Islamabad, where the thermometer sometimes hits 48 degrees Celsius, is pretty tough. Everyone who tells me…

My amazing friend and Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington talked to a journalist about a bonkers bike trip we did in Argentina a year ago. It was actually the honeymoon of our close friend Tina, who got married to Seba in Mendoza in November 2008. Tina, Chrissie,…

If you think Valentine’s Day is only big in the ‚Western World’ then you are wrong. Here in Pakistan, people also make an effort to get married on this day, which was established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496. On Sunday, 14 February, our office took…

Those who know me from Kathmandu will know that I hardly ever – or rather never – leave the house without my bike. My two-wheeled companion is my best friend and I would not know how to get around Kathmandu, or as a matter of fact any…

Those who know me also know my motto in life: Life is beautiful. However, in times like these, this motto is hard to believe and I sometimes wonder whether I can keep on saying it. Tragedies will always happen in our lives – they happen all over…

Apparently the series, the Discovery Channel shot on our Everest expedition, has been aired in the States. There are five episodes and our team, led by Russell Brice, is on episode five. It is weird not having seen it as a lot of people have contacted me…

This is just a quick note to say happy New Year to everyone and to apologise for the malfunctioning of my website. I guess it also needed a rest over the Christmas period but it is back up and running and waiting to be filled with more…

Sunday was another big event for the sporty folks in Islamabad. The Canadian Club in the Diplomatic Enclave had organised a fun race comprising a 3km, 5km and 10km race. A few friends of mine and I took part in the event and this time around it…

Last Friday, another piece of mountaineering history died when Lino Lacedelli passed away in his Italian hometown of Cortina d’Ampezzo. Lacedelli, who died of a heart condition at the age of 83, was one of the first two men to conquer K2, Pakistan’s highest peak and the…

After having written about normalcy in times of war last week, this week I went to a camp, where internally displaced people from Swat, Buner, Malakand and Shangla Districts are currently living. And I guess, for them life is everything but normal at the moment. We went…

On Sunday once again, at least 10 people died in a suicide bomb attack near the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar – and, once again, it happened in a busy market place. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack and these violent strikes are expected to continue…

Last week I was writing about my amazing friend Chrissie Wellington, who has probably made the male triathlon world shiver with her latest performance at the Ironman Triathlon event in Kona. Well, this week I want to write about my own little triathlon experience in Islamabad, which…

I am back in Pakistan and the country seems to be falling to pieces. Last week, a suicide bomber blew up the United Nations World Food Programme offices killing five people, and on Thursday, 15 October, there were several bomb attacks across the country. Life in Islamabad…

On Monday, 5th October, a suicide bomber entered the building of the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and blew himself up. Sadly, five people lost their lives in the attack and the United Nations are now on high alert. This is just…

I seem to have confused a few people with my sudden return to Nepal but I guess I did not explain why I am actually back in Kathmandu. I have taken a two-week holiday from my job in Islamabad and have come back here to help Miss…

I got back to Nepal on Saturday, 26th September and I arrived right in the middle of Dashain, which is the biggest festival in the Himalayan country and I guess it is comparable to our Christmas time. The country virtually stops for the duration of the holiday,…

On Friday, it all of a sudden dawned on me that I had four days to play with as our office was closed for the event of Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramandan. During this festival, people get together, exchange presents and basically eat all day.…

I have just come back from an interesting experience in a bike shed in Islamabad. I had been biking around with a puncture for the last few days as my puncture repair kit did not hold one of the most important items: the glue. However, who needs…

My trip to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province, was interesting, however, it was rather short. We drove two hours in a convoy, were picked up by a police escort just outside the city, went straight to the office, had an informal chat with…