Daily life in a village I Winter in Northern Pakistan

So you really want to know what it's like living in the north of Pakistan in the middle of winter. Well, Let me show you Good morning Birdie I caught you on camera. Birdie I've lost your language Snow No way taking the dogs out Worst thing about mornings here is Getting up when it is so cozy in the bed It is so cold outside. Oh I don't want to leave. What do you want? No, we certainly don't rise early here 9 9 30 ish Hubs is a brave man. He always gets up early to take the dogs out and I get my beauty sleep I get to sleep in Oh So cold in the room originally our room was on the other side of the house and it's twice as big as this room and Also twice as cold See in our bedroom here ice here Coming from Inside our bedroom and this is actually ice which shows you how cold it is inside our room a Couple weeks ago. We decided to move rooms and this one is way warmer. At least we don't have icicles on the wall You gotta get used to this house House didn't want to go along with the day in the life filming. Why is that? Shy are you shy? We didn't have light all night on the phone in charge Typical you're spilling more Tell me if you move this pipe. Okay, what do I do? Stay there? Don't hold it Show me where coming. Yeah. Yeah, I can see it Good job Why do we have this battery here hips and that's our fault What are you doing exactly starting the generator Is our morning coffee man, he's a man of little words Okay, usually hubs would bring me coffee in bed So for those who don't know what is shucker What's jaggery There you go. So we don't have normal bean coffee because it's really hard to find up here so it's just more convenient and Find the instant which we've become quite accustomed to so it's all right. You kind of make do I Sure do miss my mom's coffee at home Thank you we've been in this house now for Just over a year and a half We've personalized it with all the stuff that we love It really feels like home here You need a baby girl Will you be the kill? I? Think it would be long minus seven I got burnt We usually sit and have our coffee outside Even in the winter actually when the Sun does come out, it's pretty warm out as well nice at least Sunshine What are we going to do? We're going to play outside in the snow The crazy thing about our house is that it is so cold inside the house so cold in fact that we have Icicles growing on our walls in our living room and hubs tested the temperature inside one day He's got a watch and what was it? Minus seven? Minus five it was minus five inside the house. So unlike Canada or other places. We don't have central heating here. We have Wood fire stove, which you'll see tonight, but that is only in the kitchen and that only heats the kitchen. So In the rest of the house we have this small propane heater now, I know what you guys are all thinking about If you don't live in Pakistan, if you've never seen this before you're probably thinking what the heck she's crazy This is just how it is here these bottles should be always outside the house It is not safe for them to be inside the house But seeing as we rent this house, so we can't modify it in any way and there was no way to leave the gas bottles outside When the weather wasn't as cold we were leaving the door open and just having it outside but right now it's too cold We can't do that. So the gas bottle is safely in another room This propane heater is better it's from Japan apparently it's 100% on combustible. It does not excrete as much carbon monoxide as The last one we did. Oh my gosh the whole house Stunk and we both got raging migraines and that is not something to mess around with folks because You can die. Pakistan is dangerous. Keep the windows open. You'll be fine Have you went and got that for my Christmas present this year? The Japanese heater Tonight Oh Japanese. We're not not sponsored But you can sponsor us if you want thing with these heaters is it doesn't really heat the entire room It's good in our bedroom because our bedroom is quite small but a big living room like this It just sort of cuts the cold down just it's still freezing. But at least your fingers don't feel like they're gonna fall off. So We have so many layers on our bed we have one down duvet another polyester duvet so normally we're not that messy but Right now we have No water like zero water coming out of our taps, which means a few things Number one, we can't flush our toilets wash your hands Face and all the important parts not going into detail number two, we can't wash our dishes number three, we don't have water for cooking or for Washing that includes ourselves So we've got to go to town and pick up some water to the other day I knew the water was gonna go and I filled up a couple of our reservoirs, but we are out now, so I think there's a place in town we can get water. That's where I got it last time. So one of the many Things we are faced with in the winter times Washing has been a bit of a challenge here hmm, I'm not sure if I should be saying this on such a big platform, maybe it's a bit TMI, but I Have one shower this month. Don't worry the important parts But In terms of like standing under the shower here and taking an actual shower that has happened once in the month this This right here this this this sickly sickly thing right here. It does not Leave my toque much the best way to keep it from getting knotty But I have to take it out every day and rebraid it and even then Like because I never Take this off. I even sleep with it You saw it this morning because there is so cold and we're so susceptible to getting sick Hubs had a shower two weeks ago and caught the flu because this Wonderful room here is in the minus centigrade and when we did have Hot water it wasn't really hot. It was kind of lukewarm and it just trickled out. So you're just kind of like squeezing your body under like this little bit of warm water while the whole room is freezing cold and then your hair is wet and We don't have heating in our house. So We had the Bukhari, but unfortunately a couple seconds out in that cold wet You're done. So it's actually a matter of life and death This isn't all from the lack of washing because I do wash my face actually the culprit is We have a very severe mold problem in our house the way it was constructed just everywhere actually when we had the really bad rains this year the water seeped into the walls and created so much condensation and Moisture that all of our walls are moldy and they're cracking everywhere. The structure is All falling apart and there's mold everywhere top to bottom and I showed you the icicles earlier all that moisture mold after and I Discovered this year actually, I never knew what was wrong because since we moved in here I've been suffering since day one with a whole slew of symptoms and Couldn't figure it out. It was nauseous. My face blew up if you've noticed through my past recent videos, especially in the north My face tends to get a bit swollen and I get all this It's not acne. It's just like it's like an allergy and this is also a big symptom of mold. Yeah, right and The thing is is in the West Mold is a big thing Getting rid of mold in their house and it's a pretty big thing. But here in Pakistan, it's like there's mold Maybe they don't understand or know the severity of how it can affect your health and there's certain people like myself who have extra sensitivity to it and it really Affects you so that is a big reason why my house just continued to Kind of get worse over the last couple years. So this is actually a big reason why We are moving but more on that later If this was our house if we were here long term if we built something ourselves we do a lot of things very very different because We're just kind of Kind of getting by here. It's not the best situation, but we're making the most of it So what should we do with the meat? We're gonna keep the heater on while we go this is our dinner tonight, but it was in the freezer and trying to de-thaw something when the air is Similar temperature to the freezer. It's kind of hard. So I think we're gonna leave it in front of Here Wait ready Wait, these socks have been a godsend These are heated socks. These socks are one of the only reasons why I have survived Here because the lack of the heat in the house, especially I have really bad circulation in my feet Have the Sun's coming out I see blue sky now the trick to surviving They're out here is layers a lot a lot of layers. I got sick on New Year's actually We hiked up to Buscochi, which is just over there the most beautiful hike Such a favorite of mine and it was so freaking cold It had just snowed and the wind Was brutal and unfortunately, I got sick Gotta layer up keep warm This is really cool, here's a fun fact for you folks all this gear This is like minimum like a $500 jacket I certainly did not pay for a $500 jacket but up here in Hunza and in most parts of the north you can get secondhand gear and Really really really good gear like Practically brand-new this jacket was brand-new when I bought it and I think we paid 3,000 4,000 rupees Be time to go for a walk You ready to go for a walkie? So these are all the bottles we have to fill up Luckily, we had a few lying around The beautiful sunny day Ready for your walk? Okay, finally bro Ready? Where should we take them? To their friend Nora? Or to the riverside? I think to the riverside, it's a nice day So this is the riverbed down near Gulmit here This is where we come to take the dogs Because they can run freely Over here This is Bagheera we first found her a few days before New Year's when we were visiting at Tabad Lake and it was really strange because She had a collar on and she was super friendly. She came right up to me She followed me and we had like this instant bond and connection. I asked all the locals where did this dog come from and nobody knew they said she just kind of showed up one day But a couple days later when we did the hike at Buskoci, guess who showed up again? I took this as a sign and of course I did what anyone would do and we brought her home and Now she's part of our family and she's absolutely loving it So cold out here that the batteries last maximum like 20 minutes and I got to keep replenishing them I thought that's sweet I'll have a doctor coffee No, no, that's so cold How cold is it right now? What's the weather network say? Minus 13 Ouch. One of the downsides to living in this village this valley area here In Upper Gozal is that we are in a valley a really deep valley. And so the Sun Sets just behind those mountains there at 2 o'clock and so after 2 o'clock no Sun no light and it becomes very dark very quick, so Especially here in the winter. It can be quite difficult for some people It's just really gray gloomy. I love when it snows. This is amazing This is the first time I've seen snow up here in Hunza because it just sort of brightens the place up a bit It's a beautiful day This little girl we got about a week after a big one. We call her birdie cat This is Judy cat and it's such a coincidence because they are identical we came across this little one and the strangest thing was a big truck full of dogs came into our village and dumped them all off and this little one was all on her own at And she was so small and the locals said that they couldn't care for her and she hadn't eaten She had been there for like four or five days and she hadn't eaten And we're like, we can't leave her Like my heart is too sensitive So now she is a part of the big family Oh Good girl. So now we're heading into the village town, which is just literally a couple minutes down the road here And we have to fill up all our water sources. It's just there where that guy's standing. That's off. It's off? Last week we tried to find potatoes and there's literally no potatoes for an entire week and that's just kind of the thing around here is Everyone knows everyone in this village But yeah, sometimes you literally can't find anything. You can't find fresh fruits vegetables. I mean potatoes We had to go all the way to Alibaba, which is 45 minutes South to buy potatoes because there was just nothing here and especially in the winter. It is slam bigots So everything is closed down Shops just kind of close Whenever they want and so certain days like today, it doesn't seem like anything is open. All the doors are shut. So If there's a wedding if there's a funeral if there's some sort of event literally everyone just closes their shop It's open Very few Restaurant options here. This is one of the very few Oh Now we're heading to our favorite coffee shop in the world. We stopped here in Punta. It is our local Starbucks. I'm kidding. But it's this very cute little couple who opened this coffee shop in Husseini with the view of Basu. It's really beautiful. In the summertime, this place is packed. We kind of avoid this place in the summer because there are a lot of local tourists here. This is one of the local shops here in Husseini. It is run by the famous Voj. Voj in Wahi means auntie. He's my best friend. Local gemstones over here. Right here. This is one of the beautiful works. This is for men with a feather on it. Here in Hunza, they are most famous for their dried fruit. Specifically, the apricots. There are tons of dried apricots. Now is the season for walnuts, so there are also walnuts. They have apricot oil, which is the pressed oil from the apricot seed. Which is amazing. She was just explaining that her mother She uses the apricot oil on her scalp and her hair is still black. That's the apricot oil. So they are the ones who run the famous coffee shop. And we have the famous Yadgar coffee shop. It's not the coffee that makes this place famous, although it is amazing. There is something else. We have the uncle here, who makes the best coffee in town. Yes, thank you. Welcome. Thank you. Are you going to have a coffee now? Yeah. Inside this sweet little shack, it is a museum. A museum of memories. And Amjad here is rich. Quite literally, actually. This place is full of money and it is full of memories. Ever since the first customer who... This rock here. An Australian guy. Yes, the first rock started this guy. Seven. Started to 17. Just a small set up here. For this one, the first rock. And ever since then, people from all over the world have been signing rocks, money, various different little memorabilia and storing. Where are you coming from? Amjad, instead of money, I can give you my card and I can sign it. Okay. Yeah, you want my card? Your card? Yeah. Biker card. And then I can sign it. You too? Yeah. Oh, good. Put it in the museum. Then I can display here? Yeah. For long life? As long as you want. Okay. Okay, but 2,000 rupees fee, if you are agree? 2,000? Yes. You are for real? Yes, really. Then I can preserve it for all of customers. Museum. Good businessman. So, if you are agree, then I can display here. As you like. My dear customer, Lucy, if you have. I'm poor man. Oh. No. I have enough for two coffees. You can keep that with you then. Thanks for best coffee. He puts a lot of love into it. Love, Rosie. Thanks for the best coffee. And best company. Okay, best company. Yeah, best company. I can display here? Yeah, perfect. Good. Huh? Yeah, I like. I like? Yad Ghar Zindabad. Yad Ghar. Ghar means stone. Yad means memories. Stone memories. Yes. In English. Thank you. So, you can appreciate. Okay, let's go have our coffee now. My name is Ibrahim Shah. I am an artist and sculptor. I am from Upper Hunza, Gojal. These are all, you see, natural or rough wood. From the river, from the mountain and tall homes. Naturally, there is a face or there is shapes. So, I just reform it. This is a bird. It's natural. My name is Ferasad. Actually, I was a school teacher. And when I got time from the school, I went to Japan. And got training on organic farming. Now, I have a project. I am working on organic farming and organic products. Okay. Goodbye. Thank you. Alright. Home we go. Oh, we got to start the rush. What time is it? 5.30. One of the most beautiful things about our village here is that it's so quaint and small. And everybody knows everybody. It's nice just to pop in and say hi. We love to just scoot up to Husseini there. And as usual, we arrive home and there's no lights. Honestly, we are so lucky and blessed to have this generator. I think we're pretty much the only one who has a generator in this entire village. Actually, often when I go for walks, people hand me their cell phones to charge. So, we are very, very privileged. Keep the house warm. Yeah, I do. To run the propane heater plus a generator for one month is around 30,000-40,000 rupees. And that's bare minimum because I'm pretty stingy. So, I'm always telling Hubs like we don't need the generator unless it's like an emergency or everything is dead and we have to charge things. Right now, I have to charge batteries for this camera that I'm using. And then, that's not even including the wood. We got 400 kg of wood and that lasted like three weeks. And that was about 10,000 rupees. So, this just in, we just realized that we didn't get water. The whole point of the excursion was to go get water for the house. And we kind of got a little sidetracked. I love my daddy. What are you making Hubs? Food for dogs. Food for dogs? What are they eating? Chicken. Up here, it's really hard. You can't find dog and cat food. And when you do find it, the quality is not good. You don't want to use it. So, it's a lot of work actually. We started cooking them chicken mixed with rice and carrots and everything. But man, they eat a lot. Curious and frustrated about what's happening. Oh, it's still coming in your face. This is when having a water shortage becomes a bit of a problem. Even little things like washing potatoes becomes a challenge. But, nothing is wasted. Because this water will then go to the grey water used to flush the toilet. You know, actually, I charge my laptop under the covers in the bed with a heated blanket. When the generator is on and I don't really have power. You should try that. This is fresh organic butter from Hunza. Potatoes. A lot, a lot, a lot of pepper. Garlic here. Oh, that doesn't sound good. What's wrong? Sorry about that. I just get slightly, slightly freaked out with the propane stoves here. They are a little bit unpredictable. I don't do the stove stuff. Pabsy does. Hungry? Meow. Really hungry? Shh. Oh my gosh. Okay. Let's go. You hungry? Easy. It snowed last night. We keep most of our wood outside. We have our bigger trunks under a tarp over here. I think Hugs kept some dry wood over here because everything else got a little wet and soggy. It's that time of night again. We're running the Bukhari, which is our traditional stove. Can't actually run the Bukhari all day because wood is actually surprisingly really expensive around here. It's so much work to run the Bukhari, to start it, to keep it going. It's not like you light it and it's good. You have to tend to the fire like every 20 minutes for it to actually work and benefit. It's a good learning. I've learned a lot over here. I've learned a lot of new things, new techniques. Survival. It's not a dream life over here, by the way. If you live here, then you'll understand each and every single thing. When you have a house, then you'll learn. It's a good growth for your own self. Yeah, I couldn't agree more. Everyone says how living in the mountains is the dream and you guys have the most amazing life, which we do. But it comes at a bit of a price. You don't really realize how challenging it is day to day. You live here and you gain so much respect for the people who grew up here. They are strong people. Gotta chop some more wood. Burn the fire. It's nice and warm in here. Actually, we got lucky this evening. The generator is not even on and we got light. Light Zindabad. We gotta do this every single day. This big box of wood here. Fill it. It takes about, I guess, 45 minutes. And this big box of fire-starting wood plus another box we have out there only lasts us one night. There's something nice about chopping wood. Ow! Just don't hurt yourself. There's so much to do every single day that we don't actually get a lot of work done up here. That and the lack of electricity makes it kind of hard because we can't keep the generator running. And we have maximum, maximum couple hours of electricity a day. So, I mean, it's just kind of mundane chores you do every day. But I think that paired with the fact that it's so cold, it just takes so much energy out of you. So, by the end of the day, you're just, you're just dead. So, oy. Gonna build a nice fire. Make it super cozy. Flying stick. If you're watching this on my YouTube channel, I'm a little behind with my video story and my life. There's just so much living and so much stuff to do. So much wood to chop. You learn so much. And this has been a phenomenal learning experience living up here. Getting to do these things that everyone up here, like, this is their life. This is normal to them. And we get a chance to experience that. And that is really cool. For me, it gives me so much appreciation and gratitude for the little things. I go home to Canada where we have central heating and 24 hours hot water. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, this is a 5 star resort. You just really value and appreciate all the little things in life. It's a cool experience for us. And a very cool experience that I get to share with all of you guys. You know, just a little insight into a day in the life of what it's like to live up here in Hunza. In the north of Pakistan. So crazy. I still can't wrap my head around it. So let me know what you think in the comments below. We got about one third of the box in that one. Pepsi here is our master fire starter. Learned from the locals over here. Different people, different techniques. And then came up to a solution of how we can do it over here. There's an art. There is an art of the Bukhari. I got myself a good man. Finally, the light has gone off. We were expecting that. So, oh, house got the fire going. There it is. It's time to check on the gosh now. So you guys want to see our nifty jugar here? Rig this light up here to a battery. And that's our light. That's how they do it over here. That's how they do it. It's been three hours. Fingers crossed. Is it good? Oh my gosh, I think it's burnt again. What the heck? It's okay? Good. I hope we can salvage more meat than yesterday. Better than yesterday. We're not as good as that first night. I'm not sure. I think we got first time luck when we made it. Heat that up. Watch this jacket. My back is so stiff. Can't close the icebox. Oh, thanks. So this is always the hardest part. Is going back out here. Because we shut our propane heater down. It is going to be cold. It is literally an icebox in here. It is like well into the minus temperatures. So we got to make this quick. I have no idea where I left my sweater. There it is. Laptop. Because we're going to watch a movie. Right there. Under the bed. Back into the warmth. It's movie night. Kate has this recent genius idea. Our landlord actually had a TV here. We don't have a TV but he had a TV already at the house here. So now the past couple of days we watch our movies on the big screen. That's exciting. Too stiff. Can't handle it anymore. That's one of the things we found actually. Because we wear so many layers and such thick jackets. You can't move all day. And that paired with just constantly being cold. Your body just naturally contracts. So we're both feeling a bit stiff. Stuck to the bottom again. I'm telling you it's not that much. It's like yesterday. It's mainly burnt. We failed again. It's okay. Next time let's burn it. But there's nothing. There's nothing. And this is pretty much how we spend our night. Winters. Cozy. But it's nice. I don't think a lot of people actually sit and do this every night. Just be together. They don't have time. No. They're stuck in their own thing. But we sure have some good memories here. Oh my gosh. So many good times. Beautiful memories. This is how we live life up here. This is what a day in the life looks like. Dream life. Dream life here in our humble homestead. In Golden Lake Hunza. Oh hi Barney. How are you? Colin had two L's. No, no. Give me the dictionary. What is that happening? Colin. In my dictionary.