All that said, we’re now in Gilgit and the drive was completely without incident.  In fact, the people here are almost nice to a fault.  As we drive through towns everybody waves, and when we stop to eat or stay in a hotel, people are really excited to see us.  Not only that, but this area is really beautiful!

The truck parked along the Karakorum Highway, on the way to Gilgit

Even the police are quite excited to see us, as I imagine tourism has pretty much ground to a halt over the last six months (we haven’t seen a single westerner since we’ve been in Pakistan).  We got several police escorts, but one guy was particularly colorful.  I was sitting up front, and all of a sudden he pops up out of the hatch on top of the cab with his AK-47 and started posing for us to take pictures!

He even indulged our curiosity and fired off a couple of rounds into the wilderness, and then passed his gun off to our trip leader, Danny, who also took a shot.  I would have liked to have had a go at it, but unfortunately I wasn’t riding in the cab with them…

I’ll update again once we’ve done some climbing here – we’re driving tomorrow to Skardu to check out new routing possibilities around there.

View of the mountains from Chatru

Chatru and Chota Dhara are known (or at least they should be known) for the vast supply of boulder problems that litter the valley in which they lie. A British fellow has spent quite a lot of time there and put up hundreds of really high quality problems mostly in the higher grades. That said – I’m not much of a boulderer. After a couple of days of getting thrown off really hard problems and rubbing my fingertips raw, I decided enough was enough, grabbed Jeremy and decided that even though the nearest hospital was six hours away, this would be a great time to try two things for the first time – new routing, and leading multipitch trad.

Rather than recounting that particular epic in full detail, I’ll just throw in this picture of me and Jeremy huddling in cave – cold, wet and with yet another rappel to go.

We probably would have looked even more unhappy had we known that while yes, the ropes did BARELY reach the bottom on the last rappel, they would then get stuck and require not one but TWO trips back up a full 60 meter pitch to fix.

Luckily the rest of my climbing went significantly better (and Jeremy is still willing to climb with me). Not counting that first route, I lead seven first ascents. Most were not anything particularly special, but on one trip into a nearby canyon I saw a line that immediately called out to me – a really fantastic looking corner crack. At first I was hesitant – on the con side it was definitely two pitches with a hanging belay and definitely looked difficult. On the pro side, it looked like there was fairly good protection the whole way up save the crux, it looked like great climbing, and most of all, I just really wanted to be the first one to send it.

Luckily Danny was on hand to sit back and take pictures (or go run for help). In the end it was fantastic climbing, definitely pushed my limits, and Dave and I went up and down without incident.

Pulling hard on Black Widow (5.10c) in Chatru

On the crux of Black Widow (5.10c) in Chatru

Now I’m back in Manali, relaxing for two days before we drive to Amritsar. We can’t legally bring any alcohol into Pakistan, so before we leave we have to deplete the stock of the truck bar and celebrate Ed’s birthday. I’m looking forward to that, but not the fact that yesterday in Amritsar it was 100 degrees!

Bridge over the Beas River in Manali

On the road from Manali to Chatru

Me on the first ascent of Spliff and a Chowmein (5.9) in Chatru

Jeremy leading Blood on the Rocks (5.7) in Chatru

Me messing around after a day of climbing in Chatru

Chatru is really just a river crossing that happens to have a couple tea shacks – pretty rustic

Moonrise in Chota Dhara

A couple days  I stepped outside the hotel to find some sort of Hindu parade coming down the street of the bazaar where we are in Pahar Ganj.  I’m not really sure what it was about, but it was pretty interesting to watch.

We also got out for some climbing yesterday, just outside of Delhi at Dhauj rocks (near Faridabad).  It was really nice rock, with loads of trad routes between 10 and 30 meters tall.  I bagged my first too legitimate trad leads, which was really fun.  Without a guidebook I can’t say for sure what grade they were, but I would guess around French 4 or in American grading 5.6 – easy but good for starting to lead.

Anyhow, now I’m in Manali, waiting for the rest of the group to catch up and relaxing in the cool mountain air!

We moved on from Mt. Abu yesterday, which while still fairly hot, was cool in comparison to where we are now.  I didn’t get a chance to take any photos in Mt. Abu so I won’t linger on it long, but it’s known as a place to get away from the heat in Rajasthan, and is a popular honeymoon spot for newly married couples.  We had hoped to do some climbing in Mt. Abu, but unfortunately all we found were some unprotectable slab climbs that weren’t worth the effort.  We spent the three days lounging around, walking around the town, and generally being pretty bored.

Now we’re in Jaipur, which is about 500 km northwest of Mt. Abu, but much hotter as it’s at a lower elevation.  Jaipur is known as the “Pink City” but really it’s another hot, dirty Indian metropolis.  We hired an auto-rickshaw for the day today and drove around to see a few tourist sites – the best of which was a palace complex:

We also stopped by a factory where they make textiles, and I got some presents for my family (getting Christmas out of the way early).  We also hiked to the top of a really (too) tall minaret so we could get a view of Jaipur

That pretty much leads me up until right now – we are here tomorrow as well, which I plan to spend reading by the pool and trying to keep reasonably cool.  Then on Monday we drive to Delhi, which is supposed to be slightly more hot than here, if that is even possible.  We had a whole week alotted for Delhi, mostly because the a good portion of the group needs to hang around the Chinese embassy and work out their visas.  Seeing as how I don’t need to do that, I plan to spend a day or two climbing, a day to see Delhi, a day to go to Agra and see the Taj Mahal, and then I’m going to hopefully take the first bus to Manali and take it easy in the mountains while I wait a couple days for the group to catch up.  It’s a cool 56 degrees there today, which sounds GREAT.

The train ride itself was fairly enjoyable, although I was dead tired.  Luckily I shared a compartment with a middle-class Indian family, they seemed pretty trustworthy so I was able to go to sleep for four or five hours without having to pay close attention to my luggage.  Riding an Indian train is a different experience – I road in sleeper class which isn’t air conditioned and is where most middle class Indians would travel.  As you sit there looking out the window there’s a neverending procession of people selling food, drinks, toys and whatever else you can imagine.  Unfortunately the one wallah they did not have was the beer wallah, much to my dismay, because a cold brew after a 24 hour plane ride would have been JUST the ticket.   If I was more awake I would have been all over the food offerings, but the couple things I did get were really good – thats definitely an upside to this country – the food is delicious even in the worst places.  Finally we got to Goa and I got off and took a taxi to my hostel (at which I seemed to be the only guest), and then immediately passed out for about 12 hours.

Finally the next day I got an Indian cell phone and gave Danny, the trip leader, a call and took a five minute drive to meet up with the truck – which was looking as beautiful (or as dingy) as ever.

I spent the next couple days doing pretty much nothing, just relaxing and sitting on the beach, which was really beautiful – and with warm water!  It was almost a surprise when I went in, since I’m used to the cold Atlantic in New England.

One awesome perk of our hostel was that they rented out scooters and motorbikes by the day, for only $3 dollars.  Indian driving is chaotic, but I got used to it pretty fast and zipped around the nearby beach towns to go to restaurants and shops with other people from the group.  Unfortunately I also wiped out on it once, and had to pay the guy about $10 for it to get the paint touched up (in the end that was still a steal, India is so cheap!).

Finally we left Goa, and that’s where I’m going to leave this post.  We’ve traveled north about 1200 km to Mt. Abu to do some climbing – but I’ll get to that next time.  Here’s a parting picture that pretty much sums up how relaxing Goa was:

Now that I’m graduating, it’s almost time to go into the real world and start working and be limited to three weeks of vacation a year.  Luckily I made arrangements with my job to delay my start date until late August – giving me a great opportunity to take off and see some more of the world.

This time instead of the Middle East, I’m headed for India and Pakistan (I was never one for traditional destinations).

I’m flying into Mumbai on May 25th, and then taking a day train down to Goa where I can meet up with the expedition.  Goa is supposedly full of beautiful beaches like this:

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better way to unwind than to sit on a tropical beach with a cold beer!

After Goa we have a long list of destinations, including the Ghats, Mumbai, Rajasthan (Jaipur, Agra), Delhi, and then towards the Himalayas and Ladakh.  After heading through northern India, we head into Pakistan for some time around Lahore and then into the beautiful mountains of the Karakoram:

Finally, after being abroad for 11 weeks I return to Islamabad and fly back to Chicago.

I’ll try and update this blog as much as I can, including lots of pictures and climbing reports – so keep me on your blog list and start looking for entries come the end of May!

There are plenty of places providing good advice on what to do when you’re in an interview, but not too much on actually getting invited for interviews in the first place. Hopefully the advice below can help fill in the gaps.

Kick Ass at Career Fairs

Up until a year ago, I took the on-campus career fairs at UIUC for granted.  Then I studied abroad for a year in London and I realized these events are gold, because it’s really difficult to find a job when all you can do is email resumes.  In comparison to that experience, getting interviews out of a career fair (at least at a school that is recognized as good in CS) is like shooting fish in a barrel.

1. Research Companies
   Find the list of employers who will be at the fair and who are hiring CS grads, visit their websites and make your own list of companies you want to chat with.  Learn something about what each company does, and note what in your past experience (in industry or in class) is most closely related.

2. Customize Resumes
   You should hopefully already have a default resume – but you should customize that to each company on your list to visit.  For each company modify your “objective” (or purpose, etc) section to specifically mention at least the following:
   1. Whether you are looking for a full-time position, an internship or a co-op position
   2. The name of the position you are applying for (don’t just say “software engineer”, look on their website)
   3. The name of the company you are applying to
   4. A rough time-frame of when you’re looking to start

   For example, my Microsoft resume read something like “Seeking a full-time position as a Software Development Engineer with Microsoft beginning Summer 2009″.  This accomplishes two goals – firstly, the recruiter is going to have to ask people for this information all day long, so they will appreciate you providing it up front.  Secondly and more importantly, it shows you aren’t just carpet-bombing the career fair with your resumes, you already know something about the company and specifically wanted to speak with them.  The majority of recruiters I talked with specifically mentioned they liked that I had targeted my resume to them.

   It’s also a good idea to bring a couple generic resumes with you in case you end up talking to a company you hadn’t planned on visiting.

3. Dress Smart
   I don’t think you need to wear a suit to a career fair or an interview (at least not for software jobs) – I don’t even own a suit.  That said, I think it’s to your detriment to waltz in with jeans and a t-shirt.  Interview attire seems to be a hotly debated topic, but personally I wear business casual and I think it makes a better impression.

4. Bring a Schedule
   If you’re doing well, you should be able to get a couple of on-campus interviews the day or two after the fair.  From personal experience, if you don’t bring your schedule you’ll start getting confused about when you can and can’t schedule interviews, so plan ahead and write down when you’re free.

5. Approach in Order of Importance
   No matter how much you’ve prepared, it can still be a little daunting to approach companies at a career fair.  It’s better that you save your dream companies for last, and approach other companies first to work off your nerves and get a feel for what you’re doing.  Failure is a part of life, including the job hunting part, so take it in stride and move on.

6. Control the Conversation
   With the prep work out of the way, you just need to execute.  Here’s how I think a good conversation should go:
   1. Walk up, introduce yourself, give a firm handshake.
   2. The recruiter may ask how much you know about the company, here’s where the research you did beforehand comes in handy.  Let them know you’ve got the basic idea, and then ask them one or two intelligent questions to show your interest and get some more specific information.
   3. Hand them the custom resume (don’t give them the wrong one!), point out what you think is most relevant, and discuss!
   4. Don’t run away too early – wait until you are either offered an interview, they elaborate on what you should do to be considered (submit online, etc), or they thank you for stopping by.
7. Don’t Forget to Follow Up
   Some companies have a special process for arranging on-campus interviews, for example many companies that come to UIUC use our online system to accept resumes and do interview sign-ups.  If a company mentions you have to do some extra steps to be considered, get them written down and do them ASAP.

If you follow these steps (or your own version of them), you should stand a good chance of getting interviews.  In my experience many people go to career fairs unprepared and don’t do very well, but it doesn’t have to be that way if you take a couple hours beforehand and do some preparation.

The area of Syria around Damascus is less arid than you might imagine, it isn’t a real desert environment at all – loads shrubs and trees (although plenty hot). On the other hand Palmyra is a true oasis in the desert – driving away from Damascus we soon left greenery behind in favor of vast, expanding sandy wasteland, only eventually broken by the palm forest that gives Palmyra it’s name. On the way to Palmyra we had a quick reminder that although Syria is relatively stable, we aren’t but a half-day drive from somewhere much more dangerous.

Arriving in Palmyra, we had the afternoon to wander around the ruins in the scorching sun. It’s hard to imagine that at one time this place would have been a bustling city providing a stopping point for silk-route caravans weary from the heat of the desert. While they don’t inspire the same awe as the city of Petra, Palmyra is relatively intact – especially the main road which is lined with rows and rows of columns.

After leaving Palmyra, we spent the night bush camping in the desert, enjoying a night away from the sounds and lights of the city. In the morning we headed onto the road again to visit the massive crusader castle of Crac De Chevalier. Arriving at the castle you’d as much think you were on mainland Europe as in Syria – the farther north we go the greener this country becomes (although the heat doesn’t seem to abate at all). The castle itself is an amazing site, unlike castles in Europe, there aren’t too many tourists, and health & safety concerns haven’t prevailed – leaving plenty of interesting dark and ruined passages to explore on your own.

Looking out over the landscape surrounding the castle, it’s easy to see why the spot was chosen, as it is virtually impenetrable due to steep hills on all but one side. We spent the afternoon wandering the ruins, before driving the truck just a few kilometers to a local football pitch where we spent the night. Sometimes in the Middle East it seems as you are the attraction instead of the country – and this was one of those occasions. After we stopped and started cooking, flocks of children and other locals surrounded the truck, looking on curiously as we went about preparing dinner. The people here are incredibly kind, asking us all kinds of questions, showing us the town, and letting us into their homes.

After spending the night near the castle, we’ve driven today to Aleppo, the other major city in Syria besides Damascus. I spent some time wandering around earlier, and the markets here have much the same feel as those in Damascus – and theres still plenty of tasty street food. Tomorrow we’ll head to the Turkish border, and that will signal nearly the end of my trip with Hot Rock. We’ll reach Adana on the 26th, and on the 27th I’ll catch a night bus to Ankara where my flight back to London leaves on the 28th.

It’s been an interesting and strange experience overall. Most people I know at home react in surprise that I took such a long vacation – but on Hot Rock five weeks is almost no time at all when many of my new friends have spent months on board (some since South Africa). I’m definitely better (and a bit tanner) for the experience, and I hope that I’ll have the chance to come back to Hot Rock in the future for more than a holiday. That’s about all I’ll be writing in this blog on my Hot Rock trip (though I’ll still write occasionally about other traveling and such) – so I’ll talk to everybody when I’m back and settled in in London.

Cheers,
Paul

Links to Albums for Syria:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2389913&l=bca87&id=1928719

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2392150&l=00ce4&id=1928719

Half of my time here I’ve spent wandering around the old part of Damascus, which is an amazing section of the city filled with winding souq’s housing an incredible variety of shops and eateries. You can (and I did) spend a whole day just wandering from one food cart to the next sampling the cheap and delicious cuisine – an experience that only really sets you back about US $10. With the food and shops out of the way, another must-do is a trip to a Hammam (bath). Me and some of the guys headed here for an afternoon of relaxation, complete with a wash, sauna, scrub-down, massage and an hour sat drying off and drinking tea. Today should be another relaxing day, wandering the rest of the old city – seeing the famous mosque (supposedly second only to the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, which I recall was quite spectacular), and of course filling myself with some more food.

The Umayyad Mosque

Damascus Souk

The other four days I’ve indulged in the newly developed Syrian sport climbing – which to be honest isn’t really anything special. The largest and only crag I’ve visited is Monte Rosa, which consists of several dozen bolted single pitch routes on sharp limestone. The grading here is very modest, to the point where anything French 6a or above is a real struggle for me even on a top-rope. The climbing mainly consists of 15-20m routes that ascend razor sharp limestone with mainly tiny crimps for holds (a combination that has lead to quite a few cuts and scrapes). I spent 2 days working through leading many of the grade 5 climbs, and another 2 days top-roping some of the more difficult ones. Overall an interesting crag, but in no way more exciting than taking a couple hour drive from London down to sport climb in Portland (certainly nothing compared to Wadi Rum!).

Climbing in Monte Rosa

I don’t have an SD card reader at the moment, so I’ll post Damascus photos along with ones of the ancient city at Palmyra when I get a chance. Only another 6 days left on the trip!