I've been to the Swat Valley before, it's one of Pakistan's most beautiful areas.

Indeed, it's known as the Switzerland of Pakistan, famous for its clear flowing river, magnificent mountains and delicious peaches and plums.

Swat Valley as a tourist destination is jam-packed with hotels and restaurants - or rather, it was.

Even as we entered the valley, we passed mudslides that had closed part of the main motorway into the region and we could see the flood plains of the Swat glistening in the distance.

Restaurants and guest houses over 30ft above the normal waters are battered or even washed away.

The surviving businesses are caked in thick swathes of feet deep mud.

Everywhere in the lower part of the valley, people are trying to clean up what has been left behind.

A car garage owner showed me his business, set well back from the banks of the river.

"It was filled to the roof with water," he told me. "Now we are clearing out the mud and trying to mend the cars that were left inside."

Battered buildings re-emerge from torrents

He, like many others, had moved from the most endangered areas as news spread that floodwaters were surging further upstream.

Heading north, we saw men in self-made rafts battling the torrent.

They were paddling to higher ground, carrying whatever they could salvage.

The once clear waters of the Swat River are now filthy grey.

We watched as people crossed the river at its lowest and safest points, gathering their precious finds, and young boys scampered along the newly-formed banks of the river.

It struck me that the land that would've been in front of them has been washed away.

Others carted possessions along the river's edge in wheelbarrows passing battered buildings that have re-emerged from the torrents that engulfed them to their rooftops.

Local man 'hasn't seen this level of flooding before, not even in 2010'

We watched as a lone truck with a large USAID logo on the side was directed towards the riverbank and dumped mud they had cleared from flooded houses and businesses back into the river.

Also watching were a group of men, who a week would have been underwater.

Now they come to the river's edge to just stare and think about what's happened to this famous tourist destination and their livelihoods.

"There was flooding in 2010, but not as bad as this," one of them told me. The crowd starting to gather agrees.

"We haven't seen this level of flooding before, not even in 2010," another man adds.

The government of Pakistan blames climate change, and those here agree that the weather is unusual, and things have been changing for some time.

"It's very different, very different," a younger man said.

Pointing to an older friend he added: "Compared to before the climate is changing, but he's older, ask him…"

The older man nodded and gestured in agreement.

"This is the second time the floods have come, but this one was far more dangerous, it destroyed everything, previously we had floods but never like this."

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There's nothing unusual about monsoon rains in Pakistan, but this time they have been life changing and deadly - and this season isn't over yet.

I asked the men if a repeat of the heavy rains in the mountains could bring even more tragedy for them, and for the country.

They all nodded, with one simply replying: "We are scared."

<p>The world's smallest cocktail bar has opened its doors inside a city centre PHONE BOX - with barely enough room to fit more than one customer. </p><p>The tiny 8ft high x 3ft wide bar has been launched on Temple Row, Birmingham, inside a disused iconic red K2 phone box. </p><p>Punters will have just 10 minutes each inside to sample from a selection of three cocktails - Jam Jar Daiquiri, Pornstar Martini and Bramley Apple Smash. </p><p>The Cocktail Club opened the pop-up boozer on Thursday (1/9) and it will remain operating from the phone box until tomorrow (Sat).</p><p>The first day was an invite-only event but customers can now sample the drinks with no bookings required from between 3pm and 8pm. </p><p>JJ Goodman, co-founder of The Cocktail Club, said, “I am so excited to be hosting this pop up in Birmingham.</p><p>"The World’s Smallest Cocktail Bar, as far as we’re aware, is serving a handful of our signature cocktails to the people of Birmingham. </p><p>"We thought as we are opening the biggest cocktail club we have ever opened here it would be sensible to open the smallest cocktail club we have ever opened as well. </p><p>"It’s been a little bit tricky because I'm 6ft 3ins but I've managed to squeeze in there."</p><p>One customer to try one of the phone box cocktails was 21-year-old student Kyla Moore, of Edgbaston, Birmingham. </p><p>She said: "I think it's a pretty cool idea, but its obviously not really a place you can go on a night with the girls because you can't all fit in there. </p><p>"The Pornstar Martini was lovely though. The lack of space they had to prepare it in doesn't seem to have impacted the quality of the cocktail. </p><p>"It just needs a little sound system in there and I'd happily spend more time here. It's definitely the tiniest bar I have ever drank in.</p><p>"And it's certainly a good way of giving our classic phone boxes a new lease of life as well."</p><p>The Cocktail Club's permanent bar in the city is set to open on nearby Temple Street on September 29.</p>

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