Seagulls and bare midriffs. I’ve made many mistakes in my life. The latest one was based on the assumption that the weather in Holland and England would be mild since the temperature was going up in Pakistan. That proved to be a wrong assumption. When in September 2006 we started our trip towards the East in the revamped Land Rover, we left behind our “European” camper, the Renault master we had bought the year before. It was a good car although underpowered with too little ground clearance to risk roads in underdeveloped countries. We left it in a garage in Holland [View Full Entry]

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February 24, Islamabad It’s after the elections and after the results have been published. Only 30 to 40 % took part and scores of women were prevented from voting, although that is their constitutional right. It seems that in other parts of the country not everything went as peacefully as it did here, but even with that as a consideration it all went a lot less problematic than expected. Of course, in a country like this trouble lurks always around the corner because democracy is a word that has a foreign ring to it, like in South Africa. There the opposition [View Full Entry]

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Things are settling down in Pakistan, and life has been inching towards normality in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi over the last few days. The 'miscreants', 'mischief-mongers' and 'anti-social elements', as the newspapers call them, have mainly been refraining from creating civil unrest. The shops and markets are open again, public transport has been re-instated, petrol is available, and the people have come out of their houses. The PPP flags are still flying high, the debates about the now postponed election and the cause of BB's death rage on, but life inevitably goes on. I spend my days drifting, [View Full Entry]

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In this morning's newspaper, I read that foreign travellers in Pakistan are advised to stay in their lodgings for the moment until the situation becomes clear. As Islamabad is relatively quiet, I venture out to test the waters two days after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The streets are more lively than yesterday - there are some taxis whose drivers try to get my attention by slowing down and calling to me, and there is a long queue of cars, blocking half of College Road, trying to get into the petrol station - there was a petrol strike yesterday. Armed policemen [View Full Entry]

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Islamabad is a very sad city today. After yesterday's assassination of ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto, three days of national mourning have been declared, and everything is closed: the markets, the shops, the bazaars. There are no taxis, no form of public transport. An eerie silence has befallen the deserted streets. Occasionally, small groups of people cluster together by the roadside. They look dejected, defeated, angry. In the process of moving hotels earlier, I pass some road blocks; young people stand around street fires and debris. There have been violent riots on the streets of many Pakistani cities last night, as people [View Full Entry]

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I just received a text message from my friend Maddie in England, telling me that Benazir Bhutto has been killed about an hour ago in Rawalpindi - Islamabad's neighbouring city, a mere 15 km apart - in a suicide bomb attack. As my TV in the hotel doesn't work, I went down to reception, only to have these news confirmed by the ashen-faced receptionists. Everybody is standing around in silence, not quite knowing what to say or do. I'm feeling rather shocked. I was supposed to be in Rawalpindi this afternoon - I had planned to go to the bazaars in [View Full Entry]

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After a pleasant stay in South Africa where we found that, after almost three years, prices have rocketed, service provision has declined with power interruptions almost daily, and the black population has become more self-assured and therefore much easier to live with, we headed back to Pakistan. We left behind a country where deep divisions are created, politically, between a man who meant well but established an almost autocratic rule and another, who is favored by the masses notwithstanding being accused of gross corruption and rape. The latter, Zuma, will be head of the most powerful politically party until he steps [View Full Entry]

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It's Christmas Day in Islamabad. Actually, it isn't - it's the birthday of Pakistan's founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah, so there's a public holiday here, too. But I've been wished 'Merry Christmas' many times over today by well-meaning Pakistanis, who are very surprised when I tell them 'thank you very much, but I am not a Christian'. Earlier, when I had a picnic in the sunny Rose Garden, a young man approached me, handed me a beautiful pink rose and said 'Merry Christmas', before disappearing amongst the trees. Bless. I arrived back in Islamabad three days ago, and I have to say [View Full Entry]

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It's Dark Moon and I am in Islamabad. It feels quite strange to be in a place I have previously only seen on the news, mostly in regard to political unrest and bombs. The way Islamabad is portrayed in the media, you almost expect to arrive in a warzone - but things feel relatively normal here. There are big wide streets, cars, people, just like everywhere else - but there is a difference, and that difference is in the atmosphere. I arrived in Lahore last night, after spending the day on planes and at Delhi airport - I remembered once again [View Full Entry]

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Loose lonies: Although Karachi is a sea harbour, there are no seagulls. Instead, there are hundreds of buzzards. Pakistan has a male dominated social order. Very few women are seen on the streets and only evenings some do their shopping. It is not generally acceptable to sit next to a woman in busses and taxis. Close to 75% of marriages are arranged and social contact before marriage is very uncommon. The Land Rovers we met all had Goodrich tyres and had experienced very few if any punctures while we, travelling along the same bad roads like in Ethiopia and Georgia, gained [View Full Entry]

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