Blogs from Punjab, Pakistan, Asia
March 3rd 2011
I actually saw the airing of Nat Geo, Don’t tell my mother: Delhi, the other day here in Pakistan and chuckled to myself. How fitting now, as I walk over the border from India into Pakistan, little brother in tow, mother intentionally uninformed. I would venture to say that given current geopolitics and furthermore the ongoing ex-Blackwater CIA-spy Raymond Davis case currently in Lahore, Pakistan is probably in the top 3 most dangerous countries for Americans to travel to. Well… surprise, Mom! Postcard is in the mail – get excited! … Lahore, the capital of the Pakistani state Punjab which holds more than half the country’s population, is also known as Pakistan’s cultural capital and as a city of poets. Sitting just 30km from the Wagah border and historically set along strategic trade routes between the ... read more
September 25th 2010
It's the faces that say it all. Bewilderment at what happened through an unstoppable force of nature measured by some cynicism that we who pass by in our 4X4 Lexus off-roader will actually do something to help. They are probably right. Altho' my current client has distributed tents and other commodities it remains to be seen whether the Government of Pakistan and the international aid agencies will do more than do the minimum. Pakistan is so mistrusted that the international community has dragged its feet more than usual. These people have lost everything to a flood of Biblical proportions and it is almost beyond imagination what it must have been like to watch the water slowly rise. This wasn't a dramatic, disaster-movie destruction, but a slow, inexorable, creeping up of water that destroyed fields and crops ... read more
August 6th 2010
Day 27 Karachi to Hyderabad (Fri 30th July) So a few of us decided to get up early today to utilise the gym at the hotel. LJ, being a personal trainer, had extracted promises from us the night before to meet there at 0630. I blame the alcohol! We spent an interesting hour in the gym and all promptly decide that exercise was inherently evil and to be avoided at all costs in the future!! It was a refreshing start to the day though and we finally left our hotel in Karachi at 0830. Our first stop today was at the Makli Graveyard, which spans about 600 years and 8km, with some very important tombs in it. The place was amazing and I would have liked to have spent a bit longer there to have a ... read more
August 3rd 2010
It was three hours drive from the Punjab capital, Lahore and we reached the Village 113/7R near Chichawatni city. It was a wonderful after noon on the day of annual URS of Pir Murad ali shah in a village near chichawatni. the day started with the change of cover at the Mazar and then an unending series of cultural activities started. there were different kind of stalls, shaping up in a small Bazar having all kind of things to buy. the most interesting part was the dance of horses, who did exceptional well in maintaining their dance rhythm on drum beats. these horses were well trained with years of practice behind them. these horses are very famous and are of high value. the whole show lasted for a couple of hours and people gave alot of ... read more
Spinning Sufis, Hashish Smoke, and a Police Bust
Published: December 6th 2009Asia » Pakistan » Punjab » Lahore
December 6th 2009
For more of my photos, or to buy my book, please visit www.nickkembel.com For this blog entry, my pictures will tell the story of my ‘see-and-do’s, but the story I will tell you will be non-illustrated for reasons that you will understand if you read below. (I should note, for the Red Light District pics, I did not 'see-and-do'. It just happened to be right in the middle of the Old City). The setting is Punjab, a fertile, prosperous and densely populated region that was divided politically with the partition of Pakistan from India in 1947. Up to a million people were slaughtered in the aftermath of the division. My story takes place in Pakistani Punjab. Islamabad and Lahore, the political and cultural capitals of Pakistan respectively, are located in this region. Few travelers pass ... read more
October 19th 2009
Last week I had the dubious pleasure of visiting Lahore, the commercial and cultural centre of Pakistan. The pleasure was dubious since Pakistan is enjoying a wave of radical Islamist attacks in its urban centres..but a pleasure it was nonetheless. There are only two flights a week from Delhi to Lahore, both on Pakistan International Airlines whose pilots I am told are all ex-airforce. This became apparent as we entered into some alarming low banking turns about 500 feet over the suburbs of Lahore. Myself and Perenia CEO David Tow were met by a warm and gracious SMEC employee named Anwar who accompanied us throughout our stay. David is an old hand in South Asia and has visited Pakistan "about 15 times". Engineers, it seems, have no fear. One of the guys I met in the ... read more
July 5th 2009
Final Fling Blog 5th JFinal Fling Blog 5th July 2009 3 weeks and we will be back in England—it seems so close yet so far away! We are busy in these last weeks writing the modules for the teacher training that will take place in the last week we are here-I am getting quite quick on the key board The lap top is one of the most useful items that we brought with us -infact we should have brought 2. Much of the training is based on making the lessons in the official Punjab texts books more interesting and inter-active but I am also working on sessions about reading/book corners and making books, bullying and Early Childhood Education! It is going to be an intensive week! We have had cupboards made—not quite as we designed but ... read more
July 5th 2009
Dont know why all the text didnt get published! Better luck this time! Due to power cuts and slow internett this had been a whole Sundays work!!!!!!!!!! Final Fling Blog 5th July 2009 3 weeks and we will be back in England—it seems so close yet so far away! We are busy in these last weeks writing the modules for the teacher training that will take place in the last week we are here-I am getting quite quick on the key board The lap top is one of the most useful items that we brought with us -infact we should have brought 2. Much of the training is based on making the lessons in the official Punjab texts books more interesting and inter-active but I am also working on sessions about reading/book corners and making books, ... read more
May 12th 2009
A Typical Day Not really, so let’s make one up from lots of other days with all the best Alarm goes off at 5.45 giving me a bit of snoozing time while the temperature is still pleasant. Getting Geoff out of bed is just as hard here as at home!!! Luckily we have a good bathroom with a shower and a western toilet. Plus geckoes and fireflies and cockroaches!! But we think that problem may be solved for abit due to nasty chemical spray, try not to stand on crunchy nearly dead bodies when visiting the bathroom at night in a power cut! Early morning is a good time to do the washing again due to cooler temperatures. I have a big plastic bowl and we put the clothes in water overnight -the soak and hope ... read more
