Blogs from Pakistan, Asia - page 12

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

Thursday 22 April We left the Bloom Star hotel, Quetta at 0745 hours on this day, with another police escort, to take us towards Sukkar. The day’s driving has been one of the most memorable for several reasons. Firstly, we were taken through the famous Bollan Pass, where nomads and camel caravans still pass to reach Quetta and onwards into Afghanistan. The scenery was stunning and while running nearly parallel with our journey through some very twisty road, the railroad route passed over many viaducts and through tunnels that the British had built in the 1800s to provide a secure passage for British troops to conduct potential operations against any Russian incursion thus threatening the British Empire’s territory of India. The pass and road also connects the districts of Balochistan and Sindh, where we are as ... read more

Pakistan An early leave is required and we were due to take the bus at 5am. At 4:56am I decide to Wake up and blind panic takes hold!! I rush to get my bits n bobs together and make it to the hotel lobby just in time (well, 5mins late to be precise). Good job I’d packed the night before!! Karachi We get through the airport without delay and fly onto Karachi. Apon arrival we are met by our guide Amjad, who greets us enthusiastically and welcomes us to his country. Despite the concerns from family and friends and from what we’ve read or heard in the media regarding terrorism and bombs etc etc Amjad immediately puts us at ease and tells us that the people of Pakistan are welcoming and very hospitable. Lets hope so, ... read more

Pakistan...well what an interesting and amazing place to spend a few weeks! If you listen to most mass media...Pakistan is a place of the Taliban, extreme Islam and constant suicide bombimgs. For us travelling through...we knew we had to spend some time in the country to apply for my Indian visa but we were unsure what to make of the security situation and basically wanted to play by ear and see how we felt before we decided to spend some time here or head straight to India. So the country has some problems...but what country doesn't! Firstly when 80% of the budget is spent on military...that doesn't leave too much for infrustructure and services like health and education. In Lahore the 2nd most populous city in the country the condition of one of the main access ... read more

Okay, Pakistan in good for one's ego. That's 100% clear. We're now exactly one week in Pakistan and all is going well and our egos had a significant boost, but more about that later on. The main reason of being in Paki is visiting a good, old friend on mine (who probably doesn't want to be called 'old', or do you, Renate?). We had a perfect flight from Kathmandu to ISB, with only one weird thing: the whole plane is basically full, but only 3 female passengers: 1 western lady in Business class and 2 in Economy, one of which being Agi and the other one is a local lady. Despite my initial expectation, we were shown a lovely local movie, which was actually in english: "Wolverine, origines", a typical US Hollywood blockbuster movie. Hmmmm, no ... read more