Blogs from Lahore, Pakistan, Asia - page 3

Letter from some where near {well 2 hours drive} Lahore. Life has changed dramatically for us since we arrived at our final destination in Pakistan-Syden Walla Farm where we are working with the teachers and teacher trainers in 6 local schools. It is a very rural area and the village of Syden Walla is as it must have been for centuries! There are a few modern touches are provided by the farm which is owned by a very rich man who has was born in the area and now wants to improve it for everyone. He sponsors the schools by providing uniforms and lunch, sends a doctor once a week and has some modern machinery on the farm. However most people are still living in mud brick built houses some of which have a pump in ... read more

Dear All Here in Kot Radha Kishen a town near Lahore in a very tatty internet place!! Having trouble with Hot Mail but this is OK! Apart from this problem we are fine and really enjoying this whole new experience! And it is new---I still cant believe the variety of transport from posh new cars to horses and carrigges that wouldnt look out of place in a Jane Austen film of Emma! There are things that wont have changed for centuries--ladies getting water at pumps walking away with pots on their heads,brick works with people making bricks by hand and the bricks being taken away by donkeys,men in flowing robes and strange head dresses squating around a sheesha pipe for hours on end! Herds of goats and sheep being looked after by small boys with a ... read more

The first night in Lahore was fun. We went to Pizza hut for Sinead's birthday and after Happy Birthday and For She's A Jolly Good Fellow (Australians seem to love this song) we sang Jibey Pakistan (the speeling is pure guesswork), which translates as Long Live Pakistan. The locals loved it; the waiters and a lot of the diners joined in, which I can't imagine happening to a bunch of foreigners singing Rule Britania in an English Pizza Hut. On the second day we visited the Lahore Fort and Red Mosque, which were both beautiful. The mosque had an interesting room, where the roof was built so you could have a private conversation which someone tanding in the opposite corner. After that we went to see the border closing ceremony at Wagha (the border with India). ... read more

Hello Pakistan. I haven't taken all the photos I've wanted to. Some people are very sensitive about cameras here and I am also sensitive about taking pictures. Thus, this is only the tiniest visual slice of things happening. Nonetheless, enjoy.... read more

MONDAY 2nd June. At 17:00 we left Amritsar for Wagha to observe the Ceremony of the Border Closure. Just before the Indian and Pakistani Armies conduct this amazing spectacle of national pride, the squads of soldiers parade up and down with much posturing and silly-walks, whilst the audiences on both sides shout encouragement. On the Indian side, the Sergeant Major shouts "Hindustan," and the audiencece replies with some other undeciphered shout. The opposing Pakistan SM shouts "Pakistan," and similarly gets a retort from the crowd. This goes on for ages! Both the Indian and Pakistan flags are lowered at the same rate, and finally are lowered in harmony. Before this ceremony, at least on the Indian side, is dancing performed enthusiastically by ladies in saris, and children on the road leading to the border. It seems ... read more