Holiday Inn City Centre Lahore

... til we hit the road construction- more bad news.
4. We parked and ran the last 1.5 Km through all the trucks that were blocked from crossing due to the ceremony. (we could hear the crowd and ceremonies starting)
5. Once at the entrance, before the metal dectector, wer were told we had to check the rucksack. (that was a block of so away and took another 10 minutes.
6. As we approached the International Visitors section, the rail came down and the ...

OK, maybe I am crazy. With the Iran plan crushed I needed someplace else to go. I opted for Pakistan. Not really the safest place to be these days, but in the two and a half days spent there I had no problems whatsoever and was very pleased with my brief visit of the troubled nation. That said, I did only spend time in Lahore near the border with India. I wasn't quite crazy enough to go touring around the country. Or maybe I'm just getting older.

Shortly after my arrival ...

Back in Lahore I went back to J's house for a few days, then went back for a few days to my starting point in Pakistan - the Regale Internet Inn. On 30th March, while I was staying with J's family, the siege at the military camp in Lahore took place. It was a tense day because J was at the site with some journalists so his wife and I stayed by the phone and TV waiting for news. I texted mum and dad to let them know I was ok if they ...

Being a white girl in Lahore is no joke. Walking downtown with Adnan, I'm reminded of a line from Ray Bradbury's The Beggar on O'Connell Bridge:"The effect was much as if someone had struck a great Mongolian steel gong, once." Beggars come out of the woodwork. Child beggars. Women-with-babies beggars. Crippled beggars. Men-with-dancing-monkeys beggars. Beggars ...

... was full of visitors, mainly from Pakistan, including many couples that seemed to escape here for a bit of time 'alone'. Very similar to the fort in Delhi, there was some beautiful marble inlay and tiling, jewels and mirrored decoration. I loved one entrance where the emperor used to arrive by elephant so the steps up were especially designed for an elephant to climb! I was asked by many people for my photo with them and lots of people wanted to talk. I ...

... Urak; not to mention a traditional Pashtoon wedding in Quetta. The Pashtoon tribe are a proud race of Afghans that live in the Western provinces of Pakistan and certainly know how to dance. Watching fifty handsomely dressed Pashtoon men passionately perform their Atthan step for hours on end takes the breath away. Of course, we were roped in to the action on several occassions, but as soon as we thought we'd cracked one routine, they'd moved on to another. Hitch-hiking ...

... lower and breathe. Then a man steps forward and holds up a simple apple that is met with a curiously exhilarating response. He weaves himself into the crowd and kneels amongst the others who seem very excited. He carves out a coin-sized hole and then takes out out a pen and makes 20 holes all around. Now he inserts 20 hashish blend cigarettes and lights them. Everyone wants a hit of the apple bong, and as much as I thoroughly enjoy a bit of hash I cannot help but wonder ...

... so-called guide was miffed and they had a bit of a cock-about right in front of me. My so-called was telling the real guide which way we should go and yelled at him and So-Called corrected him and told me "Don't trust dis mahn." "Oh, like I'm supposed to trust you -- that was not a carousel back there --it was a ******N FERRIS WHEEL --Mary Mother of God!" The tour was fascinating and Real Guide really laid it on thick with his descriptions. "This wide staircase was ...