Mirage Hotel & Banquet Hall Lahore

... foot, knee, and back injuries. The problem was severe enough that they were going to resurface the whole area with a covering that would absort the impact of their footwork.

I managed to upload a couple of short grainy viedos to give you a sense of the scene. I hope
they will run for you.

During the entire event, there was a guy on the ground front and center for us, who acted like a cheerleader, reving up the crowd. The crowd was cheering ...

... You speak Urdu?'

'Uh, no.' I said smiling. 

'You like Pakistan?' the original speaker asked.

'Um, yes. I think... I haven't really seen it yet.'

They giggled and one said, 'You know the situation in Pakistan now?'

'Yes, yes. I know the army is fighting the Taliban in the northwest. I'm not going there.' 

'Good.' they said in unison.

'Is it safe in Lahore?' I asked a little more nervously than intended. 

They both ...

... prefer the Mynahs. Very sweet birds, very smart and curious, lovely birdsong. They sit outside our bedroom window in the morning and sing to us. They sit on the windowsill in the kitchen and watch us wash the dishes and make breakfast. Yes, they're after our food, but I like them all the same. I went for a fitting the other day -- getting my Pakistani wardobe ...

... to be followed by a group of boys and shrugged it off at first but it got annoying so I doubled back a couple of times and also ducked into one of the interesting museums there. When I came a couple of security guards approached me and explained that they'd noticed the boys and had warned them to stay away but if I have any problems just to let them know - I felt very looked after. Shrine of Baba Shah Jamal - for Thursday's Sufi night. This was a weird and ...

... were narrow, and of course there were no sidewalks, but people walked along both sides of the street while two-way traffic passed between, honking horns to warn pedestrians as they sped along. Occasionally, a parked car would cause a bottleneck, and people would fight with bicycles and motorcycles to pass through the narrow space between the car and the oncoming traffic. Between the traffic and the stores, there was plenty to keep my mind ...

... The ride was extremely peaceful, with farmland on either side of the road, and no motorized traffic to be seen anywhere. I went from serenity to anger a few minutes later, when the Indian immigration official told me my Pakistani visa was no good and I'd have to go to Delhi to straighten it out. When the visa had been printed, it was off center, and the expiration date was cut off by the margin. I didn't think much of it at ...

We arrived in Lahore during Eid, the three day holiday at the end of Ramadan. It is one of the biggest events in the Islamic calender and the streets are awash with people celebrating and stuffing themselves after a month of fasting. Malik, the owner of our guest house used to be media advisor to Benezir Bhutto and a journalist, but now spends his time smoking, chatting with guests and organising free trips to local events. He told us that when he first ...