National Hotel Lahore

... hooting and howling at every turn and kick. (I thought to myself, this must be what it is like to see a British soccer match!) All in all, we still enyoyed the spectacle.We were in the crowd with the enthusaistic Indians, and could see at least 1/2 of the action. If you ever get a chance to see this event be sure to do so, but get there early, don't bring a bag, and head left near the entrance to show your passport and get the international visitors seat!

... and said, 'Yes, yes.'

'Are the taxis safe?' This was the question that was foremost on my mind at that moment.

'Yes! Lahore is safe for you. If you have problem call me!' one of them exclaimed loudly and then burst out laughing as she handed me my passport.

I walked away from the booth with a fresh Pakistani stamp in my passport feeling baffled. All the stories I had read about women being repressed, girls' schools getting blown up and yet these two ...

... for the families, not just emotionally but financially. True Muslims say that if you kill one man, you kill the whole of humanity. If only the others listened to that. On the opposite side, Pakistanis are so sensitive and emotional - you see men holding hands as they ride their bicycles, stroking each others hair as they chat in the parks, singing and reciting poetry and offering their deepest feelings. I spent more time ...

... Moghul (1500AD to 1800AD) have contributed the most to it. The Moghul buildings are probably the most attractive. On an average one can easily spend two full days of sightseeing here. There are numerous mosques monuments bazaars, evening Musical programs and a variety ...

... The paved streets change abruptly to rutted, dirt roads. Neatness, order give way to mounds of garbage, open-air butcher shops, and hundreds upon hundreds of thin, ragged people and their thin, ragged horses and donkeys. I thought I had seen poverty in the street beggars around Liberty. No, this was the real thing. My heart broke all over ...

... at Bareeze, an upscale designer shop in Liberty, a section of Lahore. There were heavily-armed guards in front of all the shops. Ex-army fellows in camo, carrying Kalashnikovs, G-3s, monstrous shotguns. They were everywhere. Try to imagine walking into Macy's, and every exit is covered by half-a-dozen heavily armed guards.We are NOT in Kansas anymore, Dorothy.

... early hours I was cutting it fine to get to the border - I could stay in Amritsar for a night or I could make a dash to get to the border before it closed...well I was itching to get there to discover what it was like so I coolly negotiated with some taxi drivers (the bus wouldn't get there in time) and speed off to Attari and the border. I arrived to a very professional looking but very empty border crossing. There were lots of officials, numerous ...

... Kind of like playing frogger. As funny as it sounds, by this point my shoes were killing me. Two days before in Amritsar, I had purchased a shalwar chamis (the flowing pj's that were popularized in the West by our buddy Bin Laden) so that I would blend in a bit once in Pakistan. Regretfully, I was also convinced to purchase a pair of the 'traditional Punjabi' shoes that so many people in Amritsar wore. "Sure," I thought, "they look like very ...

... way, I can't leave by myself searching for a rickshaw on a dark street surrounded by hundreds of stoned Sufis in a country where Americans, on the whole, aren't exactly beloved --in case you haven't been paying attention. Now our guide is escorting our little group of 7 through the mass of people -- all along I'm groped more times than I can swat -- to the lower level and we're instructed to sit on the far side of the wall. In the melee that crushes me to this point I ...

... explained that So-Far's English was shaky and that he was a good and honest man who'd worked for the hotel exclusively for over 3 years. He went on to say that there had been incidents with fake guides at the Lahore Fort who'd robbed foreigners and that he was positive that So-Called was only looking out for me. Nonetheless, pietra dura is not "clay and old paint" --it's inlaid stone for crying out loud! I came here to learn something not teach someone the names ...