Parkway Hotel Lahore

... enormous red sandstone courtyard was surrounded by four towering minarets at each corner and had nothing in it but empty space and a very beautiful three domed mosque shooting up from its opposite end. In an excited rush to take pictures I had made my way off of the main (carpeted) walking path and quickly realized my mistake when my bare feet started to burn on the sandstone. Half running and half hopping I sprinted to the mosque where an old Pakistani man was shouting at ...

... Khan mosque one of the most beautiful mosques in the country. Decorated with frescos, Glazed tiles minarets arches and domes. Later continue to Shalimar garden, romantic garden of the Moghuls. See the beautifully laid fountains and fantastic architecture of this garden of Love.

... a bit of sleep because a friendly man next to me kept me talking - explaining among other things the secret ways to choose the best fruit! To be honest I was also quite excited to meet up with my friends in Lahore again so maybe I wouldn't have slept much anyway. I arrived at about 6.30am and after catching a rickshaw I found my friend J waiting for me at the hotel as we'd arranged. It was great to catch up - we covered ...

... and tikka -- a gold rope of sorts that one places along the center part in the hair, with a jewelled end that lies on the forehead --these are common items in the bride's dowry. Adnan says it's a holdover from the time when women had no economic rights, and a bridal set was something they could fall back on in hard times. After looking in a few shops, we ...

... It's beautiful and very insulated from the rest of the Pakistani world. No beggars here. No garbage. Clean air. Etc. 5) Everyone here treats me with profound courtesy. You see all style of dress, from Arabian Nights-like outfits to in-your-face, booty-shaking hip-hop clothes -- though certainly more modest dress than otherwise.

... weird and wonderful stalls including lines of veggies, goats heads, trotters and innards, huge dishes of various foods, tea shops, doctors, barbers, 'red light' areas (Heera Mandi has a few 'dancing girls' but it's no Kings Cross) and the old city gate - including a sneaky look from the top of the Lahorie gate. Badshahi Mosque (red mosque) - one of the worlds largest mosque - it was huge and impressive at all time of the day. It also had some 'secret ...

... salubrious event suited for the entire family -- at first that is. Then all hell breaks loose. Suddenly you're wondering who's going to play you in the Lifetime movie --or at the very least what you'll wear on "Locked-Up Abroad" in ten years time once you've escaped prison. And you ask yourself, How in the name of Allah did I get here? It's simple really. Every Thursday night in Lahore the mystical arm of Islam pummels drums, pumps the air and pinches joints in what ...

... careful I have rarely listened --tell me I can't go somewhere and I mentally map the course. I'm in Pakistan for the love of Allah -- what does that tell you? This however is a whole 'nother ball game and one to which I will play by the rules --mostly. Earlier the manager offered as a gift, a salwaar kamzi -- a tunic and baggy pants combo with matching scarf that all the women wear here. He practically begged me to wear it so that I wouldn't stand out "for your ...

... someone looking for some baksheesh (bribe). At this point, I was pretty ******, and decided I'd rather skip pakistan altogether than pay this guy off. So, I told him I'd 'help him out' after I got my passport and papers. Once they were finished, I grabbed my papers and stormed out, ignoring them as they called after me. From there, I took a deep breath and walked under an arch that read "Welcome to Pakistan", where a bulky ...

... inside "you be safe --go." I spin my carryon toward the Tourist Office and the solider yells back for me, "You called Christina? Adja! Come! Your boy is here". And I exhale. <br><br>With a leveled chin and squared shoulders, I part the sea of glaring onlookers amidst murmurs, and even a gasp. My "boy", a man of roughly 50, puts his key in the car door, scrunches his face and looks inside, "Wrong car. You stay, I find the car." Cue the screeching sitar strings and booming timpani and ...