Monday 25 October 2010
Living it up in Lahore
Lahore was the cultural centre of Pakistan and it was an interesting city to wander round. We visited Lahore Fort which had influences from the British and also Sikhs. We did get bombarded by pakistani tourists asking for photos of us with them on a visit to one of the biggest mosques in Pakistan. We felt like celebrities for the day, even the children were pestering us for our signature, god knows why!! As soon as they went back to show their mates, a new cluster would come over and ask for the same. On leaving the fort, a toilet break was needed and it was typical lady luck again as we stumbled into the office of the park supervisor where the monument that signifies Pakistan's resolution of becoming an independent nation. A brief history lesson later, we were escorted by one of his henchmen out to the middle of the monument where none of the public are allowed to read the resolution.
A walk through the old city was a taste of real Lahore, it was a lot more run down than the rest of the city but seemed to be even friendlier. We stopped for lunch at a pretty modest looking cafe where we got talking to the owner who was such a nice man, he ended up refusing to take any money off us for the food after protesting that we would be offended if he didn't. Jo managed to get her lamb chops one evening which were so much better than Tayyabs!!
On our return to Rawlpindi, we phoned Uncle Masood (Steve's Uncle) to let him know we would come and visit him the following day. "We are meeting you in an hour at your hotel" was the reply which didn't seem to change so we thought it rude not to rock the boat. The problem was, we had just eaten and after learning about Pakistani culture, we felt another meal was on it's way. An hour later, there was a knock at the hotel door, where Masood stood with a close family friend called Farooq. Instead of calling for us at reception, they walked 4 or 5 flights of stairs to call on us themselves, Masood had to rest for the next 15 minutes to get his breath back!!
They also commented on the room and asked us why we were staying in such a shithole, we were slightly taken aback as we initially felt it was quite plush. It had a TV which we were not used to and a sofa, granted the sofa and the bedsheets did have a few holes in. When you take a step back and look at it from their point of view, it was a bit shoddy but if you want your money to last for 8 months, you have to deal with these things!! When we left the hotel, sure enough we were taken to a cafe round the corner for another feed which they refused to accept any money for. Both of them couldn't do enough for us, we were ordered that someone would pick us up the next morning to take us to Islamabad so we could pick up our Indian Visa, to then rest at the hotel and be picked up later for dinner at Masood's. Farooq was a cool guy, he had come back to Pakistan to look after his parents who were sick after most of his life in London and Canada.
The visa was a formality although the organistaion at the Indian embassy was non existent, which was to be expected. We were escorted by Farooq and a family relation, then dropped off after they insisted they take us to McDonalds as we hadn't eaten lunch. Later they picked us up for dinner with Masood, his wife, Farooq, Fasil (son in law) and his wife along with their children. They laid on such a feast, the food was incredible and obviously they cooked far more than we could physically eat. They had even gone out and bought us both a present, a jumper for Alex and a new shawl for Jo, definitely the best hospitality we have received on our trip!! We exchanged photos of the Anwar family and it was a weird feeling to be meeting Alex's good friend's family before he has!!
The next day we left for Lahore again by train, then onto the border for our new adventure in India which we were both so excited about. We were anxious about re-visiting a country we loved all those years ago and whether it would still live up to our favourite. The border crossing was just plain weird and very eiree, you can tell the countries don't like each other as we were the only one's crossing at the time!!
Pakistan was such an amazing experience, it's a real shame the country is so volatile and there's so much corruption as the people were are so friendly and hospitable, a far cry from the images and stories you see on the news. Jo was grateful she wouldn't have to cover up so much as she felt opressed on numerous occasions, mailnly being asked to go an eat behind a curtain at a cafe. It seems backwards that such a devote nation would still treat women the way they do, especially seeing just over the border how liberal Indians are in comparison.
We are in Chandigarh which is supposed to be India's greenest city, and for those of you who know a little about design / architecture, Le Corbusier helped design the city so there should be some interesting architecture. So far, we have been through Amritsar, McLeod Ganj, Manali and then Shimla but will update you soon.
Until next time folks, take care
Alex & Jo xxx
A walk through the old city was a taste of real Lahore, it was a lot more run down than the rest of the city but seemed to be even friendlier. We stopped for lunch at a pretty modest looking cafe where we got talking to the owner who was such a nice man, he ended up refusing to take any money off us for the food after protesting that we would be offended if he didn't. Jo managed to get her lamb chops one evening which were so much better than Tayyabs!!
On our return to Rawlpindi, we phoned Uncle Masood (Steve's Uncle) to let him know we would come and visit him the following day. "We are meeting you in an hour at your hotel" was the reply which didn't seem to change so we thought it rude not to rock the boat. The problem was, we had just eaten and after learning about Pakistani culture, we felt another meal was on it's way. An hour later, there was a knock at the hotel door, where Masood stood with a close family friend called Farooq. Instead of calling for us at reception, they walked 4 or 5 flights of stairs to call on us themselves, Masood had to rest for the next 15 minutes to get his breath back!!
They also commented on the room and asked us why we were staying in such a shithole, we were slightly taken aback as we initially felt it was quite plush. It had a TV which we were not used to and a sofa, granted the sofa and the bedsheets did have a few holes in. When you take a step back and look at it from their point of view, it was a bit shoddy but if you want your money to last for 8 months, you have to deal with these things!! When we left the hotel, sure enough we were taken to a cafe round the corner for another feed which they refused to accept any money for. Both of them couldn't do enough for us, we were ordered that someone would pick us up the next morning to take us to Islamabad so we could pick up our Indian Visa, to then rest at the hotel and be picked up later for dinner at Masood's. Farooq was a cool guy, he had come back to Pakistan to look after his parents who were sick after most of his life in London and Canada.
The visa was a formality although the organistaion at the Indian embassy was non existent, which was to be expected. We were escorted by Farooq and a family relation, then dropped off after they insisted they take us to McDonalds as we hadn't eaten lunch. Later they picked us up for dinner with Masood, his wife, Farooq, Fasil (son in law) and his wife along with their children. They laid on such a feast, the food was incredible and obviously they cooked far more than we could physically eat. They had even gone out and bought us both a present, a jumper for Alex and a new shawl for Jo, definitely the best hospitality we have received on our trip!! We exchanged photos of the Anwar family and it was a weird feeling to be meeting Alex's good friend's family before he has!!
The next day we left for Lahore again by train, then onto the border for our new adventure in India which we were both so excited about. We were anxious about re-visiting a country we loved all those years ago and whether it would still live up to our favourite. The border crossing was just plain weird and very eiree, you can tell the countries don't like each other as we were the only one's crossing at the time!!
Pakistan was such an amazing experience, it's a real shame the country is so volatile and there's so much corruption as the people were are so friendly and hospitable, a far cry from the images and stories you see on the news. Jo was grateful she wouldn't have to cover up so much as she felt opressed on numerous occasions, mailnly being asked to go an eat behind a curtain at a cafe. It seems backwards that such a devote nation would still treat women the way they do, especially seeing just over the border how liberal Indians are in comparison.
We are in Chandigarh which is supposed to be India's greenest city, and for those of you who know a little about design / architecture, Le Corbusier helped design the city so there should be some interesting architecture. So far, we have been through Amritsar, McLeod Ganj, Manali and then Shimla but will update you soon.
Until next time folks, take care
Alex & Jo xxx
Wednesday 6 October 2010
Mr Colley & Ms Beer take class for the day
A short stop in Gilgit was needed to refuel, this gave us the opportunity to plan for our next adventure! After befriending the owner of one of the local restaurants, we met his best friend the next evening who worked for an NGO who invited us for chai (as usual) and to have a look around the school. We decided to take him up on the offer and ended up meeting the family that set up the NGO in the first place. Suprisingly, they were from Colarado in the US and had been living out here for years teaching English to underpriveleged children and working in deprived areas within North Pakistan. It was interesting to get a woman's take about being veiled and how they are treated out here which is generally as a second class citizen.
North-East Pakistan was calling, the main stopping off point was Skardu which we used as a hub to travel the area. The hotel we found was one of our favourites as the staff were so friendly, the view was pretty spectacular, the beds were comfy and they brought chai to the room so we could have it in bed!! We ended up staying for a week with visits to Shigar and Khaplu in between. We ate well in Skardu, the best restaurant in town that was highly recommended by everyone felt like a second home. The owner had been a chef in Knightsbridge of all places and he told us Princess Di had been in to eat on an occasion he was working. He also had been in NY for 10 years and Moscow but he didn't seem to like the amount of drunks in London!!
Khaplu was quite a quaint little village that had a nice mixture of sand dunes and plains but still surrounded by snow capped mountains, we left after one night partly due to the worst squat toilet we had come across!! Jo did get told off by some of the women villagers for not covering her head in a certain village but that was soon rectified at a local shop where we bought some material and everybody laughing at her trying to put it on properly. Shigar was beautiful and like Skardu, we found a hotel with such a friendly owner, it makes such a difference to the impression of a place. He told us that his food was expensive and we should go to the bazaar, we ignored his advice due our hunger and he prepared a delicious feast. Expecting a hefty bill on checkout, the lunch came to 200 rupees which we couldn't believe as it's 130 to the pound. They had an amazing fort in Shigar that had been developed into a hotel so they could maintain the building and gardens. You could even sleep in the room that the king used to sleep, but this was a little out of our budget at £90 a night! Whilst wandering around we were invited to tea with the manager and his friend who was director of education for the region of Balistan.
A military flight was on the cards after speaking to a few people, we even went to the airport to try and speak to the Army Group Captain as we met his brother in Khaplu. No-one knew his whereabouts so we decided to stop being pikey and pay for a flight, it was double what locals pay and extortion for a one hour flight but it turned out to be the most incredible flight we have been on.
Back in Skardu for the last day before our flight, we promised a man we met in the street to visit his new Centre that he had set up to teach English to the underprivileged children of the area. We arrived to a warm welcome of the class consisting of mixing ages, 42 in total. Each of the children took it in turns to stand up and tell us their name along with their mother's and father's plus their age. We had to talk about ourselves which was translated by Kamal (who set up the centre) and they had a chance to ask us questions through him. Alex took portraits of each child that we will print and send to them soon! They were so excited to meet us and talk English with native speakers, it was a real boost for them.
The flight to Islamabad was a short one but incredible due to the closeness we flew to the mountains, it felt like you could reach out and touch them. We only flew around 9000ft and there are many in Northern Pakistan around 8000ft, the highlight was seeing Nanga Parbat which was the mountain we trekked to about a week earlier poking through the clouds! For some reason Rawalpindi is closer to Islamabad airport so we opted for the shorter taxi ride and to make it easier to stay with Anwar's uncle Masood.
We only spent 2 nights there, one round Rawlpindi and the other going to Islamabad to get our Indian visa. Jo was not liking Pindi after being ushered to a curtained section upstairs to be sat with other women diners out of site, it was in a cafe called Anwar's Cafe ironically. Luckily, we befriended the waiter who wanted some English coins so we could sit anywhere on the next few occasions we ate there! Seeing we had limited time left on the visa, Jo was after her lamb chops in Lahore so we decided to leave and return to Pindi to see Masood and also pick up our visa 5 days later.
Lahore was definitely the right move as it has so much more to offer than the other big cities. The owner of the guesthouse took a shine to Jo so we received 5 star treatement, bringing her roses on 2 days, free chai and biscuits, sweets and only bringing us a cushion the night we watched a pakistani folk singer on the rooftop of the hotel. Lahore felt immediately friendlier than Pindi.
Will update you on events in Lahore and meeting the Anwar family soon!
Hope everyone is well.
Alex & Jo xx
North-East Pakistan was calling, the main stopping off point was Skardu which we used as a hub to travel the area. The hotel we found was one of our favourites as the staff were so friendly, the view was pretty spectacular, the beds were comfy and they brought chai to the room so we could have it in bed!! We ended up staying for a week with visits to Shigar and Khaplu in between. We ate well in Skardu, the best restaurant in town that was highly recommended by everyone felt like a second home. The owner had been a chef in Knightsbridge of all places and he told us Princess Di had been in to eat on an occasion he was working. He also had been in NY for 10 years and Moscow but he didn't seem to like the amount of drunks in London!!
Khaplu was quite a quaint little village that had a nice mixture of sand dunes and plains but still surrounded by snow capped mountains, we left after one night partly due to the worst squat toilet we had come across!! Jo did get told off by some of the women villagers for not covering her head in a certain village but that was soon rectified at a local shop where we bought some material and everybody laughing at her trying to put it on properly. Shigar was beautiful and like Skardu, we found a hotel with such a friendly owner, it makes such a difference to the impression of a place. He told us that his food was expensive and we should go to the bazaar, we ignored his advice due our hunger and he prepared a delicious feast. Expecting a hefty bill on checkout, the lunch came to 200 rupees which we couldn't believe as it's 130 to the pound. They had an amazing fort in Shigar that had been developed into a hotel so they could maintain the building and gardens. You could even sleep in the room that the king used to sleep, but this was a little out of our budget at £90 a night! Whilst wandering around we were invited to tea with the manager and his friend who was director of education for the region of Balistan.
A military flight was on the cards after speaking to a few people, we even went to the airport to try and speak to the Army Group Captain as we met his brother in Khaplu. No-one knew his whereabouts so we decided to stop being pikey and pay for a flight, it was double what locals pay and extortion for a one hour flight but it turned out to be the most incredible flight we have been on.
Back in Skardu for the last day before our flight, we promised a man we met in the street to visit his new Centre that he had set up to teach English to the underprivileged children of the area. We arrived to a warm welcome of the class consisting of mixing ages, 42 in total. Each of the children took it in turns to stand up and tell us their name along with their mother's and father's plus their age. We had to talk about ourselves which was translated by Kamal (who set up the centre) and they had a chance to ask us questions through him. Alex took portraits of each child that we will print and send to them soon! They were so excited to meet us and talk English with native speakers, it was a real boost for them.
The flight to Islamabad was a short one but incredible due to the closeness we flew to the mountains, it felt like you could reach out and touch them. We only flew around 9000ft and there are many in Northern Pakistan around 8000ft, the highlight was seeing Nanga Parbat which was the mountain we trekked to about a week earlier poking through the clouds! For some reason Rawalpindi is closer to Islamabad airport so we opted for the shorter taxi ride and to make it easier to stay with Anwar's uncle Masood.
We only spent 2 nights there, one round Rawlpindi and the other going to Islamabad to get our Indian visa. Jo was not liking Pindi after being ushered to a curtained section upstairs to be sat with other women diners out of site, it was in a cafe called Anwar's Cafe ironically. Luckily, we befriended the waiter who wanted some English coins so we could sit anywhere on the next few occasions we ate there! Seeing we had limited time left on the visa, Jo was after her lamb chops in Lahore so we decided to leave and return to Pindi to see Masood and also pick up our visa 5 days later.
Lahore was definitely the right move as it has so much more to offer than the other big cities. The owner of the guesthouse took a shine to Jo so we received 5 star treatement, bringing her roses on 2 days, free chai and biscuits, sweets and only bringing us a cushion the night we watched a pakistani folk singer on the rooftop of the hotel. Lahore felt immediately friendlier than Pindi.
Will update you on events in Lahore and meeting the Anwar family soon!
Hope everyone is well.
Alex & Jo xx
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