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
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