"Islamabad the basics" a Islamabad Travel Page by mi5chelle

Well, today 12 October is my birthday and I am back in Islamabad. I was in Central Europe for a couple weeks and now I am back on my way to Kabul and then Bamian, Afghanistan.

The weather is much cooler now and enjoyable. Pakistanis favorite weather is when its cloudy.

I go through Islamabad, often, like Dubai .

So far, I am have been really impressed with Islamabad - very modern and developed city. My travel agent is based there and he's great. Plus, I found a great guest house for accommodation -- will post it all.

I even took PIA - Pakistani Airlines- from ISB to Dubai, once, and it was a lovely flight... more later

Islamabad, as I have discovered in early June, is a great hub of publishing (without paying heed to copyright laws). There are great bookshops for all kinds of things, especially rugs, klims, mountaineering, Politics of the region and Islam. The best bookstore was Sabeebs in the Blue zone. I must find the card so I can give the details.

That sums up Islamabad, now that I have had some time to really explore the city and participate in the so called nightlife. Islamabad was organized as a capital city and as such, it is laid out on a grid pattern with several colored zones. Everything seems a bit artificial since its too organized. Many Pakistanis even say that ISB is not the real country - one should explore Rawalpindi or Lahore for that. However, its is an extremely well-guarded city and very clean. You can definitely walk around at night, even a woman alone, and feel safe. Not much nightlife but some great restaurants. More on this in the activities section.