"a REAL EYE OPENER!" a Pakistan Travel Page by bangkokjim

I went to Pakistan in March, 2005. I was advised that Pakistan would be,“an eye opening experience” and that advice proved to be correct. I was met in Islamabad airport by my lovely Pakistani friend. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have him around. I think Pakistan is a hidden TREASURE which most people don’t know about. ( thank goodness! I didn’t want to see other tourists there- and there weren’t many at all! which made me more of a novelty to the locals!) Local people are very hospitable and curious.At first the city environment gave me a unsettling feeling and I stayed very close to my friend, but later I climatised myself with the new surroundings. My friend had to hold my hand whenever we crossed the road- the driving style there is culturally challenging for me. I really loved the food and miss KULCHA-a kind of NAAN bread, the wonderful sweets and milk tea! I want some now!- Rawalpindi is a fun colourful city and I got good vibes from it. Islamabad, the capital city is a sterile psudo Western feeling place where people drive in a linear fashion, smiled less and were more formal. I stayed at my friend’s family house in Taxila ( some interesting ruins there) which is near Rawalpindi- they were gracious hosts. I love the countryside and the small villages around that area. A bus ride to Lahore opened my eyes more- I suppose if one looked up the word Lahore in the dictionary they would see the synonym, “ most confusing traffic in the world” next to it! That city is alive and every corner has some kind of vibrant activity happening- We went to a huge open air Sufi mosque and sampled all kinds of interesting food people were handing out for free- we even contemplated sleeping there as many others were camped out, sleeping on the floor. My friend and I together took a rickshaw in the evening and it seemed like a ride in the bumper car game in an amusement fair! We had so many near misses with other cars, animals, people and the dizzy swirving and maneuvering made me laugh and I literally screamed! We met a nice Pakistani lad looking and smiling at us from another rickshaw making a near miss and hit from our rickshaw.He waved and winked at us. We smiled back and ended up at the same destination at a sweets/ CHAT ( kind of wonderful savoury) restaurant. After my friend and him talked for a while he told us that he had a friend who ran a preschool and that we were all welcome to stay the night there as well.After taking him up on his generous offer- talking to the wee hours of the morning. A bus ride to Peshawar next day was the plan- alone! Peshawar is a border city near Afghanistan. The feeling there was very different; more subdued and a bit on the mysterious side! On the infamous highway to Peshawar I passed the madrasa where the Taliban were educated and were at one time organised. Very interesting! I liked the food in Peshawar and I couldn’t get enough of KAHWA-a green tea with cardamon drunk in small cups. I wandered the small winding back alleys and saw a shop where young boys were weaving, and other places of intrigue. I stayed in a very inexpensive hotel called ARIANA,not clean but quiet and VERY KIND and ATTENTIVE staff! ( I think single women are not really recommended to stay there as I just saw men there)- I wandered around at night and was invited to have a small chat and a PEPSI with an Afghanistani businessman- he wore the traditional big hat and local clothes! His friends sitting around all shook my hand, and one of the younger guys there held my hand for a very long time as I shook his hand. He looked me in the eye, smiled, and wouldn’t let my hand loose until another man said something.
I most definitely will return to Pakistan and discover other areas.

This beautiful treasure of Pakistani history is right in the city centre of Lahore. Maybe I was there at the right time of the year because it wasn't full of tourists like one might have at the famous Taj Mahal, and there was no entry fee for anyone, not even tourists! there was no booth selling tourist trap trinkets ( I know it is someone's income) but after a while it is nice to feel like I am seeing something special and not some mass produced tourist thing. I wandered around freely and just admired the beauty of this place!

This is a real must to see in Lahore - the beauty but innocence of this mosque awed me - I saw many mosques around the world, especially in Istanbul and Cairo but I put this with the ones in the top.