I relied on Kayak and then Skyscanner before purchasing my tickets. You could fly Malindo from KL all the way to Lahore but I wasn’t keen on flying that airlines. You could also fly Emirates and Qatar to Pakistan. I decided to fly Thai Airways as it was the most economical but I wasn’t impressed with the airline. Smooth as silk? Hmph! I also searched the airlines to get from Lahore to Karachi and found there are three: PIA, Serene and Air Blue. Again, I settled on PIA mainly because it was the most economical and also because of the more favourable the timing.
Malaysians need visa to enter Pakistan. I got confused at first as I wasn’t sure if I also needed a Letter of Introduction and finally rang the High Commission in KL. They are not the most efficient people when it comes to picking up phone calls and finally I told myself I would just hang on until someone picked up and someone finally did at long last. She asked me some questions and if I were travelling with a group or on tour and when I said I was alone, she said I didn’t need any Letter of Introduction. The same day, I ran into a colleague who travelled to Pakistan in August and he told me I needed the Letter of Introduction and that I might even be interviewed. So the same afternoon, I rang the High Commission again to ask and was again informed that I didn’t need it. I would have to fill up the visa application form so I Googled and downloaded the form. The visa application submission is from 09:30 to 12:00 and collection is from 16:00 to 17:00. You also need two passport-sized photos for the visa so I had to take some photo and of course, no shop sells a set of two photos so like it or not, you have to pay for a set of six photos.
At the same time, I also rang up a travel agency and ask if they could help me with the visa application. They were not too sure about it but said they charged RM30 and that I would still have to go to the High Commission in person. When I rang, the person at the High Commission told me there was no charge for the visa so I thought I might as well apply for the visa myself. I spent an hour on Sunday preparing the visa form. There is a section that asked for the countries visited in the past two years and I had to rely on my blog to list down the countries. You can also apply for visa online and on arrival but I saw the part about uploading photo and recalled the problem I had when trying to apply for Indian visa online so I decided to do it in person. I would be arriving Islamabad late in the evening and hence did not fancy applying for visa upon arrival (although I did this for Bangladeshi visa).
I also searched the bus operators for the Islamabad-Lahore route and then the Daewoo schedules for the trip to Mardan and Jhelum (turned out there was no 09:00 bus to the former anyway) and the accommodation. Shaj had advised me to stay in Defence Housing Authority (DHA) area in Islamabad as it is safer but in the end, I chose Khyber Lodge 2 in Islamabad as it was the nearest to the airport (I was arriving late at night anyway) and Daewoo Express Bus Terminal. I chose MaryLeena Hotel Gulberg in Lahore as it had good reviews from previous guests (!) and Karachi Motel 1 as it is the nearest to Karachi Airport.
I purposely chose to visit Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi (and the side trips) instead of Swat Valley or Peshawar because it was winter. I would love to return one day and visit the mountains and rivers but probably in spring or autumn. I also managed to visit five out of Pakistan's six UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Alhamdulillah.
I brought USD to Pakistan. I found that I could purchase PKR in KL but when I calculated, I would get less Rupees compared to bringing USD and purchasing PKR when I was there. I didn’t notice money changers there except at the airports but then again, I hardly went to Islamabad and Lahore downtown.
I had heard of people getting diarrhoea over there so I brought some anti-diarrhoea medication, ORS, carbon pills and paracetamol in addition to my supplements. I brought some cereal drink but there was no kettle provided in the hotel rooms. My mate even got diarrhoea from eating in a hotel (they mixed any unfinished drink back into the bottle/jug so if you buy water over there, make sure it’s an unsealed bottle) because the food hygiene awareness over there is still low. I brought over some food to tide me over. Thankfully I didn’t get endlessly hungry when I was there and could survive on little food. I just didn’t to purchase food there, heck, I even had food poisoning in London OK! So yes, I must admit to not sampling the local fare after knowing how low the food hygiene awareness is over there. I’ve had bad food poisoning episodes when travelling - Myanmar, Jakarta, London - so I wasn’t keen to add to that.
Pakistan is a poor country which is a shame as the country obtained independence at the same time as India. It was founded in violence and chaos and the situation didn’t look to have improved much. I had expected friendlier people - I had read some locals would offer foreigners to stay with them at no charge and that they would be offering to buy you tea but apart from a few men offering to buy me tea, I didn’t find the locals all that friendly. Sure, I did manage to get help from some locals after boldly approaching them (this is not something I’m comfortable with, I really had to step out of my comfort zone) but most times, I had to approach them instead of people coming up to offer to help (except when it was for paid service like tuktuk or taxi rides). I think Bangladeshis were much friendlier (Pakistan may be poor but it is still richer than Bangladesh). I was also surprised to find that not as many people speak English as I expected and in Lahore (Punjab), not many do even the younger people. And how flexible is shalwar kameez?? I saw men in shalwar kameez playing cricket, building houses, working in their fields, etc! I didn’t manage to buy a pair for myself though. And I just realised that shalwar (the trousers) and kameez (the top/tunic) probably share the same root word as seluar and kemeja (trousers and shirt in Malay) .
I would love to return to Pakistan and explore its breathtaking mountains, lakes and rivers. Although I’m sure these places being remote, would have fewer facilities or if there are, less maintained facilities. And the locals would likely speak less English, heck, I even had problems talking to the locals in Lahore. And oh, I would so love to visit Mohenjo-daro.
Saturday, 28 December 2019
I slept poorly and kept hearing men talk from outside my room. I woke up for morning prayers and had a quick cleanup. I then stayed in until 10:00 to pack and charge my devices.
I left after 10:00 and took a Careem Motor to Quaidabad as I’d read (from what limited sources I could find - seriously there is not that much information from foreign travellers on this place) that this is where I could take a shared van to Thatta. I was disgusted when we arrived at the state of the place. There was dust but of course, mud, flies... ugh! I spotted a bus and walked towards it. I boarded and asked a passenger if the bus was going to Thatta, she said no but that I could ride it until the highway, get down and catch another bus. She said she was also going down along the highway and that I could go down with her and she would guide me to another bus that goes to Thatta. I wasn’t keen on changing buses but decided to just board as at least I would have her to guide me. The bus finally moved after 15 minutes and shortly after, the girl called out to me and said I could get down then and board a shared van to Thatta. So I got down and went to ask and was directed to a van. I sat in front next to the driver.
The problem with this shared van was it waited and waited for passengers to board it and when it finally moved, it kept stopping to pick up passengers. At first it was like every 50 metres and then at every small village and town that we passed. We finally reached Thatta two cramped hours later and I got down and walked to the Makli Necropolis. There were quite a few local visitors just arriving too.
I spent more than an hour in the Necropolis and at one point, attracted the attention of a policeman and his sidekick. They then started following me around for God knows why. They probably thought I might blow up the Necropolis or something. I chose to view it as the local police and his sidekick escorting and ensuring I didn’t come to any harm.
I exited the site and crossed the road to await the next public transportation heading back to Karachi. An old man kindly brought me a chair and I sat with him and a boy. Told them I was going back to Karachi and when a colourful bus came, he went to tell the conductor that I wanted to get on. I wasn’t sure as the bus already looked full but I boarded it anyway and managed to sit on some makeshift seat close to the driver. He sure loved playing with his horn, honking at every possible scenario.
We reached Karachi barely two hours later and I got down when I saw some familiar landmarks. I then took an auto rickshaw back to my motel. I went to the reception to get my bag and asked about my room and this time got a room on the second floor. To be honest, I didn’t know what the difference was between a single room and a double room because the sizes of the rooms and beds were similar. The room looked better than the one I spent in the previous evening so I didn’t understand why I had to pay extra for the previous evening in what was a more inferior room. After depositing my bag and locking the room, I went to the nearby shops and bought some biscuits and a big 5-litre bottle of water from one shop. Everything on display at the shop felt dusty. The shopowner spoke English so I chatted for a while with him before returning to my room.
Sunday, 29 December 2019
I decided to ask the motel if they could arrange an auto rickshaw driver to bring me around Saddar, the centre of Karachi. The guy at the reception promptly called a driver but he could only speak Urdu. I told the reception guy of the places I wanted to go (which I googled earlier) and he copied them down in Urdu on a piece of paper which he then gave to the driver. He said the fare was PKR2,500 and when I asked for how long, the auto rickshaw driver gestured five hours and this was confirmed by the guy at the reception.
We left at 10:30 and went to a few places. But as the driver didn’t know English and most directions, he had to keep stopping to ask for directions. I couldn’t communicate with him as he didn’t know English. I was starting to seethe and when he passed some colonial buildings without stopping which I had expressed I wanted to visit, I started fuming. And he brought me to Masjid Tooba but I couldn’t enter at first as it was time for mass prayers for men. The driver also went to perform prayers before bringing me into the mosque. We then went back to the motel and it was barely 14:30 when we arrived. I told the guy at the reception (a different bloke this time) that I would only pay PKR2,000 as he only took me on a four-hour trip instead of five and that he didn’t cover the places I wanted to go. He probably covered only 25% of the places I wanted to go. I left the money on the counter and walked away. The reception guy then called out to me and followed me, asking me to pay the PKR500 balance. He said the driver was poor. I was angry at this statement and said, ‘Look, everyone is poor. Everyone has to work hard. But don’t cheat other people.’ Seriously, please don’t use that line to give a shoddy service and expect to be rewarded fully regardless. And it’s not like I’m that rich to throw away money like that. I would have been prepared to pay extra as a tip if he had rendered a good service. I couldn’t help thinking of the rickshaw puller in Dhaka who brought me around, also arranged with the hotel reception’s help. That man couldn’t speak much English either but he took pride in his work and showed me so much and gave me a good glimpse into the everyday life there. It’s a shame this Karachiite rickshaw driver couldn’t have the same pride in his job and city.
I stayed in my room until 17:15 when I went out to look for dinner. I came back with potato briyani. There was also chicken briyani but I already had that on the flight over from Lahore and am cutting down on chicken anyway.
Monday, 30 December 2019
I woke up after 02:00 to check in for my flight (I couldn’t stay awake last night to do it). I tried to sleep again but sleep was elusive. I even tried to sleep in after morning prayers but was not successful. I stayed in until 13:00 after requesting to check out after I have performed prayers. I then spent 3.5 hours in the lobby reading my book. At 16:30, I called for an Uber auto rickshaw to bring me to the airport. It was less than 3km away anyway.
We reached the airport barely ten minutes later and he dropped me outside the airport compound. I walked in and decided to check where I could have some dinner. I finally had a light dinner at the airport cafeteria on the seventh floor. A PIA staff came and chatted with me and when I showed him the book by Malala that I was reading, he started discouraging me from reading it. He claimed that Malala was pro-US, a USA agent etc and finally I said I was going to keep an open mind. I then left him and went to perform prayers.
After that, I went down to ground floor and went in. I couldn’t check in yet as the counters weren’t opened yet so I sat down and read. The counters were finally opened at almost 21:00 and after dropping off my bag and getting my boarding passes, I joined the long, long queue to clear passport control. After passport control, you have to join another queue so that a man could check that your passport had been properly stamped.
After that, it was the duty-free area and I finally encountered Pakistani products. I didn’t manage to visit any markets or bazaars or shops apart from the grocery stores in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore to buy water so had not bought anything. In the end, I bought a pair of cashmere shawls which are reversible (i.e., you can wear it both ways). Then I walked to the gate and waited. Oh and guess what? Our flight was delayed to depart at 00:00!
Tuesday, 31 December 2019
I dozed off during taxiing and take-off and only woke up just before they served in-flight meal. After that, I tried sleeping again. The movie selection was nothing to shout about so I didn’t bother.
We landed at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 06:30 and had to take a bus to the terminal. I searched frantically for a prayer room and it was way past morning prayers.
This time, my layover was just over two hours and before long, I was already making my way to the gate. We took off on time and landed at KLIA at 11:58. My bag was out early but not early enough to catch the 12:30 bus back to KL Sentral so I had to take the 13:00 bus instead. And my, what a hot day it was in KL. I reached home just before 15:00. Alhamdulillah.
Wednesday, 25 December 2019
I woke up at 06:00 for prayers and stayed awake thereafter. The WiFi connection didn’t improve, if anything it seemed to be worse.
I rang for breakfast and had to wait more than 45 minutes before it was delivered to my room (yes, delivered to guests). Three slices of toast, two hardboiled eggs, milk tea in a small pot, butter and jam and it took them 48 minutes to prepare? Oh well. After breakfast, I went to the reception and asked if I could change rooms. I went to inspect two other rooms (one had no wardrobe and no chairs either while the other room was on the upper floor) and finally I decided to stay put. I did ask them to send someone to clean the room while I was out, explaining there was dust everywhere and hair on the floor.
Saaj, my British Pakistani friend, had told me he would try arrange for a female guide for me but as there was no update on that, I decided to take an Uber Motor to the Walled City. It was a cold ride, I had to ride sideways (all ladies have to ride sideways on motorcycles over there), and it took about 20 minutes to get there but he dropped me at the wrong place (behind the Walled City). It was pretty deserted there except for the occasional men walking about and I was aware that I was the only girl walking all by her self. There was dust everywhere, dry mud, rubbish and whatnot and as I walked, I wondered why on earth the Uber driver dropped me where he did when he pulled up next to me and gestured for me to get on the bike again. He then brought me to the main road and told me to walk around the corner. I thanked him and walked on. It was a cold day and felt even colder because of the fog. At least in Islamabad, Taxila, Mardan and Thakt-i-Bahi, the sun came out and the skies were blue so I didn’t feel cold during the day but I felt cold throughout my stay in Lahore because the sun did not penetrate the fog at all and it was even colder in my room.
I came to Greater Iqbal Park and entered it and walked on until I reached the entrance to the Walled City. You have to walk past a security gate, separate lanes for men and women please. I headed for the Lahore Fort and Badshahi Mosque. I didn’t feel like taking off my shoes so I didn’t enter the mosque. Then I headed for the main gate and paid PKR500 for entrance. I was beginning to think that this is a flat rate for foreigners anywhere and everywhere in Pakistan. I spent almost an hour exploring and had many selfie requests too.
I left and pondered my options before approaching the stall owner at the exit to ask if he could help get an Uber ride for me. His business partner came and helped me. And then a family man also stopped to ask if he could help me. Alhamdulillah. The Uber car arrived about 15 minutes later and along the way back to the hotel, I spotted a Sightseeing Lahore Bus which I later found is ran by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab.
Before returning to my room, I decided to explore the neighbourhood in search of a grocery store. However, none of the hotel staff at the reception seemed to understand what supermarket, mini market, convenience store are. I walked out anyway and at a shopping complex selling mainly silk materials, asked the guards where the mini market was. I then followed their directions to a roundabout only to find that mini market means shops encircling the roundabout. I finally bought water from a small corner shop.
I spent the rest of the day in my room (and no, it wasn’t cleaned in my absence!), half freezing to death. I also did some search on the Sightseeing Lahore Bus and attempted to send a message to the TDCP but they took their time to respond.
Thursday, 26 December 2019
I woke up for morning prayers and attempted to shower but it only trickled cold water so I had a quick cleanup. It took 48 minutes again to get breakfast served today. If you’re starving, you’d do well to order it an hour before and not wait until you feel the hunger pangs After breakfast, I went to get an Uber Motor to Shalimar Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It took about 20 minutes to get there and I was shocked when I got there as the sidewalks outside the Gardens were dusty and dirty with rubbish.
I paid, yes you got it, PKR500 to enter the Gardens and spent almost an hour in there. The Gardens looked mainly unkempt and neglected.
I left and took an auto rickshaw to the railway station to find out the train times to Wagah border. I had missed the 11:00 train and the next train was scheduled for 16:15 which I thought was too late to see the border ceremony. I then waited and waited around the train station until I finally got an auto rickshaw driver who could understand me somewhat to bring me back to the hotel. I stayed in for the rest of the day. It was just as cold outside as it was indoors and I might as well just stay in away from the dust and cold. The TDCP also has buses to Wagah border but only on Fridays to Sundays and I was already leaving Lahore on Friday evening. And you need to book a day in advance for a round-trip tour of the city but they didn’t have it that day and when I asked if they had one the following day, I never received a reply.
Friday, 27 December 2019
I woke up and had to drag myself out of bed. I went into the bathroom and was surprised to find there was hot water today so I showered first before performing prayers. I only had to wait 30 minutes for breakfast to arrive today. I spent the whole morning in my room.
I checked out at 13:40 and sat in the lobby before venturing out for almost an hour. I then returned to the lobby and read my book. I had some argument with the motel in Karachi as the single room I’d booked was apparently not confirmed (only reserved, according to the asshole from the motel). I was to stay in a double room tonight and change rooms tomorrow.
I arranged for Uber to come and the driver arrived at 16:50. It took 25 minutes to reach the airport. I had visions of long queues with people cutting queues but Alhamdulilah, the queues were short. I performed prayers after dropping off my bag before going through security check. The airport looked old and the schedules were on the split-flap display.
I boarded the plane at 18:45 and it was a good thing I checked one of the few screens near the gate because the gate displayed on my boarding pass was different from that announced. We took off on time. PIA served briyani, a very hot and spicy one it was too but I still ate it. That was my dinner sorted, Alhamdulillah.
We landed at Karachi International Airport at 21:00 and it took six minutes to taxi to the gate. This time, my bag was out not too long after I arrived at the carousel. I had help again from a man to arrange Uber for me as I couldn’t log in to the airport’s WiFi. I waited a while for the driver and was about to get a taxi when I heard my name called. He had parked and come to get me. Bless him.
I arrived at the motel about 20 minutes later and checked in. I had to pay for my stay there and then and the difference between one I night’s stay in a double room compared to a single room. The so-called deluxe double room was a joke. The fan was flying at full speed and you couldn’t control the speed. If you switch it off like I did just before falling asleep, you’d hear all the chatter and traffic noise.
To be continued
Monday, 23 December 2019
I woke up at 3 something and just couldn’t sleep thereafter. Breakfast was served late again, after 08:15. I hurriedly had breakfast then took a Careem car to Daewoo Express Bus Terminal. I arrived Daewoo Express Bus Terminal at 08:53 and after searching for change to pay the driver (fare was PKR270), I rushed to the ticket counter only to be told there was no 09:00 bus to Mardan even though when I checked as recently as the preceding Friday that there was supposed to be such service.
As I was already there, I checked the schedules and proceeded to buy tickets to Jhelum (PKR430) for the following morning and from Jhelum to Lahore (PKR600). Then I asked the terminal manager my options and was advised to check if Faisal Movers (another coach operator) had a service to Mardan. I hailed a tuktuk to get there for PKR50. A couple of friendly locals came over and advised me to take a shared van. They then took me to a tuktuk and told the driver to bring me to bus stop no. 26 from where I could take the shared van to Mardan. The van was already there when I arrived and I squeezed into and was in turn squeezed in my seat in the van. Ugh. These people sure have no concept of personal space! We left at 09:47 and arrived in Mardan about two hours later. We passed towns and large spaces of vacant land. The lorries there are very colourful, not unlike those in India when I was last there. There was also a toll booth and just before we reached Mardan, there was a security post that all vehicles had to stop at.
I immediately noticed that Mardan was a more conservative town compared to Islamabad and I felt acutely that I was the sole girl travelling all by herself. I decided I would pretend I was an ignorant foreigner who wasn’t aware of the local custom. After a while, I was approached by a group of men offering their taxi service. I then took a taxi to Takht-i-Bahi, bargaining the fare from PKR1,000 one way to PKR1,500 return. We arrived Takht-i-Bahi at 12:10 and I paid PKR500 for the ticket. Foreigners have to pay so much more as usual and I was beginning to think that PKR500 was the standard ticket price for foreigners at any tourist site. We had to climb up many stairs to the ruins and after that climb, I was determined to venture around the site. We stayed for an hour.
We arrived back at the van area in Mardan at 14:05 and I immediately got into the van bound for Rawalpindi. Thankfully it didn’t take long to fill up the van. We left at 14:20 and again I was squeezed in my seat, this time by a mother with four kids who were happy to eat and litter in the van. There were seven of us in the front row alone. Seriously, I kid you not. The fare was again PKR300.
We arrived in Rawalpindi at about 16:30 and a man helped me negotiate the fare with a cabbie who took me back to my hotel for PKR300. I arrived in my room just in time to perform afternoon prayers. Alhamdulillah.
I paid for my stay tonight and informed the owner that I would be leaving early the next morning as I had to catch the 08:00 bus to Jhelum. He offered me breakfast despite it usually being served after 08:00 and I gratefully accepted. Alhamdulillah.
Tuesday, 24 December 2019
I woke up early this morning and was ready with my things all packed up when the owner came bearing breakfast at 06:55. It then took us 15 minutes to arrange a ride and finally I got one on Uber. I arrived at Daewoo Express Bus Terminal at 07:45 and went to ask which bus I should board. It turned out to be the first bus I asked and I was so surprised that I asked again to confirm (my luck has always been I would get the last room in the far end of the corridor that kind of thing). We were ready to leave at 08:00 but eventually left at 08:06, no thanks to some late passengers.
Thirty minutes into the trip, we hit a thick fog and the foggy condition lasted throughout the day and the next few days I was in Lahore. We reached Jhelum at 10:30 and after asking if I could leave my bag at the office (the kind man at the counter immediately said yes) and using the facilities, I left to find a taxi. I was surprised there weren’t any unlike in Mardan and after trying to converse with some auto rickshaw drivers, a bloke came up and advised me to take a local bus back to Dina which we had passed 16km earlier. So I started walking towards the general direction of the bus stop and what do you know, one came along and stopped. I asked if it was going to Dina and was told yes. As usual I had to contend with people staring at me and the conductor saying to some passengers that I was from China. I corrected him of course. Funny how the locals always seemed surprised when I told them I was a Muslim despite how I dressed.
Just before Dina, I happened to see a sign for Rohtas Fort and I went down and walked back to the junction. A girl was alighting from a shared van and we both approached the only auto rickshaw there. It turned out she spoke good English and was also heading the same direction so we shared the rickshaw until she arrived at her village. She also helped to speak to the rickshaw driver who spoke only Punjabi. I was sure she was my guardian angel.
We arrived at the Fort just before 11:30 and I went in after paying the usual PKR500 for the ticket. I spent almost an hour there. It was only when I was in Lahore when I found out from Saaj, my British Pakistani friend, that the Fort used to be overrun by dakoits or bandits. There were loads of them there and it was their hideout and even the authorities did not dare to venture there as it was deemed too dangerous O.O! Whoa! Alhamdulillah, nothing untoward happened to me. I met up with the rickshaw driver who brought me to a bus and van stop in Dina and from there I took a shared van back to the Daewoo terminal in Jhelum. I then performed prayers at a nearby mosque. Alhamdulillah.
The bus for Lahore left Jhelum at 14:04 and stopped at two other stations. I had expected to reach Lahore after 3.5 hours or at least 4 hours after taking into account the traffic but we only pulled into the Lahore station at 19:04. I had chatted with my neighbour in the bus and followed her take a local bus to Kalma Chowk which is nearer to Gulberg where my hotel was. The bus was clean and modern. It took only 20 minutes to reach Kalma Chowk and I was amazed at the roads in Lahore. They’re definitely more orderly and systematic in Lahore.
It took a while to get my next ride to the hotel and after two cancellations, we managed to secure an auto rickshaw. I arrived at the hotel at 20:30. I had to pay for my stay upon checking in and was not happy to be led to the back of the property where my room was because I had to walk through a work-in-progress area. I was less than happy to find, after settling in, that the room was dusty with hair from the previous guest, no hangers in the wardrobe, blanket which was too thin for winter and very slow WiFi. After Khyber Lodge 2, this hotel sure paled in comparison!
I was in bed by 23:00 and somehow managed to sleep in the cold atmosphere.
To be continued
