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
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
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