Train to Pakistan 2004: Just Another Touristy Day.

T-Bhai # 1 . . . yes Sir, I do recall Manora/Manohara Island on the charts, isn`t there something associated with the Ramayan as regards that island?

HP # 2 & 6. . . I just selected the initials basis the monitor or keyboard and this happened to be HP. Forgive me. Karachi visit depends on me getting clearance to visit Multan . . .

RahulCapri/Satyamvada . . . # 3&4 . . . the style, of writing, depends, usually, on the, uhhhm, mood, though, sometimes, it may, also, for reasons, like, internal, or sublimnal, be more, in this case, too, about, trying to get, for example, the inner ethos, of a location. Thank you for your, like, patience.

Kaurasach # 5 and ally $ 9 . . . the snooping is quite mutual, and is, I guess, part of the horizon. I shall make it back to Murree some day, Insha-Allah, though, I owe that to my son.

Tahmed32 # 7 . . . people in Pakistan at the people-to-people level were extremely friendly, that there is no two-views about. Acts of random kindness is a separate chapter, parts of which have been written about at interacts. It is the official wariness one encounters and the rather xenophobic role of our respective medias which colours the view, if you get what I mean.

ranjha # 8 . . . thank you for the clarifications. I thought they were al blue areas.

Romair # 10 . . . yes Romair, I did notice that the youngsters were, uhhm, out with their feathers and opposite gender moves. Kind of cute, no? No, I didn`t make it to Daman-eh-Koh, next time, . . .

I must say, I am impressed with the efficiency of the guys following you. Did you know they were following you? Or did they just show up, by coincidence? Were they tailing you throughou the trip? Were they from the Army, or the police? I think Pakistanis and Indians only get visas to specific cities, when the visit India or Pakistan. Maybe that is why they didn`t let you go to Murree. Its a nice drive, and the PC hotel there is nice.....

Nice write-up.

You must have passed by my house in Islamabad, if you made it to Jinnah Market. I don`t know about now, but Jinnah Market, during the evenings, used to be the spot where every teenager used to hang out. There used to be (still is?) a Pan Corner at its Northern entrance, that did booming business. The guy must be a millionaire by now.

Did you go to Damen-e-Koh?

The guy who fixed up Lahore, is now running Islamabad. So he should spruce it up quite a bit. It has, however, gotten a lot more crowded now, than it used to be fifteen years ago. I think that was the peak of Islamabad.

God i can`t believe u were told not to go to Murree!!!

do ISI not have anything better to do than to follow round Indian tourists?????

I hope next time round theres no shadows following u about!

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V,

If you happen to go to Karachi, and are not particularly keen on meeting Omar Qureshi, I will be glad to set up your meetings with some top journalists and newspaper owners in karachi and that include one of Omar’s boss Hussain Haroon too(he likes his hearing aid and you can hear him from miles). Vodka would not be a problem and it would be on me and made available to you whenever you desire.(You may not meet me,I don’t live in Karachi now.)

I think this part of your travelogue is much better than the previous ones. With a little vodka, you will hopefully be more candid about Karachi.

PS-Vodka is never my first choice.It is too dry and prevents wet dreams!!!

Very interesting write up. Islamabad Club is close to my heart - it used to be a favorite place for my late father where he would take family and friends. Spent many long Sunday mornings in their sun-soaked lawns and also in the evenings in summer. They also have nice swimming pools, squash, golf and horse-riding (although I havent done the last two there). Hope you went to daman-e-koh to get a birds-eye view of Islamabad. I am really happy to see that people at the club and elsewhere were so friendly and hospitable.

Ahhhhh .... Man this just reminded me of home ... its amazing that how I took all the little things described here for granted and now when Ranjha is in Daase Parayaaa (Minus Heer), those same minor/measly things mean sooooo much :-)

BTW: Not all the shopping areas in Islamabad are called Blue Area. The only area that is considered Blue Area is in between Nazim-Ud-Din Road and Fazul-Ul-Haq Road (and in-between this road is Jinnah Avenue, which ends at the Parliament house on the East end).

Regards

Rahul,

Sri Veeresh, writes English like Hindi | What he writes now is far better than
his previous writing. Atleast, he has paragraphs now : )
lekin kya karein ek lekhak aur mechanic ke beech bahut farak hain

But, Veeresh`ji dont let our comments stop you. Your writing is enjoyable - keep it up.
I look forward to your travelogue.

The trend at chowk for iLoggish style writing continues.Look at this-
``The chief guard comes rushing out from inside his office, a very elderly
but thoroughly fit gentleman with a handlebar moustache and paratrooper
wings as well as three rows of medals, escorts me to the entrance of the
auditorium, plants himself in front of the Director, Shah Sharabeel, and
announces loud enough for everybody there, waiting for the Sri Lankan
Ambassador incidentally, that a very honoured guest from Delhi has
arrived. `` The article is peppered with such gems.The comma gasps, pants and finally shrieks but you don`t let it go.

``Whatever be the faith ``HP`` subscribes to currently, the driving style is
pure death-wish Punjabi. ``

Now I am just a cab driver...and a punjabi too...Naiki kar darya main daal !!

veeru:

...another interesting instalment...

when you go to karachi next remind me...i might be able to arrange a visit to the old (talpur?) fort on Manora ...(something very few karachites have seen) ...an island you must have seen entering the port in your shippie incarnation...this offer expires in six weeks;)

rgds,

t