Back Blog: Pakistan

So these are just some random picks of Pakistan. They were hard to categorise into a distinct genre, but I thought they were fun nonetheless.

This poster made me laugh, especially if you think about the context it's in. Granted I wonder if it was developed for foreign aid workers rather than locals, since it's writen in English rather and Urdu.

So this is a roadside truck stop. Complete with roadside truck stop mosque,

truck,

and truly heinous latrines

This is a school yard in Dera Ghazi Khan, this is a weekday, day time these are the children that should be learning, instead they are lounging about, desolate, all for lack of teachers.

This truck brought a smile to my face, I have no clue who the guy is supposed to be.

Isn't this a pretty door?

One of Multan's oldest red light areas.

And this is Kasur - not much there, but some well organised gays and trannies

Peanut stowed away on my trip and decided to go out for some fresh air when we stopped at a rest stop.

Market Days

I shall admit that I do enjoy domesticity. Something to be said for having a loved one waiting for you at home. Company for dinner every night. Someone to cuddle with on a cold winter night.

But one of my favorite things is Saturdays. Saturday is when you get to sleep in, read in bed, and in our home plan the weekly dinner menu, grab our shopping trolleys and head to the Lewisham High Street Market.

Lewisham is the London Borough that Anthony and I live in. Besides being the former home of Jude Law, it's also the site of a vibrant locals market. Though it lacks the competitive edginess or the haggling experience of Indian markets its still a great place to go and get your fruit and veg from local merchants.

The market is actually really fun, besides having a wide range of fresh produce and flowers its much cheaper than the supermarkets (we comparisoned shopped!) and it's fabulous for people watching. But the most amazing part for me is that I can actually find a lot of the produce that I am used to from the Caribbean! From yuca, plantains, and green bananas; to the more exotics like panapen and chayote. Totally fab!

Pics from our market excursion:









And this is a small clip taken with my phone of a vendor touting his goods. Quite fun :-)


For those of you who may have problems understanding the SE London accent - god knows I do! - he's yelling "Where you like a pound, where you like a pound, a pound ONLY!"

It references the metal bowls on the table that only cost a £1 for the lot in it.

Back blog: Pakistan - The Flag Ceremony

To cries of Pakistan Zindabad (Long live Pakistan) and Jai Hind (Long live India) from the audience, the two Border guards detachments with warrior-like stamping and gesturing perform the ritual of “beating the retreat” (the lowering the colours) on their respective sides of the border and closing the gates for the night. This half an hour ceremony is attended by a large number of citizens and tourists, where each evening, guards in a ceremony called 'lowering of the flags'. It may seem slightly aggressive to foreigners, but it really is just entertainment for the crowds from both sides.



























Because it's hard to convey the energy of the event, I'm putting this youtube post:

Back Blog: Pakistan - Lahore Fort

One more site I was able to go to was the Lahore Fort and the Badshahi Mosque. It actually was a beautiful place, I would have liked to be able to just wander through it without rush. Even if it was annoying that they made me pay the foreigner rate. Don't I look like a local!?