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Being surrounded by international cloud of people all my life. There was one specific country that I dreamed of going one day due to the people and their beautiful hospitality and great generous hearts. That is Pakistan, I know this sounds very odd but living in Dubai, a very modern multi cultural city, I have been bread on the cuisine of Desi and Pakistani food. So I can almost say I have given my heart to become half Pakistani and even consider myself a little bit of Pakistani since I was able to spell out biryani and chapli kebab.
So I finally got the chance to go and explore the country where my heart was longing to be in, only for a few days but still enjoyed every moment of it. So the main reason why I went was for my friends wedding and also her brothers wedding. So let’s squeeze it in to 2 weddings and 6 different functions for all. So you can imagine the food I ate ! Hell, I was about to burst off with food.
These 6 days of wedding were crazy and crazy is an understatement. It was all about waking up, getting all desi glam and party until dawn. But it was also a moment of sadness when you see your friend going away with her new man.
I did not get to see the cold uphill beautiful places of Pakistan but I did go to Islamabad and Lahore.
Islamabad is a very peaceful quiet city with a lot of green, I visited the famous Faisal Mosque. The architecture was one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, touching modern and traditional at the same time harmonize into the beautiful Muree where it was set like a pearl in the mountains.
Lahore was the party city, there’s a saying “If you haven’t visited Lahore you are never really born”. I did feel alive when I went to Lahore, there was not a moment of silence in that city. All about the lights, music, culture and the food of course. I visited this beauty of an architecture called Badshahi Mosque with its red sandstone and marble stones inlay the traditional carvings into the walls to mark its history over looking the fort where the Mughal empires used to live and the Hindu temple beside it. Where the Muslims and Hindus used to live in peace. It also over looked the Minar-e-Pakistan, which is known as the site where Pakistan declared its independence and the separation of the country from India. Lahore is also known as the walled city as it contains 7 walls similar to the Delhi gate of India, and right beside this wall we see the food street filled with puppet shows and vibrant colours for these new restaurants facing the Badshahi mosque and the city view from the top as you dig into that aromatic Seekh kebab and cheesy naan.
The day after my visit to Lahore I headed out to the Wagah border, the area where you can see the separation of India and Pakistan trying to show off who is the mightiest and who can raise their leg higher to show which country has more pride and culture. Also to see which army official can scream louder and longer than the other. It was a live competition that happens daily and the crowd never stops or rests as they root for their country. It was a very competitive public party to see all these vibrant people and their patriotism toward their born and bread culture and values. I advice to take a few bottles of water with you as your throat will dry up from just hearing everyone root for which country is the greatest, it was again crazy!
I wont forget the beautiful rich colours of the shalwar kameez market that I went to like 2 hours before my flight to do some light shopping and some gifts for my husband and family. That was crazy too but it was beautiful to see these people working so hard and all those colours as the night is young.
Definitely need a guide for all this, if you have friends even better but I am not done with you yet Pakistan, I will be back for more soon.
