0
0
People – Very generous and open hearted, sometimes embarassingly so! Of all the countries we have so far been through, we get the most friendly attention here, sometimes even get mobbed in towns with people crowding around us, all staring and eager to shake our hands. We are probably the first westerners most of them have ever seen! We learned that a smile and a handshake goes a long way, it is a gesture of respect that takes no time but wins over the hearts of the people we meet in a second. We are often showered by gifts from complete strangers – including clothes, teddy bears, pens, sunglasses, prayer beads and books, and even gold jewellery!
Sexual equality has alas not yet reached a healthy balance here, being a muslim country. It was hard for Sedef initially to be expected to stand behind whilst the man shook hands with Nic and engaged in conversation, and occasionally for people to look and address Nic almost as if she was not there! She also found that women should never offer their hands first, as this could be construed as inappropriate. However being western there is some leniency shown towards us – we found that most men will treat her as an ‘honorary man’ and include her in the conversation / meal / etc.
Personal questions – We are slowly getting used to being asked very personal questions by complete strangers, even before names have been exchanged! How old are we, how long have we been married, how many kids do we have, did we have a love marriage (!), what do we do for work and how much do we earn, are we muslim or christian, is Nic circumcised (!!), why Sedef has not yet converted him to Islam etc. etc. Initally we were rather taken aback by the onslaught of questions but now we understand that the people are only being curious and their intentions are friendly.
Safety – In Karachi we registered at the British embassy, where the staff faithfully informed us about the horrors of the country and ‘strongly advised us not to cycle through’, as a matter of precaution. The reality we found to be very different – the police department has appointed us a guarded police escort 24/7 since Karachi, handing us over from one police district to the next with military precision. We have also found that we attract so much attention as westerners, that even without the police it would be quite difficult for anyone to attack or rob us without someone intervening! Almost everyone we met have been very friendly and helpful, and probably more concerned about our safety than we have been! However people being people the world over there are criminal elements everywhere, but on the whole we have found this country a joy to be in from a security angle.
History and culture – Pakistan is comprised of five provinces, all rich in its own unique history and culture, with separate languages spoken in every region, Urdu and English being the common languages everywhere. Our travels have taken us through two of these regions: Sindh, which has Karachi and Hyderabad, the largest and 4th largest cities in Pakistan respectively, and Punjab, which has Lahore and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. Influences from Iran, Arab countries, India, and British colonial rule are evident everywhere. Pakistan is still very far from modern Western influences – markets are probably what they have been a 1000 years ago, with stalls and peddlers selling their wares in Arabian style street bazaars, fast food joints cooking shami kebabs, samosas, and chicken, shops selling local sweetmeats and helwa, snake charmers, beggars, barefoot children running and playing in the streets, men chewing and spitting tobacco, and everywhere we go, dust. The economy is self sufficient, with few imported goods – only local produce is sold at markets – including the local vegetables and heavenly bananas, mangos, dates, and coconuts. Cotton for clothing is the main non-edible produce. The desert is evident everywhere – kept at bay by the complex irrigation canals built around the great Indus river, which creates the contrasting oasis style fertile farmland.
Transport – The roads (particularly in cities) are chaotic at best, with horns and exhaust fumes from diesel engines almost choking us. All modes of transport are on the roads – carts drawn by donkeys and bullocks, bicycles, motorised rick-shaws (the Pakistani taxi!), cars and lorries richly adorned in a multitude of colours and ornaments, and buses, likewise adorned with people spilling out of every orifice and even travelling on the roof. Even the rickshaws are overcrowded with up to 10 people sometimes travelling on one – four in the back, three on the roof and the rest crowded in with the driver! Cities have no traffic lights or traffic control (other than the odd traffic police who seem largely ignored), however we probably felt the safest cycling here as everyone is going at a slow pace and observing all other traffic for erratic behaviour. They also are used to giving cyclists a wide berth – probably because everyone in the country has actually ridden one on the roads at some point! Wish we could say the same for England…
Funnily enough bicycles are seen as a sign of poverty – a child would rather walk to school than ride a bike. We are a travesty to them – ‘rich westerners’ on bicycles!! We are often asked why we are not driving instead!
Poverty – Pakistan is without a doubt a third world country. It is eager to develop but lacks resources. Refuse collection is non-existent – there are no rubbish bins and people simply throw things out onto the street, to rot. Cleanliness is not next to godliness here unfortunately – the standards of sanitisation are very low, which took us quite sometime to get adjusted to, although we will never be 100% comfortable! We were apalled by the state of hotel rooms and restaurant kitchens when we first arrived in Karachi – now that our tummies have adjusted to the local bacteria we seem to be OK to eat from streetstalls without any major side effects. Dirty beds and rooms are more difficult to get used to unfortunately – so we took to carrying our own clean bedlinen with us to spread over what is provided by the hotel!
Heat! – Lastly, you cannot talk about Pakistan without mentioning the heat. Even the winter is hot by European standards, at 33C on most days (from our experience here). In summer this can climb as high as 50C, melting the tarmac! The locals seem more immune to the heat than we are – walking around in jumpers and thick blankets whilst we are sweating profusely in our thin summer clothing!
