Pakistan
 

I just returned from three wonderful weeks in Pakistan. The most important thing I want to share is how shocked I was to find Pakistan totally different than the messages we are constantly given about this country.

Pakistan is safe, modern, clean, and friendly.

When I landed in Karachi and got into a taxi, I immediately locked all 4 doors of the taxi because I was certain someone would open them and kidnap and kill me. lol lol

Three weeks later when I returned by taxi to the Karachi airport, I had the windows down and the doors all unlocked. I saw for myself the reality and did not have to depend on what is truly propaganda. Pakistan is exotic, safe, clean, and offers wonderful rich experiences for travellers. I prefer it over India now.

Also, I never got sick during my travel, despite drinking tap water from the hotel. I did stay at 5 star hotels and they do filter the tap water, but I would never dare do that in India.

I also never had a single person try to hussle me into their hotel or rickshaw or taxi or shop. They only smiled and welcomed me to their country. I visited Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar. Peshawar was the most exotic.

Okay, I will end it here.

You were only just getting started! You haven't even told us where you went (properly), what you did, where you stayed, how you got around etc.

I don't think we've had a TR about Pakistan on here before, so it would be wonderful to find out some more about your trip. You are right though - it does appear a somewhat "closed" country from the outside. :)

Can i second that, Pakistan is not a country ive really considered and a trip report from you could be the inspiration that i and probably many others need to make a visit.

Please give it a go, it will be appreciated by many of us.

I've been to Pakistan twice. We have friends who live in Pakistan, both nationals and expats. We've been in homes with bodyguards stationed outside. We've driven through affluent neighborhoods and had the places pointed out where shots have been fired. We've worshiped at a church in Karachi, now closed, whose sister church in Islamabad was fired upon with a number of people killed. Most expats have left Karachi because of the danger. Our friends, among a handful of people left, had police protection forced upon them for several weeks surrounding Bush's visit to Pakistan in January of last year.

Did I love my sightseeing in Pakistan? Absolutely. I've been to Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, and the Swat Valley. Hospitality is extraordinary. Do I feel safe in returning? Honestly, no.

Sums it up perfectly I think. ^

Another vote for more info please. I assume Lahore is safer than Karachi?

Okay, fair enough.

Give me a day or two to put my thoughts together and I will add to my rather brief trip report.

I can't help reading this TR and thinking 'governmental tourism propaganda'. However, I do look forward to reading a more complete TR when it is posted!

Okay, here it is:

I flew from Dubai on Emirates Business class. The flight was delayed over one hour which is normal for Emirates Air on all of their flights anywhere in the world. I know, I have flown them dozens of times. Even the flight crew agrees.

I landed in Karachi and took a taxi to the Marriott Hotel. My impressions in the taxi of Karachi were disappointing as I wanted it to be more exotic and strange. It was strangely neither. Maybe I have travelled too much in the world, or maybe Karachi is a bit too Western. Of course, there were things that I don't see in the USA, but nothing that made my mouth fall open.

I arrived at the hotel and was given a nice room. Soon after my arrival, a tray of tea and cookies arrived to greet me. That was a very nice touch. That night I went to BBQ Tonight, which is a popular restaurant in the Cliffton district of Karachi, at the recommendation of the conceierge. What I saw at the restaurant were high class people, no different than I would see in New York or Paris. Women had their hair totally uncovered and would fling it back in the same seductive way women do in other parts of the world. Actually, throughout Karachi, it was almost 50/50 regarding the amount of women who had some sort of head cover. I never saw any woman in Karachi who had her face totally covered. The restaurant was very family oriented. Large family groups continued to pour in throughout my meal. I could have been anywhere in the world. The food was quite good. After the meal I walked around the area and went into several stores. I saw the same items I see on NYC stores shelves on the Karachi shelves. I am talking about books, laundry soap, vidoes, dvd's, over the counter medications, cake mixes, beauty products, etc etc etc. Was I really in Karachi? I wanted to wake up and find the strange Karachi I imagined. But, I didn't. It was real. Every store sign and every street sign was in English. Karachi was Western and modern. I called the taxi and went back to the hotel. Actually, a bit disappointed.

The next day I went back to Clifton area to see the beach. Clifton is the high class area of Karachi. On the beach were horses and camels that one could ride for a small fee. There were few sunbathers as it was winter. But, along the beach area were miles of high class apt complexes that in a way resemebled Miami Beach. NO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

more later............

Interesting so far... can't wait to hear more. It's certainly not how I imagined it!

Did you have a guide? How did you know which areas were high class? I have heard Karachi is very metropolitan, but am looking forward to hearing on your experiences in other cities in Pakistan. I am planning on a trip by next year.

Thanks

I have a friend who told me that Karachi is a disaster. However apparently Lahore / Kyber Pass area is nice. If one asks Daniel Pearl of his opinion I think he would probably tell us that Pakistan is a pretty dangerous place; same applies to the French engineers who were blown up a few years ago.

In response to the above, I had 2 female friends who both had their sons murdered in New York City over a cell phone, coincidentally on the same night. I live in NY and read the papers daily. They are filled with horrible violence happening in NYC. Should people avoid NYC? Maybe they should. That is up to them.

Karachi has random violence as do most world capital cities. However, my propagandized impression of Pakistan was that violence was as common as drinking a glass of water. That simply did not pan out to be true. As a matter of fact, when I was in Pakistan, the Minister of Tourism had an op-ed piece in the English language newspaper that was delivered to my hotel room daily. She stated that there has never been one tourist hurt in Pakistan in the history of the country. I have no idea if that is true, but from my experience, I would not be surprised if she were accurate. However, if a tourist walks down any foreign street in any city at 2 am, they are asking for problems and might find them. That could happen in Pakistan, also. One has to be prudent and thoughtful.

Daniel Pearl and the others you mentioned were not tourists. They were living and working there and got caught up in political violence. Sadly, that is happening in too many countries around the world. I am not sure why the world knows of Daniel Pearl, but the world does not know the name of one innocent Muslim killed by American or Israeli brutality, be it governement sponsored or random political violence at the hands of American or Israeli citizens. Seems slanted and unjust. I felt infinately safer being a White American in Pakistan than I would being an Arab in American controlled Iraq or Palestine. If you don't believe me, go to the source and ask them. You will hear untold stories that will curl your hair.

I told everyone I met in Pakistan that I was American and those words were met with handshakes and smiles. They seem to be able to distinguish the individual from his government's foreign policy and not hold the individual responsible for the acts of his government.

I don't want to engage in a political debate on a trip report forum, but others who reply seem bent on challenging my experiences and sticking to the script that Pakistan is something it is not.

This will conclude up my trip report, because, let's face it, a 5-star hotel is a 5-star hotel most anywhere in the world. I want to share something new with people and that is my experience of Pakistan as a country on the map, and not about its hotels or restaurants. I will leave that for the next person to do.

Thanks for reading...

thanks for the report. I personally have (thankfully) never experienced too much violence in Karachi but it definately exists. I know at least half a dozen people who have been followed home from the airport and then held up and robbed at gunpoint. :(

Lahore is much safer than Karachi, but most people whom have also gone to Karachi have not experienced any crime themselves there. It's usually stories that happen to others .... which do happen.

Here's the government tourism website: http://www.tourism.gov.pk/Index.html

Note the flags at the top includes Norway's flag -- OSL is one of the few places in Europe where I was at first surprised to see a PIA flight to some place besides KHI.

Well, I'm off to both Karachi and Lahore next week. Karachi is just one night and then some meetings the next day. I'll be in Lahore for 4 days, I think, and should have some time to look around. I just got back from India, so it will be an interesting contrast. I know absolutely nothing about Pakistan, and as mentioned, there's very little even on FT!

Thanks for the contrasting opinions.

Dr. PITUK

Not trying to fan any flames here, but I don't think the Marriott hotel is as safe as described above:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/...8MSVF300.shtml

From the article:
Perhaps an outlying data point, but a data point nonetheless.

-C

What I have read on this thread re-re-and re-confirms for me just how distorted a view people in the west have of Pakistan.

I believe that there is a big difference between Karachi and Islamabad - one is the capital of a province whilst the other one is a capital territory ( of a country) and hotel chains are found in major cities;)

Oceanbound222 interesting post #9.

Here's my short description as I travelled there in Nov 06. It was my first business trip to Karachi.

Armed with the latest travel advisories from the various governments, emerging disease updates from WHO and CDC as well as saying my prayers (I'm not that religious), I headed over to KHI on Emirates Y class which was over an two hours late departing from DXB.

At arrival, I was met by a airport guide who assisted me all the way from Immigration to baggage claim. There a porter was summoned by this guide. After a cursory glance by the customs, there was someone who checked that my pasport had been stamped. Then I was transferred to a Company driver. Coming out of the airport, I was on heightened senses as this was my first time in country. The only thing leaving the airport I saw was 3 soldiers manning a machine gun station. I suspect if anything untoward happens, these guys will shoot first and ask later. :eek:

Driving into Karachi was ok but traffic was heavy. Saw lots of nice decorative busses. ^ . I noticed there were lots of people but no one smiled (unlike that in the Far East). Did not notice many women. I was vary at traffic lights. All it takes is a nutter to do something. OK, I am sound paranoid since what I hear from the Western media as well as government travel advisories (US, UK, Oz, Canadian, etc) have not been too positive.

The company put me up at the Sheraton. I asked for a room in a wing furthest away from the main road. (Google Earth did a wonderful job in this respect). Usual security precaution applies : Car crash barrier at entrance, bonnet checks and Xrays at hotel door. This hotel is used by quite a number of cabin crews and I was very relieved to see my favourite airline there. :D Then I saw this Dalek like female flight attendants all dressed in black and covered top to bottom. Anyone care to guess? Oops I digress.

Visiting a client company, I was greeted with mirror checks underneath the car and a boot check. That night, I had dinner at the Hotel first floor and have to say the curry was delicious. Would have no qualms having dinner outside if I had the chance. BTW, there is Malaysian Embassy in that hotel.

On way back to airport, checking in was atrocious as the PC system acted up. I saw privileged few jumping queues. :mad: Then we have to bring our supposed hold bag to another counter to 'check in'. As usual, following immigration formalities, my passport was checked for exit stamps. Note that this checker desk is only about 10 steps after the Immigration control! Prior to departure gate, there was security check. All I can say was that I was very glad to be on my Emirates flight to DXB.

Summing up, I noticed there seems to be lots of job creation- in that there are lots of people doing things but don't really add much value. This was based onmy observations at the airport as well as discussions with the client company representative. The Pakistanis whom I have met there are friendly and warm. These are the guys in the office.

I guess many FTers here are wondering....turn around? I would not do it as it's not one of the nicer airports. Worth visiting? Depending where you visit and keep a low profile but I felt there is always that element of underlying danger. I contrast this with Nigeria where it is very much 'in your face'.

Hope all these helps.

Sounds like India.

Just more meat dishes. :D

Personally, I have no hesitation about visiting Pakistan which I find to be fascinating in its own right like I do India. (I'll be back there in a few weeks attending a wedding of a friend's son.) My biggest issue is that the airlines whose frequent flyer programs I use heavily don't fly there and that intra-Pakistan I can't credit flights to any of my preferred frequent flyer programs AFAIK.

Where's Pakistan's version of Jet Airways or Kingfisher?

Here: http://www.airblue.com/

Haha - no Kingfisher for Pakistan - maybe a Murree Brewery's Airways in the future though!

The lack of Star, OneWorld and SkyTeam representation on flights to Pakistan is a major problem. Currently, Star is represented by SQ and TG who fly to both Karachi and Lahore. There is talk that Austrian and Swiss will restart operations to Karachi, but nothing concrete yet. No SkyTeam airlines fly to Pakistan and Oneworld is represented by BA to Islamabad. There is talk that BMed will start flying to Lahore but again it's just idle gossip at this point.

Until mid-'06, I had been traveling u.s.to Pakistan about every 6-10 weeks. Initially, I used to fly to LHR on UA then take either PIA or EK to Pakistan. However, since PIA deployed the brand new 777's on their Houston-Pakistan and Chicago-Pakistan flights in '04, I generally just fly PIA all the way. It's a comfy flight - AVOD, lie flat seats, noise cancelling headphones and Empower ports in J. As far as the food goes, my personal feeling is that PIA's food is easily the best in the air anywhere. I don't drink so the lack of alcohol doesn't bother me. I like PIA's inflight service, which is often very good and beats the pants off their ground service, which is generally poor. Because of a general lack of career opportunities in Pakistan, many of the FA's hold Masters degrees. I have even met a PhD in Physics working as a Steward on a PIA flight! This allows for some fairly interesting conversations with the cabin crew. ANother advantage of flying PIA is that they won't pass the buck if there is a weather delay, even when you miss your connection to another carrier. An example of this is last year when returning from Karachi to Houston, the flight was ten hours late due to fog at Islamabad. Many of the passengers were transiting Houston and flying onto Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, LA or SF. When we arrived at Houston at 1 AM, we were met by the ground staff who had already arranged hotel rooms, meal vouchers and had rebooked our onward flights for the next day. I could never imagine UA doing something like that.

PIA's FFP - Awards Plus is not a great program if you want rewards that transfer to other carriers but I mainly use it to obtain free tickets for friends or family traveling to and from Pakistan.

The biggest gripe I have about FF accural to Pakistan is that the ONLY *A option coming from the west is the MCT-KHI 3 x weekly flight.

And... it leaves just early enough that there isn't enough time to connect to LX242 from Zurich (some of the year.) If it just left 20 minutes later or so, I would probably fly YYZ-ZRH-DXB-MCT-KHI on LX/TG rather than YYZ-LHR-DXB-KHI on AC/EK just because I'd earn so many miles all in 1 FFP.

Hmm, I never considered that routing. I wonder if I would earn 100% EQMs on UA by traveling LX and TG on those routes. BTW, which carrier would you take DXB-MCT?

Swiss (LX) flies Dubai-Muscat. Swiss also has the right to seel DXB-MCT, so buying that as a stand-alone ticket is allowed.

MCT-KHI is Thai (TG).

I earn applicable Star Alliance miles on LX flights when crediting to my * Alliance program of choice.

That said, on a Swiss Q-fare I get only 50% mileage credit when crediting to BD's program, but that's better than nothing and it's based on type of fare. With UA, however, you'll get 100% credit the same as you would for any other Star Alliance flight (other than United, United Express, and US Airways).*

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* UA 1k, 1p, and 2p elite members only earn elite bonuses on United, United Express, "Ted" and US Airways; on other Star Alliance carriers (LX, TG, LH, SQ, NH, OZ, LH, OS, etc) no elite bonus. :(

Another option is FRA-MCT on LH which connect nicely to the TG flights, but it doesn't work out for me due to pricing. [Usually flying LH is almost 2x the price of flying LX.]

Tough travels so far!
 

This seems to be the main Pakistan thread on FT, so I'll add here :).

I stayed at the Sheraton in Karachi. It was OK, though I only spent about 6 hours there because I was so busy!

The trip from KHI-LHE was a HUGE hassle. PIA said that they could do e-tickets - right up until about 18 hours before my departure. They then promised to have them to me by 9am. They actually arrived at 1120, 2+ hours after I left, so I had to cancel them - for a fee (even on the fully flexible C class LHE-CDG).

My TA then bought me a ticket on Airblue. I got to the airport early and asked an agent to check that the ticket was OK since there was a message about an 'exchange fee' that seemed strange. It turns out that I couldn't fly because my TA (whose credit card paid for it) wasn't with me. The check-in agent said that she could add a 'message' to override that. 90 minutes later (and only 40 minutes before the other flight would leave) I got turned down.

I was then forced to buy a last minute ticket on PIA after all!!! For information, I was in business class on a VERY old and tired 747, right up in the nose. The food was OK (I did quite like the kebab), and the service was friendly if a bit haphazard. For such a short flight, on which I slept half the time, it was more than OK, and I'm sure that Y would have been about the same.

Hopefully my e-ticket on EY to get back to the UK won't be broken!!

Finally, I'm staying at the Avari hotel in Lahore. The staff at the airport were great. The hotel is functional, with a very nice pool (25m or so), and friendly staff. I was welcomed last night with a fruit place, a nut cake and a box of cookies! The gym is a bit tired and old, but I still hope that I can squeeze in some time to use it. I have just added an extra meeting for this afternoon, and I hope to have a couple of hours to see SOME of the city.

THanks

Dr. PITUK

Well, it's not called PIA for nothing :D However, I am surprised to hear of the problems you had with the e-ticket. I have never heard of such a thing happening!

The 747 Classic you flew in (AP-BAT) was knackered ten years ago, so I can only imagine what it's like now!

Ask the Protocol Manager at Avari if you can use the Gymkhana to exercise in. She should be able to get you temporary access to what is an elite private athletic club. The Lahore Gymkhana also has the largest hotel rooms I have ever seen but you can only stay there if a member books a room for you.

Stop by thhe EY City Ticketing Office in Lahore with your ticket and passport in hand and ask them to "reconfirm" your flight out of Pakistan. If they say it is not required, have them stamp your ticket anyway. Believe me, it's good insurance, especially as you appear to have had some bad luck already.

Also, be sure to ask if you are reguired to have photocopies of your passport picture page and ADDITIONAL passport sized pictures for departure. This is a famous on again off again requirement in Pakistan although I never comply with it.

Finally, if you have any devices that use AA or AAA batteries in your handbaggage, you might be asked to discard them when you go through the final security screening on your departure. I usually put mine next to a dead glucometer or a blood pressure monitor in case the klan ask me to discard them. If you tell them you need the batteries for your medical equipment, you will be allowed to carry them aboard. I have often wondered if this battery fetish unique to travel out of Pakistan is purely because the ASF guys need batteries for themselves or if there really was a "credible" threat many years ago involving batteries.

Oh yes, :mad: be prepared to have your picture taken upon departure for the american thugs who have infiltrated Pakistan with their filthy, disgusting Pisces system. :mad: There are often some american FBI cowardly pigs actually sitting behind closed doors at KHI and LHE scrutinizing the identity of travelers and using the data entered into Pisces to determine who they think is a threat to their country. Thoroughly outrageous :mad: but unfortunately a reality for a country reliant on the usa. :mad:

It was a bit farcical all the problems! Unfortunately I don't have time to verify my ticket. It shows up with viewmytrip.com, so hopefully I'll be OK.


VERY knackered :). The plane does support AVOD, I think, but I never bothered trying.

My colleague today told me that it was pretty incredible. Unfortunately I have very limited spare time. I'm using some of it to see a small part of the city, so I'll probably just do a quick workout and a swim here.

I have spare copies, but no photos. I'll have to wing it.


They asked me this at BLR. I still got through with all my batteries (including laptop, mini-camera and NR headset) except in my dSLR. For some reason that was a problem!

I'm off to the US in a couple of weeks and I just assume that I'll get hassled. They actually used to do this in Canada as well. Agents were camped out next to the gates on Cuba bound flights to catch 'rogue' Americans.

I visited Islamabad in November for business. I'm glad I did not go there in January as I stayed at the Islamabad Marriott in November. One interesting thing I found out is that the busses are decorated according to what tribe it belongs/hails to/from. The mosque in the capital was built with Saudi Arabian Petro Dollars (go figure). Hopefully all this terrorism/martyrdom crap will blow over and people can visit the country proper without checking their six.

Kampai,
Klaxon

This is incredible...a post on Pakistan;) . I was born Christian in Pakistan and lived there for 26 years before I moved to Toronto in 1996.

I've read with interest the feedback about Pakistan, and I would like to say that yes, when leaving the airport it would be best to go with hotel transfers or avoid any late night or early morning arrivals if you must travel by taxi. During the day it is quite safe. Regarding the food and water, it is best to bring your medication. I got seriously sick this time, and no matter what only drink distilled water and go easy on the spicy food if you are not used to it.

Pakistanis are very hospitable and nowadays very open towards foreigners. On my flight DXB-KHI which had a very light load, there were more foreigners on board than the locals. It is becoming a very modern city, open minded, taking on new challenges yet maintaining it's roots in religion and tradition.

I have put a link to some very traditional photos I had removed in Karachi on my last few trips. They were removed in the main shopping areas, local bazars and some random shots of other interests in the city. I will then put some additional links of the modern Karachi.

http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s...slideshow=true

Thank you, bringingtheworldcloser, for the great pictures!^

I'm off to Pakistan this week, Islamabad actually. Staying at the Marriott. Anyone have any recent impressions of Islamabad or advice?

I found the same with Iran. OK, maybe not the modern bit. But, very friendly and welcoming.

Sometimes the further you get from typical western civilisation, the more civilised the world becomes

The "bear baiting" so-called "sport" they do is neither modern nor civilised.

Absolutely disgusting and barbaric.:td:

Islamabad is a great city (at least by Pakistani standards, which is not quite the same thing!). It's green, relatively calm and quiet, and pretty tidy. The Marriott is nice although I have to say I prefer the Serena.

What to do...Monal is nice, a restaurant up in the hills overlooking the city. Des Pardes is also good. Lok Virsa is good for shopping and for learning more about Pakistani heritage. If you want coffee head for Kohsar Market, Mocca Cafe and Gloria Jeans are both good. There's a new mall which just opened, Centaurus, which is pretty impressive.

Security-wise it's really not as bad as you read. Avoid the area known as Aabpara, especially on Friday afternoons, and don't go around taking photos of things in public. Otherwise just chat to people, enjoy their hospitality, learn more about their lives...you'll find Pakistanis to be almost universally charming.

Context: I've been living in Rawalpindi for two years so I have seen quite a lot of the twin cities. It's not a perfect country by any means but it's certainly not as bad as the media makes it out to be!

Thank you WriterMatt! I really appreciate the comments from someone on the ground currently. I'm looking forward to learning more about a part of the world I know very little about.

This is a business trip, bu I'll see if I can visit some of your recommendations.

All things being equal I would have picked the Serena as well, but as a LT Platinum with Marriott...

Was hoping you would update us on your trip and how it went. Did you find it to be clean, modern and safe?

Lot of travel since my Islamabad trip. I'll just list some of my impressions.

I checked in for my flight to ISB in AUH with EY. The agent checking me in, upon returning my passport and BP said " Good Luck"! I asked why he said that and his response was not many people go there.

The EY flight was quite nice a 777 with the new Biz seats - there were only three of us in Biz, coach was packed. Service was good for the sector, I had a lot of champagne while watching Zero Dark Thirty. Not the best movie as it shows my hotel being blown up!

My ride was at the airport despite the 3 am arrival, immigration and customs were quick and uneventful.

Check in at the Marriott was eas and I was upgraded to a club floor.

Upon reaching the room, there was a great clap of thunder and the lights went out. This happened to be a coincidence, as I would discover the power goes out basically every hour and the switch is made to generator back up. This was annoying as it would cycle the A/C on off not making for the restful sleep. Apparently the govt. is not able to provide enough electricity and this happens everywhere.

The hotel is full of restaurants and seem almost fully occupied. During my stay (3 days) I only observed about 6-8 westerners.

My interaction with the local people was kind of a mixed bag. Most came across us very hospitable and friendly. There were some where I sensed my presence was not appreciated despite no overt sign indicating so.

The alcohol situation was strange. My business colleague is Pakistani but happens to be Christian. One night at the hotel we wanted to get a drink and I had read about the existence of a bar in the hotel called Rumors. I did not know where it was and had not found it during my cursory walk around. He asked the front desk staff and they would not tell him. So I went to ask and they also avoided telling me, perhaps because they knew I was with him.
So we went up to my room where I had the option of ordering beer from room service. I ordered two of the large cans - they were delivered in a black plastic bag. I thought I would just have to sign the room service delivery slip. Not so simple, he had a log book that needed to be filled out asking for a lot of detail. The waiter indicated that I could skip most of it, other than my name and room which the hotel had anyway, I filled out the rest with nonsensical information.

The next night, after more research on the bar on FT I was able to find it. As others have reported it is nothing that great. In fact I walked in, looked around and walked out.

I did go for dinner at Monal as writermatt suggested. The food was good and the view was better. It was interesting to note that on the drive up the hill that marijuana was growing wild all along the roadside.

My departure from ISB was not nearly as easy as my arrival. For a variety of reasons I arrived at the airport 1.5 hours before departure around 9:30. It seemed like the entire population of ISB was trying to get into the intl. departures terminal. I could not even get close and was walking around the edges trying to find a way in - no dice. A Porter noticed my dilemma and offered help. I accepted and he parted a way to the first obstacle - someone who wanted to see my ticket, I had none it was an eticket. The guard was not going to budge - I'm trying to find the info on my phone in the meantime my porter grabbed my passport and before I could really object he was off to get a printed itinerary. All right, I admit slight panic set in - I have never let my passport out of my control anywhere. About the same time I was able to connect on my phone the porter came back with a print out of my itin. and passport. Next obstacle was the xray before entering the terminal - of course my bag was flagged. The porter got me to the head of secondary inspection, next up was a final passport check before getting to the ticket counter. Made it to the Emirates check in desk. After receiving my BP my porter had to leave as he is not allowed to go through outbound immigration. I had Dirhams and offered him about USD 30 worth. He noticed the dollars underneath and ask for that instead. Gave him forty as without him I would still be trying to get into the terminal. He wanted more but I politely declined.

At immigration there were a couple of dozen people ahead of me all with numerous children. I saw the clock running out on my ability to make the flight. I moved to an empty line and became the rude traveler by cutting in line with apologies and pointing to my passport. After Immigration there was yet another xray belt for my carryon. It went through and a tag placed on it. I thought I was good to go and started heading up the stairs to the gates. A guard yelled at me, apparently he needed to stamp/punch the tag on my carryon that was placed on it 6 feet ago. As I got upstairs to the gate, I was the last one through and on to the bus to my waiting EK flight to Dubai!

I'm glad to have had the opportunity to visit, but I don't think I will be going back soon. It is unnerving to me to be constantly reminded about security concerns and sometimes with good reason as evidenced by the bombings and assassinations that occurred while I was there. My business colleague insisted that next time I come to Lahore as it is more 'liberal' than ISB. We'll see.



Th