Here in India, where there is land there are people. Where there are people there is trash. Where there is trash there are cows. Where there are cows there is cow shit. Where there is cow shit there are people collecting the shit and making cow pies. Such is the state of the outskirts of Agra. We drove through fields where we saw many cow pies drying in the sun today on our way to an old Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri 40 clicks from Agra. … [Read more...]
Trains and More Chaos
Chaos reigns at the New Delhi airport - pre paid taxis are a joke. Many people in old dirty clothes hanging around. The fog here was TERRIBLE last night. Its the norm in the winter during the nights with merely 5 to 7 feet visibility. We landed around 9pm and arrived at our hotel around midnight just to catch the New Year's festivities. Drive from airport normally takes 25 minutes! Hahaha yea. Driver kept stopping every few seconds while getting … [Read more...]
Iran; the most misunderstood country of the world!
Over the years when talking to a foreign tourist who has come to my motherland for the very first time I've gotten used to hearing expressions such as "wow! I see you have restaurants in Iran!", or "Believe me Iran was not what I'd thought", "I never thought you had such a beautiful country" and so on. For the global public opinions and the mass majority who do not have any particular way of knowing a distant land rather than relying on the … [Read more...]
The Fire Temples of Darius
Just down the street from where the Ayatollah Khomeini's simple house stands in a leafy northern suburb of Tehran, someone had scrawled the following on a wall: 'America: there is not a damn thing you can do!' It was spray painted in English. Elsewhere, I spotted large murals depicting skulls on the American flag with the words "Down with the USA!" across it. Also in English. None of this came as a shock to me; in fact I expected to see such … [Read more...]
Afghanistan: More bakeries here than anywhere else in the world
I have always been asked about the safety situation in Afghanistan and, by now, might have a word or two to offer. During our stay there, we were limited mainly to Kabul and its immediate surroundings, such as valleys or canyons that could be reached within a couple hours of driving. Keep in mind that right now is also the height of winter and many roads become impassable for extended periods of time. While I can't personally speak for the rest … [Read more...]
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth…the code of the Pashtuns
Peshawar, Pakistan December 2005 Some of you have wondered what has happened to us in the wilds of Pakistan and Afghanistan, since it's been a while that I wrote. Well, we have since made our way across Pakistan into the Northwest Frontier Province. If there is any "Wild West" left in the world, then this frontier area of Pakistan and Afghanistan is it. And the town of Peshawar has got to be the "Dodge City", then. Far larger and spread out … [Read more...]
Afghanistan: Some children only live to beg
The day before it started snowing in Kabul, the shopkeepers had the wooden snow shovels out for sale, knowing that they would come in handy. And it snowed with a vengeance, massive flakes the size of large coins came down. Kabul is a city of flat roofs and everyone, young and old, got busy climbing up and shoveling the white stuff off onto the sidewalks, where passersby played cat and mouse games with heaps of snow crashing down on them. Pretty … [Read more...]
The Land of Men with Flaming Orange Beards
As soon as we stepped out of the shiny terminal of Lahore International Airport in Lahore, Pakistan, my uncle Waheed and I were overcome by the smell of kerosene. I thought at first that there must be a spill nearby, because it was so strong. Eventually we found our ride among all the cabbies and rickshaw drivers, who were jostling among themselves for customers. It was a twenty or thirty minute slog to get into the city from the airport. It was … [Read more...]
Where can you find Islands the Shape of Palm Trees?
All my preconceived notions about the rigid cultural conservativism of countries in the Arab peninsula were thrown out the minute I entered Dubai, a sprawling and mushrooming megalopolis rising up between the fringes of the Arab deserts and the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia may still be the country of chokingly strict laws, but Dubai seems to be the total opposite. Actually it is one of two major cities in the United Arab Emirates, a country roughly … [Read more...]
Wacky Packi Northern Pakistan
The mere notion of coming to this country might send shudders up ones spine. But after my 2 months in Pakistan, the chills would be be because I'm so excited about the prospect of returning to one of the most beautiful countries one Earth. The initial excitement of entering the country via the dramatic Karakoram Highway subsides eventually, but a contentedness of being amidst the cool climes, stunning geography & welcoming locals sets in. … [Read more...]