Foreign tourists in Pakistan

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Foreign tourists find Swat valley historically rich​

February 15, 2022

Tourists visit a Buddhist site in Swat. — Dawn

SWAT: Foreign tourists have termed Pakistan the safest and most attractive country of the world, saying its people are highly hospitable.

Tourists from France and Austria, who visited Swat on Monday, said that they found the valley not only beautiful but also historically rich.

Joseph Ponzevera, a tourist who visited Swat by riding a bicycle from France, said that he was amazed by the hospitality and friendly behaviour of the people of Pakistan.

Visitors from France and Austria praise locals’ hospitality

“I started my journey from France. After visiting 10 countries, I entered Pakistan from Iran. I found Pakistani people very friendly,” he told Dawn. He added that schoolchildren and their teachers accorded a warm welcome on him in Swat.

The tourist said that Swat was not only beautiful but the archaeological monuments in the valley were also amazing.

Vincent Thomas, another tourist from France who visited Pakistan in his van, also praised the people of Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan was a perfect destination for tourists.

“The country has everything to offer to tourists. The beautiful warm plains, high peaks and thousands of years of history make Pakistan the most attractive country for international tourists,” he said. He added that he was welcomed everywhere by local people.

Both the tourists said that they would stay in Pakistan for few days and would leave for India and from there would go to Nepal.

Diane B Didi, a backpacker from Austria who visited Swat alone, also admired the peaceful environment and hospitality of the local people. “Contrary to the bad image presented in the western world, Pakistan is a different country with amazing mountains and cultural diversity. Its people are so friendly. I came to Swat where people offered me free accommodation in their homes,” she added.

She said that she had a nice time in other parts of the country before visiting Swat. “People are all welcoming and friendly. I learned so much from them like caring and sharing. I will keep their values in my heart and share the same with other people in the world,” she added.

The tourists said that the people of Pakistan, especially the residents of Swat, had the highest level of hospitality. They said that they would convey the message to people living in other parts of the world.

The tourists visited different archaeological sites and also went on a hike with the schoolchildren.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2022

 

[dexter]

"Dinner time in Karachi. I was on my way to eat at a steak restaurant with my local friend but we decided to stop off, on the way, for some local street food.

We pulled up next to a small truck that was selling chaat and pani puri, at Hassan Square in the Gulshan area of the city. It was surrounded by people who had just finished working for the day. It's popular for the local people to eat a snack at this time, to bridge the gap between lunch and dinner, as they tend to eat dinner quite late in the evening.

The plates of mixed chaat contained chickpeas and potato soaked in gravy, vada, onions, crispy crackers, dahi (curd), tamarind sauce and masala. A variety of textures and flavours heaped onto a plate, costing a very reasonable 80 Pak rupees ($0.46 USD).

Everything on the plate were foods that I had eaten before during my travels in India. However, I'd never eaten this combination of those items all together.

They made the chaat just lightly spicy for me and asked if I wanted it more spicy. Instead I asked for it to be more sweet and they gave me another spoonful of the tasty tamarind sauce.

After demolishing the plate of chaat it was time pani puri time. They call it Golgappa in Karachi, just like they do in Mumbai, India. It seemed to have a different name everywhere I went in India. In Delhi it was known as pani puri and in Kolkata it was known as puchka.

The way the golgappa was served was different to what I'd tried before. It was served on a plate with an individual bowl of spicy water, for you to dip the puri into at your own pace. When I had pani puri in India, each individual puri was already containing water before it was given to me.

These puris also contained chickpeas and yoghurt inside. Previously I'd only tried them containing potato.

They were very tasty but very spicy. I guess they didn't have the ability to give me a 'light spicy' version, like they did with the mixed chaat, as the spice was already mixed into the water.

We then continued driving until we found a lassi shop for a tall glass of fresh sweet lassi. It was the first time that I'd had a lassi that was as good as the ones I'd been drinking in India. I've been to Indian restaurants in other countries but the lassi they served was never quite the same taste and thick texture that I was used to in India. Here, it was fully authentic.

We headed to the MMA gym to pick up the guys we were going to dinner with, including Ovais Shah who is the owner of the gym and an international fighter in One Championship.

It was good to get a further insight into how this sport is developing in Pakistan.

We went to a restaurant owned by the business partner of Ovais. It was an international cuisine restaurant with the name Sizzlerz, perhaps inspired by the American chain restaurant Sizzler.

There wasn't any Pakistan food on the menu. It seems that when Pakistani people go out to a nice restaurant they want to eat something that's different to what they are used to eating in their homes. However, these international foods are tweaked a little to be more palatable to the local Pakistani taste buds.

I ordered the 'fire steak' which was definitely Pakistan-level spicy. "

(Dale Philip)

 

[Path-Finder]

0 sympathy for matey, especially after his ISI antics.

 

[ghazi52]

0 sympathy for matey, especially after his ISI antics.

Why he is allow to stay in Pakistan. Any reason ?

 

[ghazi52]

Foreign tourists visiting Karachi in 1985.

 

[WinterFangs]

Why he is allow to stay in Pakistan. Any reason

well during his visit to Pakistan he was blacklisted of some sort from India by the gov, so he can’t return back. Now he’s come back to Pakistan few times to meet his wife etc. I assume one of the reasons would be he praised Pakistan a lot, cleaner etc. anyone can visit Pakistan despite Him saying a lot of crap about isi etc no one has stopped him from coming back, shows what the media portrays and reality.

 

[Path-Finder]

 

[WinterFangs]

Small YouTuber but clearly interested in Pakistan

 

[Path-Finder]

 

[ghazi52]

Lahore culture.......

 

[WinterFangs]

 

[WinterFangs]

shame seeing a lot of annoying horse/camel riders and others in karachi beaches trying to scam foreigners, educating the masses is a must.
Another thing I saw is taxi driver telling him that don’t go Lahore, people of Lahore are bad etc.

 

[WinterFangs]

need to ban these horse, camel etc riders on Karachi beaches imo.

 

[manpk77]

need to ban these horse, camel etc riders on Karachi beaches imo.

I remember in the name of horse, these people braught donkeys and every one thought its a horse. They use to sit on a donkey thinking horse and take photos.