Foreigners' trip to Pakistan - 2011

[53fd]

Brad Sander in Pakistan:

"Pakistan!" I shout in my head from the comfort of an air conditioned room in Bangkok. Why am I here and not there? It's June 21rst, Solstice longest day of the year, Benazir Bhutto's birthday. For the last 3 years I've been in Pakistan this time of year and had great flying conditions. So I'm not there why? Well not to get into too much detail but visa rules have changed this year probably because of stupid people blowing things up or trying to blow things up. A bomb this spring at the German Bakery in Pune and an attempted bombing in NY Times Square I imagine have caused tighter scrutiny on people apply for tourist visas. In the past it's been a simple process of applying at the office in Kathmandu and getting the visa a couple days later. Now the proceess takes 4-6 weeks and since I didn't realize the changes I only applied May 20th. So I wait. But I can watch and right now there are several pilots flying in Chitral (Dutch, Kiwi, Canadian and Russian), Making the most of conditions and doing some great flying so far , for a Pakistan flying fix check out Rob Van De Ham's blog at Travels 2010 And as for why there is no one is Hunza.. well the situation with Lake hasn't resolved and another drama unfolding is presented well here Dave's Landslide Blog

I did have a nice idea to come to Thailand instead of using all my visa time in Nepal (we only get 5 months a year and I need to return in September October). My friend Graham was kitesurfing in Phuket so I joined him in early June and we had good wind for some days. Then when the wind died I got to work on writing an article about the Himalayan Odyssey trip.. or rather struggled with it for some days.. the final product is not something I'm really proud of but.. it got done. That's not really very interesting but here's a picture of kitesurfing which is

I traveled from Puket to Bangkok to catch my return flight, realizing my visa wasn't ready I changed plans and impulsively scheduled laser eye surgery to correct my near-sightedness. Well not exactly impulsive, I've been considering and doing research for 10 years. But i booked my exam 2 days in advance and had surgery the same day. Damn if things are convenient here in Thailand! Now it's 3 days since the lasering and my eyes are feeling better. Still have to limit my computer time and rest a lot... not a bad thing. More about the process when I take some pictures of the clinic this afternoon and do a better write up.

No water sports for 2 weeks and anyway the visa should be here... shortly I hope!

Brad's Travels: Pakistan!!

 

[53fd]

Brad Sander & his dad in Pakistan:

In September my dad came to visit me in Pakistan, you can read about our trip in 2007 here Pakistan 2007 He was supposed to come in 2008 but had an accident which delayed his trip till this year. Needless to say he was excited to make it back and in a short time we were able to do everything and more we hoped.

Here's a pic from a flight, and wow does a picture tell a story. Me and my dad looking relaxed and happy which we were, my dad using oxygen (we had been to 5900m and no problem for him where in 2007 he got a little hypoxic at 5400). He's also wearing some really warm clothes which I was sponsored by a Canadian clothing company Westcomb Outerwear. It's fantastic stuff and I hope to get some great use out of it click the link to see a nice picture of me they are using for their webpage. Below us you can see the road we took off, if you look from left to right above us you can see the route we flew. Upper right is a 6000 meter mountain under a cloud, we circled that mountain.. twice. It was cool, Dad loved it.. what more can I say?

Here's a tracklog made from my GPS and overlaid on Google earth. Now you see the opposite view from the picture above. You can see our start, the circle around the mountain and our landing in Booni. You can even see the glaciers on the mountain but man are they bigger in real life.

I meant this to be a longer post but I'm not that motivated to write, I spent 2 months in Nepal flying commercial tandems and now I'm in Thailand learning to Kitesurf.

More coming soon!
Brad

Brad's Travels: Flights with my Dad

 

[53fd]

HOSPITAL, HOSPITALITY:

What a day: hospitality, coincidence, hospital, more hospitality
Recalling all that happened these two days – and my emotions about some of it – could take pages, but here it is, as concisely as possible:

Noon: Hospitality - Muzafar and family: Brad and Freddy went flying, giving me a chance to explore the village. This guy Muzafar saw me taking pix, stopped his car and invited me to tea. His wife, Jamila, and 4 y/o son climbed in the back seat to make room for me, and we drove to their house. Twenty minutes later we were in their courtyard enjoying good conversation and a delicious lunch of chicken in gravy and warm, freshly-baked bread.

Muzafar runs the Stars Land Grammar School, which he started in 1998, and he and Jamila teach there. Our conversation covered several subjects, then came to paragliding. They’d seen Brad flying several times since Spring. They knew he usually landed at the polo ground, but on one particular flight they'd been concerned because, after flying over Booni for a while, instead of landing he headed easterly, out of sight. They worried about him, and were relieved when they saw him in the village a few days later. They were interested in the flying, but hadn’t met Brad or Freddy. Brad's laptop was with me, and it had all of his, Freddy's and my pictures on it. Yes, they said eagerly, they’d like to see pictures.

1 PM Coincidence: We looked at some flying pix, then were looking at pictures in and around Booni. Remember the electrical engineer with the water mill/electric generator? While looking at those Muzafar points to the daughter and says, “She’s my student,” then points to the father and says, “He’s my cousin.” When we’re looking at the pix of Aftaab’s family Jamila points to Aftaab’s mother and says, “She’s my sister.” They also know and recognize Mir Safdar Khan and the cook at our hotel, but aren’t related to either. They recognized others, but that’s enough for now.

4 PM Hotel - News of Hospital: Aziz, the hotel manager, speaks little English, but as soon as I get back he conveys to me that Brad is at the hospital. An instant of panic, but just an instant. [Stay present, stay calm. A deep breath helps me get centered. Brad and I have had this conversation, not just about a paragliding accident, but about mortality. And about the importance of staying in the present - the now. Brad gave me a CD book several years ago. That, plus several conversations with Brad, plus practice, convinced me of the uselessness of worrying about things past and things we can't control. Looking back at my reaction convinces me that some of the lessons have sunk in.]

With patience and translation help from the owner's son I learn that Brad is not injured. Freddy had the accident, and that his injuries aren't life-threatening. With that info there's no urgency for me to go to the hospital, wherever it might be. In a little while Brad gets back. It is very, very good to see him. We eat, then head out to visit Freddy. The hospital is a half-hour walk.

7 PM Hospital Hospitality: Freddy is the only patient in a 6-bed ward, but he’s not alone. A couple of guys Freddy had met in the village are visiting, and a district government guy who leaves when he's satisfied that Freddy won't die. The hospital administrator, Mr. Sawat, is there, having brought food his wife prepared for Freddy. Mr. Sawat explained that tourists in the hospital are treated as guests. In addition to the food brought by Sawat, Afayat Khan, the hotel owner brought grapes, dates, bottled water and a package of cookies. And there was homemade bread and a dessert which had been brought by Muzafar, who had left only a few minutes before we got there. After seeing me off Muzafar had gone to the marketplace, overheard a conversation about the injured paraglider, felt a kinship because of my visit and the pix?, and Jamila made something to take to Freddy. While we were there two local police stopped in to check on the injured tourist. Mr. Sawat stayed till 10, and finally left when we did. Is that all hospitality or what?


Wed Oct 10 – Hospital
Freddy’s doing well. His injuries are sprained wrists and a compressed vertebra. He has good (but slow) movement and decreasing pain. Today Asif (the student who asked for my help) brought Freddy some grapes. Last night we met the on-duty doc, Fatima (forgot her last name), an OBGYN. Wish there had been more time to talk, as she was very interesting. Today the head doc, Abdul Karim, a surgeon, gave us a tour. The hospital has 3 6-bed wards (men, women, and women with children), 3 semi- private rooms, 2 ORs (1 with a new anesthesiology machine that can take over breathing), a delivery room (the picture w/ Brad looking; they average 2 births a day), X-ray room, ultrasound room, dentist office, plus admitting room (computerized) and various offices, and the nurses station (below).


An Aga Khan foundation built the hospital and pays ongoing expenses. It is open to all, not just Ismailis, and costs are very reasonable. An office visit with a doc is less than $1; x-ray is $2. Records are computerized, but there's still lots of paper, like all the green records behind the admitting desk. The picture is of the Aga Khan. It's the same one as in a number of homes and businesses, and isn't real recent, since the Aga Khan is in his mid 70's now.

The hospital serves not only the 1600 Booni residents, but thousands in surrounding villages. Interesting notes: 1. During Ramadan there are fewer hospital visits. 2. There are more visits right before winter, and because winters are hard and transport difficult, there are many more home births during winter.. 3. Most of the hospital is heated with wood stoves (they vent outside). They are removed during mild months, and Freddy’s ward was pretty cool (he had plenty of blankets, however). 4. The delivery room has an electric baby warmer, and the ORs have electric heaters, but the heaters sometime overload the circuits. 5. A coincidence: in Gilgit Brad stayed with his friend Farhar. Turns out he’s a cousin of Dr. Fatima. Coincidence. Oh, btw, she wasn’t in the hospital today, but had sent lunch for Freddy – and Brad and me. Hospitality.


Freddy was anxious to get out of the hospital and back to the hotel. He was doing well and was dismissed. He has some meds for pain, and he’ll need to take it easy for a while.

Pakistan 2007: #13 HOSPITAL, HOSPITALITY, + 10/9-10

 

[JonAsad]

Good Bilal- I like this thread- its Kool-

Pakistan Zindabad-

 

[Awesome]

Nice thread if you ignore the khwamkhwa ki cheapness by a few peeps.

 

[Last Hope]

Assalam u Alaikum Asim.
Tussi inna logan nu ban ker diyo, aus Mr. Khan tey puttar nu.

Odey posts viekho zara.

Shukran

 

[HellzHere]

Well,i personally wouldn't want to visit Pakistan at this time.
And i know many Pakistanis will even agree that its not the safest time to visit Pakistan..

 

[BelligerentPacifist]

Assalam u Alaikum Asim.
Tussi inna logan nu ban ker diyo, aus Mr. Khan tey puttar nu.

Odey posts viekho zara.

Shukran

.....................................................................................................
+1

 

[Safriz]

unfortunately we give them far too much attention..which is demeaning ourselves and making us look small.....
Do we really need Pakistan to be endorsed by western tourists? As long as we as Pakistanis love our country that is a that matters.

 

[HellzHere]

unfortunately we give them far too much attention..which is demeaning ourselves and making us look small.....
Do we really need Pakistan to be endorsed by western tourists? As long as we as Pakistanis love our country that is a that matters.

+1
I also simply hate Indians giving unwanted attention to westerners,as if they are from some other planet!

 

[53fd]

unfortunately we give them far too much attention..which is demeaning ourselves and making us look small.....
Do we really need Pakistan to be endorsed by western tourists? As long as we as Pakistanis love our country that is a that matters.

No one is talking about endorsement. But guests are an important feature of Pakistani society, & are given a very high status by Pakistani hosts, whether they're from the West or anywhere else.

 

[53fd]

Well,i personally wouldn't want to visit Pakistan at this time.
And i know many Pakistanis will even agree that its not the safest time to visit Pakistan..

I was in Pakistan 6 months ago, & Pakistan is perfectly safe for those who know the locals there, & avoid going to the dangerous parts of the country like FATA & Balochistan. Other than that, I would recommend everyone to go to Pakistan. As you can see, many of the posts here have been of Westeners ignoring their government's warnings, & traveling to Pakistan in the last few days, & having a great time. There is a lot of propaganda generated by the international media & governments.

 

[Bratva]

Haye may mar javaaaaaaaa, So Cute and innocent

 

[Dance]

Nice thread Bilal!

Its funny to see some people from a certain country trying to mess up this thread with their nonsense

 

[Safriz]

No one is talking about endorsement. But guests are an important feature of Pakistani society, & are given a very high status by Pakistani hosts, whether that maybe from the West or anywhere else.

yes i agree on that....
we love guests.....its part of our culture...but at times we over do it.....
people inviting them en mass to their homes and everybody wanting their attention is no good...
i had a similar experience in china in 1990s...back then i used to be very muscular and looked impressive..not anymore....we were visiting rural guangdong...and the wmount of attention we used to get from locals was at times pleasant and at times overwhelming and to the level of intruding our privacies.
wae very pleasant when a group of young chinese women would approach us and feel our broad shoulders...touch our hairy chests as many of them had never seen a hairy chest due to chinese men being smooth.
but then wr didnt like being chased by villagers on bicycles everywhere....making us feel like runaway circus monkeys whom all the village wants to watch all the time.