pakistan: the inauspicious start

to be fair i did little to encourage positive first impressions of pakistan. i took media reports of radical islam and department of state travel advisories to heart. i sandwiched my week on the subcontinent between the playground of bangkok and the home ground of seoul. 'anywhere but here' seemed like a probable reaction as i arrived in karachi after midnight. my environs were made all the more weird since i appeared to be the only non-pakistani on the plane.

i made my way out of immigration and customs mumbling asalaam aleikums and shukriyas to polite security personnel. at the domestic departures gate i discovered that my e-tickets to lahore had been mysteriously cancelled. what followed was a first hand account of how pakistanis mob ticket windows in lieu of forming an orderly queue. with 6 hours until my flight, i wasnt in a hurry so i took my bags to a gaggle of chairs filled with tired men dressed in khaki-colored shalwar kameez (tunic/trouser combos) and women sleeping prostrate atop cardboard dressed in colorful hijab. i felt incredibly conspicuous as this half-korean american dude slumped over his trekker-style backpack outisde the karachi airport in the wee hours of the morning. as folks stared it felt dumb to pretend that i wasnt the elephant in the room and doing so made me feel less safe so i made eye contact, unashamedly read my lonely planet and listened to my ipod. as the cricket game played on the small tv to my left, i stole brief bits of slobbery sleep.

after an unremarkable flight to lahore i wasnt eager to negotiate third world taxi scams. nevertheless two guys claiming to be brothers took me aboard as i gauged what was worse, their sour smelling pits or choking on the yellow smog outside. our first stop was a fully booked hostel recommended by lonely planet. after a long trip, hearing that your intended bed is unavailable is unwelcome news. back in the taxi stop #2 was anxiously off the beaten track. the proprietor (clearly in kahoots) quoted me 5000 rupees (usd85) per night straight faced, despite the fact there was a man sleeping on 'my' bed and the hostel was usd7. as i politely declined i wondered about my fate. i ventured to the third stop with my drivers licking their chops and my negotiating power nearly eliminated. these men that were once brothers started getting nasty. now at code orange i insisted they take me to the guide book-endorsed indus hotel. despite resembling a bombed ruin with ubiquitous rubble and a second floor that was only exposed mud and cinderblock, at this point i was relieved to escape their shifty company. as i exited they demanded tips- one for each of them. i declined, almost eager for an excuse to become violent.

my room was filthy. curiously, the bathrooms three water contraptions operated simultaneously. not that there were soap or towels anyway, but if you turned on the sink the shower would spray the floor and the toilet would enthusiastically flush. clearly fatigue was exacerbating my cranky mood. even the commotion of busy lahore and doves coo-ing outside my window couldnt keep me upright. i looked at the adventure that was my bed, removed the top blanket, inspected what looked like reasonably clean sheets, and napped still wearing what i hoped were cootie-blocking jeans and socks. at some point during my nap a pigeon hopped in, pecked open my bag of chips, and left, unbeknownst to me. after my nap i purchased a phone card from an angry knowitall vendor whose intelligence didnt include knowing that the card and my phone were incompatible. he refused a refund. back in my shoddy diggs and feeling sorry for myself i scoured my travel docs for a list of cathay pacific flights back to bangkok. no doubt it was an inauspicious start to my time on the subcontinent.
more lahore photos here.