After the latest post about the dire situation Pakistan finds itself in, we’re finishing our reporting from the country with a more upbeat tone. We’ve been quite prolific when it comes to video reporting in Pakistan, from our adventures in Karachi, through all sorts of issues we went through while on our way to and from the beautiful Hunza valley.
We have one more video for you from our way back from Hunza. As we already mentioned in our first post from Pakistan, there are numerous checkpoints in various parts of the country where foreigners have to register as part of the country’s security procedures.
Usually you enter in a small and dark hut, where a few police officers or other security personnel are crammed in and register your passport, visa and itinerary details in a paper log. In this video you can see how this looks like, although this was one of the rare occasions where the officer filled the registration logs for us.
We spent ten days altogether in Lahore, a week before going to Hunza, when we also both got sick and went to the hospital to get some antibiotics for our stomach problems, and a few days of relaxing after an exhausting way back from the north.
We enjoyed our stay at a cosy hostel with a laid back atmosphere, free wi-fi, washing machine, kitchen and a bed for 200 rupees – about 1.70 euros – per night. The owner Malik sometimes invites local musicians to play at the hostel’s small terrace. We were lucky to see one of these jam sessions. We had one of the many frequent, and annoying, power cuts during that time, so the only source of light was the little fire on the terrace, thus the poor visibility.
As we already confessed in Iran, we are pretty bad in visiting the official “sights” in places we go to. That was the case also in Lahore, mainly because we were both sick during our first stay there.
Nevertheless, we did manage to visit two of the most imposing architectural structures in Lahore, the Lahore fort and the Badshahi mosque. And they were both definitely worth it. This is the video we took while sitting in a chilly roof-top restaurant overlooking the mosque. A disclaimer beforehand: do not get offended, we mock all religions equally and without discrimination.
One of the things that make Malik and his hostel in Lahore so popular with travelers is that he and his crew organize free visits to the local religious music performances. Qawwali is a Sufi devotional music popular across South Asia. Sufis (another name is Dervish) are adherents to the mystical or esoteric dimension of Islam.
We went to one qawwali performance at a shrine in the old town and the experience was really something special. The music was great and full of tempo and passion.
The man of the show was a local religious leader (supposedly a descendant of the prophet Mohammed, although we were told this as a passing reference and we surely wouldn’t put our money on it; if someone is more accurately informed, please let us know in the comments below). A wealthy man, as we were told, he was certainly enjoying enormous attention and devotion by the other men present.
The money you see being thrown around wasn’t meant for the musicians, as we first thought, but for the guest of honor. He keeps the money for himself. I love religion, it enlightens, yet is always short of cash.
Returning back to Malik’s, we were privileged to ride on a true rarity in this part of the world – a sound system equipped rickshaw. Naturally we took full advantage of the situation.
Take a look at the rest of the photos from the beautiful Hunza valley. And don’t forget to check out the photos from Lahore, featuring the Lahore fort, Badshahi mosque and photos from the qawwali evening, among others.
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