From Lahore

(by Hynek)

hello everyone my first spam mail... those who don't want to receive any other mails, just let me know.

We have been in Lahore for about a week now (leaving tomorrow for Islamabad) catching the city in its greatest heat: 47 C. Well like Delhi, I know, but when you want to explore the city it's little fun. All the Lahori's come out after sunset and the city is full of life the whole night through. Since there are no bars to hang out and no great cinemas to go to, the only thing left is to go out and eat and shop. And that is what the whole city is doing till late into the night. -- That is the nice thing about Lahore: its food markets and the fact that Lahoris are not yet as spoilled as the Delhi Wallahs and dont mind eating in the street dhabas (and not in A/C restaurants). And so we had some food feasts: all kinds of khebabs (even beef khebabs!!), excellent Nans, fried dahl, sweets, and at the end a big glass of fresh juice!!

For my Delhi friends: i think many would be surprised how Lahore is. Economically it is not as busy as Delhi is but the economic progress is steady and less agressive. The streets are still less full of cars and nobody is using the horn excessively. Though they don't have a metro they have A/C busses, which I thought was rather a surprise. -- and the great thing about this city is that I get along with my hindi... though everyone congratulates me for my good urdu!!! -- people are extremely nice! I guess they are not yet used to too many tourists. And so today when I walked through old Lahore and stopped for a chai, the chai wallah was refusing to be paid inviting me to come back for yet another chai.

The old city looks as dillapidated as Old delhi does. not much is left of the ancient beauty except the Masjids (mosques). But many of the british buildings are in great shape and you sometimes feel like in Colcutta. Driving down 'The Mall' passing the library, the punjab assembly hall, the governor's house, the Lahore museum etc.

One thing though I noticed here: the police is much more of a pain than in Delhi. Must be due to a more police/military regime. We got stopped several times by police who was on the lookout for some money... though they didn't have much success with us. That never happened to me in Delhi.

OK, I stop here, ... I can't imagine if the India-Pakistan borde will be open to the public at large! People would notice that Living in Lahore or Delhi is so much simmilar with little exceptions that make each city worth visiting. -- All our Lahori friends were amazed that we just crossed the Waga border by road. It's something they are dreaming of since their childhood: just hop into the car and visit the other side!

cheers, Hynek

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