| We flew into Pakistan on the local airline - Pakistan Air. Interesting
experience. This company just received special government aid to stay
in business. We were frisked at least 5 times before boarding, including
one time in the plane itself. Jill had to move her seat to an all-female
row. We sat on the runway for a half hour in the blistering heat, listening
to a muslim prayer blaring over the plane's intercom. Once in Pakistan,
things went more smoothly. Our first impression surprised us, since we
expected Pakistan to be a lot more like its neighbor, India. Turns out
there are a lot of differences: religion (Pakistan is Islamic and India
is Hindu), language (Pakistan speaks Urdu while India speaks Hindi), population
(Pakistan seems much less crowded). Visitors notice the religious
and cultural differences between Pakistan and India almost immediately and
because Pakistan is Muslim it reminds us more of Turkey than any other
country. |
