24 hours in Lahore

(28/10/23)

I am finally blipping this mad day! When SweetArt suggested doing this a few weeks ago, I was apprehensive about it, but a three-hour flight to see our elder sister didn't seem impossible, so we booked the flights. SweetArt got her jabs, G & I doused ourselves in insect repellent and chose anything that went into us (food/water) very carefully! ;))

I have to say, it was great to travel with SweetArt after ages. She took over the paperwork that we needed. The flight itself was fine, with nothing to complain about. It took off on time and arrived half an hour early. Enough time to clear a chaotic immigration. As usual, G got through before us, and she collected the bags.

We were met by my elder sister Debbie, and her youngest son, Joey. The last time the three of us were together was in 2004. Geraldine hasn't seen them since 2000! It was great to be together again. Needless to say, there was lots of chatter.

The first stop was Debbie's home, where we met her husband, Dixie. They will be celebrating their 41st wedding anniversary soon! We had a cup of tea and met the rest of the "family" (a cat called Catness and a dog named Milo). We then had a tour of their place. It is in a new community which is still being built. Time was flying, so we had to get back on the bus to head into town. Here, we checked into our hotel for the night and picked up Danny (nephew who visited in March) and his family. We drove to the Salvation Army compound in town, which is also the Territorial Headquarters for Pakistan. The traffic is insane. Motorbikes, cars, donkeys, and cows all share the same space. It all moves at a slow and steady pace with few incidents.

We met my Aunt (my Dad's youngest sister) at the SA headquarters. She arranged for us to have a tour of the place by someone who had worked with my grandfather. Hard as it was to have a short visit, we had to move on to do a bit of sightseeing. Debbie picked Lahore Fort as it has a few tourist spots nearby. We hit it at the best time of the day. The lighting was perfect. My main picture is of the Badshahi Mosque, built by the Moghuls. Lahore Fort is opposite. I hadn't realised it was such a red-brick city.

Sadly, we didn't have time to look at everything. The light was fading, and it was getting closer to the time we had arranged a family dinner. We enjoyed a cold drink at a rooftop restaurant called Haveli. It is a place to go back to and explore some more.

There was enough time for a quick shower before we got to another rooftop restaurant, this time for dinner with all the relatives on my Dad's side who live there. We were nearly 20. They had a one-metre-long seekh kabab on the menu, so we ordered the chicken and mutton. Just their sight wowed us, and they tasted great, as did the rest of the food.

Places in Pakistan close much earlier than Dubai, most of them by 10 PM! Our restaurant closed at 11, but even then, they struggled to get us out. There was a cake to cut and eat, and we couldn't miss the opportunity to take family pictures.

We got back to the hotel, happy but also tired, having been awake for over 24 hours. G & I went straight to bed. Sandy and Debbie chatted more. That was our 24 hours in Lahore - a day that will stay in our hearts and conversation for a long, long time!

Here is SweetArt's version.

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