My sisters are here. Since the last post I have finished my work, had very little sleep, met one at the airport, gone out for a 17 course meal for their birthdays, dropped into one of the city’s best bars, come home, had a little sleep, gone out for lunch, been presented with a lipstick, […]
Poor show
An unconscionably long time since my last post and I did not pass a single day (almost) without a pang of guilt. In the past weeks I have spent a few days in Karachi, over a week in Taiwan, and been clobbered by work upon my return to KL. Excuses, excuses, but hopefully this is […]
Birthday
A birthday was celebrated yesterday, not mine. I have arranged for all the servants’ children to start school, and yesterday’s morning excitement was taking photos, buying uniforms and getting them registered. Today they went to school. My nephew was also to start school today but a lingering cold meant it had to be pushed back.
Sheep rump fat
That was the best meal in Islamabd: a trip to a Shinwari restaurant on the Kashmir highway with a Pathan friend who selected the meat himself, chatted up the cooks, and arranged for a delicious platter of namkeen mutton tikkas, a pound of sheep rump fat and some mutton karhai. Westerners – and many Pakistanis […]
Islamabad
Arrived here yesterday after what felt like a very long, hot drive. The evening before I helped deal with servant crises and my nephew’s illness – I have been dealing with a lot of things on this trip.
Grey hair
A night call and I was in the emergency room again last night. Happily, this time it was only for a short while and we were home about an hour and a half later, with the patient feeling well enough that this afternoon she insisted on accompanying me to the bazaar. I had some of […]
In Lahore, continued
On arrival in Lahore I had time for a cup of tea and breakfast (my usual in Lahore – roti and butter), and then went to see my grandmother to find she was on her way to hospital for an injection. I accompanied her and this turned out to be a full day in the […]
Here, in Lahore
I arrived yesterday morning after a slightly ineptly managed but reasonably comfortable journey – PIA is clearly still working out how to do transit passengers and have decided that immigration must take place at the final destination, so there was some low level chaos as they tried to sort out passengers flying on from Karachi […]
Dispiriting
Politics in Pakistan. What can I say?
Political afternoon
First watching the live blogs on Metafilter on the US ‘skinny repeal’ healthcare bill, with John McCain’s surprise ‘no’ vote killing it. Then, immediately, turning closer to home, to where the Supreme Court of Pakistan gave its verdict on Nawaz Sharif. Sharif is gone. I have mixed feelings about all of this. On one hand […]