pir sohawa

Just got back from a couple of hours touring F-7 and F-6, two of the nicer (nicest?) sectors of Islamabad, and going to Margalla Hills National Park. Our final destination: a viewpoint on a high ridge over the city called Pir Sohawa. I think we climbed about 1700 or 1800 feet to get there.

The cab driver -- this was recommended to me as the best way to get around -- was a really friendly guy named Tanvir. He took me to the Super Market and Jinnah Super Market, but they were not really what I was expecting. The shops are mostly for practical things like clothes, phones, etc. But I don't need any new Nike pants. The market that we did stop at, the name of which I forget but it starts with "K," had a couple of craft stalls but there wasn't really anything interesting there. I must have gone to the wrong places because I have a hard time believing that Kabul's craft shops are so vastly superior to Islamabad's.

Make myself a little sick being SUCH a tourist, but sometimes you just have to embrace it. It's that or not go anywhere.

Then we drove up to the aforementioned Pir Sohawa. The road twists and turns very sharply as it climbs. At one point we pulled off and got out, and Tanvir pointed out to me a spot where, last summer, a plane from Karachi crashed into the side of the hill, killing all 160 people on board. You can still see the path they cut through the forest to recover the bodies; the vegetation is very thick the whole way up.

Pir Sohawa, in addition to its views, boasts an enormous restaurant called The Monal. Seats something like 1200 people. The smell of grilling meat mingled with the roses and fumes from the passing cars and trucks. Some guys were playing tablas and singing. Took some short clips and photos but it was hard to see much of the view. Islamabad is a hazy city, or at least it has been since I got here.

One highlight: There were signs periodically on the way up saying things like, "Don't tease the monkeys, they can be dangerous," and, "Approaching the monkeys can be a hazard." Monkeys? In Islamabad? Why, yes! On the way down we passed a little troupe of them. Kind of medium-sized, just chilling by the side of the road. Obviously very used to being around people. Who knew?

Towards the end Tanvir started teaching me some Urdu. I won't even begin to try to transcribe it, but I learned, "What is your name?" and, "My name is Luke," and a couple of other basics.

Kind of an underwhelming trip, to be honest, but that's okay. All two hours of it set me back about 20 bucks. If nothing else it was great to leave the hotel for a while and see something different. Tomorrow morning, early, I leave for Karachi. I'll try to do some more prep this evening before I expire. Come on, 10 PM...