serena

I think I meant for my last post to be entitled, "they drive on the wrong side of the road here!" but it was 4:30 AM or some such stupid time and I forgot. At any rate, I was surprised, when I got into the car last night (the airport pickup went smoothly, name placard and all), to discover that Pakistanis have inherited British driving habits.

The flight from Doha to Islamabad was without incident; I watched something but at the moment I can't remember what it was. Maybe an episode of Family Guy, 30 Rock, Pinky and the Brain (!!!) and something else. Whatever, I was mostly zoned out and I think I fell asleep with about 30 minutes to go, because I literally have no memory between the, "Please put your seatbacks in the upright..." announcement and landing. Benazir Bhutto International Airport is small and chaotic. Immigration took 45 minutes or an hour, not too terrible, and my bag was blessedly on the carousel when I came through. The air smelled vaguely like piss as we made the quick walk to the waiting car and then we were off down the nice, smooth highway.

It was quite dark, so I didn't see a whole lot, but I did notice that big brightly-colored trucks that Pakistan is known for were pretty much the only other vehicles on the road. Can't wait to see some of those in daylight. Apparently the prime minister of Bhutan is or will soon be visiting, because there were big banners on bridges along the route that read, "The People of Pakistan Welcome Prime Minister of Bhutan" [sic], with pictures of Zardari and, I assume, Jigme Thinley (yes, I had to look that up).

The Serena is guarded pretty heavily. We went through three checkpoints, not counting the one on the highway. My suitcase was x-rayed twice and there was much weaving through concrete pylons and waving through by guards. The hotel is ridiculous, everything carved wood, inlaid marble and mosaics. As I discovered at the Kabul Serena, though, the thing that differentiates a five-star hotel from, say, a nice Marriott, is the service. As I was checking in -- note, it was 4:15 in the morning -- a man came up to me with a tray of juice in glasses and offered me one. When I asked this morning if they had any outlet adapters, I was told that one would be brought to my room. Everyone is obsequious but not obnoxiously so. It weirds me out and I don't think I could ever really be used to staying in places this nice.

Finally got to sleep around 5:30 AM after showering, taking some more Calms Forte (still not sure whether it works or not) and reading a bit more in The Master and Margarita. Woke up around ten when someone rang my doorbell and then opened the door, wondering if I would like an apple or orange, which he was holding on a tray. I said no and went immediately back to sleep. Turns out the "Do Not Disturb" sign is much more important in a hotel where they BRING FRESH FRUIT TO YOUR ROOM WITHOUT YOU ASKING. Woke up again around 12:30, stretched for half an hour or so, watched some news and went down for brunch. It was good but too expensive. I need to figure out what I'm going to do about meals cause there's no way I can afford to keep eating there. Room service might, amazingly, be cheaper. Anyway, this post has been crushingly boring, but then I haven't really done much, so a blow-by-blow of my sleeping and waking, plus "oh man this hotel is above my class," is the best I can do so far. My bad.

Better posts to come, I trust. But in the spirit of this post, I will report that the current plan is to take a nap because my body is telling me that I've been awake from 3 AM to 6:20 AM, and that does not fit our pattern.