(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
A second round of discussion motivated this trip. No at all "tourism" oriented!
All the meetings took place at another power plant that last time, but in the same neighborhood. We took the same road and I saw more or less the same things—so much for novelty!
As power plants go that one was very well kept, it looked neat outside and inside. Management and personnel proud of their work and right to be!
The plant is due for expansion on the Eastern boundary. It is a peaceful area and the armed guard on duty is—I imagine—just the standard way of doing things. I'm glad he was on the picture though, his "British" look is a true colonial legacy!
Actually I should have titled this article "One hour and two minutes in Lahore," because that was the time of my morning run on the second day. I was pretty well prepared to head for the park some 500 m from the hotel but alas, on the satellite picture I had identified another building to be the hotel and I went -100º azimuth! I carry no compass, no GPS and usually rely on "dead reckoning navigation"—meaning—that as long as I can back-track my step I ought to be fine. The sun was up already, temperature on the rise, I carried some water, I knew I was not on the right track but since traffic was light I let myself go on exploration.
I just had to remind myself constantly that Pakistan is left driving! Pedestrians are the probably next to the bottom of right-of-way priority list, just above dogs! This is one of the countries where drivers don't see you! If they would see you then they might have to brake, so, they just don't see you! Only once back at the hotel did I actually know where I went. My run took me toward the central station and some local bus station. I passed by a small park where probably a few hundred men had slept the previous night and it was obvious that this wasn't their first time! Bath room is in the street too. I saw a woman taking a drink from a stainless steel tank, it looked like the municipality is providing for those. I passed a few official buildings such as the state railways office with an engine displayed on the front, all those looking from another age. Pakistan has a lot of similarities with what I saw in India twenty years ago, how time flies!
Nobody really seemed to care for my passage, except a man in car with a hand radio who hailed me, maybe a plainclothes policeman but I waved back and went. That is one nice thing about running against traffic, it makes it difficult for a vehicle to keep alongside you. Soon I was at the hotel where it took another hour to cool down, welcome to the tropics!
The next day I found the park all right except that I was out even latter and the heat soon put me on slow motion.
Pakistan was never on my priority list of countries to visit, but since my work takes me there, I'll try to keep my eyes open. May be at the rate of one hour per trip, I will learn some more! Who knows?
A second round of discussion motivated this trip. No at all "tourism" oriented!All the meetings took place at another power plant that last time, but in the same neighborhood. We took the same road and I saw more or less the same things—so much for novelty!
As power plants go that one was very well kept, it looked neat outside and inside. Management and personnel proud of their work and right to be!The plant is due for expansion on the Eastern boundary. It is a peaceful area and the armed guard on duty is—I imagine—just the standard way of doing things. I'm glad he was on the picture though, his "British" look is a true colonial legacy!
Actually I should have titled this article "One hour and two minutes in Lahore," because that was the time of my morning run on the second day. I was pretty well prepared to head for the park some 500 m from the hotel but alas, on the satellite picture I had identified another building to be the hotel and I went -100º azimuth! I carry no compass, no GPS and usually rely on "dead reckoning navigation"—meaning—that as long as I can back-track my step I ought to be fine. The sun was up already, temperature on the rise, I carried some water, I knew I was not on the right track but since traffic was light I let myself go on exploration.
I just had to remind myself constantly that Pakistan is left driving! Pedestrians are the probably next to the bottom of right-of-way priority list, just above dogs! This is one of the countries where drivers don't see you! If they would see you then they might have to brake, so, they just don't see you! Only once back at the hotel did I actually know where I went. My run took me toward the central station and some local bus station. I passed by a small park where probably a few hundred men had slept the previous night and it was obvious that this wasn't their first time! Bath room is in the street too. I saw a woman taking a drink from a stainless steel tank, it looked like the municipality is providing for those. I passed a few official buildings such as the state railways office with an engine displayed on the front, all those looking from another age. Pakistan has a lot of similarities with what I saw in India twenty years ago, how time flies!Nobody really seemed to care for my passage, except a man in car with a hand radio who hailed me, maybe a plainclothes policeman but I waved back and went. That is one nice thing about running against traffic, it makes it difficult for a vehicle to keep alongside you. Soon I was at the hotel where it took another hour to cool down, welcome to the tropics!
The next day I found the park all right except that I was out even latter and the heat soon put me on slow motion.
Pakistan was never on my priority list of countries to visit, but since my work takes me there, I'll try to keep my eyes open. May be at the rate of one hour per trip, I will learn some more! Who knows?
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