First Market and Party Experience in Pakistan

On Monday morning we slept in very late.  At least 10am!  It's different here because people sleep in late have breakfast around 11 and then lunch at 2/3 and then dinner around 8/9 then go to bed past midnight.  Anyways the sleep in was very well needed after the past two nights we didn't sleep in a bed and we were either in the airport or on a plane.  We were both very tired indeed!  Immediately upon waking up we were instructed by Lilly Khala to take a shower before the hot water went away.  Wow this is a shocker but to be honest taking a few cold showers and getting to experience the real life and culture of Pakistan is what I'm most excited about.  I took a very short shower also making sure to conserve the water and get my body and hair wet and then turn off the water and then rinse etc.  Water, gas, and electricity are very precious items here in this country, no matter how rich or poor you are.  Essentially these items just get turned off by the government!  You really don't have a choice.

We got served a very simple breakfast in the morning and then ventured off for my first market experience.  The market was very close by but was so interesting for me.  We needed to get a few things for Hajra's event that evening which is called Dholki.  The event is just basically a ladies last evening before the festivities (although she is technically already married).  Lilly Khala bought us some snacks from the market (samosa and jalebi). Jalebi is a sweet and samosa is this fried pocket of potatoes and vegetables and spices!  Love the spices here!  We also went to the grocery store which was nice, then to the pharmacy, and the light store, and then to get some sodas. We also went to the butcher where I got to witness butchering a chicken the halal way, which basically means the kill from the throat and say a prayer.  We got a lot accomplished in a little bit of time.  

We went back and and had lunch which was the Samosa from the market and roti with saag which is this salty green mixture again spicy!  After lunch we started to get the living room and house ready for the party (Dholki).  We put Christmas lights up around the entrances into the living room and house and then moved around the furniture and helped set out the silverware and food.  People started coming over around 5:00pm and they trickled on in the house until 8.  

During this traditional party the women get together and dance and sing and play the drums.  There is a distinct and certain way that they play the drums.  They also practiced their choreographed dances which they will dance again during the ceremonies.  We had lots of food this evening including kebab which we got from the market, haleem, chicken karahi, and for dessert qulfi (which is Pakistani ice cream).  All of the food was amazing again!  I really enjoy all the flavor that these foods have!  The party ended around 11pm because mostly that is when the electricity goes out.  

Such a great experience that I'm having here!

First day in Pakistan

Well we arrived into Pakistan.  We got here about 7 hours behind schedule which may of been better for Sanna's family to actually pick up us versus in the middle of the night.  We landed around 12 and waited for a couple of hours for them to pick us up.  They were at the function called Nikkah where the bride and groom officially sign the papers that make them husband and wife.  We were greeted by Sanna's cousin Amna and her husband Faisal and daughter and niece.  They were all dressed up so fancy from the event and here we were with our huge backpacks and lack of sleep looking very scrubby.  

From the airport my head was turned directly outside admiring the sights and sounds of this somewhat forbidden country.  It's not every day that many Americans get to visit Pakistan let alone many other people from other nations.  This country has surprised me from the beginning though!  I was expecting pure craziness but much to my surprise I feel the driving here is very mild and there aren't cows and animals on the sides of the streets and people lying on the grass.  Not sure why these were my expectations but they were.  Soon after the airport pickup we arrived at Sanna's aunts house.  We call her Lilly Khala which Khala means aunt and her nickname is Lilly.  Here and now I met her entire family including her uncle who we called Khalu Jaan (meaning dear uncle).  I met Hajra (the cousin getting married) and their other sister Mariam.  Both Amna and Mariam have two kids - four total.  The house was filled with warmth and happiness from all the people.  I also met their housekeepers or maids.  They speak no English.  All of the rest of her family speaks exceptional English!  

As soon as we met everyone we were served some lunch.  My first official meal in Pakistan was this rice and chicken dish with tons of flavor called Biryani.  I could get used to this food!  We relaxed in the living room and drank some chai tea (which is amazing by the way) and laughed and talked for a long time.  Sanna's 4 little cousins love me by the way.  I think they were so interested in me that I only speak English and some of them may not really understand this.  Their ages are 8, 7, 5, and 4.  The youngest ones don't have the best English yet as the older ones are learning this in school.  We played Chinese whisper and laughed and they taught me how to say one thing in Urdu - that is Mera naam Amanda hai.  This means my name is Amanda.  It took me a while for it to stick but I think that I finally remember how to say it.

Later on I got to try on my 3 dresses for the 3 functions of the wedding.  They fit but needed a bit of tailoring so we got that done later on.  We then sat around the electric heater (houses in Pakistan do not have central heating) and drank some chai and I got introduced to some Pakistani sweets, Barfi which so far is my favorite!  It's made basically of pistachio and sugar and it's very nice!  Goes great with tea!

Great family, food, culture and more!  I really love it here!

Istanbul round 2! Love this city

How about a 14 hour layover in Istanbul?  Alright.  Actually the stop over was planned when I booked the award ticket on Turkish airways using united miles.  I wanted a chance to see Istanbul for a second time and get some things from the grand bazaar.  Get some things indeed!!

We landed at 6am this morning local time with little sleep.  We decided not to get a room the night before so we just went to the airport after our evening of indulging on caviar.  I slept in the airport for maybe 1 hour and then on the flight sort for another 2.  Good nights rest I'd say!  We went through customs upon arrival into Istanbul and then put our bags in lockers and headed for the bazaar.  The weather was quite damp and rainy so walking around wasn't all that pleasant.  

Upon arrival into the bazaar I had two things in mind.  Get blanket/throw called susani style and get some lamps.  I wanted to get myself a big lamp and get my cousin one for her wedding gift.  I ended up getting two big ones and two small ones.  One for my sister :). I shipped them all home right away.  Then when looking to get my throw I actually saw another one that I absolutely fell in love with.  I couldn't decide which one I really wanted and then the guy kept throwing out more of them and they were all so beautiful! I ended up getting two styles.  The one that I originally wanted and then another one which is off green pastel color with bright hand stitched flowers.  It's beautiful!  I cannot wait to use it.

All in all turkey for 10 hours was amazing in the city.  Gosh there are so many tourists here though.  I don't remember this from my first visit in November 2012.  Maybe it's because of the holidays or maybe it's because we've been going to places where people just don't go!

I love Istanbul.  I really want to come back and do some more exploring.  Actually I love turkey.  The country is really big and I think has a lot to offer.  I need to do lots of traveling here to get a really good feel

Now we are sitting in the lounge at Istanbul airport. I still have my star alliance gold status until January 2015 so I'm soaking that up,  this lounge is amazing.  Best lounge that I've even been too.  I've had some wine, cheese plate, dinner, and already an assortment of Turkish desserts.  Turns out we are going to be here for a long time...our flight to Lahore is delayed by 6 hours.  Good thing for this lounge pass!!!

Next stop Lahore Pakistan!  Keep me in your thoughts as I visit maybe the most crazy country ever!

Azerbaijan

We got to Azerbaijan on Tuesday.  We were flying just a short flight from Georgia.  Once we landed we went straight to our hostel and then met up with one of Sanna's friends from Paris.  She is a local and was kind enough to take us out to eat at a very local restaurant here in Baku.  We tried a bunch of different foods at this place to get an idea of what the food was like.  Lots of bread here!

On the second day we walked around the city and parts of Baku.  The city has quite a posh feeling to it really and is unlike Georgia or Armenia.  Azerbaijan also borders Iran so maybe that has some of the influence on this city.  We followed up the evening by meeting up again with Nigar and having some wine at a nice wine bar accompanied by cheese and then after we went to a shisha bar to have some dessert.  Best shisha that I've had on this trip!

The next day we took a day trip to Qobustan.  This place was famous for ancient artifacts and petroglyphs.  Next to it are the mud volcanos which were equally as interesting.  After that we drove back north to Baku and then headed for the fire mountain and fire palace.  Neither of them were very interesting in my opinion but both of them indicate the history of Azerbaijan.  We went to another local restaurant for a late lunch and relaxed a bit.

Today I got some laser hair removal.  It's actually quite famous here to get it and it's really cheap in comparison to the U.S.  After the salon we walked to this bazaar in an area of the city we had yet to explore and we walked around and saw the 'black market' for caviar.  The men softly whispered in our ears as we passed by and through the market 'sturgeon' which basically means they are selling caviar under the table and probably illegal.  Totally safe but we took a look around and took some pictures of the surrounding parts.  This bazaar might of been my favorite park of Baku!

Tonight we meet up with Sanna's friend for tea and possibly to try some caviar.  We leave for Istanbul tonight which is the first leg of the trip to Pakistan!

Georgia

Let's just say one thing.....the Georgians love their smoking and drinking!  I don't think I could survive here that long, but staying for 5 nights was good enough.  

The country is actually quite beautiful and was quite a change from the dreary and semi quiet feel of Yerevan.  On the first day we walked around Tbilisi for a while.  And then around mid afternoon we went back to the hostel and was greeted by the hostel owner and invited to visit the parliament building where his fiancé works.  Very interesting!  After that we walked around some more and got some kinkali and beer.  Yum!  These two actually go together quite well!  We ended up going out that night and met up with some friends of the hostel and went to the disco and this other pub!  Really nice to get an idea of what it's like to go out with locals!  I really like that when I can go somewhere and get the feeling I'm living there.

Second day we did a day trip.  Long day trip that is.  We went to wine country.  We toured two wineries and a couple churches!  Then the last stop was to join this local Georgian family for a dinner.  Before hand we went to some side road markets and got some meat and vegetables.  We took these to the family to cook for us.  We made kebabs over the fire in a very traditional manner.  The dinner was filled with toast after toast.  Toast to your family, toast to your travels, toast to your loved ones, dead ones, parents, women, the men, children, government, and so much more!  And after each toast you drank....drank a whole small glass of wine.  The night was long but great.  We couldn't understand each other very well but after a few drinks it all meant the same thing !

Third day....rest.  It was a lovely Sunday to just hang out.  The next day we went to the mountains.  The day trip was basically about the drive there.  It was a really sunny day and as we drove there was more and more snow.  We didn't decide to go to the church at the top of the mountain since we've seen so many so basically once we got there we turned around and went back.  We stopped and took some pictures along the way

Georgia was nice for several reasons.  Cheap, great food and pretty easy to get around.  I would go back to try and explore more areas and maybe do some more wine tasting!

Armenia

Well after spending a solid 3+ weeks in the Middle East I was loving the fact that we were in Armenia.  We had an overnight flight from Abu Dhabi and spent a few hours in the airport until early morning and we went to our hostel.  We slept for a few hours and when we woke up we were prepared an individual breakfast by the hostel maid.  Traditional Armenian style.  After some coffee we ventured out into the city and walked around for awhile.  Finally the temperature were about 40-45F!  Couldn't believe it after being in almost 80+ weather for a while.  It was pretty dreary in Armenia and the sun wasn't out too much.  

We got lunch at a traditional Armenian cuisine place which was actually pretty similar to Lebanese food.  It was this yummy soup which was nice and warm after walking around so much.  We walked into a few shops and Sanna bought another carpet.  We toured the cascade area and decided after walking around for a bit that there wasn't too much to do here and that I day trip tomorrow was necessary.  We went back to the hostel and did some research on where we wanted to go to and then how and when we would go to Georgia which was our next stop after Armenia.

On the second day we hired a private taxi to take us to three tourist attractions.  Two of these were monasteries and the other was this monument.  First stop was the monument called Garni.  Wasn't too spectacular but nice visit.  No tourists anywhere!  The second stop was my favorite of the two monasteries.  It was called Geghard monastery.  It's from 4th century and wasn't occupied still that I'm aware of.  It was pretty picturesque sitting in the snow covered mountains.  The second monastery that we visited was quite a drive away from these first two places and was called Khor Virap.  It wasn't as spectacular as the first one but the color was beautiful.  It was more of a red/orange color and the first was grey.  

We returned back and had a very late lunch at this place recommended in the lonely planet for some Armenian cuisine. It was alright and was so dead.  Maybe it was because it was a week day and not really lunch or dinner hours but no one was there!  Food was decent but I'll explain more about that!

Next day we left and decided to take a minibus for our trek to Georgia.  The bus was to be about 5-6 hours depending on the border crossing.  However I was having dreams that I was feeling sick when actually I woke up around 6am and got really sick and started throwing up.  This was a whirlwind of what the rest of my morning was like!  Thankfully I had access to a bathroom for the next 5 hours.  I don't know what managed to get me sick like this but it was pretty awful and I know that I needed to get my act together before this minibus which last departed at noon!  I was in shambles and the last thing I wanted to do was ride a bus to Georgia!  Luckily managed to get a little better and managed the bus ride and didn't have anything all day except this break roll and some sprite!

At least the bug was less then 12 hours long but this is the 2nd time I've been sick in less then a month!  More to come on my Georgian adventures!

Abu Dhabi

This isn't my first time to UAE as I had a long layover in Dubai in 2011 when I was coming back from Australia.  Anyways I wasn't too impressed with Dubai so I wasn't sure about what to expect for Abu Dhabi.  I knew one thing - I couldn't wait to see the grand mosque!

We got to AD on Saturday mid afternoon and we rented a car and drove straight to Emirates Palace.  We were immediately wow'd by the amount of rich and money there was in this country (similar to Dubai but on a lower scale).  We then drove to the Iranian and carpet souqs on the completely opposite side of the corniche.  I was looking for a possible carpet and Sanna was also looking.  We also passed through the fruit and vegetable market.  All of the people who were running these markets were from Pakistan, India or Bangladesh.  Great to see that these people can have a better life in UAE but sad to hear their story about leaving their family behind and not getting to see them more then one time a year.  Similar to the workers in oman we met.

Second day in AD we went to the MOSQUE!  So amazing this place honestly.  I was in complete awe.  We went completely around this place and then also inside.  There is so much richness here it's crazy.  Actually the mosque is quite new.  Not really that old.  It's just so white and then against the very blue sky it's amazing.  Honestly hard to describe.  Seeing this mosque makes me reconsider Abu Dhabi and UAE as a whole.  We loved it so much we went back again at night which was another amazing experience.

After the mosque we went back to the carpet souq.  I was trying to find something nice for my mom (yes mom this is a test so I know you're reading this blog).  I did get you a beautiful silk rug I just don't know when you'll get it.  :)

We did a bit of relaxing and smoking shisha getting a few drinks and hitting the gym the rest of the time in UAE.  I guess I'm reconsidering to maybe visit Dubai again and check out the true glitz and glamour of this country.  Maybe hit up the desert to for some sand bashing.  We'll see.  UAE is just very expensive!

Petra and Aqaba

We stayed in this quaint place in Petra.  The owners were great!  They even bought us breakfast the one day!  Anyways we got to Petra rather late the first night after almost getting lost several times coming from the dead sea.  The drive should of only took 3 hours and even with a gps we got lost and took us over 5.  A road was closed that we were supposed to take which pretty much messed it all up.  

We spent just one day at Petra.  We literally tried to do everything during this time.  We did a lot of hiking and climbing stairs but it was totally worth it.  The place was just amazing.  I cannot believe the definition into the rocks / mountains.  Actually the city was built in the mountain.  The mountain colors really reminded me of Phoenix area.  They were that beautiful reddish color!  This Midwest girl still loves her mountains!  After 7 hours of hiking and climbing stairs and walking very fast we were so tired we went back to the hotel and slept for a few hours!  

We stayed the 2nd night in Petra and then woke up in the morning very slowly (a bit sore) but yes we finally managed to leave around 10 and drive to Aqaba.  Aqaba is literally right on the Red Sea and is bordered by Saudi , Israel and Egypt!  How awesome to be so close to all of these countries!!!!  We didn't do too much in Aqaba but just relax and check out the souq and smoke shisha.  

The next day we drove to Amman which took about 3.5 hours.  The drive was boring but manageable.  We were flying out the next morning to Abu Dhabi.   We went to the mall in Amman so that I could buy a small backpack as my prior bag was getting tired!  We went back to the room and then went to the gym and relaxed for the evening.  

I really love Jordan.  Honestly cannot wait to come back here!!

Amman and beyond!

I love Jordan!  Maybe this is my favorite middle eastern country so far but at least it's a close tie for first with Oman!

Upon arrival into Jordan we got our rental car and we drove straight to Jeresh.  Jeresh is this ancient city about 30km north of Amman.  We were coming from the airport so it was a bit further.  We walked around these ancient ruins which was very interesting!  Lovely history.  After that we drove back to Amman (crazy drivers!). I honestly cannot believe that I've been surviving driving here.  It's definently something that you have to acquire and I'm so glad this isn't my first rodeo of driving a manual car in heaps of traffic in a foreign country!!

We checked into our free night hotel holiday inn and took a mini siesta before we were picked up by Sanna's law school friend for dinner.  Him and his wife treated us to this great restaurant called levant.  Actually the types of food that we've been eating so much of in the Middle East is called levantese.  Interesting fact!

On the second day we got our Turkish bath which I have a previous post on!

After the bath we drove to the dead sea and were welcomed into our second free night at the holiday inn resort.  We woke up early the following morning and got our suits on and ventured out for the Dead Sea.  We did the floating in the sea with the newspaper (typical tourist) but it was so awesome!!  Then we bathed ourselves in Dead Sea mud. We kept it on for about 10 minutes then bathed in the sea.  Followed by two showers!  The Salt in the sea was intense and burned my skin in many places!!

So far Jordan has really wow'd me!  I really want to come back soon already and I haven't even left yet!

Turkish Hamam (bath)

Today I experience torture...yes torture.  Well not all of it was torturous but I will share all the finest details of my experience....

For 29jd which it about 43$ usd you get all of this for about 2.5 hours of bliss and torture...

Sanna and I arrived to the bath.  We were greeted with a fruity ice drink and escorted to the changing rooms.  We wore our bathing suits for the first part but topless the second half.  We first took a quick rinse and then hopped in the extremely hot hot tub.  We melted in there for at least 10 minutes and then sipped our cool drinks.  The room was very humid and dark with random other women lying around.  After that we went to the steam room.  Sanna and I sat across from each other maybe 4 ft of space and I could barely see her.  It was that steamy.  I had to lower my head to catch from fresh air.  We lasted in there for at least 15 minutes,  by this time my skin was already peeling off.

After the steam room back to the hot tub.  This time it even felt hotter.  I could barely submerge myself.  Another 5 minutes or so and then off to the marble table for some scrubbing.  We lied face up first on this huge marble slab....while we got literally scrubbed up and down with this loofa type of scrubber.  The woman put all of her weight and effort to scrub me head to toe up and down and over again.  This torture lasted for about 20 minutes on the back and about 10 minutes lying chest down.

After this, all parts of my skin were screaming at me!  Especially my arm pits since I had recently waxed.  Anyways, they were slowly cooling off.  I thought the experience was done but wait....now time for massage.  We were massaged for at least 20 minutes full body including head with olive oil and soap.  Everywhere....massage!  It was amazing to say the least.  After time shower time and I was still trying to heal my wounds from the violent scrubbing.  Now I really thought it was over but wait off to the sauna!  We went in there for about another 10 minutes. Amazing!

Needless to say my skin is super smooth now.  Beauty is torture they say.  The experience was amazing and one that I would love to experience again especially in turkey!

Best 43$ spent for 2.5 hours of relaxation... I mean torture!

Lebanon -- Shisha time!

Lebanon has surprised me.  That is the first thing I would like to note.  Actually Sanna and I were quite concerned to even visit Beirut due to the Middle East happening.  Gosh were not quite sure why we were even worried.  Lebanon is super welcoming and very easy.  Most of the locals all speak English very well and if they don't speak English they know French.

We stayed in a hostel during our 4 night stint.  At first thoughts the hostel seemed to be not the best choice but now looking back on it ... One of the best places we've stayed at!  So many cultured people who stayed here and the staff was super welcoming!  Made a few friends and new contacts for future travels!

The first night we got to the hostel around 5pm and we then ventured down this long staircase after a 5 minute walk to the most happening and hip street.  The 2nd day we walked and walked around Beirut.  We realized that walking around this city is not the safest as the sidewalks are very small and crowded and the cars park everywhere, it's actually really hard to get around.  We got back somewhat early and we had dinner plans with a friend we made in South Africa who is Lebanese.  He took us to this very posh restaurant where we tried plenty of local dishes.  It was soooo much food but great experience,  did I mention I tried lemon and mint shisha there?  After of course having Apple for brunch!  We hung out with a few people at the hostel and got our fortunes told By our new Turkish friend .  When you finish Turkish coffee there is a residue the bottom and that holds your future apparently

The next day we did nothing really but sit at a cafe and do research and smoke shisha.  I tried strawberry this time.  The cafe was super cute and had the best desserts which Sanna really enjoyed (the ice cream).  On day 3 we ventured off on a tour to Byblos and the grotto.  Beautiful both of these.  The grotto was this underground cave with natural artifacts and Byblos was this ancient roman feeling city.  We got back to our hostel and just hung out with two of our new friends Adnan from Syria and Ahmet from turkey.  We had a few drinks with them and then got a sandwich and hung out at the hostel and ordered a shisha.  Ahmet made some delicious mint tea but no horoscope readings that night!

It was really nice to relax in Beirut and hang out,  the city doesn't have too much to see but it has a lot of culture in terms of the people.  Off to Jordan!

Oman - Sur and desert sands

First of all sorry no pictures in this blog.  I just recommend you follow me on Facebook or Instagram!  It takes too long and I really wanted to post these amazing pictures but it's difficult from iPad and this blogging website....

Anyways....we just had the most amazing time in oman.  Really, truly an amazing country.  Oman has a lot of beautiful things - and it's sort of untouched so to speak.  Few tourists but it's increasing overtime.

After nizwa we headed for sur.  We stayed in sur for two nights and used this city as a gateway to visit the 'wadis'.  Wadi means water literally and there were three we wanted to see.  The first one was least interesting called wadi tiwi, small hike to visit (still beautiful).  The second was called wadi Shab... Long hike and we actually didn't make it to the end. Sanna got stung by a bee, I was throwing up in the morning and the night before (food I think) and Sanna has a bad cold.  We got maybe half way through and stopped for a swim in the fresh water and ventured back.  The third one was the sink hole!  Amazing!!!  It was super easy to float in this and Sanna actually got this awesome picture of me floating in the water.  It was so beautiful.

After sur we headed to our desert camp for Monday night.  This camp was quite remote I should say. The drive was about 2 hours from sur and we arrived a little before noon.  We got there with no wifi no cell service and absolutely nothing to do except stare at the beautiful reddish color sands and take in the desert warmth.  We were greeted by the camp manager later and he brought us lunch from a local Yemen restaurant.  We then talked, smoked some sheesha and then he took us to his family's place in the sands and then we visited his camels that he raises.  Camel selfie!  (See Facebook)  anyways he did inform me after I questioned him that there are no such things as wild camels.  Interesting.

Our guide or tour host was so informative,  he was about my age and just was able to answer so many questions that we had for him.  Everything from marriage, dating, clothing attire, smoking, drinking, religion etc.  his English was really good which helped and we didn't find too much of that in Oman.

I sit now in Beirut!  Hear no ISIS see no ISIS.  More to come.....