Musafir hoon yaro

6:32:01 AM EDT
Sometimes, some friends in the U.S. post pictures of different occasions celebrated in their homes.  These may include, birthday parties, Iftar dinners, get-togethers and others.  Recently, after seeing some new pictures I realized a common theme, something that is missing from the pictures taken in Pakistan.

The pictures in U.S., brings to focus the stuff, the material comfort - the human element is in the background.  The pictures in Pakistan brings out the people - the environment becomes the background, as it should.  But this is in line with the setup of the two countries.

The immigrants in U.S. are happy when they lease a new car every 4 years, when they buy new furniture over time from the best places, when they stretch themselves in buying hardwood floored homes.  The country is about material comfort. The human element is a side-note.  Sure, you may have immediate family and you may have an extended friends circle but the focus remains on "stuff."  Everyone is caught-up in earning the depreciating dollar.  Life is superficial.

Pakistan is about people.  You may live in the best house but you have to deal with bomb-blasts, you have to drive on broken roads, you have to be around people who are a few social and financial strata below you. It is more than about making money.  True, the values have declined over years but still the pictures taken here bring out the people and not the stuff.

In the end, people living in Pakistan live a more meaningful life.  They are connected to everyday events that are part of their psyche, they care about the politics, the sports, the people.  Whereas, the Americans care about what color to pick from Home Depot the next time they are out painting their living room, they care about the size of their grass, the type of fertilizer to use to make it as green as their neighbors.

In Mazlowe's hierarchy, life is great in the U.S, if you start from bottom rung and make your way to the top.  But once their, if you are a thinking person, the "stuff" loses its luster quite fast and you long for more than the material veneer your adopted country has to offer you.


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4:36:06 AM EST
Watch this video to see what war on terror is doing to ordinary citizens of Pakistan.

Watch the reaction of Wasi Zafar, ex-law minister, Sherpao, federal minister, and our female foreign office spokesperson. Watch them deny truth with a straight face.

Watch the poor families whose loved ones were taken.

Watch the police brutally break a peaceful demonstration. Watch them remove the pants/shalwar of a 16 year old (his picture was printed on front page of Dawn).

Watch this when you are in a happy mood.

http://missinginpakistan.wordpress.com/


                 



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10:44:48 AM EST

Dude, where did I park my sanity

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: Following is the text of the Proclamation of Emergency declared by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday:

Since most of are not as wise as the General, I took the liberty to explain what he really meant by each clause, enjoy:

“WHEREAS there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan;

Yes, all that is true.  However, what is also true is that Musharraf is the President, Chief of Army Staff and the Commander in Chief of the Armed forces of Pakistan.  His scope of power is something not enjoyed by any man before him.  He has complete power to take any action in Pakistan of any nature and in any field.  What would enforcement of emergency allow him to do against this rising violence that he cannot do right now, is a puzzling question, one whose answer the General does not have.

WHEREAS there has also been a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law-enforcement agencies;

Yes, there has been a number of suicide attacks, the frequency and the resultant fatality having increased since the operation in Lal Masjid.  The problem is that Musharraf and his government’s policies are to be blamed for these spates of attacks.  Enforcing emergency and keeping the same people in power will do nothing to stave off these attacks.  Pakistani towns, from Mingora to Quetta to Islamabad to Karachi are burning from a fire whose arsonist is the general himself. He has been pitching himself as the enlightened modernist to the West, while at home, his is the only government to-date that has brought the maulvis to power in NWFP.  As he said on Jon Stewart one year ago, he is walking on tight-rope. The time has come for him to fall.

WHEREAS some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism, thereby weakening the government and the nation’s resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace;

How have the judiciary been doing this? Is it because the Chief Justice took Suo Moto notice of the case of missing people, most of whom hail from poor families, and whose relatives have been demanding knowledge of the whereabouts of their missing kinsmen.  If these people are real terrorist, does it not stand to reason that evidence be produced against them – or, are we also condoning a home-grown Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay?

WHEREAS there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular;

The Supreme Court successfully blocked the sale of Pakistan Steel.  Since the sale of PTCL, numerous stories have emerged where it leaves no doubt that the profitable government entity was sold way below its worth.  The editorial in today’s Dawn speculates whether the dire situation with PIA is because it too will be sold for scraps to some foreign investor.  The impending sale of The Roosevelt Hotel in the heart of Manhattan at a few millions dollars less than its market value is of no news to anyone.  The governments of yesteryears were less sophisticated having their ministers taking bribes being labeled as mister 10%. This government of the 21st century brings a new level of sophistication to the art of swindling the nation of its assets.

WHEREAS constant interference in executive functions, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity,

Read, asking government questions about why some people have been whisked away without any warrants ala Guantanamo Bay style,

economic policy,

Read, asking government questions about why they are selling profitable assets to foreign investors at below market prices,

price controls,

Read, asking government and the Chaudhry brothers – who own sugar and wheat mills - questions about why there was a shortage in  wheat and sugar during Ramadan after a record surplus year,

downsizing of corporations and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government;

Read, asking government tough questions about why a bridge that was inaugurated by the president few months earlier fell to ground – one that was constructed by the NLC (army entity);

the police force has been completely demoralized and is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and intelligence agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists;

If police officials are demoralized for being suspended for man-handling the chief justice of Pakistan and if others are called to notice for pelting the journalists and lawyers with stones and beating them up, then my sympathies are with the police force.  The Supreme Court should not have been so harsh with them.  How can these people conduct these commendable and honorable acts in the future if they have the constant fear that the judiciary may “interfere” with their duty at any time.

WHEREAS some hard-core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated, were ordered to be released. The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting in loss of human life and property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while law-enforcement agencies subdued;

How dare the judicial branch of a government try convicts.  Why, it is the job of…..er, hmm, general, I think that is what the judiciary is supposed to do.  Your army takes over Pakistan every decade, the politicians (some of them) fall over themselves to align themselves with the latest general, and the judiciary – not including those who take oath under the PCOs – try convicts.  And if these people are found not guilty, then they need to be freed.

Militants have not been encouraged because of the judiciary, their activities have increased due to many reasons, none of which haveto do with the judiciary but all of them having to do with the violent policies of the government.  As long as Musharraf follows a doctrine of force in places like Balochistan, Sawat and Waziristan at the expense of a political solution, militancy will continue. Violence begets violence. He only needs to look at Iraq and Afghanistan where his masters are in a quagmire even though their military might is far superior than that of the so-called insurgents.

WHEREAS some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the executive and legislative functions;

I fear the general has it the other way round. It is the executive branch that has taken over the judicial functions, or plans to render it useless by instilling it with its own yes-men.

WHEREAS the government is committed to the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and holds the superior judiciary in high esteem, it is nonetheless of paramount importance that the honourable judges confine the scope of their activity to the judicial function and not assume charge of administration;

This means that judiciary cannot be independent.  It has to toe the line of the government. It cannot question the executive branch.  Musharraf and his façade of free press and free judiciary came crumbling down as he read his prepared speech on Saturday.  Media and judiciary can only be free to an extent which does not threaten the existence of the supreme commander.

WHEREAS an important constitutional institution, the Supreme Judicial Council, has been made entirely irrelevant by a recent order and judges have, thus, made themselves immune from inquiry into their conduct and put themselves beyond accountability;

A bogus case against a sitting chief justice was fought by the lawyers’ community and on the street by the awam. The Chief Justice was reinstated by after hearing arguments from both sides.

WHEREAS the humiliating treatment meted to government officials by some members of the judiciary on a routine basis during court proceedings has demoralised the civil bureaucracy and senior government functionaries, to avoid being harassed, prefer inaction;

It is not humiliating to beat lawyers; it is not humiliating for government cronies to forcibly enter and wreck offices of private channels and shout slogans in support of the Punjab government;, it is not humiliating for plain-clothes police officers to throw stones at journalists; it is not humiliating remove shalwar of the son of a missing person on the Mall Road.  However, it is humiliating for the judiciary to take notice of some of these activities and to try to find the culprits.

WHEREAS the law and order situation in the country as well as the economy have been adversely affected and trichotomy of powers eroded;

The trichotomy of power: COAS, PM and the President.  The judiciary and the media has no role in the affairs of the state. The judiciary has no concern nor any jurisdiction over the law and order situation in Pakistan.  It is this trochotomy that has absolute power of the citizens of Pakistan.  This is the simple message that Musharraf wants to get across to the people.

WHEREAS a situation has thus arisen where the government of the country cannot be carried on in accordance with the Constitution and as the Constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures;

Ours is the only constitution that, time and again, is faced with situations that is cannot address.  Our founding fathers must have been quite naïve of not having thought of these situations.  I guess it makes perfect sense to shove such an incomplete constitution to the back-burner and have the person in charge (a new face every decade or so) create his own contraption.

AND WHEREAS the situation has been reviewed in meetings with the prime minister, governors of all four provinces, and with Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Chiefs of the Armed Forces, Vice-Chief of Army Staff and Corps Commanders of the Pakistan Army; NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I, General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the Army Staff, proclaim Emergency throughout Pakistan.

What is interesting is that the emergency is being enforced by COAS, who has no legal authority whatsoever to do so.  The words that he is trying to avoid are, “martial law.”

2. I, hereby, order and proclaim that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance.

Yet, once again:-(

This Proclamation shall come into force at once.”—APP

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3:30:30 PM EDT
Call it emergency or martial-law; it is the same.  An emergency has a provision under our constitution, a right that a civilian offical - say, a President - can exercise.  Whereas a martial-law has to be undertaken by the COAS.  In this case, one person fulfills both the
roles.  So it becomes an exercise in semantics when we try to figure out whether we are under a state of emergency or under yet another martial-law.

Soon after the declaration, Lahore's main roads have seemed quite impervious to this new development.  People are still out and about and enjoying this weekend night as the weather turns quite favorable.

What remains to be seen is how the rest of the days will play out in this aftermath of yet another twist in Pakistan's polital drama.  As has already been deemed by the Supreme Court tonight, this “illegal and unconstitutional” act is likely to first rile the feathers of the judical fraternity.  Their reaction will start from Monday.  However, whereas before, where they had the media helping their cause by broadcasting all their moves, this time, this important support channel has been plugged.

The state of emergency has banned broadcast of all independent channels and they are not likely to come back on air until a government lackey is safely placed to oversee all the material that is being sent on the electronic airwaves: so much for the independence of the media.  Now whether the government is able to actually implement this dracronian plan in action, remains to be seen.

The third and the most unsturdy leg in this wobbly equation is the part that the political parties will play.  As is quite apparent from the past few months, the opposition is non-existent. Their roar is a mere whimper that is heard by few of the masses - they do not command the respect following of the awaam of Pakistan.  The only party/person that was able to mobilize a strong contingent from its constituents was the PPP and Benazir.  And, by the signing of the NRO, our able president has made that party quite toothless.

A most important catalyst is the external, nay the American point of view.  Quite obviously, the Americans were taken in confident before such a move was even contemplated.  But they are a fair-weathered friend that backs off at the first sign of the change in wind. If a popular uprising ensues, America and its presidential candidates will find themselves in a predicament trying to endorse an unpopular dictator of the most dangerous country in the world.

In the end, we need to watch out for the snowball affect that occurred with the saying No by the Chief Justice.  Can a movement be created with same gusto and momentum given the aforementioned scenario.

As I write this, regional chief justices have already taken oaths in our provinces strengthening the government.  However, can this government sustain this facade?  Can it sustain this lie once it relaxes it hold on the judiciary, the media and the people?  Only time will tell.

Till then, we are forced to figure out what channel airs PTV News and then further cornered to listen to what the sycophants on that channel have to dish out to insult our intelligence.

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3:54:38 AM EDT
Saman, I and the kids had a chance to go to Pakistan vs South Africa game last Saturday (Oct 20th, '07). I had bought two tickets to Imran Khan enclosure that is to the right of the pavilion. The tickets were Rs 1,500 each which is a bit expensive but not if you think about the value that you are getting out of it. Plus, the kids get in free.

We had Inayat drop us off at the stadium just before 12. By that time, two of Pakistani wickets had already fallen. Because of the recent blast in Karachi, they had upped the security arrangements and we could not take the car to the gate; we were dropped off at the entrance of the stadium at the round-about.

The view of the match is excellent from the enclosure. We settled into our seats. The place was about half full at that time. By the time we left the game, 40th over into the second innings, the place had a surplus of at least a 100 yelling and shouting fans.

I had not expected Zan to last the whole time but thanks to the 3 different releases of Spiderman movies which translated into at least 3 long versions of stories that I relayed to Zan, the hour long nap that he took in my lap, and numerous distractions at the stadium, he lasted the whole time we were there. Faraaz, of course, enjoyed the game.

Watching the game live has a lot of other add-ons that you normally don't get watching the game from home. For one thing, it is the people. And man, were there a varied bunch. From the trendy metrosexuals flaunting their iPhones and designer glasses, to the girls of Lahore (aj mela waikhaN nikli aan kuryaN Lore deaN;-) about whom I can say categorically that their presence could easily replace the "qum" that Jesus used to say to awaken the dead, to the innovative bunch who - in lieu of a dhol - used the empty Nestle bottles to beat against the seats to create the same affect (Pakistanis are Masters of improvisation), to the guys who were yelling "naraas" at the top of their voice.

Of course, there was a minor fight right in front of us that was promptly broken up - no big deal. Then there was good-natured back and forth banter between different groups of guys. For example, one person would yell:

"Mian day naray wajan gay
baqi saray nassan gay"

And another would shout: "Aaway hi aaway - Benazir, Benazir"

One guy in cap was quite vocal and he shouted (for whatever reason):
"Tera veer, mera veer - Hamid Mir, Hamid Mir"

The reply came promptly from a group of guys:
"Tera sala mera sala
(in Chorus) Topi wala topi wala"

The whole experience was quite exhilarating. Watching the match seemed, at times, a secondary act. Finally, when we could not take enough of the shouting, the drumming, and - more importantly - when I ran out of stories to tell Zan, we made our way, with a lot of difficulty, to the exit.

Overall, it was quite an experience and when I laid down to sleep, the whirring of fan (due to nice weather, AC is no longer needed in Lahore) was literally whispering "Jeetay ga bhai jeetay ga..."

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6:20:11 AM EDT
The bazaars are now brimming with people getting ready for Eid.  It is fun being part of the crowd with a common goal of getting ready for the big occasion.

In the U.S., one can go to the malls during Christmas but cannot share the same enthusiasm of people buying gifts for their families.  I commented to Saman about how different the focus of Giving is between the two holidays.  You depart with cash in both cases, but in Christmas, you are buying gifts for your close friends and family, who, in turn, are going to give you back gifts.  So the net monetary loss is not significant. Sometimes, you can end up in positive, depending on the types of gift you gave and the ones you received in return.

However, the giving that occurs during Ramzan is strictly one-way. You give with no tangible return expected.  I am not saying that no charity occurs in the other faith, it obviously does. But so it does in our faith. In both cases, people give throughout the year.  However, it is the difference of giving in these two particular holidays that is worth mentioning.


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5:49:03 AM EDT
The news around the world is that "Cricket is the Winner."  Both the teams played their hearts out and it was a thrilling finish.  We, people from Pakistan (yes, even those who hold blue passport. To my anonymous critic: your values and psyche do not change the instant you acquire American nationality) should rejoice in the revival of a team that was shattered after the WorldCup Fifty50.  We have found new heroes in our captain taking charge from the front, a new coach who is not dead (yet) and bowlers like Umar Gul & Sohail Tanvir who focus on their bowling instead of other bowlers' remarks to them.  Life is good, we should be ecstatic!

Well, some of us are not moved so easily.  Yeah, I am happy that we did not whimper out like we did to Australia in the final at Lords.  But we did NOT win. Period!  It is all about winning and not how you play the game.  Isn't that what the lone super-power has taught the world.

Minus the euphoria leading upto the match, this dreaded outcome was somewhat expected.  As usual, the batsmen failed. As usual, the batting line-up was something a deranged fool, one who holds a high cabinet position in the Bush administration, could have thought off. As usual, too much was expected off Afridi and as usual he buckled under pressure and could not deliver.

A trainer giving lecture to his team of elite squad tells them. "You have to learn to overcome your opponent mentally; once you have done that, the physical part is easy."  You have to win mentally before you can win in reality on the ground.  Judging by the consistent loses (minus the single Champion's Trophy match), it seems that we have resolved ourselves to losing to India in these meet-ups.


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3:50:44 PM EDT
Monday at 5pm is the final between Pakistan and India.  The way the two teams are playing it should make for a very exciting viewing.  Let's hope that both the teams have a go at it so whoever wins in the end, it still turns out to be a good match.

Watching cricket in Pakistan has its own privileges.  I have been told that it is now free in U.S. to get streaming from various sites run by desis.  Though, you are still an island in the ocean of vast quietness.  Here, the excitement is palpable.  It also helps that the times of these matches are quite reasonable.  For the sake of posterity, the 3 matches-a-day have been aired at 1pm, 5pm and 9pm.

Dawn's metro section and, at times, the main section - when Pakistan wins a major match - carries details of each game.  Unlike the sports sections of newspapers in the U.S. that carry sports that get little rise from most of the sub-continental expats, here, you feel part of the public mood; you sway with the public at large.


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3:41:58 PM EDT

I saw Transformers with the kids yesterday at the Sozo cinema and thought that I would share a few thoughts.

Basically the movie sux to high heaven.  It sucks even more, I think, if you are a big fan of transformers the cartoon (I am not).  Here are some of the take-away points from the movie, but before, remember that this movie is in the series of July 4th releases that are timed with the American independence day to make the Americans feel good about their country.  And, there has been no other time in the recent past (not counting the time when U.S. was embroiled in the Vietnam and South Korean wars) than now when they are losing two wars simultaneously in Iraq and Afghanistan that the people desperately want to feel good about themselves.  And this is how they do it through this movie:

- the story line is supposed to be about Transformers, the Autobots, the Decepticons, Megatron and Optimus Prime.  But if you consider the time they are actually on-screen, it amounts to less than 20 percent.  Megatron, is revived from a frozen state in the last 15 min of the movie.

- the usual ridiculous story-line of a nerd falling in love with a bimbo in highschool is thrusted upon the audience yet once again.  They are the main characters, not the Transformers.  You feel like you are watching one of the dezen teenage flicks where the nerd gets the hot chick in the end.

- then there is another girl who is a genius.  She is able to crack codes and decipher messages sent by aliens that "10 floors of analysts" in the most advanced country on the planet cannot.  To make her genius seem more plausible the idiotic director gives her an English/Australian (read, non-American) accent, which makes it seem alright about her being so brainy.

- then there are the handful of soldiers, and this is where the July 4th theme is most apparent.  These brave U.S. soldiers even have an Arab boy as a friend, implicitly telling the audience how good the Amercans are, and how much good they are doing in the Arab world.

- one of these stupid soldiers of course has a wife and a child to make him more endearing.  The audience hungry to see the Autobots take on Decepticons have to watch ridiculous fights between the humans (these soldiers) and the Decepticons.  But these fights are necessary to show the world that humans, nay Americans, are all powerful, they can take on the most advanced nations by themselves.  By doing this, the directors perhaps wants to reassure his fellow citizens that all will be well in the Middle East.

I think that is enough for now.  This movie really does not deserve this kind of critique but, what the hell, thought I would share my thoughts;-)

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7:26:58 AM EDT

This is a review of our 1-week vacation to Thailand in the 3rd week of August, from August 18th through the 25th.  I basically picked a place where the boys could be near a beach, a place which would not be too far from a city and somewhere that would be easy to reach from Lahore.

We arrived in Thailand from Lahore, a very convenient flight that lasted a total of 4.5 hours.  We were at the Bangkok airport at 6:20am, having left Lahore at 11:30pm the night before.  The Suvarnabhumi International airport is better than the Dulles airport in Virginia/DC.  If you have an American passport, you do not need a visa, you also do not need to fill out any forms; go straight to the passport booth.  There are tons of currency exchange places; the going rate is 34Baht to a dollar or roughly 1.8 Rs to a Baht.

Zan and Faraaz had slept on and off on the flight over, while I watched pieces of Shrek 3.  Thai Air has god service and good food, though their flight back to Pakistan was not as good as the one out of Pak.

 

We stepped outside to hop on a free shuttle from airport to the Bangkok Bus station (5 min ride), paid 460 Baht for 4 and arrived in Pattaya 1:45 minutes later.  From there, we paid another 80Baht and were at the Jomtien Beach in 15 minutes. This ride was on a mini-pickup converted to a taxi, where you sit facing each other.  It is quite convenient and in abundance in Pattaya.  A 5 minutes stroll put us in front of the Rabbit Resort (www.rabbitresort.com) in the Dong Tan beach.

Dong Tan and Jomtien Beach is a few km away from the busy Pattaya beach and much quieter (read nicer) and more family oriented.  We got there before the check-in time of 2pm.  The resort is a cluster of 2 story bungalows, with some being secluded from others.  Ours was a very nice villa overlooking a garden.

 

We spent the rest of the day at the beach, which is right across from the resort.  We lounged around in an easy chair, drinking coconut and refusing a foot massage every now and then.  The kids were extremely happy collecting sea-shells and fighting waves.  Since the beach is very passive, we could go quite far into the water and still be not in deep water.

 

The next day I took the kids to a water park.  The kids having spent the summer school in a swimming pool were having a great time, going down water slides and playing tag in the pool.  Faraaz has become quite a swimmer, so he was more daring than Zan, going on longer slides.  This place was also walking distance from our resort.  The resort had a gorgeous blue water pool and we went there where Zan learnt more tricks in the water.  Having had enough of swimming, we caught the open taxi and went to the city for some quick shopping and dinner.

 

The kids wanted pasta so we found this Italian place (a bit pricey) where we had a nice sit-down meal.  From there, we legged over to a show called Alcazar. It is in all their brochures and a big highlight of the city.  You can Google it to find out more about it but it is quite family friendly.

 

The next morning, we had a tour booked for the Nong Nooch Gardens.  It is a place that has acres of beautiful gardens (Saadi, you would have loved it) and flowers.  It also has an excellent elephant show where they play basketball, soccer, darts and you can feed the elephants.  Rizwan, their dart throwing skills are just a little better than yours;-)

 

On the way back, we made a pit stop at a place called Underwater World, which showcases an aquarium left, right and on top of you as you walk in a huge underground tunnel.  We came back to our resort, having become quite good at the art of haggling, and enjoying the back and forth.

 

We went to the beach for some more water sports.  The kids having seen the banana boat ride in Lilo and Stich wanted to try that.  We also wanted to try Jet Ski.  After Saman and I went out on Jet Ski, I came back for the kids.  Zan, then me and then Faraaz. I was afraid that Zan would not like it, or I might not be able to handle both of them, but it was really a breeze.  If you have not been on it, Jet Ski is the simplest thing to lean to drive. Even Zan had fun pressing the accelerator and holding the handle.  The enjoyed the ride thoroughly.  Afterwards, to top-off a good day's activities, I enjoyed parasailing, which is quite an experience itself.  We had an excellent Thai dinner at the resort, watching the waves lap at the shore and gentle breeze blowing in the background.  BTW, the weather throughout our trip was simply amazing - breezy and with no rain in site.

 

The next day was a pretty much a repeat of the previous days's activities.  We were initially supposed to go back to Bangkok that day but decided to stay in Jomtien a day extra - a great decision in hindsight.  The kids immensely enjoyed the pool and the beach.  It was an excellent idea to get more sun and sand, speaking of which, I got a wicked tan.

 

One thing that I liked about this vacation was that it was balanced with activities and down-time for kids.  Our resort had Disney channel and a DVD player in our room and the kids having taken a couple of their favorite movies, had a great time to unwind.

 

I have travelled with them to Italy, Spain, London and Germany, but they enjoyed this trip the most.  Just a note to the parents, plan time where kids can do their own activities.  Also, don't cram too many cities/places in your vacation. You are as strong as the weakest link, and in vacation, you should pace yourself at kids' level.

 

We had a couple of days in Bangkok.  I had booked the Rabbit Resort from the Net but I purposely had not booked the hotel in Bangkok as I was not sure when we would be getting there, which worked out good.  It was easy to book the Bangkok hotel from Jomtien.  We got a place whose location was good, not too far from the shopping and city center.

 

Bangkok is a shopping heaven.  There were tons of shops close to where we were staying.  We took a quick round.  Next day, we had planned a trip to the crocodile farm, which was well worth it.  So, the Thai have a good way of helping the tourists and themselves.  When you walk out of your hotel, there are taxi drivers and tuk-tuk (a rikshaw) drivers that approach you.  These people get a cut from the travel places they take the tourists to.  It is not a scam, the travel places are normally cheaper than the ones you would find yourself.  So, we booked a tour and also got a guide that came along with it.

 

Saman and I had a good conversation with the guide.  She was a mass communications expert.  And, as I promised her, I am leaving her email address here, use her if you want if you go there (pat_breaktime@yahoo.com).  We found out about their current government, their monarchy and their economy.  They too, had a military coup, as some of you might already know, last year; their elections are planned for December this year.  Their king just turned 80 last year and has been the longest running king for 60 years, more than Queen Elizabeth.  There is poverty in Thailand but the common man seems content.  95% of them are Buddhist, next highest are Muslims.

 

The next day was our departure; we got a chance to go to the floating and weekend market.  Floating market was featured inthe Bond movie, “Live and Let Die.” As a matter of fact, so was a scene with Bond jumping on crocodiles headsto reach a clearing.  In any case, the weekend market is like Bori bazaar (actually, I have no idea how that is like but I can guess).  There are deals to be had everywhere and the goras are aplenty to attest to that fact.  Speaking of goras, most are European, and some Australian, we did not run into any Americans.

 

We took the taxi back to the airport, got on the flight at 8pm and were home at 10:30  We came home and realized that load-shedding was going on.  In Lahore, we are lucky and it lasts only ½ hour a couple of times a day.  Then I remembered that all the time we were in Thailand, there was not a single incidence of load-shedding.  Also, though the traffic was congested in Bangkok, I did not hear a single horn.

 

I have posted pictures on my facebook account and they are also on AOL pictures.  You can see it at either place.  I will have to share it to you on AOL though.

 

Swasdeekrub Thailand!

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