Got back from Lahore early yesterday morning after a 5-day trip. Not bad overall, despite the heat, pollution and the state of my digestive system. Lahoris have a saying, “He who hasn’t seen Lahore hasn’t really been born” i.e. you should see it at least once in your life. The citizen’s laid back lifestyle and a history that goes back hundreds of years to the time of the Mughal empire give it a unique flavor.
There are lots of ways to get to Lahore from Islamabad. Flying is the fastest, but quite costly for a trip like this and trains are too much of a hassle so by bus is usually the preferred way. Unfortunately, the “Skyways” bus service that was once the best one around, has gone down the drain lately. That we found out after a miserable 6 hour trip on the *shorter* “G.T.Road” (more on it later) route.
Other than meeting lots of relatives, I had the pleasure of going shopping at a time when the temperature there hit 47 degrees Celsius. That may seem high, but was surprisingly bearable for me. Maybe its a side effect of enjoying snow too much. Anyway, the heat wave has broken a 20-year record and reached 53 degrees much further south around the Indus. Who needs trees? Cut them all down. Maybe thats how the previous Indus Valley civilizations got wiped out.
My camera’s battery started to run out and I don’t have the charger right now so couldn’t shoot much. Maybe next time when I can convince everyone else to visit the ancient fort, empirial gardens and other such monuments that I missed this time.
The ride back was quite comfortable since I decided to pay the extra fare for the really nice Daewoo bus service that runs on the motorway and makes the longer journey in just 4 and a half hours. Almost as good as flying.