So, one keeps going, however one can, + our next step on the long path home took us to Islamabad, on the bus. For once, an easy enough journey, the first part anyway, the bus stand being just down the road. The conductor would not take any money for the fare, either, which was a nice friendly gesture. We were, however, a bit lost upon arriving in Islamabad. It is a new capital, of similar vintage to Canberra, + we had hoped it would resemble that city in other respects as well, that we would be dropped at or near the centre, from which it would not be too difficult to find our way out to the Diplomatic Enclave. But Islamabad seems to be a city entirely devoid of a centre, like Managua, tho’ presumably at the will of the planners rather than that of God. It consists of suburb after suburb after suburb, all laid out in a grid pattern, tho’ without being labelled in any way that I could understand to give a clue as the geographical position. And these were suburbs devoted not to housing, or not at any rate housing on any scale, for the masses, but to the functions of govt, admin, + bureaucracy. And for Pakistan, being as much an inheritor of the Raj as India, that meant quite a lot of buildings. The buildings themselves were not the sort to raise the spirits: modern, often attractive, but nothing grand + inspiring that I saw. But it was undeniably clean + designed for efficiency, with wide + well laid-out roads, + much space between the buildings, so plenty of greenery.
Our problem was that we had no idea where in the city we had been dropped, + where that was in relation to the British Embassy, + how we could discover the necessary information. We had spotted an American Express Travel Service office not too far back, so decided to walk back there. There was also a tourist hotel right next door to it, so by asking at both places we got some information, tho’ nothing like as detailed or precise as we would have liked. But at least we had a general direction, + a couple of landmarks to ask for. So we walked quite a way back the way we had come, naturally, + then some, caught one of the minibuses that ply the city for quite a way, asked, walked some more, + found ourselves at the place – no sign, but a big Union Jack drooping outside, + the lion + unicorn emblem on the wall. We felt somewhat flushed with the success of our efforts, + only slightly deflated by being told that the embassy was closed today (Sat) but would be open tomorrow. It had to be, I suppose – things can’t be too simple. At least we knew where the bloody place was, + would have no trouble tomorrow.
Returning was simplicity itself. A minibus pulled up just a few yards away, + in we climbed, thinking it would take us back to the Islamabad bus stn, tho’ it turned out to be going all the way to Rawalpindi. A grandstand ride all the way, me riding in the front seat as an honorary woman. The minibuses can’t divide the sexes with heavy mesh, as the buses do, but they improvised.
Our troubles, however, were not over yet, for arriving in ‘Pindi we had not the faintest idea where we were, + without the ability to ask for our hotel, as we didn’t know the name of the area it was in. We compromised, + asked for the railway stn, from which we didn’t reckon to have any problem getting back, but even that was no easy matter, + it was quite a while, with us becoming increasingly flustered, before we were ushered into a tiny pick-up fitted out as the smallest of buses, + taken to near the stn.
We had a cup of tea – quite wonderful tea in Pakistan is, so much better than in India, because it’s not pre-sweetened + boiled for ages – + then back to the hotel. There are a couple of other hotels in the area, so we checked one out, + discovering it was much cheaper for a room scarcely different, moved across. And then, not having much better to do, went to bed.
I listened to the radio for quite a while. Oddly, we have found reception in Pakistan to be awful, certainly in the evenings, but this afternoon both reception + the programmes were excellent. The radio, + most specifically the BBC, have been marvellous company – I don’t know how we managed without for so long. Got up long enough to go out for a superb meal, liver cooked with tomato + onion, then back for Saturday Special. The reception had deteriorated noticeably since the afternoon, but with patience + careful coaxing, we were able to hear most of it.
Quite a trek, all the more so since it turned out to be a recce day, and not actually making any progress at all. But still, it ought to make our day tomorrow all the more comfortable. And of course, we would have the usual troubles finding our way back to our hotel. I read today that today;s generation will never get lost, based on the fact they will always have Google maps, or some equivalent. But what will they do when the technology lets them down? Because something as basic as a flat battery will mean they are stuffed.
