A Rooftop in Pakistan: My latest travel story

November 30th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

WorldHum.com was one of the best travel sites on the Internet way before it became Travel Channel’s official blog for high-caliber narrative stories. Its editors “focus not only on destinations but on the journey, on travel in the broadest sense of the word … how travel changes us, how it changes the way we see the world and how travel itself changes the world.”

So it’s a huge honor to contribute another story to World Hum’s feature well, a tale from my extended honeymoon and a chapter from my next book:

TRAVEL STORIES: “A Welcome Rooftop in the Heart of Pakistan”

I hope you like it.

Rest In Peace Professor Khwaja Masud (1922–2010)

March 19th, 2010 | By Joshua | No Comments »

By far, the most commented-upon entry I have ever posted is “Why We Came to Pakistan: Gordon College, Rawalpindi, and our search for Dr. Stewart.”

The comments section is a remarkable tribute to two respected educators, one of whom is my wife’s great grandfather, and the other is Prof. Masud. The writers are mostly Pakistani expats living around the world, all of them former students of R.R. and Professor Masud.
The family has set up a memorium page here.

Obit by Adil Najam: “Earlier this month (on January 17), Prof. Khawaja Masud - teacher, mathematician, philosopher, activist, progressive, and truly an intellectual’s intellectual - died in Islamabad.”

A few years ago, this family took us in and helped nurse my wife when she got sick. We are ever grateful for this and we send the Professor’s family our strength and love.

More Gordon College Blog Power

October 14th, 2006 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

There are now 39 comments on the “Why We Came to Pakistan” post about Tay’s Great-Grandfather and his alma mater, Gordon College. These comments are all from Pakistanis, many of them scattered around the world, and all of them excited to connect wtih fellow Gordonians. I’ve been meaning to collect the emails from these folks and help them put a website together, but I haven’t done it yet, and in the meantime, they keep coming!
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The Past Speaks! Blog power from Pakistan

January 10th, 2006 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Quite unexpected are the reader responses I have received at the bottom of the Tranquilo Traveler post, “Why We Came to Pakistan: Gordon College, Rawalpindi, and our search for Dr. Stewart.” Click on this page and scroll down to the comments. For lack of any official Gordon College website, students and colleagues of Tay’s great-grandfather (including Pakistani poet and journalist Shuja Nawaz) have been stumbling across this page, and their fond recollections and contributions contain the goosebump-raising excitement of discovery.
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We are very far from the earthquake in Pakistan!

October 9th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

In fact, I didn’t even find out about the earthquake until I went to check my email and saw half a dozen “Are you OKAY???” messages. I am, however, worried about the friends we made during our one month in northern Pakistan, where we spent most of our time in what is now a disaster zone. If any of them are reading this, please let us know if you are okay, and what is going on.
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Map: A Month in Pakistan

August 30th, 2005 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Our route (late June to late July, 2005):

Rawalpindi-Islamabad –> Hunza Valley and Karimabad (via flight to Gilgit) –> Trek to Rash Lake –> Down the KKH –> Islamabad –> Lahore –> Into India

Maps! How could I have neglected the maps? For years, I have moved among maps:
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The Regale Internet Inn, Lahore

July 25th, 2005 | By Joshua | 7 Comments »

I could have named this entry “Lahore Lovin’” or some other such city-centric title; the fact is, though, our four-day experience in Pakistan’s ancient (and steaming hot) Punjabi capital revolved almost exclusively around this back-alley backpacker standby. Given a full-page “Author’s Choice” recommendation in the Lonely Planet, the Regale is a sure magnet for the handful of vagabonds who pass through this city on truly unusual overland journeys.
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Loose Ends

July 25th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Days and adventures roll into each other and I realize that I left a few dangling threads back in Islamabad. I’ll wrap up what I can, plase let me know if I forgot any, or if you have any questions about our ongoing quest.
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Unusual People Who Made Remarkable Trips

July 22nd, 2005 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

Sitting and scrawling now, pen-on-paper, sweat-smudged and soggy my notebook as I crouch in a shady corner of the “tribal area,” a raised platform of mats and carpets on the roof of a backpacker flophouse in Lahore.

“It is called the tribal area because there are no laws here,” explained Ciro, the Venezuelan development student who is traveling back to his home in Paris – by land (Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, then the Orient Express back home). Like most of the travelers here (en route to India, China, even a crazy Aussie going to Afghanistan), Ciro is in no rush, squatting, barefoot and bare-chested in the tribal area amid a small mountain of cigarette butts, used matches, flies (dead and buzzing), and dust.
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The Longest Ride: Comin’ down the mountain when we come

July 19th, 2005 | By Joshua | 3 Comments »

There was so much more we could have done in the north: the three-day Rakiposhi Base Camp trek; the hike from the village of Gulmit to Passu; the safari to Khunjerab Pass where we could photograph yaks, ibex, and peer into China. . . But, alas, our journey points Eastward, so we descended from the mountains.

Our initial drive-thru of Gilgit two weeks ago was unnerving. There was a strong military presence because of recent Sunni-Shi’a violence, and the town is known to be more friendly to truckers than tourists anyway. In order to avoid getting trapped in Gilgit while waiting for another series of cancelled flights, we bit the bullet and boarded the bus.

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