Adventures with Julia

September 23, 2019

Enjoyed a relaxing last full day in Pakistan reading and writing until heading for the border at 2:30 for the Flag Lowering Ceremony that starts at 5:30 with photo taking before hand.  This is a daily ceremony that has been going on since October 11, 1947 when independence was declared in both Pakistan and India.  It has become a daily event since 1959, regardless of the weather and regardless of the political situation between the two countries.

Known as the Wagha Border, this is the only trade route between Pakistan and India for trucks carrying goods between the countries.  It is also the only foot crossing point used daily by foreigners, including us, diplomats and citizens of both countries.

Here are a collection of photos taken between 5 and 7pm on the September 23rd ceremony.  They are mostly self explanatory.

This man with a wonderful mustache was pleased to have a photo with me at the road entrance to the ceremony.

Walking toward the ceremony location. The flags are the same size, but the Indian viewing stands are much larger than the Pakistani side .

The arched entrance for the ceremony and the exit from Pakistan for departures.

Nawaz, Shifa and Mark waiting for the action.

The first soldier marches into the area.

We get our photo taken with him.

Shifa sends us out for another photo with the drill team.

Finally, the action begins.

The ladies, only 2, march in. They are the only ones keeping step.

A big wig comes in.

The team gets ready to start.

Facing off, but to what end? Cound not tell.

First a march….

…then a high kick

An Indian in position

An Indian takes action

And holds a pose.

We see more facial expression from the Indians.

Here’s a looker.

The Indians sure have the looks over the Pakistanis.

Some facial action from Pakistan.

The flags begin to be lowered

And a little more.

They are about to cross to opposite sides.

Almost down, they suddenly disappear from view.

The ladies retreat and its over.

By 7pm the event was over and we headed back to Lehore for one last dinner in Pakistan.  The restaurant was in a tourist area near the fort.  A street puppeteer held our attention for a few minutes.   Nawaz’s family joined us at an outdoor restaurant that overlooked the mosque inside the fort.  He ordered a BBQ platter of meats, a couple of curries and, at my request, a plate of chow mien.  There was more than enough food.

The tourist district full of rturants in the evening.

A puppeteer booth.

The puppet does a sexy belly dance for us.

The night-lit mosque inside the fort

Me with Nawaz’s children and wife.

Nawaz and Mark.

His two young children were very charming.  The daughter spoke very good English and we had a nice conversation.  She is in third grade and loves English and art and wants to be an artist when she grows up.  I suggested she find a rich man to marry.  She says she does not want to get married.  Nawaz’s wife spoke reasonable English and we had a mini conversation about her work.  She was a primary school teacher for 10 years before having children.

We fished dinner about 9pm and were happy to go to our hotel and crash.  The next day we left for Amritsar, India.

September 24, 2019

Up and out by 9:30, we meet Shifa one last time and headed for the border. He had one last stop up his sleeve, the Shalimar Garden, built in 1641-2 on 16 hectares of land by the same Shah Jahan, who had built so many other works of love.  Once it was full of water fountains and features and must have been a splendid place to spend time.  However it is dry as a bone now and not very inviting.

By 11am we were at the same border where we had been the night before, only now the place was quiet and very few people were crossing the border.  There were several checkpoints, but we negotiated them easily, bid Shifa a fond farewell and crossed into no-mans-land for about 300 feet before entering India.

Our guide on the other side was waiting.  His name is Ashim Ahuja, or Ash for short,  In just a few minutes we were in another car and on our way to Amritsar.   Ash talked the whole hour it took to get to the hotel, telling us  about Sikhs and their religion and the Hindu Temple we will see later that evening.  Apparently there is a large number of them in the Indian Punjab State.  More on that topic later.

Currently, it is late on the 25th and we are in Delhi, having flown here from Amritsar this afternoon. In the morning early we will  fly to Leh in Northern India and there may not be much wifi there.  So do not be surprised if you do not hear from us for awhile.

Good night, Julia