Mistake Number 1: I knew that June is the hottest month in Pakistan and I ignored it. How hot could it actually get. A scan of the weather network app showed that the average temperature in Islamabad for the next week to ten days will be 40 - 45 degrees Celsius which is 100 to 110 degree Fahrenheit.
Mistake Number 2: Not planning ahead. Internet was sketchy at best in Afghanistan but I had plenty of time to do a bit of research and have some type of Pakistan plan aside from I want to go here, here and here. What did not cross my radar was The Holy festival of EID Mubarak was on the June 6th weekend and every bus seat out of Islamabad is booked solid until June 10th. Internal flights were limited but were triple the normal price as everyone was heading home for the holiday. Now that being said, I was basically "stuck" in Islamabad until June 10th. There were a few things to see and do here, but the heat was so overly oppressive that I usually left in the morning and returned by early afternoon with a 2 litre bottle of ice cold water. This was a great time to reflect on the fact that I do not need to be constantly doing something. I was still decompression from Afghanistan and Islamabad, although not the idea place to hang around for an extended period had to do.
I think I was expecting too much from the Islamabad's international airport arrivals. Yes, it was clean and bright, it looked fairly new and it had free wife. It just lacked arrival necessities such as currency exchanges, coffee shops or any shop for that matter. I like to take a bit of a break when I land somewhere or after a long bus ride, to gather my bearings. Regardless, I logged into the wifi and downloaded an eSim from Airalo which gave me 30 days and 3 GB for $12 Canadian. It installed and worked flawlessly. Travel is becoming easier all the time.
I ordered a ride from Careem (Uber) and out I went to the arrivals parking lot, or so I thought. I took a bit to gather my bearings and it seemed odd but obvious that the arrivals pick-up was up a level, even though I came through on this lower level. Off I went, up the ramp and there was the Central Asian airport mayhem that I expected. I immediately was hit and bothered by cab drivers who kept following me with "The best rate" or "Careem does not come to the airport". A cop was watching and he could see I was getting annoyed. He walked over with his chest puffed and asked me where I was going. I told him that I was waiting for my Careem and he immediately and quite angrily shoo 'ed the cabbies away, then turned to me with a big smile and said "Enjoy Pakistan."
Islamabad was built in a grid and sections. I rented a room in section D-9 which was suppose to be a decent area. I found out later that it is the F sectors (7,8,9) is where I should have gone, but I noticed the pricing reflects it. So I got into my $20 a night room at the Rising Millet Hotel and tried to figure out what my plan was going to be, because I just might be here for a bit. I was not real pleased with the area as it was dirty and there was garbage everywhere. The owner did direct me to a short walk where there were many shops and restaurants so I was not going to starve. There were fruit vendors all around and I have to confess, the peaches were unbelievably sweet. Yes, I did wash them thoroughly. I am not sure why I did not take any photos of this street and area, it ended up being quite interesting.
What did I find when I was doing a bit of googling from my room that was going to ease me into another beer free country? Of all things, Tim Hortons, that's right Tim Hortons in Islamabad. I did a quick check and they are all over this country. I guess that the Canadian Immigrants from Pakistan want to keep a taste of Canada when they return home after securing Canadian benefits. (Yeah I just said that.) That means I will have now had a Timmies in Canada, the USA, Dubai, Islamabad, Cardiff Wales, Bangkok Thailand, and Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Timmies was about a 20 minute walk so it gave me a base from which to explore. The extra large worked out to be about $4 Canadian and it the taste was close enough. The donuts tasted like a camels asshole. I guess they don't travel well.
After a decent night's sleep I needed to exchange some money and find the Timmies. I opened the hotel doors and walked straight into the blast furnace that was 41 Celsius, 105 Fahrenheit. As I said, I knew that June is the hottest month in Pakistan but I ignored it at my own peril. There will be NO long city walks exploring the neighbourhoods. The good news is that Taxis are cheap, 2 to 4 bucks using Careem and an app call In Drive. I just figured I will go with whatever flow there is and get prepared for my 20 hour bus trip to Pakistani-administered Gilgit–Baltistan on the 10th to get my hiking on.
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