Islamabad

Arrived in the dead of night to an expectedly packed airport - lines of tangled groups towards distant immigration lines. Saw one family of Afghans with Canadian passports, all born in Kabul, the son confused as to whether his nationality was Afghan or Canadian. Huge crowds around the bag carousel and outside--my friend the only pakeha face in the lot. Lots of people for such a late night, but it's like Baku in the sense that everything comes in at the dead of night, so is to be expected!

Went aroudn the city a little bit yesterday - some brief shopping then lunch in a local restaurant (this is a rare thing to do since the Marriot blast). The city is a rolling campus of trees and greenery and wide, divided roads with (so far) very few cars on them. Since it's a designer city, it's in large square quadrants, with a little local set of shops in each. Haven't seen any high rises yet, or even any crowds, but am venturing out today! I have been given a list of places that I'm forbidden to go. The hills in the distant are brown and mottled, but add a lovely touch to the city--oh, to be so close to such walking trails!