Sunday 8th April
Bit of a quiet day at home today. Girls were just under the fan most of the day watching TV or on the tablets. In the evening they had a bit of fun in the courtyard….with me freaking out about how safe all this actually was!
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Monday 9th April
Went shopping to get some more bits and bobs. Left the girls at home as the shopping here is just crazy…I hate the rush! Ended up getting some samosa chaat….well my stomach is already majorly messed up so why not enjoy some of the food!
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Tuesday 10th April
Hubby’s cousin popped over to visit with her kids. The girls are good at applying henna and always do our hands whenever we go Pakistan. Usually they do it on the last night but this time they came early!
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Wednesday 11th April
Went to visit my uncle (mums brother) who lives around 5 hours away. Bit of a drive. Decided to book a hotel in the capital Islamabad for the night (we pass through it on the way to see my uncle) so that we can do some sight seeing for a couple of days. My Uncle is virtually bed bound and he was so happy to see us. Broke my heart saying goodbye as I realised it may be the last time we see him as he is so frail now…and it might not be another 2-3 years before I return. In the evening we went to shopping mall…..didn’t feel like Pakistan at all. They had a Claires Accessories…..Clarks, The Body Shop and more. However I couldn’t get over the price of the shoes in Clarks…am sure they were way more than what they are in the Uk! At the top of the mall they had a play area with rides and amusement park games and the girls had fun.
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Thursday 12th April
Tried to cram as much sight seeing into the day as we could……the zoo, the mosque, a trip up the mountain for the views, and a park area where they had boats and a massive bird area with a variety of birds which you could walk through. Girls enjoyed it but on the way home, about 40 minutes from home the roads ended up blocked. There were some protests going on and they had decided to block the roads….bringing the whole area to a standstill! Thankfully we were near a petrol station so could use the toilets and get some food. 3 hours later hubby decided it was time to call his friend in the UK who’s family he realised lived nearby. We initially didn’t call them as there were guys with sticks walking around and didn’t want to get them involved just in case. However they immediately came on their motorbikes and took me and the girls to sleep at their house. Hubby decided to stay with the driver and eventually they managed to move slightly, take a side route (which was a bit dangerous) and got home around 2am.
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Friday 13th April
After the drama of yesterday we just had a quiet chilled out day at home once hubby had collected us from his friends house. Bee of course was just munching away on ice cream as usual.
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Saturday 14th April
Another relatively quiet day at home. Hubby went to the market and brought home some kebabs. I usually avoid these ones as I get a dodgy stomach…but seeing as I already have an ongoing issue I was like what the heck! In the evening took the girls shopping again to get some more clothes for them. I always stock up here on traditional wear as so much cheaper and more variety.
That henna looks fab. How strange seeing so many UK shops out there.
At some point you just have to give in and eat all the food! My stomach always gets messed up, but I’m too much of a foodie to play it safe all the time haha!
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Loving your photos this week! It sounds like you’re having a very busy time. The road blockage must have been scary, thank goodness you were able to escape it with your husband’s friend. Bee looks lovely in her traditional clothing.
oh yes H&S outside the UK is in a class of it’s own. The only country I’ve visited recently where I haven’t found malls and high street chain store was to Luxor in Egypt, otherwise I hate going to new places and discovering it’s the same as home. Sorry to hear about your drama, glad you all got out safely and thankfully you had people nearby you could call on
That henna is beautiful! #365
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loving Bee’s outfit on Friday, great colour.
Hmm I would worry about the safety as well.
What an amazing picture of the colours in the fountains at the mall.
Saying goodbye to someone and knowing it is the last time is so hard, my thoughts are with you. Looks like you are having a very busy time and combining tradition with modern experiences #project365