Pakistan with Talha Part 2 - Episode 5

Talha discusses travel restrictions between India and Pakistan due to political conflicts. While there are restrictions, some travel is possible, such as connecting flights through Dubai or walking across the border in Chandigarh. Talha also talks about his favorite things about Pakistan, the different cities, and the education system. He mentions the hospitality of the people and the beautiful mountains in the country. Talha recommends using mineral water for drinking. Overall, it was a pleasant conversation about Pakistan and its culture. Hi everyone, welcome back to Around the World in 50 Days. If you remember from Pakistan Part 1 where we left off, Talha was about to tell us about the travel restrictions between India and Pakistan due to political conflicts. And so we start back exactly where we had left off, welcome back. Between India and Pakistan, there are travel restrictions so we cannot go there, they cannot come here. Oh really? Yeah. But in some cases they can. So would it be, like if I'm planning a trip and I go to India first, would I have problems if I want to take a trip from there, right? You won't have any problems. Pakistanis in India would have a problem, you can't just go there. Okay. So the airlines will fly between the countries, it's just, you can't take a bus to go there. Oh yeah, between Pakistan. So you have to take a connecting flight, which is like mostly from Dubai. Okay. So if I'm in India, that flight would more than likely go to Dubai and that. But you can come on foot. Ha! Ha! Ha! Yes. I will tell you now. No, I'm telling you. I'm telling you now. Okay. It's Chandigarh which is in the border, there's a city called Chandigarh, I think, I'm not sure. Right. In Lahore. They both are connected. Okay. So through Vada Bhota you can cross the road. And I'm not joking. Walk? But like how long would this walk be? 10 minutes. You just need to jump a line. Oh, okay. So I guess it's kind of like Zimbabwe and Zambia, kind of like, you know. I'll send you the video of it so you can have an idea. I love that. So you could walk across and once you are a foreign passport holder, you won't have any problems crossing the border. Yeah. So there was a guy, a Pakistani guy who had a German passport and he travels on bike. Right. And he was in India and he got all the love and he came through that border area back to Pakistan. That sounds like something I'd like to do. Especially that it's safe. Yeah. And I'll show you some border ceremony which every day they have a ceremony in the border between Pakistan and India. Right. Where they'll raise the flag and take the flag down. And it's like, what should I say, most patriotic thing or it's like very energetic, I think. Right. Yeah. I have a hard question for you. What is your favorite thing about your country? Favorite thing about my country? People. People. What about them? Yeah. I mean, I don't know if you know, Pakistan gives most charity in the world. Though we have very weird financial system and financial, like we take loans from IMF but we give most charity. And even in Pakistan, if you see the hotels and you see at night, anyone who is below poverty and who cannot eat are sitting down in the hotel room and they give free food to them. Right. I love that. Yeah. Because we do have low income but there's people, there's sense of being home. Right. Yeah. And is there like any part of, like I know you mentioned Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore. Is there anywhere else that is not really like, let's say, popular or, you know, it's not popular. I mean, Peshawar is less popular. Peshawar is not less popular but people have a very different perception because it is near the border to Afghanistan. Right. So Peshawar has history, like good history. Then there's Quetta, it's in Baluchistan. And there's new city and port is under development with China called Gawadar Port. Gawadar Port is world's largest seaport in the world. Like world's deepest seaport, naturally built. Right. So they are working on it for the city approved. And there's a lot like Multan, it's like a city of saints. And there's Hyderabad, there's a lot of cities. Sounds beautiful. Do you have a favorite? Favorite cities? Yeah. Yeah. The city I live in. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi, Hyderabad. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Karachi. Bio. Karachi. Karachi has like, since it's a metropolitan city, so it has all the flavors of Pakistan. Got it. So, yeah. But I was born in Noshera. So Noshera is a city, it's near to Peshawar and between Pakistan and Afghanistan. So I was born there. It's a mountainous range. Yeah. So, you know something else I love to do in a new country? I love to learn at least, you know, some of the languages. I mean, that's what travelers, expats love to do, right? Learn how to say hello in 15 languages. Okay. How would I say hello in Urdu? What do you want to say? Hello in Urdu. Okay. So it's similar in Arabic, we say As-salamu alaykum. As-salamu alaykum. Yes. As-salamu alaykum. As-salamu alaykum. Yes. Which means peace on you. Yes. You would say, coming from a country that has a sizeable Muslim population, I would have that by now. But I still always have. I never want to mispronounce it because it's not something I say every day. I do know what it means, but I will still like stop and pause before I say it. So yeah, that's how we say As-salamu alaykum. So Urdu is similar to Arabic in some ways? In a certain place, yes. Okay. But when we speak, it's more like Hindi. Right. So it's a mix between Arabic and Hindi? It's a mix of Persian, Arabic, Sanskrit. Sanskrit, yes. Sanskrit is one of the oldest languages in the world. Not so? It's not the oldest? I'm not sure. Maybe. I feel so. I'm going to Google it sometime. Well said. So when was the last time you were a tourist in your own country? Well, I'm traveling my city all the time. Yeah? It's a pretty huge city. So sometimes it takes like two hours, two weeks from one point to another point. You have your own life path, Ansar Tala? Yes. What is this about? It's about a fun story and experiences. Nice. So I just ask people to come and tell their life stories, what they do, how they do, what's their dream, what's their failure, success, what's their traveling stories, anything they want to share. Nice. Yeah, that's what I do. So is it like similar to like, you know, humans of New York? I haven't seen their podcast, but I have seen their posts. No, they don't have a podcast. It's more like a format. Yeah. It's a kind of thing. So they have like one story, but in my podcast, I try to like, for example, if I was a guest, I would go talk about how their childhood was, how was their relationship with families and parents, and how was their high school experiences, what they wanted to be back then, what are they now, what happened. So yeah. So what was your high school experience in Pakistan? I was like a crybaby. In high school? Not in high school, like I'm telling you, till class six. Wait, I do have a question as we're talking about high school, because you're also colonized by the British. Yeah. Do you also have like primary school and secondary school, or do you call it? So we have different education systems. So most of the journalism, like private school or a government school, which has primary, secondary, college, university, and then we have a British system, which is like O-level, A-level examination from British board. Right. I didn't matric, so I did my primary and secondary things. So the privates are more like what, German or American schools? No, it's like local people here. We do have like an international school as well. Okay. This is an international school, and I think USA has it, American school. Right. And then we have a lot of private schools. Right. Yeah. Are there any customs that like a tourist should know when they come into Pakistan? Like that you're up with, but like somebody from the outside may not know it. Okay. It's not custom, like you will be treated as a celebrity in Pakistan if you're coming from outside. Okay. So they will like to have a picture with you, they will offer food, tea, gifts. So if you, I don't know if you know Drew Binsky, he's a YouTuber. No, I don't know that one. So, Drew Binsky, by the way, Nath's girlfriend was in Pakistan as well. I mean, she was in Pakistan, you can watch his videos as well. Yeah, I followed the Ellen. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure if they're together, but yeah. She said that Pakistan's northern side is more beautiful than Sweden, or Switzerland, and it's bigger than Switzerland. Yeah. So, you will see a lot of like... When you talk about mountains, that's what I was picturing. I'm like, here's something like a... Really? Yeah, including K2, the mountain. Yeah, I know K2, but I didn't know like there were like seven other popular ones. So there's like three regions, Himalaya, Himalayan range, Karakoram range, and there's another range I forgot the name. Okay. You're going to make me switch up my travel plans for next year or like... I will share some travel blogs from foreigners so you would be like, hey, Pakistan is priority. That's how I'm feeling just talking to you. It sounds like my kind of place. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's how I'm feeling just talking to you. It sounds like my kind of place. Yeah, you will love it, especially cities. Yeah. Mountains, like I love mountains as well. As much as I love water, like rivers and... But I mean even rivers, any mountains. You will see everything since we are in this river, which is like oldest river in the world, I think. I'm not sure. In this civilization, it's the oldest civilization in the world, which is in Pakistan. So, yeah. Okay. As we're talking about water, is water like drinkable, potable in Pakistan or would you say for foreigners, bottled water? I mean, we have like filtered water. Okay. Like we do get mineral water from outside. But in some cities, you can get like natural water from tap. But mostly people drink mineral water. Right. That's how it was like when I was in Morocco. Like there were some cities where like you get filtered water and then like in other cities, they recommend as well. I would recommend any foreigners who is coming to Pakistan have mineral water. Yeah. It keeps you hydrated. Like it keeps you well hydrated. Yeah. I'm sure it will keep you okay from bacteria. Yes. Of course. Well, Thomas, thank you so much. This was a lovely conversation. I enjoyed this conversation. Yeah. I hope we could have another conversation. Yes. We could have, what should we do? West Indies and cultures. Oh, for sure. Oh, for sure. Definitely when I make it to Pakistan, you are going to know. 100%. I love being like told about the country, guided in a country by a local. I enjoy it. Don't worry. So to my listeners, just to let you all know, I always give you all this scoop. So, and we always recommend you book your travel months in advance. So right now, it's the month of May. You could get the flight from London for as cheap as 525 US return. From Hong Kong, 795 US return. JFK, New York, 874 return. And from LA, 989 US return. And for my miles people, your normal One World Alliance person, 80,000 from the US return. And 40,000 miles if you're going from London return. So some really good prices for these lengthy, you know. This page goes up and down because of the travel. Of course. But generally it's like, I mean, we're in January and that's me. So like, if you book now or like, let's say by next month, generally be like around this. And hey, Skyscanner.com is definitely the best go to get a good grasp on, you know, if prices are increasing or decreasing. And the best day is when it will have the deals. That's where I got this information from, Skyscanner.com. Awesome. Definitely. Thank you for having me. It was a pleasure. Next week we head to Puerto Rico.