GupShup Forums - Travel & Tourism

Moving to Alberta

bhenjee — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:32:57 GMT

My husband and I are considering a move to Alberta. Would anyone who lives there please give us an honest review on the economic situation there. Basically my husband is halfway through a job offer in Alberta and we can choose b/w Edmonton n Calgary and I'm also considering applying to various places for work. How is the odd job condition? Can I hope to land a job at the mall../ tims??

How is the rent/ amenities / cell phone bills as opposed to toronto? (and right now we live in Toronto)
My husband god laid off and we're struggling to meet ends. Hence, the relocation outside of Ontario. Is it adviseable?? Or we should keep on trying our luck here. cuz we also know that the move itself would be pretty expensive, esp when only one of us would have a job.

What does Pakistan have to offer?

thejoke — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:03:30 GMT

Footloose, NOS, The News International
What does Pakistan have to lure intrepid travellers with?
By Zahrah Nasir
"Coffee please"
"No coffee this morning."
"Okay bring tea with toast and an egg."
"No egg. Jam?"
The scene a brand spanking new, middle of the budget guest house in Lahore, and coming right on the heels of having flushed the toilet only to flood the bath with sewage, not a pretty sight by candlelight as the power, inevitably off, was enough to make anyone scream and even the most diehard of tourists run away as far and as fast humanly possibly. But, outside was just as bad with taxi drivers ready to fleece you, grubby children to pull on your clothes demanding cash, others waiting to pick your pocket if possible and everywhere, if you happen to be female, thousands of male eyes undressing your every move.
From the Arabian Sea in the south to the Khunjerab Pass in the north Pakistan, is not what certain governmental departments would have the world believe. It is definitely not for general tourists, and the ludicrous idea which circulates from time to time of advertising �The Land of the Pure� as an international tourist haven, is nothing but pie in the sky hogwash.
Yes. This gloriously diverse country of approximately 888,000 square kilometres has everything a tourist could dream of in the form of scenery: a southern coastline of almost 1,000 kilometres long, vast deserts, luxuriant plains, spectacular mountains and upland valleys, and one of the four riverine cradles of early civilisation � the Indus, along with numberless sites of historical interest which are mostly in exceedingly bad repair. What we don�t have though are the types of either a suitable � make that reliable � infrastructure on which tourists following tight schedules inevitably depend on; taking in the sights unmolested, walking where they will, dressing as they are comfortable with and, even more problematic, the ability to communicate on the level they are ultimately paying for let alone the forms of nightlife some of them expect. This is not to say we should ape the money-minting tourist destinations of the Mediterranean region for example. Far from it, as Pakistan does have its own mystique to offer if we can ever get our heads together to package this on a commercially viable plate without everything sliding off into oblivion at the first hurdle.
Catering for adventure tourists, those wanting to head off to mountaineer, hike, track wildlife, survey wild flowers or even go fishing has in the past been undertaken on a very small scale as have historical tours. But there is not much filthy lucre to be extracted from the class of tourist who either has generally paid well in advance for transport, accommodation and food, with just enough spare cash left over to purchase a few tawdry souvenirs or backpack travellers with no fixed destination or agenda, who risk life and limb leaping on and off public transport hauling their worldly goods along in backpacks. They are highly unlikely to inject any visible amount of cash in to the local, let alone national economy.
With Pakistan being the subject of those infamous �travel advisories� almost the entire world over, with the once upon a time popular tourist destinations of Swat, the entire North Western Frontier plus Balochistan well and truly off the agenda for indigenous let alone foreign tourists, what on earth does the country have to lure intrepid travellers with? It�s no use flying of the handle to say, "What about India? How can they attract tourists by the score?" Our neighbour apparently knows the rules and plays the game far better than us.
Despite all of the above though, some of the foreign tourists who do reach Pakistan and survive to tell the tale, actually relish the experience � it is certainly very different from the countries they call home and are keen to return to further expand their horizons. So, if the monetary grail of tourism is ever to have a chance of getting off the ground here, surely we should ask those who have been and gone to help us locate the invisible key.
caption
Our own mystique.

Islamic Heritage Tours of Europe

LondonE7 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:46:00 GMT

Whenever we think of Islamic Heritage we think of the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent, and Northern Africa.

However their is a rich heritage of Islam in Europe going back 1000 years. Most noticible are the Moors in Spain and their legacy in Andalusia. However, there is also a rich heritage of the Turks in Eastern Europe from the last 500 years particularly Bosnia and the Balkans in what was Yugoslavia, as well as Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Hungary, and Russia which have all been under Turkish Islamic rule at different times.

I am in the process of organizing three seperate group tours to explore the Islamic History of Europe

1. Al-Andalus : Islamic Spain (Seville, Cordoba, Granada)

2. Bosnia : Sarajevo, Mostar, Travnik

3. European Turkey : Istanbul, Edirne

More details with daily itineraries are on my website Home

These tours will be offered in the spring of 2010 and will be based on Toronto air departures. However, interested persons from other parts can still join the group for the land portion.

There is also a facebook page 'Islamic Heritage Tours of Europe' for more details if you want to join or tell your friends with videos and photo albums

1) Spain Tour
===========

Spain was under direct Islamic rule for over 700 years. This has left a lasting influence most noticeably in Andalucia where the longest surviving Islamic Kingdoms were. We will explore the treasures of Islamic heritage in Seville, Cordoba which was the capital of Islamic Spain for 500 years (including the 10th Century capital Madinat Al-Zahra), and finally Granada the last Muslim kingdon to fall in 1492.

IslamicHeritageSpain

2) Bosnia Tour
===========

Bosnia has been an important part of the Eastern Ottoman Empire for over 400 years. Travnik and then Sarajavo have both been capitals of the Ottoman province of Bosnia which was the strategic and cultural crossroads between Christian Europe and the Muslim East. We explore the legacy of 400 years of Turkish rule and its rich islamic heritage including Mosques, the Turkish Bridge in Mostar, the Blagaj Dervish monastery, and unique Ilahije music.

IslamicHeritageBosnia

3) Turkey Tour
============

This fascinating region has passed hands over the years from The Greeks, to The Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, and finally the Ottoman Turks, each leaving their legacy and influence on the history, traditions, and landscape. We discover the European side beginning with Istanbul and exploring Edirne on the Greek border which was once the capital of Ottoman Turkey

Services

Thanks

St. Lucia

candy_apple — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:54:08 GMT

Anyone been to St. Lucia? Post your experience.

Thailand and Singapore

Iyla — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:14:12 GMT

Can any guppies plz' recommend me a travel agent/ or any special deals e.g. going to Thailand from London and from Thailand to Singapore please in nov/ dec?

I'm still checking out various websites etc but i am bit worried about booking flights via websites. Anyone recommend me website/ services that they have personally used themselves?

Can anyone recommend me places to visit in Singapore as well please?

Thanks! :)

europe

fazeelat — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 10:47:12 GMT

suggest some good places in Europe (schengen) to visit in December

jheel saifulmalok

RizwanAwan — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 05:05:13 GMT

what is your opinion about jheel saifulmalok

Time Shares

Malika12 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:23:04 GMT

Who here has been to a time shares presentation, or maybe even own a timeshare?? Do you think they are a waste of money...or would you actually use them??
Does your city offer timeshares to tourists??

Istanbul- anyone recommend a two day MUST SEE intinerary???

poppies — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:38:19 GMT

Dear Guppies and Guppays.. especially those in the Turkey salaammzzzz to uuuzzzz!!!

Ok,anyone recommend a MUST SEE sight seeing list ????...... its a short trip but inshallah wish to cram in as much as two legs can walk:cb:........also any desis recommend any MUST eat places:yummy:????... will be very much appreciated :k:.........Thanks!!!

Adventure Balochistan

thejoke — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:55:54 GMT

This has go to be one of the most awesome and most interesting youtube videos I have seen. It is an amazing promo, not sure if its official for our poorest and least developed province. It is a tourist's paradise.

This one is good too!

AJK Hidden Secret

thejoke — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:37:52 GMT

Sadly I have never given AJK much time as it deserves. I have never been to the AJK resports. i must correct that on my next summertrip

Footloose, NOS, The News International
A true retreat
Dhir Kot has deodar jungle, proud people and a lot more
By Saadia Salahuddin
They say getting there is half the fun, I prefer the other half. Evening had set in when we reached Dhir Kot, a tehsil in District Bagh of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It took five hours from Islamabad to reach there. The good thing is that the public van, that runs from Islamabad to Dhir Kot, drops you right at the foot of the Forest Department's rest house, a true retreat.
The Forest Department's rest house reminded me of the dak bungla in old films with a staircase in the centre of the bungalow leading to a wooden balcony in front of the house and a slanting red and green roof above it. Comfortable cane chairs and table laid in the terrace for tea made a perfect setting to relax.
The rest house stands on a clearing in the pine forest with pine trees all around. It was July and it rained almost every night but never for long. When the night would be dry, the sky was worth watching. Nowhere have I seen more beautiful starry nights.
Come morning, girls and boys in school uniform are seen passing by the rest house. They go to school even when it's raining. Some have umbrella, others don't, walking fast to their centres of learning. Among the early goers is a tall, slim, college girl in black burqa carrying a stunningly beautiful three-year-old child dressed in black and white pant shirt. The little girl does not talk to strangers.
This is Noorushimaan which means 'Faith is her like'. Conceived around the massive earthquake that hit Kashmir in October 2005, she is a symbol of faith and hope. Noorushimaan accompanies her sister to college every day. Her sister is a first year student who walks ninety minutes to reach her college and takes about as much time back home in the evening. All the children and young people attend schools and colleges here. This is truly heartening.
At present there is massive unemployment in Dhir Kot. Still you will not find a beggar there and there is no crime. The rest house remains open throughout the day virtually with no fear of anyone walking in. There is no Talibanisation, no radicalisation. The people here do not try to fleece, harass or mislead tourists. They speak only when they are spoken to, are courteous and hospitable beyond explanation.
The housekeeper at the rest house is amazing too. How he juggles with so many people's demands, is hard to make out. Children happily eat whatever he makes. The first day he asked me what would we like to have in the breakfast and I said kulcha. The kulchas when they came to the table, were the size of biscuits. That is kulcha of Kashmir. Luckily, the children liked the taste and wanted them every day at breakfast with tea.
Bagh District is known for fruits but this year their apricots and pears were destroyed due to early snow. Otherwise, everything is available and the prices are the same as in big cities of Pakistan.
To the left of the rest house is a stream and a path which leads up to the mountains where there is a forest of deodar but much before that there comes a tree people call the 'Mother tree'. There is no signboard to guide people but you instantly know which one it is the moment your eyes meet it. Its 300 years old and may be 300 feet tall. It fills one with awe.
Further up is the deodar Forest one would think nobody treads. There are no insects or anything dangerous in the woods. I was barefoot because I had forgotten to keep my joggers and the sandals refused to take me far. After an hour's walk we came to a clearing with jungle all around. We had taken food and drinks with us so we had a picnic there. A group of women were out collecting wood for fuel. They guided us to take a different path which might have been short but full of surprises - grooves and moss. The children loved the way back very much. They would run into the most unlikely places where adults won't dare to tread but it was fun throughout.
Pakistanis who do not know about many places in Azad Kashmir, are aware of Neela Butt as the place where first, the Mujahid-e-Awwal (Sardar Abdul Qayyum Khan) fired his famous shot to launch a campaign that eventually freed what is now Azad Kashmir, and later 'Farzand-e-Kashmir' (Muhammad Nawaz Sharif) made the announcement that Pakistan actually had a nuclear weapon capability, thereby abandoning the country's traditional 'strategic ambiguity'. Nobody I talked to expressed any pride or joy for either. Instead, the only pride and joy they expressed was on account of guests � a disarming if not entirely sincere compliment.
You can get an overview of Islamabad and Abbottabad from Neela Butt. Public vans and taxis are always there. It's half an hour drive from Dhir Kot.
Bagh district was the hardest hit in the 2005 earthquake. There is construction work still going on at Dhir Kot. Roads, schools, hospital and basic health unit are under construction. A school opened on July 24 while we were there.
There is no lady doctor at Dhir Kot. There are many girls who are trained nurses from this area but they are posted elsewhere. New hospitals are being constructed and there is hope they will be posted here. Reconstruction will take another 2-3 years, says Prof. Mumtaz, Principal of Dhir Kot College for Boys.
There is no concept of fans and there is no need either. Power supply is cut off for only two hours in a day. The Azad Jammu and Kashmir's (AJK) prime minister recently said 14000-mega watt hydro electricity can be produced in AJK while the AJK needs only 400 MW. Can Pakistan buy electricity from them?

Taking electronics abroad

fanna — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:11:48 GMT

Hi there! I am going to Pakistan next month and wanted to take a few electronics and wanted to know how to charge/use them there. I am taking one digital camera and a laptop. How am I to charge these and what exactly do I need? I have a rechargeable battery for the camera and just plug it in to a wall until its done and same with laptop. Any suggestions would help. Thanks

Help With Australian Citizenship

CuteGurl — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:51:35 GMT

HEY ppl im too sure if im posting in the right forum but i was looking for someone to help me with initial steps of the points test thing as im planning to apply on basis of a professional n was wondering if anyone has experience or know their way through iti would appreciate the help..thnk you :)

Pakistan Then and Now

thejoke — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:39:26 GMT

Footloose, NOS, The News International
Then and now
Nothing stays the same, and a bicycle ride across Pakistan in 1993 was a visit to a different country to the one I live in now
By Chris Cork
Working on a book about my life and times and travels in Pakistan over the last almost-16 years I went back to the original source material -- my travel diaries. I have carried a notebook everywhere I have travelled in my adult life, and still have all of them. My writing, never very legible anyway, has deteriorated over the years and the entries got more terse, but the basic information is all there. Where I went, who with and what I/we did. The original Pakistan journals fill two legal notebooks that slipped into my bicycle panniers, one on each side. Opening them again after many years and reading some of the entries I realise just how little I knew about Pakistan then, how much I know now, and particularly how much has changed in the intervening years.
You never really get to 'know' anywhere as a tourist. Especially a foreign tourist in a country where the culture is completely alien, you speak none of the languages and have no 'mental map' to travel by. I had journeyed outside Europe before -- Africa, the Middle East � but this was to have been my 'furthest east' up to that time. My troubles started at Karachi airport with the discovery that one of the pedals of my bike was missing -- hardly the best start to a cycling holiday. Things perked up when, in a bazaar close to where I spent my first night in Pakistan in the Scouts Association hostel, I found a bicycle repair shop that was able to fix me up with a replacement pedal. I was in business.
Crossing Sindh and Punjab was almost completely drama free. Beyond near-misses with speeding trucks and a very gory accident which I witnessed but managed to avoid being a victim of, it was easy riding. People were surprised to see me, but friendly. The police virtually everywhere asked if I had whisky in my water bottles and looked distinctly suspicious when I asked them to smell -- and they got a whiff of the iodine I used to sterilize my drinking water. Nobody tried to rob me, threatened me or in any way made life difficult for me. Unbeknownst, I passed within a few miles of where my future wife -- who I met another thousand kilometres down the road -- was born and spent her childhood.
Taking the same ride now would be unthinkable. Lower Sindh is now notoriously difficult for lone and independent travellers to cross; robberies are common and the roads clogged with traffic that is almost completely devoid of any sort of discipline. Reading back, I noted the nights I spent in truckstops, with the drivers fascinated by my bike. Often they asked me to join them for their evening meal. Could they help me with anything? Would you like to put your bike on my truck I am going to Gilgit? Be careful in Kohistan and if you get to Passu this is my phone number -- pleasant memories. Today, the whole character of the roads and travel has changed -- faster, busier, less friendly.
By the time I got to Pindi and the home of a contact who put me up for a couple of days I had decided I liked Pakistan. I was introduced to a very polite gangster who helped me out in later years, laid the foundations of a couple of friendships that endure today, and perhaps saw the last of what I now regard as 'old' Pakistan.
The road I rode out of Rawalpindi no longer exists; and it is sometimes hard to spot today where I turned off left for Taxila and the start of the Karakoram Highway. Nowadays, the motorway that links Peshawar with the Twin Cities hums day and night and I never see any foreign cyclists anymore. It was not until I got to Chattar Plain back in 1993 that I met another cyclist, an Australian coming south. He was full of useful tips and tales, and we sat by the road as travellers do. He told me about the 'rumour books' -- books kept by the hotels that tourists made notes in, recording good and bad experiences; and I found my first one at the Green Hills hotel in Dassu-Komila. A couple of months ago on my way back down to Pindi from Gilgit I dropped into the Green Hills. No rumour book now. No tourists either. Just a lot of very edgy local people who looked at me with the 'get out if you know what's good for you' type of look that I see more and more often in the places where there used to be travellers.
My trip to Pakistan in 1993 was at the end of what was something of a revival of the tourist trade here. It was also at the end of the time when this was a truly friendly place to visit. It can still be friendly, and there are places where I am comfortable, but they are fewer and further between. I made a decision to come back here as I flew out of Karachi at the end of November 1993. I did, and since 1995 have spent most of my time here. This is where I will probably spend the rest of my life. But I will be looking for somewhere else as a cycling holiday destination.

The Skardu Flight!

thejoke — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 00:13:58 GMT

Footloose, NOS, The News International
A recent sojourn to the Shigar Fort in Baltistan reiterates that most Pakistanis miss out the most stunning sights of Pakistan
By Durdana Ali Malik
"You will be staying in the Rani's room on the second floor,' enthused Karim as I walked in stunned silence through the charming Shigar Fort, reminiscent of ancient stone-walled Dickenson masonry.
The room had two small windows (small -- to keep the cold out in freezing winters, not because the Raja was stingy or paranoid). One window opened out on a tumbling over rocks and the other window opened onto the royal orchard, which had cherry and apricot trees in blossom, with purple irises dotting the landscape.
Rather breathless by now, with the natural beauty surrounding me, I kind of swooned onto a smartly made bed and looked around me. The ancient room had juniper beams, alcoves with an occasional wooden Balti artifact placed in it, and walnut wooden floors. Guests to this residence are supplied with special fabric slippers in their rooms so that they don't damage the ancient walnut floors.
And of course we all know the actual comfort zone in our lives is a good bathroom. The bathroom may have been tiny but sparkled with the latest plumbing and plush fittings (warm water in the muslim shower). The mandatory pompous white bathrobe that is offered by five-star hotels was also there. (Would some hotelier please replace it with a practical towelling or linen jubba or nightie for female users please?)
Of the much-revered creative holidays I've had, this year's sojourn to the Shigar Fort Residence in Baltistan, reiterated my belief that most Pakistanis (tourists and expats) really miss out on the most stunning, approachable, sights of Pakistan.
I would like to mention that I was alone on this trip� not because I lack friends or family, but because they seriously thought I had gone crazy. "Who holidays in a war zone?" was the refrain I got from almost everyone (strangers included) who heard I was going north. Then I started carrying a map around� "See the red zone, that's Swat and Malakand. Almost 10 hours and hundreds of miles away, see this Green Zone� see, see this is where I'm going; its Gilgit and Baltistan." I apologise for sounding like I was talking to a Montessori group. But really people, you deserved it.
A 50-minute Boeing flight over the spectacular snow-clad Nanga Parbat range landed me in Skardu. The minute you step out of the plane, a sweet smell welcomes you. The roads are lined with lovely green trees whose blossoms release an ever-pervading fragrance. In Balti the tree is called Ber. A 40-minute drive in a comfortable 4-wheeler, through Skardu city and impressive stretches of spectacular vistas, on near perfect roads took me straight to the Shigar valley, where resided the Raja of the Shigar Fort.
Conservation experts from all over Pakistan renovated the 400-year-old Shigar Fort Palace Residence, built on a huge rock, over approximately six years. It was handed over to the Serena Hotels last year. This is when the place became truly exceptional -- serving superb meals in charming balconies overlooking the streams or in the lush gardens with a sheer rock view; fresh trout, organic salads, cherries and apricots from its own gardens and superb service. I wasn't surprised to see youngsters from Islamabad, female embassy staffers, often travelling alone.
As I took a leisurely walk in the surrounding village, I realised the entire area had been touched up by the conservationists -- sites included imambargahs that I'm sure were Buddhist temples at some time in the past. One of the renovated sites has also won a much-coveted UNESCO Conservation award recently.
On a morning drive to see neighbouring lakes, Satpara and Kachura, I was honoured to know that Raja Mohammad Ali Shah Saba, who lives next to the Fort would be hitching a ride with me until downtown Skardu. Never before has a blue-blooded Raja asked me for a lift. History has been created.
The 70-year-old Raja Sahib loves to talk and I was delighted to learn so much about the family history. He informs me that the area was rich in wildlife including Urial, Ibex and cheetahs; and that he must have shot at least 500 to 600 urials in his hunting heydays. "So, you're responsible for the extinct wildlife here," I quip, as he gets off at his stop. "No, its these helis (helicopters) that fly over our heads." he responds.