hi all - just returned back to the states yesterday from my trip (going to need a few weeks to download all those pictures i took, though!!!) ... i ended up going thru lahore (spending quite a bit of time at the regale internet inn - a lovely guest house), islamabad, rawalpindi, gilgit, then to china, the back through karimabad. my highlights were definitely sufi night at a mosque in lahore (i went on two different thursdays i enjoyed it so much), the chaman ice cream parlor's peach sundae, hiking over a glacier about an hour outside of karimabad, and generally speaking the friendliness of everyone there. though i was a little hesitant going at first, mostly because of what the media has to say about it, as well as the US state dept, but i can now tell my fellow americans it's definitely a fine place to visit. i was in lahore for the 3 recent bombings - the govt bldg and the mosque, and even with those death tolls calculated, statistically speaking i believe there are more murders here in my home city over the same time span. it's all in how the media reports things, and i suppose talking about your country, sadly, sells our papers. anyway. i had an AMAzing time - it was my favorite country on my trip, and lahore my favorite city (it earns the rep of the city that never sleeps better than NYC...)... just don't tell india that!! :) many thanks for your advice along the way. i'll post back when my pictures are ready!
At a time when not only the US-media, but media all over the world reports negatively on anything Pakistan-related, it feels really good to read about your experiences. I'm very much looking forward to see pics of your trip.