So here is a brief outline of my experiences in Islamabad:

train traveling – arriving late at night after 20 hours in train in “Low Air Conditioned” class… horrible, the carriage was so cold that I have spent most of time at open door…

partying – the international community of Islamabad has a life quite different from that of the rest of Pakistan. Some of them actually say that “Islamabad is 20 minutes out of Pakistan“. I have been on a party organized by a few US guys who live here. The party was pretty big mix of different nationalities and was a real party (You know what I mean ). It was a pretty unreal feeling, being on a terrace of a house in the middle of a other houses with beer in my hand and LOUD music booming behing me… Definitely not the Pakistan I have imagined

sightseeing – I have visited again the Faisal Mosque. First time during the Friday prayers and later at night. We have also went in and actually also have been alowed to take pictures. The mosque itself is nice, but not too beautiful, but what makes it amazing is the size and location… Seing the hills right behind the mosque (a path starts a few meters behind it) is really experience.

Of similar interest was the National monument a work of (quite colosal) art which is still in development. A beautiful place that not just offers interesting sights of the monument itself and views on Islamabad, but also offers a lesson of history of Pakistan (via reliefs in the monument).

hiking - on one of the days when I was alone I went to the view point above Islamabad called Daman-e-Koh, it was a hike that lasted maybe 15 minutes up hill, but was refreshing as I had not been hiking for a long time… I have seen the “famous” Islamabad monkeys and also tested if You can call the forests of Margalla Hills can be called “forest“, they can be – as soon as You leave the path walking is very difficult due to thorn bushes and creepers. The hills offer a mix of leaf trees and random palm trees and are very easy for hiking.

On one of the hikes I had a chance to see the Faisal Mosque and Red Mosque from distance, their proximity was a little bit disturbing.

One important warning – dont hike there alone or without local people… its stupid idea, trust me.

eating – if I have not told to You till now, Eid is mostly about eating. Some of the locals said that You dont have real Eid if You dont eat at least 5 times per day… We had Eid We have been invited to dinner by three different families and everywhere we went have been offered food… I definitelly gained some weight!

For me Islamabad is a city of green, city of peace, city of quiet life…

Islamabad was created by plan. Its a grid, G4, F6, E1… There is still a lot of space for trees and grass, it all looks to me, a Slovak guy used to free nature, like a big park, but still its a nice feeling. Seeing all the green and open space after brownish and crowded Karachi is relaxing. The hills, strange shaped, covered by jungle are an interesting sight. The jungle that I have seen looks like a common forest anywhere in Slovakia, but I have not seen its wild part, only the civilized part… I am so much looking forward to see the real one… and the Himalayas…. My Ithaca (those who read my posts, they know what I mean)

How anybody can do anything in the name of hatter in this place I can not understand…

We went to a restaurant high above the city, what a beautiful place. The Shah Faisal, the biggest mosque in the world, hills around the city covered by forests and I dont know what else…

Here are few pics…

Well, there were more chapters of this story…

1. The way there took whole day, 18 hours to Lahore and from there another 4 hours to Islamabad. A trip that might have been boring if there would not be my MC members, Cluedo, Hundred years of solitude and a great sight of the window with me. Click on the pics to see all of them…

2. The conference was great. I have expected more people based on the original materials but the simple math I could have done also for myself It was cca 40 people out of the 100 of members of Pakistan, when taking holidays and internships in concern, it is still a good number.
The atmosphere was good, eventhough only at the end we (faci team and chairs) have found out what was missing – noise (if we dont count the waterfight at 5 am on Sunday, but even that was rather calm.. next time a lil more planning and NOBODY is going to stay dry!!!)!

But dont You worry… next conference will rock the house !

The most amazing part was that the official dinner took place in a restaurant right above Islamabad. Actually there was a long talk if to go or not as there were security concerns but at the end not a single thing was risky, except of the risk of falling in love with that place

And for AIESEC in Pakistan the most important thing was that Islamabad was finally accepted as Official extension… These guys are really great to work with (they made a dance that we, MC, tried to use at IC but failed terribly due to technical problems ) and I am sure they will catch up to the others very soon!

3. The stay in Islamabad before and after the conference. A very quiet time in Nidas house. Great food, nice place and lovely people…

4. Way back home through Faisalabad, taking another 18 hours home Again very enjoyable for me and offering lots of interesting sights…