Tehran, the modern capital of Iran is a bustling city of over 15 million. There is so much to Tehran that you can’t do justice to the city in days – it’s a matter of weeks. The variety which the city offers breaks stereotypes and can amaze anyone!

“Sir, can I ask why Iran?” asked the travel agent whom I called to book the flight for Tehran.
“I have an interest in the culture, people and language”, I respond.
“Hmmm but people would normally go to Dubai for that… anyway”, he conveys his lack of cultural knowledge.
Just like a lot of people confuse us Pakistanis as Arabs, the Iranians have to face the same misery.

Photography can be extremely rewarding, no matter what the capacity. For amateurs, the past time offers satisfying results on correct execution of the camera. If you are just starting out with a Digital SLR camera, Karl Taylor’s series of educational and entertaining DVDs will make you wish you had possessed this knowledge from day one.

There is a treat for almost every Pakistani shopper – from fresh supply of Pakistani fruits and vegetables, to frozen foods (meat products, snacks, vegs etc); from Pakola cans to Shezan juices; from Shaan Masalay to Tulsi Pan Masala; from all varieties of Pakistani lentils to Sooper biscuits; from Tibet snow cream to Super Crisp Nimko and Tea Rusks – you name it. I have never seen this amazing variety in canned Pakistani food – saag, aalo-palak, karhi, baingan-bharta; just to name a few. They have this good offer where they give you £1 cash voucher on every £6 spent in store – which you can use to buy only vegetables or fruits in the store; good enough deal, I believe.

My Rating:
 In 2003, Ethan Casey, a freelance American Journalist, gets the chance to live in Pakistan through an invitation to teach for a semester in the newly formed Beaconhouse National University in Lahore. His earlier visits to the country were in the second half of the 1990s when he spent most of his time in Kashmir. First quarter of the book is dedicated to Kashmir and stories of individuals struggling to live through the turmoil which has gripped the valley for decades. It is living in Kashmir and the …

Just because Makkah and Madina happens to be in the Kingdom, the citizens of the Kingdom don’t get a guilt-free pass to insult and mistreat people and still get away with it.

I think I travelled and explore Turkey well beyond what’s possible in a short trip. Went to many places, met many people. There is no doubt about the fact that they know us and they love us. Why ? There is perhaps no known answers. Perhaps, just because we are Pakistanis. And mind you, not even another Pakistani or Pakistan itself would love you aaj-kal for this reason alone – and this is why I am so in love with Turkey.

To be honest, I didn’t know much about Turkey until I planned a trip and started researching. My knowledge was limited to the text-book essays on Mustafa Kamal and Pak-Turkey friendship, which I thought is matter of the past but I was proved wrong, grossly wrong. (This deserves a lot more detail, so more on this in the next part) The first striking observation when researching for a trip to Turkey was the enormous growth of the tourism industry and noticeably visible professionalism of tourism ministry and tour agents. With …

Tired at work and fed-up of the so called “cyber-war”, it was a time for some fun. Good food helps but no fancy restaurant is my preference most of the times.
Lets explore dhaaba-delights of Lahore. Band Palastar ( بن پلستر  ) coming your way!
I Googled to see if there is anything about Band Palastar available online but closed down Google with disappointment. How can Lahori bloggers miss such cheap and delicious desi burger ? (No, its not really a burger, continue reading).
One of the most densely populated areas of Lahore, Sanda Road is home to …

I happened to visit Rawalpindi with friends a couple of days back. This was my first visit or stay-in, to be precise, to the garrison city. Earlier, I had only passed through the city on my way to Taxila a few years back and then during the recent Long March.
Interesting and shocking observation: No matter where you are in the city and whatever the time be, there would be one thing which I am sure you will be able to see in the reach of your eyes, the word Askari …

I follow the principle of ‘no work in Ramazan’ and I can recall I have been following this for years and years. I just can’t work when I am hungry. My colleagues would well understand this for they know my drawers at work serve as a tuck-shop when the cafeteria in office is out of stock For this reason and for my bad tamper and mood swings, I have not been blogging for a few days. Today, bored at work, I was looking at the photos …

If you’re a Warid user, you will find this your story. If you are a potential Warid user, this is a warning

A review of Mehreen Jabbar’s first feature film, Ramchand Pakistani.

Dark night, heavy rain, annoying horns, traffic jam – what a combination ! I was stuck on Multan Road when I called up a few friends, we had a short conference call and we were ready with yet another hangout plan. It was a weekend and I was returning back home from work, looking forward to such a plan like every other day. This one was real quick -  we just decided in in a couple of minutes and I was now to pick them up rather than going back …

Wrong guess. It’s not about Cuckoo’s – continue reading!
I have this bad habit of roaming around the city with friends on the weekends and like all Lahoris, dining out in the end with no good entertainment options available. Being fed up of the exquisite restaurants, all stereo-typed to the same M.M.Alam road restaurants; I wanted to try something different. Something traditional at a non-fancy place. One reason for this was the FASTRising’s in-house resolution which states “visit to fancy, expensive restaurants will be limited and local, traditional places would be …