PaKiStAn... PAKISTAN! -My Green land-

I have been back since a few days. It is good to be back here with my parents, my family and my friends, talk in my own language, hear the Pakistani songs and watch Pakistani TV AND play Cricket with my friends in the garden in the house. Just Priceless!

Today is the last day of the holy Islamic month of Ramadhan and tomorrow is the festival of 'Eid-ul'Fitr' that is like Christmas for Muslims. We give gifts and money to the younger and receive from the elders. So, me being the younger one is greatly looking forward to it :-)

The weather here is perfect - mid 20's - sunny, blue sky, little cool breeze. I am good. People say i look slimmer but when i stand on the weighing scale - it says as always 64 K's ! Aggggghhhhh!!!

My plans are to stay here in Pakistan around 10th November then fly to London for a week from 10th till 17th November and then resume my job from 20th November in Zürich and also start working on my book again.

Oh btw, i forgot to tell you guys a big news that Finally Thank GOD! i have started working on my book. I have written the outline of it. Now i have the basic structure and i just need to write the smaller modules to complete it but i still think that it will take another few months.

Okay---gotta go now!!!

LOVE FROM PAKISTAN :-)))

Yours,
Umer.

Time to travel again :-)

67 hours break in Zürich seems to be enough for an addicted traveller like i am ;-) so now i can go back to travelling....

Tonight at 19.00 CET i have a German Inter City Express - ICE Train to the Southern German city of Stuttgart, famous for its Car making industry - Mercedes-Benz & BMW. I will be doing 'couch surfing' in Stuttgart just for a night before flying tomorrow morning with 'Turkish Airlines' via Istanbul to Karachi, PAKISTAN. I will be arriving at 1.45am on Friday, 20th Oct' 06 in Karachi and then i have another flight with Pakistan International Airline (PIA) from Karachi to Lahore - My Real Hometown!

Last time i was in Lahore in February this year but it already seems to be sometime. The longest i have ever stayed out of Lahore was 9 months and this time it was just 8 months so i think its really difficult for me to stay away from my real home. Home is where your heart and spirit resides, where your loved ones think about you often and miss you. It must not be a house or a palace, it can be anywhere, you would love to live, love & be loved..... Isn't it ?

So, my dear friends... i am going home InshAllah to spend the Islamic festival of 'Eid' which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan - on 24th Oct' 06 - this year. We celebrate Eid with as much zest and energy as Christians celebrate Christmas. As many other islamic fests, in Pakistan Eid is celebrated for 3 days :-) but hey, no drinking and no dancing okay ;-) It is an Islamic republic - what do u think! ;-)

This year 24th October is very important for me as it is also InshAllah my parents 26th Wedding anniversary so its a double Fest for me! and this is not the end... just after 10 days i have my 25th Birthday! Yeeeeeaaaahhhh - Time is running fast but don't you think that i have achieved or done more than what others do in their first 25 yrs ? So the question is, who is winning the race ? I or the Time ? :-)

Guys in Europe, who are still waiting to get hold of me somehow... good news for you is that i would not be staying long in Pakistan but would be coming back to Europe around 8th November 2006. I might stay for a week in London before coming back to Zürich. I will inform you guys here about the latest. Yesterday i called my boss and gave my dates for work in November, according to which i will be back in Zürich from 20th November for sure!!!

There is so much more packing left... okay buddies... gotta go now... Talk to you from Pakistan or may be a quick blog from Istanbul, Turkey :-) My one of the top 5 favourite cities around the world!!!

Remarkable Ri0 de JaNeIr0

Having fun on COPACABANA with Moa & Jessica from Sweden!

- Rio @ Night!

- Doesn't look interesting? Oh come on i have had 6 breakfasts from this little cafe infront of my hostel.

- Rio's Grafetti!
- THE Beautiful Sunset at Rio's shores.
- Modern clean n safe underground train network was impressive!

Flashback: BrAZiL - Gramado to Rio de Janeiro!

Staying with countless sweet Swedes in a Swedish Hostel in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.

My hosts -The most loving Brazillian couple- Guilherme & Leticia, Florianopolis.
Watching Gramado Open's Final - Our Boy Won! Hurray :-)
The Witch, Otavio & I in Canela. - The Most Exotic Strawbery dip i ever had - Mmmmm Yummy - Canela.

....and here is The End! 28,000 Miles Round The World!

Smells....
Tastes....
Photos....
Memories...
Used tickets...
Contact Numbers.... is all i am left with after the 70 Days... 'Round The World Trip'!

Here back home in Zürich... everything is like the way i left. I feels like a world has changed within me but outside it is still the same world i use to live in. Today was my first day here at home. A lot of things to do, meetings, appointments, phone calls, letters etc. etc. but every now n then when i got a chance to sit down a sudden smile spread over my lips because of one of those beautiful moments i lived during last 70 days....

Here again i would like to THANK EVERYONE of you! Whom i met, whom i asked any question, whom i asked the way, who gave me rides, who were my travel partners or my hosts or just new friends - You all have made a difference to me and my life and i really would love to see you again. Moreover, i give you my words, if i could ever help you in anything, do give me a chance, i hope not to disappoint you.

A big hug to you all...

Time to say Good-bye! Flying to London today...

Finally after circumvagating the planet earth... 26,000+ miles, 8 countries, more than 20 cities now its time to go home.... Home? Which home ? First of all to my future home -> London, then to my current home -> Zurich and then my real home -> Lahore, Pakistan!

Its a beautiful clear blue sky here today in Rio de Janeiro.... Atlantic ocean is wide spread and the waves kissing the shore with a loud sound. But its time to say Good-Bye with the promise of coming back one day soon....

The most difficult thing is to leave the good people behind and hug them good-bye.... the people who have given me happiness, made my days bright by their charming personalities or kind behaviour, the people who have opened the homes and hearts... the people who taught me how to look at the world from different angles... yes! its time to say good bye to all these beautiful souls with a promise to see them once again in life - somewhere, sometime!

In the End, Thank You my dearest being ALLAH for giving me the chance to see your beautiful world and meet those amazing souls who are the reason for living in this world. THANK YOU!

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Yours,

Umer.

Rain & My Frustration.... in Rio de Janeiro!

Goddd....

Day 1 in Rio:
Perfect weather... 28°C blue sky, warm day... loads of Cariocas (locals of Rio) on the Copacabana & Ipanema Beaches... and then the weather changes... dark clouds cover the sky and it starts drizziling and raining ... and again drizziling and again raining...

Day 2:
The bad weather continued and i got really frustrated... I felt homesick... i wished to run out of Rio somewhere i could take refuge with my friends or loved ones. So many ideas were in my mind... i was trying my best to keep my mood swings under control... i ended up spending 3 times more money than my daily budget to keep myself busy and not to change my ticket and fly out earlier :-)

Day 3:
Memories of good time in Porto Alegre started fading away and i felt better today though the sky was still cloudy and there were showers on n off but i went out and did sight seeing. I enjoyed exploring Rio though travelling alone as a foreigner in this city, you have to be conscious of the fact that you do not end up walking into FAVELAS which are colonies of poor people and usually they are near hills. Plus! this city is famous of petty crimes - people snatching things from you and running away or pick pocketing so it was not very comfortable to travel alone but i had fun.

Day 4:
Now it seems to be that my frustration is over and i had a good day out here in Rio. I went to Niteroi island and saw the famous Museum of Contemprary arts. The boat ride from Main city to Niteroi was worth it because i saw Rio´s skyline and made photos of the castle and the sunset at Suger loaf hill. Amazing! Indeed if not The Most Beautiful city of the world, than one of the most beautiful cities of the world!!! I just came back from an evening job and a drink at Copacabana Beach and decided to share my feelings with you all. Tomorrow is my last day in Rio because the next day is my flight to London via São Paulo.

The Road To Rio!

Fuck... this keyboard is hurting my fingers.... its so hard....

but in short.....

YES I MADE IT TO WORLDS ONE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES - RIO DE JANEIRO! Its undescribably stunning... sandy beaches, sun, countless beauties in bikinis and g-strings :P the rest of the public, chilling out while sipping caiprinha with ice n lemon Mmmmmmmmmm

Talk to u later... 4 more days to go before i fly back to london on Wednesday, 11th october 2006 with British Airays.

Love,
Umer.

Touched by Brazillian Hospitality

Yesterday...

I picked my bags, started walking towards the Bus station of the small Lake side town of Lagoa de Conceicao to catch the bus to the main bus station. While, i was walking, i was making plans to go to Curitiba and stay the night there. I passed by a Super Mercado and felt the hungry raging in my stomach. I convinced myself that it is cheaper to get a sandwich from Super market then the restaurant so i walked inside. I went to the bakery section where a young tall average looking guy was wearing white bakery uniform of the super market. He asked me which type of Sandwich i want and i tried to explain him-anything except pork! we had a few friendly problems and at the end he asked me where am i from? i said in portugese that i am Pakistani. He couldnt believe it. He said that he would like to meet me after work for more conversation and we agreed to meet up at 4.30 pm.

Guilherme, 19yrs comes from Rio Grande do Sul province which is the southern most part of Brazil. Porto Alegre is its capital but he comes from a little village town on the west close to Argentina. Guilherme is married since 3 yrs!!! and his wife´s name is Leticia. She is 17 yrs old!!! now imagine when they were married how old were they :-) 16 & 14 :-)

Guilherme invited me to his house which was at the northern part of the Santa Catarina Island where i met him. We took a bus together to his house. He spoke as little English as my Portugese but i must say - We never had a conversation problem nor we got bored of explaining things or asking things from each other. Leticia was also happy to see me. Young girl with long dark golden hair, light brown eyes and a beautiful smile to complete the perfection. They asked me a what i like to eat. I said prefereably beef. We walked to the nearest super market close to their 2 rooms clean appartment on the upper floor of a house in a small village but we were unable to find Beef. I said any other meet like Chicken or Fish is also good. But Guilherme explained me in broken English that i like Beef so he will go to the village center to get beef while we should wait for him at home. Amazing!

We talked by using english-portugese-english dictionary. We cooked n ate, we sang, we danced. I had a few things with me from Pakistan like photos of my family and postcards. They were surprised by the wedding photos and the dresses of women. Their eyes told the story when the words were of great help.

I can´t write about every little thing they did to make my short stay comfortable because they did countless small things which matters the most....

I salute Brazillians for their genorisity and unconditional love....

Munto Obriegado Povo de Brasilerio!!!

When will this rain stop???

Hello Friends

Last night i said good-bye to my dear friend & host Otavio in Porto Alegre and got onto the bus to Florianopolis. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful cities/metropolis of Brazil and South America.But i ask the you all? How would a paradise look like if its just raining all the time? so isthe case at the moment, my bus arrived here at 6.30 and and its raining since then. I am a bit confused and undecided what should i do!I have come on internet and seen the weather forecast which says that this rain should stop in the late afternoon and tomorrow it will be just partially cloudy. Where as in Curitiba, another Brazillian city around 400 Km north west in the hills, has good weather. But i was suppose to stay here for two days!!!

Let's see what i decide... anyways... here i am uploading a few shots from Sao Paulo from last week there.

Talk to you later - TTYL :-)

Bye,
Umer.

- At Praça de Republica, Saõ Paulo.

Me & My New Brazillian friends from Porto Alegre

Left to Right: Mauricio, Gustavo, Otavio, Marcelo & Me!

cRaZy PeOpLe - Crazy Country!

Jus t a few lines before i go to bed to take a nap before my long bus ride tonight to Florianopolis from Porto Alegre.

This city - the capital of the Rio Grande del Sul province - is not at all a major tourist destination to Brazil but i came here to see how is the life in South Brazil and especially of people with European descendence.

I made so many friends here in just 4 days. I have gone partying & clubbing out for 3 nights out of 4 nights here! last night i prefered to go to the Cinema instead of a club ;-)

The people here are very kind and hospitable. They are welcoming and socializing. As soon as i tell anyone that i am from Paquistao - The name of Pakistan in Portugese. They get surprised. Some of them do not believe me because i look like them or a bit European. But i have had real fun here. Some crazy incident cannot be shared :) but will be told to the people interested.

Tonight i will move on from this dearest city Porto Alegre to an island city of Florianopolis. All the people here tell me that i am going to like it a lot. Lets see!

The weather here in blue sky and sunny. I hope it stays like this coz sometimes it gets cloudy and chilly which is no fun!

I am already a bit sad that i have to leave porto alegre. I wish i could spend the rest of 10 days of my Brazillian trip here with these guys here in POA - Porto Alegre.

So, time to move on....

Hugs,
Umer.

My South American Route