Few countries on the planet present the contrasts that define Pakistan when it comes to the difference between the distant media portrayals and the vibrancy of its culture that can be experienced with a visit to the country.
A Spanish visitor who spent months in the country found Pakistan so much different that she expressed her feelings in a Facebook post that has gone viral.
“When I was told I was going to Pakistan I started to think about all the reasons not to go, how to convince my office not to send me. I did not want to spend the next six months of my life in between mud roads and traffic, dirt and smelly donkeys. I definitely did not want to share my time with radical people, extremists, and walk around all covered,” Clara Arrighi wrote on the conclusion of her visit.
“Prepare to get sick and food poisoned,” they told me. “You should change your job”. “No, I´ve never been to Pakistan but I´ve been to Bangladesh and I know its the same”… or India, or Afghanistan.
Luckily, someone also told me: “When you go to Pakistan you cry two times: when you are sent there and when you have to leave.”
“Seven months afterwards I indeed have cried two times,” she added.
Arrighi’s feelings are consistent with a majority of tourists to the country, who discover so many new things about the lively people, its cuisine, landscapes, history and the majestic mountains that join together to form a rooftop.
Pakistan has only recently begun to recover from years of decline in international tourism due to security challenges at home and a protracted war along its western Afghan border.
Even tourists from neighboring India, particularly members of the Sikh community, find an amazingly different Pakistan from what has been the international depiction in recent years.
The Facebook post by the Spanish visitor comes as Indian Defense Minister faces criticism for describing the country a hell. An Indian actress-cum-politician who returned to India after attending a meeting in Islamabad praised Pakistani hospitality, has refused to back down in the face of sedition charges leveled by right wingers after she contradicted the Indian defense minister.
But the Spanish tourist’s experience has been hailed in Pakistan with several media outlets sharing the Facebook post – as a sign of return of international tourism to Pakistan.
Arrighi, who lives in Barcelona, captured the spirit of the Pakistani people.
Clara Arrighi during a visit to Lahore, Pakistan/Facebook
Here is what more she had to say about Pakistan:
“The untouched gorgeous beauty of Pakistan is impossible to describe with words. Everything in this country is untouched; the nature, the culture, the cities. Women in their colorful dresses and the way they allow their Pashminas to fall loose over their heads, showing their dark hair. Men playing cricket, such a refined English sport to be played in white clothes drinking high tea, is here the street sport by far, played in every corner of every street.”
“I have climbed stunning mountains, swam in incredible clear lakes amidst the most beautiful hills, visited majestic mosques and drank uncountable types of chai. I tasted lots of different dishes. I did not get myself sick or food poisoned at all, but I definitely got myself a bellyache for not being able to stop eating such delicious food! And the mangoes, oh the mangoes.
“However… it doesn’t matter how beautiful a country is, you will always remember how it made you feel. And this is what makes the difference in Pakistan.
“I have never seen so much hospitality anywhere in the world. Incredibly warm people, genuinely kind. I have never felt so welcomed. There is this tendency to smile. A society that has been for so many years oppressed and still can be so tolerant.
“I challenge you to come to Pakistan and don´t like it. Cause, so far, I haven´t met anyone who didn´t. I spent seven beautiful months in Pakistan and I encourage everyone to give this amazing country a chance.”
