Pictures and a Soiree

Day 19, Islamabad, Rain

It's Friday and the house I'm staying is empty. I thought I'd make the most of my good internet access while I'm here and upload some pictures. I've opened a Flickr account and will post selected pictures there. So have a look from time to time. I'll keep including some pictures on my blog postings as well.

Is soiree the right word? If so, I probably mis-spelled it.

Last night I did partake in a dinner party put on by my host for one Isobel Shaw. She's a guidebook writer who has done general guides of Pakistan as well as a trekking guide. She's out here to update the trekking guide. It was neat to meet her. Her demenur is airy and easy. Her British sensibilities complement her vivacious, confident character. In Pakistan she's a bit of a celebrity.

But I'm not good at the dinner party scene. Those of you who know me understand my reserved, sometimes awkward character in a crowd of strangers. I don't have much time for small talk and sometimes that's my loss. I am beginning to recognize the value of networking, as much as I dispise that word. But I felt like a kid, last night, interrupting a party for grown-ups. My stories seem empty and boring. Stories are rather highly valued in this context. Isobel, of course, has great stories of her hundreds of days trekking in Northern Pakistan. A Brigadier-General, ret., told of crossing a high pass between Kaghan and the Indus Valley. He and his soldiers made the crossing in winter, on foot. It was the first such crossing. He had asked a mullah to pray for their company before they set off over the pass. But the mullah refused to pray for such a foolish endeavor.

The food was quite good, prepared by the Indonesian-Pakistani cook who commands the kitchen here.