Fort & Border Closing

Badshahi Mosque & Lahore Fort

We headed out around 0830 after breakfast to visit Lahore Fort.  As it opens at 0900, I thought we could get dropped off at Delhi gate and walk through the bazaar to the fort rather than in the reverse order.

That revised plan didn’t quite work out as the bazaar area was very quiet with shops still closed.  We stopped briefly at the colourful Wazir Khan Mosque briefly but didn’t enter.

It was quite strange to not see a single woman on our walk even though we often see them later during the day and at night.

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The bazaar led to the eastern gate of the Fort which was unfortunately closed off for restoration.  [Edit:  There is probably no public entry even at other times as there isn’t any space for ticketing facilities.]

We asked for directions to the fort entrance and were directed to the northern side of the fort’s wall.  Once through the gate, we saw no sign of the actual fort area nor any ticketing office.

The map suggested that we would have to take a long walk through the park to get to the ticket office.  The sun was scorching by now and with the distance there, we were worried about Jo’s ability to continue.

We backtracked out and found a rickshaw to take us to the ticket office.  We were dropped off at a gate and walked to an area where we could see the entrance to the Badshahi Mosque and also the Lahore Fort opposite.

We decided to visit the mosque first, crossing its large courtyard before entering the small building at the far end of the courtyard.

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From the mosque, we walked to the entrance to Lahore Fort and paid the foreigner ticket price of PKR6000 (NZD6.35).  Once through the turnstiles, we realised there was a ramp up into the fort.

With the extreme heat, we decided to pay for a buggy ride up.  Our interest was waning.  I explored a little more than the others before calling it quits and waiting for another buggy to the exit.

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Trying to get back to the hotel proved to be a challenge.  From the fort exit, we still had to find our way through the park to a roadside area where we could order a car.

Unfortunately, the are we had found was perhaps a pay carpark and we had to walk further to meet the driver who had trouble finding us.  Fortunately, a helpful stall-keeper helped the driver navigate to us on the phone.

We had a little taste of Pakistani hospitality when the driver refused our payment, despite the hassle he had finding us.  Naturally, we insisted on paying and left the fare on the dashboard.

The morning’s excursion had been a bit much for all of us, especially Jo.  Back at the hotel at 1130, we had a wash, then rested before having lunch at 1230.

Border closing ceremony

We had another well-earned rest after lunch till 1445 when we headed out again, for the Pakistan/India border closing ceremony at Wagah/Attari.  The rideshare driver was able to sweet-talk the guard so that we could be dropped off near the venue, rather than at the carpark some distance away.

After about 15 mins waiting in a snack and recreational area, we were led at 1600 through security to the arena area for viewing the ceremony.  The facilities on both sides have been greatly expanded since my last visit 14 years ago.

Unlike my previous visits, the gates between the two countries were closed.  Cheerleaders (not the female American variety) tried to raise the spirits of the audience while we waited.

At 1700, the ceremony started with soldiers on both sides acting out the antics which included marching, kicking up high and somewhat antagonistic gestures.

Each side appeared intent on outdoing the other side.  The moves on both sides mirrored each other so well, even though they never practiced together.

Finally, the two countries flags were lowered and folded away.  The ceremony finished about 35 mins later and we walked back to the car park.  We had retained the driver and paid him for the app-quoted fare, doubling it and adding a bit more for his time waiting.

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We were keen to return to last night’s biryani shop but it wasn’t on the way.  The driver found us a restaurant where we had a very meaty dinner of grilled chicken in a variety of styles:  bone on, boneless pieces and minced.

We found a car back to our Purani Anarkali where we tried to buy some fruit.  With no fruiterers around, the juice shops wanted rip-off amounts.  We gave up.

While the others returned to the hotel, I had a wet cut-throat shave for PKR200 (NZD1.30).