THe country side of pakistan and Popular things to do!

http://www.typhoonfury.com/Pics/Xinjiang/Xin%2010.jpg

There are many different kinds of activities that one can do while visiting Pakistan. There are many different mountains that one is able to hike and the terrain is a beautiful site to see. The different types of trekking possibilities are available or one can organize trekking on their own. Possibilities for one to trek include areas in the Northern countryside including Gilgit, Nanga, Parbat, Balistan and Hunza. The gorgeous views can also be seen in a hike that only takes one day which is in the Ziaret Valley near Quetta. The Karakoram Highway is used for those who like to take the bike around the beautiful views.

            Other activities for one who visits Pakistan can include the very exciting white water rafting along the Hunza, Gilgin, and Indus. Another extremely fun thing to do is mountain biking from Gilgit to Chitral. The outdoors have many sites to see and it is a great adventure to go hiking, white water rafting, or bicycling in the Pakistan. One is able to explore parks, gardens and fountains as well as the great views of the cities from the mountainsides.

            Personally it would really like to vistit the beautiful country side of Pakistan to bike or hike. As a ski interested person and a fan of the out doors it would really be an experience to ski of those mountains. Also it would defeniatly be a challenge with ome of the hardest terrain in the world. I would really like to live in a countr that has everything, desserts and forrest, but also high mountains and cold climate.   

http://www.keadventure.com/trekking/asia/pakistan/

            

Techno/House Music in Pakistan

tugland.blogspot.com/ 2009/02/nadia-ali-love-s...

One of my favorite music categories is house and techno music. In Sweden where I come from there is a wide range of different DJ’s and different music styles that mix their own music with other different types of music. When researching on the Internet and on Youtube.com I found a couple different DJ’s that have the Pakistan flavor of music mixed in with the techno and house type of beat. Lately and in the 2000’s there have been a lot of techno and house musicians that mix their music with other famous DJ’s. In the Hip Hop world of music, Jay-Z made a song with an Indian musician (The You tube video that we viewed in class). Personally I think that it is a very good song. The song has a fast pace and is really mixing two complete different music styles together. Moreover, it really mixes the American and Southeast Asian types of music and their cultures.

Nadia Ali is a Libyan born singer with parents from Pakistan, however her whole family moved to New York City and started a new life in the United States of America. As a singer Nadia Ali got noticed as a singer while working at the famous clothing company Versace. Nadia started singing in a band called iiO and her career absolutely exploded from there. When iiO and Nadia split their cooperation, she started a solo career and released two singles that really made her an attractive singer for other people to work with. She started to work with DJ Shahs that has several famous techno songs. The most famous that she has done in the techno/house music category is “Who is Watching” with the world famous DJ and music producer Armin Van Buuren.

Personally, and to most of my American friends that does not really understand this type of music, the best way to describe why I really like this type of music and this song; is the two types mixed together, the European dance rhythm with the Pakistani song sound. Precisely like people whom like rap or hip-hop, the Indian rhythm really comes one with the hip-hop beat. 

Copy and paste the link below for a amazing Youtube video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_U4OXaMSmg&feature=PlayList&p=21868DC25D0FEF03&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=11

Pakistan VS. India - The Greatest Cricket Rivalry

Rivalries are what sports exciting, there is nothing better than seeing two team who hate each other battling out their differences. When it comes to cricket, there is no bigger rivalry than Pakistan verses India. It has been said that the rivalry is one of the most exciting not just in cricket but in the sporting world.  There is so much fuel firing each team especially since there have been three wars between the two countries but none since 1999.  The Partition  of India in 1947, has been the biggest factor fueling the rivalry. Head to head this is how the two teams have matched up against each other.

	Tests[5]	ODIs[6]	Twenty20[7]
Matches played	61	117	2
Won by Pakistan	12	68	0
Won by India	10	45	1
Drawn/No result	40	4	1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_versus_Pakistan_cricket_rivalry

The statistics display that Pakistan has had the better fortune in their match ups.  I personally love watching any type of rivalry whether it is hockey or golf, to me cricket is no different.  Just watching the amount of passion and excitement that players play with is amazing.  As an athlete myself I love nothing more than going out against a team that we have history with and battling with everything we have.  It's what make sports so exciting to watch.  I can only imagine what it is like to see a match between the two respected teams.  I would love to one day see a match up between Pakistan and India and just experience the excitement and passion that not only the players display but the fans as well.  

Small World Huh?

The process of globalization enables the world to become closer together. Through new and easier ways of communication and travel, values, ideas, and societal views are shared internationally. 

Globalization is a very interesting phenomenon, the fact that the world is becoming "smaller" creates a number of different conflicts within Pakistani pop culture.  For example, western ideas about women's rights are now being integrated into Pakistani culture.  Because Pakistan is ruled by strict Islamic laws that limit the abilities of women, conservative Muslims turn away from the globalization of western ideas.  This ultimately causes a conflict between the Muslim and the Western world.  

A woman from western society must look at specific areas of Pakistan and be amazed by how little rights females have. While strict Muslim Pakistani people are probably in disbelief about how much freedom women have in America. 

I feel that Globalization is inevitable due the advancements in technology.  Though it brings ideas and value together, it may not always be a good thing. Why does everyone in the world have to be the same, or share the same beliefs More importantly, why can't we understand and accept each other's differences instead of trying to make people conform to the Western world? Due to lack of understanding on both sides, there will always be a conflict between our societies.  However, at this point in time I am unsure as to whether globalization is  good or bad.  

While examining this situation it raised a few questions that I would like to hear comments about.  In what ways do you think globalization can create world peace? In what ways can it hurt world peace? More specifically how can globalization help the U.S. and Pakistan (Muslim) understand each others differences?

PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS

ICC Strips Pakistan of 2011 World Cup

On April 17th, 2009, the International Cricket Council (ICC) stripped Pakistan of hosting the 2011 World Cup.  The International Cricket Council believes this is the right decision because of the uncertainty security situation in the country.  The ICC said that "It is a regrettable decision (but) our number one priority is to create certainty and...deliver a safe, secure and successful event," ICC president David Morgan told reporters after a meeting of the executive board in Dubai  (https://www.homecall.co.uk/news/newswire.php/news/reuters/2009/04/17/sport/pakistan-loses-2011-world-cup.html&template=/sport/feeds/story-template-reuters.html)  

This was done because of events that occurred a few months ago when the seven Pakistani's were killed and six Sri Lanka players were injured during an armed attack on their team bus as they travelled to a test match in Lahore. 

After reading the article I feel like i side more with the Pakistani people and players as they were shocked that, the World Cup was taken from them. Yes I agree that right now it may be difficult to hold the World Cup there but the World Cup is in 2011 which is two and a half years away.  A lot of things can change in that amount of time.  I do not agree with the ICC stripping then world Cup away from them.  If the ICC thinks that it will not be safe and are not seeing any change in a year and a half or so then may be i can see them moving the World Cup.  But agreeing to move it this far in advance might only cause more problems.  I believe that Pakistan is a secure enough country to hold the World Cup, every country has there faults and just because lately there have been a few out bursts, i do not think that the best thing to do was to take the it away from them.

Wait Pakistan has a National Drink?

After researching Pakistani popular culture, I learned that the national drink is sugar cane juice. The fact that the country has a national drink is very fascinating because it is a reflection of how important sugarcane is to Pakistani society.  Pakistan is one of the top ten sugarcane producers in the world; producing 55 million tons.  

Interestingly, sugar cane juice can only be bought on the street by vendors who brew it fresh. Being from New York City, I couldn't help to relate sugarcane juice vendors with hot dog vendors.  Like hot dog stands, sugar cane juice  dealers can be found on sidewalks, bus stations and have a similar sized cart. Furthermore,  sugar cane juice vendors are typically decorated with Pakistani stylized art, which is much different from the the dull metal hot dog carts in New York City. 

If you are traveling to Pakistan, keep in mind that there may be serious health risks to drinking sugarcane juice from street vendors.   A  glass of "raw" as locals call it, is not pasteurized and is often made fresh on the street.  Drink at your own risk!

No Alcohol?

The rule of Islam plays an important role in Pakistani nightlife.  Because of the fact that alcohol is prohibited based on Islamic law, I assumed the nightlife in Pakistan to be non-existent. However, after doing some research, this is not the case especially in Lahore. 

My Mother’s words, “you don’t need alcohol to have fun,” seems to be the slogan for the city. To travelers, Lahore is known as the hot bed of entertainment and nightlife.  The fun appears to be never-ending, boasting live music concerts, disco dancing, and art.   For me, it is odd to see nightlife that is not driven by alcohol.  I find it interesting that the culture and nightlife in Lahore is based around resturants with outdoor seating, live street concerts and outdoor dancing. Its clear that alcohol is not needed for socialization. 

Reporting in Pakistan Can Be Deadly.

Two months ago there was a peace accord signed between the Taliban and the Pakistani Government.  This has made it less stressful for reporters trying to report in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) specifically in Swat Valley where the Taliban have claimed control and residence.  I read this article Pakistan: Media In the Taliban Crosshairs, which discussed how dangerous it was to report in the NWFP.  What ever direction you took as a reporter in that area you were bound to upset either the Taliban or the Military men posted up there.  The Peace accord was signed on February 16th of this year.  Several journalist in the past years have been tortured and some even lost their lives.  I can not even imagine how dangerous of a job it must be to report on issues that deal with that area and the areas surrounding it.  

As a reader of the article i felt scared a just reading it. Journalists carried pistols with them in fear for their lives while reporting in Swat Valley.  I think its about time that a peace accord has been signed to enable these reporters to do their jobs with a little less fear.  I was amazed at the amount of journalists that would still insist on reporting in that area knowing that the Taliban control the majority of the land there.  I would be on the first plane out of there the first time I under went any type of confrontation with either the military even more the Taliban.  These men and women that report in this area are extremely brave and I give them all the respect in the world.

Lollywood

Pakistan's film industry is dubbed "Lollywood", because of its main location in Lahore. Like Bollywood (India), Lollywood, tailors their films for Pakistani culture. The movies feature their own Urdu language and capture the essence of Pakistani dance, music and culture. Though the industry began to slowly decline after the late 1970's, I like the fact that Lollywood movies present a cultural perspective of Pakistan society. For me, it helps to reinforce some images about Pakistani culture and provides a perspective that I would not be able to see by watching a Hollywood film. However, because of the decline in the industry the films are outdated and consequently may not include new fads, or dance moves that currently exist.

The idea that Lollywood portrays a cultural perspective of Pakistani culture raises many questions. For example, what if a person from another country was asked to learn about Pakistani Pop culture by watching Lollywood films? Would it be an accurate representation of the culture? Obviously no one can rely solely on the idea of filmmakers, but how do these movies influence Pakistani culture?

Below is an example found on you tube:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinema_of_Pakistan#Decline_of_cinema_theatres

What is the National Sport?

For those of you that thought cricket was the national sport of Pakistan you are mistaken, so was I. Field Hockey and Polo are the two national sports of Pakistan but Cricket is the most popular game. There are many different sports that are played all through out Pakistan but the ones mentioned above are the most popular and most played.  As for other sports, Pakistan has just about everything else that we have over here.  I originally thought that Pakistan had Cricket and that was it, I was blind to everything else.  I believe for the majority of the people when they hear or talk about Pakistan they associate it with Cricket and hot sandy weather. I'm not going to say that, that is not the way I thought at first because it was. 

Its not only those sports that draw attention either Pakistan is well known for Taekwondo which is the fastest growing sport in Pakistan right now.  As it is here in the United States, Martial Arts is the fastest growing sport in a lot of countries.  But again when people talk about Pakistan one thing comes to mind and that i s cricket. It just demonstrates how simple and closed minded we are to things that do not pertain to us.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_in_Pakistan   

Dance

Line Dancing Pakistani Folk Dance
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/264678139_d49e8c2704.jpg?v=0

Folk Dance that is a big part of the Pakistani culture is also something that brings memories back for me. Growing up in Sweden for 20 years, reading about Pakistani Folk Dance defiantly brings back memories. It is a very interesting part of Pakistan and its popular culture.

Folk Dance is something meaningful and you dance for several reasons; to celebrate, harvest, the birth of a child and weddings. In a Pakistani Folk Dance you always dance in a group, which is a lot of fun. With designed steps and movements and certain structures, personally is a lot of excitement. It is a great feeling when a lot of people do a certain dance move at exactly the same time.

One type of dance that is similar to Folk Dance over here in North America is Line Dancing.

This website has great information about Pakistani Dances and its popular culture.

http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/pakistan/arts-of-pakistan/dance.htm

Junoon

Junoon or the Sufi-Rockers as the population of Pakistan call them, is the most popular rock band in the country. They are known in the entire continent of Asia, United States of America and England. Junoon started in the beginning of 1990’s and is the founder of this type of music. The word Sufi means mysticism and that is what kind of theme the band is performing and singing with. Junoon also, mix in poetry from famous Sufi mysticism poets from the 1500-.

Their music is sometimes played on the channel MTV and internationally Junoon has played with Metallica and Pearl Jam. http://www.123musiq.com/images/AbhijeetSawant-Junoon.jpg

Their music is based on Mysticism and here is the explanation to what mysticism is; the belief that personal communication or union with the divine that is achieved through intuition, faith, ecstasy, or sudden insight rather than through rational thought.

To me this is a bit confusing but the music is pretty good. I would really like to hear the mixture of metallica and Junoon.

Further down is a website to Junoon and a Youtube video from one of their songs.

Copy and paste the websites to a new window on your browser :D

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HoknbARSlI
2. http://www.junoon.com/