We had a few days in Lahore, and hence also the luxury of taking things easy. This was particularly welcomed because of the suffocating heat and smog.

We visited the Lahore Museum during the first full day after our arrival. There are about 20 galleries inside, and the collection was good, ranging from Gandhara Buddhist pieces to even Jain architecture.




Subway was our most frequented eatery during our stay at Lahore, largely because COLD drinks were free flow and the sandwiches were probably the only food you could find in Lahore with plenty of veggies in them. Also, 179 PKR (about slightly more than 3 SGD) gets you a 6 inch sandwich of the day with a bottle of juice. The outlet manager seemed to be the only competent person at the eatery; it took a while for our sandwiches to be served.

The "out of order" labels pasted over the drinks labels at the drinks dispenser were amusing.





After dinner, we had faluda, a local dessert which is essentially vermicelli with ice cream, in a sweet milky syrup that is flavoured with spices. It was very novel.



The next day we visited Lahore Fort, and the majestic Badshahi Mosque. Here are some pictures of the mosque's exterior. It was surprising to find such grand architecture in Lahore.












The insides were coooool because of the marble tiles used. Intricate designs were carved into the ceiling tiles. It reminded me of a movie set.


















This is Lahore Fort itself...














This security guard was the ONLY person in Pakistan to guess our nationality correctly on the first try. He was at the exit and immediately after I passed him, he asked if I was from Singapore. I was quite surprised. A mandatory photo was taken with him.




We visited a Sufi shrine for live qawwali music. Our guide brought us there from Regale Internet Inn, together with a few guests from the same Inn. The people at the mosque were really interested in us, and in the Caucasian woman that was with us particularly, as can be seen in the photo below.

The music was trance-inducing, and the old man in the picture below was dancing to the music in the centre square. The legendary Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan played here before, and apparently it is an honour to play at this place. People went around periodically to collect money from the crowd, which was later thrown like confetti over the musicians.