The Dougs Arrive in Lahore, Pakistan
We (Doug Horst & Doug Dirks) left Lancaster, PA at 4 pm on November 10 and drove to JFK airport in New York with Marion Schrock serving as our airport driver. We checked into our Emirates flight at 9:30 pm and were in the air by 11 pm.
After 11 hours in the air we landed in Dubai to change flights and take off again for Lahore, Pakistan. Our flights were smooth and uneventful and we easily cleared customs and picked up our bags in Lahore. We were very happy to see the smiling faces of Yousaf and Ehsan as we exited the airport baggage area. It was 3 am on Thursday, November 12, by the time we reached the Chaman family home in Saeed Park.
We enjoyed a breakfast of fried eggs,
coffee, saag and chicken.
By 4 am we gladly fell into bed after more than 24 hours of total travel time. Doug and Doug work up late, just in time to have “breakfast” at 2 in the afternoon. After enjoying a breakfast of fried eggs, coffee, saag (spinach) and chicken we (Yousaf, Doug and Doug) drove to the Bunyaad/JAKCISS office and warehouse to pick up Ehsan.
By now we were in the middle of rush hour and the roads were packed with vehicles of all kinds, including motorcycles whizzing past and squeezing through impossibly narrow gaps, bicycles piled high with boxes, a couple of horse carts, one donkey cart and several motorcycles carrying two parents and 3 kids on their way home from work and school.
After what seemed like a long time of jousting with traffic we arrived in the Gulberg section of Lahore, parked on the 8th floor of a parking garage and took the elevator up to the roof top restaurant called Monal. At Monal we enjoyed the roof top view, had tea and snacks from the barbecue and devoured the wonderful buffet food. All of this was topped off with scrumptious dessert, including jalebi (deep fried wheat flour batter soaked in sugar
syrup) and kheer (sweet rice pudding).
After our buffet dinner at Monal we returned to Saeed Park where the Chaman family lives. We met Qaiser (brother of Yousaf and Ehsan) and went for a short walk along the dike that protects Saeed Park from the Ravi River before returning home for some much needed sleep. We are already enjoying wonderful hospitality and looking forward to learning more about the work of Bunyaad in Pakistan.
Stay tuned for Doug’s next trip post
We’ll be keeping notes, recording our experiences and taking photos so that you can follow our adventures on the Bunyaad blog. We’ll come back from Pakistan with new friends, memorable experiences, tons of rug making knowledge and lots of new stories to tell.
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Just in case you missed the first post. Read Pakistan Learning Tour
Nothing tops sitting face to face with someone and getting to know them over a cup of tea. Three of our staffers (Jenni, Heike and Yousaf) along with Ten Thousand Villages Canada Rug Program Manager and Winnipeg store manager Gwen Repeta are currently traveling throughout Pakistan, meeting with rug artisans and seeing the fair trade difference in action. Where do we start first?
On Sunday morning we walked across the street to attend church at St. John’s Baptist Church. Chaman Masih, the founder of Bunyaad, is the founding and lead pastor. We met the associate Pastor, George Gil, as well. During the service Doug Horst and I (Doug Dirks) were introduced as guests from the USA and asked to say a few words. After church we got together with a few people at the Chaman home to visit. We ended talking about our religious origins and beliefs – interesting stuff. 
We enjoyed a great time in Pakistan. Everywhere we went we met friendly, helpful and incredibly hospitable people. It seemed like everyone wanted to shake our hands and give us a hug. On Sunday afternoon, while touring the old Lahore Fort, a number of people wanted their pictures taken with us. Contrary to what we hear and read in the media about Pakistan, it’s a great place to travel – safe, friendly, hospitable and very scenic. 
I love these updates. Sounds like you are having a fabulous time! “The Dougs” were also on our Learning Tour to Kenya and Uganda. There were some pretty confused artisans as they both introduced themselves with the same name 😀