Blog - BRIDGET THE MIDGET

Delhi

27th August 200810th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

New Delhi is a clean modern city that contains the Embassies, tourist hotels and shopping centres that most modern capital cities have. However there is also old Delhi which is a little run down and doesn’t really give a damn about tourists and prefers to stay the way it’s always been. Nothing wrong with that but it also wants to attract the financial benefits brought by tourists without putting in the effort of making them feel welcomed. Of course they can’t have it both ways and the epitome of this dilemma is the Red Fort. This item is in desperate need of cleaning, a little maintenance and some entrepreneurial flare. When you consider the basic offering, it is tired, dirty and in need of some renovation (a little like me really). It is registered as a world heritage site, but is poorly cared for. However with cleaning, a little restoration and some imagination it could be a major international attraction. If the...

Facts, Statistics and Damned Lies

26th August 200810th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

Well it’s something like that. For the statisticians amongst us here are some extracts from the website analysis. There are now regular visitors from 28 different countries and I am very pleased that it includes Baghdad and Kabul where you might think they have more to worry themselves about than an old man with an old car. Australia, who have consistently contributed the second highest numbers behind the UK, have been relegated to third place by Pakistan. Again it is very pleasing to note that Peshawar is a major contributor even though I went nowhere near it. Two countries which have come from nowhere are the Netherlands, fifth behind France, and the USA in sixth position. I really do not know how you are finding out about us, but you are all very welcome. Finally, in the UK we are now up to 55 cities being involved. Wouldn’t it be great if 50% of you started to use the ‘blogs’ available on each page to...

Introduction to India

25th August 200810th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

The difference is immediately noticeable as you drive down the road from the Wagah border crossing from Pakistan into India. Everything is cleaner, the population more prosperous and even the traffic is more ‘up-market’. The atmosphere is also more relaxed as people do not have to worry about whether or not they will be returning home in the evening. None of that is to decry Pakistan and I stand by everything I have already said, but there is a difference and it is very noticeable. We went straight to Amritsar, a journey of around 35 miles. Amritsar is an unremarkable city with one or two places to visit plus a trump card in any game; the Golden Temple. I had heard of it from news bulletins and I knew it was the central place of worship for the Sikhs. I had even seen television pictures of it, but nothing prepares you for the spectacle that is the temple itself. Nothing I can...

Last Days in Pakistan

17th August 20089th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

What a challenge. I was told that I was mad (again) to visit Pakistan and at times I wondered if the best option was to get to the nearest airport and go home to my loved ones. Pakistan is a divided country, but there are common desires amongst all of the different groups. Uppermost in their wishes is for peace and an end to lawlessness and corruption. The image we in Europe and the USA are presented with, of a militant religous led group of terrorists and supporters is very far from the truth. By and large the militant tendancy are a very small minority and shunned by most of the population. Much of the violence in the country is directed not at western interests, but at Pakistani interests and people, and they are upset that we should believe the worse of them. I found the southern areas that I visited extremely poor but the Punjab is far more prosporous. Agriculture here is good,...

Wakey, Wakey!

12th August 20089th March 2020 By roychinnorNo Comments

The plan was to leave Quetta early and take route 65 to Sukkur. I had been told it’s a good road and not at all like the Robbers Road. I awoke at 4:50am to the sound of explosions from incoming mortars, or possibly some sort of rockets. They were landing quite close as the whole hotel vibrated and it was only a two storey building. The mortars were followed by the clatter of small arms fire. I got dressed and went down to the lobby and out into the grounds. The security guards, who are all armed with either AK47’s or pump action shot guns, were milling around the extensive garden and car park area. I went back in the lobby and spoke to the duty receptionist, asking if it he could find out from the police if it was still safe for me to travel. It transpired that “they’re not answering the phone because it’s Sunday!” I suggested they weren’t answering...