80 days alone in Pakistan of a Vietnamese girl

Nguyen Thi Thanh Tam, born in 1996, from Ba Ria – Vung Tau, came to Pakistan one day in early March. Previously, Tam had no plans to go to Pakistan but everything changed when she was inspired by the Canadian blogger. with the video “Pakistan changed my life”. When international tourism reopened, Tam alone carried his backpack and set off to a land that was once a place with many harsh conditions and a country of terrorism. 80 days of solitude made Tam change many things.

Although he has traveled alone to many places, Tam is still worried when he comes to a scandalous place. However, Tam said that Pakistan is safe to travel alone (as long as you don’t enter an area of ​​political instability). The locals she meets are very sweet and kind, always helping tourists, especially after they see their daughter walking alone. “There will be a little difficulty in language and transportation, but there is always someone to help you. But honestly, if you travel with friends or family, it is still safer,” Tam shared his experience. .

During the trip, Tam went to groups to post about herself, introduce her journey to ask for advice and suggestions from locals, and find local families to stay. This is how Tam personally can directly learn and experience about culture and religion. Tam received a lot of attention and initiative from the local families where she wanted to go. However, she was once invited out of people’s homes for security issues, was called, questioned by the police, and even came to “visit” her house, but “it was nothing compared to the love and affection of the people.” that I received from the people here,” Tam confided.

Tam’s journey went through Lahore, Multan, Bahawapul, Islamabad, Peshawar, Chitral… Coming to Pakistan, Tam found himself traveling in many different countries. Each state, each valley has its own culture, religion, language. Even the face is different between Punjab (bordering India), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (bordering Afghanistan), Gilgit Baltistan (bordering China). During the time here, Tam has met many people from different walks of life but all have in common that they are friendly, enthusiastic, kind and gentle. “Pakistan’s hospitality lies far away from other countries I’ve been to. The more I go, the more people I come into contact with, the more I realize they are far different from the stereotypes that the media ascribes. Pakistan is the most idyllic country I’ve come across. ever,” Tam praised.

However, Tam also encountered many difficulties in the journey, but she called it “challenging, not hindering”. When in Upper Chitral and Hunza, because of the cold climate, Tam often gets sick, slowing down the trip for a few days. The language barrier is also a challenge when most of the time I live with a host family in remote areas. In such an area, they don’t speak English, so Tam has many challenges in communication, mostly using body language. She also had to equip a few Urdu words to “say that or that sentence”.

In Chitral, the road is very bad. Tam, who was riding a motorbike, fell because of an unexpected slope with lots of stones. Taking the bus, she was rejected three times because she was a girl traveling alone. The reason given by the garage is that it will be very inconvenient for women to go alone or men will not dare to sit in the next seat. If it is a foreign visitor, there is another problem when the police stop and check, if there are foreigners, they will take more time to check passports and visas.

As a freelancer, it is difficult for Tam to work in Pakistan because some places do not have electricity and wifi, especially in the North. Tam can use 3G, but she shared, “weaker than my body”. In areas where electricity is only available for a few hours a day, Tam chooses to be completely immersed in the air and nature such as going to Attabad lake to soak his feet, spread out the carpet and sleep all afternoon…

One difficulty and also a good memory for Tam was having food poisoning and fever for about 5 days while in Kalash and Chitral. She almost had to be hospitalized, but everyone took good care of her until she recovered. During the 10 days in Yasin, Tam spent a lot of time with the children in the village. “I don’t like children at first, but they are so cute and cute. Every day they run through my room asking to play, take me around the neighborhood. Girls often ask me to tie my hair, spray perfume, dance with me. them every day”, Tam laughed as he recalled. In Upper Hunza, Tam was adopted by a family, treated like a member of the family.

Tam’s favorite destination in Pakistan is Chitral. She spent more than two weeks here but found it still not enough. And the place she was most impressed with was Hunza. Magnificent and wild nature. In the middle of the Karakoram Mountains is the Karakoram Highway, the “8th wonder of the world”. “The feeling of sitting on a motorbike on this road shows how vast nature is,” Tam shared.

The trip helped Tam get many things. It was the first time seeing snow, playing with snow for the first time, wearing Muslim clothes for the first time… “I made many friends, received love from strangers, had a family. adopted as an adopted child. Unforgettable experiences.” And Tam received a lesson: “Live for others instead of yourself. Go out and experience it yourself when what you know in the media is not necessarily accurate”.

Visitors should respect the local religion and dress modestly. You should check with hotels and motels in advance because some places do not accept unmarried couples or women traveling alone. You should use cash instead of card, especially in the North area. It is recommended to bring warm clothes because some high mountain areas can be very cold. Should exchange, talk and make friends with local people because they can help you a lot. Not all information on the website is correct, for example bus and train schedules…

About the visa application, Tam submits an e-visa, needs a passport, a hotel room, a portrait, then pays a fee of 25 USD and waits for a week. However, Tam said, in some cases, the embassy requires a letter of recommendation from the travel company. You can contact landtour company (in Pakistan) or agents of Pakistan for a letter of recommendation for 70 to 300 USD.

Detailed schedule:

From Vietnam, transit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Colombo, Sri Lanka over 24 hours.

In Pakistan:

– Lahore: 1 week
– Multan: 4 days
– Bahawapul: 1 day
– Islam: 4 days
– Peshawar: 4 days
– Swat: 3 days
– Dir: 4 days
– Kalash: 7 days
– Lower Chitral: 5 days
– Upper Chitral: 4 days
– Yasin: 12 days
– Hunza: 12 days
– Gilgit: 6 days
– Islamabad: 7 days

loyalty
Image: NVCC