Slept in a bit as I wasn’t feeling 100%. Might still be a bit of Delhi belly remaining

Still went to the gym of course!

Had a quick breakfast then met Waqas, my guide for the day.

We started by visiting the National Monument. When I asked if I was taking him away from his prayers today, he told me that he is Muslim in name only & doesn’t believe in all the religious stuff. I found out later that he’s a scientist … makes sense!

Visited the National Museum next, which was a series of displays from all the different parts of Pakistan plus a few other friendly countries who had snuck their displays in as well.

Stopped by the money exchanger next so I could get some local currency & was surprised to see a guy just casually sitting next to me with a small machine gun!

Our next stop was a place about halfway up the same mountain as we went last night.

There were quite a few monkeys running around & some nice views over the city. Fortunately it was only a little hazy due to the rain that came pelting down a couple of days earlier.

We then visited the Faisal Mosque at prayer time. It’s the 5th largest mosque in the world & has been designed to look like a Bedouin tent. Faisal was a Saudi prince who donated the funds to build a mosque in his honour.

Our next stop was an old village at the bottom of the mountain. Apparently, the land is incredibly valuable as its opposite some of the best houses in Pakistan but the people, many of whom only earn $3-4/day, won’t sell as it’s been in their families for centuries.

We returned to the hotel after that & I went to my room to have a nap. I was feeling quite unwell with Delhi belly & it had brought on a headache & sapped my energy.

I could only rest for a bit though as I had to transfer everything to my pack & do a few admin things before I head off tomorrow on my trek.

Hassan’s brother in law, Hasaan (very confusing!), came to pick me up at about 6.15pm to drive me to Hassan’s house as he very kindly offered (insisted!) that I come for dinner. It’s normally about a one hour trip but it took 1.45 due to traffic & accidents etc.

I was beginning to wonder whether this was a good idea to visit the night before I go away given that I need to be up at 6.15am tomorrow morning. Too late to go back now though!

We stopped by a florist on the side of the road so I could get some flowers for Zaha, Hassan’s wife. I’d normally take a bottle of wine but that’s not so appropriate when visiting a Muslim family!

We eventually arrived & after a drink of juice in Hassan’s sitting room & a quick tour of his enormous house, we sat down to the dinner that his wife & mother had made.

He was quite disappointed with the amount of food I ate but I had to tell him many times that I just couldn’t eat any more!

We chatted about how he & Zaha met (usual story: he liked her but she didn’t notice him until much later!), how they both love guns (concerning!) & about where I’d been during the day (I think he was a little insulted again that I’d engaged a tour guide rather then asking him!).

My Delhi belly was still churning & I had to ask to use his bathroom. No toilet paper however so I had to borrow a couple of tissues & drop them in his bin (hopefully he didn’t notice!)

About 10pm, I got the local equivalent of an Uber back to the hotel & fortunately this time it only took an hour or maybe a bit less. I still had a couple more things to do as I wasn’t sure when I’d have internet again then went to sleep about midnight.