April 30th 2011

The day we left... we left first thing in the morning, got up around 4am.. everyone as usual was taking their time. I found A napping on the sofa downstairs after we had woken her up. We had had about 3 hours sleep maximum if that and I was getting irritated by the lack of movement. L started crying when she was told that she should stay at home, I eventually got it so she could come with us as well... it would have been too much to leave her there.
We eventually got to the airport, checked in our bags after much hassle and movement but alhamdulillah they let us on with 88kg between us (limit is 60kg) without having to pay any extra :D There are so many check points in the airport and so many people ready to push their way in front of you :( grrr I nearly banged someone out the way when they tried to push in front of me.. he even looked me in the eye as he walked past. I just cant believe the nerve of some people. We didnt get much time to wander around as by the time we had stopped for tea (just tea!) and got through 4 checkpoints the plane was being boarded.

Leaving Kharachi

We stopped in Muscat airport for Dairy Queen :D

We prayed at the masjid inside Muscat airport for dhuhr and asr.. be warned those flying from KHI, the masjid is only before you go through security after checking in your bags, there is no other!! In Muscat they had a separate hall for men and women with their own wudu areas, very clean masha'Allah. We were supposed to meet up with Alix at the airport but I think we went too far inside and she couldnt get to us :( insha'Allah next time :) Then we ate and waited for our plane to take us home.. we were exhausted!!

I suppose that concludes my Pakistan trip, we have been back in London now for 3 months now alhamdulillah, have booked our flights to Canada for December ;) and we are looking forward to our life moving onwards now. Ramadhan has started but that is another post (these are scheduled)
Peace and Salams
Ammena

April 29th 2011

Made coconut biscuits and macaroons finally today. The biscuits came out terrible as Im awful at judging quantites, but hubby said they werent too bad and that the macroons were nicer than normal (sweetened condensed milk!)
We picked up last minute things from the market - the wooden spoons I have ben after all holiday! The shop for the 2 suits ami gave hubby wasnt open so looks like it will have to be picked up after we leave.
Packed most things away, even used the vaccuum bags my Dad gave us ages ago ;) but the suitcases are very heavy!!
In time we went for my camel ride at Clifton beach, took L and A too. I wanted to go for sunset and get some shots, but again the sky was too cloudy. The camel was sweaty and I noticed they steered it through a pin they put through their skulls!! I thought it was through its nose at first like a bull, but then noticed it was much higher up :(

The donkey cart selling his bits and pieces

The road hubby's family live on

Milk man

Catching a free ride tut tut

Just taking a stroll down the motorway

Just one of the masjids near the beach

See the hole?? poor thing

April 28th 2011

Slept early last night, still managed to wake to late though :( Done the clothes washing and still lots to do today, insha'Allah will get it all done. Managed to close my suitcase although I dread to think how much it weighs.
Went out to the jewellers to pick up my bracelt charms, they were straighter than I imagined but then they attached a 'fake gold' piece so they could hang more freely. I stupidly asked them to put the charms at the end of the chain forgetting that I dont wear it at the end (I have to make it smaller by hooking it earlier) Im going to see how it goes wearing it to the end, if its too weird then Ill ask them to move it.
Then we made our way to Tariq road to get some shoes fixed, including my silver walimah shoes, and buy some bangles to go with my posh green suit. We stopped for fruit chaat first though ;) Got my bangles at the same place we bought the mehndi/walimah ones at and got a bangle holder too :)
Dropped off ami and took L with us to visit last minute relatives and to show the albums to nano as she couldnt make it to the parties :( We saw her and the family as well as the brother who lives opposite them. Then we drove over to see the new baby and that family as well for the last time this trip. Nano had me in one eyed tears (dont know how that happened!) as we were leaving and L was in tears leaving there too saying she didnt want us to go. I feel sorry for her being on her own here, poor kid. I really look forward to have them over in London next year insha'Allah

We stopped at THE chicken shop and I got a history lesson ;)

Although chips were the only thing on the menu I could have... they were amazing though!!

April 26th 2011

Bhai left this morning, and with him A and the nephew. It seems so quiet in the house now.
We picked up all my suits today, tried to pick up the duvet covers too but the guy wasnt there so will try later if we get time.
Abus youngest brothers wife had their fifth baby tonight, a little girl masha'Allah. We took the family to see them, shes so cute and tiny. They havent officially come up with a name yet but Im sure it will be lovely.

April 27th 2011
Slept in the AC room last night now that Bhai has left, was nice :D
Picked up L frpm school then picked up a cousin and went to sort out a few things. Picked up the duvet covers, sheets look big but I hope they fit because they all look really nice alhamdulillah. Then we picked up some more lining for my pink/blue suit, he lost the initial lining and then added his own in 2 pieces which looks horrible and only 3/4 sleeves again. Hopefully this one is long enough. Then we went to sort out changing the internet plan at home, which meant sitting around, pushing into queues and generally feeling uncomfortable.
Stayed around the house for awhile then took L with us later on to pick up the western suits from the tailors. Chilli Tomato likes them, which is the important thing, but I still think the jacket is too tight. Dont know how we will fit everything into the suitcases

April 24th 2011

As it was Sunday most of the shops were closed so we couldnt go to buy the fabric to take to Aishahs tomorrow. Instead we set out for duvet covers :) We ordered 4 bed sets (king size duvet cover, double fitted sheet and 2 pillowcases) we also got 2 extra different patterned pillowcases for 1 set and an extra sheet with matching pillowcases for around 7000 Rs (about £50!) Was very impressed!!
Later on we took the nephew and popped in for a trial fitting of Chillis suit at the tailors. Hubby, as usual, had many things he wanted to change. Longer leg, little tighter in the leg, tighter on the shirt, looser on the jacket shoulders, he ripped the seam when told to stretch out lol. Him and Bhai are also having an extra shirt made, just a white shirt to go with the suits.
Phoned mum and told her about the suits and duvet sets, she couldnt believe the prices... 3 piece suit approximately £40, Sweet!!!

April 25th 2011

Put my trousers in at the tailor to get the hem sewn properly. Was supposed to be going to Aishahs but there is something wrong with the car, plus Bhai is leaving tomorrow so he needs the car to finish his bits.
Then we went to see the family where Nana was staying and spent some time with the family then. Me and hubby got dropped off by the photo place to see if they had finished the album, he had told them we leave tomorrow ;) and he says he will try his best to get it finished tonight.
We got a rickshaw to the fabric place where we have been buying lining from to get fabric presents to take for Aishah, Tariq and Saad tomorrow when we go. Bought some really nice fabric, I hope they like it insha'Allah.
On the way back we stopped at Nanas house again to stay for awhile. There were a few people ther, I got asked if I was taking a baby back with me, I didnt know wha answer to give to that, especially as she was seriously waiting for an answer.
After awhile we left and stayed at home with Abu and the Nephew, we took the rickshaw back with the Nephew, it was fun :) Hes so cute when on his own and fighting to get his own way.
Hubby picked up the photo album and dvd after 10pm, the photos look good and I will admit the makeup doesnt look that bad ;) He didnt take out the loose hair which Im still annoyed noone pointed it out to me :(
Went to bed and left the lads with Abu and Ami on Bhai's last night :)

Tomb of the founder of Pakistan

Shower time

April 22nd 2011

Went to the tailors to see where they were up to with my suits, all done by tomorrow night he said.. will see!
Hubby wanted to stay around the area and spend time with Abu and throughout the weekend. Bhai and 2 sister in laws were going to the cinema, with the time that they intended to be back we decided to go with them. However, we got there late after having to go to Oman airlines to confirm our flights, bhai was told his was cancelled so he had to sort that out. The 3D films werent working anyways, so we bought tickets for tomorrow instead.
The we made our way home and got involved in a 5 car pile up. We were at the front, had to brake sharply but missed the car infront of us. Then 2 cars behind went into the car infront, which in turn went into the back of us. The boot lid is playing up a little now :( and we wasted an hour waiting for different people to turn up to be told we could have left because it wasnt our fault.
We went home, ate and then decided to go back to Metro to buy the spices to take home with us. We took Abu as well :) and bought 2kg of fish for 1200 rps which is not even £10 can you imagine!!! There was so much fish there, they gutted and descaled it all there. I only knew 1 fish, cant even remember which one it was now.. they had prawns but I think there was something else too.. trout maybe. Amazing!! bought most of the stuff for the biscuits too so insha'Allah will start them soon.

April 23rd 2011
Got up early today to catch the 1pm screening (yes early!) of Rio. Half way through the film Abu phoned Ahsin, nana had passed away :(
We left the cinema to go to the house, after awhile, me, Chilli, Abu, nephew and L came home and left everyone there. At least he is free from pain and suffering now.
Spent the rest of the day at the house, returned for the funeral just before Isha

April 20th 2011

We washed the bought lining for my suits this morning, watched the water turn blues and pinks.. and then put all the suits into the tailors to be sewn before we leave insha'Allah. Going to put the fabric in for Chilli tomato's suits tomorrow when he finally decides what he wants making out of them. There is the shirt and trouser fabric he got from Aishah and Tariq and a few pieces of fabric he got as a wedding gift. I have soo many clothes to take back with me but in fairness 4 suits are wedding suits and 5 suits are gifts that are better to get made here than at home in the UK. Im just nervous about our suitcase weights.
Also went to visit Ami's sister today which was a nice change. They have a cute little mosque at the bottom of the stairs to their flat which is just basically a roof with mats on the floor and a barrier infront to create a barrier between the person praying and people walking in the street. I love it!! its so simple, humble and refreshing masha'Allah.. wish I had taken a few photos. Her 2 daughters were there, one with her son who is just too cute!!
We were supposed to go grocery shopping too but that never happened and we ended up finishing the night at a close aunties house finished the end of a film that we have been interrupted the past 2 times with the electricity cut off :)

April 21st 2011
Just nine more days until we leave! Its been really hot this last week, even just travelling a short distance in the car leaves you drenched.
Picked up 2 suits today, slight alterations to the hem on one needed, apparently the embroidery should be on the hem not an inch above. They both look really nice so Im very pleased with them alhamdulillah.
Went to Tariq road for last few presents, picked up my 'posh' suit that we ordered when we bought the fabric for my walimah sharara. It looks amazing masha'Allah I love it. A knee length kurta with a skirt and duputta in bottle green with silver and pearl embroidery. I think I will need to get the diamantes fixed on my walimah shoes to wear with this. We bought some new shoes for my mum, my cousin and me there as well.
Then we went back to Zaynab market as bhai wanted to buy a box like we had bought the other day there. We were all separated which I didnt like as hubby didnt have a mobile (I wasnt with hubby either which made me more paranoid) Then we went to a different area for the 2 lads to get some suits made. After that we got home and ate aloo chips bhujia (chip curry.. which is actually loads nicer than it sounds!) which was yummy and I tried on my new outfit.
We picked up ami from nanna's house and then some people came over to visit us :)
When they left we went through all the things we had bought so far to figure out what we still needed to buy, insha'Allah we have enough space

April 19th Chilli Tomatoes birthday

We actually left the house to buy my lining which was for the sleeves of a pink suit and the full kameez of 4 suits.
Then we headed over to where the girls went the day before. I had imagined a big shop, instead it was tons of little shops like most of the shopping areas I had seen around here. The guy we could get a discount from owned many different shops, we eventually found one and sat there for so long looking at different fabrics and patterns. In the end I got 5 suits (kameez and trousers) 1 skirt, 2 kameez's and 3 shaylas :D happy buny I was!! I felt sorry for husband, poor little lamb spent part of his birthday sat around looking at ladies fabrics but we got him some nice white fabric for a shirt too. I also realised when we were there that it wasnt just the women in my family who pull their duputta's over there heads when they hear the adhan.. it seems to be a general thing for those who dont normally wear a scarf.
When we eventually left it was already dark and we were all hungry, so we decided to try Papa Johns. Me and Chilli took a rickshaw there while everyone else went to pick up Abu. We got there to find it closed but there was a Pizza Hut next door so we settled there and waited for everyone else. We waited so long, even ordered some snacks because we were so hungry. Eventually they turned up, we ordered but then bhai and A disappeared. They came back with a cake and party hat for hubby, the cake even had candles and 'happy birthday Chilli' written on the cake. It was a nice surprise for him and he truly was taken back as they dont normally celebrate birthdays, I think because hes been away for so long it was just something they wanted to do.
After food we went out for ice-cream, all of us in one car!! 7 and a half people ;) was funny. Was good to spend time all of us together without talk of bhai and his relationship issues. Although L wasnt happy for the whole time because she wanted a McFlurry ;)

The rickshaw ride

The birthday boy :)

Dessert time :)

April 17th

Woke up late again.. dreading trying to get back into a normal sleep pattern :(
Went out for groceries but got left in the car with the 2 youngest kids. I now know what a dog feels like being left in a car!! Sweat was dropping off the nephew and he was so agitated.
Didnt really do much for the rest of the day except in the night time we went to aunties house for food. She cooked me some bitter goad, which is bitter aubergine hubby told me, one of his favourite foods there.. I can safely say it wasnt one of my favourite foods over there!!

April 18th
Today was the day we were supposed to be going to Zainab market. We pottered around during the day even though an uncle had told us to get there for 10am. Then it was decided to go buy the lining for some of my suits. So we all piled in the car around 3pm including a cousin. It turned out A and ami had decided to stop at A's sil for a total waste of over an hours time... eventually we left and headed close towards Clifton beach. Ami and A said they would go and get the lining for my suits if we wanted to go to the market. So me, Chilli Tomato and Cousin  got dropped off near there.
I was expecting market stalls of all sorts of things as this was supposed to be the place to go for handmade stuff. Instead it was normal buildings with each level connected by walkways past all different little shops. Most places seemed to be selling the same stuff, just at different prices depending on who was selling and who was asking. It didnt matter that I said nothing, as I walked past vendors they still tried to talk to me in English. We bought a few nice things to take home with us and then we eventually left to meet up with the others.
On the way home we drove through Tariq Road and stopped for fruit chaat, yummy!!

April 16th Beach

Couldnt sleep well last night, too hot!! Voltage had dropped so bedroom fan was practically non-existent, hubby put generator on. Got up at 4am and left about 530am. I intended to sleep al the way there, instead I was sat next to someone who speaks really loudly and had a whole 4 sentences spoke to me in the whole 90 minutes ride there. I wasnt a happy bunny when I got out the car!!
We got there just after seven and we all piled out of the 2 cars, got the stuff out the cars and headed down to the beach. We were the only people there for the whole time which was nice. Everyone played in the water, hubby took me further away from everyone so I could play too. Sister in law kept calling me over and couldnt understand why I wouldnt come in, I just wasnt comfortable with being so wet infront of all the guys there. So we moved over, played for abit then I came out and sat in the sun to dry :) was nice. I had actually forgotten how salty the sea can be and how much I hated waves ;) I filmed a few cute crabs while drying myself.
They made chai on a portable bbq, we toasted marshmallows (I dont think they have every had it before) We started to pack up after noticing a few men hanging around the cars at the top of the cliff. Got into the car to discover it was only 10am :D After awhile we left, the loud speaker was in the other car so it was more peaceful now alhamdulillah. Me and L slept all the way, we got showers when we got home and slept until around 3. We ate a little, went to pick up my trousers from the tailors and bought some veg.

Something I found on the beach

When we got back we found out we had been invited to the other families tonight for food, so we moved around the house a little more, dozed a little more ;) and set out just before 10pm. Chinese rice :D they are obsessed lol. The electricity went off and they dont have a generator so everyone came back to ours and we sat around for awhile before going to bed

April 15th

Quiet day. Electricity was on and off all day today, so we tried to get the photos selected but they had the same problem so it couldnt be done.
We eventually decided to head to the jewellers, I dont know why but I wanted to sort out my charms anyways. It was better than sitting around! As we wandered around the market we picked up some hair bands for me because yes Im still waiting to get back the stuff I left at the beauty parlour the night of the walimah. Got a nice hijab pin too and then we went looking at scarves while everyone else was at the jewellers. We decided on a few but wanted to come back with ami to get a better price so headed off to join them. They were looking at a ring A liked when we were last here for bhai to buy for her. While there I show chilli tomato the 2 rings that I had noticed that time. It was mentioned that bhai wanted to buy something for me, it felt very weird, I asked why. I wasnt answered! In the end it was decided that we would buy the ring but he would pay for the charms. We also didnt buy the scarves as he was asking too much, ami thinks he heard me talking.. but what can I do when hubby asks me questions??
On the way home we picked up amis frame, it was wrapped up but Chilli had seen it before they wrapped it and said it looked really nice, will give it to them when Abu is home.
Then we got dropped off at the photo shop again to pick the photos. He kept choosing ones for us that we didnt like which was really annoying, just one more person pushing their views!! The software he had to change things is pretty cool. I hope it will look ok. Then they told hubby it would take 15 days!! I dont know why this wasnt asked before but they reckon it will be ready for the time we leave.
We decided to walk back, picked up some chips and hubby got a burger from a shop he used to go to as a school kid. The owner recognised him straight away which was nice. Then we got a ride in the rickshaw back to the house which was fun.
Early night, beach tomorrow insha'Allah

April 14th 2011

The load shedding is really screwed up, different times and length of time its off for. Too hot!
L got her results today, she failed 5 classes but they are still promoting her to the next level.
Had a bit of a lazy start to the day then decided to head off to Clifton beach. It took us quite a while to drive there as we had to go all through the city. Eventually got there and drove down the coastline, got out the car and the salt air instantly hit me. I had forgotten how much I missed the sea water. Then we drove closer to the city end, parked u and went for a walk. They had camels and horses to ride, we paddled in the sea for abit, were followed by people asking us for money for numerous things. We drove further down and stopped for pizza, sat around for a little longer and then drove to the nearby shopping centre. We wandered around a while, stopped for ice cream and then came home