Ghotki

Finally, a transportation strike that worked in my favour! Thanks to the strike, the streets of Karachi were deserted as we headed through the city and out of town towards Ghotki to shoot the seed story. It was supposed to take 6-7 hours but even with no traffic it took 8. Thankfully the roads in Pakistan are excellent so the trip wasn't as bone-jarring as my previous excursions. But with my bad back, 8 hours in a car is 8 hours in a car. 

Ghotki is a town in northern Sindh. I don't know if it's as hot as Multhan, but it's close. One thing I do like is getting out of the cities... just like Ghana is a great place outside of Accra, Pakistan is wonderful outside of the big cities. The villagers are warm, curious, friendly and hospitable (perhaps because, as many of them said, I looked like I was

 a representative of the Taliban). I finished my shoot in 3 hours and was expecting to stay the night in Ghotki as planned, then drive to Hyderabad the next day. However Wahid my facilitator insisted we drive all the way back to Hyderabad that night... another 5 hours! I protested and his reasons didn't make any sense, but I gave in as I was in their hands. Turns out he has a flat in Hyderabad and wanted to stay there but of course he didn't say so. 

On the way back we got out at a truck stop near Hyderabad. We had some delicious daal (the only street food I dare eat) and naan--everyone sits on what looks a little like a trampoline and eats together with their hands. The only people who washed their hands were the people I wasn't eating with. An old man came up to me and offered me a massage. Who could say no? So the gnomelike old man massaged my sore neck and back with his gnarled yet surprisingly strong hands. It was great until he got out the oil, gave my head a thorough buffing, then stuck his fingers into my ears and "massaged" my Eustachian tubes. After he was done, he hopped off the seat and washed our car.