Over this past spring break I *finally* was able to go to Pakistan after five years! The past couple of years my mother and I have been trying to go, however, due to COVID and other factors we were not able to. To sum up the trip: it was the best vacation ever. At last, I was able to see my extended family (especially my grandfather) and explore Pakistan more since I am older now. In this week’s blog post, I will be explaining the highs and the lows of my spring break travels!
Low #1: Food Poisoning
One of the best parts of visiting Pakistan is the delicious food, although I did not have the immunity to eat all of it. Every time I go to Pakistan I get terrible food poisoning. Back in 2018 I literally threw up everything I ate. This time around I had an upset stomach (you can imagine the rest). For three days I couldn’t enjoy the sizzling samosas at dinner or the spicy omelet at breakfast. However, I did not let this setback stop me from making the most Pakistan has to offer. There is one, specific Lays chips that is only available in Pakistan – masala chips. Every time a family member or friend goes to visit my brother and I request a whole suitcase of masala chips. So, although I could not eat any of the homecooked meals or street food, I could eat masala chips all night! Depicted on the right is an amazing haul reserved for me and my dietary restrictions.
In addition to masala chips, my diet consisted of McDonald’s for three days. However, it was not ordinary, America McDonald’s. In Pakistan, they have a wrap called the McArabia which is basically a gyro wrap. I am proud to say I consumed about 5 over the course of my 10-day trip.
Low #2: United States Customs
Cannot have an Anwar Vacation without a fun airport security story! My family has come to expect the “random security checks”, especially when traveling with my brothers. This time it was just me and my mom traveling so I was hoping to sneak by without any trouble. Unfortunately, on our way back we got ULTRA random security checked. It was not just going through our bags or taking off our shoes, it was a thorough investigation. My mother and I were taken into a separate room and were told to sit there for an entire hour. When looking around I spotted maybe one white family out of the fifteen families waiting. While we were waiting to be called up, there was a police officer with a sniffer-dog walking around checking clothes and bags. Unfortunately, there was an Iranian family who brought spices in their bag and they all got confiscated. I foresaw this issue arising and made sure the bag filled with masala chips was sent directly to our house instead of us picking it up from baggage claim. After a fun-filled hour of sitting in a plastic chair, it was finally our turn. While swabbing our hands and bags for any explosive residue we received multiple, full body pat downs. We waited one hour for the process to only take about 20 minutes. In the end, although the process was annoying, it was definitely worth seeing my family.
High (worth 1000 highs): Spending Ramadan with Family
Speaking of family, this was the entire reason my mom and I went! Finally, after five years I was able to spend quality time with my grandfather. My grandfather has severe Parkinson’s so he’s no longer able to come and visit us in the United States. Although he spends most of his time in his bed nowadays, I finally dragged him outside to have dinner with us.
Seeing him get up and come outside actually made my mom and aunt cry, so it was a very special dinner. Because it was Ramadan there were really only two meals in the day: breakfast at 4:00 am and dinner at 7:30 pm. At first, I thought going to Pakistan during Ramadan would make it less fun, yet it actually made the experience better. My cousins and I would get up at 3 pm and stay up till 7 am hanging out. It was like the entirety of Pakistan was also on this schedule, so coffee shops were open till 3 am and the malls were open till 1 am. It was such an eye-opening experience to spend Ramadan in a Muslim country. Everyone was out, walking around the city at 2 am and no one questioned it.
As soon as I came back from Pakistan I immediately wanted to go back. Just being surrounded by family and like-minded people was kind of life-changing. I never realized how much I changed myself to fit into the culture around me. When I was in Pakistan I did not have to do any of that, in fact, I feel as though I learned a bit more about myself.
Hi Celina!
When my mom told me she was taking all of us to India this summer. my first instinct was to fight. I did not want to miss three weeks of summer away from all of my friends, work, and basically everything I wanted to do before I left for college. I was especially sad since it was the last summer I would spend with my friends, and taking me to India when I barely know my relatives felt like a punishment and jail time for three weeks. However, your blog is reminding me that is can actually be fun. I can see family members who I have not seen in ages, albeit I am not close with anyone of them, it would be fulfilling to rekindle the lost relationships. I can live the carefree life of having everything taken care of for me, to be surrounded by older relatives who will spoil me whenever they get a chance. It could be three weeks of no stress and no responsibility. I will admit, you are closer to your culture, family, and religion than I am, so maybe my India trip will not be as fulfilling as your Pakistan trip. However, your blog really helped me look at the more positive side of things and I really appreciate the love you have for Pakistan. I want to visit sometime!
Hi, Celina!
When you first described your trip prior to going, I thought you were going to Qatar. Turns out, you just had a layover there. Anyway, moving onto the rest of the blog. I am curious as to what caused your food poisoning each time you have gone to Pakistan. I have also found it very interesting how we seem to think we know a restaurant or company’s menu very well until we see the menu in a different country. Masala chips sound interesting to me, but I think I would prefer the McArabia even though I am not a huge McDonald’s person. How often do you get checked thoroughly be security, and is it only when returning from Pakistan? That seems like an arduous process that definitely could have been avoided, but I am glad it was worth it to see your family. Your time in Pakistan sounds amazing. It is always super nice to see family you have not seen in a long time, especially in your case because your uncle can no longer travel to the United States. I have been to Costa Rica, but I hope to visit a country even more different than the United States sometime in the future. I think my family is planning to see my Filipino relatives next Christmas in the Phillipines. I am definitely looking forward to that trip. Thank Celina!
Hello Celina, I love this blog post it is so wholesome. Yay, I am so happy you could visit Pakistan after a few years! Most of my family lives abroad so I understand the feeling of joy you have when you visit them after a period that feels way too long. Oh no food poisoning…Glad you are okay now. Haha oh my gosh the cart of masala chips, I love that for you! Yes, I love trying different Mcdonalds from all around the world. There is a universal Mcdonalds in Chicago, it is super cool you should visit! Ugh I am so sorry about the security checks. My sister and I were born in the US and we have never been security checked. However, my mom is an immigrant and it wasn’t until that she finally became an American citizen-not just having a greencard, that the “random” security checks stopped. It is honestly extremely upsetting, and I hope there is some reform in the future. But yes, still worth it to see your family! Aw I am so happy to hear that you could see your grandfather and that you enjoyed ramadan abroad. Overall, I love this blog post!
Hey Celina! I really enjoyed reading your travel recap. I’m really glad you were able to see your family after a long time — I also haven’t been able to see my grandparents for a few years, but will hopefully get the chance to travel and see them this summer. I’m sorry to hear about the lows of your trip, especially the experience with customs, but it sounds like you handled the food poisoning like a champ.
It’s amazing that you got to celebrate Ramadan with your extended family, especially your grandfather; it sounds like that was really special — I remember calling you during break and seeing you hanging out with your cousins. I was really intrigued by what you mentioned about the unique experience of celebrating Ramadan in a Muslim country, with many people on the same schedule as you and stores and restaurants open until late at night. It’s really cool that you were able to have such an affirming and fun experience. What you mentioned about being surrounded by family really struck me, since my extended family is pretty much all outside of the states, and your post has made even more excited to spend time in China and learn a little more about myself outside of the space I’ve grown up in. Thanks for sharing, I’ll have to try masala chips sometime 🙂