#I call her my little border climber <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[imconfusedbutok]

I’M SOBBINGGGGG ME AND MY FRIEND’S CONVERSATIONS ARE SOMETHING ELSE MANNNN

[dillydedalus]

books i read in october

will i even read anything this month? MAYBE NOT (i did.)

der gang vor die hunde (going to the dogs), erich kästner  the restored full text of kästner’s fabian, a satirical novel about late weimar berlin and how it is.... going to the dogs. it’s witty, everyone is dancing (and uh, fucking) on the edge of the abyss, fabian sees the end of europe everywhere he looks, but my favourite bits were honestly kästner’s incredibly sharp & funny postscripts (one to the moral censors, one to the art critics - ‘this book is not for confirmees, no matter how old they are’), and the blurb calling berlin ‘der zärtliche moloch der moderne’/’the tender moloch of modernity’. 3.5/5

hier ist noch alles möglich, gianna molinari longlisted for german book prize. a short novel about a woman who decides to become a nightguard at a rundown factory where a wolf has been seen (maybe). mostly, it’s ramblings about borders/boundaries, intrusions and separations of space (the wolf coming into the factory, the fence of the factory, islands etc). it’s interesting, but it’s a bit too long for what it did. 2.5/5

when hitler stole pink rabbit, judith kerr i’ve had this book for like. probably 15 years? god. anyway, somehow i never read it and picked it up now to get it off the unread shelf. it’s a fictionalised account of kerr’s childhood as a refugee after her jewish family leaves germany just before the nazis come into power, and their struggle to make a living and find their place in the countries they escape to. it was really well-done, not overly didactic or sentimental & i should have read it as a kid i guess! 3/5 

die liebe unter aliens, terézia mora short story collection. i listened to the audio book, which only has 5 of the 10 stories (which i didn’t know before), so that’s a bit disappointing. anyway, the title means ‘love among aliens’, but sadly there were no aliens :(. just alienated people trying to find something/themselves/etc. i liked mora’s style, but the only story i rly liked was one about a japanese prof who falls in love with a goddess. 2.5/5, gave it 3/5 on goodreads bc i only heard half the stories 

buried in the sky, peter zuckerman & amanda padoan i find mountaineering disasters morbidly fascinating & am kinda obsessed with them (throwback to last year when i read into thin air & told everyone who’d listen not to climb everest & they were all like.... wasn’t planning to but okay??). k2 is only slightly less high than everest but much more difficult technically (all the climbers r like.... oh everest is so easy i wanted a real challenge like.... k). anyway this book is focused on a particular disaster on k2 during which 11 people died, as well as on the position, history, culture etc. of the indigenous ethnic groups that live in these regions & work for mountaineering expeditions (Sherpas being the most well-known but there are others as well!). since the authors weren’t on this expedition, it’s not quite as harrowing and immersive as into thin air  but it’s still plenty harrowing! horrible deaths! the deaths of the high altitude workers were incredibly tragic & while obvi the mountaineers’ deaths are sad too, i feel like they know what they’re getting into & they’re not doing it out of economic necessity but for like... fun? the rush? pride? idk. but anyway if you don’t wanna die... don’t go into the DEATH ZONE. it’s literally called the DEATH ZONE DON’T GO THERE. anyway yeah i find everything about extreme mountaineering super fascinating & terrifying & this is a good one, tho into thin air would be still my #1 rec. 4/5

wenn es nur licht gäbe, bevor es dunkel wird, iunona guruli tbh i mainly got this on overdrive bc i hadn’t really read anything from georgia (the country in the caucasus, not the american state). it’s a short story collection (mostly about/set in georgia but written in german) on themes like drug abuse, gendered, sexual & domestic violence and depression, so... not much fun here! there is a dreamlike quality to some of the stories which i think contrasted well with the quite dark themes, but overall the stories were too similar & blended together too much for me, and sometimes the style seemed a bit too laboured. 2.5/5 

unter weißen, mohamed amjahid really good, persuasive & engaging examination of racism in germany, accessible without being basic. i haven’t really read a book like this about specifically german racism and its particularities, especially one so recent (it was published in 2017 & the context of the ‘refugee crisis’ is rly important). amjahid (who’s a journalist with die zeit currently) works w/ a lot of personal anecdotes and they are uh. horrible. like, one chapter is about the paternalistic side of willkommenskultur, where he goes to munich train station to interview volunteers welcoming refugees and some of them immediately cast him as ‘helpless ignorant refugee in need of our benevolence’ & dehumanise him to the point that they don’t even register that he’s speaking to them in german like. fuck. 4/5

desintegriert euch!, max czollek (actually finished this a bit later but it goes well with the amjahid book) while amjahid discusses racism in germany both in general terms and specifically islamophobia, czollek focuses on german antisemitism and advocates for disassimilation & alliances between different marginalised groups in rejection of german ‘leitkultur’. also he talks about daniel kahn in a chapter on jewish revenge & i love daniel kahn. 4/5

the white guard, mikhail bulgakov (tr. from russian) look, the situation in kiev after the russian revolution and the multiple military take-overs of the city is interesting and all (tho incredibly confusing if like me you don’t know who any of the factions are or what they want), but where’s the devil? where are the witchy vibes? where is the demonic talking cat? 3/5

der vogelgott, susanne röckel so this was shortlisted for this year’s german book prize and i can totally see why. it’s disturbing, compelling, has a lot of conceptually interesting weird stuff going on and it almost really worked for me. it’s a story about three siblings haunted by a strange & horrible birdgod after their father, a hobby ornithologist and taxidermist, kills a bird he shouldn’t have. while the siblings live very different lives - one goes to a fictional african (?) country to work for an ngo, one is working on her doctoral thesis on a medieval german painter, the third is a journalist researching strange fears and dreams that are troubling the city’s children - all of them become entwined with this birdgod and the cult(s) surrounding it. my problem is mainly that the book uses the ‘too horrible to describe/comprehend’ trope way too much, which is effective the first few times but eventually wears off & just becomes annoying and like.... so what?? also, the first sibling’s chapter uses some very colonialist tropes about the savage religions and customs of the uncivilised natives, and while there is an attempt at subversion here (e.g. the same cult being present in medieval germany apparently), it didn’t feel like enough for me. but overall this is a really interesting, disturbing little book. 3.5/5

king lear, shakespeare (for uni) honestly... i expected more from this, tho to be fair reading it in a rush for a seminar (that ended up getting cancelled anyway) probably wasn’t ideal. overall i just.... didn’t feel anything about anyone (except the YAAAS BITCH vibes for regan/goneril/edmond’s shenanigans), many characters’ choices & actions didn’t make sense to me & i was disappointed that cordelia wasn’t a character as much as a ~pure selfless angel for lear to have feelings about. 2/5

currently reading: the bloody chamber by angela carter which i’m high-key loving, white dancing elephants by chaya bhuvaneswar, also two comics/graphic novels: john lewis’ march series and saga book one

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 10th November 2019

I think I should give an update on what I’m listening to as I don’t often do that on this show. Hold on, let’s check my last.fm... oh, yeah, 300 scrobbles for Weezer – in the past week. I really have hit rock bottom.

Top 10

For what should be the sixth consecutive week now, “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I is at #1, and somehow that’s the only thing staying stable amongst all the chaos as while I’d like to think this was a relaxed week where it cleared out everything from the JESUS IS KING album bomb and left only the remnants of that busy week, it really wasn’t, and instead was a full-on avalanche by its own accord.

The first most obvious example of that is “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, debuting at #2, and that’s pretty much the only example of this week’s generally manic appearance in the top 10, as the huge comeback single becomes Dua Lipa’s 12th UK Top 40 hit and her seventh top 10 hit, her first top 10 since “Electricity” with Silk City peaked at #4 in 2018. I’ll be speaking more in depth about that song later.

Otherwise, we don’t have much interest in this first ten songs. “Ride It” by Regard featuring Jay Sean (By technicality) is down one spot to number-three.

Unfortunately, this has opened up possibilities for Ed Sheeran and “South of the Border” featuring Camila Cabello and Cardi B up a space to number-four.

Also down one space is “Circles” by Post Malone, surprisingly, at number-five, as I saw this as possibly making a run for #1 but that doesn’t seem as likely with the monster that “Dance Monkey” is.

“Lose You to Love Me” by Selena Gomez is down three spaces off of the debut to number-six, as I expected.

Staying steady at number-seven is “Good as Hell” by Lizzo featuring Ariana Grande.

Also still at number-eight is “Memories” by Maroon 5.

Now we have two one-space fallers at the tail-end of the top 10, first of all “Bruises” by Lewis Capaldi at number-nine. I don’t even know how this is still here.

Secondly, and finally to round off the top 10, “Outnumbered” by Dermot Kennedy at #10.

Climbers

There aren’t many climbers here at all but the only two notable climbers are in the top 20 and look like foreshadowing of hits to come, so that’s notable in itself, although very unfortunate as despite me being relatively ambivalent on the pretty decent “This is Real” by Jax Jones featuring Ella Henderson moving up 11 spaces to #19, I am immensely displeased about “hot girl bummer” by blackbear peaking higher than the original “Hot Girl Summer” as it reaches the top 20 at #18 after a seven-space boost, as if this hack needed any more attention put on him.

Edit: I forgot about Niall Horan’s “Nice to Meet Ya” up eight spots to #26 this week, which I’m happy about since it’s a great song and I’d love to see it find its way into the top 10.

Fallers

There aren’t actually as many fallers this week, or at least less than I expected, but there’s still a couple notable fallers to talk about here, such as “Follow God” by Kanye West down nine spaces to #15 off of the debut at #6 last week, as well as other losses for most of the debuts from last week (Well, those that are still on the chart), those being “Floss” by AJ Tracey featuring MoStack and Not3s down five to #27, “Orphans” by Coldplay down five to #32 and “Look at Her Now” by Selena Gomez down 13 to #39. Also losing out on five spaces this week at #33 is “Take Me Back to London”, a former #1, by Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, and remixed by Sir Spyro featuring Aitch and Jaykae.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

We actually do have a re-entry this week and it’s “Graveyard” by Halsey back at #40, meaning we have eight drop-outs, most of those being established smash hits finishing up their run, those being “Sorry” by Joel Corry featuring uncredited vocals from Hayley May from #32, “Ladbroke Grove” by AJ Tracey out from #35, “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello out from #36, “Taste (Make it Shake)” by Aitch from #37, “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike from #38 and “Don’t Call Me Angel (Charlie’s Angels)” by Ariana Grande featuring Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey from #39, as well as, of course, Kanye West’s two hits from JESUS IS KING that debuted last week, “Selah” featuring uncredited vocals from Sunday Service, Ant Clemons and Bongo ByTheWay out from #19 and “Closed on Sunday” with A$AP Bari out from #20.

ALBUM BOMB: Krept & Konan – Revenge is Sweet

On the 1st of November this year, British trap duo Krept & Konan released their sophomore album Revenge is Sweet and it peaked at #5 on the albums chart. I haven’t listened to it because I personally don’t care much for the two rappers, but they are big enough to land two hits in the top 40, one of which was released as a single prior to the album but both bearing high-profile features, so I’ll have to talk about them.

#28 – “G Love” – Krept & Konan featuring Wizkid

Produced by P2J

First of all, I obviously do not have as much to say about Krept & Konan than I do about Kanye, so this will be a shorter episode in comparison to last week with JESUS IS KING since there’s a lot less to unpack and I have a lot less passionate opinions about the duo (Which, considering how disappointed I was with that album, is probably not a bad thing). This is pre-release single, “G Love”, Krept & Konan’s fourth UK Top 40 hit, and it features Nigerian singer Wizkid, who makes his second ever appearance on the chart. For what it’s worth, I actually very much enjoy Wizkid whenever he appears, usually bubbling under the top 40 with songs featuring Drake and Skepta, as he has a lot of charisma; honestly, I’m surprised this is his only his second appearance on the chart, and his first since “One Dance”, a Drake song featuring him and Kyla hit a record peak of #1 in 2016. It’s a pretty odd collaboration for Krept & Konan, but then again, Wizkid did a song with Skepta as well, so this could be good – and is it? Well, it isn’t a good first impression when the otherwise nice synths are clipping pretty badly but it doesn’t exactly create a bad vibe or atmosphere, and while Konan sounds half-dead on the hook, Wizkid’s high-pitched Auto-Tuned croon is pretty vibrant. Konan is equally dull on the verse, although admittedly both he and Krept have pretty funny opening lines, even if Krept is mostly talking about emojis for half of his verse (Not even kidding, apparently if you cross him, you’ll get emoji knives). I don’t really have an opinion about this song, to be honest, it’s a pretty generic Afroswing beat with some squeaky vocal samples, and Krept and Konan both sound like they did a one-take whilst high and left. There’s a weird empty space between the verses and chorus as well, it genuinely feels a bit janky at times (God, I haven’t used that word in ages). Wizkid doesn’t even have a verse, so this is pretty boring. Let’s hope the next song can redeem the duo...

#23 – “Tell Me” – Krept & Konan featuring D-Block Europe and Ling Hussle

Produced by Dabeatfreakz

Okay, so this is more in Krept & Konan’s wheelhouse and has honestly got me pretty excited because D-Block Europe are the funniest men in UK trap right now, and I don’t think they even realise it. Anyway, this is Krept & Konan’s fifth UK Top 40 hit, D-Block Europe’s sixth, and it’s actually also a pre-release single (Hell, this one’s got a video). If you’re wondering who Ling Hussle is, well, she’s actually an upcoming rapper and singer who hangs around these guys, seemingly, and hasn’t actually been able to crack a million views yet from what I can gather, so this really is kind of her breakout single and obviously her first to hit the UK Top 40. Can these five rappers make a cohesive posse cut? Well, of course not, it’s D-Block Europe, but they try, bless them. First of all, this really isn’t a Krept & Konan song, Konan is definitely there even if he’s drowned in Auto-Tune that makes him unrecognisable, but Krept has a really short verse, and Ling Hussle straight-up doesn’t, instead providing an admittedly pretty sultry hook with Young Adz, who somehow cannot handle the simple melody that Ling Hussle lays down and kills, having a stroke on the pretty bland piano-trap beat as he tends to do. Krept is also pretty pathetic here, with a hilarious falsetto that genuinely made me chuckle – although that was probably unintentional. The end of Krept’s janky verse is hilarious, with the beat just barely there, and it mostly being breathing sounds and one-syllable ad-libs while Krept barely gets words out, and it’s all drowned in Auto-Tune with so much weird empty space. It’s so bizarre, to the point where Young Adz’s obnoxious singing about wanting the woman to open her legs so he can “watch her pee” sounds pretty for-the-course. Genius annotators just gave up on Konan’s verse, and he and Dirtbike LB are easily the least interesting here, although Konan does spend much of his time making some strange, misguided metaphor for guns using Maggie Simpson. He probably has the best verse here, as it’s the only one that doesn’t completely collapse midway through. I can’t help but like this, though, because everything goes wrong at some point and no-one even attempts to fix it, much like all of D-Block Europe, who I’m starting to think are my favourite UK rap artists because they are so unashamedly awful that whilst most of their music is unlistenable, any deeper analysis forms a new genre I like to call Post-Cubist era trap-rap.

NEW ARRIVALS

#37 – “Opp Thot” – Poundz

Produced by HARGO

“I could never wife your opp-thot. Give me that neck, come bop-bop. I just want to jeet and skeet, don’t use no teeth, girl, give me that slop-top.” How poetic. It’s a viral song from Poundz, and hence his first UK Top 40 hit, and I have such little expectations that this could be Nostalgia Critic’s version of The Wall and I’d praise it to hell and back as if it were by Floyd. Seriously though, this isn’t actually that bad. Lyrical density isn’t there but I didn’t expect it to be, and the mixing on the version that is used for Spotify adverts might actually be better as the hi-hat is too centred with Poundz’s multi-tracked and kind of hurts my ears actually. There are actually some cool lines here, and punchlines that make me understand the viral success, like when he kicks someone “out like Brexit”, the loveable way in how he says he’ll shoot you (“Man get hit with the ostrich bird”), how he makes people run away from him “like Scooby”, and a couple of other funny pop culture references about Tetris, Snapchat and... getting your enemy sprayed like Fireman Sam. Yeah, that line won me over, because the beat is just a menacing piano line with some skittering trap beat behind it and honestly nothing all too special. It isn’t that bad though, there is some talent here.

#35 – “Break Up (Bye Bye)” – Cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK

Produced by Leland and Frederick William Scott

Features uncredited vocals from Jade Thirlwall

...Huh? Okay, so I knew of the new British edition of RuPaul’s Drag Race (Graham Norton’s a legend) but I actually have no idea how the “drag race” works. I know what drag queens are and do (If “drag queens” is the right term), but I don’t know the format of the show at all – although I know the American edition has probably been around for decades at this point. The people on the American show do release promo singles but they don’t ever get close to charting anywhere so I usually don’t have to worry about any of this, but I am a complete outsider to whatever fanbase this has, and that seems to be a sizeable portion of people since this did chart. So, I did some vague research and found out that this was written by MNEK, who you should know from “Never Forget You” and several other hit singles, for the fifth episode of the show, and is credited under the name “Frock Destroyers”. Classy. Listen, this is the cast’s first UK Top 40 hit, and I do not understand the show, I’m just going to make this clear because I won’t understand the song either (In fact, there are two songs and they have the same name but one of them is by “Filth Harmony” so I’m even more confused). Anyway, about the song: the horns sound really cheap and gross, as do the hi-hats and the awfully-mixed instrumentation in general, so much so that I’m actually distracted by the very questionable lyrics, mostly because of the awful bass mastering that isn’t only clipping but it just doesn’t have any impact in the drop. It’s not like the chorus is anthemic as it’s supposed to be either, because it just feels so rushed and random. The female lead vocal is delivered by Jade Thirlwall of Little Mix so it’s not like it isn’t a good performance, but it is so inconsistently mixed in comparison to what I’m assuming are the drag contestants, who are so much louder than everything, especially the second verse. It’s pretty catchy, admittedly, but this really is a bit of a trainwreck production-wise. I guess I’ve officially been frock-destroyed. Whatever that means.

Edit: I listened to the other version and it might actually be worse lol

#31 – “Kiss and Tell” – AJ Tracey and Skepta

Produced by Skepta

More UK trap? Okay, well, it was actually a pretty big week for the genre as AJ Tracey and Skepta are also here with their eighth and 15th UK Top 40 hit respectively, “Kiss and Tell”. AJ Tracey had a song debut last week which was okay and I’m generally indifferent towards the guy although his debut album was pretty lacklustre, and I’ve always been a Skepta fan, so in a way I’m excited to hear but I am worried that it could be pretty dull as well, considering AJ Tracey’s got top billing... but it is Skepta-produced and I haven’t heard many bad beats from the man, and this one is definitely very cute, with the twinkling synth melody and otherwise typical trap beat and 808s, as well as a haunting vocal loop. Honestly, everyone kills it here. Sure, “kiss and tell” doesn’t rhyme with “Astroworld”, but AJ Tracey’s flow in the first verse is insane, with some really great lines, especially the hilarious closing line about... something falling off a chair, let’s just say that. Seriously, this is probably AJ Tracey’s best ever verse, it’s rapid and slick, and works especially with his voice. Skepta also delivers a slightly slower verse here, but his flow is janky at times, and takes awkward pauses despite moments where he really kills it – in fact this verse parallels most of his discography. Skepta can be awkward and inconsistent but when he really kills it, I’m amazed, and he does impress me with his flow here sometimes, but AJ really shines on this song. I didn’t have much to say about that one, but it’s actually pretty great. I hope this isn’t a fluke, because if this is how AJ is coming in on his second album, it could be one of my favourite hip-hop albums of next year. We’ll see, but for now this is great.

#30 – “Thumb” – M Huncho and Nafe Smallz

Produced by Quincy

While these names may seem alien to you, they’ve actually charted before. Nafe Smallz and M Huncho both appeared with Gunna on the Plug’s “Broken Homes”, a song I wish I enjoyed more than I did, and Nafe also appeared on a pretty awful Skepta single called “Greaze Mode” (Probably a candidate for, if not, his worst song), so this is their second and third UK Top 40 hit respectively. The BBC refused to give it any cover art on their page, so I guess that could mean anything... but it most likely means that this is garbage, because this really is some awful, unforgivable dreck. First of all, let’s talk about the lyrics and structure for a bit. There are two renditions of the chorus, they’re both exactly the same, over-long two-part hooks delivered by M Huncho. There is one verse in the middle and it is entirely a trade-off between the two rappers, with Nafe Smallz being considerably more sexist and disgusting in his verse where he delivers a frankly terrible Young Thug impression. I understand that rap music has a lot of misogyny and disrespect towards women, hell, I have to acknowledge that as someone who just praised a song called “Opp Thot”, but at least have some attempt in hiding your lack of respect or sympathy for women, or being somewhat respectful in how you say everything, or at least funny in how over-the-top you’re being, perhaps. What Nafe Smallz says about the “slut” and “thot” that he doesn’t actually make effort to have sex with and just watches whilst smoking is frankly really revolting and upsetting, especially because it got into the UK Top 40 which really should say something about us as a music-listening public, that we let this get so high. Nafe Smallz’s meek, high-pitched, nasal voice is aggravating, so much so that M Huncho’s unintelligible murmuring in the intro might actually sound better. The beat has some infuriating bass mastering as most cheap UK rap does, and overall it sounds pretty type beat. M Huncho doesn’t necessarily sound bad here, but his Auto-Tuned flow does very little to change and makes the three-minute runtime feel exhausting. Admittedly, some of Nafe Smallz’s inflections sound pretty, and M Huncho’s stammering is lazy, evening the awfulness out between the two rappers out pretty well. Also, was there really any need for the whole theme of the song being about putting thumbs in... female posteriors? The outro is literally just “put my thumb up in her butt” repeated on loop. Yeah, no, I don’t like this. Next.

#2 – “Don’t Start Now” – Dua Lipa

Produced by Ian Kirkpatrick – Peaked at #30 in the US

This is the massive debut this week from pop singer Dua Lipa, one of my favourites voices in pop music right now actually, and someone who has grown on me immensely in the past year, although some of the songwriting still isn’t as strong as it should be and she still has a tendency to slip into the background of her own production. I’m hoping for that to change with her sophomore album, and this is (Probably – “Swan Song” still exists) the lead single off of that record. The cover art is going for a vaguely late-90s early 2000s look, and I’ve heard this is a more straight-forward dance-pop tune, so I’m hyped to listen to this... and yeah, as I expected, this is pretty great. Initially, I wasn’t actually impressed with the flavourless piano intro, but as soon as it kicked into full gear I knew the hype around this was worth it, because that bassline is INCREDIBLE. As someone who has recently found a lot of love for house music, this bassline is one of the best I’ve heard from the genre, and this is very much house, almost like French house to some extent, but also very nu-disco, meaning the cover art is very fitting for the era that both it and the song are attempting to replicate. Dua Lipa sounds great as she always does, going into her higher register with rhythmic, multi-tracked, almost-rapping cadences in the verse, but taking a sudden shift to a sweet diva vocal in the pre-chorus, which is beautiful, as the pianos sound good on their own, but the squealing synth comes in at the perfect time along with the hi-hats, the song is just so intricately structured... then we get the drop, which is just great, as well go back to the minimalist house beat where Dua Lipa aggressively tells off this ex who has just started putting any effort into the relationship after it ended, with sassy inflections and... random sound effects, which I’m not complaining about. The slick, disco guitar and groove in the second verse accentuates Dua’s lyrics detailing how he tried to break up with her, almost implying a manipulative or toxic relationship. The second drop is somehow more impressive than the first, with a stuttering “Don’t” hinting at the drop prior and some sampled cheering that, much like the cowbell, is a random sound effect, but adds more punch to the chorus. Once the post-chorus hit, I had to take a break from writing and genuinely calm down, I was really overwhelmed with everything happening, yet it doesn’t feel cluttered because everything comes in at the right time, sometimes when you don’t even expect it to, and the mixing is great, far from over-produced even as while it’s pure pop with a lot of manufacturing, it feels a lot more organic especially with the post-chorus, which is just gorgeous. I don’t want to even spoil it for you or myself anymore, so I think I’ll actually leave it at that. My commentary will just cheapen how brilliant this song’s climax, is, really. This is an amazing record and one of, if not my favourite song from Dua Lipa. I hope this has as much success in the US because if this doesn’t get on one of my year-end best lists for 2019 or 2020, I will be severely disappointed.

Conclusion

Well, it should be obvious, right? The Best and Worst of the Week go out pretty easily, Dua Lipa getting the Best of the Week for “Don’t Start Now”, and M Huncho and Nafe Smallz getting Worst of the Week for “Thumb” which is just gross. Honourable Mention is obviously going to AJ Tracey and Skepta for “Kiss and Tell” although Dishonourable Mention is a bit harder. I think I can’t go with the Drag Race because that would be unfair – it’s a bad song, sure, but if I understood the show more, maybe I’d see the appeal. I don’t want to step on too many toes, either. “G Love” is unremarkable, as is “Opp Thot”, so I’ll probably go with “Tell Me” by Krept & Konan featuring D-Block Europe and Ling Hussle. I hope you enjoyed reading, I’m off to listen to Pinkerton again probably, and I’ll see you next week, hopefully it’s not as busy.

[topfygad]

Is Pakistan safe? All you need to know

Update 2019: As security in the country improves, tourism in Pakistan increases. For the first time since 9/11, Pakistan is really starting to be on the radar of the most adventurous travelers

Since I came back from my 2-month journey in Pakistan, I have been strongly promoting the country through tens of pictures, stories, and detailed traveling information.

To be honest, very few people are aware of the potential of this country, so everybody gets particularly surprised when they hear my tales of Pakistani hospitality or take a look at my photos:

Really? Is that Pakistan?

However, whenever I convince any of my friends and readers of the outstanding landscape and great people that comprise Pakistan, inevitably, they ask me:

But, is Pakistan safe?

That’s a very valid question but, unfortunately, there is no short answer to it. Pakistan is such a huge country, which comprises countless different regions, ethnicities, and sub-cultures, that it would be a big mistake to consider it as a whole.

For this reason, I decided to write an analysis which, from a traveling perspective, will show you what the situation is nowadays for travelers going to Pakistan, including which regions are safe and why they are, plus a couple of extra tips which, hopefully, will help you to stay safe during your visit in Pakistan. 

Please note that I am not a journalist but just a very curious, observant traveler who asks locals a lot of questions.

By the way, if you want to be up-to-date about all my trips, remember to follow @againstthecompass on Instagram. 

For practical information and tips, read 70 Things to know before traveling to Pakistan

    Here you will find:

Why do people think it’s not safe to travel to Pakistan? Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel? Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit? More information on how to travel safely in Pakistan

Hey, have you ever wondered how I make a full living from blogging? Learn here how I started monetizing my blog and get over 200,000 monthly page views in less than 3 years

Unlike many Westerners who have been to Pakistan, I will not come and tell you that Pakistan is one of the safest countries in the world.

Trust me, it’s not.

And if there is anyone who is telling you the contrary, perhaps, they should be more well-informed. Pakistan has some really dangerous places and, even in some touristic areas, the police may assign you an armed escort, for free.

They are not giving this service to a random foreigner just for fun but because, potentially, there might be a real threat. 

Nevertheless, controversially, some areas of Pakistan are safe for tourists and, if you travel with an extra, tiny bit of caution, you will, definitely, have one of your greatest experiences ever.

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? Why are we afraid?

Every time the Western media talks about Pakistan, it is not to show you how great its Himalayan mountains are. Instead, they only mention it when something really awful is going on and, by awful, I mean any negative event caused by Islamist terrorists.

From countless terrorist attacks to the place where, supposedly, Bin Laden was killed; and the birth-country of Malala, the Nobel prize girl who was shot by the Taliban when they took over her region in Pakistan; since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan hasn’t really got a good reputation in the Western world. Not really. 

However, while it’s true that many of these events happened, you should also know that Pakistan is a massive country,  with a population of 200 million, composed of several provinces with many political, cultural, and social differences. 

That’s what the media doesn’t tell us and what makes us question whether Pakistan is safe or not.

Let’s take a look at the safety situation by area in Pakistan.

Read: The ultimate travel itinerary to Pakistan

This is the image of Pakistan we have in the Western world – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel?

Balochistan

Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, the mainly deserted southwestern province of Pakistan is the most dangerous and unstable region in the country, the main reason being the fact that the border with Afghanistan is out of control, hence many Taliban cross it freely.

In Balochistan, there is a real kidnapping danger and the capital Quetta is continuously witnessing terrorist attacks.

This province should be avoided but, guess what: visiting Balochistan requires a special permit which is extremely complicated to obtain.

Your only chance to enter this region is if you plan to cross the Pakistan-Iran border, which is actually open but, even then, you will be escorted by armed police until you exit Balochistan. 

  Tribal Areas 

A province in northwestern Pakistan which borders Afghanistan and Balochistan.

The Tribal Areas is a semi-autonomous province which is mainly inhabited by Pashtuns, an ethnic group with very strong fundamentalist ideas about Islam.

This is the least developed province in Pakistan and a region where the Pakistani Government has very little control.

On top of this, due to the proximity with the Taliban-Afghanistan, the Tribal Areas is dangerous for even Pakistanis themselves.

However, like neighboring Balochistan, you need a special permit which is very hard to get. Good luck!

Is Pakistan safe for tourists?

  Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, a province also inhabited by Pashtuns, the most conservative people in Pakistan.

In Peshawar, terrorist attacks do happen but they are rare. In addition, there is a significant community of people from the Tribal Areas but you can easily avoid the areas where they live.

Here, it’s best to dress like a local, in a salwar kameez and, if possible, to hang out and walk around with local friends. I met people through Couchsurfing and everything went really well and smoothly.

A Pashtun in the bazaar of Peshawar

  Swat Valley

For a long time, the beautiful Swat Valley was in the eye of the Western media because, in 2007, the Taliban took control of the region, originating a bloody war and killing thousands of innocent people.

Today, the Swat Valley is a peaceful region but you should always keep your eyes open, as it is an extremely conservative place.

In Swat, you may be assigned an armed guard but it depends on the day and the mood of the police. Actually, I didn’t get one but I know other travelers who did.

Also, you should know that, occasionally, the area is restricted to tourism without previous notice, requiring a travel permit called NOC. My friend Ihsan from Swat Backpackers is a trekking guide who can arrange it for you. 

  Chitral and the Kalash Valleys

The Kalash Valleys are home to an ethnic community who don’t follow Islam but an ancient Pagan culture called Kalash.

Due to their proximity to the Taliban-controlled area of Nuristan, in Afghanistan, this small region has always been under Taliban threat.

In fact, in 2009, a group of insurgent Taliban managed to cross the border and killed tens of people.

Since then, security has highly improved and the Kalash Valleys have lived in peace. However, just try to be careful about where you go, especially if you are hiking near the border.

Most likely, at your arrival in Chitral, you will be assigned an armed guard.

If you want to know more about the area close to the border, read my story from the day I sneaked into an Afghan village.

Moreover, if you want to learn about the Kalash people read this post I wrote for The Broke Backpacker: Exploring the Kalash Valleys in Pakistan

Swat Valley – Is it safe to go to Pakistan?

  Karachi 

Despite being home to a large expat community, the largest city in Pakistan is a well-known place for its violent crime. In fact, Karachi has one of the highest crime rates in the whole of Asia. However, in the last couple of years, the situation has relatively improved but crime can still happen.

Don’t bring valuable belongings with you at night and, if you are alone, ask trust-worthy locals which areas should be avoided. 

  Kashmir

Very little is known about Pakistani Kashmir, as foreigners are not allowed to get in. Being a region which has been disputed between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, for decades, Kashmir has been a troubled place.

I don’t know about any foreigner who has been there but, according to local friends, it’s not a dangerous place anymore.

  Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit?

Islamabad

The relatively new capital of the country is, definitely, the safest city in Pakistan. With plenty of checkpoints everywhere, the Government has invested so many resources in security, as this is where the Pakistani elite lives, as well as plenty of foreigners.

  Lahore

You may have heard of some terrorist attacks happening in Lahore but, to be honest, there were only a few and they always targeted specific places and people.

In fact, these attacks were no worse than the ones which happened in European capitals, such as Paris or London. The likelihood of being affected by one of these incidents is extremely low.

Other than that, Lahore is a safe city filled with plenty of welcoming people and happiness.

Lahore mosque – Is Pakistan safe to visit

  Gilgit-Baltistan 

Fortunately, the most beautiful province in Pakistan is also the safest one. Home to the Karakoram Highway and some of the highest mountains on Earth, Gilgit-Baltistan is where you will spend most of your time.

Most of its inhabitants are Shia, a more liberal branch of Islam and, perhaps, one of the reasons why there are no Islamist radicals.

Nevertheless, Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed quite a critical incident back in 2013, when a group of radical Islamists opened fire and killed 10-20 tourist climbers in Nanga Parbat.

This was the first and last incident that ever happened in Gilgit-Baltistan and, to be honest, the authors were Pashtuns from KPK province, not Gilgit. P

lease keep in mind that this incident was an exception and, after that, security has drastically improved.

  The rest of Sindh and Punjab provinces

The two provinces where Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi belong to are the least visited safe areas in Pakistan. Here, almost no real incidents that could have affected foreigners have been reported and, actually, you can move around freely, without any restriction.

In this area, the train is the easiest and most comfortable way of transportation. I didn’t spend much time here but, regarding security, I didn’t find any major issues. I only found that, in many cities, most budget hotels are not allowed to host foreigners.

Remember to read my backpacking guide and travel itinerary to Pakistan to learn more about all these safe regions

Multan – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? More things you should know

Consider hiring a guide

If you are concerned about the potential dangers in Pakistan, perhaps you should consider hiring a guide, especially if you go trekking. 

Moreover, public transportation in Pakistan is not particularly safe (the accident rate is pretty high), so traveling with an experienced driver can be an edge. 

Now, there are many tour companies all around Pakistan but I recommend the guys from Find my Adventure, for the simple reason that they are very professional, have loads of years of experience and many positive reviews. 

They can arrange absolutely any tour/trekking for you and the good news is that the readers of this blog can get an exclusive 10% discount on any customized tour. 

Just email them through their contact page, mentioning my blog and the promo code ATC-PAK.

Choose the right travel insurance

Here’s the thing. 

Pakistan is, on the one hand, an adventurous, trekking destination and, on the other, a country which may present some potential dangers.

For the adventurous/trekking part, I strongly recommend you get World Nomads because:

The basic plan already covers trekking up to 6,000 meters (note that, in Gilgit-Baltistan, it is very easy to reach 4,000-meter base camps. 

They provide with unlimited medical expenses 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM WORLD NOMADS

However, you should know that regular travel insurance such as World Nomads doesn’t cover for any accident related to war, terrorism and stuff like that. 

I personally think that Pakistan is mostly safe but, if it makes you feel better, perhaps you should consider buying travel insurance for high-risk countries such as First Allied, an insurance specialized in dangerous destinations. With them, you will be fully covered.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM FIRST ALLIED

For more information about this topic, you should read my article: How to choose the right insurance for high-risk countries

Is Pakistan safe?

Checkpoints and Pakistani police

I’ve never been through so many police controls as in Pakistan. From Islamabad to Gilgit along the Karakoram Highway, I passed ten different checkpoints in one single day, and at each one I had to give a passport copy and register.

The police were continuously interrogating me: Why are you here? Where are you going? They are actually pretty cool and their only objective is to check for your personal security.

Personal armed guards

In some areas of Pakistan like Swat Valley, Kalash region and even for the Fairy Meadows trek, you get a personal armed guard, for free.

Don’t be afraid. In these areas, there has been some real trouble in the past, so they just don’t want to expose you to any kind of danger.

Pakistani intelligence

The Pakistani Intelligence is one of the best secret services in the world. No matter where you go, they will know who you are and where you are. One day, while trekking around the Astore Valley, one random local guy in salwar kameez approached me and said:

You are the Spanish, right? 

He was a member of the Pakistani Intelligence and, for three days, they had been following me and looking after my safety. Actually, the Pakistani Intelligence is one of the reasons why Pakistan has not become a failed state like Afghanistan.

Kidnappings

Except for the dangerous areas, I’ve never heard of any tourist kidnappings in Pakistan. However, just be careful when you travel in KPK province, including Peshawar and Swat Valley.

Dress like the locals and, depending on the place, don’t go out alone at night.

Terrorist attacks

In the safe areas, terrorist attacks are very rare and you are unlikely to be affected by one. Remember that terrorist attacks occur at one place at a very precise moment.

You are more likely to be run over a car in your home country than to be killed by a bomb in Pakistan.

Roads in Pakistan

For me, this is the only real danger. In Pakistan, people drive like crazy and accidents do happen frequently.

If you travel by cheap, public transportation, the risk is obviously higher. If you are worried about this, your best bet is to hire a private tour.

Dress like a local

Like I said on numerous occasions, it’s highly recommended to wear a salwar kameez, the typical Pakistani dress, especially in KPK province. This way, you won’t call much attention to yourself. 

Couchsurfing

In Pakistan, Couchsurfing is a big deal and a great way to meet trustworthy, hospitable locals who will try to help you immensely on your journey.

Women traveling in Pakistan

I am not an expert on this topic as I am a man who traveled there alone. However, my friend Alex has written a very comprehensive guide for women traveling in Pakistan: Is Pakistan safe for women?

  Conclusion

So, is it safe to travel to Pakistan? The shortest answer I could give you is that it really depends on where you go. Some areas of Pakistan are extremely dangerous whereas others are absolutely safe for tourists.

It’s important to do some proper research beforehand and, if you go to a sensitive area like Peshawar or the Swat Valley, just travel with caution. If you do, Pakistan will reward you with your best experience ever. 

Here you can read all my articles and guides to Pakistan

  from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2L06w7s via https://ift.tt/2NIqXKN

[robgrayofficial]

GOOOOD AFTERNOON PATRIOTS!I hope everyone is having a TREMENDOUS Thanksgiving weekend so far! This is u/Ivaginaryfriend here and speaking of Thanksgiving weekend, I'd like to remind everyone that today is Small Business Saturday! If you're planning on enjoying a day out on the town or doing a little Christmas shopping, remember to support your local small businesses!ALSO!: Don't forget President Trump is holding TWO MAGA rallies this Monday November 26th, both in Mississippi!! We will of course have MAGAthread's up for both rallies so don't miss out on all the HIGH ENERGY FUN!As always, if you happened to miss any past recaps you can check those out here!FINALLY, let's get this recap started!Sunday, November 18th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Delivers a Statement from Point Mugu Naval Air Station🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:So funny to see little Adam Schitt (D-CA) talking about the fact that Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker was not approved by the Senate, but not mentioning the fact that Bob Mueller (who is highly conflicted) was not approved by the Senate!The Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico, just stated that “the City is ill-prepared to handle this many migrants, the backlog could last 6 months.” Likewise, the U.S. is ill-prepared for this invasion, and will not stand for it. They are causing crime and big problems in Mexico. Go home!Catch and Release is an obsolete term. It is now Catch and Detain. Illegal Immigrants trying to come into the U.S.A., often proudly flying the flag of their nation as they ask for U.S. Asylum, will be detained or turned away. Dems must approve Border Security & Wall NOW!From day one Rick Scott never wavered. He was a great Governor and will be even a greater Senator in representing the People of Florida. Congratulations to Rick on having waged such a courageous and successful campaign!I will be interviewed by Chris Wallace on @FoxNews at 2:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. Enjoy!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:BREAKING-Brenda Snipes submits her resignation as Broward elections supervisorThis got my blood boilingWife: Why'd you buy another gun? Me: Some schmuck threatened me with a nuke.Mexican protestor today in Tijuana on the caravan: "Donald Trump was right, this is an invasion! What Donald Trump said was correct: this is an invasion!"🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Every President needs a petYep!AOC: Do as I say, not as I doKekCalifornia logicMonday, November 19th:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Surveys Damage from Wildfires in CaliforniaPresident Trump and the First Lady Participate in the White House Christmas Tree DeliveryVice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 1Vice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 2Vice President Pence Attends ASEAN 2018 in Singapore - Day 3Vice President Pence Attends APEC 2018 in Papua New GuineaPresident Donald J. Trump Presents the Medal of FreedomPresident Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump Visit the Marine Barracks🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:.@cindyhydesmith loves Mississippi and our Great U.S.A.Of course we should have captured Osama Bin Laden long before we did. I pointed him out in my book just BEFORE the attack on the World Trade Center. President Clinton famously missed his shot. We paid Pakistan Billions of Dollars & they never told us he was living there. Fools!.. ... ....We no longer pay Pakistan the $Billions because they would take our money and do nothing for us, Bin Laden being a prime example, Afghanistan being another. They were just one of many countries that take from the United States without giving anything in return. That’s ENDING!The Fake News is showing old footage of people climbing over our Ocean Area Fence. This is what it really looks like - no climbers anymore under our Administration!(Retweeting The White House) President Trump and the First Lady Participate in the White House Christmas Tree Delivery(Retweeting FLOTUS) The @WhiteHouse is getting ready for the Christmas season! Thank you to the Smith Family & the National Christmas Tree Association for providing this year's tree. And to our @NatlParkService for their hard work in trimming the tree for the Blue Room.I hope the discovery and eventual recovery of the Argentine submarine San Juan brings needed closure to the wonderful families of those brave missing sailors. I look forward to hearing more from my friend President @MauricioMacri in Argentina later this month.SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Sarah Sanders releases the new rules for White House reporters: "We have created these rules with a degree of regret … given the position taken by CNN, we now feel obligated to replace previously shared practices with explicit rules."Wow, it's almost like this isn't a race issue, or something.Psycho antifa trigglypuff gets instant karma at #HimToo rally. She gone!BREAKING: Theresa Shook, the founder of the Women’s March, has called on Linda Sarsour and Tamika Mallory to step down for allowing "anti-Semitism, anti-LBGTQIA sentiment and hateful, racist rhetoric to become a part of the platform"Trump to Chris Wallace: “ I ended aid to Pakistan because they hid Bin Laden and they don’t do a damn thing for US.” Boom. That’s how it’s done. 🇺🇸👍🏼🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Dear Men, Your Contributions Matter, Your Sacrifices Matter & Your Voice Matters. #InternationalMensDay #MensDay19Nov #IMD18CHECK YOUR MALE PRIVILEGE, MISTER!IN 20 YEARS WE WILL LOOK BACK ON THE RUSH TO CHANGE OUR CHILDREN'S SEX AS ONE OF THE DARKEST CHAPTERS IN MEDICINE... - BOB WITHERSThe entrance is over there ————> Bring identity!Tuesday, November 20th:TODAY'S ACTION:Presidential Proclamation on Thanksgiving Day, 2018President Trump and the First Lady Receive the 2018 White House Christmas TreePresident Trump & The First Lady Participate in the Presentation of the National Thanksgiving TurkeyPresident Trump Delivers a Statement Upon Departure🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:President @realDonaldTrump, joined by @FLOTUS, has officially pardoned this year's National Thanksgiving Turkey, Peas—and his alternate, Carrots!So-called comedian Michelle Wolf bombed so badly last year at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that this year, for the first time in decades, they will have an author instead of a comedian. Good first step in comeback of a dying evening and tradition! Maybe I will go?AMERICA FIRST!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Mexican Woman says that instead of invading another country illegally, migrants should stay and fight for change in their own country.The Left’s Accusation That The Right Is Fascist Is Simply Psychological ProjectionFLOTUS got GEOTUS’s back and she is looking at you Acosta!!Trump admin to designate Venezuela as state sponsor of terrorism: report🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:President Trump pardons Thanksgiving Turkeys... but he continues “ I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to enjoy those pardons, thanks to the 9th circuit.” 😆Honduras is complaining about the free food and shelter Tijuana is providing for them. Ungratefulness is so attractive from people with their hands out.Am I right or am I right?I was able to get a copy of the answers President Trump sent to Mueller.How Democrats honored Susan B. AnthonyWednesday, November 21st:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Oil prices getting lower. Great! Like a big Tax Cut for America and the World. Enjoy! $54, was just $82. Thank you to Saudi Arabia, but let’s go lower!MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!“‘Trump Imitation Syndrome’ is afflicting the president’s liberal enemies” Thank you @MGoodwin_NYPost!Great new book out, “Mad Politics: Keeping Your Sanity in a World Gone Crazy” by @RealDrGina Loudon. Go out and get your copy today — a great read!Sorry Chief Justice John Roberts, but you do indeed have “Obama judges,” and they have a much different point of view than the people who are charged with the safety of our country. It would be great if the 9th Circuit was indeed an “independent judiciary,” but if it is why...... ... .....are so many opposing view (on Border and Safety) cases filed there, and why are a vast number of those cases overturned. Please study the numbers, they are shocking. We need protection and security - these rulings are making our country unsafe! Very dangerous and unwise!“Thank you to President Trump on the Border. No American President has ever done this before.” Hector Garza, National Border Patrol CouncilThere are a lot of CRIMINALS in the Caravan. We will stop them. Catch and Detain! Judicial Activism, by people who know nothing about security and the safety of our citizens, is putting our country in great danger. Not good!“79% of these decisions have been overturned in the 9th Circuit.” @FoxNews A terrible, costly and dangerous disgrace. It has become a dumping ground for certain lawyers looking for easy wins and delays. Much talk over dividing up the 9th Circuit into 2 or 3 Circuits. Too big!Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?You just can’t win with the Fake News Media. A big story today is that because I have pushed so hard and gotten Gasoline Prices so low, more people are driving and I have caused traffic jams throughout our Great Nation. Sorry everyone!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:A solemn moment in history tonight Pede’s. Pay your last respects. Til’ ValhallaAvenatti's girlfriend should have waited 35 years to bring these accusations if she really wanted to be believable.Laura Loomer has been PERMANENTLY suspended for criticizing Sharia law.Smokin Hot. Gun Girl Kaitlin Bennett From Kent State Wins Round 1 In Lawsuit Against University. They tried to keep her from speaking by forcing her to pay for security because of threats from anti gun groupsCourt: NRA lawsuit against NY Gov Andrew Cuomo over "blacklist" can go forward - in short fuk Cuomo🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:The cycle of western civilizationTo those who will skip the turkey because you have to work (for crumbs?) Pepe salutes you..."Sir, I'm going to need you to step out of the car."For all the first responder Pepes that are missing Thanksgiving with their families. F.Thursday, November 22nd:TODAY'S ACTION:President Trump Participates in a Teleconference with Members of the Military🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:“It’s a mean & nasty world out there, the Middle East in particular. This is a long and historic commitment, & one that is absolutely vital to America’s national security.” @SecPompeo I agree 100%. In addition, many Billions of Dollars of purchases made in U.S., big Jobs & Oil!HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!Justice Roberts can say what he wants, but the 9th Circuit is a complete & total disaster. It is out of control, has a horrible reputation, is overturned more than any Circuit in the Country, 79%, & is used to get an almost guaranteed result. Judges must not Legislate Security... ... ....and Safety at the Border, or anywhere else. They know nothing about it and are making our Country unsafe. Our great Law Enforcement professionals MUST BE ALLOWED TO DO THEIR JOB! If not there will be only bedlam, chaos, injury and death. We want the Constitution as written!Will be speaking with our great military in different parts of the world, through teleconference, at 9:00 A.M. Eastern. Then it will be off to see our Coast Guard patriots & to thank them for the great job they have been doing, especially with the hurricanes. Happy Thanksgiving!(Video)This is the coldest weather in the history of the Thanksgiving Day Parade in NYC, and one of the coldest Thanksgivings on record!Our highly trained security professionals are not allowed to do their job on the Border because of the Judicial Activism and Interference by the 9th Circuit. Nevertheless, they are working hard to make America a safer place, though hard to do when anybody filing a lawsuit wins!SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Historic: at the DMZ South and North Korean soldiers shake handsChik-Fl-A reminds you to be thankful for FreedomTrump Thanksgiving dinnerIs this 2018?🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:I'm Thankful This Is Not The PresidentToday I am thankful for this man.55 years ago today, the Deep State assumed full control. FCuck/10. Libs can't handle politics.Holy shit. My mom came into my room to bring me a plate of mashed potatoesFriday, November 23rd:TODAY'S ACTION:President Donald J. Trump's 2018 Thanksgiving MessagePresentation of the 2018 National Thanksgiving Turkey🔥🔥TRUMP TWEETS🔥🔥:Republicans and Democrats MUST come together, finally, with a major Border Security package, which will include funding for the Wall. After 40 years of talk, it is finally time for action. Fix the Border, for once and for all, NOW!Really good Criminal Justice Reform has a true shot at major bipartisan support. @senatemajldr Mitch McConnell and @SenSchumer have a real chance to do something so badly needed in our country. Already passed, with big vote, in House. Would be a major victory for ALL!I am extremely happy and proud of the job being done by @USTreasury Secretary @StevenMnuchin1. The FAKE NEWS likes to write stories to the contrary, quoting phony sources or jealous people, but they aren’t true. They never like to ask me for a quote b/c it would kill their story.SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:Hopefully the apology was to herpes.The God-Emperor Marches OnWhen your child goes to Hollywood and all she wants to go see is her Presidents star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!! 👍🇺🇸👍Secretary Mattis paid a surprise visit to the 113th Aerospace Control Alert facility to thank the men and women who stand alert 24/7, 365 days a year.MUST WATCH: Dan Bongino lays out SpyGate🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:wall kicks won't workGuess Who's Back?What if Melania Trump met with Bob Mueller on a tarmac in Arizona, and then a few days later, Mueller cleared Trump?The "democracy" party.MFW I’m not even a Latino but I think refried beans and tortillas are deliciosoSaturday, November 24th:SIGNIFICANT TWEETS AND NEWS:If you are near Omaha on Tuesday, Nov. 27 @2pm, there is a funeral for a Vietnam War veteran with no known family at the National Cemetery. (x-post from r/Nebraska, r/Navy, r/Army, and r/military)Coach Mike Ditka suffers heart attack. A Trump supporter and coach back when the NFL was manly. Wishing him a speedy recovery.Tijuana Mayor REFUSES to Spend Tijuana Money on Migrants108 caravan migrants arrested for crimes in Tijuana, so far… They've only been in the city for a few days & already they are committing this many crimes? That's a lot of crime from so-called moms & kids fleeing "violence."Never Say No One Told You🐸 TOP SPICE OF THE DAY 🐸:Judicial Activism Is Illegal LegislationHow I Feel When I'm Making America Great AgainSuper Hero ParkingI'M SO THANKFUL FOR THIS DOMREDDIT AND ALL YOU GLORIOUS PATRIOTS!some tunes to help you go through all this WINNING:Hey JudeAmerican PieUsing YouBrooklyn BabyDon't Take The GirlSitting On The Dock Of The BayMAGA ON DEPLORABLES! #robgray

[trailcatjim-blog]

American Boarder Peak, Nooksack / North Cascades

September 1-3, 2012

American Boarder Peak (7994′)

Armed with a favorable Labor Day Weekend weather forecast, Fay and Eileen and I headed into the Nooksack Mountains to tackle American Border Peak.  This visually striking landmark of frightfully steep rock has had a grip on me for many years and on Eileen for the past several years.  Fay climbed it back in 2008 and enjoyed the trip enough to make a second ascent with us.  We were delighted to have her company—in no small part because the overall climb has a reputation for being long, complex, and fairly difficult.  In the end, I personally found American Border Peak to be very long, very complex, and quite challenging but not unreasonable, with lots of exposure and many interesting terrain features along the way (for example, not just ONE but TWO cannonholes on the standard Southeast Face route!).  The convoluted nature of the summit climb has a character more like Cascadian mountains that are much larger, such as Mt. Goode, Mt. Stuart, or Bonanza Peak, and the Great Chimney feels like something from the Canadian Rockies or Alps.  That's saying a lot for a sub-8000-foot mountain.

Day 1:  We drove to bustling Twin Lakes, arriving around noon, and tried to find a parking place—along with everyone else from the Bellingham area, it seemed.  The day was surprisingly cool compared to our recent summer weather.  We hiked between the beautiful blue lakes and onward to High Pass, then down to Gargett Mine for a brief historical sidetrip.  Beckey mentions that this mine makes a good base camp, but we saw room for only a few bivy sacks.  As such, we dropped several hundred feet below the mine to a pretty little green basin (2.3 hours from car) and carved out two tent sites in the gravel bars.  The evening was pleasantly mild and completely mosquito-free.

Day 2:  We awoke to clear skies overhead but boiling clouds behind Tomyhoi Peak to the west.  Fay mentioned hearing some weather chatter about a low-pressure zone forming to the northwest, so we hoped this didn’t become problematic later.  Leaving camp about 7:30am, we began what Beckey aptly calls a long “footsore” traverse across the western flank of Mt. Larrabee.  This traverse involves a full mile of sidehilling across steep slopes of talus, scree, heather, and herbaceous plants, crossing Larrabee’s timbered southwest rib in the first ¼ mile.  Our route gradually rose to a small scree chute ending at a 6200-foot  notch in Larrabee’s rocky northwest rib (1.5 hours from camp).  

On the other side of the notch, we descended a steep dirt chute between snow and rock, then contoured at 5800 feet above a small moraine bowl (Fay’s previous campsite for this climb).  Even after 3 hours of travel, our peak still looked far away at this point.  We angled northward from the bowl, going up and across a series of steep gullies and ribs.  Eventually, we reached a 6840-foot saddle (4.1 hours from camp) on the ridge crest directly south of American Border Peak.  At this “lower south saddle,” we got our first close-up view of American Border Peak, as well as our first view of the legendary Mt. Slesse across Silesia Creek Valley.  Neither mountain gave me a feeling of confidence and certainty, but I knew my chances were better with the former than with the latter.  

We headed up the ridge crest on a faint climber’s path for 200 yards or so and then started traversing rightward on slabby red ledges until close to a rock rib.  The angle steepened considerably here, but we were able to scramble up a small Class 3.5 rock cleft closely left of the rock rib.  More slabby ledges above ended in a flat step atop the rib, from where we traversed across a down-sloping bench to the mouth of a steep snow gully.  The snow had melted enough to leave a tall snow fin in the middle and a dirty moat on each side.  Fay chose to ascend the left-hand moat, whereas Eileen and I ascended the right-hand moat partway before climbing through an interesting cannonhole in the snow fin.  We all rejoined at a high southeast notch and cast eyes on the Great Chimney across an intervening chasm.  My neck hair bristled at the sight of this vertical slot cutting through the southeast face;  it was straight as an arrow for 150 feet, and it looked dark as a coffin inside.  We have to climb THAT?  I was waiting for Fay to casually announce that “oh, it lays back when you get closer,” but she never did.  

We roped up and crossed a narrow, undulating, highly exposed ledge ending at the base of the chimney.  Thankfully, it didn’t appear quite as intimidating from here;  in fact, it turned out to be the highlight of the entire trip.  Because we’d brought only two 25-meter ropes for the three of us, we had to climb the chimney in two short pitches with an intermediate belay at the midpoint.  The first pitch has some initial Class 5.3 moves to gain entry into the chimney bottom, followed by a series of easier chockstone steps.  The second pitch includes a smooth Class 5.4 face climb to surmount a large chockstone, and it ends at a ridiculously small cannonhole that requires you to push your pack up ahead while you execute a sequence of twisting and grunting maneuvers to squirm through (rated Class 5.monkey).  Even Fay, whose weight tops 100 pounds only after a big dinner, had some trouble here;  this cannonhole would be extremely difficult for a large climber!  

Just above the cannonhole, we went left around a corner and scrambled up a sketchy, dirty, slabby trough that ended at a sandy saddle high on the peak’s south ridge.  From this “upper south saddle,” we scrambled over and around a long row of horns and gaps.  The northernmost and highest horn is steep but fairly solid rock with a dramatically exposed step-across move in the middle.  We topped out at 4:15pm (8.4 hours from camp).  The summit register was a small booklet left by Fay during her 2008 climb.  There was a 2009 ascent, no ascents in 2010 or 2011, and then one ascent last month.  Due to the late hour and the arrival of dark clouds from the west, we limited our stay to 15 minutes, departing at 4:30pm.

We scrambled back to the upper south saddle and made one rappel down the slabby trough.  Our first 75-foot rappel down the Great Chimney involved squeezing back through the cannonhole—probably the craziest rappel I’ve ever done—and our second 75-foot rappel (from a mid-chimney chockstone) ended at the narrow ledge.  We carefully crossed back to the high southeast notch and made another rappel down the snow gully, going through the snow cannonhole halfway down (why stop at just ONE cannonhole rappel?).  More down-climbing led to the southeast rib, where we made one last rappel through the rock cleft.  Because darkness was now setting in, it was inevitable that our rope would get stuck as I was pulling it down.  Several fruitless attempts to retrieve it ended with a decision to untie the midpoint knot and sacrifice one rope to the mountain.

Using the last few minutes of dusk, we hurried down the remaining ledges and bootpath to reach the lower south saddle at 8:30pm (3.9 hours from summit).  We donned headlamps and prepared for the 1½-mile traverse back to camp.  Clearly, it was to be a long night, starting with a tricky descent of the steep gullies and ribs leading down to the moraine bowl.  After what seemed like an eternity of groping around on steep, confusing terrain, we crossed the bowl with great relief.  It didn’t take long to climb back up to the 6200-foot notch, arriving at 11:30pm (6.9 hours from summit).  

Our long sidehill return across Larrabee’s western flank was aided by a full moon rising above the ridge, but the nighttime dew made the herbaceous vegetation slippery and treacherous;  after numerous slips and falls, this turned into a  “footsore and hipsore” traverse.  Some confusion in the final timber rib cost us an extra 30 minutes, so it was 1:45am when we finally stumbled into camp (9.2 hours from summit) at the end of this wonderfully convoluted, crazy, and tiring18-hour day.  I vaguely recall dry clothes…dinner… hot drinks…lights out at 3:00am.  Ahhh!

Day 3:  We slept in until 9:00am and slowly worked through our morning routine.  It was 11:30 when we finally started heading back to the trailhead, passing many Labor Day hikers along the way.  One hiker/climber-looking fellow was particularly interested in what we’d been doing with ropes and helmets way back thataway.  “We climbed American Border Peak,” Eileen responded with great satisfaction.  He scrutinized the three of us for several moments and then concluded, “No, you’re joking, aren’t you?”  Oh well, I guess we just don’t look the part.

Approximate stats:  10 miles traveled;  6400 feet gained and lost.

Traversing to 6200 foot notch

American Border Peak in the morning sun

Winchester Mountain and Mount Shuksan above the striped hillslope

Climbing toward south saddle above Tomyhoi Lake

Fay and Eileen at south saddle with Mount Sleese in the background

Traversing bench toward snow gully

Eileen crawling through snow cannonhole

The great chimney from SE notch

Fay and Eileen belaying at SE notch

Eileen squirming through rock cannonhole

Fay and Eileen scrambling along summit ridge

Eileen and Fay on the summit of American Boarder

Eileen rappelling down the great chimney

Fay rappelling through the snow cannohole

Mount Sleese in the evening light

[janiklandre-blog]

Friday, March 3, 2017

10:25 a.m.  chilly morning  - in Washington it seems the cherry trees are about to bloom - a frost could destroy it all

Still also a comment to my thoughts about documentation yesterday - in the 1920's there was I believe a Norwegian and also polar explorer (google) Fridjof Nansen who created a "Nansen passport" - there wer countless white Russians who had fled Russia and also others displaced by all the turmoil after WW 1 who were stateless and needed some document and I believe the Nansen passport did gain some limited validity - certainly a most welcome document by to many undocumented. A g;obal passport for everyone, that is what we need - not I with my American passport in Europe that I only need to flash - to watch on a train to Switzerland people with darker skins profiled, their passports requested - studied at length and I having to watch to watch their anxiety - and now - more and more anxiety and fear. I they even have a passport - the Iraqui friend of my friend had to throw his overboard when the boat taking him to Greece was about to sink - how many must be passport less - who even knows what sort of representation Iraq has in Finland - and from what I hear the Iraqui government is very hostile to those who fled the country. How does such a person obtain a travel document?

And also back again to my disrupted life - C,B. who used to come quite regularly in the evenings - has bowed out. I had been realizing and resenting that I was Marianne from 7 to 0 in the evenings in her rather rigid scheme - never asked to join her during the day - only asked to come and eat her soup - and asking myself why I depended so much on these evening visits when I listened at length to details about her large family, the many Iraquis in her life - and like myself also she is a people collector and more and more people are cropping up in her life - while she had little interest in people in my life. Then she brought movies "to relax" - that is also what I do with my mother, she said - I watched them while they had little interest for me - altogether I tried to please her because my evenings are lonely. She never would commit - if I asked her at noon she always would say - I cannot say how my day will go - she would not call and if I tried her by 7:30 I would find out she had gone to Brooklyn where she has a long time friend - about whom I have written here. She is very invoilved with charismatic Catholicism - very alien to me - visits lots of people in hospitals - I try to stay away from hospitals as much as I can - and should I ever end up in a hospital - I would find out how much visits by strangers would mean to me. Obviously since I am very delinquent on visiting the sick - I may not get many visits.

My mother when I was growing up always said: the only person in the world you can trust is me - and have found out - other mothers do that too. Early I realized this would make for a very limited world. She spoke a lot about how after 1933 when persecution began people began to withdraw into their blood families and became unavailable to her - specially the friend for whom I was named - in whose apartment in Prague I later was with my mother - in the early 1940's, first on the day when her friend had paid the Germans a large sum of money to release her husband from Dachau - her friend had tickets for a boat leaving from Genua for South America for her husband, herself and Annette her only child who had been billed my sister - her husband Paul never came - only later his ashes - she refused to leave without him. Soon after that my mother and I went to her apartment when she had to report for what was called "the transport" - first to Theresienstadt and later to Auschwitz where she and the child perished. My mother had considered hiding the child - alas that was impossible. Some Catholic nuns did in their monastaries - but we did not know any.

My mother's mother who came from extreme poverty had decided to have only one child - this child was to become "somebody" - my mother got a Ph.D. at 23 - still I have doubts about my grandmother's decision - a couple of siblings might have done more for my mother than a Ph.D. My grandmother it seems had one half brother who became a Catholic priest (mentioned in my mother's memoirs. My grandfather, her husband, came from a large Jewish family - a couple of cousins left after 1945, two in America, one in Israel - she never had had much relationship to them. My mother was a socialist and they all detested socialists. My mother had planned on five children but after 1933 was forbidden to have children, so I remained an only child - luckily had two sons - but they live in Western Massachusetts and my divorce from their father - or rather his divorce from me, he flew off to Mexico, I saw nmo need for a divorce - in any event - he too is among a good number of people whom, after I came to America - I did not assess well.

All my very best friends are in Europe - I took great pains to stay in touch with them - in my experience in my early years I seem to hav e been naturally attracted to people more congenial then the people later in America. Of course, these friendships at a great distance never experienced the wear and tear of daily friendship.

But my mother also was not a good judge of people - I have misgivings about some friendships she formed while living in Germany - from 1946 util 1969 - then she moved back to Vienna where she had lived as a student and later as a teacher - from 1923 to 1931, interrupted by a year in Paris - from 1931 to 1937 she lived in Germany, from 1937 to 1946 in Prague, where I grew up. Whereever she was she did make friends - only chnildren have to. When she moved back to Vienna in 1969 to a lovely apartment in the center of town - her street, Prinz Eugenstrasse bordering on the Belvedaire - she came back to friends from the 1920's who were good friends - but they had stayed in Vienna - her two best friends were not Jewish, they had families in Vienna and my mother kept insisting I MUST move to Vienna and take care of her - heer suicide in 1982 was an act of revenge on me. Deeply disturbing not only my life but also the lives of my sons.

In any event - my choice of male partners in my life while not exactly disastrous - there were good times with all of them - still, none of them was protective of me and none truly committed - with the exception of my boyfriend whom I met at 15 and gave up at 21 when I met Robert G. whom my mother adored - and misjudged.

My close women friends over the years - as I see it - chose me as a friend, rather than I chosing them. Hannelore, long dead, Doris, Christine F. - and also C.B. They recognized my usefulness to them at the time they chose me - all except for Hannelore ten to 15 years younger than I. at the time when they picked me looking up to me, over the years becoming in many ways a lot more successful than I am - very attractrive to other people seeking their friendship - their need for me deminuishing - and leaving me lonely as I grow old anbd older. Not that easy to deal with.

But one thing I had still meant to write about - in the NYT I just read - on page C5 The Right Woman Can Start a Revolution - a play: Bull in a China Shop - a play inspired by Mary Woolley - president of Mount Holyoke College in the first third of the last centurey - the college I came to in 1951 - and certainly heard that name - but very little about her - and not about her woman partner Jeannette Marks - whose name came to my attention only a couple of hours ago.

I think I wrote yesterday, or the day before, how much better I think I would have done remaining in 1951 with my sweet boyfriend in New York, attending with him Brooklyn College that was free then and a lot more interesting in those years that Mount Holyoke - where the only thing celebrated was a big fat diamond engagement ring to an ivy league graduate - that ring was flashed about, no mention of the very few admitted to medical school, or law school - the trophy was a large June wedding after graduation, followed rapidly b y children - andI suspect a good number of my class mates became alcoholics - of course they disappeared from the picture - a large number of my 1953 fellow grads have died - but my class collected more money than any other class and somebody always threw in a cou[le of hundred dollars in my name to claim a 100 % participation

Robert never bestowed any jewelry on me - not that I ever had any interest and every last little bit of gold I owned fell victim to the breakins while living in tenements - stil - between 1956 until 1964 I was living the model life of a model Mount Holyoke grad - and only after Robert divorced me in 1967 fell totally out of the role and have been struggling ever since since - labelled a destructive loser by Robert and also by others, a great disappointment to my social climber mother - and today - I let you find labels for me.

Still before I end I do want to pay tribute to two wonderful German friends I made in America - both suffering from cystic kidneys, one died, the other is thankfully alive due to a transplant and I cannot thank her enough for her friendship and great generosity. My gereat regret - she moved away from New York and I only see her very sporadically when she invited me to her wonderful house. She does live with family and she is extremely busy.

It is close to 11 a.m. - in the next days I may not find so much time to write - well perhaps still on Saturday and Sunday - but Monday early a.m. I have to see the eye doctor who is to do my cataracts in my right eye on April 3rd - tedious preps - then on Tuesday early morning I hope to head for Amherst - take a 5:49 a.m. out of Grand Central. Metro North to New Haven where I hope to find a bus to Northampton - and not sure about my time up North - and then much ado with doctors - the physical therapy in a crowded ill smelling place - I do suspect my walking is the best therapy - I should also see a dermatologisdt, my long year doctor retired - then the dental problems are up in the air - at some point I will have to deal with dentures - for now with these thesethat keep falling out and the dsentist sauggested I try to glue them back in myself - then the gynecologist I saw earlier would like to see me again - in the last analysis many try to make a buck - it seems medicare does pay most or all for the physical theerapy that C.B. so highly recommeds - I'm afraid for the eyes there will be a lot of co-pay, there always was for the dermatologist, the gynecologist demanded to be paid in advasnce and at some point I may get what medicare pays - and then there is stil the podiatrist, who asks doer $20 each visit - it's a mess and all bargaining and the best doctors no longer take medicare and ask for a yarly payment of $30.000 or more - then you will have a boutique doctor who will have some time for you, will come to your house when necessary - and increasingly - the poor are turned away from hospitals - the ambulances told to go somewhere else and with some luck they die on the wayh. When they finally get to some hospital willing to look at them - after hours of wait - lying in corridors - later staying in corridors because there is no room for them - I still remember the humorous way in which my sweet friend Ken described it "here I was in this lovely corridors surrounded by languasges from around the world" - this reminds me of Victor Frankel whom Molly and I googled who descibed finding even brief moments of delight in Auschwitz. By preference I would like to find ways to end my life with dignity before lying for days in a corridor surrounded by languages from around the world - yet Ken, who clearly had had a death wish, then with the help of Margaret still clung for two years to a painful existence, came to the park almost hours before he died and still made big plans for the future. Life is - what life is. Marianne  And C.B. - having been hurt by you in those last several weeks - I do forgive you - and I'm glad you are convinced you are a saint.

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 22nd September 2019

Our episode of REVIEWING THE CHARTS today seems to be particularly focused on British hip hop as we have the fall-out from a busy week amongst five new arrivals, a good majority of them being from UK trap artists... as well as Ariana Grande, clearly my favourite grime MC. Without further ado, let’s review the charts.

Top 10

For a fourth week, “Take Me Back to London” by Ed Sheeran featuring Stormzy, and remixed by Sir Spyro, Jaykae and Aitch, has a stronghold on the charts and honestly I haven’t bothered to listen to the song or its remix since it debuted; if it weren’t for the team-up of Ed and Stormzy this would be pretty unremarkable.

At our runner-up spot is the massive collaborative single, “Don’t Call Me Angel”, from three of 2019’s most interesting pop girls, Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey (All of which have released albums of varying quality this past year), for the soundtrack of the blockbuster reboot for Charlie’s Angels, debuting at number-two, just shy of Sheeran. Bear with me as there are a lot of arbitrary figures here: This is Grande’s 23rd UK Top 40 hit and her 15th Top 10, Cyrus’ 17th UK Top 40 hit and her fifth Top 10 as well as Lana Del Rey’s tenth UK Top 40 hit and fourth UK Top 10 hit – in fact, it’s Lana’s highest-peaking song ever, and first song to hit the Top 10 here in the UK since the remix of “Summertime Sadness” peaked at number-four in 2013. The UK loves these three, it’s a movie soundtrack single with a video, I’m not surprised it’s reached these heights of success – I’m just shocked it couldn’t hit the top spot, if I’m honest.

Now we can run through the rest of the top 10 pretty quickly: First of all, we have three consecutive songs with identical falls on this week’s chart. Down one space to number-three is “Taste (Make it Shake)” by Aitch.

Also down a single position at number-four is “Higher Love” by Kygo and Whitney Houston.

At number-five, similarly down one spot this week, is “Ladbroke Grave” by AJ Tracey.

Standing still since last week is the non-mover of “Sorry” by Joel Corry, featuring uncredited vocals from Hayley May, which at this point has probably surpassed initial Love Island fame at number-six.

Also not moving this week is “3 Nights” by Dominic Fike at number-seven.

At number-eight, down three spots thanks to alleviating hype for the Hollywood’s Bleeding album with impacted last week, is “Circles” by Post Malone, although this definitely won’t be the last we see of him this week.

At number-nine, down a spot from last week yet not down soon enough, is “RAN$OM” by Lil Tecca.

Also down one position, finally, we round off the top 10 with “Strike a Pose” by Young T & Bugsey and Aitch.

Climbers

There is one notable climber this week, and that is “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I up five positions to #14, very quickly gaining from its debut three weeks ago. “Outnumbered” by Dermot Kennedy is only up three spaces so wouldn’t be all that notable if it weren’t Kennedy’s first ever entry into the Top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Otherwise, there’s nothing to speak of here.

Fallers

This category is a lot more plentiful. In reverse order of where they stand on the chart, we have “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus making its way out down six spots to #38, “Ritual” by Tiesto, Jonas Blue and Rita Ora perhaps prematurely making an exit down eight to #36, “Buss Down” by Aitch featuring ZieZie dropping down 14 spaces off of the debut to #35, “Sounds of the Skeng” by Stormzy also taking a hit immediately after debuting high up as it’s down 11 spots to #31, “Senorita” by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello slowly winding down five spots to #19, and finally, also down five spaces to #15, we have “Goodbyes” by Post Malone featuring Young Thug, taking less of a hit than I expected off of the album impact last week.

Dropouts & Returning Entries

First of all, we have quite a few drop-outs considering there are five new songs debuting, the highest being “Hollywood’s Bleeding” by Post Malone off of the debut at #11. This is due to an arbitrary UK chart rule that only allows three songs by one artist on the chart at one time, and these have to be the highest-performing singles, hence, since the title track got trumped by another single in terms of popularity, it’s gone and probably won’t ever for another week as the debut from Post this week is already showing more longevity. Our drop-outs here are actually mostly massive smash hits that have been losing steam for a while and have just now dropped out after weeks on weeks of high performance. The first anomaly to this rule is “Lover” by Taylor Swift, after only five weeks on the chart, dropping out from #31 but it’ll probably be back soon enough. Otherwise, we have “So High” by MIST and Fredo out from #35, “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift out from #36, “bad guy” by Billie Eilish out from #37 and “Hold Me While You Wait” by Lewis Capaldi out from #39... as well as “Slide Away” by Miley Cyrus off of the debut last week, not picking up any steam at all which has me worried.

Uncommon for the UK Top 40, we have two returning entries. The first is “Lalala” by Y2K and bbno$ as I predicted, back to #40 after a particularly busy week pushed it out off of the debut. The second is “Panini” by Lil Nas X, propelled by both a futuristic, wonderfully cheesy video set in space as well as a remix with a feature from DaBaby, which honestly adds so much to the song and with the benefit of hindsight, his verse should have been there from the beginning. There’s also an “Official��� music video for the remix featuring characters from Chowder which may or may not be legal but it’s hilarious.

Oh, and I feel I should add that Hypersonic Missiles by Sam Fender, the #1 album on the UK Albums Chart this week, has three songs outside of the Top 40 similarly to Lana’s last week, with “Will We Talk” up 15 spaces to #43, the title track re-entering the chart at #48, and a debut for “The Borders” at #59. Anyways, onwards with the show.

NEW ARRIVALS

#37 – “Wiley Flow” – Stormzy

Produced by EY, AdotSkitz and Illmind

Stormzy is releasing a fourth single from the still unnamed and unannounced album, the week after “Sounds of the Skeng”, with a second throwback-type single, which has me worried for the album in all honesty as it’s looking somewhat rushed so far and I loved Gang Signs & Prayer but it did suffer some filler, which “Wiley Flow” may just be an example of. Regardless, it’s his 18th UK Top 40 hit, and don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad at all, but it does feel like a re-tread of “Vossi Bop”. It starts with a menacing synth loop that may be a sample, but it has a pitch stretch at the end of the loop which seems like a cop-out as it does not add to the beat really, it doesn’t work as hypnotic as Stormzy’s stilted flow here isn’t exactly catchy, relaxed or even smooth, relying on more typical Western trap flows while the loop cuts out for more bass-rattling trap but... the ”hook” of sorts is boring and repetitive, doesn’t end properly but sounds really off rather than effective. The second verse is slightly better, I mean—

If you ain’t got more than five top tens, then I don’t want to hear no chat about charting

Uh... Well, then. I think I’ll skip this one, I mean, this isn’t a great song but Stormzy’s still pretty intimidating, I mean, damn, I better shut up. Please don’t kill me Stor—

We here at Sudnay Salad have received a statement from cactus’ estate announcing her untimely murder at age withheld. Rumours say she was the victim of a secret hitman order placed by famous British rapper Michael Owuo Jr., more well known as Stormzy.

#24 – “Professor X” – Dave

Produced by Dave

Now, there was an album bomb of sorts this week that wasn’t Sam Fender, yet neither Fender or this bomb had any impact on the Top 40. That album bomb was for the soundtrack to gritty street drama Top Boy, rebooted and continued by Netflix... and soundtracked by Drake leeching off of British hip hop as he’s been doing for the past few years, with his only contribution being a freestyle from 2018 on Link Up TV, with a tad more reverb. It’s a lazy compilation on Drake’s part, but he didn’t choose awful rappers at all, I mean, there are songs with Fredo and Little Simz, who had an amazing album you should check out that was released this year, GREY AREA, as well as AJ Tracey, Headie One, Nafe Smallz and two songs by Dave. The Drake freestyle, “Behind Barz”, debuted second-highest at #51, Fredo’s “Freddy” debuted at #53 and since technically this isn’t a singular artist’s album, it’s not affected by the chart rule restricting the songs debuting to the three biggest, meaning “Elastic” by AJ Tracey also debuted at #63. One of two singles by Dave from the soundtrack, the other being “God’s Eye”, landed at the Top 40 despite being the seventh song on the album and having no single push whatsoever. Anyway, it’s Dave’s 13th UK Top 40, and it sure is... okay? The strummed guitar is actually pretty intimidating but the lyrics aren’t at all so that doesn’t work. The trap percussion with the intense sub-bass kicking in during the first verse as well as the sweet vocal samples and strings makes for a pretty cool beat, actually, but Dave doesn’t say much of interest or include some cool wordplay... and all of this seems more like a demo for “Streatham” from Psychodrama – the flow is exactly the same for most of it, although this is the typical “Dave flow”... but then at the end of the first verse, he has the exact same flow switch that worked so well into the bass launching in the middle of the second verse on that song, but here it just leads to a half-chorus and a brief interlude from what I’m assuming is Top Boy. It kind of cheapens “Streatham”, which is still a fantastic song, although the second verse is better and I’m not going to lie and say the hook isn’t pretty catchy. Otherwise, this is one of the worst songs I’ve heard from Dave in a while, and is relatively uninteresting in all factors.

#22 – “Take What You Want” – Post Malone featuring Travis Scott and Ozzy Osbourne

Produced by watt and Louis Bell – Peaked at #6 in Hungary and #8 in the US

Yeah, I did a double-take the first time I saw that listed on Spotify too. Since “Hollywood’s Bleeding” debuted last week, it has faltered in popularity, meaning arbitrary UK chart rules let this song chart, and oh, my God, I wish it charted sooner because this is easily one of the best songs on that Hollywood’s Bleeding album, right next to “Sunflower”, my personal favourite “Goodbyes” and what I think is the best deep cut, “Allergic” (Although that seems to be one of the least popular efforts from Post here). I’m not even sure what to say about it, to be honest, everything just meshes perfectly into place. This is Post Malone’s 13th UK Top 40 hit and Travis Scott’s eighth, as well as being Ozzy Osbourne’s ninth (Not counting Black Sabbath), and first UK hit since “Changes” with his daughter Kelly Osbourne hit #1 in 2001, more than 18 years ago – although in the US, Ozzy had a 20+ year lack of charting singles until “Take What You Want”. I feel I’m going to ramble on about this song but, God, it is near-perfect. It starts with a slick, processed, slightly downtuned acoustic guitar amidst creepy harmonised ad-libs from Post and Ozzy, before the sub-bass kicks in and Ozzy Osbourne sounds fantastic over looming 808s with his ominous, trembling voice, which sounds quite delicate and melodic here, a sharp contrast from the early metal sound of Black Sabbath but not unfound territory for the singer. The poetic lyrics are brutal and are a knee-jerk reaction to a break-up, where Ozzy and Post feel lost and clueless, like they’ve been sucked dry, and Post comes in with a pretty subdued flow initially, but then starts belting against a peaking mix, distorted bass and some low electric guitar (That’ll come back again, much more forward in the mix however...). Post’s warbling in the chorus arguably sounds better than Ozzy, especially when that crash of the kick drum comes in and the intensity is amped up to 100%... only for it to collapse, to make space for Travis Scott. Now, remember when I said this song was near-perfect? Well, I initially really didn’t like Travis’ verse here but it has grown on me immensely. Even if his content is nonexistent, Travis’ sour bitterness is lethal, talking about using the power given to him by his ex’s insults to make chains as well as almost threatening her at the end of the verse, saying that no matter where he goes, he’ll never be alone, but this woman is just completely isolated without him. It’s almost like he lives in some sort of primitive patriarchal society within his mind, and that’s completely fair, as not only would someone suffering from a brutal break-up be this self-indulgent but also he sounds fantastic saying it, with the distorted Auto-Tune drenched in reverb hitting in a similar way to Kanye on 808s & Heartbreak. The pre-chorus, also delivered by Travis, is just a bunch of manic thoughts vaguely resembling “rapper activities” collected into somewhat of a rhythmic pattern, and that’s how Travis feels - he is a bunch of words compiled with no rhyme or reason as he’s left fragmented and sour about the relationship. The final chorus is an awesome harmony from Ozzy and Post – they sound surprisingly great together, but slowly and slowly you hear those guitar riffs in the midst of trap percussion... which cuts out for an excellent guitar solo, with surprisingly technical skill and it works astonishingly well on the trap beat, especially when it elevates with repetitive ad-libs from both singers amplifying the chaos, just to slow down and end abruptly... much like the relationship. Funny how that works out. This is a fantastic song, everyone kills it from Post to Ozzy to Travis to uncredited producer-guitar man (that’s Andrew Watt, by the way), and that’s all I can say really.

#16 – “Nookie” – D-Block Europe featuring Lil Baby

Produced by Nathaniel London

So, funny story, I saw this song blow up in real time because for some reason “#LilBaby” was trending on Twitter in the UK and I was so confused because Lil Baby isn’t that big here. Turns out he had a feature on a D-Block Europe song... but so did Offset, and that track completely flopped so I didn’t expect this to go anywhere. Now I see the chart and it’s D-Block Europe’s fourth UK Top 40 hit and their third Top 20 hit, tied for their highest peaking song ever with “Kitchen Kings” from a couple months ago and Lil Baby’s highest-peaking song and first ever Top 20 here in the UK (“Drip Too Hard” with Gunna did chart at like #26 last year, however). I guess that’s just how awful I am at speculating. Most of the Tweets I saw with that hashtag were about how Lil Baby bodied the song and outshone Young Adz, the breakout star of the group, who ends up sharing a verse with the other member, Dirtbike LB. Dirtbike doesn’t handle the chorus or even most of his verse, so essentially this is a song by Young Adz and Lil Baby from the upcoming D-Block album PTSD and... it’s not as bad as it usually is from these guys, but that’s mostly because Lil Baby kills it here. I never liked the guy and I still don’t think I’ll like him in the future, but I have seen improvements. He tried to hold his own on “Baby” with DaBaby, had a pretty good verse on Young Thug’s “Bad Bad Bad” from So Much Fun and his verse here is not the first set of bars that I’ve heard from him I’d consider actually pretty good, although I’ll always personally prefer Gunna. Does he have interesting content in all his gunplay and shallow flexing? Not exactly, but he has some relatively funny punchlines here and there, referencing Lil Keed and mostly sticking out for how odd they are, we’ll get to funny lyrics in a second (We always do with these dudes). His flow is outstanding, especially for Lil Baby standards and picks up the pace and momentum of the song immensely, which had only been a Young Adz hook at this point, to the point where when he’s not on the song, it’s a pretty empty song, because it’s just a vaguely rural flute and guitar-lead trap beat with some ugly snares, 808s and farting synths behind a cheap trap skitter, as well as the awful Auto-Tune added to Young Adz that sounds awful as always, but Lil Baby actually has some energy for once, and the cheap, ear-ringing hi-hats being so monotonous when they rapidly skitter during his verse is pretty clever, and his climax of the verse as he slowly gets angrier would work if this was a competent beat. As for lyrics, well, sorry for expanding this song review for more it’s worth, but as with all D-Block Europe songs... we have a showcase for you.

Treat the p***y right, that’s good nookie (That’s good nookie) / Keep killers ‘round me, that’s how it should be (That’s how it should be, yea)

I think I’ve said this before but Young Adz is not very convincing when he’s talking about sex and violence because his delivery is so naive and childish... and sometimes his lyrics are too.

Should-a, would-a, could-a, [gnarly dude] just could be (Just could be)

Or they’re complete word salad. It’s always one of the two.

Yeah, you know the vibe

Not at all.

Yeah, just spoke to my Imam and he said I can get five wives

Okay, if you don’t know, an Imam is basically fulfilling the job of a Christian reverend in a mosque, and apparently the Quran accepts monogamy and polygamy. The more you know, but 1.) that could be wildly disrespectful, I wouldn’t know how to feel as a Muslim in response to that for obvious reasons and 2.) this is also wildly irrelevant.

Onto Lil Baby’s verse and honestly, his punchlines are a lot better because he just has a bunch of non-sequiturs and they seem intentionally funny rather than just missing the mark, like these lines:

Rolls Royce truck come through, that’s anus / Audemars Piguet, Rolex, both stainless

It’s almost like a comedy skit as he says something random or nonsensical then just completely switches topic to something more straightforward and this happens bar after bar.

Steering ‘round the way, I forgot that I’m famous

How? There’s one line here that is actually really clever, where he interpolates “No Guidance” by Chris Brown as if he’s going to start serenading or flowing more melodically, but then cancels himself out completely, interrupting himself so it almost sounds off-beat even, and it was pretty funny on first listen thanks to his delivery.

You got it, girl—I ain’t givin’ her my last name

Lamborghini truck, it got me speeding ‘round the fast lane / Thinking ‘bout the time I hid my bottle in the trash can

...I can’t find a single explanation for what that second line means and I love that.

I’m from South London... Hit a [gnarly dude] up, night-night, now it’s Church somethin’

You’re praying for him after you kill him, right? So you can just have a harsh rhyme with “now I’m prayin’ for him” instead of “Church somethin’”... but surely, Young Adz cares dearly about how his rhymes connect, I mean, he has an internal rhyme in the chorus rhyming “blending” with “blender”.

I’ll eat that p***y in Mayfair

To be fair, saying you’ll desecrate the most expensive property square on London Monopoly is a pretty big flex. Sigh, after re-listening to pick up these lines, the beat is just really incompetent and everything sounds so disjointed. Even Lil Baby’s verse, which I quite liked, suffers from the same issues and Lord forbid these guys have chemistry. Good Lil Baby verse, but this really isn’t worth yourtime.

#2 – “Don’t Call Me Angel” – Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey

Produced by Max Martin and Ilya – Peaked at #1 in Greece, Hungary and Scotland, and #13 in the US

Now the song that probably deserves more of my attention, the new blockbuster soundtrack single, blah-blah-blah. We went through this already in the Top 10/pre-amble, so there are no reasons to cobble on here as well, let’s get to the song and yeah, put everything else about it aside, this is a pretty decent song. The tribal yet almost melody-box sing-songy melody not having a build-up at all and instead just dropping immediately into the hard bass-heavy trap beat is a pretty good idea and I enjoy the concept of having Ariana, Miley and Lana, three powerful women in the music industry, rejecting purity and asking for men not to call them “angels”, as these are Charlie’s angels, violent, athletic spies in pretty casual clothing, baring weapons at all times; it’s actually pretty impressive how all three singers here emulate the characters from the soundtrack as you’d figure with enough starpower this would be pretty disconnected from the film. All three stick in their little niche realms as well, with Ariana cooing on the chorus with some background belting and pretty Heavenly backing (Pun very intended), as well as subdued Auto-Tuned ad-libs during her verse. You’ve got Miley rapping in a country twang and I’m not going to lie, her verse is really disjointed and could have just not been there, but I do appreciate what it adds to the aggressiveness to the song. The way the beat just drops out entirely and switches to a more atmospheric synth soundscape with a ticking EQ’d out of existence drum beat for Lana Del Rey’s passive-aggressive bridge is great, although I’d like Lana to be a bit more involved, although her sole verse and involvement is probably for the best as her lines are the most powerful and striking here, with the line “I fell from Heaven, now I’m living like a devil” particularly standing out. In conclusion, this is a pretty genuinely great collaboration from the three girls, although Miley’s contributions I’m still unsure on and I feel there’s some empty space in the verses overall, but that chorus is killer, so it’s a pretty cool song and I’m not complaining it’s this high (Even though it’s probably not for long).

Conclusion

The Best of the Week is easily going to Post Malone, Travis Scott, Ozzy Osbourne and watt for “Take What You Want” and it’s not even close, but I’ll give Honourable Mention to Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey’s “Don’t Call Me Angel”. There’s nothing that is exactly all that bad here other than the trainwreck that is D-Block Europe and Lil Baby’s “Nookie”, which makes them the recipients of Worst of the Week. I regret saying this because I do like Dave but he’s getting the Dishonourable Mention for “Professor X” and that’s all for now. Follow me on Twitter @cactusinthebank for more musical ramblings and I’ll see you next week!

[topfygad]

Is Pakistan safe? All you need to know

Update 2019: As security in the country improves, tourism in Pakistan increases. For the first time since 9/11, Pakistan is really starting to be on the radar of the most adventurous travelers

Since I came back from my 2-month journey in Pakistan, I have been strongly promoting the country through tens of pictures, stories, and detailed traveling information.

To be honest, very few people are aware of the potential of this country, so everybody gets particularly surprised when they hear my tales of Pakistani hospitality or take a look at my photos:

Really? Is that Pakistan?

However, whenever I convince any of my friends and readers of the outstanding landscape and great people that comprise Pakistan, inevitably, they ask me:

But, is Pakistan safe?

That’s a very valid question but, unfortunately, there is no short answer to it. Pakistan is such a huge country, which comprises countless different regions, ethnicities, and sub-cultures, that it would be a big mistake to consider it as a whole.

For this reason, I decided to write an analysis which, from a traveling perspective, will show you what the situation is nowadays for travelers going to Pakistan, including which regions are safe and why they are, plus a couple of extra tips which, hopefully, will help you to stay safe during your visit in Pakistan. 

Please note that I am not a journalist but just a very curious, observant traveler who asks locals a lot of questions.

By the way, if you want to be up-to-date about all my trips, remember to follow @againstthecompass on Instagram. 

For practical information and tips, read 70 Things to know before traveling to Pakistan

    Here you will find:

Why do people think it’s not safe to travel to Pakistan? Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel? Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit? More information on how to travel safely in Pakistan

Hey, have you ever wondered how I make a full living from blogging? Learn here how I started monetizing my blog and get over 200,000 monthly page views in less than 3 years

Unlike many Westerners who have been to Pakistan, I will not come and tell you that Pakistan is one of the safest countries in the world.

Trust me, it’s not.

And if there is anyone who is telling you the contrary, perhaps, they should be more well-informed. Pakistan has some really dangerous places and, even in some touristic areas, the police may assign you an armed escort, for free.

They are not giving this service to a random foreigner just for fun but because, potentially, there might be a real threat. 

Nevertheless, controversially, some areas of Pakistan are safe for tourists and, if you travel with an extra, tiny bit of caution, you will, definitely, have one of your greatest experiences ever.

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? Why are we afraid?

Every time the Western media talks about Pakistan, it is not to show you how great its Himalayan mountains are. Instead, they only mention it when something really awful is going on and, by awful, I mean any negative event caused by Islamist terrorists.

From countless terrorist attacks to the place where, supposedly, Bin Laden was killed; and the birth-country of Malala, the Nobel prize girl who was shot by the Taliban when they took over her region in Pakistan; since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan hasn’t really got a good reputation in the Western world. Not really. 

However, while it’s true that many of these events happened, you should also know that Pakistan is a massive country,  with a population of 200 million, composed of several provinces with many political, cultural, and social differences. 

That’s what the media doesn’t tell us and what makes us question whether Pakistan is safe or not.

Let’s take a look at the safety situation by area in Pakistan.

Read: The ultimate travel itinerary to Pakistan

This is the image of Pakistan we have in the Western world – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel?

Balochistan

Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, the mainly deserted southwestern province of Pakistan is the most dangerous and unstable region in the country, the main reason being the fact that the border with Afghanistan is out of control, hence many Taliban cross it freely.

In Balochistan, there is a real kidnapping danger and the capital Quetta is continuously witnessing terrorist attacks.

This province should be avoided but, guess what: visiting Balochistan requires a special permit which is extremely complicated to obtain.

Your only chance to enter this region is if you plan to cross the Pakistan-Iran border, which is actually open but, even then, you will be escorted by armed police until you exit Balochistan. 

  Tribal Areas 

A province in northwestern Pakistan which borders Afghanistan and Balochistan.

The Tribal Areas is a semi-autonomous province which is mainly inhabited by Pashtuns, an ethnic group with very strong fundamentalist ideas about Islam.

This is the least developed province in Pakistan and a region where the Pakistani Government has very little control.

On top of this, due to the proximity with the Taliban-Afghanistan, the Tribal Areas is dangerous for even Pakistanis themselves.

However, like neighboring Balochistan, you need a special permit which is very hard to get. Good luck!

Is Pakistan safe for tourists?

  Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, a province also inhabited by Pashtuns, the most conservative people in Pakistan.

In Peshawar, terrorist attacks do happen but they are rare. In addition, there is a significant community of people from the Tribal Areas but you can easily avoid the areas where they live.

Here, it’s best to dress like a local, in a salwar kameez and, if possible, to hang out and walk around with local friends. I met people through Couchsurfing and everything went really well and smoothly.

A Pashtun in the bazaar of Peshawar

  Swat Valley

For a long time, the beautiful Swat Valley was in the eye of the Western media because, in 2007, the Taliban took control of the region, originating a bloody war and killing thousands of innocent people.

Today, the Swat Valley is a peaceful region but you should always keep your eyes open, as it is an extremely conservative place.

In Swat, you may be assigned an armed guard but it depends on the day and the mood of the police. Actually, I didn’t get one but I know other travelers who did.

Also, you should know that, occasionally, the area is restricted to tourism without previous notice, requiring a travel permit called NOC. My friend Ihsan from Swat Backpackers is a trekking guide who can arrange it for you. 

  Chitral and the Kalash Valleys

The Kalash Valleys are home to an ethnic community who don’t follow Islam but an ancient Pagan culture called Kalash.

Due to their proximity to the Taliban-controlled area of Nuristan, in Afghanistan, this small region has always been under Taliban threat.

In fact, in 2009, a group of insurgent Taliban managed to cross the border and killed tens of people.

Since then, security has highly improved and the Kalash Valleys have lived in peace. However, just try to be careful about where you go, especially if you are hiking near the border.

Most likely, at your arrival in Chitral, you will be assigned an armed guard.

If you want to know more about the area close to the border, read my story from the day I sneaked into an Afghan village.

Moreover, if you want to learn about the Kalash people read this post I wrote for The Broke Backpacker: Exploring the Kalash Valleys in Pakistan

Swat Valley – Is it safe to go to Pakistan?

  Karachi 

Despite being home to a large expat community, the largest city in Pakistan is a well-known place for its violent crime. In fact, Karachi has one of the highest crime rates in the whole of Asia. However, in the last couple of years, the situation has relatively improved but crime can still happen.

Don’t bring valuable belongings with you at night and, if you are alone, ask trust-worthy locals which areas should be avoided. 

  Kashmir

Very little is known about Pakistani Kashmir, as foreigners are not allowed to get in. Being a region which has been disputed between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, for decades, Kashmir has been a troubled place.

I don’t know about any foreigner who has been there but, according to local friends, it’s not a dangerous place anymore.

  Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit?

Islamabad

The relatively new capital of the country is, definitely, the safest city in Pakistan. With plenty of checkpoints everywhere, the Government has invested so many resources in security, as this is where the Pakistani elite lives, as well as plenty of foreigners.

  Lahore

You may have heard of some terrorist attacks happening in Lahore but, to be honest, there were only a few and they always targeted specific places and people.

In fact, these attacks were no worse than the ones which happened in European capitals, such as Paris or London. The likelihood of being affected by one of these incidents is extremely low.

Other than that, Lahore is a safe city filled with plenty of welcoming people and happiness.

Lahore mosque – Is Pakistan safe to visit

  Gilgit-Baltistan 

Fortunately, the most beautiful province in Pakistan is also the safest one. Home to the Karakoram Highway and some of the highest mountains on Earth, Gilgit-Baltistan is where you will spend most of your time.

Most of its inhabitants are Shia, a more liberal branch of Islam and, perhaps, one of the reasons why there are no Islamist radicals.

Nevertheless, Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed quite a critical incident back in 2013, when a group of radical Islamists opened fire and killed 10-20 tourist climbers in Nanga Parbat.

This was the first and last incident that ever happened in Gilgit-Baltistan and, to be honest, the authors were Pashtuns from KPK province, not Gilgit. P

lease keep in mind that this incident was an exception and, after that, security has drastically improved.

  The rest of Sindh and Punjab provinces

The two provinces where Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi belong to are the least visited safe areas in Pakistan. Here, almost no real incidents that could have affected foreigners have been reported and, actually, you can move around freely, without any restriction.

In this area, the train is the easiest and most comfortable way of transportation. I didn’t spend much time here but, regarding security, I didn’t find any major issues. I only found that, in many cities, most budget hotels are not allowed to host foreigners.

Remember to read my backpacking guide and travel itinerary to Pakistan to learn more about all these safe regions

Multan – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? More things you should know

Consider hiring a guide

If you are concerned about the potential dangers in Pakistan, perhaps you should consider hiring a guide, especially if you go trekking. 

Moreover, public transportation in Pakistan is not particularly safe (the accident rate is pretty high), so traveling with an experienced driver can be an edge. 

Now, there are many tour companies all around Pakistan but I recommend the guys from Find my Adventure, for the simple reason that they are very professional, have loads of years of experience and many positive reviews. 

They can arrange absolutely any tour/trekking for you and the good news is that the readers of this blog can get an exclusive 10% discount on any customized tour. 

Just email them through their contact page, mentioning my blog and the promo code ATC-PAK.

Choose the right travel insurance

Here’s the thing. 

Pakistan is, on the one hand, an adventurous, trekking destination and, on the other, a country which may present some potential dangers.

For the adventurous/trekking part, I strongly recommend you get World Nomads because:

The basic plan already covers trekking up to 6,000 meters (note that, in Gilgit-Baltistan, it is very easy to reach 4,000-meter base camps. 

They provide with unlimited medical expenses 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM WORLD NOMADS

However, you should know that regular travel insurance such as World Nomads doesn’t cover for any accident related to war, terrorism and stuff like that. 

I personally think that Pakistan is mostly safe but, if it makes you feel better, perhaps you should consider buying travel insurance for high-risk countries such as First Allied, an insurance specialized in dangerous destinations. With them, you will be fully covered.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM FIRST ALLIED

For more information about this topic, you should read my article: How to choose the right insurance for high-risk countries

Is Pakistan safe?

Checkpoints and Pakistani police

I’ve never been through so many police controls as in Pakistan. From Islamabad to Gilgit along the Karakoram Highway, I passed ten different checkpoints in one single day, and at each one I had to give a passport copy and register.

The police were continuously interrogating me: Why are you here? Where are you going? They are actually pretty cool and their only objective is to check for your personal security.

Personal armed guards

In some areas of Pakistan like Swat Valley, Kalash region and even for the Fairy Meadows trek, you get a personal armed guard, for free.

Don’t be afraid. In these areas, there has been some real trouble in the past, so they just don’t want to expose you to any kind of danger.

Pakistani intelligence

The Pakistani Intelligence is one of the best secret services in the world. No matter where you go, they will know who you are and where you are. One day, while trekking around the Astore Valley, one random local guy in salwar kameez approached me and said:

You are the Spanish, right? 

He was a member of the Pakistani Intelligence and, for three days, they had been following me and looking after my safety. Actually, the Pakistani Intelligence is one of the reasons why Pakistan has not become a failed state like Afghanistan.

Kidnappings

Except for the dangerous areas, I’ve never heard of any tourist kidnappings in Pakistan. However, just be careful when you travel in KPK province, including Peshawar and Swat Valley.

Dress like the locals and, depending on the place, don’t go out alone at night.

Terrorist attacks

In the safe areas, terrorist attacks are very rare and you are unlikely to be affected by one. Remember that terrorist attacks occur at one place at a very precise moment.

You are more likely to be run over a car in your home country than to be killed by a bomb in Pakistan.

Roads in Pakistan

For me, this is the only real danger. In Pakistan, people drive like crazy and accidents do happen frequently.

If you travel by cheap, public transportation, the risk is obviously higher. If you are worried about this, your best bet is to hire a private tour.

Dress like a local

Like I said on numerous occasions, it’s highly recommended to wear a salwar kameez, the typical Pakistani dress, especially in KPK province. This way, you won’t call much attention to yourself. 

Couchsurfing

In Pakistan, Couchsurfing is a big deal and a great way to meet trustworthy, hospitable locals who will try to help you immensely on your journey.

Women traveling in Pakistan

I am not an expert on this topic as I am a man who traveled there alone. However, my friend Alex has written a very comprehensive guide for women traveling in Pakistan: Is Pakistan safe for women?

  Conclusion

So, is it safe to travel to Pakistan? The shortest answer I could give you is that it really depends on where you go. Some areas of Pakistan are extremely dangerous whereas others are absolutely safe for tourists.

It’s important to do some proper research beforehand and, if you go to a sensitive area like Peshawar or the Swat Valley, just travel with caution. If you do, Pakistan will reward you with your best experience ever. 

Here you can read all my articles and guides to Pakistan

  from Cheapr Travels https://ift.tt/2L06w7s via IFTTT

[topfygad]

Is Pakistan safe? All you need to know

Update 2019: As security in the country improves, tourism in Pakistan increases. For the first time since 9/11, Pakistan is really starting to be on the radar of the most adventurous travelers

Since I came back from my 2-month journey in Pakistan, I have been strongly promoting the country through tens of pictures, stories, and detailed traveling information.

To be honest, very few people are aware of the potential of this country, so everybody gets particularly surprised when they hear my tales of Pakistani hospitality or take a look at my photos:

Really? Is that Pakistan?

However, whenever I convince any of my friends and readers of the outstanding landscape and great people that comprise Pakistan, inevitably, they ask me:

But, is Pakistan safe?

That’s a very valid question but, unfortunately, there is no short answer to it. Pakistan is such a huge country, which comprises countless different regions, ethnicities, and sub-cultures, that it would be a big mistake to consider it as a whole.

For this reason, I decided to write an analysis which, from a traveling perspective, will show you what the situation is nowadays for travelers going to Pakistan, including which regions are safe and why they are, plus a couple of extra tips which, hopefully, will help you to stay safe during your visit in Pakistan. 

Please note that I am not a journalist but just a very curious, observant traveler who asks locals a lot of questions.

By the way, if you want to be up-to-date about all my trips, remember to follow @againstthecompass on Instagram. 

For practical information and tips, read 70 Things to know before traveling to Pakistan

    Here you will find:

Why do people think it’s not safe to travel to Pakistan? Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel? Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit? More information on how to travel safely in Pakistan

Hey, have you ever wondered how I make a full living from blogging? Learn here how I started monetizing my blog and get over 200,000 monthly page views in less than 3 years

Unlike many Westerners who have been to Pakistan, I will not come and tell you that Pakistan is one of the safest countries in the world.

Trust me, it’s not.

And if there is anyone who is telling you the contrary, perhaps, they should be more well-informed. Pakistan has some really dangerous places and, even in some touristic areas, the police may assign you an armed escort, for free.

They are not giving this service to a random foreigner just for fun but because, potentially, there might be a real threat. 

Nevertheless, controversially, some areas of Pakistan are safe for tourists and, if you travel with an extra, tiny bit of caution, you will, definitely, have one of your greatest experiences ever.

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? Why are we afraid?

Every time the Western media talks about Pakistan, it is not to show you how great its Himalayan mountains are. Instead, they only mention it when something really awful is going on and, by awful, I mean any negative event caused by Islamist terrorists.

From countless terrorist attacks to the place where, supposedly, Bin Laden was killed; and the birth-country of Malala, the Nobel prize girl who was shot by the Taliban when they took over her region in Pakistan; since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan hasn’t really got a good reputation in the Western world. Not really. 

However, while it’s true that many of these events happened, you should also know that Pakistan is a massive country,  with a population of 200 million, composed of several provinces with many political, cultural, and social differences. 

That’s what the media doesn’t tell us and what makes us question whether Pakistan is safe or not.

Let’s take a look at the safety situation by area in Pakistan.

Read: The ultimate travel itinerary to Pakistan

This is the image of Pakistan we have in the Western world – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Which areas in Pakistan are not safe for travel?

Balochistan

Bordering Iran and Afghanistan, the mainly deserted southwestern province of Pakistan is the most dangerous and unstable region in the country, the main reason being the fact that the border with Afghanistan is out of control, hence many Taliban cross it freely.

In Balochistan, there is a real kidnapping danger and the capital Quetta is continuously witnessing terrorist attacks.

This province should be avoided but, guess what: visiting Balochistan requires a special permit which is extremely complicated to obtain.

Your only chance to enter this region is if you plan to cross the Pakistan-Iran border, which is actually open but, even then, you will be escorted by armed police until you exit Balochistan. 

  Tribal Areas 

A province in northwestern Pakistan which borders Afghanistan and Balochistan.

The Tribal Areas is a semi-autonomous province which is mainly inhabited by Pashtuns, an ethnic group with very strong fundamentalist ideas about Islam.

This is the least developed province in Pakistan and a region where the Pakistani Government has very little control.

On top of this, due to the proximity with the Taliban-Afghanistan, the Tribal Areas is dangerous for even Pakistanis themselves.

However, like neighboring Balochistan, you need a special permit which is very hard to get. Good luck!

Is Pakistan safe for tourists?

  Relatively safe areas in Pakistan which are safe for tourists, but where you should be careful

Peshawar

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, a province also inhabited by Pashtuns, the most conservative people in Pakistan.

In Peshawar, terrorist attacks do happen but they are rare. In addition, there is a significant community of people from the Tribal Areas but you can easily avoid the areas where they live.

Here, it’s best to dress like a local, in a salwar kameez and, if possible, to hang out and walk around with local friends. I met people through Couchsurfing and everything went really well and smoothly.

A Pashtun in the bazaar of Peshawar

  Swat Valley

For a long time, the beautiful Swat Valley was in the eye of the Western media because, in 2007, the Taliban took control of the region, originating a bloody war and killing thousands of innocent people.

Today, the Swat Valley is a peaceful region but you should always keep your eyes open, as it is an extremely conservative place.

In Swat, you may be assigned an armed guard but it depends on the day and the mood of the police. Actually, I didn’t get one but I know other travelers who did.

Also, you should know that, occasionally, the area is restricted to tourism without previous notice, requiring a travel permit called NOC. My friend Ihsan from Swat Backpackers is a trekking guide who can arrange it for you. 

  Chitral and the Kalash Valleys

The Kalash Valleys are home to an ethnic community who don’t follow Islam but an ancient Pagan culture called Kalash.

Due to their proximity to the Taliban-controlled area of Nuristan, in Afghanistan, this small region has always been under Taliban threat.

In fact, in 2009, a group of insurgent Taliban managed to cross the border and killed tens of people.

Since then, security has highly improved and the Kalash Valleys have lived in peace. However, just try to be careful about where you go, especially if you are hiking near the border.

Most likely, at your arrival in Chitral, you will be assigned an armed guard.

If you want to know more about the area close to the border, read my story from the day I sneaked into an Afghan village.

Moreover, if you want to learn about the Kalash people read this post I wrote for The Broke Backpacker: Exploring the Kalash Valleys in Pakistan

Swat Valley – Is it safe to go to Pakistan?

  Karachi 

Despite being home to a large expat community, the largest city in Pakistan is a well-known place for its violent crime. In fact, Karachi has one of the highest crime rates in the whole of Asia. However, in the last couple of years, the situation has relatively improved but crime can still happen.

Don’t bring valuable belongings with you at night and, if you are alone, ask trust-worthy locals which areas should be avoided. 

  Kashmir

Very little is known about Pakistani Kashmir, as foreigners are not allowed to get in. Being a region which has been disputed between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947, for decades, Kashmir has been a troubled place.

I don’t know about any foreigner who has been there but, according to local friends, it’s not a dangerous place anymore.

  Which areas in Pakistan are safe to visit?

Islamabad

The relatively new capital of the country is, definitely, the safest city in Pakistan. With plenty of checkpoints everywhere, the Government has invested so many resources in security, as this is where the Pakistani elite lives, as well as plenty of foreigners.

  Lahore

You may have heard of some terrorist attacks happening in Lahore but, to be honest, there were only a few and they always targeted specific places and people.

In fact, these attacks were no worse than the ones which happened in European capitals, such as Paris or London. The likelihood of being affected by one of these incidents is extremely low.

Other than that, Lahore is a safe city filled with plenty of welcoming people and happiness.

Lahore mosque – Is Pakistan safe to visit

  Gilgit-Baltistan 

Fortunately, the most beautiful province in Pakistan is also the safest one. Home to the Karakoram Highway and some of the highest mountains on Earth, Gilgit-Baltistan is where you will spend most of your time.

Most of its inhabitants are Shia, a more liberal branch of Islam and, perhaps, one of the reasons why there are no Islamist radicals.

Nevertheless, Gilgit-Baltistan witnessed quite a critical incident back in 2013, when a group of radical Islamists opened fire and killed 10-20 tourist climbers in Nanga Parbat.

This was the first and last incident that ever happened in Gilgit-Baltistan and, to be honest, the authors were Pashtuns from KPK province, not Gilgit. P

lease keep in mind that this incident was an exception and, after that, security has drastically improved.

  The rest of Sindh and Punjab provinces

The two provinces where Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi belong to are the least visited safe areas in Pakistan. Here, almost no real incidents that could have affected foreigners have been reported and, actually, you can move around freely, without any restriction.

In this area, the train is the easiest and most comfortable way of transportation. I didn’t spend much time here but, regarding security, I didn’t find any major issues. I only found that, in many cities, most budget hotels are not allowed to host foreigners.

Remember to read my backpacking guide and travel itinerary to Pakistan to learn more about all these safe regions

Multan – Is Pakistan safe to travel

  Is it safe to travel to Pakistan? More things you should know

Consider hiring a guide

If you are concerned about the potential dangers in Pakistan, perhaps you should consider hiring a guide, especially if you go trekking. 

Moreover, public transportation in Pakistan is not particularly safe (the accident rate is pretty high), so traveling with an experienced driver can be an edge. 

Now, there are many tour companies all around Pakistan but I recommend the guys from Find my Adventure, for the simple reason that they are very professional, have loads of years of experience and many positive reviews. 

They can arrange absolutely any tour/trekking for you and the good news is that the readers of this blog can get an exclusive 10% discount on any customized tour. 

Just email them through their contact page, mentioning my blog and the promo code ATC-PAK.

Choose the right travel insurance

Here’s the thing. 

Pakistan is, on the one hand, an adventurous, trekking destination and, on the other, a country which may present some potential dangers.

For the adventurous/trekking part, I strongly recommend you get World Nomads because:

The basic plan already covers trekking up to 6,000 meters (note that, in Gilgit-Baltistan, it is very easy to reach 4,000-meter base camps. 

They provide with unlimited medical expenses 

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM WORLD NOMADS

However, you should know that regular travel insurance such as World Nomads doesn’t cover for any accident related to war, terrorism and stuff like that. 

I personally think that Pakistan is mostly safe but, if it makes you feel better, perhaps you should consider buying travel insurance for high-risk countries such as First Allied, an insurance specialized in dangerous destinations. With them, you will be fully covered.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE QUOTE FROM FIRST ALLIED

For more information about this topic, you should read my article: How to choose the right insurance for high-risk countries

Is Pakistan safe?

Checkpoints and Pakistani police

I’ve never been through so many police controls as in Pakistan. From Islamabad to Gilgit along the Karakoram Highway, I passed ten different checkpoints in one single day, and at each one I had to give a passport copy and register.

The police were continuously interrogating me: Why are you here? Where are you going? They are actually pretty cool and their only objective is to check for your personal security.

Personal armed guards

In some areas of Pakistan like Swat Valley, Kalash region and even for the Fairy Meadows trek, you get a personal armed guard, for free.

Don’t be afraid. In these areas, there has been some real trouble in the past, so they just don’t want to expose you to any kind of danger.

Pakistani intelligence

The Pakistani Intelligence is one of the best secret services in the world. No matter where you go, they will know who you are and where you are. One day, while trekking around the Astore Valley, one random local guy in salwar kameez approached me and said:

You are the Spanish, right? 

He was a member of the Pakistani Intelligence and, for three days, they had been following me and looking after my safety. Actually, the Pakistani Intelligence is one of the reasons why Pakistan has not become a failed state like Afghanistan.

Kidnappings

Except for the dangerous areas, I’ve never heard of any tourist kidnappings in Pakistan. However, just be careful when you travel in KPK province, including Peshawar and Swat Valley.

Dress like the locals and, depending on the place, don’t go out alone at night.

Terrorist attacks

In the safe areas, terrorist attacks are very rare and you are unlikely to be affected by one. Remember that terrorist attacks occur at one place at a very precise moment.

You are more likely to be run over a car in your home country than to be killed by a bomb in Pakistan.

Roads in Pakistan

For me, this is the only real danger. In Pakistan, people drive like crazy and accidents do happen frequently.

If you travel by cheap, public transportation, the risk is obviously higher. If you are worried about this, your best bet is to hire a private tour.

Dress like a local

Like I said on numerous occasions, it’s highly recommended to wear a salwar kameez, the typical Pakistani dress, especially in KPK province. This way, you won’t call much attention to yourself. 

Couchsurfing

In Pakistan, Couchsurfing is a big deal and a great way to meet trustworthy, hospitable locals who will try to help you immensely on your journey.

Women traveling in Pakistan

I am not an expert on this topic as I am a man who traveled there alone. However, my friend Alex has written a very comprehensive guide for women traveling in Pakistan: Is Pakistan safe for women?

  Conclusion

So, is it safe to travel to Pakistan? The shortest answer I could give you is that it really depends on where you go. Some areas of Pakistan are extremely dangerous whereas others are absolutely safe for tourists.

It’s important to do some proper research beforehand and, if you go to a sensitive area like Peshawar or the Swat Valley, just travel with caution. If you do, Pakistan will reward you with your best experience ever. 

Here you can read all my articles and guides to Pakistan

  source http://cheaprtravels.com/is-pakistan-safe-all-you-need-to-know/