I went to Pakistan about 2 years ago with my mom. It was fun, except the fact that I got really sick. And by the end of my 4 week stay, I just wanted to get home.
This time around, my whole family went for my brothers wedding. And I had an absolute freaking blast! I was there for about 4 full days (crazy, considering it takes about 18 hours to get there.) My parents, older brother and sister had went beforehand - and the three younger siblings came afterwards. We had work and school and couldn't get enough time off to go earlier. But even then, I think it worked out perfectly.
The trip itself was so much fun because my family (with 4 siblings, you never do get bored) was there, a few aunts and cousins too. We would go to the wedding events at night, come home and stay up the rest of the night playing board games or cards. It was fun because all of us were competitive and if we lost, we would want a immediate rematch. My aunts and parents joined in too, so the group was big and loud and cheating all around. During the days, usually my sister, cousin and I went out to try out food places - as Karachi is the place to eat! We tried out some amazing cafes and restaurants that we had heard of.
I was afraid that I was going to get sick again and avoided anything that looked suspicious. I brought my own blanket and pillows from home, so I could avoid any possible allergic reactions. I still did manage to get an allergic reaction, but immediately went to the doctor and he was able to sort it out quickly. Other than that, I avoided the whole stomach problems while I was there. My siblings, not so lucky.
We then flew out on a Monday to Istanbul. Our plan was to stop by there and do some sightseeing for three days before flying back to good ol' Houston. I had managed to get online visas for my family beforehand, so we wouldn't have to wait in lines. When I tried getting one for me, it gave my some issues because of my expiration date - I called and asked them about it, and they told me not to worry as I will get my visa on arrival - that didn't happen!
I wasn't allowed to enter the country and they told me to go back to Pakistan. I told them, that I would rather just fly home. I was able to get them to change my flight from the Friday to that same day - it was quite a struggle. My family was upset and didn't want to stay without me. My mom refused to let me go home alone, so I asked them to change my mom's flight as well. I managed to talk my family into staying without the two of us and told them to have fun!
I wasn't as upset about the visa thing - as I understand the government rules. The had a rule that if the passport was expiring within 60 days of entering the country, then that person could not get a visa. I asked if I could pay the penalty fee, but they told me that it was too late for that. I was fine with that! - I just did not like the way the airport officials and the Turkish airline folks spoke to my father and I. They were rather rude and weren't as helpful.
When I had asked them to go ahead and move up my flight so I could leave Turkey, they booked me on a flight that was scheduled to leave on Thursday (I was originally leaving on Friday morning). I then asked them what I was supposed to do until Thursday considering they were not giving me a visa - was I supposed to stay at the airport for 2 nights? The man told me yes, that is what I had to do, considering they had no flights until then (Obvious lie, I checked online and they have a flight leaving from Turkey to Houston, almost everyday at 2:45 PM). I told him the same and he argued with me a bit - which I told him that would be fine - they would have to provided me a two day visa - as this was a special circumstances and they have a rule about providing visas for people who are stuck in the country. After that the guy then went ahead and booked me on the next flight to Houston.
Since I was still inside the airport (and my family had already done baggage claim), they told me I could not get my bags. I argued a bit and told them that, that wasn't fair. They could at least have it picked up for me, or my mom - who had already gotten through immigration, and was going to check in again as she was coming back to Houston with me - could bring it in with her. They told me that would be fine and my mom could explain the situation at check-in. I had my doubts, but was all argued out. So I went ahead to the gate to wait for my mom.
Of course, my brother called me and told me that they said that my mom would have to pay for my two luggage's as they were not able to see me at check-in. I then had to talk to them over the phone, explain the situation a couple of times. I told them that I would give them my passport number and they could use that to check the status. At first they refused, but finally my brother was able to get them to use my passport number. Once they checked that, they allowed my baggage in. My mom then had 45 minutes to get through security and meet me at the gate. She got there just in time and we were able to board.
When we finally got home - I was so happy. The Houston immigration and baggage claim people are so nice! They were all smiles and told me to have a great night - I missed that at the Pak and Istanbul airport.
Once we got home, I got sick - I think it was because I didn't have enough day sin Pakistan to get sick, so it followed me home. I got home on the Tuesday, and had taken off until Friday. I decided to just stay home for the next few days, as I wasn't feeling well and it would be my time to just relax. It was a good few days. Their was no work, just my mom and me in the house, so things were tidy. We just hung out mostly. I went to pick up the rest of the family when they flew in on Friday.
Over all, it was a great vacation - a bit bummed at not being able to see Istanbul, as I heard it is beautiful! But next time!
