I'd never been to Pakistan before so this was something special. In fact I've never been to the Indian subcontinent.
The first thing to mention is how friendly the people were. Incredibly friendly. Nothing was too much trouble and everything was a pleasure.
And it was hot. Damned hot. 43 degrees on one day which is too hot to do much apart from sit around in the shade.
What will stay with me are the sensory things: the smells and sounds and unusual images.
The place always had a whiff of spices. Even breakfast included curries but in the evening the whole city smelled of cumin and coriander. And a little hint of exhaust fumes.
Every city has its sounds. Every morning I was woken by the call to prayer at four am. I never settled into a deep sleep because of jet lag but hearing a voice sing out across the city was fantastic. The later calls sounded similar but they never had the feel of that ghostly voice at dawn.
Then there were the sights: whole families on tiny motorbikes and old men sitting taking tea in the shade as they told stories. The whole city seemed to run on a different timescale to the West. Things started late and finished when they needed to. Road rules were similarly lax and I often saw bikes ridden against the traffic flow, often up the middle of a lane.
And ultimately it all came down to the people. Forget all the stuff on the news. The Pakistan I saw was the friendliest place on Earth.