We had seen nothing of Dubai. In fact we had not even left our hotel because of trying to sort out our travels plans to Pakistan following the news of Osama bin Laden's assassination. And we had not even used the extensive pools and beautifully manicured garden area of the Al Marooj Rotana. So much for our plans to "chill out" before our next travels....

We spent the first part of the morning wandering the grounds of the Al Marooj. For such a fabulous hotel there were very few guests, and it was relaxing having the huge gardens virtually to ourselves. Our afternoon flight to Islamabad meant that we had to leave our hotel at midday so we decided that we might just as well enjoy our last day of alcohol for another ten days or so and retreated to the Al Marooj Club Lounge for yes, another round of gin and tonics!

We would highly recommend the Al Marooj Rotana. While it is located very close to an overhead freeway, there was no traffic noise and the hotel provides regular shuttle services into the city itself. And if you could afford it, we would highly recommend the additional cost of staying on the Club Floor of the hotel. It was truly luxurious and the food and service was impeccable. We probably sound very spoilt but at that stage of our travels we really needed a break and we thoroughly soaked up the luxuries - and the drinks!

Alan and I seem to have dual personas. Our Australian family and friends think we are stark raving mad for travelling to countries such as Pakistan. They tell us all the time. We are regarded somewhere between being totally stupid and recklessly adventurous. Our friend Peter Roberts once told us that the only reason anyone would turn up to our travel talks were those curious enough to see what people who were stupid enough to travel to such countries, actually look like!

Conversely, our Pakistani friends who live with the constant political and environmental turmoil of their country must think we are more akin to being pathetic "wusses". Unlike our Australian friends however, they are too polite to say so but we sort of get the message. Our guide Sadruddin said to us later in our travels through Pakistan "You see - you have worried about nothing. Nothing has changed (since bin Laden's assassination)". He then added mischievously "We are always fighting and killing each other!".

Our decision to proceed with our Pakistan travel plans not only shocked the hotel staff but also our friends and family. One of the numerous texts my sister Jill sent read: "Well, I suppose you know what you are doing.." We didn't of course. I had contacted good friends to let them know of our decision but as Alan said, no-one was going to put up the ransom if we were kidnapped. A chilling thought, thank you Alan.

Our flight with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) - and sometimes jokingly known as Pakistan In'shallah (God Willing) Airlines - was an hour late. Alan was surprised but delighted however to find that the composite Business Lounge was very well stocked with alcohol and provided very good food. More gins and tonic filled in the additional waiting time rather nicely we thought.

Apart from the female flight attendant looking like she could murder the passengers and the inedible food, our flight to Islamabad was reasonably pleasant and uneventful. On our arrival a European guy dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt followed me down the stairs of the plane. He asked me what we were doing in Islamabad and then poured out his own story. He was more than a bit agitated, explaining that he was a journalist who had spent the last three days fleeing overland from war torn Libya. He said he was pleased to be "home in Islamabad". After hearing his hair raising adventures, I began to feel a bit brighter about our stay in Pakistan.

Ishaq Ali was right. Islamabad International Airport looked calm enough. Probably too calm. When we were last there in 2009 for our flight out to Urumqi, China, the airport had been absolutely chaotic with literally thousands of people pushing in every direction and frenetic queuing procedures. We arrived from our Dubai flight around 9.30 pm and the airport was eerily dead quiet.

We were relieved and delighted to see our old friend and travel agent Ishaq Ali and his cousin Sadruddin in the foyer area to greet us. It had been two years since our last travels to Pakistan and I must say that as before, it felt curiously like coming home. Alan felt the same way. We sped out toward our Hunza Embassy Lodge hotel and even in the darkness, the sights and sounds looked strangely familiar.

On entering the road of the lodge we were suddenly stopped by armed guards. It was pitch dark and we could just make out the glinting metal of the police guards' pump action shot guns. Dark faces with flashing liquid eyes peered into our car, taking a very long and hard look at Alan and myself. After some muttering between Ishaq, Sadruddin and the guards, our driver was waved on. "What was that about?" we asked as brightly as we could, trying not to show our concern-that-was-dead-obvious. Ishaq laughed, saying the lodge now had additional security because Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari had just moved his place of residence to the same street as the lodge. Not all that re-assuring, we smiled to ourselves....

The Hunza Embassy Lodge is located in a leafy and prosperous part of residential Islamabad. We had spent two days there during our 2009 travels and enjoyed our stay*. It is more like a guest house and is a very homely and comfortable place to stay. We were pleased to be back and it was great to see our two friends again. We spent some time chatting in the lodge lounge area before we retired. Our flight the next morning to Chitral mean that we had another very early start.

Just as we went to bed the electricity went out. This was very familiar. Yes, we were back home in Islamabad where the electricity supply is highly irregular. Although it was late in the evening, the temperature was still around the mid 30's degrees. After about half an hour we were highly relieved when the staff managed to turn on the lodge generators. The air conditioner started up and we sank into an exhausted sleep.


* We had spent a morning wandering around the nearby streets and especially enjoyed some sandwiches that we bought from a local store. They have become quite a favourite of ours and which we fondly call "Islamabad Sandwiches". They simply comprise sliced tandoori chicken, hard boiled eggs and coleslaw. Simple but delicious!