Cone of death?

A lot of people have asked me if I was in any danger in Pakistan. Turns out one of the riskiest things I did was... eating an ice cream cone!
It was a hot and dusty day in Islamabad as I walked through Saidpur Village, and the soft-serve ice cream was hard to resist. But when I caught up with the rest of the group, our leader Ann Hartman screamed in horror. As a former peace corps volunteer in the region, Ann knew that soft-serve ice cream from a street vendor can be poison if it's made with unpasteurized milk or polluted water.
I went back to the hotel and waited for the cone of death to strike me down, but fortunately I had no symptoms of gastric distress. Whew!

Wanna buy a goat?

A short walk from Saidpur Village was a goat market. Except for a few moms escorting their kids through the market on their way home from school, I was the only woman there. But I was treated with both courtesy and curiosity by the goat sellers.

 One spoke a few words of English and insisted I take this picture of him with one of his nicest goats. The going price is the equivalent of around $70, I was told, but maybe that's what they charge the tourists. However, I had to decline. This is one souvenir that would never get past the USDA.

Saidpur Village

My Lonely Planet tour book describes Saidpur Village in Islamabad as "model village" set to open in 2008 to "showcase Pakistani cultural handicrafts and traditions." 

Visiting on a Friday afternoon in 2012, the reality was hardly a showcase. There were several upscale restaurants, but most of the shops seemed to be struggling or abandoned, and the only pottery for sale was at a small roadside stand. 

But it was a welcome break from government policy briefings because of the actual village adjoining the tourist attraction. 

Children eagerly jumped in front of our cameras as we picked our way along the stream that runs through the settlement. Their faces are unforgettable.