Never did I think that I would have the chance to visit Abbottabad. Yep, that's the place where OBL apparently hid for years and was finally (apparently) killed by covert US action. Abbottabad lies directly on the highway to Islamabad so it's unavoidable if one is travelling from north to south. It is a prosperous and bustling city, just a couple of hours away from Islamabad. The people seem pretty well-off and the place has an energetic vibe. We passed by plenty of fairly modish ladies, wearing colourful headscarves and salwar kameez. Not a lot of burkahs and black gowns. So much for the Taliban's influence.
Actually, the "Abbott" in Abbottabad refers to one James Abbott, a british government official who founded the town. "Abad" means "to build" in Urdu and the name of the city is meant to honour James Abbott.
We lunch at the Usmania Restaurant and it was the best meal since entering Pakistan. I had succulent beef koftas, hot piping roti and a lovely cucumber, tomato and red onion salad. Although we ate late, the restaurant was still filled with tables of families and even groups of just women. (Interesting that lots of diners seemed to have ordered Coke notwithstanding purported anti-American sentiments). Later I was told that OBL was rumoured to have ordered takeout from this place...
We then immediately get back on the road onwards to Islamabad. Our guide does not allow us any free time to wander in Abbottabad; apparently the situation may still not be safe for tourists. We have been accompanied by a police escort since we left Gilgit - sometimes the policeman (armed) has sat in our bus and sometimes the police have provided an escort van that runs ahead of us. I guess the government doesn't want to take any risk with yet another tourist incident.
