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This French couple dared to travel to Pakistan and fell in love with it

This French couple dared to travel to Pakistan and fell in love with it

Contrary to what their friends told them, the couple think Pakistan is 'beautiful'
Updated 24 Oct, 2016

A French couple visiting Pakistan said that contrary to the portrayal of the country in international media, they have received a lot of love, hospitality and care from locals.

Robin and Pierettee Denis arrived in Pakistan via road from India a few days ago and will go on to Iran next.

The couple said their friends advised them not to go to Pakistan and that they were convinced there would be no law and order in the country.

“Because of media reports, we thought we will face many difficulties in Pakistan, but we are enjoying our stay and there are no security issues as reported in the media,” Mr Denis said while talking to Dawn.

“Pakistanis are very nice and they offer us food and tell us to stay in their homes. Not a day goes by when someone does not invite us to have tea or food with them,” he added.

Dawn caught up with the couple at the Danoie village, some 25 kilometres from Murree, where they were making a stop to refill their fuel tank of their purpose built jeep, which houses a small kitchen and a room and has the capacity for storing 180 litres of fuel.

“We went to Muzafarrabad today because we wanted to go to Gilgit-Baltistan, but someone told us the best route to get there is via Mansehra, so that is where we are going now,” he said,During their stop over at Danoie, locals offered them soft drinks and some insisted the couple have a meal with them.

“We left France in August 2015 and we have visited many countries since, including European countries, Asian states, China, India and now Pakistan. The people and places of this country are very beautiful,” Mr Denis said.

The couple is particularly taken with Pakistani truck art and have uploaded several pictures on their website.

One of the posts says: “In Pakistan, street art is rather the road-art, or more precisely the-art truck. Impossible not to fall in awe of these huge trucks, buses and rickshaws overgrown with a profusion of colourful patterns.”

This article was originally published in Dawn October 24th, 2016.

Comments

sam Oct 24, 2016 10:05am
Everybody who visit Pakistan falls in Love with Pakistan. Because Pakistani love to Party.
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sam Oct 24, 2016 10:12am
People of Pakistan respect women, and female tourist feel safe compared to a country next to Pakistan where female tourist get Groped in Public.
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Fast Oct 24, 2016 10:14am
Thank you for telling the Truth.
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ghinva raza Oct 24, 2016 10:18am
wao!!! as my boss says "if everything stays constant" I have huge plans to visit Gilgil baldistan inshaallah realll soon
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ak Oct 24, 2016 10:52am
My brother met them during a trip he had with his buddies. He said they were quite happy and content with what they experienced here.
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Maria Oct 24, 2016 11:12am
The truth can only be hidden for a shorter period. Yes Pakistan is a lovely country with the most generous nation in the world (lonely planet, News Week annual ranking....etc). Better times will come when our tourist industry will flourish and put the propaganda against us into shame!
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Arshad Oct 24, 2016 01:17pm
Welcome to Pakistan !
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Sabina Kazmi Oct 24, 2016 01:46pm
Pakistani Goverment & our Emassies abroad DO NOTHING to promote Pakistan tourism, we have beautiful fil makers they can hire these media makers to highlight our beautiful country this drip-drip of foreigners is better than nothing but Pakistanis abroad are bad mouthing Pakistan why? we need more Tourism promotion so far they are doing a crappy job!
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Goga Nalaik Oct 24, 2016 01:58pm
Robin et Pierrette, bienvenue au Pakistan. S'il vous plaît, parlez-en à votre entourage dès votre retour en France.
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SyedChaudhryGangaDinKhan Oct 24, 2016 02:02pm
Its all about money and exchange rate. There's no love. In Pakistan they get more for their money. We have put emotions aside. Visit France and see how much they love you.
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TravelVolunteer Oct 24, 2016 02:04pm
I dont know why such titles like as if going to Pakistan is a "dare". contrary to stereotyping and propaganda, I know that we Pakistanis are far better as humans than the most of these folks.. visit France and you will see how racist they are. always have been !!
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ozzy Oct 24, 2016 02:05pm
@ghinva raza bro visit ajk you wont be disappinted trust me. Ima try visit karachi soon. Furthest ive been is lahore!
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KnowTheTruth Oct 24, 2016 03:08pm
The couple obviously have lived their life, and have nothing to lose by making this trip to the forbidden land. Where local people move around with private security even in well guarded areas of Karachi and Islamabad, these guys dare to travel the countryside.
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Tariq, Lahore Oct 24, 2016 03:37pm
From partition up the early 70's our leaders had some prestige and caliber but from mid 70's on-wards incompetent and sleazy 'brand' of leaders in cahoots with the US's proxy war to drive the Russians out of Afghanistan, have created a very negative image of the country internationally.
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Amer Rao Oct 24, 2016 03:58pm
Welcome To Pakistan
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GA Oct 24, 2016 05:38pm
@TravelVolunteer - Contrary to popular belief about French that they are rude and racist, I only found wonderful and friendly people. Ofcourse, out of respect I always greeted in French and asked if they spoke English. Maybe that helped. But let's not generalize. France gets the most tourists year round and I am sure a lot of French are fed up with traffic jams.
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Harmony-1© Oct 25, 2016 02:27am
"Vive la France" Pakistan Zindabad!
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Avik Ray Oct 25, 2016 06:05am
@sam yet Pakistan gets all the bad reputation. What a shame!!
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Jay Oct 25, 2016 07:38am
For us Indians these foreigners are an everyday thing. Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore,delhi, Calcutta, or Patna or Rajasthan or goa, foreigners are a common sight in these places. And I wonder if all their stories were published in the newspaper . The newspaper will be a lot more bulkier
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Leo Oct 25, 2016 10:59am
@sam oh yes ! The world knows better!
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Imtiaz Ali Khan Oct 25, 2016 01:54pm
God bless you beautiful couple.
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Chris Roberts Oct 26, 2016 09:27am
@TravelVolunteer It takes quite awhile to really tune into any culture before being able to make any type of judgement. French people generally make very good and loyal friends, but it does take a bit of time for them to get to know you. Regarding Pakistan, the country does have so much to offer, but needs to clean up its act when it comes to security and openness to diversity with repect to gender, religion, and dress. There is SO much potential for Pakistan to be one of the leading tourist destinations in the world.
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