I have been to and worked in some 80+ countries in the world. Many of them obscure places where tourists are unheard of, like Turkmenistan or Burundi.
The worst place, and the only one I would never want to visit again, is Pakistan. I worked there several times for a number of weeks.
People are downtrodden, that’s probably the most important observation. There is no hope, no joy, no laughter, it all seems to be plain misery. The military regime closed down most if not every public convenience like pools, libraries etc.
What was once a reasonably free and energetic country has turned into some Islamic stupor.
I once traveled to the northern regions with a guide, a young man educated in England. He spoke perfect English. I mentioned the fact that on all the huge billboards there was not a woman to be seen anymore (I had seen the adverts for cosmetics, Bollywood movies and such on earlier assignments). He said: “Yes, we have grown more responsible in the past few years.”
I inquired as to what that meant and he told me, that a woman’s place was in her home, not on the street, and that it was for religious reasons they had banned advertising with women.
I realized that among the young people many, if not most, would have wanted to escape their country.
I witnessed the Change of Guard ceremony at the Wagah border crossing. On the Indian side people were laughing, cheering, having fun. Whereas on the Pakistani side grim old men in traditional garb watched wordlessly and obviously quite unhappy.
The misery and unhappiness was almost contagious, so I really do not want to see this place again ever.
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