In the far reaches of North-western India and Pakistan
on the high plateaus surrounded by mountains and rivers.
A rich tapestry of community and culture
have co-existed for centuries.
Once one country,
they are now, neighbours separated by a border.
I'm Levison Wood.
And this is Ash Bhardwaj.
We're explorers and life-long friends
who have travelled to the far corners of the globe
from Sudan to the Himalayas.
We are on a 2500 kilometre adventure.
Starting our journey
from the border villages in North-western Ladakh.
Oh, yeah.
We'll use the Line of control as our roadmap,
heading south through one of the coldest
inhabited places on Earth.
It's absolutely freezing up here.
Travelling through the stunning valleys of Kashmir.
It's almost like the Shangri-La
of India.
And then into Punjab.
(ALL) Sat sri akaal!
Before crossing into Pakistan at Wagah.
Ready?
I can't hear anything.
Welcome to Pakistan.
Our journey will end in the village of Fraono
on the other side of the border.
We'll bear witness to how the border has divided lives
but where hope of a reunion still lives.
We'll navigate dangerous terrain.
Keep going, keep going. Keep going.
Cross into uncharted territory and enter frontier towns.
A lot of military movements up there.
Not necessarily a good look.
That is all Taliban territory.
(SHOOTING)
We're heading off the beaten path on an expedition of a lifetime.
-You're going towards Srinagar? -Srinagar?
You're going to Islamabad?
We have travelled through Ladakh's high passes,
and explored the stunning valleys
of Kashmir along the Line of Control.
Ahead of the bridge is the Line of Control.
Hello Pakistani Army.
We're now in Amritsar, at the halfway mark in our journey.
And for our last few days in India,
we're enjoying the flavours and colours of Punjab.
Before we cross the border to enter Pakistan.
Contrary to popular belief
that "Oh, this is a country where we are in Burqas"
It's wrong! It's not!
Pakistanis are not xenophobic.
We are very welcoming, loving
friendly people.
Punjabi!
Welcome to Punjab!
Punjabi!
This is my third time in Punjab, third time in Amritsar.
Very exciting to be back.
And it's as chaotic, loud, noisy, colourful, as I remember it.
Unlike Lev, this is my first time here.
And I'm incredibly excited!
It is quite a fun ritual, Lev.
-So it's good for gymnastics. -Watch your head.
Punjab has one of the most vibrant cultures in the world.
And nowhere better to experience its rich heritage than right here
in Amritsar.
A bustling city full of life.
Which lies close to the border between India and Pakistan.
It also has a special significance for the Sikh community
being home to the historic Golden Temple.
Hello, Brother!
We make our way there through the noisy old bazaars
that date back to pre-partition Punjab.
This holiest shrine for the Sikhs welcomes people of all faiths
an iconic symbol of inclusion since the 16th Century.
This will be my third time here now.
I remember I came here when I was 21.
When I was...
...hitchhiking, all across India,
and this place actually left a really deep impression on me.
Because you know, I was a poor backpacker,
no money, I came here and I, I spent three nights here.
That is the culture of hospitality in this Gurudwara, or any Gurudwara.
You are allowed to stay for three nights for free.
So this is the place that's very special to me.
This place is very close to my heart.
(PRAYER IN THE BACKGROUND)
This holy temple.
Which Sikhs view as the spiritual centre of the world
really feels like a homecoming for me.
There's always this constant
singing and chanting, and there is something it,
you know, eternal about the place.
So it's a place that I get very emotional
about when I come back.
This place served me in my time of need
and now, it's time to give back.
So we head straight for the kitchen.
Free meals have been served to all who visit the Golden Temple
since 1577 at its Langar.
One of the largest community kitchens in the world.
It's run almost entirely by volunteers
who work around the clock to ensure that no one goes hungry.
-That is Dal. -Yes.
How many people eat here every day?
Two lakh.
-Two lakh? -Yeah.
Whoa!
And this is ghee they are putting on?
-Yeah. -Wow!
That's an incredible sight, look at all these pilgrims.
People have come from all over the place to be here.
Seva the tradition of selfless service
is a key tenet of Sikhism,
we decide to join in.
You know I'm not usually one for doing the washing up
but, I don't think I have seen such
an enthusiastic washing up in my life.
You know, it is amazing to be here
and see all these people who volunteer,
and really get stuck in.
(PRAYER IN THE BACKGROUND)
I know this is Ash's first time here.
Before we arrived here Ash was saying
how much how excited he was about
getting here and...
...now, he is here and you know, I can see it in his eyes and he is,
that it you know he-- I think this has been a really moving experience,
a very powerful experience for him.
So my family are Hindu, and I was raised by my mum
but she has always made,
made a massive effort for me to be connected to my Indian heritage.
And actually coming here, and,
seeing the Golden Temple despite not being a religious person,
has been a very powerful way for me to feel
connected to my heritage, in a way that I hadn't,
hadn't anticipated at all.
I find it really,
really very moving.
I know my, my mum would've loved to have been here.
Well, after the mountains
and the barren landscapes of Kashmir and Ladakh
it was wonderful to arrive in Amritsar today.
It was a great start to,
the plains, and to,
I guess get a sense of connection with my heritage.
Something I've always looked for,
and it happened in a very unexpected way today.
We start the day
with a Punjabi breakfast at Kanha Sweets.
Rumoured to have the best Puri-Chhole in town.
It comes highly recommended by local comedian Manpreet
who joins us here.
Hey, Brother
Are you going to have some as well?
-Yeah, no worries, you take. -Yeah.
-Have food. -Oh!
This is "Sawair da khaana."
-Sawair? -Sawair, is morning.
-Sawair? -"Sawair da khaana."
Can I change your name?
-Yeah, go on. -As per Punjabi.
Yeah.
-Can you speak again your name? -Levison.
-Le-- -Le-vi-son.
-Levison. -Levison.
Your name is...
-Lakhwinder! -Lakhwinder?
-What does that mean? -Lakhwinder!
-Lakhwinder!
-Lakha Paaji. -You're Lakha Paaji.
-And Ashu Paaji. -Ashu Paaji!
And my name is Manna Paaji.
-Manna? -Manna!
M-A-N-N-A, Manna Paaji.
Lakha Paaji!
Wow, look at that. It's like a balloon.
Thank you.
-Just start. -Great!
The delicious round Puris are fried in pure ghee,
then served with Chhole and a tangy potato curry
with a side of traditional Lassi to quench your thirst.
Food is our motivation.
-Your? -Motivation.
Over mouthfuls of food, we also get a taste of Manna's Punjabi-English.
There is inside talk, my English is little down.
Your Punjabi is little down, let's compromise.
But no, your English is much better than our Punjabi.
-Yeah. -Oh!
Much better.
But, I, I seriously feel today is my English exam.
This rich breakfast may be typical for the locals,
but if Ash and I don't show some restraint
we're likely going to be a little heavier
for the next leg of our journey.
-Puri? -Oh, no, thank you.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Thank you.
So, this is where they are made?
Hello.
We round off our breakfast experience
by attempting to make some of those fluffy puris.
We are part of a competition, Ash.
-Who is going to make the best-- -Just take the order,
how many puris do you want? Just take order.
These skilled puri makers have been doing this
for over 25 years
making up to 20,000 puris on weekends.
Ours barely make the cut.
Sorry.
Hopefully, no customer complains.
Thanks, guys.
-Keep it up. -Keep up the good work.
After weeks of being in the mountains,
the perks of city life beckon.
And we have help at hand.
-So, Manna Paaji. -Yes?
Is there somewhere we can get freshened up?
We've been on the road for a long time.
It would be nice to get like, a little bit of trim, a shave.
-Massage-- -Oh, okay! You just come!
Manna leads us
to one of the oldest barber shops in Amritsar.
Sat Sri Akal.
-Please come. -Hello, sir. How are you?
-Yeah. -What is your name?
Narottam Das.
-Narottam Das Paaji. -Narottam Das.
-We'll say Paaji? -Yes.
What is it written outside in Urdu?
In Urdu, it says "Pindi Barber Shop."
My father had come from Pakistan.
He is from Pakistan.
In 1947, when the division happened between India and Pakistan,
that's when he came here.
So he was in Pakistan before that--
Today, it's been 75 years since the shop started.
This is here since 75 years.
Wow!
So "Pindi" is like "Rawalpindi."
-Yes, Rawal-Pindi. -In Pakistan.
-Okay.
-Which service do you want? -I want, just make it shorter...
-And a nice head massage. -Oh, yes.
-Yes? -Okay.
Okay, one, two, three, start!
Narottam has lived in Amritsar for close to years.
His family, like many others directly impacted by Partition,
moved here and re-established their businesses once they crossed over.
You must have heard some stories from your father about Partition,
about what life was like, before the division and.
My father used to have a Muslim friend there.
He used to stay close to where our shop was.
-In Pakistan? Okay. -Yes.
His house was close by, so he used to come to our shop.
Every morning they used to read the newspaper together,
have tea and do some work together.
He helped my father and our family cross the river.
-Okay. -Cross the river.
There was a train ahead.
There was no place to sit in the train,
-as it was full of dead bodies. -Oh, my!
There was a tiny place in between
the compartments that connected the bogies.
My father told me, "There was me and your mother.
So we stood there."
The stories of how people survived Partition
keep changing as we travel.
But the sentiments of loss are always the same.
So, why did you write the name in Urdu?
Was it like a memory
of your family coming from Rawalpindi?
See, people who came from Lahore, added Lahore to their shop name.
People who came from Karachi added "Karachi,"
We came from Rawalpindi that is why we added "Pindi" to our shop's name.
Naming their businesses after the home towns they left behind
has been a way for families like Narottam's
to keep the memory of their roots alive.
When you eat two puris,
one glass lassi and take a massage and Death!
He's gone.
I think, I might just fall asleep, this is great.
Can I do mine?
Okay?
This is what happens when you're not the number one star.
You have to do your own beard.
Lev gets some man for him who does his beard and shaves him.
Mate, that was amazing! Honestly!
That was, I was about to fall asleep there.
Thank you so much. Thank you!
-Thank you. -Bye-bye.
Lev had the world's longest haircut.
The Punjabis are famed for their mud wrestling
so before we leave town, we take the opportunity
to get down and dirty with the pehalwans of Amritsar.
This is the place.
Yeah, I've always wanted to come and see an Indian wrestling school.
This is...
Fantastic.
Indian wrestling is a free-style sport
that evolved in the 16th Century.
These guys are filthy already.
And Punjab has produced many wrestling champions in the past.
-So this is literally mud wrestling. -Yeah.
I think it's called Kushti.
-Kushti? -Kushti.
More than a sport, Kushti is a way of life here.
It demands discipline and rigorous training.
And wrestlers from across the villages of Punjab
live and train in these traditional akhaaras.
Getting right down and doing this
in the mud with your face in the mud.
-It's tough-- -Hello, sir.
Oh, hello. How are you?
-Nice to meet you. -How are you, man?
I'm Ash.
-Ashwin. -I'm Lev.
-What's your name? -My name is Rustam Singh.
Rustam Singh?
-Yeah. -Rustam Singh.
-Nice to meet you. -Yeah.
-Is this your school, Rustam? -Yeah, it's,
-Is it? -an old school,
nearly about 100 years.
-Is it? -Yeah. It's Bajrang Bali Akhara.
-Yeah. -Can we meet some of the,
some of the fighters?
-Can you show us? -Yeah, yeah let's go.
-Hi! -He is my Billu Pehalwan.
You are the chief fighter?
-The big fighter? -Yeah, big fighter.
How long have you been wrestling for?
-Ninety two is the start. -Yeah.
-Now, it's 2022. -Wow!
And is there have you,
competed in, like, a national championship?
Desi, Desi Kushti.
-That's nice. -And in a good prize you win...
cash money, gold ring.
-Really? -Yes!
Do you want to show me some moves
-so that I can learn how to do it? -Yeah, no problem.
Yeah.
(SPEAKING IN PUNJABI)
Unfortunately, Lev was too scared
so I'm going to go in and learn how to wrestle
against the champion wrestler
who is about 15 kilos heavier than me
and one of the best in India.
So, you know it's okay Lev, I'll just do this for both of us.
I can just about play rugby,
but wrestling is not my forte.
Okay!
He does, however, like rolling around in the mud with boys.
The soil is considered sacred by wrestlers
and smearing it on the body is not only regarded as a blessing
but also helps improve the grip during a bout.
So I'm just going to go for the speed here.
That is all I can do.
That's it, you've got them!
Okay so this is, this is not going very well.
Now, throw him.
Ash's clearly no match for the champion fighter
and looks about ready to throw in the towel
but Rustam comes to his rescue.
Slow, slow, slow.
Oh, he's putting him up against the smaller lad now.
They have no technique, but they have force.
He's got no technique.
-Technically weak, but got force. -Technically weak,
but he's got mass, yeah.
Some for you, Bobby.
Okay.
Ash's Punjabi genes seem to have kicked in.
He's going all guns blazing against well, his lighter opponent.
Come on, come on. Come on!
You're winner!
Very good!
-Very good, man! -Thank you, thank you,
I basically have a mouthful of the Punjabi earth...
so I feel much closer to the Punjab now.
It was good effort, well played!
While Kushti wasn't for me,
we decide to try another flavour of Punjab Gatka.
It's an ancient martial art and a form of self-defence
that's been battle-tested over centuries.
And it is integral to Sikh heritage.
It is kind of, you know, it's performance and show,
and I mean it's very, very skilful and quite technical.
It's a cross between,
sort of festival fire dancing in Poi and actual fighting.
Once classified as a declining art by UNESCO
Gatka is making a comeback.
-What can we try? -I want to have a go at this.
Hi!
That's easy.
Easy if you know how.
Easy if you know how, right.
Okay, I've got to master this.
This Chakkar or spinning armour
was used to deflect enemy arrows on the battleground.
Okay, ready?
-Yeah. -Which way is clockwise?
It's that way?
Right, right side.
Oh, my God.
Look at that.
-Nice try! -Oh, my word!
Go on, Ash, give it a go!
I thought I was going to master this in two seconds but...
That's more like it.
Ash's commendable first attempt has the crowd applauding.
"Gatka" literally translates to wooden sticks
which are used in sparring matches.
It was developed as a means of warfare
when the Sikhs were fighting the Mughals
during the late 17th Century.
Ready?
Lev and I go head to head once again.
All right.
Okay.
He's the winner.
What?
How is he the winner?
Don't fight again, okay.
Thank you!
"Whoever utters His name, shall be happy, shall be fulfilled."
"Eternal is the Great Timeless Lord."
Thanks, guys!
Thank you, Kushti gang.
Good effort, mate! Well done!
Leaving Amritsar behind, we head towards Attari.
Only three kilometres from the Wagah border
and the last village on the Indian side.
Here, we're meeting the Attariwalas
a family that has a long history as the custodians of this village.
-Hello! -Hi!
-Hi. -Hi, I'm Lev.
-Hello. I'm Jaskiran. -Nice to meet you.
-Same here. -Hello, I'm Ash.
-Ashwin. -I'm Jaskiran, nice to see you.
Very old place?
A very old place, it's 200-years-old place.
This haveli preserves
the legacy of Jaskiran's ancestor Sham Singh Attariwala.
A legendary general who showed great valour in the first Anglo-Sikh war
vowing to die rather than return in defeat.
It's the same sword in that picture.
Yeah, this one.
It used to be, now, the poison is not there.
-It used to be poisoned. -Be poisoned?
-Seriously? Why? -Yeah.
-To kill someone-- -For an immediate kill.
If someone is hurt,
-he should be like-- -And this was--
This was used to fight against the British?
-Yes. -How do you feel about that, Lev?
I don't know! It's remarkable, isn't it?
-Isn't that amazing? -That is incredible!
So, which way is Pakistan then?
Pakistan is that side.
So that's the, that's the border post.
Right, so you can literally see the border there.
-Yes. -And how far is Lahore from here?
-It is 16 miles, 25 kilometres. -Sixteen miles. Not far, is it?
-Yeah. -A day's walk.
Amritsar is also, 16 miles, and same for Lahore.
So, we are right in the middle
-of the two cities. -Yeah.
You were obviously both too young to remember Partition,
but you must have heard the stories.
-Oh, yes. -About what--
There was a big massacre and the trains stopped here
and they started killing...
-Right. -Each other, Hindus and Muslims.
The people at the Pakistan side, they started to
cut the people, their arms,
their arms were cut, legs were cut, breasts were cut.
And our family gathered the clothes, and gave them to wear.
They gave them first aid. Many people were died.
So, they made the funeral over there
for the people and they protected the Muslims in our town.
My grandfather said,
"We will not allow anybody to harm them."
So they took them, in the underground basements.
-Here? -Yeah.
How many people did your family hide?
How many Muslims did they save?
They must be near about...
Two hundred or 150.
One hundred fifty to 200 people whose lives,
would have been ended, were it not for the
-compassion of your grandfather. -Yes.
The Partition in 1947
caused one of the largest forced migrations in human history.
Listening to these stories of humanity and courage
even in the worst of times, is humbling.
Indian Railway welcomes you, Ash.
We stop by at the Attari railway station.
Today it lies deserted but until 2019,
it was a busy junction for the Samjhauta Express,
or the Friendship Express.
A train service that connected Delhi and Lahore.
It has since been suspended due to cross-border tension.
We're heading to Attari-Wagah border crossing
that straddles the historic Radcliffe Line
drawn between the two countries in 1947.
So, this is it, this is the border, finally after,
travelling over a 1000 kilometres,
we finally made it to the Attari-Wagah border,
really the only border that's been open.
How are you feeling about this, Ash?
Yeah, really excited, mate.
I think Pakistan is the place, I've heard about.
Some of my family were born in
and to be able to finally go and visit it.
It is almost like the culmination of my life, you know.
But it's a strange experience, because, you know,
I can cross the border as a, as a Brit, as a foreigner,
but for the people that live here in Punjab
you know, for both Indians and Pakistanis,
it's incredibly difficult to,
to get a permit and a visa to visit the country that is right next door
so it is a privilege,
and with that comes a responsibility, you know,
to sort of, tell the story from both sides.
We got a stop sign.
Drawn in less than two months,
the Radcliffe Line ripped through the heart of Punjab.
Even today, farmers in border villages
struggle to access their fields
which now, lie beyond the razor wire fencing.
The Attari-Wagah border is a sensitive, high-security zone
where filming is strictly prohibited.
After travelling through the diverse landscapes of India,
It's now, time to see how the Pakistanis live.
So yeah, that's
we've managed to get across the border now,
and pass the police and army checkpoints
and here we are in Pakistan.
So this is the Pakistani Punjab on the other side of the border.
-I mean it feels the same. -It looks very similar
to the other side doesn't it, so far?
But, I'm am sure things are gonna get,
a bit different the further the further we go.
So onward, Lahore is that way.
We're meeting Zenith Irfan.
At 27 years old, she's the first Pakistani woman biker
to have ridden across the entire country.
-Lovely to meet you. -Welcome to Pakistan.
-Thank you. -So happy to have you here.
-It's hot, it's summer -It's very hot, isn't it?
-It's really hot. -As soon as you enter.
So, I have something
-very special planned for you guys. -Yeah.
For you, I have a motorcycle as you can see over here.
Excellent, it's much better than walking in this heat.
Yes!
Zenith has been riding for 10 years now.
And her travels document the stories of hospitality
and warmth of the people of Pakistan,
encouraging them to chase their dreams.
We're riding on the historic Grand Trunk Road,
one of South Asia's longest roads
covering a distance of more than 2500 kilometres
across four countries.
Hey!
Just like in India, roadside Dhabas are common here too.
We stop on the outskirts of Lahore
to get some respite from the blistering heat.
Brother, three cups of tea! Strong tea!
Strong one which gives us energy, okay?
For sure.
It must be quite difficult as a woman to be riding around.
-It's actually helpful. -Is it?
-It's the opposite. -Really? Why is that?
Because they're very, very respectable towards women
and very, very hospitable.
I mean, if they see you, you are a woman there.
They will invite
-to your houses. -Really?
Even invite you to stay over!
It's a very spiritual journey for me.
I am able to connect
more to my own country when I am on my bike.
I am able to see what Pakistan really is.
So contrary to the popular belief that,
"Oh, this is a country where we are in Burqas"
-It's wrong, it's not, you know. -Yeah.
Thank you, brother.
Thank you, Praaji.
You sort of see a lot less women about than you do in India I think
-Like-- -In India there are a lot of women.
Yeah.
In fact, I wanted to ask you how is it like because--
Oh, you've never been?
No, I haven't.
It's one of my dreams to ride through Wagah into Amritsar
and explore it on my bike,
-you know. -Yeah.
People say exactly the same on the other side of the border.
They want to come over here
-and explore. -Yeah!
Honestly, all our hearts are the same.
You know like when you travelled through India you must have seen
we all have the same narrative.
It's just that the borders have divided us, you know.
And I just wish that it was border-free area
where I could just ride and explore. It's a dream of every traveller.
Okay, I first came here when I was 21 year old.
Wow!
I hitchhiked all the way from London to India.
And I had my budget was 500 pounds for five months.
-That was it! -How was that like?
I did it. I was just relying on the kindness of strangers
and people looked after me,
and I was sleeping at the side of the road.
I had nothing and everybody looked after me.
It was a really formative journey.
One thing I love about Pakistan is the fact that we have,
I mean, around
more than 60-70 percent of the population is youth.
-Wow! -So, that is
what I love about Pakistan
that we are so, like we are, we are risk takers.
I mean, we are ready to change things around,
-you know. -It's about the energy.
Yeah, I love the energy about it.
That's what I love, and you will witness this.
We have just started, meaning, the party has just started.
Let's get ready for the Pakistan party, Lev.
Bring it on!
We're in Lahore Amritsar's twin city,
the second largest in Pakistan and its cultural capital.
And we're here on a Thursday,
a special day for devotees of Sufism.
-And so, we head to Data Darbar. -Is this the shrine? Data Darbar?
This one? Thank you.
-Shukriya! -Thank you, Shukriya!
Data Darbar is the largest Sufi shrine in south Asia
and one of the best places to see Lahore's famous Qawwaals in action.
(SINGING QAWWALI)
This shrine houses the remains of the 11th Century Sufi saint,
Data Ganj Baksh.
It's been quite a welcome to Pakistan, is it?
-Yeah. -Can you believe it?
It's only been a couple of hours and we have already had the
sort of a glorious musical welcome!
This is a very different form of, of Islam, isn't it?
It's very sensual kind of--
-Very joyous. -Joyous!
(SINGING QAWWALI)
Once the performance is in full swing
the audience expresses appreciation
by showering money on the performers.
Who remain unfazed and continue singing.
In the midst of it all, the generous audience
showers us with cash as well.
And our enthusiasm gets us a seat with the Qawwaals themselves.
-You singing as well Ash? -Don't know the words.
I would if I could.
Hey, Ash!
We're finally getting paid.
It's Ash's first time in a Sufi shrine
and he gets into the spirit of things.
In Punjabi, they say that anyone who hasn't seen Lahore,
simply hasn't lived.
A few steps into the old city
and we're already mesmerised by its old-world charm.
We are here to meet Salman Rashid, Pakistan's acclaimed travel writer
who has spent time on both sides of the border.
-This is the Delhi gate. -Yes.
I refuse to call it a gate. I call it Darwaza.
In Punjabi as we would say, "Darwazza!"
Dabrazza!
-Is that the Punjabi word for it? -Actually "Darwaza" is Persian.
But in Lahori Punjabi we pronounce the word "Darwazza."
-Darwazza. -Yeah, that's it.
"In the name of God, help this blind dependent man."
So your family have always lived in Lahore or--
My parents came from Jalandhar.
-From Jalandhar? -That's where my father was born.
There you go.
Salman leads us to a vantage point
that has birds-eye views of the Walled City of Lahore.
And the Wazir Khan mosque,
built in the 17th Century for Emperor Shah Jahan.
Your family moved from Jalandhar, to here,
and...
Did that happen a lot, like homes just
were taken over by someone else who moved in?
There wasn't any recompense.
Did they have somewhere to move to here?
My grandparents were killed in the riots.
My great grandfather and the family servant,
his wife and their five children, they were all killed there.
And I met the man in 2008
who was then years old whose father led this massacre.
-Really? -Yes.
And you know, the first thing
Mohinder Pratap Sehgal was his name, this man's name that I met.
-Yeah. -The first thing he said
to me was "First of all, I have to seek your forgiveness
because all this was done by my father."
-I mean, this was incredible. -Wow!
He said that his father, died ruing the day he had done
what he had done to my grandparents.
And he said, "He kept saying they were good people.
I shouldn't have done it." They were neighbours!
They lived a few houses away from each other.
So, they knew each other?
And he just decided that day that he would do it.
He led a mob and...
That's it.
And did the division.
Did it become so bitter because of the violence of Partition?
That is what made the relation between India and Pakistan
so vicious?
No it was not bitter immediately after Partition as well,
because in the 's my mother would go to Amritsar.
-Really? -To watch Indian films.
-Right. -And until 1965, things were easy.
People were coming and going, there was no fence on the border.
Yeah.
But strangely enough, relationships are not,
I mean, it's just impossible
to destroy the relationship between the same people.
We are the same people.
So, Pakistan had this,
narrative developed about it in the last 30 years
about it being intolerant and extremism and so on.
You know, this theory, this,
this fright created of xenophobic Pakistanis
has been officially created by the government of Pakistan.
I accuse the government of this great lie!
We are very...
Welcoming, loving, friendly people.
I'm so excited to be in Pakistan.
-There's just so much to see here. -Yes.
And you don't hear about it because the stories of Pakistan
the stories of its history and its beauty aren't told.
When we were travelling through India
particularly in Punjab, people were so curious
-they wanted to come and see Lahore. -Yeah.
They want to come and spend time in Pakistan and meet Pakistanis.
There is such a hunger between these two countries
to get to know each other.
The people who divided this country
are free to come and go, and we who live here
we have this iron curtain.
And I call this the real iron curtain
drawn and separating the two of us.
The one of us!
Well, let's hope for better times and better relations ahead.
Let's hope so.
-Thanks for sharing your story. -Yeah.
-Thanks for bringing us up here. -What a great view.
Thank you.
For dinner, we make our way to Lahore's food hub Laxmi Chowk
to see what Pakistan's famous street food has to offer.
Immediately, we're taken in by the sights
and sounds of this busy street.
Looks like a lot of meat.
Yeah, a lot of meat, a lot of
-tomatoes -Yeah, yeah.
That is what it looks like.
-Hello, how are you? -Salaam-alaikum.
Salaam-alaikum.
What, what are they?
-So, this is the kidney. -The kidney!
-And what is this? -Heart.
-Heart? -Yes.
-And this? -Testicles.
-Testicles? -Testicles!
Yeah, lovely!
-We'll have two of those. -And--
Chops.
-Yeah, I would love some chops. -And what's this one?
Brain.
Brain?
Yeah, I think we're short on brains.
-We'll have a brain. -We'll have a brain.
Okay, perfect.
Well, looks like we are going to have a real offaly feast!
-I have eaten offal before but -Yeah.
Have you ever had "----" before?
I think I've had them in Greece once.
-Okay? -Yeah, sure.
And then it goes like this?
-Let's give it a go, shall we? -Give it a try.
So the first time I came here, Ash, back in 2014,
I took the train from Peshawar to Lahore.
I ate some street food, it was just something like meat on a stick.
It was handed through the window on this train.
Which I ate and it was fine.
Ten minutes later.
Honestly, I've never felt so ill in my entire life.
So when I got off this train, I sort of stumbled off the train.
I was, you know, puking and everything else.
And I basically fainted in the gutter
at a place called Regal Chowk which is like the central square.
And I was, I was passed out and basically
-some tourists-- -Hello?
-Yeah, everything. -Yeah, everything.
And, they basically, these two tourists, thankfully, rescued me
they took me inside this hotel.
It took me like, two days, to recover.
-Jesus! -I lost so much weight.
So you've really made me look forward to this now.
This will be fine.
-Indeterminate meat. -Very well cooked.
The problem with that, it was on a stick
and it had probably been on a stick for about three days.
-But this is perfectly fresh. -Yeah, it's very true.
On the menu tonight is a dish made from offal,
the internal organs of an animal.
This dish, called Taka Tak,
derives its name from the sound of the sharp blades
hitting the griddle.
-This is ours? -This is for us, yeah?
Yeah. Perfect!
-Yeah! -Looks pretty good, actually.
-You've got it? -Yeah.
-All right. -Yeah, we've got a bit of bread.
Yeah, I'm going to try it straight up.
-Bon Appetit. -Yeah, enjoy your
chopped testicles.
That's a lot of spice.
That is a lot of spice that is good.
It tastes a bit like, really spicy curry Bolognese.
Yeah, it does.
Yeah, exactly that but really, really, really spicy.
We're stuffed
but in the spirit of adventure, we're game for one final dish.
- What's this? - Brain, brain.
Brain what though? Brain curry? Brain stew?
-Brain masala. -Brain masala.
-Brain masala! -Lovely!
Thanks.
Our main course comes with an interesting side.
That turns out to be quite an unexpected treat.
But a very welcome one!
I'm really enjoying Lahore.
Not a bad first day in Pakistan, is it?
Yeah.
That we've had music, we've had singing.
Oh, this is my favourite bit.
Oh, yeah!
My friend, we have to go.
Yeah, we have to go now.
-Thank you. Shukriya. -Oh, wow!
-Thank you very much, sir. -He won't let me go.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
That was excellent!
We got a bit carried away with the massage
so we've got to rush to the train station now.
So let's jump in one of these rickshaws and go.
-Yeah. This one? -This one?
Train station?
Yeah, okay, let's go!
-Okay. -Okay.
-Let's go. -Let's go.
After that strictly non-vegetarian meal
we head to Lahore railway station
for the next part of our journey in Pakistan.
We are just headed for the train now.
Should be down here apparently it's, it's arrived.
It's the overnight train to Peshawar.
This is very much the Frontier.
North-West Frontier Province.
Very close to the border with Afghanistan.
You know, this is for many, many decades been
a hotbed for Islamic terrorism, extremism.
We're going to go. That's where we're going to go
to see what the reality of life is like on the frontier.
I think this is our train, Ash.
Yeah, I just wanna soak in a moment of being here you know, this is a,
a lot of history happened in this train station in Partition.
A lot of awful stories happened in relation to this place, so,
it's just amazing to be here.
It's a place I've thought about and imagined so many times.
Yeah, this means a lot to me, this far in the journey.
Yes, yes. Move forward.
Yeah? This way?
Welcome, please come here.
We're on board the Khyber Mail,
one of Pakistan's oldest passenger trains
that's been running for 102 years between Karachi and Peshawar.
-Yeah, that's empty. -This one?
-Yes. -Yes.
Lovely. Thank you.
Yeah, we've got a, we've got a cabin!
This is travelling in style!
-Air-con, fans. -Lovely!
This will do, won't it?
Welcome to Pakistan.
-Thank you. -Pakistan Railways,
-specially you, sir. -Thank you!
Off on a train adventure!
Subtitle Caption by ZestCorp