O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people. Quran 5:51
Your being escorted reminds me of great aunt's story from Morocco. She's a short white lady travelling alone, and her plane was cancelled right before boarding. At the desk their was chaos with a bunch of people shouting over each other to get rebooked. My great aunt stood at the back and thought "well, not gonna get to rebook for a while". So she walks off and goes to find food in the terminal, buy some magazines etc... Suddenly an airport employee runs up to her and yells "madame, madame, your plane is waiting for you, you have to go." Turns out the airline employees had seen the little lady standing on her own at the back, and they decided to rebook her without her having to fight her way to the desk. She was easy to find in the passenger list being the only solo travelling woman. Except of course, thry forgot totell her they rebooked her. All that to say, sometimes people do things that you do not expect or necessarily want because they want to be nice and they perceive you as special.
As a Pakistani aviation TH-camr, i was a bit hesitant to click the video, thinking that it might have been a disappointing experience...but it is really good to see that you had a good experience!
It was a pleasure showing you around, So glad you went to skardu as well. Looking forward to Skardu Vlog and hoping you come again to experience more of Pakistan :D
I thought I was the only person to take delight in watching parked planes from the terminal windows. Glad there are many of us plane happy enthusiasts.
It's great, my son loves it too! I do sometimes wonder how, historically, autists managed to scratch their itches. I guess trains satisfied them from the mid 1800's, but when aviation came along, it elevated opportunities (pun intended). Thank you for not being ashamed of this desire.
The stadium you flew past was the King Fahd Stadium - it's a multipurpose football and athletics stadium which the Saudi Arabia national football team use. Think WWE have also used it for one of their stadium shows as well - another great video Noel
Check out Northern Pakistan.Skardu,Gilgit,Hunza Valley...its very green.Islamabad,Lahore,etc are green.Basically Pakistan is extremely green except for maybe the Sindh and Khyber the Balochistan provinces.
Impressive service for the price. As an Australian who has visited Pakistan twice I'm glad you have the opportunity to look around, see the sights, enjoy the hospitality and taste the food. Pakistan is one of the two greatly underestimated countries of the subcontinent and it deserves a lot more attention from the tourist industry than it gets.
I have heard about things in Pakistan that might be quite interesting to visit, but I doubt that Noel would have had the same positive experience if he were a woman, especially travelling alone.
The title lead me to believe this could be trouble but I'm glad it was the opposite of that. Islamabad looks amazing! I can't wait to travel there some day in the next few years, it's definitely on my top 5 places to visit. The flight was amazing. The food, seats, hospitality, the person who escorted you from the gate to the taxis - all for a four hour flight? Phenomenal at that price. I loved this video. Good on ya, mate! Can't wait to see where you head next.
The great thing about Noel is that rewarding attitude of happiness and appreciation for people, their work, culture, ethics and sights paired with this wonderful touch of "Noel humor". No arrogant attitude, such as "I am the customer, I am paying your salary", everything is said with the greatest respect and decency. If things get really wrong and out of hand, the worst thing, you will get from Noel, is a slight comment of refreshing sarcasm, that puts everything back into place and perspective. I wish I had 10% of Noels tolerance...
As a Business Class passenger or known TH-camr it looks like the gentleman was helping you through the airport arrival procedures and out to where the taxi's were. Nice service which you can sometimes pay for at other airports. 🙂
not so sure....the airline personnel guy was there perhaps to make sure Josh got out of the airport and met his travel fuide quickly before Josh might continue filming......
My thoughts on the escort.....we cant tell from the film why Josh was asked to change seats. He filmed a complaint he made, rightfully so, of the dirty side pocket at his seat. Perhaps a stewardess overheard him and volunteered a seat change. But from the video, Josh said something about rebalancing weight on the plane as a reason. Normally I wouldnt think anything of that. I thought it odd that with an empty bus class cabin the stewardess would seat him next to the only other guy in bus class. Like you normally pay for privacy in bus class and Josh was obviously talking and filming the whole flight. I thought the guy might be a sky marshal, govt security guy or an airline company minder posing as a business man just to keep an eye on Josh. I think a normal random business guy wouldve complained about Josh filming and talking while hes trying to work...yet didnt ask for a seat change. Also, I saw a stewardess seated across the aisle one time giving him the side eye.She mayve asked the pilot to radio ahead to ground for an escort. That escort made sure that Josh was picked up and by whom. The escort introduced himself to the guide and the guy had credentials. My hunch is those credentials were checked out. And as they were legit, Josh might not have been surveilled further on his trip. My guess is that Pakistan is still surveilled by borh sides, pro west vs pro muslim. What do I know, but I grew up in an airline family...been awhile since Ive really travelled far intetnstionally. I have never been to the mid east or asia. Also, Josh checked no luggage and was dress casually. So he mayve been flagged as a potential security threat? Posing as a travel vlogger?
Your sponsorship segments are always hilarious! I was half expecting you to get escorted off by the police and have a bald and bankrupt kicked out and not welcome back type of moment. I enjoyed the tour at the end. :)
Your fame goes all the way to Pakistan. What a great tour guy? I had no idea how green it was in Pakistan. The food looked delicious. Perfect way to see a new. As always thanks for showing another place in the world. Keep safe.
When that British Airways plane showed up for a brief time in this video, it made me think if that makes you miss your old home? Oh, and what a great addition on this trip report by adding a city tour of Islamabad and even trying their street food too! First time seeing that great footage before the end of this travel video!
He did show that the BA plane was 9 hours late. Typical. "An hours delay... Not too bad all in all." How quintessentially English is that! And for an American/Texas resident too? 😄
Noel's analogy of being escorted off of the plane is akin to Jeremy's observation of Mark having his phone robbed in the underpass in Peep Show 😂😂😂 If you know, you know!
Reminds me of a friend of mine who got off the plane in Nairobi a long time back. A man dressed in uniform took out his gun and put it into his belly and said "You come with me". He picked up his baggage from the carousel and eventually found himself on the other side of passport control, never having been stamped in. The man just wanted cash for being fast tracked through immigration!
I’m not entirely sure but Pakistan is known for being really welcoming to foreigners maybe the guy who carried your bag was the airlines way of saying welcome to Pakistan.
When you visit exotic places like Pakistan you really need a good local guide to show you around. It's good to visit some of the major tourist attractions but also the road less travelled. You really lucked out with that guide, he was terrific. Not an area I thought I would ever visit but now I,m rethinking it. Thanks Noel.
Seems to be a near-universal constant in Asia: if you see a 2-3 story building that looks like a garage mated with a scaffold, and there's mismatched signage all over it, there's going to be amazing food there.
I have flown all over the world in my time in the Army, and although I LOVE your videos these days today I totally fear flying. I have dreams about flying and it does not end well. But thank you for these amazing videos!!
I've flown to both Islamabad and Lahore a few times . But it's been nearly 10 years since the last time so, no doubt, things have changed. I know the airport in Islamabad is not the same one I flew to/from in 2014. Pakistan is a fantastic country and very beautiful. PS. The street food in Lahore is, in my opinion, better. I had the best mango lassi I've ever had there.
was it fizzy? That was something I wasn't prepared for. There is a brand here in the UK I tried a long time ago, and it wasn't fizzy, but a few years pass and I get another bottle and I'm guessing it's now made to an authentic recipe because I just thought it had gone bad and threw the rest out, but I later saw a reference to fizzy lassi and it all made sense.
The food in Pakistan must be amazing. We in the UK mostly get "Indian" food in Bangladeshi restaurants. On the occasion I have been in an authentic Pakistani restaurant I was astounded how good the food was.
Vast majority of Asians foods in Europe and America are mainly Pakistanis oriented as other country's in subcontinent have also join to enjoy them and calling them indians curry's but mainly these meat dishes and biryanis are Pakistanis ifghans and central Asians and Iranians not as indians claims them to be theres
Warn the hypocrites that torturous punishment awaits them. The hypocrites take unbelievers as friends rather than believers. Do they look for honor at their hands? Truly all honor belongs to Allah. Quran 4:138-139
British asking a Pakistani what happened to the Hindus & Sikhs living over there is surely fascinating & hilarious and certainely put a question mark on the British education system in educating their children about their great history. All hail to the mighty british empire.
I mean they've lost all their territory, and have essentially been destroyed and overtaken by migrants and refugees. It's like saying people in Turkey need to be educated about all the wrongdoings of the Ottoman empire.
I have been escorted off the plane too as I booked Special Assistance, he wanted me to have a free Barcelona 5 day card which is very nice of him to do.
Serene Air started off as a very good airline in its early years,but the standard seems to have gone down.Even then,I'm glad you had a pleasant flight onboard Serene Air. As for the food in Pakistan,it will never disappoint you.We also take pride in being very hospitable. Looking forward to the remainder of the trip and I hope we get a bus and train journeys as well.Fingers crossed. I hope you enjoyed your stay and do come back because there's so much Pakistan has to offer.
The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a women equal to half that of a man?" The women said "yes". He said "This is because of the deficiency of the women's mind." Sahih Bukhari 3:48:826
I wish I was "escorted" off my Air France (CDG) flight connecting to Barcelona with a 1.5 hour layover. I almost missed my flight. I had 12k steps recorded on my Fitbit starting in San Francisco (SFO). 😮
The airport is bigger than the city of Las Vegas, NV?! My mind is blown! I live there! 🤯 Also, if there’s anything I’ve learned from travel TH-camrs is that Pakistani people are very kind and hospitable. Hope to visit someday.
Think the stadium in Riyadh is the national stadium. The Saudi national football team play here. It’s design is similar to a large tent. But inside they developed a kind of funnel effect. This effect is similar to a jet engine. Consequently there is quite a draft which is fantastic in the hot conditions of Riyadh. I worked for 10 years in Saudi and had some great experiences. I also met my now wife there so a big thank you to the people of Saudi Arabia.
Very good of you to show the hospitality and the service of the countries in the middle east, nice to see someone showing what it's really like versus the never ending negativity and anti middle-east propaganda in the mainstream european media.
Love to hear a positive experience with serene. They are actually an airline putting effort and passion into customer experience! Edit: good experience for a reasonable price!
Astounded that you thought the guy giving you the two fingers was insulting you. Only in the UK does it mean something negative. Everywhere else it mean hey hang loose, or just a friendly sign to give to the camera.
Loved the tour of Islamabad, it's peaked my interest in Pakistan as a place to visit...subscribed to "traversepakistan" so who knows, perhaps I too will be eating an upmarket Greggs😊
@@noelphilips stunning greenery, lovely people and amazing food. And... Much cleaner than my own country 😂(Italy). BTW, thanks so much for bringing me along your amazing travels my friend, you really do brighten my days 💜👌
@@noelphilips I wrote a paragraph long response to the person who commented to you about by her fibro and to pass on her best wishes to your wife. I cannot find the post now. I think you might find my response to her interesting, at bare minimum. I suffer from an auto-immune of my own that symptom for symptom is about 95% the same as fibro.
Hi Noel. Another lovely video of Pakistan. The lesson for airlines, such as Serene Air, is that if you are going the extra mile in showing hospitality then make sure the crew make it known. The gent escorting you could have spoken to you a bit more and outlined the purpose of his attention to a guest flying the airline, and visiting the country. A simple yet important trick they missed!!
Great video! The editing of the BA plane and that person while boarding really cracked me up 😄. Look forward to seeing the rest of the trip, Pakistan looks absolutely fascinating!
2:56 - you hit my funny-bone - maybe it was the inordinately-loud volume of "Hail Britannia!" and the "9 hours late", but I'm still smiling, Noel. You have a strangely-captivating effect on your audience. I guess it's your drollness and your abiding affection and regard for your followers. Irony well-played!
Noel, you fly so we don't have to. I used to work for US oil companies but as retired I haven't flown for many years and don't miss it in the slightest.
00:40 Bless them. They seemed to be genuinely surprised you weren't trying to bring a washing machine onboard, like the other passengers :p Hope you're doing alright Noel :D
Thank you for your postings of your travels, entertaining and informative. I find myself commiserating with any negative experiences that you have and rejoicing in the positives. You are a lovely young man, big hello from Canada.
What you ate in the lounge at the airport was scrambled eggs and fuul. This is made from fava beans and is a staple diet in many Arabic countries including Egypt where I live and no meat involved at all
Noel, I truly enjoy watching your videos! You are so very down to earth and relatable! I too have fibromyalgia severely please let Rachel know that she is not alone!
I am sure yourself and Noel's wife have had dozens of tests done. I have Chronic Inflammatory Demyilinating Polyneuropothy (an auto immune that is having my immune system attack and strip the protective myilin off from every nerve in my body). When I first went in with the issue they were looking at fibromyalgia. I was sent over to a neurologist to start testing and as I described my pain in detail to him he became convinced it was not, in fact, fibro. So, over the next 3 months I had at least 2 pints of blood taken for testing. As one condition after another was crossed off the list the doc was still positive it was not fibro. We took about a two week break from the blood draws and tests and the meds were not helping one bit. I was in a wheelchair at anywhere I had to walk more than 2 or 3 minutes. Finally I received a call to come back to the clinic first thing the next morning. He was almost overly excited that after pouring over his books for hours and hours he had a strong lead. The testing for CIDP was to give another 5 vials of blood and the two hours of being poked about 100 times, all over my arms and legs withhalf inch needles and then electricity was passed through and timed to a corresponding needle. Each jolt was about the same pain as touching a 9 volt battery to your tongue. When my measurements came back, as well as the blood results, it was time for the BIG test. I went in for a Spinal Tap two days later. They needed to draw some fluid to check for certain levels of certain proteins. Two days after that fun I was officially diagnosed with CIDP. I will say that only 3 in every million people ever get CIDP, their is no viable cure, about 1% of those of us who get it are cured of it and they have no clue what causes it. I was ruled out for steroid injections due to my diabetes. The 3- 8 hour days of IV infusions once a month was almost as bad as the disease itself, but after about 3 years of this and multiple visits to the ER and attempting a blood cleaning process called plasma pheresis I started feeling much better, but I am only in remission. Though I can say my hour-to-hour pain level is about a 3 or 4 now compared to the 8 to 10 it was prior (even with NORCO pills and even a Fentynyl patch). I am totally off pain killers and only take 2400 mg og Gabapentin now. I only take a OTC Tylenol about once a month now. IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM am I dismissing your diagnosis. From the 4 or 5 seminars my wife and I attended, it is a modern miracle that we even find out 75% of these diagnosis' from neurological disorders. CIDP is a permanent cousin to Guillen-Bare' (spelling is most likely incorrect).
RE BA late. When I flew out of Jeddah in the 90s it was great getting into the BA flight. Great cabin crew and BOOZE! On the climbout they basically gave you as many miniatures of eg vodka as you wanted😁 Even managed to score a Concorde promo flight back to London. On board I met someone I knew who was on BA standby for the usual 767 flight which left at the same time and got UPGRADED to Concorde!
Good grief!! ISLAMABAD is beautiful!!!! Who knew!? I pictured drab grey/tan landscapes and loads of sand (like I view all middle eastern cities aside from Dubai) but this place is gorgeous!! Pakistan on the visit list.
I watched over 13 of your videos. Thank you so much for these as a aviation nerd. I have been working on my plane anxiety for years and used to love flying as a kid. Your videos are inspiring me to keep experiencing to see this incredible world. :) ❤ im sure someone already mentioned it. At the beginning of the trip the mystery building is the King Fahd International Stadium.
Hi noel i noticed you had water from a glass you should always drink a unopened bottle water as the open water you drink in your tea, coffee or on its own is the same water they use in the loo "nasty" so always ask for bothle water.
It might be interesting to some people to know that Canberra, Australia, was also designed and built to be a modern, brand new capital city, complete with artificial lakes, ridiculously wide main roads, and a city park rather like like New York's Central Park. An American architect was brought over to do the conceptualising. Not only that - just like Islamabad - there are old villages from the late 1800s just minutes away - Tharwa, Hall, and the small city of Queanbeyan.
The reason why the Serene Air ground staff escorted you off the plane was because you're the only caucasian chap with ginger facial hair there, I believe.
From the title, I thought we might see a picture of your holding a newspaper under your chin on tonight's news... Glad it was just a courtesy from the airline. Interesting sequence at the end doing your tour of the village. The food looks delicious!
I remember checking into a transPacific flight once and they asked us twice if we had luggage, then explaining that everybody has a ton of luggage and they never see anybody without checked bags.
Noel you had me nervous there for a bit when towards the end of the flight they were escorting you off the plane 😮 but it turns out that it was all good, Pakistani street food nice tour guide, what more could a person ask for 🤷🏼😊
I've taken 777 from Jeddah to Lahore on Saudia, the aircraft was in horrible condition. The cool part was they took out several seats and made a prayer area. Usually on such routes Saudia known send their outdated aircraft. Usually Emirates and Qatar are reliable on such routes. Hope you enjoy Pakistan.
The BA delay sounds par for the course these days. My Father worked for them for 30 odd years and we went all round the World in First/Business. He would turn in his grave if he could see what a shadow of its former self BA has become.
I was traveling space available on an IATA pass years ago and was taken off along with another previously bumped person who tried their luck for 2 high priority bumped people. Got on a slightly later flight.
Like the included travel blog as well as flight. You can definitely say now you visited this country unlike some you claimed having just visited the airport 🤣🤣
This is probably the first Pakistani airline I would even consider based on what i saw they clearly clean their planes more frequently than other airlines although there were crumbs (still looked cleaner than some us planes lol) and I think they offered a way better service with the crew it seemed like they really wanted to offer good service and not just to you. Considering how “luxurious” their main competition tries to brand itself, it makes a lot of sense why Serene wants to try and use your video to be aggressive with the competitors for their most premium service they have. It felt like an attempt to take on Emirates, Etihad or Qatar level of “over the top” service in their hubs where someone will escort you places or drive you to your gate that’s probably a short walk lol. Strategically I get it but I don’t think it came off how they wanted it to knowing they only did that for you 🤣 still I think it shows they are trying to strive for a high level of service!
That commercial had me laughing so hard I almost fell off the bed!! Rachel: "What are you DOING?!" Noel: "Oh I'm using me weed whacker! When you are old like me you get nose hairs and ear hairs and this helps!" Rachel: " well you are using it outside in the rain! Don't do that!"*proceeds to push Noel in the pool* ROFLOL!!!! The food to me didn't look that appetizing. But of course I am picky as I can't eat really spicy food. The rice looked good though! But that meal you had before you boarded the plane-looked like something I had yesterday that repeated on me! ROFLOL!
My favorite part of a Noel Phillips video is seeing the passengers he is sitting next to awkwardly side eyeing the camera the whole video 😂
I just wish he'd face the other way when filming lol
vicariously travelling with Noel comes with equally vicarious embarrassment but hey it's just part of the journey :)
@Lee Claxton I mean you can understand, they should live in ghettos..:(
O you who believe! do not take the Jews and the Christians for friends; they are friends of each other; and whoever amongst you takes them for a friend, then surely he is one of them; surely Allah does not guide the unjust people. Quran 5:51
@Lee Claxton It’s admittedly weird bud. There’s no shame in that.
Your being escorted reminds me of great aunt's story from Morocco. She's a short white lady travelling alone, and her plane was cancelled right before boarding. At the desk their was chaos with a bunch of people shouting over each other to get rebooked. My great aunt stood at the back and thought "well, not gonna get to rebook for a while". So she walks off and goes to find food in the terminal, buy some magazines etc... Suddenly an airport employee runs up to her and yells "madame, madame, your plane is waiting for you, you have to go." Turns out the airline employees had seen the little lady standing on her own at the back, and they decided to rebook her without her having to fight her way to the desk. She was easy to find in the passenger list being the only solo travelling woman. Except of course, thry forgot totell her they rebooked her.
All that to say, sometimes people do things that you do not expect or necessarily want because they want to be nice and they perceive you as special.
This would happen in Morocco. Kindest people😊
Love this!
@@gailcal clearly you haven't been to Morocco or you are Moroccan so biased 😂
@@leonardhpls6 To answer your suppositions. 1) Not Moroccan 2) Many times
@@gailcalnice people unalive 2 Nordic girls??
The British Airways 9 hours late with rule Britannia made me laugh so much 😂
Of course, that wasn't their national anthem, it was "Rule, Britannia!" by Thomas Arne.
@@dmues5s sorry yeah that's it
They should really change the name of this Spanish airline already.
As they say "Brittania waives the rules"
Including timetables...
Me looking for this comment lmao XD
As a Pakistani aviation TH-camr, i was a bit hesitant to click the video, thinking that it might have been a disappointing experience...but it is really good to see that you had a good experience!
That female flight attendant deserves praise; she seemed especially nice.
It was a pleasure showing you around, So glad you went to skardu as well. Looking forward to Skardu Vlog and hoping you come again to experience more of Pakistan :D
🙌
❤
❤️
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
Travelled with you guys few years ago
Absolutely loved the service 🤍🤍🤍
Clickbaiting on the titles. No need to, Noel. We are gonna watch anyway
I thought I was the only person to take delight in watching parked planes from the terminal windows. Glad there are many of us plane happy enthusiasts.
It's great, my son loves it too! I do sometimes wonder how, historically, autists managed to scratch their itches. I guess trains satisfied them from the mid 1800's, but when aviation came along, it elevated opportunities (pun intended). Thank you for not being ashamed of this desire.
The dude with the two fingers was saying ‘peace,’ not ‘f-off.’
Like this ✌️ yep. ☮️
Great to see you including the tours again… think it really adds to the videos.. I love seeing the extra parts of the trip!
Glad you enjoy it!
The stadium you flew past was the King Fahd Stadium - it's a multipurpose football and athletics stadium which the Saudi Arabia national football team use. Think WWE have also used it for one of their stadium shows as well - another great video Noel
We need more vlogs like this! I love the plane journey's don't get me wrong, but these walk around videos are a blessing Noel!
Glad you like them!
I agree Connor.
@@noelphilips so you reply to this guy and not the gent that showed you around?
Youre weird mate
@@diggarsa8614 jog on. You've got some serious issues
@@gumusluk05 oh shut up. You'll do nothing
Pakistan very nice country my uncle worked there for over a decade Railway worker, enjoy your trip Noel.
Check out Northern Pakistan.Skardu,Gilgit,Hunza Valley...its very green.Islamabad,Lahore,etc are green.Basically Pakistan is extremely green except for maybe the Sindh and Khyber the Balochistan provinces.
Impressive service for the price. As an Australian who has visited Pakistan twice I'm glad you have the opportunity to look around, see the sights, enjoy the hospitality and taste the food. Pakistan is one of the two greatly underestimated countries of the subcontinent and it deserves a lot more attention from the tourist industry than it gets.
👍
I'd honestly pay good money not to go there. Whatever do you wanna go to a poxy country like that for? Its insanity mush.
@@Frank972833keep barking! You just see the one negative side of the country.
@@QuantumCount2717 there are only negative sides, it's a shite country my friend lol
I have heard about things in Pakistan that might be quite interesting to visit, but I doubt that Noel would have had the same positive experience if he were a woman, especially travelling alone.
Serene Air lives up to its name. Looks absolutely fantastic and beautiful, and the meal looked delicious.
The title lead me to believe this could be trouble but I'm glad it was the opposite of that.
Islamabad looks amazing! I can't wait to travel there some day in the next few years, it's definitely on my top 5 places to visit.
The flight was amazing. The food, seats, hospitality, the person who escorted you from the gate to the taxis - all for a four hour flight? Phenomenal at that price. I loved this video. Good on ya, mate! Can't wait to see where you head next.
The great thing about Noel is that rewarding attitude of happiness and appreciation for people, their work, culture, ethics and sights paired with this wonderful touch of "Noel humor". No arrogant attitude, such as "I am the customer, I am paying your salary", everything is said with the greatest respect and decency. If things get really wrong and out of hand, the worst thing, you will get from Noel, is a slight comment of refreshing sarcasm, that puts everything back into place and perspective. I wish I had 10% of Noels tolerance...
As a Business Class passenger or known TH-camr it looks like the gentleman was helping you through the airport arrival procedures and out to where the taxi's were. Nice service which you can sometimes pay for at other airports. 🙂
We did this in South Africa, slipped a staff member a tenner and got whisked past all the massive queues
not so sure....the airline personnel guy was there perhaps to make sure Josh got out of the airport and met his travel fuide quickly before Josh might continue filming......
My thoughts on the escort.....we cant tell from the film why Josh was asked to change seats.
He filmed a complaint he made, rightfully so, of the dirty side pocket at his seat.
Perhaps a stewardess overheard him and volunteered a seat change. But from the video, Josh said something about rebalancing weight on the plane as a reason. Normally I wouldnt think anything of that.
I thought it odd that with an empty bus class cabin the stewardess would seat him next to the only other guy in bus class. Like you normally pay for privacy in bus class and Josh was obviously talking and filming the whole flight.
I thought the guy might be a sky marshal, govt security guy or an airline company minder posing as a business man just to keep an eye on Josh.
I think a normal random business guy wouldve complained about Josh filming and talking while hes trying to work...yet didnt ask for a seat change. Also, I saw a stewardess seated across the aisle one time giving him the side eye.She mayve asked the pilot to radio ahead to ground for an escort. That escort made sure that Josh was picked up and by whom.
The escort introduced himself to the guide and the guy had credentials.
My hunch is those credentials were checked out. And as they were legit, Josh might not have been surveilled further on his trip.
My guess is that Pakistan is still surveilled by borh sides, pro west vs pro muslim.
What do I know, but I grew up in an airline family...been awhile since Ive really travelled far intetnstionally. I have never been to the mid east or asia.
Also, Josh checked no luggage and was dress casually. So he mayve been flagged as a potential security threat? Posing as a travel vlogger?
Let me guess, you're American? 😂@@dianacortese5603
@@dianacortese5603 Almost a year late, but who is this Josh you speak of? His name's Noel :D
Random acts of kindness are a lost art in much of the world, nice to see you got to bump into one in Pakistan, Good job Serene Air.
Your sponsorship segments are always hilarious! I was half expecting you to get escorted off by the police and have a bald and bankrupt kicked out and not welcome back type of moment. I enjoyed the tour at the end. :)
Your fame goes all the way to Pakistan. What a great tour guy? I had no idea how green it was in Pakistan. The food looked delicious. Perfect way to see a new. As always thanks for showing another place in the world. Keep safe.
I think it’s a great idea to tack on a travelogue after an airplane ride.
Boy, you go around the round faster than an astronaut. We so much enjoy your trips and tips.
Glad you like them!
When that British Airways plane showed up for a brief time in this video, it made me think if that makes you miss your old home? Oh, and what a great addition on this trip report by adding a city tour of Islamabad and even trying their street food too! First time seeing that great footage before the end of this travel video!
He did show that the BA plane was 9 hours late. Typical.
"An hours delay... Not too bad all in all." How quintessentially English is that!
And for an American/Texas resident too? 😄
@Tahir no he moved to the US in Houston Texas
@@tahir8778 Nope. A few months ago, he emigrated to Texas, USA. He now lives in Houston.
Noel's analogy of being escorted off of the plane is akin to Jeremy's observation of Mark having his phone robbed in the underpass in Peep Show 😂😂😂
If you know, you know!
LOL
Can I have my Blackberry back please (in a girls voice)
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580 😂😂😂
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580 So hilarious. I love Peep Show.
Reminds me of a friend of mine who got off the plane in Nairobi a long time back. A man dressed in uniform took out his gun and put it into his belly and said "You come with me". He picked up his baggage from the carousel and eventually found himself on the other side of passport control, never having been stamped in.
The man just wanted cash for being fast tracked through immigration!
I really liked that you included the tour at the end of the video - thanks for including that!
Noel, thank you so much for showing us Pakistan as you saw it. I look forward to more.
I’m not entirely sure but Pakistan is known for being really welcoming to foreigners maybe the guy who carried your bag was the airlines way of saying welcome to Pakistan.
I too think so. Since the guy ushered did not speak English their good intention could have been got misunderstood. :)
Probably!
Still one of the most thoughtful, fair, kind reviewers out there. Thanks again, Noel.
When you visit exotic places like Pakistan you really need a good local guide to show you around. It's good to visit some of the major tourist attractions but also the road less travelled. You really lucked out with that guide, he was terrific. Not an area I thought I would ever visit but now I,m rethinking it. Thanks Noel.
Hanan here, I really hope you do visit some day, Maybe Noel's upcoming videos will convince you :D
Was nice of that guy to help you with your bag, but ..... do you suppose he was expecting a tip for that ???
Seems to be a near-universal constant in Asia: if you see a 2-3 story building that looks like a garage mated with a scaffold, and there's mismatched signage all over it, there's going to be amazing food there.
I'm Australian but can read a bit of Urdu so I knew it was going to be good 😅
You are absolutely right 😂
I have flown all over the world in my time in the Army, and although I LOVE your videos these days today I totally fear flying. I have dreams about flying and it does not end well. But thank you for these amazing videos!!
I've flown to both Islamabad and Lahore a few times . But it's been nearly 10 years since the last time so, no doubt, things have changed. I know the airport in Islamabad is not the same one I flew to/from in 2014. Pakistan is a fantastic country and very beautiful. PS. The street food in Lahore is, in my opinion, better. I had the best mango lassi I've ever had there.
was it fizzy? That was something I wasn't prepared for. There is a brand here in the UK I tried a long time ago, and it wasn't fizzy, but a few years pass and I get another bottle and I'm guessing it's now made to an authentic recipe because I just thought it had gone bad and threw the rest out, but I later saw a reference to fizzy lassi and it all made sense.
Food is the worst in Islamabad of all of Pakistan xD
Love mango Lassie's and rose water Lassie's both are wonderful tasting 😋
we hope you get to visit again
Best commercial I have ever seen on TH-cam. Well done.
Definitely the most in depth airline vlogger I’ve seen. Wondering what seatmates think of the narration and being in the shots.
I usually talk to my seatmates. I tell them what I'm doing & if they don't want to be in a shot, I make sure that I don't get them in it.
@@noelphilips thanks for responding! I figured as much, nice to hear it from you.
The food in Pakistan must be amazing. We in the UK mostly get "Indian" food in Bangladeshi restaurants. On the occasion I have been in an authentic Pakistani restaurant I was astounded how good the food was.
Yeah it is.I hope you visit Pakistan one day.
@@TheRareVideosXL Just from seeing Noel's visit it looks like a beautiful place to visit.
@@johndufton9686 Yeah it is.Wait till you see more.
Vast majority of Asians foods in Europe and America are mainly Pakistanis oriented as other country's in subcontinent have also join to enjoy them and calling them indians curry's but mainly these meat dishes and biryanis are Pakistanis ifghans and central Asians and Iranians not as indians claims them to be theres
Pakistan looks awesome! Can't wait for the upcoming videos.
That Croc ‘swimming’ by in the pool in the trimmer advert. Classic 😂
Really enjoy the additional tour of the city, a really good addition. And your host was fantastic too.
The commercial for manscape weedwacker was very humorous. Especially the contrived falling into the pool with the product device.
Thank you Noel for showing us the beauty of Pakistan.
Warn the hypocrites that torturous punishment awaits them. The hypocrites take unbelievers as friends rather than believers. Do they look for honor at their hands? Truly all honor belongs to Allah. Quran 4:138-139
That place looks absolutely stunning , I’m booking up this week to take my Mrs there . She will love it ,.
British asking a Pakistani what happened to the Hindus & Sikhs living over there is surely fascinating & hilarious and certainely put a question mark on the British education system in educating their children about their great history. All hail to the mighty british empire.
I mean they've lost all their territory, and have essentially been destroyed and overtaken by migrants and refugees. It's like saying people in Turkey need to be educated about all the wrongdoings of the Ottoman empire.
I have been escorted off the plane too as I booked Special Assistance, he wanted me to have a free Barcelona 5 day card which is very nice of him to do.
Pakistan looks beautiful, absolutely amazing.
They for sure looked you up! And what a kind gesture of welcome. I love culture and travel!!! You rock! 🇬🇧
Jeez man I got scared at the 'Escorted' caption thinking What have we done now lol?? Thankfully nothing serious, enjoy your stay here Noel.
11:10 love how the cabin crew is is just chilling in one of the passenger seats instead of the jump seats
Aren't they off duty and travelling as a passenger?
Serene Air started off as a very good airline in its early years,but the standard seems to have gone down.Even then,I'm glad you had a pleasant flight onboard Serene Air.
As for the food in Pakistan,it will never disappoint you.We also take pride in being very hospitable.
Looking forward to the remainder of the trip and I hope we get a bus and train journeys as well.Fingers crossed.
I hope you enjoyed your stay and do come back because there's so much Pakistan has to offer.
The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a women equal to half that of a man?" The women said "yes". He said "This is because of the deficiency of the women's mind." Sahih Bukhari 3:48:826
@@moholah3745
You still at it, oh daft one?
This makes your channel more interesting doing the tourist thing instead of just flying everywhere without stopping.
I wish I was "escorted" off my Air France (CDG) flight connecting to Barcelona with a 1.5 hour layover. I almost missed my flight. I had 12k steps recorded on my Fitbit starting in San Francisco (SFO). 😮
The airport is bigger than the city of Las Vegas, NV?! My mind is blown! I live there! 🤯 Also, if there’s anything I’ve learned from travel TH-camrs is that Pakistani people are very kind and hospitable. Hope to visit someday.
Think the stadium in Riyadh is the national stadium. The Saudi national football team play here. It’s design is similar to a large tent. But inside they developed a kind of funnel effect. This effect is similar to a jet engine. Consequently there is quite a draft which is fantastic in the hot conditions of Riyadh. I worked for 10 years in Saudi and had some great experiences. I also met my now wife there so a big thank you to the people of Saudi Arabia.
Very good of you to show the hospitality and the service of the countries in the middle east, nice to see someone showing what it's really like versus the never ending negativity and anti middle-east propaganda in the mainstream european media.
Pakistan is a South Asian country,not in the Middle East.
That was an unexpected hospitality gesture escort Serene airlines made sure to treat you 1st class not just business class. Very good experience 👍👏
Love to hear a positive experience with serene. They are actually an airline putting effort and passion into customer experience!
Edit: good experience for a reasonable price!
Astounded that you thought the guy giving you the two fingers was insulting you. Only in the UK does it mean something negative. Everywhere else it mean hey hang loose, or just a friendly sign to give to the camera.
It means peace 😆
@ThemePro its actually only an insult in the uk. In Australia it means peace not explicit language
@@southaussiegarbo2054 I think it depends which way your hand is facing when you make the 'salute'.
@@Mary.Quantum426 nope
He did the V sign for peace. I think 99% of the viewers got that.
Hiring the guide was a really smart idea. He also seems really professional. Great for your project and clearly knows the area.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Loved the tour of Islamabad, it's peaked my interest in Pakistan as a place to visit...subscribed to "traversepakistan" so who knows, perhaps I too will be eating an upmarket Greggs😊
So glad to seee this, We really hope you get to experience that :D
Don't you get bored keep flying on planes all the while - day in day out.I'd rather sit at home and ave a nice cup of tea mush
Islamabad is very surprising... Certainly greener, cleaner and more orderly than many European cities ❤
It's such a beautiful city. One of my favourite places to visit.
@@noelphilips stunning greenery, lovely people and amazing food. And... Much cleaner than my own country 😂(Italy). BTW, thanks so much for bringing me along your amazing travels my friend, you really do brighten my days 💜👌
@@noelphilips I wrote a paragraph long response to the person who commented to you about by her fibro and to pass on her best wishes to your wife. I cannot find the post now. I think you might find my response to her interesting, at bare minimum. I suffer from an auto-immune of my own that symptom for symptom is about 95% the same as fibro.
Hi Noel. Another lovely video of Pakistan. The lesson for airlines, such as Serene Air, is that if you are going the extra mile in showing hospitality then make sure the crew make it known. The gent escorting you could have spoken to you a bit more and outlined the purpose of his attention to a guest flying the airline, and visiting the country. A simple yet important trick they missed!!
Great video! The editing of the BA plane and that person while boarding really cracked me up 😄. Look forward to seeing the rest of the trip, Pakistan looks absolutely fascinating!
2:56 - you hit my funny-bone - maybe it was the inordinately-loud volume of "Hail Britannia!" and the "9 hours late", but I'm still smiling, Noel. You have a strangely-captivating effect on your audience. I guess it's your drollness and your abiding affection and regard for your followers. Irony well-played!
Double thumbs up 👍 👍
Loved the "behind-the-scenes" tour of Islamabad! That's exactly the kind of stuff I want to see when I visit a foreign country!
Glad you enjoyed
Noel, you fly so we don't have to. I used to work for US oil companies but as retired I haven't flown for many years and don't miss it in the slightest.
00:40 Bless them. They seemed to be genuinely surprised you weren't trying to bring a washing machine onboard, like the other passengers :p
Hope you're doing alright Noel :D
The passengers loading huge boxes were transporting things not commonly available in Pakistan, either for personal use or to sell.
They do that in East Africa too😊😊😊😅😅😅😅😅
Thank you for your postings of your travels, entertaining and informative. I find myself commiserating with any negative experiences that you have and rejoicing in the positives. You are a lovely young man, big hello from Canada.
One of my favourite countries. Lovely people.
What you ate in the lounge at the airport was scrambled eggs and fuul. This is made from fava beans and is a staple diet in many Arabic countries including Egypt where I live and no meat involved at all
What a beautiful city; thank you for sharing your travels! 🇵🇰
My pleasure 😊
This is another country I would adore to visit. Thank you so much for the great videos.
Thanks for watching!
Noel, I truly enjoy watching your videos! You are so very down to earth and relatable! I too have fibromyalgia severely please let Rachel know that she is not alone!
Thank you! Will do! Best of luck for your health.
I am sure yourself and Noel's wife have had dozens of tests done. I have Chronic Inflammatory Demyilinating Polyneuropothy (an auto immune that is having my immune system attack and strip the protective myilin off from every nerve in my body). When I first went in with the issue they were looking at fibromyalgia. I was sent over to a neurologist to start testing and as I described my pain in detail to him he became convinced it was not, in fact, fibro. So, over the next 3 months I had at least 2 pints of blood taken for testing. As one condition after another was crossed off the list the doc was still positive it was not fibro. We took about a two week break from the blood draws and tests and the meds were not helping one bit. I was in a wheelchair at anywhere I had to walk more than 2 or 3 minutes. Finally I received a call to come back to the clinic first thing the next morning. He was almost overly excited that after pouring over his books for hours and hours he had a strong lead. The testing for CIDP was to give another 5 vials of blood and the two hours of being poked about 100 times, all over my arms and legs withhalf inch needles and then electricity was passed through and timed to a corresponding needle. Each jolt was about the same pain as touching a 9 volt battery to your tongue. When my measurements came back, as well as the blood results, it was time for the BIG test. I went in for a Spinal Tap two days later. They needed to draw some fluid to check for certain levels of certain proteins. Two days after that fun I was officially diagnosed with CIDP. I will say that only 3 in every million people ever get CIDP, their is no viable cure, about 1% of those of us who get it are cured of it and they have no clue what causes it. I was ruled out for steroid injections due to my diabetes. The 3- 8 hour days of IV infusions once a month was almost as bad as the disease itself, but after about 3 years of this and multiple visits to the ER and attempting a blood cleaning process called plasma pheresis I started feeling much better, but I am only in remission. Though I can say my hour-to-hour pain level is about a 3 or 4 now compared to the 8 to 10 it was prior (even with NORCO pills and even a Fentynyl patch). I am totally off pain killers and only take 2400 mg og Gabapentin now. I only take a OTC Tylenol about once a month now.
IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM am I dismissing your diagnosis. From the 4 or 5 seminars my wife and I attended, it is a modern miracle that we even find out 75% of these diagnosis' from neurological disorders. CIDP is a permanent cousin to Guillen-Bare' (spelling is most likely incorrect).
What a guy Hanan was, would love more content around the different countries as well as just the flights
RE BA late. When I flew out of Jeddah in the 90s it was great getting into the BA flight. Great cabin crew and BOOZE! On the climbout they basically gave you as many miniatures of eg vodka as you wanted😁
Even managed to score a Concorde promo flight back to London. On board I met someone I knew who was on BA standby for the usual 767 flight which left at the same time and got UPGRADED to Concorde!
Good grief!! ISLAMABAD is beautiful!!!! Who knew!? I pictured drab grey/tan landscapes and loads of sand (like I view all middle eastern cities aside from Dubai) but this place is gorgeous!!
Pakistan on the visit list.
I watched over 13 of your videos. Thank you so much for these as a aviation nerd. I have been working on my plane anxiety for years and used to love flying as a kid. Your videos are inspiring me to keep experiencing to see this incredible world. :) ❤ im sure someone already mentioned it. At the beginning of the trip the mystery building is the King Fahd International Stadium.
Hi noel i noticed you had water from a glass you should always drink a unopened bottle water as the open water you drink in your tea, coffee or on its own is the same water they use in the loo "nasty" so always ask for bothle water.
It's always good to see you in Pakistan.❤
It might be interesting to some people to know that Canberra, Australia, was also designed and built to be a modern, brand new capital city, complete with artificial lakes, ridiculously wide main roads, and a city park rather like like New York's Central Park. An American architect was brought over to do the conceptualising. Not only that - just like Islamabad - there are old villages from the late 1800s just minutes away - Tharwa, Hall, and the small city of Queanbeyan.
The reason why the Serene Air ground staff escorted you off the plane was because you're the only caucasian chap with ginger facial hair there, I believe.
this video did a great job for me. it have me wanting to visit Pakistan
We hope you do soon
From the title, I thought we might see a picture of your holding a newspaper under your chin on tonight's news... Glad it was just a courtesy from the airline. Interesting sequence at the end doing your tour of the village. The food looks delicious!
I remember checking into a transPacific flight once and they asked us twice if we had luggage, then explaining that everybody has a ton of luggage and they never see anybody without checked bags.
Really enjoyed seeing Islamabad after the plane ride was over. Thanks!
Noel you had me nervous there for a bit when towards the end of the flight they were escorting you off the plane 😮 but it turns out that it was all good, Pakistani street food nice tour guide, what more could a person ask for 🤷🏼😊
I've taken 777 from Jeddah to Lahore on Saudia, the aircraft was in horrible condition. The cool part was they took out several seats and made a prayer area. Usually on such routes Saudia known send their outdated aircraft. Usually Emirates and Qatar are reliable on such routes. Hope you enjoy Pakistan.
Fabulous video! Your guide is super friendly!... the food looks delicious!
Thank you so much!
Hey Carla, what’s your favorite food ?
Gorgeous terminal!
Good to have you here, welcome.
The BA delay sounds par for the course these days. My Father worked for them for 30 odd years and we went all round the World in First/Business. He would turn in his grave if he could see what a shadow of its former self BA has become.
I was traveling space available on an IATA pass years ago and was taken off along with another previously bumped person who tried their luck for 2 high priority bumped people.
Got on a slightly later flight.
Like the included travel blog as well as flight. You can definitely say now you visited this country unlike some you claimed having just visited the airport 🤣🤣
@5:06 Haha ! When I first saw it, I thought it was a vibrator for nose and ears.
This is probably the first Pakistani airline I would even consider based on what i saw they clearly clean their planes more frequently than other airlines although there were crumbs (still looked cleaner than some us planes lol) and I think they offered a way better service with the crew it seemed like they really wanted to offer good service and not just to you. Considering how “luxurious” their main competition tries to brand itself, it makes a lot of sense why Serene wants to try and use your video to be aggressive with the competitors for their most premium service they have. It felt like an attempt to take on Emirates, Etihad or Qatar level of “over the top” service in their hubs where someone will escort you places or drive you to your gate that’s probably a short walk lol. Strategically I get it but I don’t think it came off how they wanted it to knowing they only did that for you 🤣 still I think it shows they are trying to strive for a high level of service!
I can't wait for when BA find out that I'm on their flight to Antiqua & send an escort to meet me as I step off the plane. Now that's service!!
That commercial had me laughing so hard I almost fell off the bed!! Rachel: "What are you DOING?!" Noel: "Oh I'm using me weed whacker! When you are old like me you get nose hairs and ear hairs and this helps!" Rachel: " well you are using it outside in the rain! Don't do that!"*proceeds to push Noel in the pool* ROFLOL!!!! The food to me didn't look that appetizing. But of course I am picky as I can't eat really spicy food. The rice looked good though! But that meal you had before you boarded the plane-looked like something I had yesterday that repeated on me! ROFLOL!
I wouldn’t set foot in either country. I’ll just have to live vicariously through your travels.
Great video Noel thank you for showing a little bit of Pakistan the people seemed nice. 2 thumbs up my friend!!!!
In the US you get a dry sandwich in First if you are lucky. Or some junk snacks.