Meeting Title: Brainforge Travel Plans and Experiences Sync Date: 2026-01-09 Meeting participants: Mustafa Raja, Henry Zhao
WEBVTT
1 00:01:24.050 ⇒ 00:01:25.729 Henry Zhao: Hey, Mustafa, how’s it going?
2 00:01:31.780 ⇒ 00:01:33.879 Mustafa Raja: Hey, how are you? I’m doing good.
3 00:01:34.670 ⇒ 00:01:35.690 Henry Zhao: Good, thanks.
4 00:01:36.470 ⇒ 00:01:38.509 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, how was your… how was your vacation?
5 00:01:39.590 ⇒ 00:01:42.619 Henry Zhao: It was good. How was your time off? Did you have any time off?
6 00:01:42.790 ⇒ 00:01:45.059 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, I did.
7 00:01:45.590 ⇒ 00:01:56.399 Mustafa Raja: A lot of my friends came from multiple cities, so yeah, for the New Year’s and Christmas, for the most part, I was almost every day out with my friends.
8 00:01:57.080 ⇒ 00:01:58.809 Henry Zhao: Oh, they came from… from where?
9 00:01:59.700 ⇒ 00:02:04.230 Mustafa Raja: A few of them from Kashmir, and then…
10 00:02:04.620 ⇒ 00:02:07.230 Mustafa Raja: I have some in Islamabad.
11 00:02:07.590 ⇒ 00:02:10.469 Mustafa Raja: Some in Feslovad, they came in from there.
12 00:02:11.840 ⇒ 00:02:13.790 Henry Zhao: And what city do you live in, again?
13 00:02:13.960 ⇒ 00:02:15.319 Mustafa Raja: I’m in Lahore.
14 00:02:16.290 ⇒ 00:02:17.140 Henry Zhao: Okay.
15 00:02:18.070 ⇒ 00:02:18.530 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
16 00:02:18.530 ⇒ 00:02:20.449 Henry Zhao: I remember you telling me that.
17 00:02:20.450 ⇒ 00:02:24.659 Mustafa Raja: Yeah. So did you ever, did you ever visit Pakistan?
18 00:02:25.530 ⇒ 00:02:27.249 Henry Zhao: No, not yet.
19 00:02:27.710 ⇒ 00:02:28.270 Mustafa Raja: Okay.
20 00:02:28.710 ⇒ 00:02:35.370 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, I thought, I thought you might have, because you… you were somewhat familiar, right? So I thought you might have visited.
21 00:02:35.680 ⇒ 00:02:38.879 Henry Zhao: No. There was just a Taste of Lahore restaurant near my…
22 00:02:38.880 ⇒ 00:02:39.460 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
23 00:02:39.460 ⇒ 00:02:40.100 Henry Zhao: Madam.
24 00:02:41.220 ⇒ 00:02:48.009 Henry Zhao: But I am visiting India for the first time, this year, so March I’m going to New Delhi, which is, I guess, close to Lahore.
25 00:02:48.370 ⇒ 00:02:49.149 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26 00:02:49.440 ⇒ 00:02:50.620 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, pretty close.
27 00:02:51.010 ⇒ 00:02:52.499 Henry Zhao: That’d be the closest I’ve ever been.
28 00:02:52.720 ⇒ 00:02:53.540 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
29 00:02:53.660 ⇒ 00:03:00.630 Mustafa Raja: So, so, so, so, why are you visiting,
30 00:03:00.870 ⇒ 00:03:03.689 Mustafa Raja: New Delhi? Is it something,
31 00:03:03.690 ⇒ 00:03:06.729 Henry Zhao: Well, I’ve always wanted to… I always wanted to go to India, and I found.
32 00:03:06.730 ⇒ 00:03:07.940 Mustafa Raja: So for travel.
33 00:03:08.890 ⇒ 00:03:09.690 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
34 00:03:10.130 ⇒ 00:03:11.859 Mustafa Raja: Nice, that’s good, that’s good.
35 00:03:12.280 ⇒ 00:03:15.179 Henry Zhao: And I thought I might as well see the Taj Mahal also while I’m there.
36 00:03:15.180 ⇒ 00:03:16.680 Mustafa Raja: Oh, yeah, that’s nice.
37 00:03:17.350 ⇒ 00:03:17.970 Henry Zhao: Yeah, so…
38 00:03:17.970 ⇒ 00:03:19.170 Mustafa Raja: That’s where I’m spinner.
39 00:03:19.170 ⇒ 00:03:22.540 Henry Zhao: I’ll probably just take an Uber to Agra, and then stay there.
40 00:03:22.540 ⇒ 00:03:26.150 Mustafa Raja: Nice, nice. Yeah, that’s really good. That’s a good trip.
41 00:03:26.150 ⇒ 00:03:26.760 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
42 00:03:27.130 ⇒ 00:03:30.039 Henry Zhao: You’ve probably been to Delhi a lot, right, since you’re close?
43 00:03:30.040 ⇒ 00:03:36.020 Mustafa Raja: Nope. We don’t get along, we’re very good, so…
44 00:03:36.470 ⇒ 00:03:40.719 Henry Zhao: Are you, like, able to just freely cross the India-Pakistan border?
45 00:03:41.690 ⇒ 00:03:44.719 Mustafa Raja: No, they are pretty heavy chicks, so…
46 00:03:45.180 ⇒ 00:03:53.789 Mustafa Raja: Oh, really? And you need pretty strong recommendations if you, want to cross borders. And that is for the both sides.
47 00:03:54.040 ⇒ 00:03:55.009 Mustafa Raja: If anyone were…
48 00:03:55.010 ⇒ 00:03:57.079 Henry Zhao: We went to the Azadi Museum on the border.
49 00:03:57.590 ⇒ 00:04:00.409 Mustafa Raja: Did you… did you go there?
50 00:04:00.910 ⇒ 00:04:01.520 Henry Zhao: No.
51 00:04:02.160 ⇒ 00:04:03.610 Mustafa Raja: Oh. I’m just curious.
52 00:04:03.980 ⇒ 00:04:04.910 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah.
53 00:04:04.970 ⇒ 00:04:19.620 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, there’s, there’s this parade that goes on in the border. On the Indian side, it’s named the Tali border. On the Pakistan side, it’s named the Vaga border.
54 00:04:19.630 ⇒ 00:04:27.199 Mustafa Raja: And they’re, they’re, at, at evening, there’s always, every day there’s a parade.
55 00:04:27.260 ⇒ 00:04:32.230 Mustafa Raja: military parade on both sides. So, if you want to check out
56 00:04:32.370 ⇒ 00:04:36.670 Mustafa Raja: That, that would be… that would be a good, fun experience.
57 00:04:37.350 ⇒ 00:04:38.300 Henry Zhao: Oh, okay.
58 00:04:38.300 ⇒ 00:04:42.810 Mustafa Raja: But if I do go to Pakistan, do you recommend Karachi, Lahore, Hyderabad?
59 00:04:43.300 ⇒ 00:04:45.600 Mustafa Raja: So.
60 00:04:46.080 ⇒ 00:04:49.429 Henry Zhao: So, Ikarachi would be a lot, a lot chaotic.
61 00:04:49.570 ⇒ 00:05:04.149 Mustafa Raja: So if you want to chill, look at some modern Pakistan, Islamabad would be a good place to start, and one thing I would recommend you 100% is going north.
62 00:05:04.590 ⇒ 00:05:08.870 Mustafa Raja: So whom’s Oscar do… Look into those places.
63 00:05:09.130 ⇒ 00:05:12.169 Mustafa Raja: And you won’t be disappointed.
64 00:05:13.190 ⇒ 00:05:15.940 Henry Zhao: Oh, okay. Is there really high mountains in the north of.
65 00:05:15.940 ⇒ 00:05:16.780 Mustafa Raja: Oh, yeah.
66 00:05:17.510 ⇒ 00:05:19.450 Mustafa Raja: Really, really high mountains.
67 00:05:20.380 ⇒ 00:05:21.740 Henry Zhao: Yeah, I had a dream the other day.
68 00:05:21.740 ⇒ 00:05:22.169 Mustafa Raja: Let me chill.
69 00:05:22.170 ⇒ 00:05:23.840 Henry Zhao: I’ll never exist.
70 00:05:24.130 ⇒ 00:05:24.900 Mustafa Raja: Oh, yeah.
71 00:05:26.530 ⇒ 00:05:28.509 Henry Zhao: Yeah, I definitely want to visit that area one day.
72 00:05:28.820 ⇒ 00:05:29.410 Mustafa Raja: Yep.
73 00:05:30.050 ⇒ 00:05:31.080 Mustafa Raja: Super nice.
74 00:05:32.270 ⇒ 00:05:35.840 Henry Zhao: I’m gonna Google Islamabad, like… I don’t even know how to get there.
75 00:05:37.960 ⇒ 00:05:42.640 Mustafa Raja: Isaba is the… it’s the capital, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, by the way, yeah.
76 00:05:43.740 ⇒ 00:05:45.400 Henry Zhao: There’s one flight to Toronto.
77 00:05:46.140 ⇒ 00:05:47.650 Henry Zhao: On Pakistan Air.
78 00:05:48.610 ⇒ 00:05:50.090 Henry Zhao: I’ll have to do a really long flight.
79 00:05:50.570 ⇒ 00:05:52.110 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, it…
80 00:05:53.540 ⇒ 00:05:58.630 Mustafa Raja: I think, I think, from US to Pakistan, it’s about 20 hours or something, I’m not sure, though.
81 00:05:58.940 ⇒ 00:06:01.950 Henry Zhao: How long, how long will your flight be?
82 00:06:02.000 ⇒ 00:06:02.880 Mustafa Raja: To New Delhi?
83 00:06:02.880 ⇒ 00:06:08.480 Henry Zhao: I’m gonna already be in Europe, so I’m flying 8 hours from Helsinki, Finland, to Delhi.
84 00:06:08.840 ⇒ 00:06:12.640 Mustafa Raja: So you have a big, big vacation planned or something?
85 00:06:13.380 ⇒ 00:06:21.099 Henry Zhao: Yeah, but I think now there’s only, like, 15 days off for Brainforge, so I have to figure out which days I can take off.
86 00:06:24.100 ⇒ 00:06:31.219 Henry Zhao: Yeah, so I’m flying first New York to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to London, and then London to Helsinki, Helsinki to Delhi.
87 00:06:32.300 ⇒ 00:06:34.210 Henry Zhao: And then from there, I go on to Singapore.
88 00:06:36.710 ⇒ 00:06:40.509 Henry Zhao: Oh, that’s nice. You’re, like, traveling the whole world.
89 00:06:40.820 ⇒ 00:06:46.639 Henry Zhao: Yeah, then I go to China, so I probably definitely can’t work when I’m in China, because all the internet is blocked.
90 00:06:49.600 ⇒ 00:06:50.560 Mustafa Raja: Is it really?
91 00:06:50.910 ⇒ 00:06:53.700 Mustafa Raja: I haven’t ever been to China, so I don’t know.
92 00:06:54.780 ⇒ 00:06:58.009 Henry Zhao: Yeah, it’s very difficult, just because of all the internet.
93 00:06:58.380 ⇒ 00:06:59.610 Henry Zhao: censorship.
94 00:07:01.160 ⇒ 00:07:05.039 Henry Zhao: Yeah, it looks like Lahore and Islamabad are about the same, they both have the cool amount of flights.
95 00:07:07.170 ⇒ 00:07:08.010 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
96 00:07:09.520 ⇒ 00:07:15.980 Mustafa Raja: So for internet in China, do they have a lot of these websites blocked or something?
97 00:07:16.400 ⇒ 00:07:22.129 Henry Zhao: Yeah, all Google, all Facebook, like, Meta, so it will be definitely hard to work. I don’t think I can check my email, even.
98 00:07:22.800 ⇒ 00:07:23.360 Mustafa Raja: Oh.
99 00:07:23.750 ⇒ 00:07:26.570 Henry Zhao: And the… the VPN doesn’t work either.
100 00:07:27.620 ⇒ 00:07:31.930 Mustafa Raja: Oh… Yeah, I’m hearing this for the first time, to be honest.
101 00:07:32.910 ⇒ 00:07:36.879 Henry Zhao: Yeah, so be careful if you have a deployment, just be prepared for that.
102 00:07:38.380 ⇒ 00:07:39.860 Mustafa Raja: Does YouTube work there?
103 00:07:40.300 ⇒ 00:07:40.940 Henry Zhao: No.
104 00:07:41.540 ⇒ 00:07:42.990 Mustafa Raja: Oh, hell no.
105 00:07:43.740 ⇒ 00:07:48.299 Henry Zhao: Yeah, you get so bored. Because I had to watch TikTok, and it’s all, like, Chinese TikTok.
106 00:07:48.600 ⇒ 00:07:50.930 Mustafa Raja: Oh… I’m trying to use…
107 00:07:50.930 ⇒ 00:07:53.570 Henry Zhao: So, like, I understand it at least, but I don’t enjoy it.
108 00:07:53.570 ⇒ 00:07:59.000 Mustafa Raja: Okay, okay, I need to learn Chinese, then, if I want to go to China, right?
109 00:07:59.710 ⇒ 00:08:07.430 Henry Zhao: Yeah. But you can go to, like, this area near Pakistan… kind of close to Pakistan, not really, but it’s called Sichuan.
110 00:08:07.580 ⇒ 00:08:08.480 Henry Zhao: To me, that’s the.
111 00:08:10.550 ⇒ 00:08:11.750 Mustafa Raja: Sichuan.
112 00:08:11.960 ⇒ 00:08:13.410 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, that’s my favorite thing.
113 00:08:13.470 ⇒ 00:08:16.250 Henry Zhao: I actually wanted to study in China.
114 00:08:16.250 ⇒ 00:08:19.089 Mustafa Raja: But I never got the chance to apply it anywhere.
115 00:08:19.660 ⇒ 00:08:22.129 Mustafa Raja: Got into careers, so…
116 00:08:22.800 ⇒ 00:08:23.620 Henry Zhao: Okay.
117 00:08:23.790 ⇒ 00:08:28.239 Mustafa Raja: But I’m thinking of sending my younger brother there for studies.
118 00:08:29.270 ⇒ 00:08:32.219 Henry Zhao: Oh, okay, that’s good. Just know about the internet thing, it’s very annoying.
119 00:08:32.220 ⇒ 00:08:32.960 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
120 00:08:33.559 ⇒ 00:08:34.419 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
121 00:08:35.409 ⇒ 00:08:40.200 Mustafa Raja: I will, I will now take this into, into account. I didn’t know.
122 00:08:40.200 ⇒ 00:08:40.870 Henry Zhao: that.
123 00:08:41.789 ⇒ 00:08:43.010 Henry Zhao: Yeah, it’s really bad.
124 00:08:43.690 ⇒ 00:08:45.420 Mustafa Raja: So, did you grow up in China?
125 00:08:46.330 ⇒ 00:08:47.920 Henry Zhao: No, I grew up in the US.
126 00:08:48.480 ⇒ 00:08:49.579 Mustafa Raja: Okay.
127 00:08:50.080 ⇒ 00:08:51.829 Mustafa Raja: And you have family in China?
128 00:08:51.980 ⇒ 00:08:54.629 Henry Zhao: I do, just a little bit, just an aunt and an uncle.
129 00:08:55.370 ⇒ 00:08:56.380 Mustafa Raja: Okay.
130 00:08:57.440 ⇒ 00:09:00.329 Henry Zhao: Wow, I don’t even need a visa for Pakistan, it’s just a free e-visa.
131 00:09:00.330 ⇒ 00:09:01.890 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
132 00:09:02.120 ⇒ 00:09:03.120 Henry Zhao: It’s so easy.
133 00:09:04.000 ⇒ 00:09:04.850 Mustafa Raja: Yeah…
134 00:09:06.320 ⇒ 00:09:17.140 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, if you ever come here, you need to visit the north, Skirtu, Hunza, and stuff, and then Istanabad, and then if you’re feeling chaotic, do visit Karachi.
135 00:09:17.990 ⇒ 00:09:18.379 Henry Zhao: No, no.
136 00:09:18.380 ⇒ 00:09:18.839 Mustafa Raja: I think you…
137 00:09:18.840 ⇒ 00:09:22.020 Henry Zhao: Alright, I will start with just Islamabad, or…
138 00:09:22.020 ⇒ 00:09:24.190 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah, start with, start with chill.
139 00:09:24.820 ⇒ 00:09:27.779 Mustafa Raja: And then maybe explore more, you know?
140 00:09:28.240 ⇒ 00:09:32.899 Henry Zhao: Yeah, okay, like I’m looking at flights, like I said, all of them are through the Middle East, like, so Doha…
141 00:09:32.900 ⇒ 00:09:33.400 Mustafa Raja: Istanbul.
142 00:09:33.400 ⇒ 00:09:34.190 Henry Zhao: device.
143 00:09:34.800 ⇒ 00:09:35.430 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
144 00:09:35.670 ⇒ 00:09:41.990 Mustafa Raja: So, have you, have you been, have you, have you, traveled a lot of the world already?
145 00:09:42.540 ⇒ 00:09:43.400 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
146 00:09:43.950 ⇒ 00:09:45.030 Mustafa Raja: That’s nice.
147 00:09:46.520 ⇒ 00:09:49.429 Henry Zhao: Yeah, I’ve been to, like, 50… how many hunters have I been to?
148 00:09:49.430 ⇒ 00:09:50.700 Mustafa Raja: 50 countries!
149 00:09:51.510 ⇒ 00:09:53.399 Henry Zhao: Yeah, let me see how many countries I’ve been to.
150 00:09:56.300 ⇒ 00:09:57.780 Henry Zhao: How many have you been to?
151 00:09:58.330 ⇒ 00:10:01.330 Mustafa Raja: I haven’t been outside Pakistan.
152 00:10:01.330 ⇒ 00:10:02.470 Henry Zhao: Oh, really? Okay.
153 00:10:03.150 ⇒ 00:10:04.379 Henry Zhao: So 62 copies.
154 00:10:04.780 ⇒ 00:10:06.450 Mustafa Raja: Oh, that’s super nice!
155 00:10:06.900 ⇒ 00:10:07.780 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
156 00:10:09.570 ⇒ 00:10:13.650 Henry Zhao: But never, never that area. None of the stands.
157 00:10:15.430 ⇒ 00:10:19.270 Henry Zhao: None of the stands, haven’t been to India, haven’t been to Nepal, so… I need to explore.
158 00:10:19.270 ⇒ 00:10:24.300 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, so South Asia, you haven’t really gotten there, right?
159 00:10:24.530 ⇒ 00:10:30.250 Henry Zhao: Yeah, a lot of Middle Africa and a lot of Southeast… South Central Asia is where I’m missing most.
160 00:10:31.140 ⇒ 00:10:33.990 Mustafa Raja: Okay. Have you been to Philippines and Indonesians?
161 00:10:34.350 ⇒ 00:10:36.549 Henry Zhao: No, but Philippines I’m going this year also, so…
162 00:10:36.650 ⇒ 00:10:37.420 Mustafa Raja: Okay.
163 00:10:37.420 ⇒ 00:10:40.870 Henry Zhao: Rico was my last donut. He gave me some tips on Philippines.
164 00:10:41.250 ⇒ 00:10:45.449 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah, if you do go Philippines, meet Casey also, if you can.
165 00:10:46.120 ⇒ 00:10:50.650 Henry Zhao: Oh, yeah, Casey, yeah. So, I’m going, actually, to Philippines after Delhi. Delhi, after that…
166 00:10:50.650 ⇒ 00:10:51.410 Mustafa Raja: That’s me.
167 00:10:51.410 ⇒ 00:10:54.260 Henry Zhao: Hong Kong, China, and Manila.
168 00:10:54.980 ⇒ 00:10:57.050 Mustafa Raja: Nice.
169 00:10:58.340 ⇒ 00:11:00.759 Henry Zhao: Casey used to study in Manila.
170 00:11:01.470 ⇒ 00:11:02.359 Henry Zhao: Okay.
171 00:11:03.340 ⇒ 00:11:08.419 Mustafa Raja: I think he is in some other province now, Santiago something?
172 00:11:08.870 ⇒ 00:11:09.380 Henry Zhao: Oh, yeah.
173 00:11:09.380 ⇒ 00:11:12.090 Mustafa Raja: study in Manila, he told me.
174 00:11:12.650 ⇒ 00:11:17.250 Henry Zhao: And then I come back via Mumbai, which is really far, so, like, I have to go all the way to Mumbai and then to New York.
175 00:11:18.190 ⇒ 00:11:21.380 Mustafa Raja: Oh, so you have a direct flight from Mumbai to New York?
176 00:11:21.960 ⇒ 00:11:23.269 Henry Zhao: Yeah, 16 hours.
177 00:11:23.270 ⇒ 00:11:26.529 Mustafa Raja: Oh, that’s a lot of ours.
178 00:11:27.010 ⇒ 00:11:28.070 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
179 00:11:31.430 ⇒ 00:11:32.200 Henry Zhao: Cool.
180 00:11:32.200 ⇒ 00:11:34.330 Mustafa Raja: Ashmini’s in India, actually.
181 00:11:34.570 ⇒ 00:11:35.560 Henry Zhao: Oh, really?
182 00:11:35.560 ⇒ 00:11:40.990 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, Ashwini is in India, so you might want to, you know, meet him.
183 00:11:40.990 ⇒ 00:11:42.269 Henry Zhao: While you’re there.
184 00:11:42.600 ⇒ 00:11:46.669 Mustafa Raja: I think he’s from… he’s somewhere from the north, though? I’m not sure.
185 00:11:46.670 ⇒ 00:11:47.320 Henry Zhao: Okay.
186 00:11:47.810 ⇒ 00:11:51.800 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, but maybe it’s worth checking up with him.
187 00:11:52.270 ⇒ 00:11:56.400 Henry Zhao: Yeah, I want to know where the spiciest food is in India, because I’m a big fan of spicy food.
188 00:11:56.700 ⇒ 00:11:58.970 Mustafa Raja: So I need to look for the spiciest food.
189 00:11:59.450 ⇒ 00:12:00.320 Mustafa Raja: Oh.
190 00:12:02.010 ⇒ 00:12:03.740 Henry Zhao: Is there spicy food in Pakistan? I think there is.
191 00:12:03.740 ⇒ 00:12:16.040 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, I think… I think everything here, is spicy, almost. And I think it’s going to be the same case in India. Just the local food would be… would be…
192 00:12:16.280 ⇒ 00:12:17.769 Mustafa Raja: A tad bit spicy.
193 00:12:18.950 ⇒ 00:12:22.000 Henry Zhao: Yeah, I really like spicy, and I like it really, really spicy, so…
194 00:12:23.030 ⇒ 00:12:25.310 Mustafa Raja: Yeah. Are you a vegetarian, or…
195 00:12:25.800 ⇒ 00:12:27.069 Henry Zhao: No, I eat everything.
196 00:12:27.270 ⇒ 00:12:28.549 Mustafa Raja: Oh yeah, that’s good.
197 00:12:29.480 ⇒ 00:12:34.570 Mustafa Raja: At least for Pakistan, because, we… we don’t do vegetarians, you know.
198 00:12:35.250 ⇒ 00:12:39.049 Henry Zhao: Oh, okay, yeah, I went to a Pakistani restaurant in Canada. It was actually pretty good.
199 00:12:39.410 ⇒ 00:12:40.440 Mustafa Raja: Oh, that’s nice.
200 00:12:41.020 ⇒ 00:12:43.699 Henry Zhao: It was a work trip, and then we went to a Pakistani place.
201 00:12:44.120 ⇒ 00:12:47.710 Mustafa Raja: That was the, the restaurant that you mentioned earlier.
202 00:12:48.720 ⇒ 00:12:51.519 Henry Zhao: No, it’s yeah, I don’t know what it’s called.
203 00:12:52.110 ⇒ 00:12:52.870 Mustafa Raja: Oh, okay.
204 00:12:53.270 ⇒ 00:12:54.490 Henry Zhao: I don’t remember what it’s called.
205 00:12:55.580 ⇒ 00:12:57.369 Henry Zhao: But yeah, it was very similar to Indian food.
206 00:12:58.030 ⇒ 00:13:07.839 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah, the food is a lot similar. I’d say the only difference would be India would have a lot more options in vegetarians.
207 00:13:08.380 ⇒ 00:13:10.949 Mustafa Raja: Yeah? And Pakistan would not have that.
208 00:13:11.790 ⇒ 00:13:12.579 Henry Zhao: Okay.
209 00:13:12.880 ⇒ 00:13:14.780 Henry Zhao: Is there a lot of Indian people in Lahore?
210 00:13:15.490 ⇒ 00:13:16.419 Mustafa Raja: No, no, no.
211 00:13:17.250 ⇒ 00:13:18.079 Henry Zhao: Not a lot.
212 00:13:19.000 ⇒ 00:13:27.619 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, no. I think we only, we only have religious visas for that purpose.
213 00:13:27.870 ⇒ 00:13:45.249 Mustafa Raja: And that is also restricted to some certain areas, you know? So… Okay. So for pilgrims, they’d be… they’d have… they would have some guides guiding them through the whole journey, and then, yeah, that’s pretty much it.
214 00:13:46.330 ⇒ 00:13:47.330 Henry Zhao: Gotcha.
215 00:13:48.520 ⇒ 00:13:52.260 Mustafa Raja: But I think they are expanding that visa. I’m not sure, though.
216 00:13:52.810 ⇒ 00:13:58.270 Mustafa Raja: But I heard, a few, a few days ago that, yeah.
217 00:13:58.400 ⇒ 00:14:07.840 Mustafa Raja: that sort of visa is being expanded, more, more, more towards a tourism visa. So, I don’t know, let’s see.
218 00:14:08.910 ⇒ 00:14:17.290 Henry Zhao: But yeah, now it’s really interesting for me to find out that you don’t need a… I don’t need a visa for Pakistan, so now it’s high on my list now. So I… I had thought that I needed a visa.
219 00:14:17.820 ⇒ 00:14:18.610 Mustafa Raja: Oh.
220 00:14:18.990 ⇒ 00:14:23.429 Mustafa Raja: Is it because, you hold a U.S. U.S. visa?
221 00:14:23.430 ⇒ 00:14:23.760 Henry Zhao: Exactly.
222 00:14:23.760 ⇒ 00:14:24.480 Mustafa Raja: That’s what…
223 00:14:24.770 ⇒ 00:14:28.890 Henry Zhao: Yeah, okay, so I don’t need a visa for Kazakhstan, I don’t need it for Pakistan.
224 00:14:29.370 ⇒ 00:14:31.790 Henry Zhao: Let’s see how many stands I can visit without a visa.
225 00:14:33.410 ⇒ 00:14:35.960 Henry Zhao: Obviously, Afghanistan… I don’t think I understand Afghanistan.
226 00:14:37.250 ⇒ 00:14:40.479 Henry Zhao: I think Afghanistan, kind of dangerous for Americans.
227 00:14:41.470 ⇒ 00:14:46.240 Mustafa Raja: I don’t know, I’ve got a pretty chill, to be honest.
228 00:14:46.390 ⇒ 00:14:48.159 Mustafa Raja: But I don’t know with Americans.
229 00:14:48.270 ⇒ 00:14:50.510 Mustafa Raja: I said Afghans are pretty chill.
230 00:14:50.730 ⇒ 00:14:53.379 Mustafa Raja: But, yeah, I don’t really know.
231 00:14:55.080 ⇒ 00:14:58.449 Henry Zhao: Okay, Turkmenistan obviously needed a visa, I think everyone needs a visa, right?
232 00:15:00.300 ⇒ 00:15:07.260 Henry Zhao: Oh, Uzbekistan I don’t need… Let’s see… Tajikistan I don’t need… wow.
233 00:15:07.540 ⇒ 00:15:08.560 Henry Zhao: I didn’t know.
234 00:15:09.910 ⇒ 00:15:10.590 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
235 00:15:13.460 ⇒ 00:15:17.900 Henry Zhao: Yeah, because you know about, Robert. He goes a lot to Kyrgyzstan, right? Or something?
236 00:15:17.900 ⇒ 00:15:20.370 Mustafa Raja: Oh, yeah, yeah, he… he told me.
237 00:15:20.590 ⇒ 00:15:22.629 Mustafa Raja: the identity,
238 00:15:23.850 ⇒ 00:15:31.350 Mustafa Raja: He went to Hong Kong a few… few weeks ago, like, for Christmas, I believe, or for Thanksgiving, yeah.
239 00:15:31.350 ⇒ 00:15:35.140 Henry Zhao: Yeah, did you see there was a fire there when he was there? He was, like, across the… he was, like, very close to it.
240 00:15:35.530 ⇒ 00:15:37.310 Mustafa Raja: Oh, I didn’t… I didn’t know that.
241 00:15:37.660 ⇒ 00:15:39.790 Henry Zhao: Yeah, there’s, like, a big fire, a lot of people died.
242 00:15:40.110 ⇒ 00:15:41.710 Mustafa Raja: Oh, I didn’t know that.
243 00:15:41.900 ⇒ 00:15:43.590 Henry Zhao: Yeah, he even went over and helped.
244 00:15:44.090 ⇒ 00:15:45.319 Mustafa Raja: Oh, that’s nice.
245 00:15:45.760 ⇒ 00:15:46.400 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
246 00:15:47.770 ⇒ 00:15:50.420 Henry Zhao: Okay, so I can visit 4 stands without visa.
247 00:15:51.200 ⇒ 00:15:52.080 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
248 00:15:52.810 ⇒ 00:15:55.980 Henry Zhao: So now I’m gonna put those on my list. I probably do more than one at a time.
249 00:15:57.380 ⇒ 00:15:58.130 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
250 00:16:00.970 ⇒ 00:16:01.920 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
251 00:16:02.710 ⇒ 00:16:06.509 Henry Zhao: Cool, so how did you find out about Brainforge? Like, who recruited you?
252 00:16:06.920 ⇒ 00:16:07.690 Henry Zhao: Pardon.
253 00:16:07.950 ⇒ 00:16:12.100 Mustafa Raja: So, so prior to this, I was, I was freelancing, right, so…
254 00:16:13.760 ⇒ 00:16:25.170 Mustafa Raja: what I would do is I would be on Discord or something, you know, hunting for clients or something, in the channels for tools like…
255 00:16:25.490 ⇒ 00:16:30.169 Mustafa Raja: Llama Index, Langchain, stuff like that, and that is where I met with them.
256 00:16:32.000 ⇒ 00:16:33.330 Henry Zhao: You understood, okay.
257 00:16:33.330 ⇒ 00:16:34.070 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
258 00:16:34.070 ⇒ 00:16:35.080 Henry Zhao: Okay, awesome.
259 00:16:35.880 ⇒ 00:16:37.279 Mustafa Raja: Give me a moment.
260 00:16:46.880 ⇒ 00:16:52.309 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, so… that is where I met with them, and then, yeah, we met up.
261 00:16:52.420 ⇒ 00:16:56.410 Mustafa Raja: I had an interview with him, and then…
262 00:16:56.540 ⇒ 00:16:59.309 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, a month later, I was hired.
263 00:17:00.300 ⇒ 00:17:02.329 Henry Zhao: Oh, awesome. Do you like it so far?
264 00:17:02.690 ⇒ 00:17:09.770 Mustafa Raja: Oh, I love it so far. I love the culture here, everyone is so helpful, and respectful, and…
265 00:17:09.910 ⇒ 00:17:14.580 Mustafa Raja: I think this… this has to be a dream… dream team, to be honest. What do you think about that?
266 00:17:16.089 ⇒ 00:17:25.759 Henry Zhao: Yeah. Do they pay you… sorry if you mind, just don’t answer if you mind me asking, but do they pay you in Pakistani currency or U.S. currency?
267 00:17:26.130 ⇒ 00:17:28.200 Mustafa Raja: They pay me in US.
268 00:17:28.930 ⇒ 00:17:33.160 Henry Zhao: Okay, good. So, yeah, because I’m also getting US dollar, so…
269 00:17:33.160 ⇒ 00:17:33.650 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
270 00:17:33.650 ⇒ 00:17:36.150 Henry Zhao: That’s okay, yeah. Okay, good.
271 00:17:36.150 ⇒ 00:17:36.790 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
272 00:17:36.900 ⇒ 00:17:41.840 Mustafa Raja: And then I have a Payoneer account that transfers it to my local bank.
273 00:17:42.140 ⇒ 00:17:43.369 Henry Zhao: Yeah, that’s what I’m doing, too.
274 00:17:43.790 ⇒ 00:17:45.230 Mustafa Raja: Oh, you have ponies.
275 00:17:46.030 ⇒ 00:17:50.949 Henry Zhao: No, I have a… I have a Brazil account, so I’m, like, also transferring to Brazil.
276 00:17:51.670 ⇒ 00:17:52.460 Mustafa Raja: Oh.
277 00:17:52.710 ⇒ 00:17:54.560 Henry Zhao: So, are you based in Brazil?
278 00:17:55.270 ⇒ 00:17:57.560 Henry Zhao: No, I used to be, but not anymore.
279 00:17:57.820 ⇒ 00:17:58.759 Mustafa Raja: Okay, okay.
280 00:17:59.630 ⇒ 00:18:00.520 Henry Zhao: Yeah, but I have to pay attention.
281 00:18:00.520 ⇒ 00:18:01.100 Mustafa Raja: I have a…
282 00:18:01.130 ⇒ 00:18:01.970 Henry Zhao: if I…
283 00:18:02.170 ⇒ 00:18:04.889 Mustafa Raja: Awesome. Oh, I don’t have to pay taxes.
284 00:18:05.680 ⇒ 00:18:06.530 Henry Zhao: Okay.
285 00:18:07.700 ⇒ 00:18:13.720 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, Pakistan allows, Freelancers to, you know, do their thing.
286 00:18:13.720 ⇒ 00:18:14.300 Henry Zhao: Okay.
287 00:18:14.610 ⇒ 00:18:21.810 Henry Zhao: Okay, good, then I’ll do the same thing. No, I just… I’m just not, like, declaring my taxes in Brazil, so, yeah, we’ll see how that works out this year.
288 00:18:22.440 ⇒ 00:18:23.650 Mustafa Raja: Oh, okay, okay.
289 00:18:25.170 ⇒ 00:18:26.340 Henry Zhao: Cool. Yeah.
290 00:18:29.410 ⇒ 00:18:34.090 Henry Zhao: So now I definitely have to visit. And I’ll let you know when I’m in Lahore, or Islamabad.
291 00:18:34.090 ⇒ 00:18:34.840 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah.
292 00:18:34.860 ⇒ 00:18:36.219 Henry Zhao: Maybe I’ll do both, I think I can do both.
293 00:18:36.220 ⇒ 00:18:42.940 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, Avish was in Islamabad this weekend, for the week that… the vacation week.
294 00:18:43.460 ⇒ 00:18:44.610 Henry Zhao: Did you guys hang out?
295 00:18:45.560 ⇒ 00:18:49.129 Mustafa Raja: No, because I had my friends in Lahore, and I couldn’t.
296 00:18:49.130 ⇒ 00:18:49.650 Henry Zhao: Oh, yeah.
297 00:18:50.110 ⇒ 00:18:53.720 Mustafa Raja: And it’s, it’s about a 4-hour drive.
298 00:18:53.720 ⇒ 00:18:54.340 Henry Zhao: Oh my gosh.
299 00:18:55.050 ⇒ 00:18:56.430 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, so…
300 00:18:56.430 ⇒ 00:18:57.260 Henry Zhao: a lot less.
301 00:18:59.630 ⇒ 00:19:01.569 Mustafa Raja: Islamabad is, like, 4 hours.
302 00:19:02.310 ⇒ 00:19:05.000 Mustafa Raja: I think you’ll like Islamabad if you do visit that.
303 00:19:06.620 ⇒ 00:19:07.629 Henry Zhao: Oh, there’s no flights, people.
304 00:19:08.530 ⇒ 00:19:10.300 Henry Zhao: There’s no flights from Lamar to Taliban.
305 00:19:10.530 ⇒ 00:19:11.460 Mustafa Raja: Yeah.
306 00:19:11.680 ⇒ 00:19:20.230 Mustafa Raja: They usually aren’t, because… I don’t think domestic flights are a thing in Pakistan.
307 00:19:20.760 ⇒ 00:19:23.970 Henry Zhao: We only have Keta, Skardu, and Karachi.
308 00:19:24.450 ⇒ 00:19:25.370 Mustafa Raja: Yeah…
309 00:19:25.600 ⇒ 00:19:33.880 Mustafa Raja: So, so for Islamabad to Karachi, it’s like, if you drive there, it’s… it’s a 24-hour drive, right?
310 00:19:33.990 ⇒ 00:19:35.370 Mustafa Raja: So that makes sense.
311 00:19:37.820 ⇒ 00:19:39.329 Mustafa Raja: To be a flight, right?
312 00:19:39.800 ⇒ 00:19:47.980 Mustafa Raja: Oh, Skadu is, the… the north. You need to look into… actually search Skadu Airport.
313 00:19:49.130 ⇒ 00:19:51.709 Henry Zhao: Is that a, like, a well-known place?
314 00:19:52.190 ⇒ 00:19:55.079 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, yeah, search it, and search the images.
315 00:19:55.630 ⇒ 00:19:57.109 Henry Zhao: Oh, wow, that’s nice.
316 00:19:57.490 ⇒ 00:19:58.380 Mustafa Raja: Yeah…
317 00:19:59.130 ⇒ 00:20:00.999 Henry Zhao: This is definitely the North you were talking about, right?
318 00:20:01.000 ⇒ 00:20:01.870 Mustafa Raja: Yeah…
319 00:20:02.380 ⇒ 00:20:03.580 Henry Zhao: Yeah, it looks beautiful.
320 00:20:06.090 ⇒ 00:20:09.380 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, he’s just recently inaugurated.
321 00:20:10.220 ⇒ 00:20:15.460 Mustafa Raja: Pakistan hasn’t had any political stability in…
322 00:20:15.890 ⇒ 00:20:20.220 Mustafa Raja: recent years, it’s just gotten that, and I… I feel…
323 00:20:20.420 ⇒ 00:20:23.130 Mustafa Raja: this might help Bloom Economy or something, you know?
324 00:20:23.610 ⇒ 00:20:24.180 Henry Zhao: Yeah.
325 00:20:24.780 ⇒ 00:20:25.890 Henry Zhao: Yeah, definitely.
326 00:20:27.940 ⇒ 00:20:31.600 Mustafa Raja: And, and I’m seeing a lot of… what’s… what’s it called, tourism?
327 00:20:32.510 ⇒ 00:20:34.220 Mustafa Raja: That’s another good sign.
328 00:20:36.030 ⇒ 00:20:38.809 Henry Zhao: Yeah, definitely have to put on my list now of places to go.
329 00:20:39.350 ⇒ 00:20:40.020 Mustafa Raja: Yep.
330 00:20:43.340 ⇒ 00:20:47.569 Henry Zhao: Cool, it was nice talking to you, Mustafa. I’m glad everything’s going well, and
331 00:20:47.750 ⇒ 00:20:49.149 Henry Zhao: I hope you have a really good weekend.
332 00:20:49.570 ⇒ 00:20:51.180 Mustafa Raja: Yeah, you too. Thank you.
333 00:20:51.340 ⇒ 00:20:52.540 Henry Zhao: Thank you, bye-bye.
334 00:20:52.780 ⇒ 00:20:53.360 Mustafa Raja: Mike?
335 00:20:53.780 ⇒ 00:20:54.330 Henry Zhao: Right.