Snow and Murree

The year 2016 is definitely the welcoming start for me as I got to capture the scenic views of mountains and hills, located in the amazing Pakistan.

The February trip to Murree is more mesmerizing than my earlier December trip in 2015 because of the snow and its glittering magic on the city.

The picture gets entirely changed when huge oak trees covered up in the snow. A day snowfall was truly fascinating to set the perfect white frame. Here are few shots,  which you might appreciate.

Remember, add the beautiful Pakistan on your next travel tour. Don’t forget to taste the delicious cuisines 😉

 

 

A small white city in Pakistan

Murree covered in snow

February became the blessing month for the residents and tourists of Murree. I was lucky enough to land on the green hills in the season of thundery snowfall and captured the breathtaking view of Murree Mall Road.

Keep visiting this blog, I will be posting some scenic views of Pakistan.

Exploring Murree – City in between mountains, trees and clouds

Murree, where people live in between the icy clouds, oak, and pine covered trees and shaded mountains

After coming over a pleasant journey of more than 1000 Km, I took a deep breath as Islamabad was still at the distance of around 468 Km. The peaceful and broad roads gave a pleasant sign that we were traveling in the reformed Punjab, which is truly far better than all the other existing provinces of Pakistan. Before this visit, I did not agree with the statement at all.

As our car entered into Islamabad region, the overall feel was good. The wide scattered roads, clean paths, cars properly walking in lanes and no rickshaws( or, less rickshaws)felt nice to eyes. In short, the city environment was bit different than Karachi. But, one common thing I observed from Karachi to Murree was the solid influence of politics on common people of Pakistan(Though I am only taking it in the benefit of the people).Everyone has something to comment, some arguments to raise and some appreciation to the leaders. Oops! I had decided to not jump into the dirty politics.

Snow fog scattered on the mountains whereas clouds provide a peaceful shade

On the roads, I was relishing the feel of cold and winters as the car geared on the Murree motorway. I remember the years when the road to Murree was unsafe, tricky and too risky. But, now highway is safer, convenient and pleasant to eyes.

The speed of car lowered down so that we can capture the breathtaking picturesque of the covered mountains. The curves of roads present the beauty of nature to the travelers and tourists. The welcoming mountains added curiosity to explore more and more. I was taking pleasure in viewing the pine and oak trees, scattered all over the mountains. These long trees were actually guiding us the path to reach our destination and I was excited to capture the scenic vistas merged with the foggy clouds. Oh, hold on! Before approaching to Murree, I had my cup of tea at first.

After covering around 50 km, here it was the road directly to Murree, the city to fall in love. You would be thinking Why I say so? Well, you have to read a little more to explore the reasons.

Lost in between the giant trees

However, there are several places in Pakistan where your heart fell down purposely and you intend to get disappear in the heavenly place to get it fixed.

Want to live on some height? In fact, on a good height, then this is the place where you should go and spend a quality time. The car went with tortoise speed toward the hills, and my eyes spotted different views. Chilled water was flowing slowly from the rocky hills, and a man couldn’t take longer to refill his water bottle. However, a skinny dog was finding the lost path to reach the top of the mountain. And, some tourists were clicking photos whereas I’d lost myself in the soothing cold wind. How could I forget those group of children who were coming back from their schools? They were so pure, strong and adorable looking.

Round mirrors all set to guide the drivers

My observations define Murree, “A peaceful city situated in between the pine and oak trees to give a delightful experience to the residents, travelers, and tourists”. That’s all about it! The roads and its curves will dodge you at times, but this is what I enjoyed the most about my trip. The beauty of nature will attract you to every sight, and you could not stop your eyes to capture the view. Small shops, fine food, hotels and fabulous people will make you feel cheerful, peppy and joyful.

Isn’t these too breathtaking? Subhanallah!

I felt relinquished and lively while I was walking on the peaceful roads. But, let me tell you these calm roads scare you at nights! Yes, it does at times. Importantly, I loved the interaction with the strangers; I was capturing priceless views with my eyes; I was feeling retreated and I was actually breathing fresh air. Isn’t that the blessings of Almighty?

Other than the joyful experience about the pleasant sight, another enchantment of Murree is Mall Road. The experience is incomparable with the other cities of Pakistan. It’s basically a street where all the amazing shops are located. I fell in love with all the handicraft shops, just regretting the things I missed. You will have different sort of restaurants, coffee and tea shops, ice cream parlors and a variety of small hotels. Oh yes, you will have groups of small children, selling boiled eggs(or garam aaanday) and Kashmiri tea(Kehva). By the way, Murree is a tourist point so it has everything to offer in all the seasons. There isn’t special about the road, but it definitely feels you connected and interacted with the dazzling surroundings.

After Murree, Nathia Gali which is also a small tourist destination is actually at the height of 8200 ft, is called as Heaven on earth. It is a town in Khyber PakhtunKhwa. It was chilly cold at the top and I was actually shivering at that point. I captured Ayubia, Patriata, Bhurban and several other small towns. From horse riding to hiking, everything is available for the tourists. Those who want to feel the splashes of winters in Pakistan, explore the heights!

When snow covers the mountains

The winter walks are always amazing, especially when you walk around with beloved people or I’d say the favorite ones. I used to spend around three hours on Mall Road with my sister. We used to have our sizzling hot cup of coffee while walking but, we never forgot to refill our pockets with the roasted cashew nuts. Thankfully, our hotel was just at a few distance!

Lots more to come from my amazing trip!
Keep traveling and don’t forget to write a blog (A personal advice to myself) 😉

Icy Mountains

When the cloudy sky overshadowed the icy mountains, and three old aged cars forcibly get fit in the picture. However, these cars give the best shot! I loved this one.

I took this picture when I was travelling in the northern Pakistan. The picture was taken in beautiful Murree, Pakistan.

My short stories of the trip to Pakistan will soon be on the blog.

Stay sharing the love of your country.

Cricket While Travelling

The clock already timed 9:00 a.m and I had missed half of the batting by Pakistan. Like all other Pakistanis, I just took a cup of tea with half of my mind sleeping but eyes widely opened, quickly switched on television screen and sat on sofa comfortably to enjoy Pak vs SA ICC cricket World Cup 2015. In the meanwhile, my dad came to me and asked to pack bags we are leaving for Hyderabad today. My expressions were surprising and I replied with a low tone, Today? What I heard in return was, we will be leaving Karachi in an hour.

Constantly trying fm radio to be fixed out but it distorted badly then my sister, my cousin and I put earphones on and maintain our focus on fm 103 which was doing live commentary about match as it was the only medium which was our exclusive need. We were on national highway moving toward Hyderabad. The weather was little cloudy with splashes of cold wind hitting our faces through car window. The scenery was immensely beautiful.

The cricket match started becoming too interesting, so as our moods. The wickets lined up to fall against Pakistani bowling and we were cheering louder and louder as the wicket goes down. In between, we lost radio signals several times but I was receiving sms, watsapp updates and excitement survived. We stopped for tea at Ali Baba restaurant, which is beside CNG station. Ear phones still on, louder shout and distracting radio signals, cricket was going outstanding and Pakistan won against South Africa.

As I looked out of the window, we were entering Hyderabad city and the weather was bit warm there. I mean it was hot, summers are almost here. Our hungry stomachs were craving for food and we rested at KFC. I tasted Rice and Spice while others took burgers. As we came out of KFC, I noticed a Chai wala(tea maker) was making tea and a group of young boys were gathered around him. And AB De Villiers of South Africa was the point of discussion among them as he stayed long on pitch at Eden Park, Auckland in the match against Pakistan and it was again about cricket. OH yes, South African players are being famous in the streets of Hyderabad too.