Trekking
Monday, March 25, 2013
The Northern Areas of Pakistan are called Bam-i-Dunya. As graphic in names they are foreboding in majesty, the Himalaya translate as "the abode of the snows", The Karakoram, the "black gravel mountains", and the Hindu Kush, "the Paariyaatra Parvat". Adventurous trekkers from all over the world congregate here to trek for pleasure and to test their personal endurance.
The word trek has a history and different meanings. Walking in jungle or even along the road is also a trekking of its kind. For the purpose of this article, let us assume that trekking means walking up the mountains. Depending on the altitude, treks fall in various categories from easy to hard. Any trekker who knows it dreams to tread on unique mountain mass in Pakistan. In addition, some mountaineers also come here to train and acclimatize for more serious climbs, rock repelling and other forms of mountain exploration. Here is why.
Read more »The word trek has a history and different meanings. Walking in jungle or even along the road is also a trekking of its kind. For the purpose of this article, let us assume that trekking means walking up the mountains. Depending on the altitude, treks fall in various categories from easy to hard. Any trekker who knows it dreams to tread on unique mountain mass in Pakistan. In addition, some mountaineers also come here to train and acclimatize for more serious climbs, rock repelling and other forms of mountain exploration. Here is why.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 9:00 AM,
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Attitude Tourism
Monday, March 18, 2013
Attitude tourism - to be distinguished from, say, adventure or seeing the sights - is generally not a particularly satisfying activity. Ideas and those who hatch them tend not to leave behind things large or attractive enough to ogle. So you may go to a place of great historic value but find nothing worth the visit. Lasbela tract is a case in point. Usually, you are left, if you are lucky, with a plaque or just an intrinsic thought. So I expected, more or less, nothing in Lasbela.What I got was signs in lieu of plaques, hot wind, remnants of crumbling columns, and a long view of the undergrowth of thorny bushes, some wildflowers, functional Persian wells and rocky hilltops covered with camel and sheep droppings. It was all prosaic and quiet and yet real enough to propel me into another fit of wonder: I was driving on the tract where Alexander and Muhammad Bin Qasim had treaded.
Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 10:00 AM,
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Say it with flowers
Friday, March 1, 2013
Flowers bring people together. Blossoms can fuel a flaming passion, calm a raging jealousy, comfort a living being and or earn a living. Presenting flowers or sticking a flower in someone's hair or on lapel is a romantic and cherished social folkway. Aside from romantic and poetic delights, there is commerce in flowers too. Now florists are seen in posh neighborhoods in most big cities. One can see single rose to bouquets on sale on every corner in urban areas. Rates of flowers vary from customer to customer and from time to time. Where the flowers come from?
Flowers come from agricultural farms. There are so many around the country. Patoki town is famous for flower growing and has one of the ‘biggest clusters of flower, fruit and decorative plant nurseries in the country. Growing flowers and tree plants and selling is a major business concern in the sleepy town situated in the suburbs of Lahore. Town famous for flowers all over the country is dusty with all problems of small towns: power outages, water shortages, lack of sanitation and management. Single bazaar in Patoki where one can buy most utility items is congested due to excessive encroachments of all sorts. Residential area in town is a mixed cluster of houses widely varying in size, style and quality. But, you cannot see many flowers grown in Patoki nurseries in the houses. Instead, people keep their cows, buffaloes and goats in the streets.
Read more »Labels: Travel
posted by S A J Shirazi @ 8:00 AM,
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