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Day 4: Islamabad to Hunza
I arrived in Rawalpindi on the bus the day before. Across the street from the station, a tall, wiry figure waved at me – Omer, Tahira’s friend. He quickly took me to his house in I-8 Islamabad, where he had relocated from Lahore. There, I met his wife, Sabrina, and their son, Rayan, who eagerly showed me the games he was playing. I would also meet their daughter later that evening.
Dinner was a delicious spread of meal with ghee daal, which Rayan jokingly explained as “90% ghee, 10% daal.” We all laughed. Sabrina, who had been working in education, designing online curricula in Lahore, had since joined Omer in his app development company. Over delicious food, our conversation meandered to how AI is transforming content creation and reshaping marketing. Gone are the days of painstakingly crafting designs for broad appeal. Now, you can instantaneously generate hundreds of designs and target them to specific audiences to see what resonates – a modern-day search for a needle in a haystack. Times are indeed changing.
This morning, I woke up with a growing sense of adventure. The apartment was quiet, with Rayan engrossed in one of his many games on the sofa. Today, I would embark on a 16-hour journey to Gojal, Hunza. Restless from the anticipation of my trip, I decided to go for a quick walk.
The I-8 sector was peaceful this Sunday morning, with just a few cars zipping by and hardly anyone else on foot. I started trading smiles with the man who was taking his ice-cream cart in circles around I-8 and passed me every 15 mins. After a loop around 33rd street, I found a small market complex offering generic daily supplies. Nestled into the inner courtyard, there was a cafe named Quetta Tea. I had a cup of strong tea, watching men talk and stretch before getting ready for their work. The patrons were mostly Balochi, and I found myself thinking of the civilian protests in Balochistan that had been growing in intensity over the past year. Later, during my stay in Pakistan, I would hear of more militant violence in Balochistan – a recurring thread woven into the complex political fabric of modern Pakistan.
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6 MONTHS SOLO TRAVEL.
Join us live with Nirvana to celebrate her 6 months long solo travel in central and south America. We will be talking to her about how she managed to do such long solo travel and how she plans budgets, time and mental energy to do so.
Let’s find out if she misses her family and friends, we will ask how she makes new ones. Ask her how if south America is compared to Nepal and other countries in terms of Geography, safety and expenses during travel.
Aren’t you already excited ?? Comment below your questions you would like us to ask Nirvana.
Join us this Tuesday, 20th Aug. 9 PM.
Nepalitravelers.
FREE MOVIE SCREENING 🍿
Join us this Sunday, Aug 18 | 6:15 pm | @eden.sanepa
To witness the story of Lhakpa Sherpa, a Young Nepalese woman of great Innate strength of character and Intelligence ,bucks the male dominated Mt. Everest Sherpa Industry with her indominitable spirit and force of Will.
#nepalitravellers #movienight #mountainqueen #netflix
Not just an EVENT!
This was the biggest event we’ve ever hosted. A 14-month journey turned into something really special and unique. It was a rollercoaster ride, both personally and professionally, with fights, arguments, tears, joy, meetings, regrets, and everything in between. Was it worth it in the end? Well, you tell me, was it not?
Thanking everyone who was involved with us (Pemba & I) from the very beginning of this project. From injecting creative ideas @surajshakya to crafting classy award @niraj.joshi.3760 this community kept us going. Thanking @everestoutfit for having our back and giving that confidence to kickstart. Our dear friend @anupicepal for his constant shoutouts from top to bottom (literally)😉. @lexlimbu an amazing person who genuinely supported us no matter what, even going beyond his comfort zone to promote us. @thelamadai for always bringing that high voltage energy into everything he does. @ghumante for being side by side with us to promote the idea. @pranilshakyaa for taking the time to help us with the designs and for patiently tolerating our thousands of feedbacks.
We struggled a looot, honestly! When nobody believed or comprehended in what we were trying to do, when we were losing hope, this community gave us that strength and motivation both emotionally & financially. Big brands showed no interest, Nepal Tourism Board didn’t even give us a chance to bring the proposal on the table. Yet, we did it!
This is to remind ourselves that investing in travel is never a waste of money. We hope there will be even more platforms in the future for travelers to get recognized and celebrate their stories on a larger scale.
Because travel is not just about going places; travel is an attitude.
— Pooja (team NepaliTravellers)
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