Family Reunion

I am all cuddled up in bed, waiting for my non-alcoholic nightcap which is usually tea. I thought about reading a book but to avoid the sleep, writing down about the weekend to preserve the sweet memories of a reunion seemed like a better idea. We had a small family reunion with my parents, who live in another city. I usually get to meet them every month; what made this particular reunion special was that everyone was there.

These family reunions are a reminder of the beautiful bonds that keep us connected, no matter how far we live. They are nostalgic, quirky, full of laughter and love. The eyes of parents shine extra bright to see all their kids under one roof. I could clearly see it, especially this time, when two of us (siblings) have their own families now.

As you know, I live in a small and remote town, there are not many attractions here to keep kids entertained. So when my mom told us about a newly opened zoo, the kids got excited and wanted us to take them there. So, on the weekend, we directly went to the zoo, and the whole family joined us there. Have you ever had a family reunion at the zoo? No? Well, we had - things elders do for kids.

Mom brought homemade sandwiches and her iconic chocolate cake. We devoured it all in a matter of a few minutes before heading inside the zoo.

As soon as my eldest saw lion cubs, he didn't leave the side of his dad. He was braver when he was younger. It was a modest zoo with a good variety of animals like hyenas, llamas, lions, leopards, tigers, bears, ponies, snakes, wolves, and a few more. There was an aviary too.

The snow wolf is my favorite animal, and they had gray wolves, according to the introductory boards hung outside the cages. I thought that would be the closest thing to a snow wolf which made me excited. But to my dismay, the wolves weren't gray, they were brownish. Secondly, they seemed sick. One had an amputated leg, the other was weak, and another was disinterested in the surroundings. Wolves can normally walk up to 25km in a day, according to the facts stated in their introduction. So, it wasn't their fault if the caged life made them lazy or bored.

Tigers were sleeping, leopards were active and manipulating potential prey, who were staring at them from the other side of the cage. The lions were busy in debauchery.

Snakes were resting behind the glass panes. One of them reminded me of Boa Constrictor. I tried communicating in Parseltongue, but I guess I'm a plain Slytherin, not an heir. He didn't even look at me. 😒

My kids were excited to see the national bird - chakur which was putting up a show, standing on one leg. Some birds do that to conserve heat like we hide hands in pockets during winter.

It took less than an hour to make a 360° round of the zoo, which is rightly named - 360 Zoo. Later, we just randomly drove through the town. My husband was trying to find the entrance to the golf course to have a peak but we had to head for dinner with others. I made sure to take a picture of the main entrance with a huge club and ball.

In a few minutes, we arrived at the planned destination. It was a newly opened restaurant that was marketed as mini-Maldives for having dining tables surrounded by mini pools. But the reality was far from their marketing videos. Poor ambiance and not a drop of water. The waiter tried his best to lure us in but we ditched the place and landed on a rooftop restaurant in a neighboring town. There was a stark difference between the two places.

The food area was on the rooftop of a multi-storey building. In the basement, there was a supermarket, the 1st and 2nd floors had some clothing brands, most of which hadn't been launched yet, the 3rd floor had Universal Cinema and the 4th had Flames by Zaytoon, our dinner place.

Flames were welcoming and clean, unlike the ones we ran away from. The ambiance was cozy and beautiful. The delicious aroma and soft live music filled the air - making the place all the more inviting. We ordered chicken seekh kebabs, mutton chops, chicken lahori karahi and chicken jalfrezi. Everything was scrumptious. They offered great value for money. That's what we think. The dinner was a treat from dad for his upcoming birthday, so we might be wrong but dad can tell better. 😄

All in all, it was a great experience. I enjoyed the Pakistani and Indian tunes which the guy played non-stop and didn't seem to tire at all.

It was the perfect day out. The next day was filled with more food and some winter shopping. I wish I could stay for another day, but one of my kids had an exam today.

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Wrapping up this light blog before diving back into week 2 of programming course.🫠