My Travel Diary - Lower Topa Excursion

I don't remember how often I have picked up my phone to write down a post about the "excursion" but I'm not used to typing more than a paragraph on my phone. Moreover, I haven't been able to find enough time to do it.

Even at this moment, everyone is getting ready for dinner but my kids are asleep and I'm also extremely tired from the day's activities. Therefore, I have decided to stay back with the kids in our room.

My initial plan was to sleep but I thought to take this opportunity to finally write a post. As there are still two days left until my routine gets back to normal and this week I hadn't been able to create any content.

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You might remember that I was at my parents' home in June. I spent three weeks of pure bliss and leisure when my husband called and informed me about this group trip to the north. I couldn't miss it so I immediately traveled back home.

I had only one day and there was no flight so I had to go by bus. I was anxious but the journey was very smooth. The bus proved to be an adventurous transport for my kids.

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The very next day, we had to go to Lower Topa with 30 people or so. I packed and over-packed for the trip. I wasn't sure about the weather so I stuffed one warm and one light outfit for each day of the trip.

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The journey north was smooth. Kids slept and we gossiped a lot with our friends. We made a stop in Islamabad for lunch at McDonald's. We appointed one person as the food in charge of the trip. This made the ordering easy.

^{what3words location}

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We reached our destination in the afternoon. I mentioned some details of our arrival in the previous post.

Skipping those details and fast-forwarding to the next morning...

We had breakfast in our room. It was usual eggs and parathas. The view in front was mesmerizing. The quiet and green of the forest in front was another mood.

After breakfast, I sat outside for some time and enjoyed the fresh air and scenery. It had been raining on and off and out of nowhere, a mist used to cover everything. It was like the weather was in the mood of playing games.

I ironed one summer outfit and one winter outfit and wore them according to whatever weather demanded every few hours.

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For lunch, we went up to the mess. It wasn't lunch but sort of a Hi-tea. I forgot to take pictures of that delicious pakoras. Kids were playing outside, husbands and all other males were enjoying themselves together and we (ladies) were having fun posing for pictures in every nook of the area.

Although, we come to this place every year and I haven't seen most of the north despite my frequent travels but this place never bores me down. I think it's never the place that matters more, it's the company that gives you memories to cherish forever.

^what3words

The late-night gossip, the coffee and tea sessions, the bonfires, the antaksharis, the dumb charades, the cards, and the ludo fights - all these things together make the trips to this place memorable.

^what3words

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At night, we decided to go to the famous and overcrowded Mall Road of Murree. I didn't have the heart to go there because with the time that place has turned into nothing less than a zoo. Our group comprised of some elderly people and many kids who wanted to go there. Surprisingly, we had a lot of fun there. We were scattered here and there, exploring gift shops, coffee shops, jugglers, and much more.

While walking, I came across a wall that portrayed how Murree evolved over the years. I captured the pictures to study them later as it had started raining by then and I couldn't stand there for long.

Murree - 1853 - present

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It was decided that everyone will meet at Bundu Khan restaurant at 9 pm for dinner. We had strolled towards the end of the road and only realized when our stomachs started growling from hunger and our hair started dripping rainwater. We arrived at the decided place on time. Dinner was traditional Pakistani food which everyone enjoyed and ate to the fill.

^{Seekh Kebab}

^{White Handi}

^{Fried Rice}

^{Masala Handi}

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It was raining cats and dogs by the time we were on road again. Our busses were at the entrance of the road and we had to walk up there. We made a quick stop at an ice cream shop and bought chocolate vanilla cones. Those were extremely delicious and I recommend it if you go there. The name of the shop is - Sweet Creme.

The funny thing was that none of us could locate the bus parking and with the heavy rain, all of us were running here and there. We couldn't even contact our drivers. After roaming around for half an hour, we saw a driver running toward us. By the time we entered the bus, we were fully drenched in rain.

My son was angry at me because I refused to buy him an umbrella earlier that day, thinking that we wouldn't need it.

I am gonna buy him an umbrella first thing in the morning now.

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