Good day to all,
So I am posting after a year now. Things have changed a lot lately. Everything, and everyone has changed. It's really amazing how time flies by and take all your good moments, preserving it as a memory. A crystal-clear, glass-like memory that you would love to walk into, but that which grows shadier as the time passes.
Back in Fall 2012, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering with a couple of really good university friends. And it happened all of a sudden. One moment we were comfortably sitting, waiting for a no-traffic-because-everyone-has-left trip home, next we were cornered by our Corporate Manager, being conveniently coaxed into undertaking this trip. And we were easily influenced.
What followed was a series of bull fights back home with a constant fluctuation between "going" and "not going" status. In the conservative society of Pakistan, it is highly improbable for girls to roam about the country without a male family member at hand. In the middle of chaotic tears, anger and frustration, a miracle happened. The families gave in. The trip had to happen. The exhilarating joy that bubbled in all of us had no boundaries.
The bags were packed as lightly as possible. The goodbyes were said. We gathered at the friend's abode who lived nearest to the airport. And then we all got heavily constipated when things began to fall apart. The dues had not been cleared. The tickets had been purchased on friendly credit. Without satisfying the credit, it would be meaningless to board this trip. At the very last moment, a post-dated check saved the day. For the first time in a couple of days, we were all joking, laughing, discussing exactly how each of us felt we'd be tugging our luggage home in a few hours. The flight to Islamabad took about 2 hours. Sadly, we were all seated separately. The flight was rather uneventful.
The next hurdle was to reach the hotel. Grabbing a taxi was easy but their fares, unnecessarily high. It was too late before we realized the airport was a small one, and the tariffs outside the realm of the airport would be acceptable. We reached the hotel, everyone still in absolute disbelief that we were four friends, miles away from home, and we were actually together! For the next 24 hours, we were treated to a life of absolute bachelorhood - each of us laid sprawled on the floor and on the beds, none bothered by the fact that there were 2 men and 2 women in the room. We had been besties, and we knew we could trust each other. The television was on, and on high volume. We had taken a tablet laptop and portable internet USB with us, so Facebook and Mails and everything else on the online world was within reach. We felt hungry, we got up and left the hotel for a dinner in a nearby restaurant, no worries, no scurries. Things were like - a real worthy bachelor life..!
We all slept late that night - males in a separate room, females in another. As long as we were awake, the show went on, pictures were clicked, fun made of everything. Life was blissful. But the next day wasn't so.
In the morning, all four of us gathered again, this time to tackle the issue of breakfast. Again, we took a few necessities and left the hotel, searching for the traditional Pakistani "halwa puri" breakfast. We walked, and walked, inquiring about a breakfast restaurant. We might have walked a kilometer before we spotted what we were looking for. The breakfast was amazing. Even today, all four of us remember the taste and the texture of food - it was simply amazingly soft and tasteful! The trip back was a short one - and it was then that we realized we had gone in a circle! The restaurant was just a couple of meters away!
A couple of moments later, the news broke on us. We had to catch a bus to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering in a couple of hours. The bachelorhood was suddenly interrupted and effectively over. We rushed through the changing and the packing. Just as we were waiting for the green signal from our Event Coordinator, we were informed - the dues were still not cleared. And we effectively had no cash to carry on with the trip. Most of us were on extremely tight budgets, already ruined by the last day's party. We looked at each other, worried. Were we stuck?
* To be continued *
Peace :)
So I am posting after a year now. Things have changed a lot lately. Everything, and everyone has changed. It's really amazing how time flies by and take all your good moments, preserving it as a memory. A crystal-clear, glass-like memory that you would love to walk into, but that which grows shadier as the time passes.
Back in Fall 2012, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering with a couple of really good university friends. And it happened all of a sudden. One moment we were comfortably sitting, waiting for a no-traffic-because-everyone-has-left trip home, next we were cornered by our Corporate Manager, being conveniently coaxed into undertaking this trip. And we were easily influenced.
What followed was a series of bull fights back home with a constant fluctuation between "going" and "not going" status. In the conservative society of Pakistan, it is highly improbable for girls to roam about the country without a male family member at hand. In the middle of chaotic tears, anger and frustration, a miracle happened. The families gave in. The trip had to happen. The exhilarating joy that bubbled in all of us had no boundaries.
The bags were packed as lightly as possible. The goodbyes were said. We gathered at the friend's abode who lived nearest to the airport. And then we all got heavily constipated when things began to fall apart. The dues had not been cleared. The tickets had been purchased on friendly credit. Without satisfying the credit, it would be meaningless to board this trip. At the very last moment, a post-dated check saved the day. For the first time in a couple of days, we were all joking, laughing, discussing exactly how each of us felt we'd be tugging our luggage home in a few hours. The flight to Islamabad took about 2 hours. Sadly, we were all seated separately. The flight was rather uneventful.
The next hurdle was to reach the hotel. Grabbing a taxi was easy but their fares, unnecessarily high. It was too late before we realized the airport was a small one, and the tariffs outside the realm of the airport would be acceptable. We reached the hotel, everyone still in absolute disbelief that we were four friends, miles away from home, and we were actually together! For the next 24 hours, we were treated to a life of absolute bachelorhood - each of us laid sprawled on the floor and on the beds, none bothered by the fact that there were 2 men and 2 women in the room. We had been besties, and we knew we could trust each other. The television was on, and on high volume. We had taken a tablet laptop and portable internet USB with us, so Facebook and Mails and everything else on the online world was within reach. We felt hungry, we got up and left the hotel for a dinner in a nearby restaurant, no worries, no scurries. Things were like - a real worthy bachelor life..!
We all slept late that night - males in a separate room, females in another. As long as we were awake, the show went on, pictures were clicked, fun made of everything. Life was blissful. But the next day wasn't so.
In the morning, all four of us gathered again, this time to tackle the issue of breakfast. Again, we took a few necessities and left the hotel, searching for the traditional Pakistani "halwa puri" breakfast. We walked, and walked, inquiring about a breakfast restaurant. We might have walked a kilometer before we spotted what we were looking for. The breakfast was amazing. Even today, all four of us remember the taste and the texture of food - it was simply amazingly soft and tasteful! The trip back was a short one - and it was then that we realized we had gone in a circle! The restaurant was just a couple of meters away!
A couple of moments later, the news broke on us. We had to catch a bus to Ghulam Ishaque Khan Institute of Engineering in a couple of hours. The bachelorhood was suddenly interrupted and effectively over. We rushed through the changing and the packing. Just as we were waiting for the green signal from our Event Coordinator, we were informed - the dues were still not cleared. And we effectively had no cash to carry on with the trip. Most of us were on extremely tight budgets, already ruined by the last day's party. We looked at each other, worried. Were we stuck?
* To be continued *
Peace :)
