Category: Travel

Traveling- Flying is my preference

Unlike many people, these days, I love to fly. And you won’t believe it but I also like the food served during the flights. Most of my flying experience was during the years my daughter was in the USA. I traveled at least six times to USA and back.

When I flew alone the first time I was equally apprehensive and excited. But going to America every year made me a seasoned traveler. My preference was Emirates Airlines. Before Covid, they had the best economy service.

My first stop would be Dubai airport. There I’d have a layover of 3-4 hours. I enjoyed my stay there as it’s a very happening place. The duty-free shops are very well stocked but on the pricey side. The flight from Lahore to Dubai is around 3 hours and not tiring but the next leg of my journey was from Dubai to Seattle and took 18 hours. That was a long and tiring flight. And I have a problem going to sleep while sitting, so I used to watch 5-6 movies on each flight. The inflight entertainment was usually up to date and I got to see many new movies.

Reaching Seattle, my daughter would welcome me and make my stay there very comfortable. I used to have a wonderful time with her and my grandson. She used to take me around to show me the local attractions too. We went to the east coast together too to visit New York and Washington DC.

If you give me a plane ticket, I’m ready to fly even now!

Written for; WQW #18: Transportation: Trains, Planes, and Working Machines, hosted by Marsha

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The shifting/ moving house saga continues!

It’s been four days and slowly we are getting organized. But when you move from a smaller house into a bigger one and the people you’ve engaged aren’t as organized as you wished they were, you’re left with much more to do than you imagined.

As I said that we are getting there but my time is taken up by putting rooms back to order and helping my daughter and grandson with their organizing.

I make time to write my blog posts, read and answer the comments but unfortunately I haven’t been able to read as many posts as I usually do. Many I skim through and many I saved hoping to read them later. But I now realize that it is not possible to catch up on 3-4 days’ worth of posts so, with apologies, I will start afresh tomorrow and will try to be there to enjoy your posts.

Meanwhile, with me luck that I’m done by Monday so that the new week can start on a good, fresh note.

See you all soon.

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#Moving

Another trip back home

This weekend was a hectic one. The reason;

Unicorn themed decorations

My granddaughter turned 3!

My daughter couldn’t celebrate her daughter’s birthday properly for the last 2 years due to Covid. So this year she did it in style. Though the invitees were just immediate family, she went all out by cooking a lot of food herself and making lovely decorations. I came to Lahore with my elder daughter and grandson to be a part of this celebration.

This is the reason that I’ve been very busy this weekend and wasn’t much on WordPress. I’ve missed many posts from my favorite bloggers and have commented less.

Unicorn themed cake

Today we are heading back and hopefully things will be back to normal.

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#FamilyTime

Composing my post

Sitting outside a Mcdonald’s restaurant on the highway to Lahore, I am composing this post to be posted in the afternoon.

The spring break in my grandson’s school is from next Monday to Sunday. And we are headed to Lahore. There is a family wedding I’m attending tonight, various visits to different doctors planned and as are family get -togethers. All in all, a very busy week. I hope to keep up with my reading and commenting but there may be lapses. Apologies in advance.

This bird decided to amuse me during my coffee break.

Your prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “comp.” Find a word that starts with or contains “comp” and use it in your post. Enjoy!

Written for Linda’s Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

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#SoCS

Under the canvas

Lying under the sky at night was like looking up at the vast canvas painted with luminous, stardust.

I loved this opportunity to watch the night sky without the light pollution found in busy cities. Getting to this secluded resort high in the hilly areas of Kashmir was quite nerve-racking as the road was narrow and rough in places but well worth the effort.

It was very quiet and the absence of traffic noise was like a balm on the soul. We all sat in the cooling mountain air looking up and trying to identify the different stars and constellations.

Oh, and did I mention that there was no phone or internet signal there so it was a good thing that my son had brought his beloved astronomy book.

➰➰➰

Written for Six Sentences Story- Prompt word: Canvas, hosted by Girlie on the edge’s blog, Denise

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Dreaming of traveling

All conversations about traveling abroad open with this word;

When…..

When the Covid restrictions will ease down, when it will be safe to travel, when it will be safe to fly for 7-8 hours with hundreds of people sharing the air you breathe…..

But like everyone else, we also make plans. Dubai expo was an event we wanted to visit but considered it unsafe to travel right now.

Visiting Turkey is also on the list. I’ve been to Turkey with my friends and so has my husband on an official tour but we didn’t go together. And we want to take the rest of the family with us. Turkey makes an excellent travel destination. It’s not very far, it’s affordable, and it’s welcoming to us Pakistanis. There are old historic places to visit as well the modern Turkey to admire. It offers a wide range of travel attractions to tourists and Istanbul was one of the most visited city in the world before Covid.

Another place that I’d love to visit is Saudi Arabia. I’d like to perform Umrah, a ritualistic visit to holy Ka’aba in the city of Mecca. All Muslims want to visit Mecca to perform Umrah or Hajj. 

Stepping out of my comfort zone 
Embarking on a journey to new places 
Seems to be a difficult step to take
The inertia of the fear of the unknown stops me
But the excitement of finding something new spurs me on
Growing in wisdom and experience with every new destination 
Traveling opens my heart and mind to new possibilities 
Pack your bags 
Raid the money bank
Fold the map and keep it safe
It’s time to open the door
And step out to explore

Written for WQW #7 – Topic: Where Do You Want to Travel? Hosted by Marsha

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Today is moving day…… again

As I have hinted in a few of my previous posts, I am moving to another city.

I’m sorry that I haven’t been very active on WP for past one week or so. Going back and forth to get a house leased in another city and doing the legal work has kept me busy.

I will try to be here as much as I can but you all know that it is a big undertaking. Luckily we aren’t moving far, just a few hours north. But packing up our stuff and relocating would take up a lot of my time.

Hope to see you all on the other side!

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#MovingDay

WQWWC # 30: Vacation

Marsha is the host of WQWWC

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Writer’s Quotes Wednesdays Writing Challenge Logo

This week we are going to explore your favorite vacations, whether they are just in the planning or happened years ago.

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us”

Maya Angelou

As kids, we would go to our grandparent’s home during summer break. My father was very attached to his parents and would take every opportunity to visit them. There would be at least one of his other siblings with their kids and we would enjoy the company of our cousins. There was very little to do but play outside, climb trees and steal the juicy mangoes from them. Those were fun days and simple pleasures.

After I got married, my husband would take a few days off from work and we would drive to the northern mountainous resort of Murree. It used to be a fun place to visit. The weather was cool and we would explore the mountains. The place catered to tourist from all over the country and we could buy lovely handmade local stuff. It was our routine for many years till my kids grew up.

The world is a book, and those who don’t travel only read one page.”–

Augustine of Hippo

When my daughter shifted to the USA for her studies, I got to see quite a bit of America whenever I visited her. She learned to drive and bought a car. Whenever I visited her, she would plan a trip someplace near and took me driving. She is truly fond of traveling and would always be planning her next vacation. One year, we flew to east coast, to Washington DC, New York and Pennsylvania and stayed there for a few days.

In summer 2019, my daughter took me to various places in Washington state for short vaccination trips. I wrote about my whale watching trip here!

In 2020 we were planning another trip, this time to Disney land in California. But as you all know, all travel plans were abandoned in 2020.

Though I wasn’t very fond of traveling, I have benefited such a lot from seeing the world. My knowledge and mind have broadened. I have met so many people from different cultures and countries and learned a lot from them. I am thankful for all the opportunities that I got to see this world and to meet so many wonderful people.

Let’s hope that travel restrictions ease up soon and we all are able to vacation safely again.

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