Tripkar Women In Boots: The Adventure Of A Lifetime!

My friends and I are cheap as heck. We hate spending money mostly because we don’t have money. Yet we love to travel. Or at least we love the idea of traveling, since actually traveling is a problem. The last 3 years at university have been one failed plan after another to go on a university trip to the north. 

But the trips came and went. There was always a reason (money, the reason was money) not to go. So when I got to know that Tripkar.com was taking a free trip to Shogran and Naran if you won their contest, I was all in. The trip had a myriad of sponsors, the main one being Stylo. Shout out to our sponsors for helping make this happen. 

I submitted an entry to their all Pakistan blogging contest and surprisingly won. While both my friends got selected in the campus drives they held all across universities in Lahore. We were ecstatic, we were getting an AMAZING trip to the north. And the best part? IT WAS FREE.

We were due to leave on the night of the 27^th of April, a Thursday. We set off on our journey and I took a pill to combat nausea which apparently had horse tranquilizers in it cause the next thing I remember is waking up in Abbottabad. We stopped at DeManchi hotel in Abbottabad and had a yummy as heck breakfast buffet where I tried everything. Twice.

Then we were off to Shogran. After breakfast everyone was energized as hell and would NOT stop singing old Indian Bollywood cringe-fest songs and okay maybe I joined in and knew the lyrics to most of them.

Half an hour before Shogran, our coasters stopped and we took 4x4s the rest of the way up. After multiple prayers to get to our hotel safely we somehow made it in one piece. We arrived at the Lalazar Hotel in Shogran and were assigned rooms.

We rushed into the room and were even happier than we had been before. OUR ROOM WAS CLEAN AND COZY. The bathroom was nice. AND we had a balcony to chill out on. I mean we only chilled out there for 5 minutes but we chilled out nonetheless.

We were given an hour to freshen up i.e. remove the travel grime from our person and report for lunch. We went to the dining hall where we possibly had THE MOST amazing qourma and matar pulao with raita and salad. I still dream about it… I actually dream about the food we had for all 3 meals at Hotel Lalazar. I am an incredibly enthusiastic eater and trust me when I tell you this; the food was GOOD. We had pasta, soup, Afghani pulaos and kheers and puddings. I think should do another post solely to describe the food.

Anyway the next day She organized an ice breaking session, and we got to know the other participants of the trip a little better. It was an eye opening session where we all vowed to dismiss the first impressions of people that we may have.

At night, all of us participants had bonded so well that we had a personal movie session in the biggest room we had. We watched Moana and gorged on junk food; it was glorious.

The day of check out and bidding farewell to phone signals and the yummy food at Hotel Lalazar was an emotional one indeed. We set off for a 45 minute trek to the point where our coasters were waiting for us so we could head to Naran. Halfway through the trek, a local told us about a track which had been closed for 2 years (should have been warning enough but nope) and was incredibly scenic thus we should take it.  According to the local it would take us the same amount of time. Spoiler: it did NOT.

What ensued was a 16 kilometer trek through areas which had had land sliding in the recent past thus there were no tracks just rocks which we had to walk across. But somehow we did it; all of us. And to be honest I would say I am stronger for having done it. Considering that at home walking from my bed to the kitchen seems like a feat of great human strength to me, walking 6 hours in treacherous terrain made me realize I am made of tougher stuff!

And well, we did not do it on our own. Lucky for us, one of the winners of the photography competition was Samar Khan; a national level cyclist and also the first Pakistani ever to cycle on glaciers! Pretty bad ass, right? Well, Samar was there to help everyone across the especially tricky parts and I will always be grateful to her for that. She is totally my Shero. As well as the other lovely ladies helping us to get to the other side; you know who you are, thank you. <3

When we got to Hotel DeManchi in Naran that evening all we wanted to do was sleep but nope, not with this lot. After having dinner, all the girls decided to go out in search of chocolate and coffee. I couldn’t argue with that and we were off. Upon returning, my legs were SCREAMING but nope, the girls wanted to have a dance party. I might be made of tough stuff but man, these girls were made of… EVEN TOUGHER STUFF.

I would like to appreciate how nice this hotel was; amazing food and amazing service. Thank you for getting us the heater because honestly we would have not survived without it.

The next day everyone woke up to sore and stiff legs. The tiger balm massages had not helped. We then had breakfast and were asked if we wanted to go on a 3 hour trek to Saif-ul-Mulook? I was skeptical. Did 3 hours this time, MEAN 3 hours or should I do yesterday’s math of 45 minutes turning into 6 hours?

But after being puppy dog eyed by my friend I agreed to go half way up the frozen saif-ul-mulook trek. I was scared. I have seen Vertical Limit and I am not a fan. We got to the half-way point and took a dozen pictures, had a snow ball fight and built a snow man. Total Elsa feels but Olaf didn’t come to life sadly.

We finally got back to our coasters again and I would like to mention I did not slip on the ice even ONCE. #AchievementUnlocked

That night we had a bonfire and sat in tents. We were advised not to spend the night in the tents because it was INCREDIBLY cold for us (mostly) Lahore and (some) Karachi girls. We had yummy food at the bonfire and gave each other titles. I got Femme Fatale; not surprised. *insert cool glasses emoji here*

We even received gift vouchers from Stylo (the main sponsor) that we could redeem for free shoes. I MEAN. Free trip and now we’re getting vouchers. Could it BE any better?

The next day, we woke up and packed up. We had to leave for rafting and get back, get our stuff and head back to Lahore. We got to the rafting part organized by Adventure Edge. They made us sign waivers of responsibility, telling us super casually that we wouldn’t die from drowning but the cold water could send our body in shock. Super casual. No big deal. Mmhmm. *internal freak out*

But after reading every single dua I know, I got in the raft and we made it. And guess what? IT WAS FUN. The water was incredibly cold but with the sun beating down on us it was welcome.

We made it to the other end of the river and sat on the bank, skipping rocks. All in all, it was relaxing as hell. Then we got in our coasters and went on our way back to Lahore.

4 days of our trip were filled with adventure and lots of amusement. I am incredibly thankful for this experience and the best part is I met so many other wonderful young women on this trip who I know will serve as lifelong friends.

Stay tuned for season 2!