In this blog let me mention a few reasons that why you need to pack your bags and travel. I’ll put forward my points and you decide whether you are convinced or not. By traveling I absolutely do not mean you going to your ‘nani kai Ghar’, what I really mean is packing your essentials and going out of your comfort zone.

For me, the definition of traveling is ‘going to a new place with a mixture of doubts and excitement and coming back with the happiest memories and contented mind’.

Recently I was lucky enough to travel to the north of Pakistan and that experience changed me in such a positive way. I was never really a fan of Pakistan. In the past whenever someone would mention that northern areas of Pakistan are such a beauty I used to be like yeah! they must be but after traveling there myself I realized that saying those places are beautiful is such an understatement. The word beautiful is totally not doing justice to those super amazing cities I visited and experienced with my own eyes.

Why you need to travel:

• Travelling brings so much perspective on life. You find reasons to be thankful for your existence. The joy of going to a new place and enjoy its beauty, culture, food, and sites could never be defined in words.
• If you are going through some hard times and want to forget your difficulties for a while, traveling is surely the best option.
• It helps people to overcome their anxiety and depression.
• Mostly you get to travel in groups or with someone so it makes you more tolerant.
• The memories you get to collect and the scenes you get to enjoy stays with you forever. Nothing could ever be compared to the joy of seeing a waterfall, walking in lush green grass, playing in the snow or sitting on a rock beside a smoothly flowing lake.
• You get to appreciate your family and home more while being away for some time.

Few things to keep in mind while traveling:

Here are a few tips for traveling:

• It’s okay to be a little afraid when you are traveling to a new place and you don’t know anything about it. It’s common to get anxious. But the important thing is don’t let your fear guide you.
• Pack only essentials. I mean it. you surely don’t want to go through the hassle of carrying more luggage than you need.
• Pack a few clothes that you love but are comfortable. Never forget to pack comfy but sturdy shoes.
• Instead of googling the places you should visit, while in a new city, try and contact the locals. They know most about their hometowns and will suggest you the most amazing places.

You will have to be outdoors a lot so don’t forget sunscreen. pour shampoo, body wash, face wash in tiny bottles so you don’t have to carry full bottles.
While traveling doesn’t expect everything to be perfect and homely. You will find hurdles. You may forget your favorite pair of jeans or end up in a hotel with the dirtiest washroom you have ever seen. But the beauty you will get to witness will make you forget all your hurdles.
I am a total freak when it comes to clean washrooms but once I had to shower with someone’s poop floating in the toilet bowl. But all the beautiful places I get to see and visit with flowing rivers, mountains covered in snow, flowers that I have never seen before, walking by the fields, tracking among mountains, made up for all the discomforts I had to go through.

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My own experience:

Me talking about my own self in a blog, surprise! Surprise!

I visited Gilgit Baltistan, Skardu and being a Karachite, all the greenery was enough to impress me. I could never use enough adjectives to define how beautiful that city really is. Locals were also so kind. We wanted to choose a unique place to stay so we chose a hotel mainly due to its view. It overlooked snow-capped mountains whose peaks looked heavenly surrounded by clouds. I could have happily stayed by the window of my room for the whole week with cups of tea. We packed too much hence we had a little problem with managing our luggage.

We visited all the famous places there like Deosai. Khapru fort, Shangrila, Kachora lake, waterfall etc. My favorite place was the Deosai. It was four hours drive from our hotel but the view from the car’s window didn’t let me get bored even for a second. All the trees, rivers, fields, small streams flowing on the road were enough to keep me occupied. I fell in love with Deosai and its lake, patches of snow which wasn’t melted even in summer and beautiful grass.

Lake and waterfall were amazing too.

My one advice would be to travel with like-minded people. Its less hectic and do your research about the place you are about to visit.