How Traveling Changed Me

by Syed Mahnoor Shah (Pakistan)

I didn't expect to find Pakistan

The internet keeps preaching the importance of traveling to unknown places. I used to have a vague understanding of what they meant to say, but the concept was a bit alien to me. For me traveling always meant: a destination picked by my family and then spending time with them there. However, the meaning of travel changed for me when I was in my college. There was this advertisement on the bulletin board that read: Hunza Trip for Students of Bahria University. The advertisement had me mesmerised, I immediately went to the registration desk to ask for more details. Being a conventional Pakistani girl, I had never really traveled without my family and even at the age of 20 it was important that I must take permission from my parents. So when I got home that day, I recruited my eldest sister in order to get permission for a 10 day tour in the Northern areas of Pakistan. I was pleasantly surprised when I got the permission without any resistance. Hence, this began my journey, i.e. preparing for a place I have only heard about on Television and through word of mouth, and then eventually going of an a great adventure that changed how I see the world. This trip held a new world, I experienced so many things for the first time. It was like waking up from a dream and finding your true calling. The journey began something like this. I spent a good couple of days scavenging for warm clothes in the month of July, followed by packing a backpack thay was compact and easy to carry. Then when the month of August arrived, I boarded a train and was off to the what waited. This was my first time riding in a train. I set in a compartment with 3 other students from college, we all were eager to start this journey. It took us 22 hours to reach the last stop I.e. Islamabad. From there we got on a bus that was to take us to Hunza which was another 12 hours way. The transit was long and tiring, but the excitement kept us awake throughout. For each and every route we passed had something worth swooning over. I was not sure what to expect when we reach our destination. I had so many questions: will there be electricity? I wonder if the locals know how to speak in English or even Urdu? Is it even safe to go there? The questions were endless. However, it is a wonder how 10 days change your perspective on things. Stepping in to that place. It changed how I perceived things. The people were gorgeous not only when it came to looks but also in the way they treated you. Every step you took, you would find nothing but respect and hospitality. Surprising there were no language barriers, as the locals knew Urdu and English along with their local language. Interacting with the locals, we found out that this region of Pakistan has a 0% crime rate and a 100% literacy rate. Which was evident from the fact that when my fellow traveller and I dumped our bags outside for a few hours, we came back to find them untouched. I went to this place not expecting much other than aesthetic mountains, but came back with a hunger to explore more. I stepped in to the unknown territory and found that it was something I was passionate about. This journey changed the dynamics of traveling for me and how I look at things. I took off from Karachi as someone who suddenly decided to go on a tour and came back as an individual who has discovered her love of traveling and exploring. Therefore, ever since that time, all I have done is look up places within Pakistan and put them on my list of places to explore. I have covered multiple places, some alone and some with a bunch of friends. This leap that I took 3 years back has made me confident and bold as compared to the naive and shy girl I was previously.