Roam

Passu cones

A place now so full of life where laughter fills the air once spoke of the death of many. Did they too walk the paths clueless to the deceit of life as we do, how we're alive one moment and gone the next? To me it's more than just a tourist destination, it's a reminder of how short life may be. May we live it to the fullest and leave it with nothing worth regretting.

As they say nothing beats a genuine smile. Some candid shots from our trip to Hunza.

It's a well-known tradition that the elder brother gets the throne but the younger ones don't always give up so easily. When the younger son of the royal family questioned tradition to be in power, it lead to a dispute between the two brothers. The elder challenged him to a battle that would only stop when one of their hearts does. The younger of the two lost and is to this day buried in a standing grave inside the Altit fort, his forever home in this world.

That's our team at Rainbow bridge, Hunza. It's harder than it looks yet a 100% recommended to cross.

What do you think? Would you cross it?

Meet Eesa Kaleem: 

From showing us around the fort and giving us insightful insights on the architecture of the fort to telling where to sit and pose for pictures, Eesa Kaleem is a complete package when it comes to being a guide.

'There' he pointed at a pointy peak admidst the clouds 'thats lady-finger. It is said that some hundreds of years ago there lived a king who was taken prisoner by the witch people. To find her lost king, the queen, alongside her a c**k and some grains, to lady finger she went. It is believed that there are only three ways the king is to return, if the queen dies, the c**k cuckoos or the grains run out of stock. To this day the king hasn't returned, nor his queen.'

'Sir! We forgot to record. Can you please repeat it?' said I

'Ab thak gya hoon mai' said he

Why hasn't the queen died in all these years?

Why doesn't the c**k cuckoo?

Why isn't the grain running out of stock?

Why did the queen take the two with her? 

Aae naujawan muslim kabhi tadabur bhi kiya tune?

We were roaming around the fort like headless chickens taking pictures everywhere when the guide, who was standing nearby witnessing the chaos told us 'This is where EVERYONE who comes to the fort takes the pictures' so we did too!

That's our group at the famous Cafe de Hunza, our tummies stuffed with Hunza's special walnut cake.

The legend of the man in shades:

It is said in a village far far away from the hustle and bustle of the world, there lived a man with no name, his identity was his shades that he wore night and day. It is believed that behind those shades is a man so happy he's sad, with his eyes always filled with tears of joy, to the point that they're never dry, and so he hides from the blinding darkness of the world behind his dark dark shades.

When the star of Arcturus coincided paths with the mighty Mimosa, quite a rare occurrence occured.

A photographer in the valley of Hunza, had not one but two good pictures to choose from.

(The second text was probably not meant to be on the poster)

That's our group making their way to Altit Fort through the Royal gardens of Hunza.

It was the kind of green that makes you want to lay on the grass and sleep for hours on end, sleep till you're free of all the worries you carry, the kind of green that makes you feel alive once again.

Roam.pk X AIESEC in NUST

Meet Busena.

She's from Turkey and had been learning Urdu since 3 years solely for the cause of visiting Pakistan and truly living the experience. 'I love the Pakistani culture' is what she told me. When a song she didn't like, played while we were traveling, from the back of the coaster she yelled 'ye change karo'. She taught me how to say 'good night' in Turkish which I forgot by next morning.

Roam.pk X AIESEC in NUST
Pakistan X Turkey