Isra Aziz Travelogue

 1110 words 

Travelogue

A visit to the Wonderful Petaro River View Resort

Isra Aziz

2K18/MC/65

BS-Part III

 

As gray cold days of winters are being welcomed this is why the weather of Hyderabad is becoming calmer and more pleasant. To relish these days and just to recharge my batteries I went to a wonderful location, known as the Petaro River View Resort with my cousins which is somewhere between the suburbs of Hyderabad city and Cadet College Petaro. It takes an approximate 20-minute drive from Hyderabad city and is very unique and unheard of. At 4 pm, before leaving I packed my bag and brought all the food items, sat inside the car, and started my journey. While traveling, to not getting bored I turned on the radio, set a channel on which I heard a beautiful Sufi Kalam in the voice of our Living legend of Pakistan Queen of Sufi music Ms.Abida Parveen. By looking through the fogged window I was seeing the view outside the car, it was a strange and most relaxing feeling. That moment I felt like I got free from all storms or any physical or mental disturbance of life. Moving forward to meet my destination I have gone through a most popular bridge which is built on the Indus River there was heavy traffic that wasted my 10 to 15 minutes.

I noticed the wayfarers and other people riding on automobiles were staring at us as we all were laughing out loud and being heard by those people. Even though, this mob of young people didn't care about anything. Few minutes later on this roadway, we stopped near the roadside cart to buy some fruits where the fruit seller dressed in a brown suit-wearing hat on his head was arguing with another man who was looking like a beggar by his torn and dirty clothes. The fruit seller quit his conversation when I asked him to give me some seasonal red pomegranates.

Heading towards our destination, all of sudden our car got stuck in mud but a random man seemed to come from nowhere helped us to get over it. We thanked him and shared a smile with that helping hand person.

At last, after driving for 45 minutes we arrived at our destination which seemed like a nice little cozy place. The resort was right in front of us, with moist sand, crystal clean water, and the perfect view. Everyone was very much excited to go in including me. I bought the entry tickets for all of my cousins from the ticket shop located near the main gate of the resort. The place was rushed with people talking to each other along with clicking selfies. Instantly, I took a look at a beautiful garden which was full of colorful flowers and the inspiring greenery was making me feel alive. Some ducks were diving into the water and rabbits were eating carrots and jumping around the ground. When I was exploring this place, an artificial well caught my attention because it was covered with a red and blue printed piece of cloth that is known as Ajrak which is the identity of Sindh and Sindhi people.

Later, I decided to ride on a boat which is quite an amusable and horrible experience as well. But I just kept myself over positivity by enjoying the moment of seeing the blue water of the river, a wide-open sky covered with white clouds, a freeze cold wind blowing down the sunlight off my face, and a peaceful view. The cold-water was splashing against the semi-tanned legs, indeed felt well. This large area of water is worth remarkable that is somehow associated with the River Indus, the largest river of Pakistan. Further, I noticed the quality of boats isn’t too good, but the boats are equipped with excellent propelling machines and well-trained drivers. These drivers were continuously telling people to wear lifesaving jackets before going inside the boat.

After coming back from boating I took a picture of the river to save it as a beautiful memory. Besides the river, there were several comfortable tables and chairs were made up of wood. I reserved a single table for us and opened there all of the tiffin box what we brought from our house. The smell of the delicious food increased our hunger more. While eating, I saw a massive crowd at a small snack stall where packed juiced drinks and old, uncommon chips were available to buy at a reasonable price. Some of the families were sitting in the garden and having their meals with their loved ones. I saw some boys playing cricket on the ground and when one team of the boys defeated the opposing team they passionately screamed "howzaattt" and started dancing and hugging each other like they won some kind of a million-dollar trophy.

After get energized, I began walking towards the activity area where I saw people were experiencing interesting activities like archery, horse riding, and rides for children and volleyball court which I didn’t try because I don’t know how to play. But For the very first time, I had fun by sitting on the cloth swing, which was finely crafted and installed, and very well maintained.

At its closing time, a guard came inside the resort and whistle to inform everyone that it’s time to leave the place. People started collecting their stuff and going towards the exit direction to go back to their homes. We also got our belongings and stepped out of the resort.

To my utter surprise, a city like Hyderabad is developing day by day and providing such entertaining locations to its people. It was a soul-stirring experience because this place making feels relaxed to its visitor by providing them a chance to see the landscape scenery. Also, there is a wide range of accommodation, some rental huts in which one can stay overnight with air-conditioned facility and canteens which give you a good quality of food suiting every budget. Located near the Petaro Cantonment it is one of the safest and beautiful visiting places in the locality of Hyderabad. The only con of this place is, it has no restaurant, and you have to bring your food with you.

Its natural green beauty of the grass and trees and the pristine beauty of the splashing water attracts all towards itself.  More recently, this resort is being promoted as a monsoon destination. Therefore, it is suggested to everybody in this city to make a note of this place in their list of places to visit. The resort isn’t that big or a spread-out, but it’s worth visiting at least more than once!

Practical work carried under supervision of Sir Sohail Sangi 

Media & Communication Studies, University of Sindh