WITH the ruthlessness of mid-summer let loose its time to rummage around for cooler horizons. The time to plan a breather and bask in a break, not only away from the subjugating Sun, but also from the hubbub and rut of routine. And though it’s certainly not the ideal time to visit Lahore, where the Sun puts up its best show about this time of the year, Lahore is inevitably tied up to any summer break one may plan to take up north.
For those residing in the southern half of the country and planning a jaunt in the mountains, Lahore is the first major stop-over. The ever expanding and altering urban scene, of the ‘city of gardens’, holds renewing surprises for the keen visitor.
It can, therefore, be aptly claimed that all roads lead through Lahore. And appreciating well, the fact that Lahore is the gateway to the allure of the north. A lot of virtual tourist guides provide extensive information on the city that also acquaint netizens and web browsers with exotic tourist resorts in the northern parts of the country.
One such web site that can truly come in handy while planning a summer excursion is www.virtualtourist.com. Making available all that a visitor may require on hotels, inns, car-rentals, flights, tour-operators, transportation, shops and best bargains in Lahore, the site also features the ‘Must See’ link. General travel tips and warnings, and an index of the tourist traps are vital to every traveller’s survival kit, and are very well taken care of at the site. An insight into the local customs of the city with depicting pictures, enhances the visual literacy of those visiting Lahore for the first time.
A section also features experiences and comments of frequent visitors to the city, besides advice on how to make the best of one’s visit.
Further down the page, one takes a virtual journey up North. Instead of expounding on the better known hill resorts, the section entitled, ‘Off the Beaten Track’, focuses on places of archeological and aesthetic significance in the Northern Areas that are not that well-known, and are unjustly ignored. A preamble on Baltistan, Kargah Buddha near Gilgit, Takht-i-Bay on the road from Saidu Sharif to Peshawar, and the Mahmud Ghaznvi Mosque, can help add new vistas and twists to an otherwise mundane visit to the north.
Two other useful sites that promise cornucopia of information on Lahore are www.Lahorebazaar.com and lahore.travelmall.com. Enlisting places of interest in the city, the domes, mausoleums, shrines, tombs and mosques, the sites also provide a detailed history of the city and of its glorious Mughal past. The walled city is dealt by a separate segment, as its charms and diversities are myriad, too wide to be cooped up in a few words.
A glossary of Lahore’s hotels together with their star rating, up-date on public transport and alternative accommodation facilities, the media and communication scene, availability of pre-paid calling cards, malls and bazaars, fashion outlets, and a city telephone directory are all featured extensively.
For those with an eye for Adonis like men or besotted by voluptuous Punjabi damsels, making a matrimonial flight to the city can turn productive, if they take a virtual trip to www.apnaLahore.com before going into the ‘spot n spouse’ search mode to make the most of their summer break. The site is suitable for those who are not content with once-in-a-while trip to Lahore, and really want to make it their own by choosing a life partner heeding from the Punjabi metropolitan.
The site provides guidance on seeking the perfect match in Lahore. If immediate success seems elusive, one can leave their particulars on the site for future references. A job search facility is also available on the site. ‘Model watch’ keeps trace of budding model industry in Lahore and available options for advertising agencies and the media.
Keeping the possibility of online flight and hotel reservations for Lahore, as much a reality as for other major Asian cities is www.asia-reservations-desk.com. Just enter your date and time of arrival and departure, and a list of available facilities and modes of communication would flash on your screen to make a pick from. For hotel room search, enter your check-in date, the duration of stay, and the number of accompanying adults and children, and you are inundated under a sea of options available in the hotel rating of your choice.
There are a horde of discount car rental services on the site, in case you want to book your own four wheels in Lahore. The rented car services also provide a pick and drop service from the airport or another point of arrival. The car rental rates are listed according to the car class, which comprises economy, mini, standard, premium, and luxury cars. Discount airfares to Lahore and special vacation deals are also listed.
When the government takes the pains to provide the public with requisite and rightful information that would facilitate their lives, it certainly comes as a pleasant surprise. www.lahore.gov.pk is the official web site of the city district Lahore. Though not as enchantingly as other Lahore sites, it lays out the city profile, topography and culture. It also features a city map, public transport routes, and major attractions in Lahore. A list of government departments and stolen vehicles is also provided, and queries and complaints of all types can be sent directly to the district Nazim, though to what avail is anybody’s guess. So the next time you are in Lahore and have a complaint to make, log on to our official web page.
Another valuable web site is PTDC’s www.tourism.gov.pk which has a lot to offer on all the major cities of the country, besides the great tourist attractions nestled in the north. The home page announces various offers and tour itineraries, besides proclaiming the year’s theme. 2003 has been declared the ‘International Year of Nanga Parbat’, but one has to call PTDC to find out the fallout of this declaration and what it means for the tourists. The web site covers Lahore well, beginning with the city’s history and advancing well into the present day places of interest. The official web page belonging to TDCP, www.tourism-punjab.com can also be helpful, as it features indepth information about, what it terms as, the liveliest city of Pakistan.
The web page of Lahore’s newest airport, www.lahore-airport.com, is useful for those still new to the slick landing strips. It provides a complete guide to the services available, besides the airport map, and general information about the airport. Since the Allama Iqbal International Airport is quite an improvement upon Lahore’s previous air facility, some forehand knowledge about its inventiveness would help buffer one’s astonishment somewhat.
WITH the ruthlessness of mid-summer let loose its time to rummage around for cooler horizons. The time to plan a breather and bask in a break, not only away from the subjugating Sun, but also from the hubbub and rut of routine. And though it’s certainly not the ideal time to visit Lahore, where the Sun puts up its best show about this time of the year, Lahore is inevitably tied up to any summer break one may plan to take up north.
