THE calm and serene environs of federal capital, Islamabad, are abuzz with activity during the summer. The reason, tourists from different parts of the globe take a few days rest before sojourning for a lifetime, breath-taking experience of the majestic beauty of the Northern Areas.
People coming to Islamabad try to explore the nearby tourist attraction areas either before or after their journey to Northern Areas. In case of locals it is always before while in case of foreigners it is always after, as they then visit Lahore and Karachi before finally making an exit.
During their stay, people like to visit the magnificent Faisal Mosque, the scenic Daman-e-Koh and Pir Sohawa in adjoining Margalla Hills, breezy Shakar Paryaan, cool Rawal Lake, awe inspiring quietness of Shahdra, ancient civilization remains at Taxilla, refreshing Wah Gardens. And if have more time it’s onward to Rohtas Fort, Murree and Galliyat. All these places are in no more than two hours drive from Islamabad.
While searching for information regarding Islamabad one comes across many web sites that contain information about the city. One such website is www.islamabad.net. Authorized by the Capital Development Authority, the site contains information on the history of the city, weather, ministries and allied offices, embassies, banks, travel agencies, hotels, guesthouses, hospitals, pharmacies, educational institutions and police stations with their addresses and phone numbers.
However, the biggest plus point of this site is the online availability of maps of different sectors of the city. This is a great service, as the capital’s trees, streets, roads, bazaars and residents will take a little over 200 years to become indigenous. Till then one can rely on these maps for the correct information about streets in various sectors. The web site contains some snaps of the important places of the city but there are none, of the surrounding areas.
Also missing from this Asia’s first Wireless Application Protocol city portal are the locations of the various ATM machines in the city. Considering that this site caters to the needs of tourists, information regarding AMT machines should have been there.
Details about bazaars and delicacies of the capital are missing with no mentioning of the popular food-street and restaurants of Blue Area. There is no information about the scenic spots around the Capital like, Daman-e-Koh, Shakar Paryaan, Rawal Lake, Shahdra and Murgzar Zoo. However, links to various leading national newspapers are provided.
Another impressive web site that contains important details about Islamabad and adjoining Rawalpindi is www.apnaislamabad.com. The web site contains links of government offices, embassies, banks, travel agencies, guesthouses, bakeries and cinemas in the twin cities. The plus point of this site is that other than the maps of Islamabad it also offers maps of its sister city, Rawalpindi.
The web site offers a telephone directory. So, finding telephone numbers or addresses in the twin cities is just a click away! A unique detail about this site is that addresses and locations of photo labs are given here. So next time you are in town and really want to have those photo rolls developed, this is the site that will help you the most. Also available are bus routes of the twin cities. However, this site too lacks information on ATMs, in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
A web site that gives refreshing details about shopping centres, juma bazaars and eateries of the Capital is the www.thehotspotonline.com. It has a large number of snap’s collection too. But most interesting are the reviews on the shopping places, eating-places, hiking details about the Islamabad. The must read for any visitor are the stroll down the Juma Bazaar, eating out and the piece on shopping centres.
HotSpot Online also gives a fresh feel about Islamabad and its emerging culture. The details on shopping centres and the variety of Pakistani, Chinese, Italian, Iranian and Afghani cuisine available in the Capital point about the emerging culture. The brief on the city and the Margalla Trail is an important piece of reading for any intending visitor.
Official web site of the South Asian Games 2003, www.safgames2003.com gives nearly the same information on Islamabad. It informs about the government departments, embassies as well as of hotels, guesthouses, banks, hospitals, pharmacies and police stations. The site, basically designed for the already much delayed SAF games provides basic information to the tourists.
Another web site www.pindionline.com provides valuable information about the various important places in neighbouring Rawalpindi. The maps of various localities and shopping centres of Rawalpindi are a valuable tool for tourists to locate easily various places they want to visit.
The web site gives details about various parks in the city like the Ayub Park, Race Course Park and Nawaz Sharif Park. The web page on the Ayub National Park, along with some snaps makes for interesting reading and shows why while on a vacation to the twin cities everybody should visit this national park. The park is very well maintained and attracts a lot of people during the summer evenings. All these web sites provide simple information. However, it would be great if they were to be converted into e-commerce engines. Links to web sites of ministries, embassies, hotels and banks are not provided, even though addresses and phone numbers are given. The Twin Cities can attract more tourists, if proper attention is paid on having virtual tours on web sites to entice tourists into staying a few days in the Capital before going their way to Murree, Galliyat and the rest of the Northern Areas.
THE calm and serene environs of federal capital, Islamabad, are abuzz with activity during the summer. The reason, tourists from different parts of the globe take a few days rest before sojourning for a lifetime, breath-taking experience of the majestic beauty of the Northern Areas.
