Patriata: The High Greens

Just 15 kilometres Southeast of Murree hills, there is a hill station known widely as 'Patriata'. It is one of the most well-known tourist destinations in Pakistan. According to a number of locals, the location got it's name as a result of a curious incident. In the early twentieth century, a foreign tourist came to the place and enquired about the place's name from a local elderly woman. She was carrying a sack of flour and presumed that the man was asking what she was carrying. She responded: "Son, (its) flour." ("Puttar, Atta.", in the local Punjabi language.). The foreigner assumed that it was her answer to his question.
       Today, Patriata attracts millions of visitors every year. The hill station itself is situated on an altitude of 7500 feet from sea level. Many people come to enjoy the long chair lift and cable car ride to the top of the hill. So did I. I never once regretted my choice. When I got there,  I saw that the place's atmosphere remained calm despite the crowds of tourists. After paying the modest fee, I mounted one of the iconic chair lifts of the resort. It was my first time on a chair lift, and I felt a wave of nervousness. As the chair lift ascended, the fear evaporated as I observed the green forest beneath the cable.

While I was on the chair lift, the cable suddenly halted. The chair lift jerked forward and then jerked back and forth for a small while. A man yelled to the people: "It's a power outage! Please wait calmly until we get the backup generators running.". I was worried and outraged at the same time, but the system was back in flow soon enough. The ride to the hilltop took about fifteen minutes. 
        On the top, many tourists were enjoying filming, snapping photographs, sipping coffee and tea and playing in the snow. The ride back on the chair lift was fortunately unhindered. Local Pashtun vendor was selling handicraft items such as shawls, baskets, umbrellas, sweaters and toys. I caught the bus back to the motel in Murree.
       I believe that every aspiring tourist has a duty and obligation and, of course, a right to visit Patriata and feast his eyes on the magnificent, blessed and almost heavenly scenes of the hills.
   So, apart from the power outage, everything was perfectly acceptable and I felt very good about my experience.