So I came back to the hotel and had breakfast. Decided to checkout of the room but asked them to keep the luggage since we will be back for it in 3-4 hours which they happily agreed. Luckily, Careem was just started in Faisalabad last month and I already had some 600 Rs. credit in it, I ordered business version and roamed around the city. Visited some malls and then had lunch at a restaurant (forgot the name). Killed the time till 3 PM and came back to honda showroom. They were done with the car and billed me Rs. 2700. They kept the coolant intact and topped it up with the extra bottle that I had kept. The charges must have been more if that was not the case. AT 3:30 I left for Motorway (M3 which is now M4) and drove till Kalar Kahar Rest Area for refuelling and rest.
Oh and after the service, the temperature did not even cross 90 C after the radiator service no matter how agressively I drive.
This part of motorway (M2) i.e. Kallar Kahar is most beautiful with some ups and downs and curves. Really enjoyed driving here.
Reached Islamabad at around 8 PM and after having dinner in hotel Red Dragon, we looked for night stay in the hotels around Blue Area. It was already late so they were asking rates that were unacceptable to us since we had no plan to stay and roam in Islamabad for this trip. Here I convinced my wife to directly go to murree via expressway as it is safe. She was hesitant about it since it would be my first ever time driving in a hilly terrain but knowing that there is no otherway now so she reluctantly agreed. It was already 10:00 PM by then and we headed for Murree using the expressway.
We reached Upper Mall Jhika Gali road in approx 1:30 hours or less. The traffic was less and drive was gr8. Turns and Lanes properly marked, very convenient to drive on it despite the fact that it was night and my first hilly drive. at 11:30 PM or so we checked in at Hotel Red Himalya. Stepping out of the car was a shocker as I was not expecting this dramatic temperature difference. It was quite chilly. I asked the kids and wife to remain in car whereas I got the socks and jackets from the trunk so that they can wear it before coming out. Here we negotiated the room for 3 K which was just average.
On the morning of 7th March, Me and Wife left the kids sleeping in room after turning off the gas heater and to search for a better hotel. After browsing some, we decided to stay in Hotel Murree one which is around 8-10 mins walk from Mall road. They had good rooms and showed us a double room as well. The heating was also 24x7 unlike many others where you would get gas for heating in certain time duration. They started from 15K for single night. We really wanted that room now so tried to negotiate. Finally we all agreed on the price i.e 15K but for 3 nights i.e. 5K per night which was a good deal considering the rooms. I took the possession and unloaded the trunk. Came back to checkout from the previous hotel and get the kids.
Dropped them on Mall road for breakfast while I searched for parking. As soon as I got out of the car, it started ........... SNOWING. I could not believe since I was not expecting it. Reached restaurant named Lahore where family was waiting. They were also enjoying the snowfall.
I thanked God that the snow started after we checked in otherwise they would not have settled for 5K a night.
So next three days we stayed in murree with our out back till Patriata, Kashmir Point etc. It snowed and rained for 3 days with some gaps. Snow was not much and was cleaned on regular basis. Earlier we had a plan to outback to Nathia Gali but due to snowy weather and inexperience, I did not want to take the risk to drive in such conditions and dropped the plan to visit there. In the 3-4 days of stay here, we experienced rain, snowfall and hailstorms back to back which in itself was a lovely experience.
The champ : Black Steermatic wearing white uniform
Left for Lahore on 11th March at around 9:00 AM. Stopped on M2 Chakri Rest area for some snacks and fueling. Visited Khewrra Salt range and as I was parking the car it started to rain with hailstorms. Weather was very windy and chilly. Kids enjoyed the salt mines since they could relate to it due to the fact that it was in their curriculum as well.
