It was just another Saturday at the office… until the burnout hit.
Date: 5th July 2025
Location: Mabali Island
Mood: Slightly productive, mostly philosophical
There I was, buried under my to-do list in my office at Mabali — sipping my routine coffee, mentally solving marketing and HR plans while watching the trees sway — when my phone rang.
It was Rehan.
Now, Rehan isn’t just any friend.
He’s an FBR officer currently stationed near Khanpur at Best Way Cement Factory, which sounds more like a punishment cell than a posting, if we’re being honest.
“Bhai, I’m dying of boredom. Let’s go somewhere — anywhere.”
Office life had him in a chokehold. Bureaucracy had sucked the soul out of him. And in that moment, adventure became a tax-free escape.
Plan? Minimal. Gear? Maximum.
I arranged a bike from one of my team members.
By the time Rehan arrived, we were both fully loaded like two over-prepared dads on a school trip:
✅ Hiking sticks (for moral support)
✅ Our custom cigar kit (intellectuals’ therapy)
✅ Mugs, warm water, instant coffee (because life without coffee is unconstitutional)
✅ Tea (because we’re Pakistani)
✅ Rehan’s Vlogging Camera Kit (he’s newly discovered the influencer inside him)
And just like that, we declared temporary freedom from emails, Excel sheets, and national duties.
Destination: Bhamala – A World Heritage Site (with World-Class Silence)
Only 6 km from Mabali, Bhamala is not just ruins — it’s a beautifully preserved whisper of Buddhist history overlooking the Haro River.
But did we stop there?
Nope.
Because Rehan, our newly awakened “Content Creator of the Year,” said:
“Bhai yahan sab log aatay hain. Let’s find something undiscovered.”
So we zoomed past Bhamala like rebels on a budget.
10+ Kilometers Later: The Views No DSLR Can Justify
The road narrowed. Civilization disappeared.
Even the wind started whispering, “You’re onto something…”
And then…
Silence.
Mountains.
Green water.
Echoes of nothing.
The kind of place where you forget who you owe money to.
Even Rehan stopped filming and just sat there like a monk who forgot his tax files.
Return to the River — Now Featuring Tea (and Almost a Swim)
We finally came back to the riverbank near Bhamala.
Pulled out our mugs like civilized men.
Poured hot tea with the discipline of tea sommeliers — even though we already had coffee (because caffeine isn’t a choice, it’s a survival mechanism).
Rehan, now fully romanticized by the heat and the hills, suddenly says:
“Yaar I need to jump into the river. My soul is dehydrated.”
I replied like any mature adult would:
“Bus phone sambhalna. Baqi jo marzi kar.”
And in he went — half swimmer, half philosopher.
Two Hours. One Reset. Zero Regrets. And a Few Friends We Missed Along the Way
After 2 hours of therapy through:
- Speed
- Silence
- Tea
- Caffeine
- Cold river water
- And deep, often ridiculous conversations…
We began our ride back to Mabali. The mind was quieter. The soul lighter.
But as we sat on the riverbank, sipping tea and staring at the stillness, we couldn’t help but miss the rest of our gang — Faizan, Salman Sheikh, Salman Khan, and Kamal.
Each of them would’ve turned this mini escape into an unforgettable expedition:
- Faizan would’ve taken countless selfies — with trees, with us, with clouds, maybe even with a goat if one passed by 🙂
- Salman Sheikh would’ve bring a pateela of homemade rice 🙂
- Salman Khan? Oh, he’d definitely bless us with a brand new travel joke — the kind that makes you laugh twice: once at the punchline and again later when you realize it actually made sense 🙂
- And Kamal, our in-house philosopher, would stare at the hills and say something like funny: Then he’d laugh. Loud. High-pitched. Unapologetically 🙂
In that quiet moment, with the river flowing and birds disappearing into the sky, we both smiled and said:
“Yaar sab saath hotay tou zada maza aata”
We had the peace.
We had the coffee.
But we were missing the noise that only real friends bring.
So here’s to you, boys.
Next time, we ride together — with extra cigars, extra cups, and zero excuses.
Have you ever taken a spontaneous trip that unexpectedly healed you?
Tell me your story in the comments — or better yet, come find your escape route at Mabali.
DM me, and I’ll tell you exactly where to stop (and where not to). 😉
