After much debate among all the sections of the eleventh class, it finally came to an end decision of the yearly trip of the senior-most grade of this year to be to Ormara. Through a whole lot of hesitance, reluctance, complaints and, most importantly, enthusiasm, this plan was finalized. Organizing this trip was nothing short of a massive struggle. Nevertheless, all sections of the batch went on the trip and savored every single second of it.
On the clear morning of February 18th, bright and early at 7am, all of the students going on the trip gathered in the Gulshan senior branch with their bags packed for the awaited night stay and excitement pouring out of their every pore. With their inability to sit still and face-splitting grins on their faces, it was evident that all of them were drunk on anticipation. Around 8 in the morning the vans arrived and the respective teachers along with their students filed into the vans and settled in for the long ride ahead. Ormara is a beach in Balochistan, hence the journey was long but it had stops in between. Almost instantly, as the vans started moving, the music started blaring from the speakers and the familiar sound of everyone singing in synchronization echoed in the van.
The journey stretched on and soon everyone became restless which is why it was good that our first stop at Windor came around and we all filed out to have breakfast and breathe fresh air. In the short time there, people mingles and stretched their bodies, preparing for the remaining hours of our travel. The 6-hour drive transformed into an 8-hour one that felt like an eon. Through the windows of the van, we saw exceptional views of the Balochistan landscape: Kundmalir, the lion on top of mountains, ‘the mystical mountains’ and the breathtaking plateaus. Of course to capture memories everyone made sure to take a lot of pictures.
Finally, we all arrived at our destination and stepped out of the vans to have the wind blow sand into every hole in our bodies, be it a single pore or our mouths, and for the sun to glare down on us reminding us of the sunscreen each of us had packed but most had forgotten to put on by then. The view was worth the never-ending ride because the glorious sea with glimmering tides and cool breeze beckoned us all to dive straight in. in no time all of us had changed into our swimwear and ran into the water, feeling its gentle and cool embrace around our bodies making our souls content. After hours and hours of playing in the water and often going too far in, everyone returned and settled down to have a hearty lunch and relax for a bit. As the dusk neared all of us grabbed our friends and did what we pleased, by our leisure. Some took walks by the beach, some played tag, some took hundreds of pictures and some played dodge ball.
A while after we were allotted our tents and then after settling in the entire batch enjoyed the bonfire and lighted fireworks as well as enjoyed music. The joy and merriment in the air stayed for the entire time we were there. After a wonderful dinner and some more enjoyment with occasional ghost stories, morning finally came around and once again, everyone packed their belongings, had breakfast and filed into the buses for the ride back.
The ride back consisted of two more stops which were ‘The Princess of Hope’ that stood proud atop a mountain, and ‘The Golden Beach viewpoint’. The climbing of the mountain to get to the princess was a priceless experience we all had while trekking through and helping and hoisting each other up through the place. Alternately, the gentle and sky blue, clear tides of the golden beach were soothing to the eyes and heart too. Eventually, we again got comfortable in the buses after having lunch at Windor again for our ride home.
This excursion was a core memory for all those who experienced it and will be etched into our memories for as long as nostalgia can strike. It was a successful, fun-filled, entertaining and a pleasurable trip organized by our school for which all the credit and gratitude is given.