Unplanned Adventures

Today, after an exhausting day of doctors appointments and shopping and commuting through the busy city traffic, I took it upon myself to gather my sister and our two family friends and collectively commute through some more busy traffic during peak hour, to a place hidden away in the mountains which looks as though it is a home to a large group of faeries.

I must add, though, that to travel to this mystical place fell completely out of nowhere. I had not planned that I was to travel today, yet because of being advised to continue with my balanced lifestyle I decided to do something out of the ordinary, something I had been wanting to do for four years. And today, I had found that the wait was well worth it all.

The first part of the trip there, we were stuck in heavy traffic, which was worsened by the impatience of our fellow commuters. After passing through it all and left the freeway, we reached a part of the road where the busy and noisy road was hushed by the vast view of the mountain afar. I was in so much awe – so much so, that I kept begging my sister to take photographs. The poor thing had to juggle between my phone and the navigation happening on there, and her own phone and its bulky case, to take photographs of the beautiful mountaintops amidst the harsh vehicle-covered terrain. We were yet to see the beauty that was awaiting us.

On we went, through the sharp bends and turns of the road which lead to the heart of the mountain. I must note that I hate curvy long and high altitude mountain drives, however when I am the driver I do not actually mind. Whilst everyone else was suffering from high altitude and motion sickness, I sat there driving away and whistling to whatever song played on the radio.

After several more minutes of these sharp turns and dips, we reached our destination. We parked on the side, and linked elbows with one another to cross the road with ease. We walk on through the park, and followed a signpost that said ‘lake – 450m’. My sister and I, being the most unfit of the group, began panicking. But we pushed on through.

Steep and crazy downhills with steps and slopes and several photographs later, we made it all the way down to the heart of the park to the beautiful, serene lake. The lake was so serene that we did not even hear any bird calls. All we heard was the soft pitter-patter of the water as it slowly travelled through the lake. For a minute, I stood there with my mouth agape. How is it that I had waited so long to visit such an amazing place? And, most importantly, how long will it take me to reach the car?

I proceeded to take over fifty more photos, most of them ‘selfies’, and just after the gates were scheduled to shut, we began the seven-hundred metre hike back up. This was the longer but more preferable way, because it did not have huge stairs. Mind you, we took around five breaks.

What I am trying to say, is that overall this experience was fantastic. Unplanned, and fantastic. None of us four knew that we would actually make it on time, because of our late departure, yet we did. I drove back home as well, while everyone else fell asleep.

So, I leave you with a few words of wisdom: do not plan trips. Plan only to ever go unplanned, because unplanned trips are the most memorable ones.