It’s spring break and we get 10 days off from work. But for the second time in eight years we decided to stay put instead. Last Christmas was the first, and that was because I just gave birth to our first child in November. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve done enough traveling in our lives and taking care of baby J is definitely an adventure in its own right.

The only thing I am wishing right now is that we were able to go to Skardu during this time last year. We’ve been thinking about it after having one of the best adventures taking a road trip along Karakoram Highway to Hunza and the Khunjerab Pass. But it wasn’t meant to be because bad weather canceled our flight not once but for four days, that we couldn’t get on the plane when flights finally resumed. So instead we took day trips to Rohtas Fort, the Salt Mines and Katas Raj Hindu temple ruins, which were within 2-3 hour driving distance from Islamabad. They were no less impressive as the fort is a World Heritage Site and the salt mines are the third largest in the world.

I must admit, we do envy our friends and colleagues (and some students) who are spending their holiday in Thailand. As much as I’m dying to go back to Krabi, Samui, or Phi-Phi, it will be some time before we can go there with our baby. On the bright side, we already have confirmed tickets for Islamabad-Bangkok-Cebu-Manila-Seattle-Bangkok-Islamabad this summer.