Recently ProperGaanda reached out to a photographer and a final year graphic designing student, Hafsa Javed (@thehafsaj) who shared her experience of visiting Northern Pakistan and how fun that vacation turned out to be; all thanks to Barkatnama! (@barkatnama). Hafsa went on to tell us how safe she, and her three other girl friends, felt with Barkat bhai. How did you find Barkatnama?
We asked Hafsa if he made a good first impression, “It was really cold outside and his car was already warm and looked very comfortable so we instantly took his ride offer. We got to talking and he asked us about our itinerary. When we told him we were just there to visit Malam Jabba, he told us he could plan us a much more happening trip within the same span of time. We partially agreed, since the first instinct of a desi girl is to never trust a man ‘THAT’ quick.” Hafsa and her friends then asked him about his whereabouts, “We didn’t find him suspicious at all and we also found out that he’s actually affiliated with a known travel agency, that’s how our journey began with Barkat bhai.” Where did he take your group, the places that he showed you around? The girl group started their trip with Kalam, and then made stops at Madyan, Bahrain and several other places, “Since Barkat bhai is a local, he took us to places that only he knew of. Hafsa recalled that the areas were heavily crowded, “But thank God for Barkat bhai and his connections all over Swat. We got passes and tickets instantly for everywhere, along with a VIP treatment.” The group covered around fifteen places and spent a good amount of time at Malam Jabba, enjoying winter sports all within the time span of two days, “Seems unbelievable, right?” Barkat Ali’s hospitality, assistance and charges?
The photographer shared that Barkat bhai can go to any extent to make sure his guests are at comfort, “He’ll drive around for several hours in search for something his guests want. He’ll help you hike the steepest of the steep mountains even if you’re someone who has never even climbed a hill.” Hafsa shared that she has been on two trips with Barkat bhai up till now, “Each trip with him is even better than the previous one. I don’t have words to explain how incredible this man is.” Speaking about his charges, Hafsa shared that Barkat Ali plans your trip according to the budget you have and places you wanna go to. Where can he be found, would you recommend people to approach him for their trip? We asked about the total expense that this weekend trip required, “The cost was around Rs14,000, each, including all the return tickets to Lahore, food and passes for the Ski Resort at Malam Jabba.” We further inquired about how one can make contact with Barkat bhai, “You can follow him on his Instagram page and get his number from their, but you need to communicate with him through voice notes or give him a call as he doesn’t know English. I cannot recommend him enough, believe me you’re not gonna regret it.”