The walk I take most often is a loop along the canal near my flat in Lahore. I work as an accountant, so I spend most of the day staring at spreadsheets, and this walk has become a kind of reset button for me.
I usually go just after sunset, four or five evenings a week, when the heat has finally eased off. It takes about forty minutes. I leave my building, cross a small market where the fruit sellers are packing up, and then join the path that runs beside the water. There are old trees on both sides, and in the evening you get families sitting on the grass, boys playing cricket with a taped-up ball and elderly men doing brisk laps in their shalwar kameez. Most of the time I walk alone, but on Sundays my younger brother Hamza tags along and we end up talking about everything from football to his university exams.
As for why I enjoy it so much, I'd say there are a few reasons. The first is simply that it clears my head. If I've had a frustrating day, by the halfway point I've usually stopped replaying arguments in my mind. Second, it's the only exercise I manage consistently, because it doesn't feel like a chore. I've tried gyms and I always drift away after a month. And finally, I like feeling connected to my neighbourhood. I recognise the same faces, the tea seller nods at me, and I notice small changes like new shops or a tree in blossom. It makes the city feel like home rather than just a place where I work.