Day 0 (Jun 23, 2010):
Left Jaipur for Delhi from Narayan Singh Circle, Jaipur @ 3:00 PM
Reached Bikaner House @ 9:15 PM
Reached Delhi Station @ 9:50 PM
It was a very tight schedule to start with.
Day 1:
Reached Pathankot by Dhauladhar Express @ 9:00 AM
Booked Taxi (@ 1200 per day + 100 per day for driver) through Himachal Tourism office outside railway station, bought a map and brochure there, which we lost even before reaching Dalhousie.
We had our breakfast @ Dhar @ around 11:00 AM. It took more than 30 minutes to get an omlet and tea. :-)
Reached Dalhousie @ 12:30 PM
We looked @ 4-5 hotels close to downtown (Gandhi Chowk). Stayed @ the one we looked first – Hotel Bombay Place. Thackeray magic didn’t work in Dalhousie, they didn’t change name (Bombay -> Mumbai) here.
After getting ready, we slept a bit and left the hotel @ 3:30 PM for local site seeing. We had our late lunch @ Kwality Restaurant @ Gandhi Chowk.
Panchpulla was our first formal tourist site, which is supposed to be a waterfall after a small hike along with Samadhi of Bhagat Singh’s uncle. One tourist like us made a great comparison – “Hamare Nal mein isse tej pani behta hai” (the tap in his house gets more water than this). On our hike down, we bought a package of carpets, blankets and shawls for 6600, which we found very reasonable, especially when they were doing home delivery and charged only 1000 Rs. there. Then we went to Subhash Baoli /Bawdi (supposed to be a small pond of water with a labyrinth of steps), which was empty in its 2X2 feet dimension. It had supposedly cured Subhash Chandra Bose’s TB.
In Dalhousie there are two roads that connect Gandhi Chowk and Subhash Chowk, they are named Thandi sadak (Cold Road) and Garam Sadak (Hot Road). We went walking on Thandi Sadak looking for a sunset point. After passing through few roadside spots, we finally found one and watched sun set over lots of fog from a bench on road. I’m surprised they don’t have a good sunset point in a beautiful hill station like that. Although we couldn’t enjoy those, we walked to Subhash Chowk after sun set that offers some scenic views. In search of an ATM, we walked some length into a local street, had a 15 Rs Nescafe and tea out of machine there.
We came back to Gandhi Chowk via Garam Sadak, which is for pedestrians only and then had chowmein dinner @ Lovely restaurant. After dinner, we walked down to the Hotel, downloaded pictures and charged (our) batteries.
Day 2:
On second day, we realized that we chose the right room. The view was so refreshing that you would spend hours without complaining, could be ideal location for solitary confinements. We left Dalhousie for Khajiyar @ 10:00 AM after a paratha in hotel.
On our way to Kajiyar, we found a few very good views of snow covered peaks mixed with clouds. There was a temple on the way with a grand Shiva statue that we didn’t go inside. We clicked a few pictures and took a couple of stops to enjoy the beauty of Himachal Pradesh. Our first planned stop was at the famous Kahjiyar park, a large land of grass surrounded by high tree-covered hills. They call this mini-Switzerland in India. Few horse-owners outside the park told us about a little apple-farm that gave Fati an excitement burst. After lunch, Fati chose to take a horse ride and I was taking a stroll by her side, for which many relatives gave me a hard time. While eating lunch, I asked my doctor-Dad if it’s safe for Fati to do a horse-ride, he responded negative and then positive after I mentioned she was insisting.
We got some more panoramic views on the way to apple farm, one of which was of Mt. Kailash, which of course was covered in clouds at a very far distance. Fati loved horse-ride, apple-picking and eating apples as well. The horse owner was very kind and took good care of Fati. He also shared some details about the life of people living in that area. Like how much they hate summer and they earn over 1000 Rs. A day during season and tourist do come in winters also.
Chamba was our next destination for the day, where some of Taal movie was shot, a very beautiful journey downhill. In Chamba, there is nothing great to see, it’s like any other big town. Since we were there, we went to Laxminath temple, path for which is very steep 100 m long road. I offered Fati 500 Rs if she walk the road without taking a stop. To my surprise she did, after taking a break in first three 3 steps before announcing the award. Just mentioned to prove it again that women are greedy. ;-)
After a stroll in couple of streets, we left for Dalhousie through another route. On the way we stopped @ Ravi river, had lunch @ a river-view dhaba, a tea on the way overlooking a dam and spent some time in a garden of scattered rocks – Rock garden.
After returning to Dalhousie, we spent time @ Subhash chowk, this time enjoying the views. We explored Tibetian market, bought a couple of things, ate dinner @ economic and crowded Sharma Dhaba and came back to the hotel.
It’s the views of Himachal that makes it beautiful, not the towns, like any other hill station.
Day 3:
We had two sites left for last day, Dain Kund and Kala tope. Our driver Surjeet Singh had realized by now that we were nature lovers and liked clicking pictures. He recommended Dain Kund over Kala tope, as it was the highest peak in the region and offered some gorgeous views. In his Punjabi accent– “Upar ja ke aa jao, photu–shotu khench lena, 3 baje nikalenge”. We were very happy by his recommendation as we hiked up. I got some great shots of crow and hawk flights in valley, apart from the scenic views that mountains, trees and valleys in the area offered. There were small stretches of flowers over green grass, which locals named as Valley of Flowers. After a 1.5 km walk, we reached the temple of a goddess, where 4 shops served snacks, most popular of which was Maggi noddles.
There was another peak besides the temple, which I hiked alone as Fati was already exhausted by now. I enjoyed the brief solitude in my 10 minute long kingdom on highest peak that I shared with nobody while I stood there. I took a pee break and some pictures all around.
On our hike down, we were just talking about how much we enjoyed the hike and the entire trip so far. We also were thinking when we would be enjoying time like this again. Kalatop, which according to Surjeet was a mis-managed place that charged a lot of money (Rs 200) for nothing. Fati and I walked for a km on an unpaved road surrounded by Deodar trees. Since our camping expedition to Murshet on the eve of New Year 20101, Fati gets attracted and always gets a shorter nature call in the woods, which of course I’ve to arrange for, both place and security.
Returning from here, we were both not in the best of our moods, but we didn’t fight. Fati ate late lunch cum dinner at a dhaba on the way, where I had tea and a short power nap to get rid of the headache. We reached Pathankot well in time to catch our train. I had dinner in Pathankot.
Day 0 again:
We stayed at my uncle’s (Chacha’s) house in Gurgaon. Bargaining with ricshaw-walas was an experience in Delhi. Fati comments – Where do you get all this energy for bargaining? In Delhi, we met a good friend of mine, Faninder. The same day, Chacha-Chachi returned from Jaipur. We had lunch together and then headed back for railway station to catch our train to Mumbai in the evening. We reached Mumbai on 28th morning. I joined back work and Fati got busy in her daily routine with home, health and entertainment. That brought to end our first formal non-weekend vacation in India, since 4 years of our wedding.
Life as usual:
After our return, I wish to go deeper into the mountains of Himalayas to increase intimacy. I wish to hike more, when I go next time. Till then, work hard, party harder and enjoy weekends!
Pictures @ http://picasaweb.google.com/purohit.hemendra/DalhousieJun24To262010
Left Jaipur for Delhi from Narayan Singh Circle, Jaipur @ 3:00 PM
Reached Bikaner House @ 9:15 PM
Reached Delhi Station @ 9:50 PM
It was a very tight schedule to start with.
Day 1:
Reached Pathankot by Dhauladhar Express @ 9:00 AM
Booked Taxi (@ 1200 per day + 100 per day for driver) through Himachal Tourism office outside railway station, bought a map and brochure there, which we lost even before reaching Dalhousie.
We had our breakfast @ Dhar @ around 11:00 AM. It took more than 30 minutes to get an omlet and tea. :-)
Reached Dalhousie @ 12:30 PM
We looked @ 4-5 hotels close to downtown (Gandhi Chowk). Stayed @ the one we looked first – Hotel Bombay Place. Thackeray magic didn’t work in Dalhousie, they didn’t change name (Bombay -> Mumbai) here.
After getting ready, we slept a bit and left the hotel @ 3:30 PM for local site seeing. We had our late lunch @ Kwality Restaurant @ Gandhi Chowk.
Panchpulla was our first formal tourist site, which is supposed to be a waterfall after a small hike along with Samadhi of Bhagat Singh’s uncle. One tourist like us made a great comparison – “Hamare Nal mein isse tej pani behta hai” (the tap in his house gets more water than this). On our hike down, we bought a package of carpets, blankets and shawls for 6600, which we found very reasonable, especially when they were doing home delivery and charged only 1000 Rs. there. Then we went to Subhash Baoli /Bawdi (supposed to be a small pond of water with a labyrinth of steps), which was empty in its 2X2 feet dimension. It had supposedly cured Subhash Chandra Bose’s TB.
In Dalhousie there are two roads that connect Gandhi Chowk and Subhash Chowk, they are named Thandi sadak (Cold Road) and Garam Sadak (Hot Road). We went walking on Thandi Sadak looking for a sunset point. After passing through few roadside spots, we finally found one and watched sun set over lots of fog from a bench on road. I’m surprised they don’t have a good sunset point in a beautiful hill station like that. Although we couldn’t enjoy those, we walked to Subhash Chowk after sun set that offers some scenic views. In search of an ATM, we walked some length into a local street, had a 15 Rs Nescafe and tea out of machine there.
We came back to Gandhi Chowk via Garam Sadak, which is for pedestrians only and then had chowmein dinner @ Lovely restaurant. After dinner, we walked down to the Hotel, downloaded pictures and charged (our) batteries.
Day 2:
On second day, we realized that we chose the right room. The view was so refreshing that you would spend hours without complaining, could be ideal location for solitary confinements. We left Dalhousie for Khajiyar @ 10:00 AM after a paratha in hotel.
On our way to Kajiyar, we found a few very good views of snow covered peaks mixed with clouds. There was a temple on the way with a grand Shiva statue that we didn’t go inside. We clicked a few pictures and took a couple of stops to enjoy the beauty of Himachal Pradesh. Our first planned stop was at the famous Kahjiyar park, a large land of grass surrounded by high tree-covered hills. They call this mini-Switzerland in India. Few horse-owners outside the park told us about a little apple-farm that gave Fati an excitement burst. After lunch, Fati chose to take a horse ride and I was taking a stroll by her side, for which many relatives gave me a hard time. While eating lunch, I asked my doctor-Dad if it’s safe for Fati to do a horse-ride, he responded negative and then positive after I mentioned she was insisting.
We got some more panoramic views on the way to apple farm, one of which was of Mt. Kailash, which of course was covered in clouds at a very far distance. Fati loved horse-ride, apple-picking and eating apples as well. The horse owner was very kind and took good care of Fati. He also shared some details about the life of people living in that area. Like how much they hate summer and they earn over 1000 Rs. A day during season and tourist do come in winters also.
Chamba was our next destination for the day, where some of Taal movie was shot, a very beautiful journey downhill. In Chamba, there is nothing great to see, it’s like any other big town. Since we were there, we went to Laxminath temple, path for which is very steep 100 m long road. I offered Fati 500 Rs if she walk the road without taking a stop. To my surprise she did, after taking a break in first three 3 steps before announcing the award. Just mentioned to prove it again that women are greedy. ;-)
After a stroll in couple of streets, we left for Dalhousie through another route. On the way we stopped @ Ravi river, had lunch @ a river-view dhaba, a tea on the way overlooking a dam and spent some time in a garden of scattered rocks – Rock garden.
After returning to Dalhousie, we spent time @ Subhash chowk, this time enjoying the views. We explored Tibetian market, bought a couple of things, ate dinner @ economic and crowded Sharma Dhaba and came back to the hotel.
It’s the views of Himachal that makes it beautiful, not the towns, like any other hill station.
Day 3:
We had two sites left for last day, Dain Kund and Kala tope. Our driver Surjeet Singh had realized by now that we were nature lovers and liked clicking pictures. He recommended Dain Kund over Kala tope, as it was the highest peak in the region and offered some gorgeous views. In his Punjabi accent– “Upar ja ke aa jao, photu–shotu khench lena, 3 baje nikalenge”. We were very happy by his recommendation as we hiked up. I got some great shots of crow and hawk flights in valley, apart from the scenic views that mountains, trees and valleys in the area offered. There were small stretches of flowers over green grass, which locals named as Valley of Flowers. After a 1.5 km walk, we reached the temple of a goddess, where 4 shops served snacks, most popular of which was Maggi noddles.
There was another peak besides the temple, which I hiked alone as Fati was already exhausted by now. I enjoyed the brief solitude in my 10 minute long kingdom on highest peak that I shared with nobody while I stood there. I took a pee break and some pictures all around.
On our hike down, we were just talking about how much we enjoyed the hike and the entire trip so far. We also were thinking when we would be enjoying time like this again. Kalatop, which according to Surjeet was a mis-managed place that charged a lot of money (Rs 200) for nothing. Fati and I walked for a km on an unpaved road surrounded by Deodar trees. Since our camping expedition to Murshet on the eve of New Year 20101, Fati gets attracted and always gets a shorter nature call in the woods, which of course I’ve to arrange for, both place and security.
Returning from here, we were both not in the best of our moods, but we didn’t fight. Fati ate late lunch cum dinner at a dhaba on the way, where I had tea and a short power nap to get rid of the headache. We reached Pathankot well in time to catch our train. I had dinner in Pathankot.
Day 0 again:
We stayed at my uncle’s (Chacha’s) house in Gurgaon. Bargaining with ricshaw-walas was an experience in Delhi. Fati comments – Where do you get all this energy for bargaining? In Delhi, we met a good friend of mine, Faninder. The same day, Chacha-Chachi returned from Jaipur. We had lunch together and then headed back for railway station to catch our train to Mumbai in the evening. We reached Mumbai on 28th morning. I joined back work and Fati got busy in her daily routine with home, health and entertainment. That brought to end our first formal non-weekend vacation in India, since 4 years of our wedding.
Life as usual:
After our return, I wish to go deeper into the mountains of Himalayas to increase intimacy. I wish to hike more, when I go next time. Till then, work hard, party harder and enjoy weekends!
Pictures @ http://picasaweb.google.com/purohit.hemendra/DalhousieJun24To262010
