Pahadi (himachal) Safarnama (Diaries)
Having said that, I do have a select list of places I would like to visit, because my favorite books and movies happened there or referenced them. (Kashmir was one such place!)
Most of my close friends are avid travel enthusiasts. They love doing all this planning, data gathering, logistics mapping exercise. And it works for a travel sloth like me :)
So when Paglet shared her India visit plans sometime in December, I was relieved because I knew she and her (travel crazy) husband would plan everything. And we would just have to show up. She planned a 3-5 days trip to Himachal Pradesh in the 2nd week of March and I was in! For logistics reason, I and a friend traveled to Jammu. From Jammu we booked a 13 seater mini bus for the road trip to Kasol Valley in Himachal Pradesh. 9 of us boarded the bus and we started the journey from Jammu. It was a slightly rainy day contrary to our expectations so we decided to keep it slow and have fun along the way.
Our first stop was for breakfast after entering Punjab before Pathankot. We were in the land of aaloo paratha and rajma chawal. So without even bothering about what time of the day it was (it was around 10.30 am), we ordered aloo paratha, rajma chawal, paneer paratha and chai (tea). I had the special neembu kehwa chai. Needless to say everything was yummilicious and fresh. It was a roadside dhaba so I can't recall the name, exact location to be able to recommend it to you. I believe all the dhabas on that route must serve the same tasty food!
Further journey till Palampur was uneventful. We tried playing a very silly but most fun game called ping pong. It didn't take off among some players. So we switched to playing Dumb Charades. Of course my team trumped the other team. Then we took a stop just outside Mandi, at hotel Ranjeet. We were starving and ordered all kinds of food there. From chinese to roti sabji to tea, coffee and varied starters. The staff there served us the most awesome road food I have ever had in a surprisingly short time. Within an hour we were back on the road, our stomachs full and our faces happy. Highly recommended place!(Complete address- Ranjeet dining star restaurant, Joginder Nagar, Mandi).
Post Palampur, the hills were on our vista. We were longing to be among them. Once we entered Mandi, the first road block happened. Someone had parked their broken vehicle in the middle of the road, driving entire traffic to a standstill. Typical small town experience of no one being in a hurry happened. We with our city life conditioning, immediately got out and started trying to clear the deadlock. After 30 minutes halt, we were back on our way. We were moving even slowly now because of the hilly winding roads and sporadic rains. We took a tea break around 7 PM just outside Kasol to relieve ourselves and freshen up. Because we arrived in Kasol after sunset, the hike to the village where we were supposed to stay for the next 2 days did not happen.
We stayed at a local hotel in Kasol where the staff was nice enough to take dinner order from us at 9 PM. We were famished and ate like there was no tomorrow. We played cards and after some fun and frolic, we fell asleep one by one. I was probably the first one to doze off as usual.
Since we had arrived in Kasol after sunset, I had no idea what lay outside. So I was pleasantly surprised and squealed with delight when I woke up to this view outside my room. ->
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| beautiful Kasol! |
We got ready by 10 am (cos of the super long journey the day before) and by the time decided to trek to the village, it had started raining. Starving (I think there is something in the mountain air, it makes your metabolic rate zoom), we had a very sumptuous breakfast of omlettes, tea, egg-paratha, bread toast, scrambled eggs etc. After having fed ourselves we finally headed out, rain or no rain. Thankfully it had stopped raining but it had become chillier. So mandatory winter shopping break happened. Slowly we made it out of Kasol by crossing a precariously placed bridge over the Parvati river. (I dont have a picture of it).
The Parvati river became our companion as we hiked to Chalal. It was a 40-45 min hike made surreal by river on one side and the mountains on the other. Escapist thoughts of disowning all our city ties to dwell in the woods came to all of us, turn by turn.
When we reached our cottage in Chalal, there was no electricity in the village. Us city dwellers, eager to charge our smart phones and share the beauty on social media, had no option but to let it be. After settling down for a while and exploring the nearby areas, we started scouting for lunch locations. A village of 30-50 houses offers very few options. The kind people at Cafe Freedom offered to prepare fresh lunch for us (it was 3.30 PM). Only in really small towns/villages can one find such hospitality! We ordered loads of food and topped it off with tea, maggi, sandwiches while waiting for real meal to be ready. We got back to our cottage happy and fulfilled and only after sunset. Then we cozied up in a room, singing songs, making up songs, sharing warmth in the cold! One of the rooms also had a wood chimney so some of us got busy to fire it up to try to make the room even warmer. I called it a night early cos of all the airport lag and chill in the air.
Again, the next morning this is the view I woke up to. There was fresh snow atop the distant hill in this picture. I could spend hours sitting in a chair spellbound by the mountains with a glass of warm black tea in my hand. I had my bit of being vain, as my phone showed some network connectivity.
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| cottage with the view |
After rounds of black ginger tea served at our cottage to us early risers, we decided to head out for breakfast. It felt like an expedition, as on the chilly day, even the villagers had decided to take it slowly. Home after home we inquired who would serve us omelettes, bread, aloo parathas and tea. Ema, singlehandedly accepted to serve the gang of 9 (us). The expedition had filled us with cold and we immediately huddled under the thick blankets Ema provided us. Once the warmth was back the chit chat and banter returned. Suddenly overcome by guilt to not even have asked Ema whether she needed help, a friend and I got out of the cozy room and went into her kitchen. She graciously accepted the help and we started serving everyone. I cannot put into words the feeling of eating a very modest breakfast but still feeling overcome by gratitude and satisfaction. Ema's mother, a sprightly 58 year old, who hardly looked and felt her age, sat amused watching us devour the food.
We did not do much during the day later and headed back to Kasol by afternoon. From there we went to Manikaran. Spent some time at the hot water springs and headed for Bhuntar. I and a friend were to catch bus for Delhi from here. I personally was very bummed to be leaving that place. On the other hand I was also proud of myself, because I had not accessed office email even once during these 3 days. The temptation was there, but nature saved me.
Though we did not do a lot of touristy things during this trip, I was glad that I got to meet some friends and do a road trip through parts of Himachal Pradesh. With the logistics and unexpected weather changes all went well. Now bitten by the HP warmth, I wish to visit it often and for longer duration.