I have been thinking
lately to pen down my experiences on my solo trip.
Here it goes :
Initial Preparation:
I knew nothing about
nothing. So, I started making list of places that I will be covering near
Mcleodganj and Dharamshala. Since I have a long weekend and I am not able to
make a good itinerary for a good 5 days, so there is some appointment of
wasting my holidays. So , I started exploring more,reading blogs on travelling
and finally came to a conclusion to make a trip of 3 days.
Also, purchased
raincoat , a traveller bag and new shoes for me.
After that, I
started asking some of my close friends whether they would be available on
these dates .No positive replies from anyone, so ultimately decided to go solo.
It was always like a yes or no kind of situation. Sometimes I think that lets
wait for some more months and then others would be available to accompany me
and it would be safe and cheaper but I was on a verge of frustration and wanted
to breathe in fresh air and give myself a good break. So, I decided that I
should book a hotel beforehand and inturn that would be a guarantee that I
would not cancel this trip. So booked a hotel in Mcleod(Pink house) just 1 week before the trip dates and then booked
a bus ticket from Delhi to Dharamshala.
So bus was booked
for 5th July night so that I would reach Dharamshala by 8-9 am in the morning
and then could easily check in at the hotel before 12 am.
Leaving Delhi on 5th
July Night
I was not so excited
as I was in a state of confusion,fear and there was a feeling that I should not
do this but I told myself that its okay , the trip would be good and I just
need to reach my destination. Took a metro to Kashmere Gate Bus Terminal and reached
there at around 9 pm. I was not aware about the location from where I would
catch the Himachal Bus. So, I asked at The Himachal Bus counter and got to know
that the buses wait downstairs at pillar No.22. I got excited now after seeing
the Terminal and then I started running downstairs to reach to the bus.Reached
there, got the seat and arranged my bags. But a family requested me to move
to the seat just at the back of my
current seat as they want to sit together, so shifted to that shift and
rearranged my bags. A hawker selling books caught my attention.
I had a look at some
of the books and asked for the price of one. He was selling paperbacks at a
higher rate but I wanted to buy a book from him . So, I told myself that I am
already low on budget and I should refrain myself from books for just these 4- 5
days.
Bus Journey
Started at 9:30 pm.
Reached a Dhaba by around 12:30 pm,I had dinner there.After that, Bus entered
in Punjab and then saw Anantpur Sahib and then the famous dam.I was trying to
get some sleep but as always, I was just able to close my eyes for few minutes
and then look outside my window seat to catch some glimpses.
At around 5:30 am,
reached somewhere after Chinttpurni Mata Mandir and after that reached
Dharamshala at around 8:30 am.
Got to know that
Mcleodganj is 10 kms from dharamshala. Reached Mcleod.
The weather was cool
and I was mesmerized by the beauty of the place.
Somehow reached
Hotel at around 9:30 , asked the owner whether I could checkin early. The hotel
owner was a nice person and he did allow me to checkin early.The room was quite
good and it has exceeded my expectations. I was so excited that I didn't even rest
and started unpacking and then after daily routines,I was ready for my first
destination,i.e, Chamunda devi Temple.
Chamunda devi
Temple.
Got to know that I
could reach this temple by Dharamshala in just 1 hour. So quicky reached
dharamshala and boarded a bus to temple. Reached Temple. It was really a must
visit place and I am glad that I visited there though I took it as an optional
in my itinerary. There was a beautiful waterfall near the temple from where a
natural spring was flowing . I moved there and immersed my feets in the cool
water to just enjoy the spring.
HPCA Stadium &
War Memorial
From temple, I
reached dharamshala again. I was so hungry that I grabbed 2 burgers from a
hawker and ate both of them hastily. Since , I was left with some time and was
not in a mood to get back to hotel, so I made my mind to visit HPCA stadium .It
was at a good distance from bus stop but I wanted to travel on foot.
I passed by
policestations, libraries, university, govt.schools and playgrounds.
I unknowingly
reached at the front gate of HPCA stadium and the entry was allowed from a
second gate at the backside just adjacent to the college. I was already
drenched in sweat as the weather has changed from a cool one to a hot.
Somehow reached
there, I didn't find it too extraordinary, it appeared to me just like other
stadiums . I was disappointed as I was walking from nearly 45 mins to reach
here. After that, I decided to go to War Memorial, which was just 2 kms from
Stadium. There was a INR 10 ticket to enter the Memorial site. It was
maintained in a good fashion by the authorities. Names of Soldiers (who lost
their lives in wars) were engraved on a wall . I found it better option than
the Stadium. It was 5 pm by my watch. Since, I didn't take any rest in the
morning and was constantly chasing my itinerary
Places, so I decided
to go back to hotel and take some rest .
Reached Hotel, took some rest, arranged my clothes.
After that, I went to the terrace of the hotel inorder to enjoy the mountain
view from there. Saw a foreigner girl sketching at the terrace of the adjoining
hotel and completely engrossed in what she is doing.
I was a bit
frustrated as I was sad as there were no friends there to accompany me and I am
not able to make any new friends yet . I was even cursing my idea of coming
solo . It happens with me and I was kind of feeling lonely as there was nobody
to talk to , so I decided to roam the streets and satiate my hunger.
So finally at night
, I was fighting in my mind as to why I decided to come solo for this trip and
already gave 100 opinions as to why this idea would fail further. Neverthless,
I reasoned myself out and decided that lets complete what I have in my itinerary.
So, decided to go for Triund trek and start as early as possible as the plan
was to return back to hotel.
Day 2-
Next day, I got
ready around 7:45 and left hotel to look out for an auto that could drop me to
Dharamkot which is the starting point of trek.
Autos can drop you a little further as well from Dharamkot but the fare
was high and I decided that I want to trek as much as possible so Dharamkot was
chosen as the starting point of trek.
Auto did drop me
there . There was just a shop there and down the hill, there were homestays. I
started Trek and realised that the surface was built up for the donkeys with
hard rocks here and there and it took some effort to cross those . I could see
nobody there trekking , just some random monkeys trying to scare me.
Finally reached to a
small mandir at around 9am after 30 mins
trek , that is the spot where the autos drop you usually .
There is a checkpost
where you need to fill an entry with your name as a kind of check that local
authorities maintained for people going for Triund trek.
Finally started
trekking . The weather was hot but as I started climbing , I came across a
point where I could literally see the whole city of Mcleodganj and could
identify the HPCA stadium from top. It was mesmerizing for me . A caution alert
for new trekkies , please trek as close to mountain side as possible as the
fencing is not proper , so avoid going to any extreme ends.
After some odd 30
mins, I rested and met some people from different states. They were having
their joints and they asked them out of courtesy which I politely declined. I
had some chitchat with those trekkies and decided to resume the trek . The
weather was changing now from hot humid to a bit cloudy . I was in awe of the
nature's beauty as I came across the streams downhill and the various facets of
beautiful nature. I did savour those moments as I was not rushing my steps and
I know that I could easily complete the trek and can come back to hotel easily
before sunset.
After some 40 -45
mins, I decided to halt at a tea shop to savour the tea. I came across 2 people
who were from Delhi and I started having a conversation with them. I came to
know that they too started early morning and were having plans to stay at the hill
for the night . I decided to tag along with them . Now we all were trekking to
reach triund and stopping at places that captivated us during the trek. At
certain point in trek , we were kind of lost interms of what path to take and
we headed towards a wrong path which we quickly realized . Luckily some fellow
travellers helped us to the right path and we started trekking further and finally we reached the Triund Hill at
around 12pm .
At triund hill ,
there was just 1 local shop , a small shiva temple , a govt rest room and some
makeshift tents. We were not able to see the mountains from the the hill top
since they were shrouded by a thick layer of clouds. The experience was
satisfying since I was not sure whether I would be able to do this solo ,I was
at peace for a moment and was trying to soak in the vibes. It was decided among
us that we would be going higher from there to Snowline which would take
another 2-3 hours. I didn't have plans to even stay at the hilltop , I was
supposed to reach triund and came back to hotel. Also, I was not carrying
enough cash for the expenses. So, I was not sure whether to go further or
return. Though I do want to go further and explore but I didn’t have enough
funds to do that . Soon, these guys suggested that they would pay upfront and
then the expense can be settled later.
After enjoying the
ambience of triundhill for around 2 hours, we started to trek to Snowline. The
area is not mapped clearly , so we need to look out for some arrows or carvings
on the rocks in the path . These carvings/signs were made by travellers indeed
to help other travellers . We passed some dense areas and down the hill , I was
again mesmerized by the beauty of the vegetation. We did encounter some small
shrines of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati in our path.
Soon, we reached a
valley and I have no words to describe the tranquility of that place. It was a
kind of place where you can sit down and just observe the things around you and
let yourself be engulfed by the surroundings.
But we continued further as we do need to reach Snowline before Sunset .
Finally , we walked for 30-40 mins and could see a local shop and realized that
we have reached the spot.
At Snowline-
It was the only shop
there with 3- 4 men sitting inside that.
We had a word with caretaker and enquired as to whether we can get a
tent and some food for night . We got a
sturdy tent where we unloaded our backpacks and took some rest . We were soon
accompanied by the chirping of birds downhill. Cameras came out and the
explorer in us kicked in to explore the place more. We could see the mighty
Dhauladhar ranges kissed by the rays of the sun . Sun was finally setting down
and we need to get some woods to make a bonfire. So, we were accompanied by a
local downhill to get some woods. You need to watch your steps as you go
downhill as the speed needs to be controlled . We finally got some woods , a
bonfire was set with the help of caretaker. Chai came in and the night was
starting to take its toll. The weather
was turning out to be cold , bonfire was indeed helping us to keep warm. We were soon engulfed by an indefinite number
of stars and a couple of galaxies . I have experienced nothing like this before
. It was one of the beautiful nights of my life where I was soaked in white
light of shining stars. I was astonished ,surprised and tired. I could not take
my eyes off the sky. Though I was tired
and wanted to go to sleep but I could not miss this . Hours passed by and I
kept staring at the sky . There was a certain amount of energy at that place .
The galaxy was such a rare sight for my eyes and I kept looking at it for a
long time. Both of these people I was travelling with were good photographers
as well. They were busy in getting the right setup and in finding a moment to
capture and they indeed capture that beautiful galaxy along with our
illuminated tent. Finally, we decided to call off for the day and headed
towards our tent to get a good sleep. At night, a creature came in from
downhill to look out for some food and we could hear its growling , I was
afraid for a moment but we didn't move and
it went its way. It was a chilly night. I was not able to sleep and I
woke up early just to see the first rays of sun kissing the mighty
mountains.
We paid the
caretaker and thanked him for his help. We decided to move down the hill to
Triund and reached Triund at around 12 in noon.
Chai kicked in and cameras flashed to capture the aura. There's a cliff
at triund where most people capture the moment. I too was asked to sit on that
cliff but I was a little afraid as I thought that I might fall from that, so I
sat but not close to cliff and as soon as the pic was taken, I hurried back.
Finally , its time
for me to part with my new friends . Numbers were exchanged and they asked me
to move with them to a homestay in Bhagsu . I quickly agreed as I need to move
out of my hotel. I started descending the hill . I was at peace with myself for
coming up to this place , so all the ramblings and questionings that my mind
was engaging with at the first night was blown to pieces. When you descend, try
to have a check on your pace because you shouldn't rush down the hill as you
may stumble upon something and lose the grip.
I kept check at my pace at various ends just to ensure that I am not
moving fast downhill . Rain came in and I draped myself in my raincoat. It was
such a great weather and I was enjoying each moment. Finally , I reached my
hotel and found couple of my messages from Dad. I gave a call to him and
ensured that I am safe , there's no network at hills and that's why we go there
to cutoff from the chatter.
Bhagsunath -
After having a nice
bath and a good food, I decided to pack my stuff and check out of hotel and
join my friends staying at the homestay. Checked out and found an auto
from main square to drop me to a near
spot from where I could walk upto the place.
I lost the sense of direction as to how to reach to that place . Luckily
, I saw 2 locals passing by who `offered me to come along with them as they
were going towards that direction. We
started conversing and it appears that one of them likes to play flute and
another one was a dancer . We reached at a crossroad , where they moved to a
different direction and showed me a path to reach to my destination. Finally I
reached the homestay - " family Pizaaria'.
It was a medium room
with 2 beds where we 3 need to spend a night. There was no cooler/ AC/fan. I
asked the owner as to why there was no fan if incase it is needed at night. To
that he politely stated that I wouldn't be needing one at night and the quill
would be my best companion all throughout the chilly night. He was so true. I
had my dinner at the adjoining café . Someone was playing an instrument in
adjoining café and the tune was so engaging that it kept me there for quite
some time.
Next day, we need to
clear the room by 12 , so we quickly completed the rituals , headed out to get
some food at a café which was playing the local songs . Music is something that
you don’t need to understand, I was not able to understand a word out of that song but still I enjoyed the
beat. We decided to head out to Bhagsunath temple and then to Bhagsu falls.
Bhagsunath temple is
a lord Shiva temple . It has a pond in its campus where people came in to
relax. Reaching to bhagsu falls at top is quite a feat as there are a good
amount of steps that you need to climb up to reach to the top.
Rain poured in as we
were climbing the steps, reached at the top and captured the beautiful
waterfall coming out of the rocks. We
started descending and reached to a café to get some local food.
At this time, it was
raining heavily. We ordered a ball of rice . There is a beauty to each café .
In our café, I could see a chess set,
some music instruments for people to play. Inorder to pass time, we played chess
and I was defeated again. Bad at chess!!
Finally when the rain stopped , I
decided to move out as I had a bus to catch that would take me upto Kangra and
from there , I have a bus to catch at 7:30 for Delhi.
