Kasauli - A Breather

I had been planning to visit Kasauli for long. Though I have been to Kasauli earlier also but at that time I just passed from Kasauli on my way to Shillon Bagh. I did not stay there and explored Kasauli. Finally last month while talking with Pooji and Meenu we decided to go there. We decided to leave on Thrusday night as we had a 4 day off in our office ( fri and mon due to some festival and sat and sun is our weekly off.). On thursday as per schedule we hired a CRV and moved out to check out this quiet hill station in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district.

After crossing Nahan (went out of route to pick a friend) the ride was part bumpy, part smooth and part scary when on sharp hair-bend turns the driver continued at the same speed.I knew Kasauli was nearing when the CRV began groaning while negotiating steep winding roads. We got down and began our search for a reasonably priced-yet-good hotel. It was unlike other hill stations where one could spot hotels everywhere. This military town has escaped the ‘touristification’, thanks to the army.

Traffic is regularised, no vehicles allowed into the small market, which still has cobbled path. The two main roads the little hill station has are called the Lower Mall and the Upper Mall. It’s just the name, no rows of shops here. Just half a dozen or so makeshift shops run by Tibetans selling jackets, woollens, T-shirts and other usual stuff one finds at such markets everywhere.

There were few picnickers sipping tea and coffee, as monkeys walked by or jumped from branch to branch on trees around, at a biggish grocery store-cum-restaurant, which had lot of space in front of it for the visitors to sit.

After trying couple of hotels we knew names of we finally settled for a guesthouse situated at the end of the road near old Kasauli overlooking the valley below. The owner proudly told us that when sky is clear I could see Chandigarh from the terrace!

Around 5 PM Kasauli was enveloped by the monsoon mist. It was pretty beautiful sight watching mist trapped in pine trees. I rested for sometime before I got out again and just walked on the roads checking them out where did they lead. I resisted going full hog because it was getting dark and I was not sure where I would end up. While I was exploring and admiring the nature my gang was enjoying in the guesthouse.At night we watched some reality show on MTV and finally fell asleep around midnight.

Meenu got up around 5 in the morning and woke me up. We both went out to see how Kasauli looks in morning leaving all others sleeping as we didn't wanted to waste our time in waking others and waiting for them. The sky was clear so I got some views, which I could not in the evening. There was a chill in the air but it was soft and sweet.

After taking a hot bath, we decided to check out the Upper Mall, which, as my hotel manager claimed, provides best views. It is on this road that all the important buildings are situated. This road has the highest elevation in Kasauli, gives you best views on both sides. Sudhi’s ultimate destination was ‘Monkey Point’. May be he wanted to meet his friends there…monkeys. We were advised to take this road as far as Gilbert’s Trail and then take left turn from near a Litter Box. When the hotel manager told me about this box, I thought he was talking about some Letter Box because he said it was of old style and one certainly did not think of Litter Box being there. When I saw many of them I realised he meant Litter Box. And, what Litter Boxes! A beautiful small hut type box, which did not at all, looked like it contained garbage.

After we reached the signboard of Gilbert’s Trail, we took left turn and the short path connected us to the Lower Mall road. From here turning right takes one to the gate of Air Force Station. One has to collect pass to go up to the Monkey Point as it is under the Air Force control. If you have camera and mobile phones, you will have to leave them behind before you enter the Air Force Station. A 20-minute walk will take you to the Monkey Point. A small temple dedicated to Hanumanji (Monkey God) is situated there. Also, you can view snow-capped mountains from here if the sky is clear.

Sudhi was bit disappointed after reaching there because there were very few monkeys oat the monkey point. He could not meet all of his friends for whom he traveled so much. Bechara Sudhi.

Gang – Me (Prats), Meenu, Sudhi, Pooji,

On Eco Trail...

On Dusshera a friend of mine visited my place. While talking to her she advised me that why don’t I travel to such places which are ecologically rich. Instead for traveling like this here and there why not opt for ecological destinations in India. A better word would be Eco-Tourism.

The idea somewhere left a mark in my mind. Well next 2 weeks went into meeting the targets in office, but the idea stayed there. After 14 days of hard work I did a lot of net surfing and a thorough research on Eco tourism in India. Somewhere a lost geographer woke up in me…Well but I needed a reason or a chance to go there, as have no holidays left.

It was late in the evening of 16 October when I received a letter regarding a conference on 24 October in Hyderabad. This was a good reason for me to visit the region and I don’t need many offs from office to visit the place especially when the Diwali holidays are standing on my doorstep. I mean it was Thursday and my Diwali holidays were starting from Saturday.

I did a lot of net surfing on finding the places in Andhra Pradesh, how to reach there, where to stay and all other basic queries. The biggest problem, which I was facing, was as of where to stay and how to travel within. Was just wondering when Pooji reminded me of Indiahotelreview.com. (I have got my hotels booked by them earlier also).

I left a query on their site in the Q n A section regarding my stay in Hyderabad, as it is the capital of the state and is easily accessible by air. Apart from Hyderabad I asked for the hotels in Vishakhapatnam, Kurnool, Tirupati, Vijaywada and Pulicat. The Q n A expert replied to my query within half an hour asking for my budget and dates for stay. And then the travel in A.P. and accommodation part of my trip was taken care by the IHR people. Within next two hours my hotel reservations were done and a cab was booked.
IHR team really works hard and fast. In the afternoon of 17 October I got a call from IHR confirming if I have received the travel voucher.

Finally I reached Hyderabad at 10.40 pm by kingfisher airlines. There was a cab waiting for me at the airport. The driver took me to the hotel Siddharta where a prior booking was done. I asked the driver to come next day in the morning at 7 so that I can see the beautiful capital city before I start on my eco-trail.

I went into my room had my dinner and went to sleep as I wanted to be fresh in the morning…

n ya a lot of thanks to all those who helped me in making this trip com true..., Pooji, Indiahotelreview, and Swapan (she booked my air tickets)

Gud Nite..!!
:)

3 Days With Nature in Peace - Shilon Bagh, Shimla

What was just an idea a week before became a well-planned weekend outing with my cousins . We were just thinking about meeting over a weekend to relive those golden childhood memories. And it culminated in a trip to Shilon Bagh, Shimla

This place is few kms ahead of Kasauli, about 390 kms from Delhi on Shimla - Kufri road. So we started on Thursday night as to reach there well in time. It’s almost a drive of 10 hrs from Delhi. Since we had two- three stop over in between, we reached there by around 12 on Fri Morning.
We had our rooms booked at Toshali Royal View Resorts. It is located away from the habitation in the valley all surrounded by undisturbed mountains.

We all were so tired by then that we just had our lunch got fresh & headed straight towards our beds. We didn’t want to waste our time so after one hour relaxation we went for a trek down the hill. Trust me that was the call of the time. The place was so very close to nature with nascent hills around. It is a good exploring walk with pure air to breath. What we experienced was just amazing pine forests and then wood logs lying on the roadside.

This place is basically known for its serene surroundings & tranquil environment. Not a place for sight seeing and all that. One shall go there to just relax and rejuvenate. In the evening there was a DJ party for a group from MNC. We were keen to tap our feet too so we took special permission from the host to allow us in. The night was spent amongst some drinks for the boy’s n dance for the girls.

Early next morning me n pooji went for the sunrise point around 3km trek from the hotel on the other side of the hill. After reaching there what we saw was just out of this world. We were at a place where clouds were just below us, rather you can say that we were walking in the clouds n sun was rising on the other side. And within some moments we were like walking on a orange carpet specially laid for us by the mother nature welcoming us in that astonishing world. That feeling was worth more than anything and that made our trip worth memories which non of us can never forget.

On the way back we witnessed pine forests, chirping of sparrows & sun rays getting on the mighty earth. We came back to the hotel, woke up the other people and decided to leave by 10 anyhow to Hattu Peak, it was around 52 kms & 3 hrs drive from the hotel, known for Goddess Durga temple. We reached the base by around 1 p.m.. Four of us decided to trek through the jungle and rest went along the road. Again a decision to optimise the thrill & fun that we were having enough till now. We came across fallen trees that became prop for my sister’s modelling instincts………steep heights to test our fitness, wet grounds testing our persistence and narrow walk ways putting our lives to threat. At one point we felt like giving up but going down the hill seemed more difficult then trekking up.

We had lost clue on what way to choose…but fortunately we came across a newly wed local couple who were coming back from the temple & assured us that we were on the right track. We kept going and lastly passed a big rock and suddenly realised we were there. It was a sense of achievement and victory.

There was a small temple and some local kids were chanting “Jai Mata di”. It was a hill top from where we could look all around and what heavenly it was. We could see the sun rays above filtering through the clouds below and lighting the valley. It was a trekking experience of life time.

This was a splendid day way from the start in the morning till night when we celebrated my niece’s birthday around a bon fire back at the hotel.

We woke up next morning to start our journey back to Delhi. On our way back we took another route via Chail & thus visited the highest cricket ground in the country. And also a mid river restaurant, a perfect spot to gulp some beers & have a walk on the river bank.

So this three day weekend getaway ended on Sunday Night around 11 in night. These three days were just heaven because of the peace and beauty that is quite synonymous with Shillon Bagh. It totally refreshened and rejuvenated the natural me with in.