Chakrata - A Paradise for Nature Lovers

I was not very excited to go this time untill Agni sent some links describing the place.

98 kms from Dehradun at an elevation of  about 7500 ft Chakrata is known for its serene environs, virgin forests and pollution-free atmosphere. The town has a magnificent view of the Greater Himalaya and everything around is delightfully green — deodar, Himalayan oak and rhododendron cover the hills. The only built-up area consists of some of the prettiest colonial army buildings, green- and red-roofed gables complete with rambling roses and wisteria. All this was enough to get me excited.

It was a 3 day trip. Going by Agni's antique Esteem. 

The Gang: Agni, Anirban, Manas, Aunty, Uncle (Agni's parents) and me

Agni - On driver's seat, driving the car and the trip

Anirban -  A photographer lost in the nature... want to utilize every single minute of the trip. First one to get up every morning and go for bird watching.

Aunty and Uncle - The most energetic and adventurous couple I have ever met. "Aapki energy se 

aapki umar ke pata hi nahi chalta". They are in their 60s in guess.

Manas - Sitting next to driver’s seat… cute kid supporting Agni in every possible way. The luckiest one to get the most comfortable seat

and Me - Bubbliest of all. They call me 'The Expense Manager'. Whenever camera is spared, don't leave the chance to click. 

Way to Chakrata from Delhi: 

Chakrata is about 330 km from delhi. There are two routes one is via panipat and kurukshetra and the second one from Ghaziabad via Loni, Baghpat, Badaut, Shamli and Saharanpur. The route via Saharanpur is less crowded. After Sahanpur the road has dense forests on both sides. Just before Herbertpur there is a left turn which goes to Gurudwara Paonta Sahib which is 10 km away and is in Himachal Pradesh. From Herbertpur another 10 km and you reach Vikasnagar. From there you start driving in the hills. Chakrata is around 60 km from Vikasnagar via Kalsi and Sahiya. The road is narrow but in good condition. 

Its important to mention here that there is no petrol pump beyond Vikasnagar. One should have enough petrol in the tank to drive about 150 km in the hill. You may get petrol paying a premium at Chakrata but that will most likely be adulterated.

We started on 22nd evening, halted that night on the way and restarted next morning.

Day 1 (23rd Jan '10) - 

In anticipation:  

The most I recall about our journey from Saharanpur to Chakata was Janta Hotel. A nice dhaba with a mango orchid at the back. I was more keen on clicking the old ladies basking in the orchid than having my meal. 

It was a nice drive with smooth roads and a wonderful view of  tall oak and deodar  trees.

This time we had booked a Hotel in advance knowing this place has only 2 renowned hotels - Hotel Snow View and Hotel Himalyan Paradise. Based on the reviews from the visitors we chose the later. 

After a drive of around 6 kms from the main town we reached "Himalyan Paradise". Beautiful place in the lap of nature with a wonderful view of Greater Himalyas.

A warm welcome by Bittoo ji and staff, we felt quite at home. The place looked nice and cosy. A huge terrace in front of the rooms was ideal for basking in the sun in these chilly winter days.We were told that more than 40 species of birds have been identified here. the most common we saw around were brown dippers and tits.  

Rest of the day was spent talking to the locals and planning for next 2 days. Places we decided to visit are Deoban, Tiger falls and Kanasar. 

Day 2 (24th Jan '10) 

Darun Deoban:

Started for Deoban at 8 in the morning. It is some 15 kms away. Fresh, chilly air caressing our faces and bright sun warming our bodies... we were delighted to experience this chillness and warmth at the same time.

Deoban is around 10000 ft above sea level, we were feeling on top of the world literally. 
There is an extensive dense jungle with dispersed villages of the Jaunsari tribe around the area.

With complete silence all around only thing we could hear was chirping of birds. We were lucky enough to get sight of Himalayan Woodpeckers, white collared blackbirds, Brown Dipper and Green Backed tit. 
Milky white snow all around... undisturbed and untouched, we were happy to have started early to view this amazing sight.Uncle aunt chose a quiet corner to sit and enjoy the view, Agni and Manas, excited like small kids... were running around on the big patch of snow, and Ani and me, the explorers, decided to go further deep into the hills. 

Whoa.... what an amazing place it was... snow all around, the deeper you go more beauty you find. There was a place where we could see the foot steps starting from the top of the hill towards deep down the valley... seemed like bear's foot marks. little further point where there is no sunshine, chilled air numbing your nose, fingers and every thing exposed. 

Came back frozen and satisfied.

Day 3 (25th Jan '10)

Towards Tiger falls:

All young folks decided to trek on the 25th morning... early morning. We were all set to visit Tiger falls where we have to walk down 5 kms to have a glimpse of the falls and climb up the same distance. The starting point is some 10-12 kms away from our hotel. Manas decided to give Agni some rest and take the drivers seat now. After crossing some villages and villagers we reached the trek start point. 

We were told that there is a small market where we will get something to eat. But to our bad, there was only one shop there - Chauhan Tea stall, that also is about to be closed because the shopkeeper had to go shoping some stuff for the shop. We took 2 packs of biscuits and started off. 

While we were talking to the shop owner, Anirban had befriended a group of some 6-7 local kids ready to start their cricket match. The self made bat looked like "thapi" we use to beat clothes while washing them.

Praveen, the eldest of all, was happy to accompany us till the falls. Down down.... down we go... Led by the little energetic kid. They are 8 brothers and sisters. He is the eldest.

The walk was a treacherous one down the hill, and could be lethal if one does not watch his steps and slips. We kept walking on & on, but there was no sign of waterfalls.     
Finally after we had walked almost the entire trek, we caught the first glimpse of this miraculous creation of Mother Nature, very nicely hidden from view completely until you reach the exact spot. All the fatigue vanished looking at one of the highest waterfalls in India, originating at a height of about 312 ft. 

The view of water falling from such great height was truly breath-taking. We stayed there for almost an hour, while Ani clicked some pics, Manas and Agni got busy discussing the fall... its source, height, depth, etc. I silently enjoyed the gentle water droplets on my face sitting by the side of the fall. Although completely lost in the charms of this place, we soon realized it was time to make a move and start the uphill trek. If the downhill was lethal for the fear of slipping, uphill was a total nightmare, steep 5 kms climb. 

We somehow managed to reach the top where an old man was waiting  with 4 glasses and a pitcher full of cold water. He was apparently Praveen's Grand father. Praveen had told us that his family would have loved to feed us but only his old grand father is home and he might not be able to cook. His mother had gone to fetch medicine for his younger sister. 

Time to say good bye to the young chap and his grandpa in this wonderful land of nature and manly beauty. I was awestruck by the simplicity of people and nature both.

Koti Kanasar

Agni drove us back to the hotel where uncle and aunt were all ready to go. We got some paranthas packed and started for Koti Kanasar, as the locals call it. Some 26 kms from our hotel. Kanasar is on the Chakrata – Tiuni road. The road was good with amazing view of deep valleys on one side and high hills on the other. 

Patches of snow on the way made it all the more dramatic and interesting. One very peculiar thing about the place... we saw many locals eating the balls of snow. They were picking it up from the ground and eating it. But they were too shy to let us know the reason and it remained mystery as to why were they relishing those balls of snow

The place was breathtakingly beautiful with tall Deodar trees all around. It is indeed nature's paradise with untouched beauty. Some of the trees here as really old with trunk circumfrence more than 6mtrs.
If you are a nature lover like me, do visit Koti Kanasar. Highly recommended!

Ended the trip with Bonfire. Warming our bodies with fire and discussing the trip over moongfali.Nothing can be better.




Way back was as interesting as the trip. Travelling on the 26th of January. A bright sunny day... School kids going to and then coming from school after flag hoisting, A slow day with not much of activity seen on the roads. Smooth drive back home. 

The discussions while coming back were around the destination for our next trip. 


Cost of the trip: Rs1800 per person. Thanks to our efficient 'Expense Manager' ;)

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Splendid Wildlife Experience - Dudhwa Tiger Reserve

On the way...

We readily agreed when Chandan, one of the friends invited us to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve Forest. Another friend Agni and his parents also got excited at the idea. 5 of us from Delhi started our advanture trip. We decided to drive down. We took NH 24 and crossed Ghaziabad, Hapur, Muradabad, Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Sitapur, Lakhimpur and Palia.

Met Chandan and 2 of his colleagues at Lakhimpur. The group of 8, comprising of members as young as 20 and as old as 60, was all game for adventure.

After Palia, we found ourselves at the entrance of an unusual bridge. This was a bridge which was also shared by trains. Yeah! you read it correctly. You drive over the track and if there is an oncoming train, well you wait and give the way. I didn’t see any other bridge on the side and it seemed like the only way to go to Dudhwa Tiger Reserve over times.

Where we stayed...

 The accommodation was arranged at Forest rest house Dudhwa located within the core forest area. Its location, beautiful huts, cosy bedding and warm staff made it a good place to stay.

Day 1 was spent getting to know the place and the people - Spoke with guides; Browsed through the brochures, pictures and other information material available; Met members from Wildlife Trust of India and Roamed around in the nearby forest area.

Successful rehabilitation of Rhinos, Fire line maintenance, Swamp Deers thriving here and Hispid Hares sighted recently are some other interesting pieces of information we gathered. 

Flora and fauna at its best...
The tall Saal trees giving shelter to thousands of birds... even the sunlight is shy to fall on virgin land. I was mesmerized by the sight, sound and scent of fresh morning.

We headed towards Sonaripur at 7 in the morning for the Elephant safari with guide Baddal. We reached a bit early. Elephants were getting ready to take us on a ride. 4 - 5 people per elephant and 4 elephants in all.

 Up and down... here goes the Elegant Elephant wondering in the midows on narrow paths and at times no path at all.

The most common sight was Spotted Deers playing around in their natural surrounding. Felt like you are in a fantasy land.

"Look there" Baddal whispered. It was a mother Rhino with her son. What a sight it was! First they were facing us, as soon as they noticed us they turned their back towards us thinking even we can not see them.

Spent some more time wondering around experiencing wildlife.

 

After basking a bit in the Sun and having Lunch we headed again towards the jungle at around 3PM. This time we were on our own vehicle with guide Chandar. It was 3PM and yet inside the dense jungle it was almost dark. Sun light was trickling in through the leaves at some places.

We sighted good variety of Birds including Kingfisher, White breasted Bulbul and many more from "Machaan" while the guide kept telling us stories of the place, one of many was about Dr S D Singh being attacked by Tiger and a road and a watch tower named after his name.

 

And suddenly he asked us to stop the car...!!!

The King of the jungle Royal Bengal Tiger with it's majestic beauty and unparalleled grace was lying down on the path at about 50 yards in front of us! My body became numb, breathing accelerated and heart started pounding. We kept observing Him quietly from distance. We enjoyed the sight for more than 20 min and then moved little ahead on the track to have a closer look. And then He moved... I could feel that trance of fear in the air. The King got up, moved and started scratching the tree trunks. He was marking His territory I guess. Another 15 min and He crossed the path and moved to the other side. It was the time for us to leave Him alone. 

Back in the Rest house when we narrated our experience and shared the videos and pics, people couldn't believe. It is the first time they have heard that someone has actually sighted and observed a Tiger for that long. Lucky we!!!


Every second a drama is unfolded unknown and undisclosed to the other…a little sound of dry leaves and you will be shivered to see a full grown python slipping away to the muddy water... a look beyond will freeze your blood by the sight of a full grown alligator resting motionless on the bank of river!


Way back...
We were told to go via Pilibhit, a small village, to avoid the traffic at Shahjahanpur. Enjoyed the drive back with lots of leg pulling, singing and eating.

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A JUNGLE EXPEDITION

 We started our walk at around 9.30AM on a sunny Sunday morning accompanied by experienced Mr Gupta. Was not sure what to expect. I was told that the forest is full of wide variety of flora and fauna.

Till now there was clear path we were following with woodland around and some people here and there out for morning walk. 

Back to history - Bhooli Bhatyari ka Mahal
Our first destination was Bhooli Bhatyari ka mahal. There are lots of stories attached to this place.

It was the biggest hunting lodge built by Firoz Shah Tughluq (1351-88), third Sultan of the Tughluq dynasty. Built in AD 1354, it lies on the ridge opposite to Karol Bagh's Link Road. The mahal is a rectangular enclosure entered by two gateways on its north-eastern corner. The southern and eastern walls are provided with bastions. 

A sad story in the lap of nature
Mr Gupta was leading us to some place that he didn't disclose. We reached a place that looked like an unused old building from outside. After going in we discovered its a large open air theatre "Rabindra Rangshala".
Conceived and created by Mr Nehru in early 1960s it has a seating capacity of 8000-10000 spectators. It has the 100 x 68 ft. stage that could be modified in three different dimensions proportionate to the needs of the performance. The make-up rooms, green- rooms, costume rooms, rehearsal rooms and workshop for performances flank the stage on both.

But all this is past. Its deserted now. All we could see now was a care taker Chaturvedi ji, some wild Jackals and lots of pigeons. It is in a deplorable condition. Such a huge construction now in ruins. It has hardly witnessed 1 or 2 events since its inception.

The Ridge invaded

We proceeded further to the main attraction of the day. Here a peacock scans the clouds from its vantage point on a tree while an owl hunts for game amongst the thick, thorny shrubs; The ground is golden and the earth wet. "Delhi Ridge" plays host to many such magical moments.
It's a northern extension of ancient Aravalli Range some 1500 million years old (compared to just 50 million for the Himalaya). The Delhi ridge is said to be the green lungs for the city. Its divided into four parts... The part we visited is the central ridge that stretches from south of Sadar Bazaar to Dhaula Kuan. It extends over 864 hectares. Others include Old Delhi (Northern Ridge), Mehrauli (South central Ridge) and Tughlaqabad (Southern Ridge). The area inhibits an astonishing variety of wildlife, including 120 species of plants, 100 species of birds, 25 species of mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and an innumerable species of arthropods.

We were lucky enough to get glimpse of good variety of birds and butterflies; The reptiles were hibernating; And rest of the species... some mammals, amphibians and arthropods were keenly watching us from somewhere but not giving us the chance to spot them.

At first we could hear faint sounds of the city life but after going further deep, the silence of the place made us forget that we are in the heart of a city. All we could hear was chirping of birds and peacocks screaming at times and that's it. The sight of golden ground covered with shrubs was amazing. Sounds, scent and sight of that place made it magical. Its was that magic only that made us walk more than 15 kilomters at a stretch. Another motivation was Mr Gupta. He is 60+ walking ahead of us, lost in nature. Twice I called him out to stop for a while to rest but he seemed to be so lost that he missed it both the times. So I too decided to get lost in the divine nature.

And back to the city

The sounds of city life made us realize that we are hitting the boundry. We made our exit at a place where some young boys were cutting grass for their cattle. Their curious eyes were asking us what were we doing deep inside there... a place that was perhaps the end of the world for them.
And there we saw crowds, buildings... honking, noises... polybags, stinking garbage... cars, traffic... oops we were back to the city.

 P.S. - Would love to get lovely comments from lovely people reading this :)

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Okhla Bird Sanctuary

It was a beautiful Sunday morning and the plan was to go to Okhla bird sanctuary. The time we decided was 5 am in the morning. All but one were game for it. Nabonita, the lazy one in the lot, wanted to start little late, but we had the majority, so started at 5am. Four of us me, Ani, Dipanjan and Nabonita had made this plan a night before while having coffee on the terrace. Alarms were set and batteries for cameras - A Nikon D 60 and a canon (not sure of the model) put on charging. All ready in jeans n tees n sneakers with cameras ready to shot birds, butterflies, insects and/ or whatever interesting we find on the way or on the spot.

Before reaching, we had some apprehensions about the place as never heard much about it, but all gone after reaching. It was a beautiful, peaceful place where only chirping of birds could be heard.

Sad part was the construction for Mayawati's park going on one side of it. I wonder how can we disturb a place like this for something so stupid.

Some facts about the place:

It is just behind the Kalindi Kunj on Delhi side and just across the main road between NOIDA and Mayur Vihar to the south of Noida Toll Bridge.
Over Three hundred species of birds can be spotted here. The spot is good for birding throughout the year, though best season is during September-March for Winter Migratory Birds.


Had a great time. Our heart fully satisfied but tummy empty. So thought of bothering a Journalist friend of Ani on the way, who might have slept at around 2am because of her odd shift timings. She has shifted recently to this flat of hers and we are going for the first time to her with 2 more guests whom she does not know at all.

Anyways, she greeted us with her beautiful smile inspite of us waking her up from sound sleep at around 7am on a Sunday morning. We were served nice breakfast – tea and poha (a different version though from what I knew till now) and it was really really tasty. Dont know if it was the taste or our grumbling tummies ;)

Thanks Pratigya for a warm welcome and a tasty breakfast!

And that's how we started our Sunday. The rest of the day was spent uploading pics on orkut and fb.

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Kanatal... naaa... Masrana

Its been 6 months we haven't traveled. OMG!!!

Getting ready...

Getting a Friday off. It has to be a trip somewhere. Just a few phone calls to check on the people interested. So we have Agni, Manas, Anirban and me traveling to Kanatal. Have checked this location on the net and found it interesting. A few pictures of the place and the route map is all that we have. As always our house was the meeting point on Thursday night. I quickly prepared dinner after coming back from the office. And then started packing and waiting for all to come. Everyone reached at around 10pm. We had dinner that was laid down an hour ago. Agni offered to wash utensils... and I happily agreed :).

We slept early, at around 12pm ;), just because we had to start early in the morning. Anirban had all the plans to make us wake the whole night. He had brought 3 movies to watch that night.

The alarm was set for 4AM. And as usual we did not delay at all. We all were up by 4.15am and started off at 5. I love to travel in mornings... fresh air, rising sun... and passing through villages you can see people starting their day... Cleaning their houses and shops, doing prayers, some taking bath at the roadside hand pumps. A good view!

On the way...
I started feeling hungry but there were no shops offering breakfast that early. The only option was to have tea with biscuits that I refused. Wanted to have nice garmagaram dhaba wala breakfast. So we kept going on and on till we found a dhaba offering aaloo pyaj ke paranthe with lot of butter on it :). Over the breakfast we had a round of discussion on whether we really wanna go to Kanatal that no one of us has ever visited or heard about or do we change our destination. And the decision is - let it be - we will go towards Kanatal and stop on the way if we find any interesting place.

The journey was good except for a few traffic jams. Highway in such a bad shape... possible only in UP. Reached Dehradoon at around 2PM. Had nice dhaba lunch, got fresh and started again. Till here Anirban was driving. I donno why guys can never trust ladies driving. I was not allowed to drive even a single stretch :(. Now the driving is taken over by Agni, a trusted one to drive on hilly roads. He only drove us to Renukaji last August in bad weather with lots of land slides on the way.

Wowww...
We took the road towards Dhanaulti as was given in the road map. The view of snow covered peaks was amazing!

 After going a little further, we saw a hut on top of one of the hills. And there was a beautiful drive way to that with flowers planted on both sides. We couldn't resist stopping there and checking it out. To our delight it was an inn and we could actually stay there :). Now the question was if we can afford it. Anirban and Agni went to talk to the owners of the place. They came back with the information that it has just been started by a couple who are settled here from some 4 yrs now. And since they have just started and we are their first customers we can get good discount. After some calculations and analysing other options with costs it seemed to be the best option. They were offering to stay there in Rs5000 for 2 nights and 3 days with home cooked meals. Not a bad deal at all...considering it will be shared amongst 4 people. :)

Had a cup of hot tea with the host couple. They had so much to talk about. We had discussion on village people, their resistance to change for good, about jungles being cut, bad civic sense of Indians... laid back attitude of government officials.. How they decided to retire early from their corporate jobs and settle in this remote place, from where they got the idea of starting an Inn... and much more. Never have covered so many topics in such a less time.

Retired early after nice dinner to wake up early in the morning for an exciting day. Got good idea of the places around from the couple. After getting their reviews of the places around, dropped the idea to visit Kanatal or Dhanaulti and planned to visit a nearby village. A nice drive with forests and a river on the way :). Had a peaceful day - woods, water, villagers, cows, local food... different experience altogether.

Next morning we were all game to go for a morning walk to the woods nearby. Complete silence interrupted by chirping of birds, sounds of insects, and hustle of dry leaves at times and of course our foot steps.

The best I liked were the trees full of red flowers.

Then was the time to say good bye to the wonderful place... but with a promise to ourselves of coming here again. Enjoyed the way back. The nice couple told us about an alternate way to Delhi that has nature's beauty, is shorter and has less traffic. It was the way along a water canal. One side it was canal and the other side villages and fields.

We also visited Sahasra dhara on the way back. It is believed that taking bath in this water body rid you of all skin diseases. I had a good unintentional bath there. I was trying to cross through the water leading the whole group...walking confidently on rocks, that I failed to notice were slippery too. Would have hit my head hard on a big rock had I been an inch here and there. I was luckily enough to have enjoyed that dip without hurting myself. And even my mobile survived that dip ;)

An amazing trip it was!!!

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My home town

This time I thought I would not write - Its just a visit to my home town. But yesterday one of the friends asked - "didn't see the update of your Himachal visit on your blog?" Hmm so people do look forward to my write ups... :-) So here's the post on my Himachal visit.


This one is the longest of all our trips till now. We have Friday and Monday attached to the weekend. For those who don't know where my home town is - its Palampur, in Himachal Pradesh. Awesome place, You will get to know that reading through this post. Started at 4pm as decided without any delays. We were 5 of us - Anirban, Agni, Dhanjoy, Kumkum and I. You already know Agni. Let me tell you a bit about Dhanajoy and Kumkum. Dhananjoy a good old friend of Anirban. Helpful in any kind of emergencies, love Anirban like a brother. But he does not socialize much and does not travel frequently as we and Agni do, due to which he has not got flexible and tough as we are...mmm I think I have not made myself quite clear...u'll get to know.. read on.. :)

The journey...
The journey was quite interesting. None of us knew the way. I know its my home town but never drove down myself, so how am I supposed to know the right and left turns. Only thing I knew was the names of the places that come on the way. Till Chandigarh it was ok. We reached Chandigarh at around 10.30pm. Stayed with some distant relatives of mine, at night. And started at 7 in the morning. But don't ask me what happened after that. Since all of them have been teasing me for the fact I didn't know the way, I refused to tell them even the names of the places on the way. Let them find it out on their own. FYI Palampur is not that big a city that people would know the way. So asking the way to palampur directly wouldn't help. You need to know the places on the way. After Una we had to go to "Chintpurni", Ani and gang didn't remember the exact name of the place. So instead of Chintpurni they go and ask an elderly person how do we go to "Chintapuram"... I was a quiet observer... and enjoyed the moment fully...The expressions of the old man... hahaha...that was fun. I couldn't stop laughing. Reached Palampur at around 5pm, without much of my help...right Agni? That U turn was perfect ;)

Holi in Himachal...
The day we reached was Holi. There is the tradition of "Jhanki", tried a lot to get an appropriate English word for it but the exact feeling didn't come, the options I could think of were procession, fiesta, Carnival, Cavalcade and Convoy, thanks to Shuchi for helping. Language experts out there please suggest which is the nearest. So we all decided not to rest but to go out and be the part of celebrations. During the festival, locals come dressed in their best clothes and dance and sing joyously. They carry Gods dressed in finery, which are placed in colorful palanquins. It was fun more so because I was being a part of it after may be 15 years and others never saw it before, so was exciting for them, at least I would like to believe that :). After a tiring day of 9-10hrs of journey and the celebrations finally we got to rest at around 10pm. What a day it was!

Mera Ghar...

Morning...Good morning...we all woke up early to enjoy the quiet atmosphere, chilled air, sound of chirping birds and a beautiful sun rise.

Thats my Palampur :) After a stroll around..in the garden, and the railway track nearby had garma garam home made aaloo paranthas with aam ka aachar and Dahi...yummm. Then had a small meeting to decide where to go. This time I gave strict instruction to papa to take me to some place I have not seen before...tough for him I thought but he came up with so many places, thats why he is my favorite. Love you Papa.

Billing, a gliding site...

So we are going to Billing - Billing is a beautiful little place in Himachal, which is considered to be one of the best gliding sites in the world. Located at an altitude of 8, 500 feet in Kangra valley, Billing is famous for hang-gliding. On the way we visited a monastery as well. Would not write much about the place Pictures speak, will add a few more later :) It was awesome! Simply Divine! While going back it started raining. Wowwww...... :) Also visited my birth place Baijnath on the way back.

 

Khud...

Next day first half was spent in a "khud" playing in water and after lunch we went to "Jakhni Mata". A small temple at the top of a hill. You can get beautiful view of Palampur and nearby villages from there. On the way back visited some old friends. I was treating all for Dinner as my B'day's approaching.

By the way Agni you should not have broken that "Drift Wood". I mean it ;)

Ohhh....we are going back the next day. Didn't even realize the visit's already over. We would be traveling the whole Monday. No break journey. Agni has accepted to drive the whole day, without breaks literally. This time he himself got the directions from papa, no help required from Shailza. So here we gooooooo................ooops....flat tyre. Just after an hour's journey got a flat tyre. The 3 men, is it?...mmm just one actually, worked hard to get it fixed. Stopped at one other place to have something, which was a samosa each.


Tomorrow is my B'day. Reminded them all to get a surprise cake and gifts for me :) and they did! actually....reached home at 9pm. Had dinner and then party time at 12am....yay its my B'day!


Then Agni starts with full force...Dhananjoy wants him to stop for Lunch...he goes on...Kumkum wants him to stop to get fresh...he goes on...and he goes on and on and on....till its 5 in the evening :) Ani and me as usual quiet observers...flexible can adjust to any situation types. Finally he stops at a place, that apparently Dhanu and Kum kum didn't like.They refuse to take anything...we had burgers. Finally touched Delhi at 7.00pm what Agni anticipated when we started.

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Rishikesh and Shivpuri this time!

It started with a phone call on Friday afternoon from Anirban. "Do we have any important task to be completed this weekend".. ..... "nothing very important, usual household stuff to be done" I answered. "So here's the plan for the weekend - we are leaving for Rishikesh and Shivpuri Friday evening. I want you to come little early so that we can start on time" he added. It was Thomas's farewell on Friday and I did not want to miss that. So no way I could leave early, But I managed to take the first cab, told the driver to make it fast, taking risk but better than angry husband. I managed to reach by 7.15pm.

Anirban with his friends, Agni and Pratigyan, was waiting for me all packed up. We were going by Agni's car, an antique piece. He had been busy getting car serviced the whole morning. I hope we reach back safe and sound. Oh ya we did and that's why I am writing this blog. Agni, please don't underestimate your pyari Maruti.

A quick intro of people we were going with:
Agni - A business man, has a super sense of Humor, down to earth person and fun to be with.
Pratigyan - TOI journalist, who is a good friend and agreed to come for a trip after so long. May be her first and the last trip with us. Not because she does not want to come with us but because she is too busy for a trip.
Just FYI Pritigyan and Agni do not know each other.

We decided to stay at Haridwar the Friday night, so that we can go visit Haridwar early morning. But the main reason behind was - it is easier to get Hotels at night, actually late mid night, in Haridwar than in Rishikesh. Took 2 rooms one for Guys other for Gals.

We girls decided to get up early in the morning and go to the ghat and enjoy Aarti. We put the alarm on for 5.00am and went to sleep at around 1.00AM. Though we could not make it to the aarti but could hear the bells ringing at distance. Everyone got up at around 8.00, had chhole puri and roamed around at the Ghat. I liked it in the morning. After saying welcome hello to Ganga ji we started for Shivpuri at around 11.00am.


Though it was too hot with bright sun above our heads, it could not stop us from enjoying. Had to go down the hill, would we call it a hill, may be, well... a small one, the guys were worried about us girls....and look at them now...we are already down and they are still struggling. Hehehe...Girls are always first u c.

We did bird watching and rafting... It was great fun.

Spent the day there and came back to Rishikesh late evening. Agni helped us find a Hotel. Probably the one he stayed at when he came the last time. It was very nice. Clean, perfect location and very nominal. The only thing we didn't like about it was that it does not have a restaurant and one has to go out to take meals. So after relaxing for a while we went out for Dinner. Aaloo gobhi, Dal fry and garama garam tadoor ki roti. For me it is heaven, but for others ...hahaha...what to say, they all kept complaining about the food. No non veg stuff available.

The night was cool. Sound of flowing water, bells ringing at distance, some recorded chants playing somewhere near by...divine feeling :) Apparently, the ambiance is the reason why we have so many foreigners around. More than locals or Indian tourists we had foreigners here. Dressed in Indian attire and trying to speak Hindi, they seem to be more cultured, Indian cultured, than most of "us". They would take pride saying "Namaste" instead of hello and "Dhanyawaad" in place of Thank you.

Before we could even start craving for tea, Ani went out for early morning walk and came with tea for all of us. So sweet of him :)


Visited Rishikesh the whole morning. Laxman jhoola, Ram jhoola, fed fish.... and started our back journey at around 12.00pm. Had lunch at Haridwar.



After having lunch we all were curious to know how much did this trip cost us. A thing I wanna mention here is the way we maintain the finance on our trips. 1 person takes the charge of spending everywhere and by the end of the trip the total expense would be divided by the no. of people. Ani had taken the responsibility this time. And guess what! Including everything, travel, accommodation and food, it came to Rs. 900 per head. Wow Ani you have managed it so well :)

Journey back was even more enjoyable. took lots of pictures of sun set. And listened to Kishore da :)


Looking forward to more such trips. Hey those of you who are thinking how did we manage that, will have to come with us on the next trip.


Comments/ feedback's welcome...Will create a feedback survey else and send u the link ;)

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