From Palampur to Mandi I had to leave early from Chachian in order to reach Mandi before sunset. The 110 kms travel took a long time. A private bus that had come from Dharamshala took 45 minutes to reach Palampur bus stand. It stopped at every other corner for passengers. The bus that I took … [Read more…]
The Dhauladhar range looked brilliant in the clear, morning sky. However, the ground near me didn’t. I had a hard time sleeping in the ruckus made by the marriage party. When I woke up, the place was in a mess. A lot of disposable plates, plastic glasses, remains of fireworks and empty liquor bottles were … [Read more…]
A ride on Kangra Valley Railway One of the reasons to take a detour to Kangra was to ride the narrow gauge train. My stay at Kangra in an abysmal hotel was mildly offset by my visit to the Kangra Fort. According to the manager of Hotel Yatriki, I should have also visited Chamunda Devi … [Read more…]
Bidding Dharamshala goodbye My four days at Dharamshala was a very pleasing and memorable experience. I had a chat with Nandy (the guy with whom I did the North-East ’14 trip and the Vietnam ’15 trip). He had been to the place before and mentioned that he could stay there for weeks and not feel … [Read more…]
It had rained quite heavily last night. In fact, it was raining cats and dogs at 8:00 am. The rain subsided at around 11:00 am. I had a quick lunch (or brunch) and decided to cover the vicinity of McLeod Ganj on foot. A small walk to Bhaksunag waterfalls Bhaksunag waterfall is a very short … [Read more…]
Ways to do the Triund trek There are two options for trekkers. A person may chose to do a day trip. This would require some bit of fitness to cover 20 km to and fro in one go. The other option is to get there, hire a tent and spend a night before descending the … [Read more…]
Morning stroll through McLeod Ganj Market Dharamshala market doesn’t wake up before 10:30 am. I, on the other hand, was woken up by a call from my friend at 7:30 in the morning. After freshening up, I went out into McLeod Ganj Market, which is figuratively only a stone’s throw away from my temporary residence … [Read more…]
Breakfast at Dalhousie Bus Stop I had already decided that I would not extend my stay in Dalhousie. The town is designed to accommodate honeymooning couples and families on a leisure trip (and the parents of DPS students and the army guys). I wanted to get to Dharamshala. So, I booked a hotel room online and … [Read more…]
Sanjay, the caretaker and cook at Hotel Megha View, suggested me a route to explore Chamba region. This involved some kind of timed run using the bus system that runs like a clockwork. He explained that the buses are limited and I had to catch buses at certain times else I would be stranded with … [Read more…]
Trainspotting in Pathankot Pathankot Cantonment (PTKC) was foggy when I got down at 7:15 am. The train was late by over an hour and half. This could be one of the circumstances where I was thankful for a delay. Had it dropped me at 5:30 am, I would have been blinded by poor visibility. Waiting rooms at … [Read more…]