June 25, 2010

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I had been to Delhi before. But I think I was naive then, not to notice the shortcomings of this city. Today we went on the customary one day trip of Delhi.

Delhi is fucking hot and boring. Other than the wonderful Delhi metro [which is easily the best metro in India as of today], I liked nothing here.The whole city looks like being repaired for the upcoming Commonwealth games what with many of the monuments closed or being renovated [India gate, Akshardham ...]. And the rest half of the roads have blockades courtesy Delhi Metro.

- I observed seperate lanes for public transport buses and cars on some busy roads, which is appreciable.
- And only the roads leading to and around the Rashtrpati Bhavan seemed good to me.
- Every second road was named [either after or before] Nehru, Rajiv or Indira.


A great snap at Indira Gandhi Memorial


An interesting signboard at TeenMurthi Bhavan


India Gate


Another signboard that indicates the seperate lanes for buses, I was talking about


D

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June 24, 2010

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We had our last breakfast at the Wildflower hall and headed back [by road this time] to Kalka. We vouched we would go back there may be after a decade just to relive the magical time we had, once again in restrospect.

The lunch at a small dhabha enroute felt was good. It was proper desi style food and we enjoyed it after some serious tablecloth type food in the Wildflower Hall.

Once we were in the train from Kalka to Delhi, we were welcomed back to the real world. Lots of kids doing lots of noise and jumping around you always is irritating and this time was no different.

And Delhi sucks bigtime. It started at the airport, then the railway station [even today] and the autowallahs/taxiwalas are the same all over India. A pestering lot, they are.

Me in the morning


S enjoys her 'chai'


Two empty glasses told a tale


One of the local fruit vendors seen on our way down to Kalka


D

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June 23, 2010

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The day started lazily for us. After all of that walking the day before, we were a bit tired and we had a lazy breakfast just soaking in the clear skies and the far off views the nature could offer. We took a stroll on the perfectly manicured lawns, the drip irrigated flower gardens and calm serene walkways the property had to offer. Since it was quite sunny unlike the day before, at about halfpast noon we felt ourselves thriving for some more fun and frolic.

We headed back to the activities desk and could quickly plan a three tour mountain-biking trip. It was called “The Water sanctuary trail” in the sanctuary that surrounded the property on three sides. We swiftly reached the sanctuary and were biking in the pristine pine cedar forests. The views of the surrounding forest and the mountains that the trail offered were awesome and probably the second best out of the whole trip, only next to the Himalayan views.

The biking was much more tiring than anything else on the trip, but we felt good [since we hardly do anything so much physical here] and biked our way up with small breaks in between to the sanctuary reservoir. We could see the source of water [for Shimla town] flowing past us and we relaxed a bit and sipped some Tetrapak’s there. [Even though I worked on their project, only at this moment I understood where Tetrapak’s fitted in, in one’s life] Our guide Sanjay was friendly had much to say about his experiences and the locals there.

The trip back to the entrance was much easier since our bodies had warmed up by that time and I could even try and succeed to click a couple of Raavan inspired shots with stones freefalling into the valley. We could also spot some locals who were there to collect some veggies they used for local pickles. I heard from our guide that the locals walk or cycle their way daily through this 16km to and fro stretch, which was quite normal in their day to day routine.

For the first time any such physical activity was in fact making me feel good since it was so outdoor and can be termed really as adventurous. I say this because the gear bikes weren’t easy on us and the path was quite narrow with one side always inviting us into a 200 meter deep valley. All we had to do was skip once on the skiddy track.

We headed back to the hotel almost half dead and after a light snack crashed off for a good three hours. Late in the evening S pampered herself for an Earth Spa therapy. I went back to my usual ways of twitter verse [It was the first time in my twitter life where I didn’t login for 4 days] and then I headed to the Jacuzzi and we settled for an in-room dining service, followed by a hard earned and a long night’s sleep.

Tomorrow we leave for Kalka from Shimla by road and proceed to Delhi from thereon by train for a 4 day stay before flying back home.

PS: The hotel guys had some varied events planned for the guests, but it’s a pity we couldn’t make ourselves available for any of them. They had an exclusive afternoon Sunday high tea on their sprawling gardens the day we arrived. Then a couple of days later, they had a talk on the flora and fauna [that surrounds the property] by a renowned naturalist. Today they had arranged for a Khawwali & Ghazal night for the resident guests. The only thing I didn’t like was the food that was served to us. Except like for a couple of dishes, [which I requested chef on my own] the menu offered food was quite boring, the breakfast buffets being the exception.

I could see that around 90% of the guests were aged around 60. I wonder why.

Loved these walkways all over the resort


That's me


S bikes through her way down


That's me again biking


A Raavan inspired shot


D

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June 22, 2010

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Today was the easily the best day of the whole trip. The day started with a bang. While we were having our breakfast it rained. Once it stopped, the whole forest and the surrounding mountains looked like they just had a cleansing bath. The clouds moved past below us, beneath us as we had our morning coffee with mist.

We had a busy day. We started off by visiting the state run horticultural gardens which had around 100 different kinds of flora and fauna. S was again excited like a kid clicking snaps, asking the local guys about the plants and observing all the different flowers and fruits they had there. We could see bunches of apples hanging around trees, some even had fallen along the path. It was a nice sight for a change than what we see [apples neatly displayed and all] in our air conditioned super market chains.

We then proceeded to Shimla, the summer capital of the British raj. The drive was picturesque, but the town was shoddy to say the least. People were all over the place and the cars were parked left, right and centre. It resembled our very own old city. We headed to the Jaku temple there where people carry police lathi look-alike sticks to keep off the monkeys. The steepest road up there was worth the traffic jams we faced whilst on our way. The temple was of Lord Hanuman’s and they were building a new huge murthi of around 250 feet of Lord Hanuman which could be seen even from the Mall road in Shimla.

Once in the temple, I could see one of the best sights of my life. It rained. It wasn’t just normal rain but was a hailstone rain. For the very first time I saw pebbles of ice pelted down heavily along within the downpour which was a sight in itself. At that very moment I felt even if given a chance, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in this world other than where I was.

We then headed to the town where I could literally see the town being covered by the clouds slowly. It looked like one of those scenes straight out of one of those Roland Emmerich movies. Even though it wasn’t destructive in any way, I loved the way the whole town was masked off by the white clouds in a couple of minutes. We had a bad lunch in Shimla and headed to some shopping. We picked up some shawls and did all the touristy stuff for the rest of the day: Took the road to the Ridge, Snacked at the Indian Coffee House and were amazed to see a Barista and a Nike showroom there.

We were tired and since it was a No-vehicle zone, we headed back downhill walking to The Cecil where our car was waiting to take us back. It was probably the best decision by us to head towards the Cecil instead of the way we reached The Mall through a shoddy lift.

I remember it as it happened. S was having her Bhutti and I was gazing aimlessly. Suddenly I could spot it. There it was, the sight that lured me to do this trip. The sun was shining bright and the whole of the Mighty Himalayas was there to see. I was stunned. We were lucky. We just stood there staring for a good five minutes to just soak it in and frame it in our minds. Since two days I was waiting for this view and there it was in all its glory. I was in awe of it and all through our way back to the resort from Shimla, the great Himalayan view braced upon us. After such a hailstone rainy day, it was just about impossible and implausible to even dream of the Himalayan views. But that’s nature for you. From where we were till the whole way up to Himalayas, the sun was shining bright offering unbelievable views of the snow clad mountain range.

By the time we reached the resort it was well half past seven, but the sun wasn’t retired for the day. We rushed to the restaurant view point and we could see the snow clad Himalayas before us. We even managed to click a couple of great snaps. The icing on the cake was when we reached our room, opened the windows, we had an even better view.

I felt only one thing then: Life is good

The sun finally set and we went back to the better things money could buy you and enjoyed a relaxing Jacuzzi steam bath. I opted for the usual suspects: A single malt and S settled for a Mango mint drink which was quite minty. We winded up the day with an in-room dinner.

PS : All through the day it rained cats and dogs and the same day I experienced hailstone rain two more times.

Breakfast with rain


Naldehra golf course seen on our way


A bunch of apples


A local policewoman helps clear the traffic on our way upto Jaku temple


Clouds covering Shimla


A dog whizzes past my camera lens in the hailstone rain


The Mighty Himalayas


D

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June 21, 2010

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The day started with a good breakfast and since the sky was clear, we could have a better view than the day before. Then we headed to the white river rafting which was overall a different experience. We drove for a good 150 minutes to reach the starting point of the rafting stretch. The rafting guide was cool and helped us to dress up for the activity. Once done, in that rafting gear we both looked kid like and funny. There was a small bridge which we crossed and did silly 10 minute training before we got into serious rafting. The rafting in itself was a bit tame I thought. May be because the river flow was calm and the stretch was exclusive to the resident guests of only the Wildflower hall.

We were accompanied by a one man rescue team who was on his own raft and was the only guy having fun. Where ever he went, he caught all the tides and it was fun to see him. At least we could experience a couple of level 3 tides which were thrilling and gave that adrenaline rush until they lasted. At the end of the rafting trip [which was a place called Tattapani] we could even spot a couple of hot sulphur springs.

The best part was the picnic lunch which was arranged on a secluded river shore in between the rafting trip. It was all so well planned and within minutes they set us up a great dining table with a packed lunch. I had a chilled beer there and it felt so good under the hot sun. Since it was exclusive, even the packed lunch tasted good though it was a bit stale. Like they say, it’s the idea that works and not the content.

We went back to the hotel room and had some lunch in the room [which by the way had a great view] and in the evening we headed to a 4 km nature walk in the woods. It was called “The Wild Strawberry Trail”. The serene plush protected area of the forest was so good. The air was so fresh and pure it was worth the tiring walk.

There was a lot of flora and fauna which S loved. She went on clicking snaps happily of whatever she could figure out. On our way back we could also see spot a deer running around the forest, a first in my life [of course, outside of zoos]. Since the trail starts from the backyard of the property and there wasn’t any guide, there was no one to disturb us other than the chirping of the birds. S could manage around 200 snaps of different wild flowers, strawberries, Himalayan raspberries and many more. No wonder they named the resort as it sounds now.

We couldn’t do the Jacuzzi today but did the customary: A great dinner followed by a great dessert.

Breakfast


A great view of river Sutlej on our way down to the rafting stretch


You can see the one-man rescue fellow far ahead from our raft


The rafting guys set up the picnic lunch for us on the rivershore



The Wild Strawberry Trail


D

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June 20, 2010

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We could just about manage to catch the meter gauge toy train to Shimla. With all that travelling and horrors of the New Delhi railway station, we were so tired and were in no mood to enjoy the picturesque train ride. The bedbugs in the room at Kalka didn’t help our cause either.

But soon things changed, and we were really enjoying the scenery around. The views were so breathtaking that whatever little doubts we had about this train journey being overrated, they all were wiped off. The route, the train and the tunnels they were all so good and this journey is very much enjoyable at the very least. I can say this safely now. We could click some great snaps all thorough our journey and after Barog station settled down for a nice conversation with a couple of Gujju chartered accountants [No wonder there, aren’t they all CA’s?] who seemed to know just about everything under the sun.

Time passed by and we found ourselves in a chauffeur driven car on our way to the Wildflower Hall. As it was written widely and described/projected, the place really looked cool even at the first view. They had a cute little traffic clearing system to facilitate the moving vehicles as it was a quite steep way in to the resort from the entrance. The check in formalities were quick and we found ourselves in the mountain facing king sized bed equipped room within 10 minutes.

We had a great lunch at their restaurant which offered great views [USP of their property]. The view was good but wasn’t breathtaking as the reviews said [May be because of the clouds?]. But there was one more thing which was in fact unbelievable. The Jacuzzi that is, which we experienced later in the evening. The weather was freezing cold. There was a chill in the air, but the Jacuzzi was very well maintained and had to offer undoubtedly the best view of the property. The water in the Jacuzzi was set to 40 degrees which was just right to soak in.

So there I was sipping choicest single malt with the view of beautiful sunset and all this in a great Jacuzzi.We followed it up with what else?

Yes, a great candle lit romantic dinner with another view to die for.

The Jacuzzi


A view from our room in the afternoon


The Kalka-Shimla toy train


One of such great views on our toy train ride


D

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June 19, 2010

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So, we were off finally. The flight was on time and the Hyderabad airport felt so good. Surely the best domestic airport we have in India without any doubt. I could even browse for an hour free of cost courtesy free WIFI connectivity hamper from Tata guys.

Once we reached Delhi airport the horrors started. We were en route to Kalka from Delhi on Kalka Shatabdhi express where the next day we had to catch the early morning Kalka-Shimla toy train. Since we had more than a couple of hours to kill, we had some decent enough food at the domestic airport. After that when I coolly walk to the Meru & Easy cabs counters located in the airport, they say they don’t have any cabs. And the government run prepaid taxi counter line was like a kilometer long. There we were in the India’s capital city’s domestic airport waiting for a taxi for almost 2 hours. Finally, we could get one and hopped into it only to revisit the horrors of traffic jams we experience now-a-days only in Bangalore. Finally after sobbing a lot, we reached the railway station a good one hour earlier to the scheduled departure.

The railway station of New Delhi is easily the worst one I have seen in my whole life. I hate to say this, but after seeing the pathetic condition of New Delhi railway station I understood why we are still called a third world country. I could see a couple of foreigners feeling so uptight seeing the surroundings. I felt like collecting some money from all of those likeminded travelers [including me] who were bearing that station and donating the money to the local authorities so that they can do something about it. At the very least, they could clean the platform once in a week.

Finally the train came which was a relief and we reached Kalka at around 10 pm. I could manage a just about manageable room to rest for the night and we grabbed a quick bite before crashing off.

Here is the stuff I was packing up yesterday.



D

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Yay

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Yay!

Managed myself yet again to survive the office these many days. I wonder how I can do a job day in day out without getting amused.

Work is something which I do between weekends. And life is something which goes on between these beautiful holidays with S. So am off to another blissful 10 day holiday starting tomorrow.

Dad retires on 30th of this month. Will write a peice on this soon. Coming back to my life after this holiday, we have both of our birthdays to celebrate spaced out evenly in August. Also looking forward to attending one of my good friend’s marriage in early September. Will be catching up with old pals there.

I don’t know what else is on raise in my life but the holiday count surely is, not that I am complaining!!!

I am repeating what I said on the verge of my last official annual holiday. [not including short 3-4 day breaks] I have never taken a 14 day break ever in my life. Yes! I am off to a looong vacation.

I feel like in the coming years, I might/must end up taking two of such holidays a year!!!

PS: We are headed to The Wildflower Hall...

D

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