One year. It took me exactly one year to finally step out of the world of technology and embrace nature in its purest form. Like a regular IT guy, my life was more or less confined to my laptop and bean bag. The world outside had little or almost no effect on my technologically-superior life. Eat. Sleep. Code. Repeat. That was my life.
I love what I do. But I still wanted to be more than just what I did for work. I always wanted to travel and see what life was on the other side. Then it hit me. Why wait? Why not figure out the other side right now? That's how I started planning my trip.
Without any delay, I took an entire week off from work. After successfully finishing stage one, I proceeded towards stage two – convincing people to join me for my little adventure. However, no one was willing to accompany me. An entire day passed and I was still rolling on my bed, when the idea of going solo hit me.
I never thought I would travel solo. It kind of just… happened. When the time came to book my ticket, I was faced with a big decision: Travel solo or stay home and give up on an experience I had been looking forward to for months. I worried about feeling awkward, or that I would be lonely. I worried about finding accommodation and ordering food. I worried I would probably not make it back.
As it turns out, I shouldn’t have worried. Solo travel has changed my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined or anticipated, and if you take the leap, it’ll change yours too.
Destination: Himachal Pradesh
There was no one sitting next to me on the bus and it was kind-of boring to take this long journey all by myself, so I thought of sitting with someone else. I could see some boys ahead of me so I took the chance of asking them for company. They were from Delhi University, going to Himachal to chill and clearly didn't mind another addition to the group. That's how easily I made friends in just 20 minutes of the journey.
Two hours into the journey, the bus stopped at Haveli in Ambala. We stuffed ourselves with parathas and soon after that, we were good to go. I tried to catch up on some sleep, but the air conditioning was a little too effective. Around 6'o'clock in morning, we reached McLeodganj and now it was even more cold.
We went into the city in search of hotels, but the group of boys wanted to go to Triund directly. I remember thinking, "Why can't we just sleep for sometime? Why not?"
I couldn't convince them to take a hotel and sleep, but I did have them stop for some good breakfast.
Nick's Cafe
As soon as we were done with breakfast, we booked a cab for Triund.
Since the trek to Triund is quite famous, we thought we'll take the cab halfway and then trek all the way up to Triund. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, Triund is a decent weekend getaway in the Himalayas for those looking for a quick Himalayan escape.
I'd never trekked before so I was very excited, but I didn't know that the excitement would be so short lived.
While we were trekking up, it started drizzling. We weren't worried though, and we marched ahead. Then it started to rain cats and dogs. Heavy rainfall, coupled with intense cold winds and absolutely no sign of it ending.
In those extreme weather conditions, going to Triund didn't seem like a very noble idea. It took us 40 minutes to get back to the same place where our cab driver dropped us. A little ahead, we could see a lodge and unanimously decided to stay there.
The rain still hadn't subsided, so after a good round of tea and omelettes, we decided to take a nap.
Finally! After three continuous hours of rain, we could see the sun and it was rejuvenating.
The view from Sagar lodge.
Next morning the group left for Triund and I left for Bhagsu.
Have a look at the pictures for a closer look.
This waterfall is situated at Bhagsu, 2 km from McLeodganj. It lies behind the Bhagsunag Temple.
Found a cafe with no name :)
A pool in the way of Bhagsu Waterfall.
Bite for the evening.
This trip allowed me to become entirely independent, and that was the most liberating feeling in the world. I was the happiest I had been in a very long time. I'm more confident in myself and my ability than ever before, and that's because I took that first chance to make one of my dreams come true and so should you!