Little things about Dhanaulti

THE SURKANDA FREEZE

You would probably not believe me if I tell you that I could not feel my feet and palms when I finally made it to Surkanda. It was about to rain and I was getting a bit tense, even more so because apart from us, there was no one else on the way up and only two solemn looking pandits greeted us. The sky was the color of the slate that I used to write on, as a child. Yes it would rain but what have travellers done if they do not have photos as documents to prove that they have been there? So the photo rampage happened while my bare feet took the form of dead feet. It was around 5 degrees and there was a howling wind which seemed to move swiftly in between the mountains. We made it back to the base, hurriedly got into our cab, and raced back to the guest house.

NAPPING IN ALOO KHET

When we were strolling near Aloo khet, all of us went off in all directions. I don’t know what they did but I just lay down on my back as the sun came up, warming my face and hair and all of it felt so light. A dear friend of mine had prepared a playlist for me before this trip. I put on that playlist and all I saw was just the cleanest of blue skies.

EAT THE TRADITIONAL WAY

Nothing beats tea and pakodas in the cold dampness of the hills. However, my heart is colder than most so I decided that some rum won’t do any harm. After making enquiries I finaly got my hands on a bottle. Now I was not very happy with the brand but boy! I sure warmed up. I could not help smiling from ear to ear about how magical nights were in the mountains. A fresh and steaming dinner of a traditional Garhwali dish with rotis warmed up our bellies and it wasn’t long before we were sleeping like logs. You must not miss the freshly prepared Garhwali delicacies which make the entire travel experience even better.

THE FURBALLS

We had decided that we would leave later in the day, for Landour. But before that I thought of going back to the Aloo khet area. Another element that I love in the mountains, are the furry little friends that come snooping around out of thin air. There were two of them, and one got particularly attached to me. The moment I stopped petting him, he would start scratching me with his muddy paws.

TRANSIT AT MUSSOURIE

We again took another trail that did not look like people walked on it often. We were brisk walking because we had to check out and catch the 11 o’clock bus. We had almost missed it but not quite. We decided to spend our time doing random stuff in Landour till 6 o’clock in the evening when a local bus would take us back to Dehradun from where we had to board a state bus to Delhi.

What do you do on the mountains? You walk. So we walked through the Mall road, through Sisters bazaar, moving up to Char Dukaan, further till Lal Tibba, and then trotting down again. If you are ever in Landour, never forget to grab something at Doma’s Inn. They have the most intricate and beautiful interiors ever and great Tibetan food. They get brownie points for being located just adjacent to Mr. Bond’s house.

If you want to take an off from your mundane complains about life—

A smooth bus ride to Dhanaulti is what I prescribe.