So let me tell you my story and how it all started...
I somehow never fell in love with this city Delhi. It had been the most visited place for almost all my trips but this time I had a plan to meet one of my old friend Rajeev and then proceed towards Shimla. Initially I wanted to go to Amritsar but I have decided to go via Shimla. In Delhi I visited "Agrasen ki baoli" - It has a unique kind of Architecture and I was expecting this place to be little isolated so I can capture some good pictures but it was completely Crowded. It has all steps and covered on all 3 sides with a perfect architecture which ends downwards at a well. It's good to visit this place apart from all the regular site seeing places in Delhi. Later that day I went to Chandni chowk and Sarojini market and also went to the famous "Paratha Galli". I'm not a Foodie but I just wanted to taste the local food in Delhi so chose to visit this place. I personally didn't like the parathas here as they were fried in oil instead of Tava so I felt them as poori instead of parathas and the taste was also not that great. So I wouldn't advise visiting this place unless you just want to experience it. We even tried the Yulu Bikes (Electric Motor Bike) that were available from one Metro Station to other. It was fun and very nice initiative.I would love if they operate them even in Hyderabad. Late that night I boarded train to Kalka. Kalka is the station where u get toy train to reach Shimla.
I am a travel freak from Hyderabad and I have been to many trips and treks in India. But somewhere I always felt like I should travel solo.I Booked my to and fro travel from Hyderabad to Delhi by trains. I myself was not sure whether I'll go on this trip or not till the last moment. I said my family the day before I have to leave that I'm travelling solo and they were more concerned now because I never traveled alone and that too it was for little long for around 10 days. Even my friends, colleagues and everyone I know tried to convince me that it's not a good decision to travel alone. Everyone warned me about my safety. I was afraid Myself from the beginning but I seriously wanted to go on this solo trip because I wanted to know ME.I wanted to know how I behave when I'm alone. By profession I'm a software developer but I run a meetup group from Hyderabad and I know that I talk to people but I never knew how good I'm with strangers when I have no known people around me. I wanted to know how it feels alone and I wanted to travel like a local by taking all local buses and mostly by walk. I had no plan in mind except that thought, that I have to go wherever I feel like. To give u a brief about me, most of my earlier trips had a perfect plan which I made it myself and had everything pre booked and I am a person who cannot skip even a single place if it doesn't go according to my planing. So this was completely opposite of my regular trips. I just wanted to go to Amritsar for sure and some places near by. So this was a complete unplanned trip for 10 days.
Finally after all the long thoughts I boarded the train. I packed some books, downloaded some series on Netflix and used all backpacking techniques to fit in my clothes into a backpack. I know I have to carry my luggage all by myself where ever I walk so I made sure everything is needed and also fits into one backpack so it's easy to carry. I boarded the Nizamuddin express at around 11 PM and I don't even know how time had passed. I wantedly booked a side lower so I can gaze out every time I feel like. I didn't even know how that 33 hours even passed. I didn't chat with anyone and I didn't even feel bored. I slept, watched some series, read books and was observing people around me and was watching the passing trees and clouds and suddenly realized I'm in Delhi 😁
Early Morning at around 4.30 I reached Kalka. The station was full of families and couples and it was a bit cold and you can still feel the silence even among that crowd. I was happy n got into a toy train (which is good if you can pre book to avoid the crowd) I have got to my seat but some couple was sitting there and asked me to exchange. I was okay to exchange and I placed my luggage under the chair and got seated beside a guy whose name was Neku. There was one funny incident in train where a Ukraine (Neku fixed her as Ukraine) lady was asked for an exchange and she deny's and asks for a window seat like a kid. It was good to see because we rarely see some foreigner ask for a window seat too. I personally never gave up my window seat anytime in life till today instead I don't let my friends sit and steal it from them all the time 😂
So this toy train takes around 5--6 hrs to reach Shimla. It's just 90+kms covering 102 tunnels, 864 bridges, and 919 stunning curves. This can turn out to be a boring journey until u have someone around you to talk to. I talked to the guy beside me as I felt he was travelling alone too. I asked him his name (Neku) and where he works and stay. So this conversation was good and we played some hindi and punjabi songs in his speakers. We also talked to some other couples around us. They were a gang of 4 and in that one of the couple was celebrating there anniversary. It was fun with them too as they brought us some chana salad on train as there anniversary treat 😋😋
We kept playing some songs and at every station we got down n took some pictures and it was all a good memory. The view from the train is just awesome and the trees, curves, tunnels, the sky and everything kept me engaging along with the new friends I made. Till now it was all just the way I wanted it to be. I was more Happy than ever.
I pre booked a hostel in shimla (Thira Hostel) while i was on my way and it was some 2-3 kms from the railway station and from the famous "Mall Road". Neku already pre booked some guest house kind little far away from my hostel. So we decided to walk as the taxis in shimla cost a lot. We walked all the way and I reached my hostel and he kept walking more to reach his. I was in the living area of hostel and I met 2 girls who were talking about the corona virus and the local shimla travel. I still didn't get the hostel bed so I was waiting n joined there conversation and got to know that a girl was leaving that day from hostel and she is from Arab. And other girl booked the same trip as mine to Kufri on next day. This trip was suggested to me by Neku whom I met in the toy train so I booked it on the way while coming to shimla. So me n neku had planned to cover shimla local that day by meeting at around 1 PM. Since the girl I met in hostel whose name was Jenny also wanted to execute the same plan I asked her to join me n neku.
Thira hostel was clean and less crowded. It was spacious but the living room and the beds are separated from each other. Actually they are on different buildings. So I felt it's less lively compared to other hostels I stayed.
Later that day we visited local shimla. We covered the Ridge,church,the Mall Road, jhaku temple and some cafe. Every place in shimla is near by and can be covered by walk except the Jhaku temple which is the highest point in shimla and the temple has 108 feet Hanuman idol.
After all the local site seeing by foot we were coming down from Jakhu temple when jenny realized that it's snowing. Me n Neku thought that she is gone mad because we were not able to see rain or snow. Immediately it started to snow that we had to laugh at ourselves for not trusting her. We kept on walking and thought to relax in Dada Dadi park and click some good pictures. But the park was closed till we reach and so we went back to Mall road and relaxed in ridge and we were waiting for the church to be decorated with lights.
The church looks amazing in lights and it is like 2 shades one in the morning and one at night.
slowly that night it started to snow a bit where we were able to capture it in videos. And also that night we danced in front of Shimla Church in Mall road. This credit goes to Neku because he was the one to initiate the dance concept on road. It was really fun because I never tried it.
Later we had some dinner in a local Chinese shop. We had to return the food 2-3 times to make him deliver what we need. It was snowing and raining so this was a halt for us to not get completely wet. First time I tried Momos here and yeah it was not that bad as I thought to taste different foods. I also saw some workers having bonfire setup near by street so joined them for fun.
later that night we walked back to our hostels and did stop for shopping in between.
I went back to hostel and the other room mates were playing uno in the living area so I joined them and played for sometime and also talked to them. They were from Karnataka and they are there in shimla for 1 more day and were heading towards Manali. They want to do a bike trip and they are very excited.I guided them with the places I visited and I left for my room because we had a plan to wake up early and go for kufri tour which we pre booked.
We woke up early and realized that it snowed heavily the previous night and the kufri tour was cancelled by the govt.
So we asked Neku to come to our hostel so we can have some food and go back to mall road.
I made some coffee for us and jenny was making some eggs. The hostel guy was not allowing Neku to stay in the living area so he finished his coffee and waited on stairs and me n jenny had some eggs and started back to mall road. We don't even know how we spent the entire day in mall road. It was like we were searching for a museum and then it started snowing heavily then we found some shelter in the cafes near by and then we spent the whole day near by mall road...capturing the snow,danced in snow,walked every where and enjoyed every moment being in shimla. We never felt that we missed snow or kufri...that day really felt like a different side of Shimla when it was all covered in snow. We ended the day with a hot tea from a small stall around the valley. It was an awesome experience for us because we really enjoyed the snow fall and the company of each other. There was smoke coming out from our mouths which never stoped even till the next day and it was all because of the cool temperatures and also we were competing it with the tea vapour and obvious that we always won 😁😂 It was very pleasant and that is the perfect evening I spent in Shimla with my new friends.
Morning around 4 AM me and jenny woke up and was supposed to pack everything and rush to the bus stand to board our bus to Amritsar. This was a random plan but we made sure we booked an hostel and the bus tickets on previous night so its easy for us. We got ready and learnt that there are no taxis and cabs running that day because of heavy snow fall. We tried to use the contacts of some drivers so we can reach the bus stand on time. If we get a transport the bus stand is exactly 30 min drive from Thira shimla. But we had no option except to walk till the old bus stand which was around 40 min walk and from there we were supposed to be picked by a taxi guy who will drop us at new bus stand.
Bus was at 6.45 AM so we started around 5 AM and kept walking. It was very difficult to walk with all the luggage and that too on the roads which are fully covered by snow. The thickness of snow is around more than 3 inches. It was very slippery and very risky. There are no people on road and we were no sure of the directions. We had the Google maps but in those valleys all we found out was to trust people than the maps. Because the Maps always lead us with the longest route. And in that hour with no people around we kept walking and almost at 7.30 AM we reached the old bus stand. It all felt like we were trekking in the early morning to reach the summit. It was very adventurous and finally we took a taxi to new bus stand and the bus left till we reach. In between I tried to contact the bus operator to delay the service but he was not convinced.
Anyway finally after reaching the bus stand we enquired about the buses that were leaving to Chandigarh, since there are no direct buses to Amritsar except the one we missed. We boarded a bus and finally reached Chandigarh and had some lunch and then again took a bus to Amritsar and landed in the a different state - Punjab.
It was a nice feeling in Amritsar seeing all the Punjabi's and then finally we reached our hostel - Go stops Amritsar. It was very nice place with all the colorful decorations and the roof top and the common area. We took a 4 Bed Room and our room mates were a girl and a guy who came to Amritsar from Bangalore for a Project. They were into Architecture and so they visited some places in Chandigarh and were here.After some conversation with them Me and jenny did freshen up and visited the Gurdwara by foot and then we planned a bit for the next day.
The Harmandir Sahib or Golden Temple at nights is the Best. I was very memorized by the look and I simply loved it. Jenny tried some Flavored Milk in the streets near by Gurdwara and also we enjoyed our visit. We almost were travelling the complete day but we both never felt tired. It all felt like magic seeing the Golden Temple. It was my dream to visit this place since I was a kid but never got an opportunity to visit. I am a person who doesn't believe in God but this place felt really very peaceful and calm. We also had our dinner at Langar that Night. At the langar, food is served for free to all the visitors as a devotion. We can also serve at langar if we like to do some seva.
Next day we planned to visit Jallianwala Bagh,Partition Museum and Attari Wagah border.
We Woke up around 8 AM and did freshen up and visited Jallianwala Bagh where we met some kids who came for a school trip. It was really a nice experience to talk to those kids and we captured some good pictures with them and headed towards Partition Museum where we found a place to have some breakfast. We thought to taste some kulcha which is a famous dish in Amritsar.
We then found a Double Decker bus, which we were excited to board. So we enquired and then found out that it's the "Hop on Hop off" bus operated by the govt. Since the bus just departed we were provided with a Tuk Tuk (Kind of Auto) to chase it and board at the next tourist place.
we were dropped at Durgiana Temple. We visited the temple and then boarded the Double Decker bus. We then realized that the entire bus was booked by a group of students for there School Trip. Anyway we paid for the ride so we had no other option than to continue with them. we had some conversations with the guide on the bus and also with the teachers and the Principal who sat along with us. we then visited Qila Gobindgarh - Which is a fort to demonstrate the culture and the history of the place. There was a cultural show for all the visitors and a art gallery to display the traditional culture. We joined the cultural show and also did some Bhangra on stage along with other Visitors. It was really a fun and was my first experience to do something like that in front of all strangers. I also did some shopping for some traditional wall hangings and then we tried cycling which had 2 pedaling. It was such a fun because jenny never rode a bicycle and was very afraid.
Later we visited Punjab State War Heroes Memorial and Museum. It was very huge place and very informative.We also had a 3D Movie show to project about the Soldiers and the regiment of Punjab. Then we covered Shahi Qila which is now a restaurant handled by govt and is just beside the wagah border. It had nice ambiance and delicious food was served. Then we found some tattoo artists who were painting Indian Flag and also some stalls where we can buy some caps and flags. So we made some face painting of Indian Flag and took a cap with a Flag on it. Since Jenny was a Foreign Tourist she had a different entry and i had to go on the different entrance to visit the border Ceremony.
The flag ceremony is conducted by the Pakistan Rangers and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at the Wagah Border 2 hrs before Sunset. It was a different experience for everyone. Indians will be cheering the soldiers with Hindustan Slogans while Pakistanis on the other side will be cheering with there slogans. For me it felt really strange but i liked the dedication and the high spirit of Audience who visited the ceremony. The Flags of the respective countries will be taken down by there respective Soldiers and this ceremony ends.
That Evening after we got into the bus we played some Punjabi songs along with those teachers and danced on the roof top of bus.We enjoyed each others company and we didn't even realize the time. Later while its time to get back to hostel they asked us to join them, even the next day to Sadda Pind - which is a Punjab village tour. So we decided to meet them even the next day.
Next Day we booked our tour to Sadda Pind and went to Gurudwara to do some seva. We enquired about where to cook in Langar and we started to make some Roti's along with a bunch of other people who came to serve. I was trying to make round roti's out of Dough and jenny was making the Dough. It was very nice feeling to serve others. we enjoyed making some 30+ Roti's and then we had to leave langer because we were getting late for the tour.
We then visited Sadda Pind. It was a whole day tour for this place where it was all made to look like a Punjabi Village. We had Bhangra and some live Music shows. We had a Pot making session and Mehendi. There were multiple stalls for Punjabi dresses and shoes where once can buy. There was some stalls where we can taste different Tea where they used jaggery instead of sugar and some stalls to taste Lassi and butter milk. There was camel ride and some houses to display the old Punjabi Musical Instruments, War Swords. There was some Martial Arts, Puppet show and Magic shows. It was a nice experience but this place can be skipped if you are lack of time.Later that Night we were really tired and then headed back to hostel. Next day we had to check out and travel back to Delhi. My initial plan was also to cover Dharamshala but i felt it will be very snowy and also it had some earth quake recently so thought to skip and cover it next time. This Night we actually shared our room with a Chinese guy and since there was some talk about Corona we were very afraid as he was having some cough. Anyway we didn't know that corona was this dangerous then, as this was all in January End. Never thought that i will have this much of time now to finish this blog because of Lock down. Anyway we were safe because nothing happened to both of us.
Next day we started back to Delhi and took the local metro and we relaxed the entire day and even met my friend Rajeev and finally boarded the Train to Hyderabad. Jenny Decided in last minute to come along with me to Hyderabad as she never visited the place. I was not sure of she coming along as i was travelling in a SL and the journey was literally 33 hrs+. Anyway she insisted and she was sure of travelling so i booked her tickets in Tatkal.
We boarded our train and we spent most of the time sleeping, talking about the trip and gazing out.
Finally we landed in Hyderabad and i realized i lost my small bag which had the chargers,books and power banks. we got down in secundrabad and i complained the Police on the lost baggage and then i headed to my place and jenny booked a hostel for her. I had office that day so i guided her on few places to visit and also said one of my friend to take her out to taste hyderabadi biryani. Since i was a Vegetarian and also a non foodie i thought i wouldn't be a good company for her in this.
So this was my complete journey where i have decided to go on a Solo Trip and all my Memories with strangers.
This Trip gave me some new friends, some new experiences and also few tips while i travel. It had been a good decision in my life to learn about ME.
I completely enjoyed my trip except that i really felt bad when i lost my baggage because i was very careful about locking my backpack and left the small bag thinking i need it handy. Entire trip i was very alert and careful but sometimes i feel we just need a hit to be more conscious. Anyway life teaches us many things and this time it taught me to - Just live in this Moment. Memories and People are more important than the objects that are lost. Later i could buy everything that was lost but i could never bring back the time that i spent with all those people who touched my life in this journey.
I almost tried to write everything i remember but i think words can never express what one feel. I still feel it like yesterday and I'm not even sure if i get a chance again to meet all those people i met on this trip. Anyway Life Goes on and we meet many new people all the time. My advise for everyone is - Just follow your Heart and never have any regrets that you didn't try it. I was very scared when i started this journey but now i really feel its necessary to be yourself ,face your fears and do whatever it takes.
Thank you for reading my Journey. Just Keep Loving yourself and Travel a lot.
-- Mohana