Shimla-Manali- With my girl friends ;)

Every time it makes me so proud to tell everyone that I belong to you! Himachal makes you its own. This is what I can conclude from my most recent trip to Nature's best bet, Himachal Pradesh, India. A beautiful state, with serene environment! Where nature chose to bestow itself at its best! Where we have such innocent pahadi people, with apple red cheeks!

After a lot of nos-but-what ifs, we succeeded in embarking upon the most anticipated trips of our lives. It was special in many terms, firstly, it was an all-girls trip (although it is not something to boast about, but for some of us, it was really a big thing considering the fact that our parents still wont allow us to go farther than 10kms from our homes, and even if we managed to do so, they would 'phone-call the hell out out us :P'). Secondly, the much needed quality time with our favorite people around us, we could only get in such getaways, apart from the local shopping joints. And the most convincing one coming of age, literally. Neha insisted that we should definitely get going for some real adventure stuff, or atleast some local sight seeing, somewhere, other than the usual mundane office before we get trapped in the marital bondage. And her idea resonated sharply with us.

The next action point being fixing up with a spot and the time of the year to go about. We zeroed in on Himachal, calculating the time we had in hand (6 days minus 2 days travelling), and finances. We simply desired to play in the snow. The immediate week off was selected and we just flew!!

Day 1: Flight to Delhi

After the relaxed flight from Pune to Delhi, it was the time for testing some real patience as the road trip from Delhi to Shimla was going to take around 9 hours! We sat back, with our cool driver bhaiya and played our favorite playlists all through the travel. It was the Holi time, hence we too found ourselves immersed in the holi colours (not physically, but in spirit).

We had some good food on the way. Having heard of the good variety of paranthas that north serves, we were majorly inclined towards ordering them, with a dash of Chhaas (butter-milk) to beat the heat.On the way, we visited Pinjore Gardens, Haryana. It was a majestic Garden. The thing that I found most alluring was the little, naughty punjabi kids asking their parents out in their sweet, notorious punjabi pleas :PThe travel post entering into Shimla was more of twists and turns. Since, it was the very first day on the trip, we were sooper excited to look at all the minute details during the travel. From counting the milestones, to watching the vivid and vibrant colours of the houses, the stepped-farms, the beautiful coniferous trees and their equally gorgeous flowers. Each and every thing made us awestruck.

We checked into Hotel Surya. A total of 2 rooms were booked for us. Both were equally magnificent, but we chose to opt the one with the royal-look ;) It was chilly inside, and breezy outside, a deadly combination.We had a good night's sleep and preserved all our energies for the next day, of course after the never ending girlie-banter.

Day 2: Kufri, Shimla

The Day 1 was dedicated to this place called Kufri. It is a point located 22km from Shimla. We went there in our car, however the only carriers to take us to the peak were the horses! And believe me, horse riding could not have been funnier, without having the creepy guys in the gang. It was remarkable doing it for the first time ever in our lives and this long. The horses were very much disciplined, much more than their jockies, coz even after the rider freaked it out by screaming the hell out of her mouth, still it kept on treading the path that was apt. The activity offers thrill and fun both at the same time. The 3 kms ride on the horse was spooky in the beginning, but later we got accustomed to our pets. Uphill was more challenging while the downhill ride was peaceful as all the riders were super trained to tame their horses. We rode our horses really well. Lalu, Black Beauty, Tiger, Sheru were good boys as they listened to what their mamma's said. There are yaks and snow rabbits that the locals use for their living, by getting you photographed alongside them. Atop, we witnessed some awesome scenery, the same we drew when we were kids. Now the customary dress and photography session started. The local villagers were very friendly and genuine. Their local dress called 'pattu' looked really good on us. Hence, without much ado, the photography sessions of the most eligible brides began. All looked prettier, more so with the cold vintage setting ;). Thanks to the Samsung Note 2 ;P

Later in the day, we visited Kufri Fun World Amusement Park. The place boasts of having the world's highest go-kart track. We did Bungee Jumping and all the rides that were offered. It was fun.

We returned to our hotel and relaxed for some time. And by the time we woke up, the sun was already gone and we realized that we had so much to uncover in Shimla. We headed quickly to the Mall Road. The Mall Road looked like a veiled bride, with its untouched beauty and tranquil no-motor lanes. We looted the Mall Road like the dacoits of chambal and left no shop unvisited. The Momos, the Jute- cotton dress materials, souvenirs for our friends back home, and keychains carved with 'Gift of Shimla'.

Later, we had some good food in the local eatery and then walked back to our hotel. We were new to the place and hence the directions to the hotel were also new. But Himachal has this thing which entices you the most. Its good-natured people. On the way, uncleji showed us the way, and also safeguarded us from the street dogs. We were grateful to him, and thus the day alarmed an end to our stay in Shimla.

Day 3: Manali, River Rafting

The next day, we headed to Manali. We started off early so as to absorb the beauty of the locale to the fullest. On our way, driver bhaiya gave us nice insights into the beautiful place, its good-natured people, the small airplane-pad that it has, some facts about apples, etc etc on a varied range of topics. He even showed us the 3 Idiots spot and from that point we just put on the movies' songs involuntarily.

The clear and playful Beas river accompanied us all throughout, listening to our chatter and applauding in between. River Rafting at the Beas rivers was another sooper Saturday attractions here. The river sparkling with its ice chilled water and clear stream offers a great place to the adventure freaks. We put on the life jackets, as the motto of the entire trip was 'Safety First, Safety Always'. Shalkee and I sat on the front end, thanks to the extra pounds we had put on. Ruta sat at the centre, being the Chhota Chetan of the gang. Neha and Snehal provided support from the rear end. The photographer Bhaiya followed us all throughout our 8km rafting route, capturing our stunts, our flying kisses, our Hide-Tide performances and one-of-a-kind laughter. It lasted for approximately 30 minutes. The fun part was the High tide. As the instructor guided us, Shalkee and I would leave everything apart and just do Mattha Tek on our rafts. It was hilarious, with all our ears filled with water, the instruction took 3 tiers to reach to us, via Neha, Ruta and Ruta's final push!

We changed clothes standing on the chair in the allotted changing rooms performing another stunt that day. This place definitely needs some more vigilance of the government to make it more tourist-friendly and garner the revenues it has the potential of.

We later checked in to our Hotel, Sarthak Resorts. Shalkee and I being walking enthusiasts, went for an evening walk, and the aura of the apple trees was mesmerizing on the way.

Day 4: Snow_Point

The ultimate day just came! We got decked up for some real child's play. The Snow Point is where you get to see and play in snow. We went there and hired the dresses that are required for beating the chill in the snow. Gum boots, hand gloves, sun glasses and Topi. Only local vehicles are permitted to go atop the snow point, and hence we took a Jeep. The Driver bhaiya No.1 was equally enthusiastic and took our group photos on the way. We traversed some path on foot which allowed us look the place upclose. 34th turn up the mountain, and we were there finally. We saw it finally! The snow! On the trees, white mountain and we could touch it, feel it! According to the the NGT [National Green Tribunal] Act, which strives to protect the environment, the Govt has reserved this small place for the skiing and all kinds of sports. We played here, and we made our Snow Man. Tube ride and skiing were some tough tasks but we could do them in our 2nd or 3rd attempts, all thanks to another bhaiya No.2. Bhaiya No.2 was a real sport. According to him, he is a national level skier and trains people. And much to our surprise he was good in photography too. He sportingly clicked our single, double, quadruple, group all sorts of photos with his signature style, 'Smile Please, Cheese Also'. He called up all the local aunties who got tired pleading us to get clicked in their pattus, to shower snow on us, only to get photographed candidly!

Later he convinced his bhaiya No.1 to take us to the actual place of the snow, 'cause we wont stop teasing him that the point where we were ealier was created out of the snow-dumping from the JCB. Here the snow was untouched. We climbed till the top, and then rolled down in the typical Chahe Koi mujhe Jungalee kahe style. Here as the wind blew and the leaves rustled, it was a beautiful orchestra to watch and absorb yourself into. The snow flakes flew and tickled our cheeks. We spent some good amount of time there engaging ourselves in the appreciation of nature's grandeur. We ate Maggi there. We were inquisitive about the times when maggi was banned and pat came the reply from bhaiya No.2 that 'India is a jugaad country!' We thanked him for making it memorable.

On the way back, we listened to the song Shimla-Kullu Manali jo sang sang jaye...... and couldn't stop the laughter that followed.

Day 5: Local Sight Seeing

Local Sight seeing was the last and the final thing on the cards. We went to the beautiful Vashishtha Temple. It is said to be 4000 years old, but has remained unaltered mostly due to the difficult landscape in which it finds its place. It has a small Hot water spring to its credit which started gushing out when Sage Vashishtha's shot an arrow towards it. We did some local shopping there. The Tibetan dolls, Buddha made from the wooden dust, hand-knitted sweaters, momos, maggi, etc etc.

We also paid a visit to the Hidimba temple, which has an interesting story about its creation. It is an ancient cave temple surrounded by cedar trees. The architecture of the temple is simply picturesque.

We entered the Himalayan Monastery there. There was an unprecedented peace here. The Om Ma Nee Pad Me Hung chantings kept ringing in our minds. Places like this make us philosophers, even if we don't think we are. We end up reminiscing upon the days that went by, thanking all the people we met on our journey, our well-wishers pass by our memory and we just recall all the happy moments that life ever served to us! The place has a magical touch to it. We bought the Tibetan Bells from there.

We also checked into the Van Vihar just across the Manali Mall Road. This isn't a Zoo as was supposed to be in our imagination. But yes, a nice place to spend your evening.

We did some local shopping in the Manali Mall Road, and bought some takeaways for our families and friends back home. The Himachali topi, the Himachali Jacket, Souvenirs, The Tibetan flags, etc etc. Basically our motto was 'Keep Shopping, wherever you go!'.

Later in the evening while returning to our hotel from the Mall Road, a heavy traffic jam halted our way. Being the walk enthusiats that we are, SHalkee and I took to walking. It was almost 3 kms to our hotel, but the pleasant climate cheered us up to take the unconventional decision of not waiting for the jam to get cleared. We walked like some dog was following us, as we always do! There was this palanquin of a local deity being carried in the street, it was peaceful. We sand our favorite songs during the walk, our favorite being yeh hansee vaadiyaan yeh khula aasamaan...........

Day 6: Back to Pune

All good things too come to an end, just like their bad counterparts. So we did all the formalities for our checkout. We left early for Delhi so as to avoid any chaos which might get us delayed for our flight back to Pune.

The journey from Manali to Delhi was kind of a flash back. Most of the times we were sleeping, but whenever we found time in our sleepy eyes, we captured the never-to-be-seen again views of this beautiful place.

As we entered Punjab, the roads broadened, and we all were in a Highway kind of feeling, where we start loving the journey so much that we pray that the road keeps on growing longer! We pestered our driver bhaiya with all sorts of questions, like how is Punjab, why are people here so relaxed and jolly, why is this why is that. We made him our family member, and he too took us by surprise, and introduced us to his family members, with the help of the Photo Album that lay in his car's dickey. Bhaiya cajoled us all with his witty talks and in particular his Punjabi accent garnished with the sweet hanji hanji.

I was just describing about Arvind Adiga’s White Tiger to our bhaiya, wherein the driver knows more about the couples and they both know about each other. and this thought erupted in my Mind, Why not to call the excerpt of our travel ‘The Black Yak’. He described to us all the funny, scary incidents that he witnessed throughout his travel job. We even pleaded him to recommend us to his boss, since we certainly believed that profession of a tourist guide would always be better than our present jobs. We would enjoy what we do.

We reached Delhi 4 hours before our scheduled departure, so we had enough time left for us to shop!

We headed to the Rajaouri Garden Market place. There were some fine bridal shops out there. We took whatever we found worth taking. A few things that crossed my mind were the marketing gimmicks employed by the Delhites. They literally deploy people in clown's attire to advertise their shops. I wonder if they are succeeding in their strategy! Also, a few shops had playcards displaying- 'Fashion ke is daur me, Gaurantee ki ichchha na karein'. I mean, where is the world heading to!

We finally waved off to Delhi.

We felt so connected with our bhaiya that we almost wept at the time of our departure from the Delhi Airport. The ‘Highway’ feeling almost came to an end. Human being is an unpredictable creature. It gets attached to anyone almost instantly. We could not figure out with whom the connection was that deep that we couldn't get over the feeling.

May be it was our day long girlie talks that brought us more closer to each other. Although we were in tough but we never got time to know exactly what one was gong through in her life. May be we should ask 'How are you?' more often.

May be it was the spiritual connection with the snow clad mountains that kept us from getting over the nostalgia. Our daily troubles sometimes lok so big that we fail to appreciate the good that continues happening around us, and nature makes us assimilate the same lesson. No matter how big the problem looks, there is always the shinier side, that you should look up to. And that's what the pahadi people teach us.

We all were learning, unlearning and relearning the things we left back when we were school-going kids. Back then we could not ponder much over the country and its people. However, travelling makes you an all-time student, an ardent admirer of nature, a real appreciator. It makes us know our country better, the soil, the climate, the vegetation. Why, how, where, when all questions get answered when we get closer to nature.

Even after returning from Himachal, the nostalgia keeps on bringing goosebumps to me. The everyday hassle is bypassed with a mere thought of the pleasant times spent in this serene place. The magnanimity of the snow clad mountains makes me feel all the troubles ant-sized.

Goodbyes are a part of a traveler's journey, and as Paulo says- “We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.”

We are here to appreciate what is in front of us, now and always!