Trips are essential for one’s well being. I started going on trips only from 2011 onwards. In 10 years I have been to quite a few places in India and selecting 5 most memorable trips is a bit difficult but I hope to do justice with my excursions.
The first one would definitely be my first trip with a friend & this happened in May’2012. Both of us had decided to go to Lansdowne but ended up in Pauri as we could not get any accommodation in Lansdowne. Now Pauri being about 90kms ahead of Lansdowne, we never came back to visit Lansdowne, instead roamed around Pauri for a day and then drove to Mussoorie. I completed that 210kms drive in 4 hours which is my most memorable hill drive because it was crazy driving to say the least. On our way, we passed by DevPrayag and were fortunate to see the confluence of Alaknanda & Bhagirathi rivers.
The second one would be my trip to Manali in October’2012 which was my first experience as a passenger in a Volvo bus. The onward journey was great but the return journey was awesome as the driver manoeuvred the Volvo bus like a toy in the Himachal hills and I just loved it. It was the first time that I visited a Pass in the mountains, Rohtang Pass obviously. I also saw the shooting of a movie for the first time in my life, the shooting for Commando was being done alongside Beas in the forested area.
The third one would be my trip to Mcleodganj in May’2013. This was special to me because I have always loved trekking but I am also a little over 100kgs. On this trip I beat all odds and completed the Triund trek. I still remember the uphill trek of 6kms took me 3hrs 45mins to complete and the downhill trek took 2hrs 30mins. On this trip I had first visited Dalhousie & Khajjiar and then had come to Mcleodganj before coming back home.
The fourth trip would be the one to Kumarakoum & Munnar in Kerela in February’2014. My first trip down South and boy Kerela did not disappoint me at all. The backwaters of Kumarakoum, the houseboat trip and the jetty ride on Lake Wembinad were absolutely breath taking. The Green Carpet at Munnar with all those tea estates were mesmerising.
The fifth one has got to be again something in the hills. This one was in June’2014 to a place called Fagu which is 22kms ahead of Shimla and about 5kms ahead of Kufri. It’s basically a small village with a HPTDC resort. This resort is perched on a hill top and gives you 270 degrees of a clear valley view towards the Narkanda side. So you can just sit in your room and look at the clouds, the Sun and the mountain peaks play along to the tunes of the ever changing breeze. Just in case you get bored, Shimla is a 30mins drive away, Kufri is barely 5mins away and Chail is about 30mins away and Naldehra a mere 20mins away.
So these 5 trips would sum up my most memorable trips or rather me going down the ‘Memory Lane’ as a traveller.