The Day was 2nd of October, I was having a normal day in my office in Gurgaon, listening about my teammates plans for upcoming Diwali vacations. we were getting 3 to 4 days off for our Diwali vacation. Everyone was excited to go to there home place and celebrate Diwali with their family. But unfortunately this was not possible for me as my family stays in Maharashtra and travelling to Maharashtra and coming back within 4 days was not a great idea for me. So 3rd October was the first day of my Diwali break, I was siting in the room ideally literally having nothing to do. Suddenly one of my close friends called me up and I started discussing with her about my situation. We discussed for a while and during the conversation she said why don't you go to "Vaishnov Devi", also it was Diwali on 4th Oct , would be so auspicious if you get to Bhavan on Diwali. I thought this is awesome and thanked her for the advice. Without thinking twice, I booked my tickets to Katra from Delhi. Everything was perfect. I packed my stuffs and got ready for my solo trip to Mata Vaishnov Devi mandir. My train was at 8Pm from Old Delhi railway station. I took metro from Huda City Center Metro, Gurgaon and reached Chandni chowk Metro from where there is direct entry to Old Delhi railway station. I reached station pretty early. Train was already at the platform as it departs from Delhi itself. but the doors were closed. I was waiting for the doors to get open so that I can get inside. Suddenly I saw another guy waiting for the doors to get open. I approached him and asked " Bhai Kaha jaare ho" He said " Devi ke darshan krne" I got excited and asked him " Akele?" HE SAID YES. I made him an offer weather we should complete this journey together. He was more than happy to do so. We shook our hand and from there our journey to the shrine started. Next day morning we reached Katra station. the cool and supernatural power of the mountains amazed me. for a good 15 mins I looked at the beauty of these majestic mountains and there it was Mata Devi Bhavan was clearly visible to me. We walked out of the station and started looking for room to quickly freshen up so that we could start our climb the same day. Soon a guy approached us and offered a room to us for Rs 500 per day . We bargained a bit but then finally we agreed at 500 and got the room. The room was pretty good with Ac and heater installed. after freshening up we got ready for a long day as we had to climb for 3 hours. So the total journey takes around 6 hours.( At least for us as we climbed with normal speed). I and my travel buddy Vigesh started our climb at 11 AM. After crossing several checkpoints on the route we reached Bhavan at 3 Pm. During this amazing yet tiring climb we got some mesmerizing pictures of the majestic Trikut mountains. After reaching the Bhavan we took a nice Darshan of Mata Vaishnov Devi and prayed for the well being of us and our family and everyone who is suffering due to this unprecedented disease. After Darshan we were all set to start our return journey as Vigesh has to catch the train at 9PM. I was going to stay till next morning.
Will continue with the Downhill story in the Next part... Also will be giving some tips to remember while you plan your trip to Shri Mata Vaishnov Devi Mandir. I will also put up my cost and will tell you the most cost effective way to travel and spend 2 wonderful and peaceful days in Jammu.
Stay Tuned....