Having taken Thursday and Friday off of work in the one weekend when my girlfriend was in town, the two of us took a bus from Delhi to McLeodganj. I was initially apprehensive about overnight buses through Haryana country but that was put to rest soon. The bus was super comfortable and filled with a good crowd. The only problem was the screening of Bahubali at full volume that ruined every effort to sleep. After dinner at the Ambala Haweli, we dozed off and had a peaceful full-night's sleep we woke up at dawn as the bus pulled into Yol. After that, the motion sickness pills worked their magic as we weaved our way up the hills into Dharamshala, finally stopping at McLeodganj hotel was in Upper Bhagsunag which was a short (although steep) cab drive away from the McLeodganj bus stop.
We pulled in just as the town was waking up and there were travelers of all hues emerging with yoga mats, chillams and musical instruments. We had a heavy breakfast and after checking in into our room, started walking towards the one place we knew we wanted to see - Illiterati. Special mention for the walk from Bhagsunag to McLeodganj, through winding roads with a full view of the Bhagsu waterfalls and Triund valley. The major downer was how crowded the whole place was, with traffic backed up the entire way and blaring horns. It was then that we realized how lucky we were to be staying where we were. Upper Bhagsu was literally the only quiet corner in the whole bustling hill town. Tucked away at the extreme upper corner of the town, one could wake up to the sound of classical music and bird sounds. But as soon as one emerges into the main Bhagsunag, it was just a cacaphony of car horns and yelling kids all the way to and through McLeod. The next peaceful part is when one leaves McLeod and starts walking the roads leading to Illiterati. Of course, as luck would have it the place was closed for the day, and starving and thirsty, we walked back to McLeod and found a place for lunch. As that place also filled up fast with families with their kids, we rushed out and ran back to our place in Upper Bhagsu. The rest of the evening was spent confined to that lane as we browsed a few shops and found a beautiful outdoor valley-overlooking restaurant for dinner. Post-dinner we sat in our balcony drinking wine through the night.
Our determination to visit Illiterati undefeated, we walked all the way back there on our second day post-breakfast. This time luck was in our favor as the place was open and after 30 minutes of waiting, we were able to find a table that overlooked the whole valley, all the way into Dharamshala. A beautiful afternoon was spent with great food, chess and scrabbles after which we took a cab to Dharamkot. The walk back from Dharamkot to Bhagsunag was amazing with empty winding roads lined on both sides by tall pine trees. Exhausted with our exertions, we sat down for maggi and coffee in one of those tiny sheds placed precariously on the hillside overlooking the Triund trail.
Heading to the same place as the night before for dinner, we were in for a stroke of luck. We found ourselves in the midst of a classical music session. While the style was Indian, the instruments and the musicians were from different nationalities which compounded the charm and beauty of the music. It was the perfect end to the short relaxing trip. We took a bus early next morning and were back in Delhi by late evening.
