Kufri/Mashobra - Did someone order Snow!!

I had decided last year, this winter I am going to see snow at least twice. So here is the first one.

Republic day holiday was just at right time, a one day leave meant we had 4 days with us. The place decided was Mashobra, a little town 15 kms from shimla. Always plan to stay outside of main tourist towns if you want to experience the peace and tranquility of hills.

Left Delhi at 6AM, thankfully no fog. Reached Savoy Greens near Karnal at around 8 for a breakfast at McD and Subway. Started again at around 9 and reached starting of hills around 12. The highway was in great shape all through. Even the diversions due to construction work are well made and you are able to cover up miles in good time. The roads on the mountains towards Shimla is wide and smooth. It is a good starting point if someone want to try their hand at driving to hills.

It was very sunny and quite hot. We were not sure if we were gonna get any kind of snow in such clear weather, especially when it had last snowed almost 10 days back. We took a left through the Victory tunnel as soon as we reached Shimla, and there it was, at the back side of the town, where Sun was not able to reach, snow, lots of it. The sight cheered us up and we were sure to find more at Kufri the next day.

On the way to Mashobra

Our destination for the trip, Mashobra, is a small town on the road from Shimla to Naldhera golf course. Our stay, Whistling Pines, a nice cozy hotel perched atop a hill 5 kms before the golf course.

Whistling Pines

View from our Window

The hotel is at a secluded location and thus no noise from anywhere excepts for monkeys and birds. The rooms are well insulated and staff really well behaved and courteous. The food served was very nice and homely or in other words, easy on stomach. Overall a great place to stay.

By the time we were done with our late lunch, it had already started to get dark. So we decked up like an arctic expedition with atleast 4-5 layers of clothing on each and got down to the lawn for a bon-fire with some hot soup and crispy pakoras. :)

Some shots around the sunset.

Since we did not have any snow around hotel, we decided to go to Kufri next day. Got up lazily and were ready to leave only around 11 AM. Had to drive back towards Shimla till the point where we have to take the road going up towards Kufri. Due to the bright sun, the snow was melting and the road was full of muddy water. Also it was quite bumpy and broken. We reached a point where we had two ways to go. One went towards Chail via Kufri, the other went towards Fagu. The road going to Fagu was in a very bad shape at that point, with a lot of mud and undulations. Still we could see quite a few cars going that way, so off we went.

Road to Fagu

Anybody needs a truck-full of snow?

We drove for sometime and we found a lot of snow all through. Frankly we had not expected so much snow and were really excited. We were wondering how great it would be if we stayed at Kufri or Fagu for the night, but our luggage was at Mashobra, so we drove further and stopped at a point where a walking path was going up towards Kufri Fun World. Parked the car, rented snowboots for everyone and started our walk up the hill.

Dhanaulti - A Wandering Celebration

Made our second trip to Hills on the occasion of our 2nd anniversary(second week of December).

The way for Dhanaulti cuts around 4-5 kms before Mussourie and the road from there till Dhanaulti is beautiful to say the least.

I'll let the images do the talking about the road:

There were clouds to the side of the mountain. Just the road was clear.

Need i say more

I call this a wandering trip coz all three nights we stayed at different places, that is when we wanted it to be a relaxing trip.

First day we stayed at GMVN's Hotel Dhanaulti heights. It was nice clean and very cold. The rooms were not exactly insulated and we could feel the cold air inside the room even with doors and windows closed. The food was above average and nominally charged. Overall the experience was nice.

Next day the plan was to go to Tehri and find another place to stay at. While leaving Dhanaulti we spent some time at the shop inside the Eco Park and got some really good woolens.

On the way to Tehri:


A nice view-point on the way to Chamba

Between Chamba and Tehri

The Tehri Reservoir from a distance

We were a bit hungry by the time we reached Tehri, so in search of a restaurant we moved towards New tehri and found a Chaat stall from heaven. We started it as appetizer for lunch and by the time we finished we had eaten 14 Aloo Tikki Plates, 4 Plate Gol Gappas and 2 Papadi Plates among 7 of us. All within 200 bucks :)

So after this sumptuous lunch, we headed towards the dam reservoir. There is a way to reach almost till the waters edge with a car. I didn't take the car to the edge coz the way was damp and i didn't want to risk it. Still we went near the lake and it was very serene and calm seeing such huge expanse of water. Although i must warn that it is also a makeshift cremation place, something we realized after sometime(didn't stay there very long after that).

The water:

Left Tehri in search for a place to stay, we had planned to look for places to stay on our way to Dhanaulti and in case of nothing on the way we planned to try the Apple Orchard Resort in Dhanaulti. Fortunately (or Unfortunately as we later found out) we found The Hermitage in kannatal. Its a cozy little 10 room hotel with a beautiful setting reasonable room charges. Since it was sunday evening and no rush was expected we were able to bargain for the rooms. Also as there were no other places around we had to have food there itself.

The place was great and to be frank the best part of our trip only spoiled by the exorbitant food bill we got in the end. We were in fact planning to stay another day if it weren't for the 5000 that we were charged for two meals. We paid more for food during a single night stay than what we paid for stay(3 deluxe rooms) itself.

Few pics of the hotel:
The small hut in left side of the above pic is the dining room. We had loads of fun singing songs during the night and since it was the eve of anniversary we sang till 12 in the night and it was the probably the best evening of the trip.

I would still recommend the place to anyone wanting to have a good time, but the only advice would be, get a package that includes the meals or order carefully and ask if anything extra is served :D

Monday morning we got up, had a great breakfast, paid an even greater food bill and left for Surkanda Devi. It is indeed a strenuous climb till the temple and one advice i would give is, take the short cuts to climb up wherever possible, it would save you a lot of distance and effort.

A few pics:

Still a long way to the top

The view from the top

Saw the only kind of snow at that time in the region, frozen dew. It was in the shadow of temple where sunlight could not reach.

Came down and moved towards Kempty village, our cost effective stay(complimentary actually, thanks to my bro in law). The place had a great view of the kempty falls and delicious food.

View from the balcony of our guest house

Stayed up late into the night talking about ghosts and mythology. Got up early in the morning and left for Delhi by 6:30 AM.

Another little trip completed. thanks for your time :)

Lansdowne - Come hear the Silence

Wanted to take this trip since long. Cancelled last year when we planned to go via train, instead went to Kasauli. However two weeks back we were sure that we are going to Lansdowne. Asked all the couples we knew, but everyone was busy. We were a bit hesitant going alone since this was our first driving trip to the mountains and I am the only driver. But what the hell, i am planning to go to Leh next year and so Lansdowne should not be a worry. Fueled up on Friday night and we were off to Lansdowne at 5:30 AM in morning.

Encountered a fair bit of fog till Modinagar. Road conditions were fine with occasional potholes and lots of errant truck drivers. Still by 8:40 AM we were at Monty Millions restaurant near Meerapur. Had some butter toast and tea with the home made sandwich and we were off again in 20-25 minutes.

Reached Kotdwar around 10:45 AM and from there on the road was a bliss to drive on. From Kotdwar we went towards dugadda and then on to Pauri Road.

Just after Dugadda, there is a T junction with lots of hoardings of Lansdowne hotels(forgot to click a pic ) now you can either take a right straight towards Lansdowne or take a left on the pauri road. I took the pauri road as described in the directions for my accomodation - Oak Grove inn.

As you carry on towards pauri after around 15 kms you again get a U bend to your right with board again saying Lansdowne(10 kms from this point). Oak Grove inn is midway towards Lansdwone from this point in a small village called Jaiharikhal.

Oak Grove Inn

On the way to Dugadda

Oak Grove Inn, a little background about the place:

It is run by a Retired Col. Rawat and his wife. Located in a village called jaiharikhal at a very convenient distance from Lansdowne. City being 5 kms , when going towards Lansdowne you enter at a place from where the only two tourist spots, Bhulla lake and Tip n Top point, are just a stones throw away.

On reaching the guest house, you may feel disappointed at first but as soon as you take your first meal and chat a bit with the owners you would start feeling right at home. Rooms are basic but clean to say the least. There is a dining room where the meals are served (no room service for meals). All in all it was a great place to stay. Tip n Top point has unarguably the best location in Lansdowne, but it felt a bit desolated, still, may try it on the next trip.

A few pics from guest house:

Entrance to our room

The Front Porch of Colonel's house which has a sitting area to enjoy the sun. This is a part of the tree roots. Looked like a sculpture from distance:

Sitting Area to soak in the Sun

Trying my hand at some Photography

 

 

 

Colonel's wife has a great sense of decoration and she loves plants, they have a plant growing in possibly every kind of vessel from ceramic cups to plastic cups to old kettles

The first thing that struck us in Lansdowne was the silence. We could feel a loud beep in our ears which are accustomed to city noise. Anyways, had tea and an hour later lunch. Lunch is served in the dining room and it was a simple home like food, Dal, Palak Paneer and Aloo Gobhi, all tasted good(Charges 100/- per meal per person).

The weather had already made me forget any tiredness i had from driving, so we decided to go to Bhulla Lake and Tip n Top point. We took the road towards lansdowne from hotel, at the entry we had to pay a parking fee of 13 Rs. At the point we enter main road of lansdowne, we take a right for the Bhulla lake and Tip n top point and a left for the main city. Both are within a km from this spot.

Bhulla Lake:

Bhulla lake is a small man made resvoir lake which was built by Jawans of Garhwal Regiment. It is nice clean place with an option of boating (Charges: 30/- per person / half hour). The whole area is maintained by army and you can always see a few Jawans constantly working to keep the area clean.

One request to anyone who visits the lake, there is a cage full of rabbits near the lake, please do feed them some biscuits or food, they seem to be grossly underfed and were literally climbing over each other to get the biscuits we were offering them.

Hungry Rabbits

A Resident of Bhulla Lake

A rock which can be seen at distance from lake. We called it the Burger Rock

Couldn't resist posting a pic of my car coz i love the looks of it in this location

From Bhulla lake we went to Tip n Top Point:

Tip n Top point:

This is the other tourist attraction of lansdowne for the excellent view point, although all we saw was a white haze

The GMVN guest house is situated just above this point and seems to be a bit desolate but excellent location. We had a badly made maggi here clicked a few regulation pics and came back to Guest house.

View of the road from Tip n Top point

Back at the guest house by 5 PM, we had tea and chatted up with the owners at the sit out place. There was another family from Delhi whose kid was totally busy playing with Owner's dogs Archie and Fifi.

Owners left for some social engagement and we got a bonfire going sitting with the other family and just chatting at leisure.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
An interesting conversation we had:

We were talking about how women drivers have it easy in terms of they can get away with almost anything, the lady told us an incident of her in which she was stopped by a traffic policeman. Their conversation went something like this:

Policeman: Madam, Kagaz poore nahi hain, pollution kahan hai

Madam: Arre baki sab to poora hai bas ek pollution hi to nahi hai na.

Policeman: Arre Madam apke papers bhi original nahi hain, photocopy hain.

Madam: Arre to original kaun rakhta hai gaadi mein, matlab agar gaadi chori ho jaye to kagaz bhi jaye, wah ji.

Second Policeman: Arre madam aap jao, (to first policeman) yaar isliye main kehta hu, ladies ko mat roka kar.


Wonder what policeman's reaction would be if a guy said something like this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyways, had our dinner and went to sleep by 11 PM.Next morning left for Delhi by 1030 and reached home by 7:30, all thanks to Jam between Meerut And Modinagar.

 

Although this is a small trip but it gave us immense confidence in ourselves and the car. 

Technical Details:

Car: Fiat Punto MJD

Total Diesel Used:  29 litres approx

Total Kms driven: 509 km

Total cost of trip including fuel, food and stay < 5000 Rs. :)

Untill we meet again

Jan-Lokpal and beyond....

While coming home today, i noticed a few residents of my society standing outside the society gate and shouting slogans in support of jan-lokpal bill and Anna. I also joined them.

We were just raising slogans by the side of the road. Not blocking any way not asking people to join us or causing any inconvenience apart from the noise of our voices. And i could see a lot of people passing by the road were joining in the chants of Vande-Matram. A few slowed down and a couple joined in as well. While it was very heartening that people were showing solidarity for a cause, what stuck me were the things i observed people do.

- A car slowed down, the occupant raised slogans with us, a few meters ahead, he opened his car door and let out a stream of spit.

- Another car with doctor's symbol on windshield crossed us and went wrong side on the road to avoid a long but legitimate U-turn.

Everyday on road i see people throwing things out of their car widows, everyday we see people haggling with policeman for bribes over petty violations. How can a lokpal help India if people are glad to be let off with a 40 Rs bribe instead of a 100 Rs fine!

Will lokpal show effect at the grassroots where people are so habitual of bribes that no work is done without the extra-constitutional-fee. The state of Indian society with respect to corruption was aptly described by the CVC before Thomas, he said:

"When we were growing up I remember if somebody was corrupt, they were generally looked down upon. There was at least some social stigma attached to it. That is gone. So there is greater social acceptance."

"if somebody has a lot of money, he is respectable. Nobody questions by what means he has got the money."

With so much concentration on passing of lokpal bill, has anybody thought if such powerful position is possible in reality. How can we be sure that the lokpal would be incorruptible, how can we be sure that a lokpal would not sway from its principles. Anyways, this is not what i wanted to say. All i wanted to say is, if you really care about the country and want to do your bit to make it a better place, please start caring for it like your own house.

See the lawns around India Gate on a Sunday evening they are full of all kinds of garbage and things left by people who came for picnic. How can you spoil the very place to which you go to enjoy. Next time you have a choice between a short wrong side drive and a long U-turn please take the latter. Follow the traffic rules and if caught breaking them, please prefer to pay the fine with a receipt. Roll down the windows of your car only to get fresh air, not to throw empty wrappers or bottles, they might lead to an accident for some two wheeler rider behind you. Keep your cool on the road, if somebody brushes against your car, please don't start throwing abuses. There is no confrontation that can't be solved by a dialogue. When you need to get something done in a govt office, please take out time and get things done yourself.

India is a great country, but with very misguided people. I just hope that this new found nationalism and solidarity does bring some change and leads to a slightly better India.

Dear SRK,

Thanks for the most boring interview ever!!!!

Yours Sincerely
Dissapointed Koffee With Karan viewer

INDIA.... Be a MAN!!

India is generally considered as feminine, even among its citizens as Mother India. But considering the current scenarios where its territorial integrity is being questioned from various sides, no matter how small, it seriously needs to consider a sex change operation.

We had an instance of google maps depicting Arunachal Pradesh as a part of China, again it repeated the blunder by depicting POK as a part of Pakistan. Then we had iPhone 4 doing the same with Arunachal Pradesh again and now the most recent being FAO, a UN body, showing Arunachal and POK as independent entities.

Why hasn't anybody ever shown some chinese territory in India by mistake, why is it that while drawing borders on maps, the line invariably goes inside India rather than China or Pakistan. Well its more to do with our impotent government and self centered politicians than actual errors on part of Map makers. To be frank this should not matter if we are sure about our abilities of protecting our borders. No offense to our Armed forces, but in case China tries something audacious on the eastern border, our Government would hesitate to give a response and tie up our Armed force's hands, seriously affecting their ability to counter. Our soft spoken, spineless and immensely learned PM would look towards 10 Janpath for directions, where the Queen bee would probably be packing bags for the next Alitalia flight with the born to be PM prince in tow.

Our country, as it stands currently, is without a leader.

Even Kargil became a huge task for our Army as government chose to ignore credible intelligence and lingered on taking action thereby eventually increasing the causalities among our brave soldiers who had to pay for our politicians incompetence as Pakistan consolidated its positions.

If China can force Apple to show Arunachal as a part of it in lieu of letting it sell iPhone4, why can't India force similar conditions on it to make it show what is the truth. Why can't we impose restrictions on any company questioning our territory. It's time we did something concrete about such instances, it's time we barred chinese embassy from issuing stapled VISAs to Indian nationals from J&K and Arunachal via restrictions on its operation. For once think of country's pride rather than a possible backlash from Dragon. Show an iron resolve and some guts to let them know we won't take such things lying down. And most of all..

Be a MAN!!

Foreigner's Guide to India

Planning to come to India in near future, may be for Common Wealth Games, well here's a ready reckoner to find your way around.

1. Try to have a mobile which has at least Google Maps with location finder feature. That might help you get an idea of where you are and where you are heading while commuting.

2. Try consuming Mineral Water to as much extent. Because unlike the developed world, in India... Tap water is not same as bottled water!!

3. Be careful about your luggage and belongings when outdoors.

4. Try wearing casual floaters or slippers as they would be the most comfortable in case it rains or even otherwise.

5. When you reach airport, rather than coming out and taking an Auto Rickshaw, for the feel of it, just book a cab from the terminal itself as the Auto Driver would surely overcharge you to the tune of a A/C taxi fare. You can find info about various radio cab services on Google for eg: Meru, easy-cabs etc.

6. Keep an Indian acquaintances number handy to help in case of an emergency or even just to ask directions. Don't hesitate to ask any passerby in English, if they know the language, they'll surely respond.

7. A lot of governments like Australia, have issued a long list of diseases prevalent in India, as if we are ogres living in swamps. Its not that bad at all. Just eat at proper places and drink clean water and you would be fine.

8. Our government suggested that you carry your own toilet paper or tissues as our public toilets are not clean enough. Well this is a problem even in western world, I rarely found a clean public toilet even in Amsterdam shopping malls during Christmas.

9. Don't worry about the health care in case its required. You would find world class health care facilities in India.

10. For any flight or Hotel bookings. try the travel sites rather than going through travel agents as they will surely try to rip you off.. There are a lot of good websites which may help.. For example: yatra.com, cleartrip.com(Train Booking Also), makemytrip.com etc. You'd find that in terms of Online services/bookings/shopping, India is far ahead then what you might think.


Let me know through comments in case you need any specific info... Enjoy your stay! :)

My Baby..

Did you see “Baby Geniuses” or “Look who’s talking” or “Baby’s Day Out” all these movies had babies as the lead characters, thus giving us an experience of what a baby think of. Babies have not seen much world, their thoughts and perceptions are not cluttered by the pre-conceived notions or fears. And this fact makes a baby’s perspective as the freshest and least biased.


How wonderful it would be to get such a perspective from a baby itself. I am lucky enough to be living with one such baby. She looks at everything in terms of colors, freshness and her own parameters of good and bad. When she praises a mobile phone she saw somewhere and I ask her which one it was.. she says "A red one". When I ask her if she remembers the route she used last week.. she says " yes yes, there are green green trees on the sides and pink flowers on the road divider". She would anyday choose a pink nano over a white BMW.


All these little things keep me smiling even when I am not with her, there are not enough hours in the day I can spend with her.. :)