Guest blog, by "Ka-Sak"!

                                                                 Travel Diaries

                                                        ONE WEEK IN THE HILLS

         “THE WORLD IS A BOOK, AND THOSE WHO DO NOT TRAVEL READ ONLY A PAGE”- Saint Augustine.

21^st July, 2014 (Delhi- Kasol)

Perturbed by the world and the negativity it possesses, I decided to travel again. For it is the only remedy which has an anesthetic effect on the wounds which have been engraved on my soul.

After completing a strenuous photo shoot in fitness modeling and being deprived of good food for nearly seventy days and being broke as hell, it was time to take a break and head to the hills. Raj, A friend of mine decided to join in last moment and I was thankful that I didn’t have to spend much time looking for company. We boarded our ‘Himachal Tourism’ bus to Kullu from Mandi house and according to the bus driver, we would be there in thirteen hours. I check the time, it is 9.30 pm and we have been travelling since three hours now, having a brief stop at a highway dhaba. The bus smells of cannabis and a majority of it consists of Israeli juveniles. Raj is on the verge on dozing off and I, taken over by a sudden attack of insomnia have no option but watching the film been screened on the bus TV; “WAR CHOR NA YAAR”. Duh!

In nearly ten hours from now, I am going to be in the ‘rave town’ of himachal. For one whole week! KASOL! Here I come!

22^nd July, 2014 (Kasol)

I was gently kissed by the cold mountain breeze, which found its way to me from the open window ahead. Raj was awake and was looking out of the window. I enquired about the time left, to which the driver estimated thirty minutes to Bhuntar, where we alight and take another local bus to Kasol, which is about thirty kilometers from there. About forty minutes later, we find ourselves pushing our way into the bus, which is as crowded if not more than a regular DTC bus in Delhi. This bus is filled with locals having bad body odour, Tibetan women carrying children and the Israeli juveniles from the bus. Seeing my breathless state Raj mocks me “See, they all want to rave!” We laugh. We reach Kasol (a small village in the Parvati valley, and surrounded by a beautiful river by the same name i.e- Parvati river). In about one hour and are surprised to find out that the place isn’t as crowded we had seen it on the web or heard about in some awesome stories regarding the village. After much enquires and fact finding, we discovered that the tourist season was on the verge of closing in the town and the last full moon rave, which we badly wanted to attend, had ended last night. We missed it by that much! 

   All our travel plans were crushed to pieces, considering that fact that we had one full week in hand. We roamed around the narrow streets of the town to find some solace. After sipping good quantity of vodka, in a local Israeli shack on a usual lazy afternoon there, Raj blurts out “Dude lets go to Dharamshala! It’s about a six hour long bus journey from here!” “And do what there?” I ask. “Well, we have to see” He says perplexed. The next thing we discovered while coming back from our intoxicated state was that we were off to Dharamshala. Our bus is scheduled for 10 pm, which gives me time to update today’s write-up. 

23^rd July 2014 (Kasol- Dharamshala)

After a tiring bumpy ride, we reach Dharamshala at 6 am. As soon as we get off the bus, we meet an old man who offers us cheap accommodation. I was skeptical but Raj insists that locals in the hills are friendly people. We follow the old man, through narrow lanes and passages until we come across a travel lodge named “HOLIDAY HOME”. The owner “BABLOO” shows us the room, which on the first glance looked pretty basic, but had an awesome view of the hills from its window. I am skeptical again but Raj has already finalized the deal at 800 rupees a day. The room resembled somewhere deep into the retro era, but had a TV and 24 hour hot water supply, which was good. We keep our luggage in the room, and head out for a quick bite in the town. The cool ‘non-polluted’ breeze along with beautiful sceneries refresh as we struggle to find an open eating joint. We are welcomed by a small chai shop guy who says he can make us maggi and bread omelette. Not bragging, but that was the best maggi I ever had till date.

  After a brief nap, we decided to explore the city. From trying the Tibetan Thukpa, to visiting the cricket stadium, taking mini bus rides (which were unbelievably cheap) and enquiring about other things we could do in and around the place. Dharamshala was one serene town, no denying that but we had our plans ready for Mcleodgunj tomorrow. We walked around the stretch of the town (about four times, this place was so small!) and enjoyed an early dinner at an Indian restaurant. So as I sit here, watching TV and trying to digest the tandoori chicken I just had, Raj is out to get some booze to lighten up the tension a little. The party has started. The mountain vibes are making their presence felt.

24^th July 2014 (Dharamshala-Mcleodgunj- Bhagsunag )

Another thing with mountains is that they make you a morning person, despite all your protests and resistance. However late you might wake up in your respective cities, whenever you are holidaying in the mountains, you wake up early. That is by default. I still haven’t cracked the reason behind this. Nature has some undisclosed secrets which might unfold themselves to some, while others stay questioning all their lives and still receive no luck. Our hung-over morning was marked by a great twist in the tale. Raj received a phone call from a friend who had been in Dharamshala and Mcleodgunj a month back. He constantly bragged about a place called Shiva Café, which was a trek ahead of Bhagsunag, a village just two kilometers from the Mcllo Chowk (Mcleodgunj’s junction and main point at the mall road, named after Mcllo, a popular eating joint, on the same road itself). I had read about the place too, on various online portals. So we decided, to stay another night in Dharamshala itself and spend the day trekking to Shiva café.

  We boarded a local bus from Dharamshala mall road to Mcleodgunj which was 10 kilometers uphill. The fare was thirteen rupees one side. The beautiful place boasted of a perfect blend of euphoria and serenity. It is also the home of His Highness Dalai Lama and that contributes the wonderful vibrations the town exhibits. The locals are friendly people with a care-free attitude and were more than happy to help us with directions. Since, it was still early afternoon; we did not have much to see in the town and decided to start our trek to Shiva café. We witnessed wonderful ‘Momo’ and ‘chai’ shops along the way which were delicious and cheap options when we needed a quick bite. Shiva café was located on the topmost point of the Bhagsunag waterfalls. It was about a 45 minute steep uphill trek which surpassed the ‘BHAGSUNAG TEMPLE’ and we were greeted by tiny water droplets which refreshed us along the way.

When we reach Shiva Café, we know that our trek was worth it. The place is so high on the mountain that the piercing clouds create a fog like atmosphere in the small eatery. The place has comfortable cushions and low tables to sit. With Bob Marley posters stuck all over, the place plays awesome psy-trance music. The food there is reasonably priced and it also has two rooms for accommodating the enthusiasts who wish to stay and endure the trance experience. Raj says he wants to stay. I ask him to fuck off. Outside, the café has a huge veranda alongside lord Shiva and snake idols. The crowd at the café is calm and un-perturbed by the world. We order a light snack and Flavoured Hookah.  A group of Israelis are enjoying their marijuana on one corner and a beautiful Israeli woman with blue eyes sits right next to our table, almost staring at the mountains outside. She looks curious and her gleaming blue eyes are glued to the mountains.

Our well made hookah and snacks give us a happy trip. I stare at the Israeli woman, trying to fall deep down her beautiful eyes. She suddenly catches me staring and gives me a smirk. I smile sheepishly at her. Embarrassed, I ask her “Would you like to join us?” She smiles and we instantaneously bond well. Her name is Kayle and she is from Israel (quite obviously) and has come to spend six months discovering India. She is currently halfway through her trip and plans to go ahead to Kasol, Manali, Leh and Goa. We talk for a while, and she takes leave telling us that she is planning for a trek ahead to TRIUND day after, which is a beautiful scenic hilltop location about 5 hours trek ahead of Mcleodgunj.

“We are going to Triund Raj!” I order.

“Dude, you gotta be kidding me” He says, surprised.

“I THINK I AM IN LOVE” I say.

We laugh.

So, this meant we had our further plans figured out and we would have to shift base to Mcleodgunj tomorrow and then figure out how to get to Triund day after. With our happy trip and my new found love, we trekked all the way back to Dharamshala. Finding are way through coniferous forests and wonderful army cantonments, we reached half dead at 9pm (we left Shiva café at 5.30pm), gorged on cheese burst pizzas (yes, we have Domino’s in Dharamshala) and slept like babies.

25^th July 2014 (Mcleodgunj)

I woke up at 8 am, quite late if we go by the ‘mountain early bird theory’ I mentioned earlier. We got ready and had black coffee and butter toast, which seemed the safest options to go by from the lodge menu in breakfast. We bid goodbye to ‘Mr. Babloo’ and checked out of the lodge. It was time to explore Mcleodgunj, the serene town in the hills of Himachal. I kept persuading Raj that we would go and enquire first about the trek route to Triund, before we do anything else. He in return told me that his heavy frame doesn’t allow him to trek five hours every day (basically he was finding it hard to digest the fact that we had trekked 15 kilometers downhill and almost lost our way so many times last night, I found it to be adventure, but a leg breaking price had to be paid for it). Moreover what would his ‘mummyji’ say? “Beta, you lost 3 kilos, Oh dayum! You look malnourished”. Raj wouldn’t let that happen.

But how could I let go of a chance of meeting a human angel. Where else would I find someone with eyes blue as sapphire and ebony black long hair right down to her thighs? Agreed, it wasn’t certain that we would meet her at the trek, as anything could happen. But, it was worth it! “I have to convince this douchebag to trek up the hill with me, anyhow!” I thought as a stared at huge posters of the Himachal CM in weird poses on electricity poles as the bus sped its way to Mcleodgunj.

Fortunately enough, we found cheap accommodation at ‘Tashi Travel Lodge’ which was a two minute walk from Mcllo Chowk, as soon as we reached. We fixed the deal at 500 rupees a day. The room was pretty basic and small, with no television. We threw our luggage on the bed and set out to explore the city. We were greeted with a subtle ‘Hi’ by the group of beautiful Israeli women who were staying in the next room as we left.

“Jackpot” Raj said and winked.

“Oh yeah!”

Like I said earlier, the town was a mixture of serenity and euphoria. We learned that the eateries or rather ‘cafes’ like they like to call themselves are very reasonably priced and offered a variety of cuisines to cater to the various nationalities of people who came. Israeli food was a hit, undoubtedly. All the cafes were equipped with awesome and the most comfortable seating arrangement with recliners and sofas and offered Free Wi-Fi for customer access (Wow, the cell phone companies would shut down if that starts happening in Delhi!). We went to the ‘GREEN POT CAFÉ’ which was near our lodge and managed a hearty meal for 200 rupees and not to mention the Wi-Fi was unbelievably fast (And FREE too! WOW!). We walked around the streets talking to random people, clicking stupid selfies and checking out Tibetan women.  We would ask people the things we could do in the town, some would say checking out the eateries would be a good idea, while others suggested the trek to Triund would be a different experience, some warned us against Israeli locals who wore BOB MARLEY T-shirts selling Malana (The purest form of hash) while others believed visiting the DALAI LAMA Temple was the best Idea. I made a note of the things that appealed to me with the first option being the most satisfying to my forever hungry stomach.

Conversations with Raj only yielded friction as I constantly tried to persuade him to accompany me to Triund. Trekking five hours just to see a scenic place was the last thing on his mind and vice versa in my case. I had to see Kayle again!  We figured out that the trek to Triund wasn’t as easy as it looked by the the name of it. You had to take a taxi to Dharamkot (another village about 5 kilometers uphill from Mcleodgunj) which costed us about 400 rupees one side (as the road was a difficult one!) and then start the trek from there which was another 12 kilometers uphill and difficult as hell. Raj freaked out on hearing the horrendous story and suggested that buying cannabis from Israeli locals and chilling in the room would be a good idea. I was on the verge of giving up. Convincing people is hard.

We spent rest of the day eating at various cafes, discovering ‘Nick’s pizzeria’ and ‘Munchy’s Fast food’ are awesomely delicious and reasonably priced replicas of Pizza Hut and KFC respectively. In the evening we visited the Dalai Lama temple, which was located 600 meters downhill from the mall road. The evening chants and wonderful Tibetan art alongside a phenomenally beautiful view of the mountains worked its way in making us feel peaceful inside. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go see Dalai Lama at his residence without permission (Sob! Sob!). After that, we played pool at a gaming arcade and went to enjoy a light snack and a “Pint of beer” at Mcllo restaurant (which was a top notch famous property there as every year during IPL matches at Dharamshala, it would see celebrity guests coming in). The terrace bar created a magical atmosphere with old country music playing in the background. We had an awesome conversation with a waiter there who suggested us to take a trek to Triund and then go to Dalhousie (another hill-station 150 kilometers away from Mcleodgunj). As the night got darker, the music got louder and our Pints kept multiplying, the conversation became even more fun. Raj, on the other hand seemed to pass out.

“ Dude! All okay?” I asked.

A loud intoxicated reply leaves me surprised.

“What time do we leave for Triund tomorrow?” he asks.

I swear if Raj was a girl, I would have kissed him right away.

“Dude say that again, I’ll record it in case you back out tomorrow.” I said half intoxicated half perplexed.

We laugh out loud. Hooliganism!

“Okay, so we leave at 9 am sharp.” I said.

“Three cheers to my brother’s new found love! Waiter bhai! Two more pints of beer please!”

We drink and dance stupidly on random Bollywood tracks which now play, providing necessary entertainment to our ‘depressed’ neighboring customers, until we are politely requested by the manager to leave.

25^th July 2014 (Triund)

We wake up with our usual hangover and curb it with a glass of black coffee. Raj regrets for having drinking so much last night and making a promise which he did not want to. Well, he had no choice! I had actually recorded him making the promise. He said that he felt my new found love deserved at least one real chance, in his intoxicated state. Alcohol works wonders sometimes, especially when it comes to melting stone hearted people! Look at the poor guy, he FEELS for me. I feel obliged.

As per our plan, we take a taxi to Dharamkot and the road was surely a dangerous gamble, especially if one is NOT an experienced local driving around the area. We plan to go up the hill and come back by evening (which obviously was an unreal approach, considering that we were amateur trekkers, who would be breathless every ten minutes while trekking up the hill).We take the cab driver’s phone number for future assistance and bid him goodbye. We start our trek and in about half an hour Raj starts his disapproval antics. His routine; stop every ten minutes-hurl out swear words at me-sit and relax- walk-repeat. I try and maintain sufficient distance from him and try and enjoy the wonderful trek instead. We come across waterfalls, lush green coniferous forests, different species of birds and other animals from the mountains. Whenever, we sat for a break, I closed my eyes and the sound of nature worked like meditation for me. My thoughts would constantly shift to Kayle, and whether if I would see her or not. Destiny has its own plans, always! But one thing was sure, if we didn’t find Kayle, Raj would swear at me all the way back downhill.

We continued our trek without much discussion; I indulged in discussions by interacting with people I came across on the way. I met a group of juveniles from Kerala, who were returning back to Mcleodgunj. They asked us to go above Triund to see ‘snow caps’ which were about another 3 hours of trek away from Triund. Raj smirked at me on hearing this and I mentally made a note to avoid the place. I would exchange greetings with anybody I saw and Raj would look at me unpleasantly and would tell me ‘To not WASTE my time’. Almost halfway through the beautiful trek, we met a group of college students from Mumbai, who had come to trek with a guide. We started walking with their group and Raj happened to find some solace in Preeti, a girl he befriended from the group. This made sure he would keep away from me, at least for some time. My thoughts constantly shifted to Kayle, her beautiful eyes and the way she smiled flaunting her impeccably white teeth. She had a lot of teeth!

We stopped at a local chai shop (Named Tea- café) and ordered maggi, sitting beside an Israeli hippie group who offered us ‘chillum’ and sat enduring the beautiful scenery ahead. I heard a familiar voice call out.

“Hey”

I look back, confused. Only to come back to my senses after a long pause, to the most beautiful wonder that ever existed.  The gleaming blue eyes and ebony black long hair. It was her!

“Hey Kayle, What’s up? You know what? I LOVE YOU. I have been behaving like a noob since the day I saw you. Where on earth have you been? I have been looking for you like crazy” Is apparently what I wanted to say. But instead I said;

“Hey Kayle! What’s up? How come you are here?”

“Remember I told you, I was coming here. So I should be the one asking. Have you been stalking me?”

I got a strange combination of cold shivers and Goosebumps on my body. How did she know!

“Umm…actually Raj wanted to come here. Plus, we weren’t left with much to do in Mcleodgunj” I replied sheepishly while passing a fake smile to Raj, who sat with Preeti. He returned the fake smile, showed his middle finger and went back to his conversation with the girl.

She laughed. I stood there embarrassed, trying not to look into her beautiful eyes.

“So you are coming with us to the party, right?” She casually asked as she lit up her perfectly rolled marijuana joint.

“Party?” I asked puzzled.

She explained the she, along with her Israeli group of friends, many of which were our contemporaries were going to have a rave uphill. This was an invitation I couldn’t refuse. She introduced me to her friends Avec and Ramatilla, a couple who had fled from their respective homes to find some solace in the Himalayas. We started walking with their group post our maggi break and discussed random topics. Avec was a psychedelic DJ back in Israel and Ramatilla was his school sweetheart. This ensured we had some good music coming our way this evening. We had some food shops uphill and nearly all the trekkers were equipped with alcohol and the Israelis ensured that we didn’t fall short of Cannabis and Malana. We were up for some good time!

Raj and his friends from Mumbai liked the idea and decided to join us in the rave as well. They had gallons of whisky stuffed in their backpacks. While everybody sat down for rest every fifteen minutes, Kayle walked like a machine. I tried to set an impression by trying to equal her pace, only to find myself breathless every few minutes. But this worked for me as Kayle would stop, seeing me lag behind and help me get my ass up. On the way, we talked about her life back in Israel, her hobbies, places she had travelled to and so on. This was one of the very few times, when I (a chatterbox!) actually enjoyed keeping shut and wished that she would keep on talking. I would notice her fiddling with her hair as we walked. She would see me doing so and would start laughing. I would pretend to be super tired, just so that I could sit and talk with her a little more. She would playfully hold my hands, trying to pull me along so that I don’t sit down. Aah! The best feeling in the world!

“What do you do, like for a living?” I asked her casually.

“I work in a strip club.” She replies even more casually, like it is the most obvious thing to do back in Israel.

“What!!” I said failing to hide my over enthusiasm.

“Yes! It is good money” she says, stopping for a moment to catch her breath.

I look at her with a big wide open mouth for a while.  Only after reality seeps in, I realize that it is not such a big deal. I mean yes, being an Indian guy it is hard to believe things of the world which collide with our values of the society in general. But on the contrary, I was getting time to spend with a stripper; a beautiful angelic stripper (doesn’t quite go together, right?)

As we trek, she tells me about her experiences in life and love, things of the destiny and soul. Her wonderful outlook towards life makes me even more attracted to her. She described love as a vibration and sex as meditation and art. For her all humans, men or women were all pieces of art who were created perfectly in their own unique ways. I found a painter, hidden deep down in the depths of her ocean- blue eyes. I thanked my stars mentally for the wonderful time I was spending with this woman.

Soon, a little drizzle started which in no time became a heavy pour. Kayle insisted that we keep on with our trek as we had almost reached. I could NOT disobey her and we kept on progressing despite the heavy rain and slippery stones along the way. We soon reached Triund and no doubt it was one beautiful scenic location. We sat at one chai shop where she lit a cigarette and I ordered for coffee. She smoked enduring the pleasant vibes of the place while I befriended a group of guys from Patiala were sitting at the shop and invited them to tonight’s rave which we were planning. They possessed a good stock of alcohol too.

About half an hour later, Raj and group arrived. It had stopped raining and we asked the locals for accommodation available. We were allotted tents on triple and twin sharing basis for 600 and 800 rupees a night.  The place had no electricity, no mobile network and no washrooms too. WTF! We rested for a bit, enjoying our tent experience and clicking pictures and then we set out to plan for the party in the evening.

Avec set up his portable console, a laptop and two ridiculously loud speakers while other friends of his rolled joints. Raj and the other guys from Mumbai sorted the bar, I and the group from Patiala went wood hunting for the bon-fire (Which made us do dangerous acrobatic stunts like almost hanging from cliffs as because of the rain most wood-pieces were wet and they would not catch fire. We would need dry wood for that, which obviously was pretty hard to find). Kayle, along with other girls freshened up and sat at the chai shop chatting and waiting for us to complete the job.

We started our party at 8pm, because it had become quite dark by then. Our bonfire was lit, despite the difficulty. The local chai shop owners were put to job for fixing our dinner for the night. The food items here were pretty expensive, the reason being high altitude and difficult conditions causing expensive transport. By 9pm the mood was set and we all were rolling. Raj and Preeti were nowhere to be seen while all other 35 odd people were doing their own thing. Some smoked joints while grooving along the music, while others made out with their partners and then there were people like me who were glued to the bar drinking and peeing simultaneously. I was very high and so was Kayle, who was dancing with the Mumbai girls, who were merrily mixing Bollywood steps and trance music. We stopped the party for a while, as everybody went for dinner at the chai shop,that is when Avec left his console open with a soft romantic track playing.

Intoxicated, I stupidly went up to Kayle and asked “Would you dance with me?”

Surprisingly, she agreed and rewarded me with the best moment of my life. Though I am sure we must have looked like laughing gags to anyone who saw us dancing, as we were really high! But I didn’t care. Holding her by the waist and embracing her presence, was all I wanted then. This was my moment!

After getting down some more alcohol down my throat, I lost count of time and events which happened thereafter. But I bleakly remember a peck on my left cheek before I passed out! (Or was it all my imagination?)

26^th July 2014 (Dharamshala)

I am woken up by neighing horses, which came to graze outside our tent. I see the sun has already risen and the first thing which comes to my mind is KAYLE. I decide to go to the chai shop to get some black coffee, the best and most effective remedy for curbing hangovers in my opinion. I pass by people lying lifeless in the open. I spot the group from Patiala, sleeping on top of each other and other Israeli stoners lying beside the bonfire area. Avec and Ramatilla sleep in their disheveled tent, which was almost fully open. There were sleeping bags and blankets lying on the grass and I spotted locals going to answer their nature calls holding bottle of water in their hands and going to the forest downhill. But amidst all these things, Kayle was nowhere to be found.

As a sipped by black coffee, the chai shop guy told me that a tall woman with blue eyes had come to his shop for a cup of tea and had left about one and a half hour back. Was he talking about Kayle? I checked the time, 6.15 am. If I do the math right, she left at 4.45 am. Why would she do that? Or why would anyone do that! Going downhill so early in the morning without any company? Why? My head spun and I felt Hung-over and miserable. Even black coffee didn’t work this time around and I felt a sinking feeling in my heart. The fantasies I had in mind regarding more awesome conversations with her while going back downhill, if not anything else went for a toss. I felt crushed!

Engulfed by sadness and despair, I started my trek downhill with Raj and the Mumbai group at 8am. Avec and his friends wanted to stay up longer and the group of guys from Patiala lay as motionless and dead as I saw them two hours back! The trek downhill was easier but boring. I lacked energy and motivation. I had no company whereas Raj was having the time of his life with Preeti and others. I walked behind them, only to find Raj constantly asking me to buck up and not lag behind (like I was doing yesterday!). My thoughts constantly shifted to Kayle. Her beautiful eyelids curved perfectly to make her eyes look mystic. Had I been painter, she would have been my muse. I looked for reasons she could do what she did. Maybe, she was another mysterious personality? Or she had other plans? Whatever it was, I knew that I wasn’t going to see her again. I had had my time and was thankful for that. This thought made me feel better and I went ahead and joined Raj and the Mumbai group, hoping it would help distract my mind off Kayle. Raj’s stories and off beat jokes seemed to work a little too. I asked Raj what we were going to do in the two days which remained. He was clueless and so was I. After a while it struck me, Dalhousie! The waiter at Mcllo Restaurant said the other day, that it would be a good Idea. Raj meekly agreed and went back to Preeti. We reached Dharamkot at about 11.30am as the trek was easier downhill. We bid goodbye and exchange numbers with the Mumbai group, before they left for Delhi, from where they had a flight back to Mumbai the next day.

We called the same cab driver who came to drop us yesterday. He came to pick us up right away and we asked him to drop us to Dharamshala from where we could get a bus to Dalhousie. Raj came back to his usual aggressive and grumpy self right after the moment he split from Preeti.  He would complain about how difficult the trek was and how he had had enough. He just wanted to sit and relax in the hotel room. I ignored him until he became a complete nuisance when he refused to go as we were about to board the bus to Dalhousie. This ensured that we had a dangerous verbal brawl and I threatened him that I would return back to Delhi if he were to behave the way he was doing. In return he said I was free to go wherever I wanted but he would stay in Dharamshala for the next 2 days. He was giving me a bad trip and there was little I could do. After two hours of completely ignoring each other, we came to an agreement and settled down at staying one night at Dharamshala and leaving for Delhi the next day.

We went back to “Babloo’s Holiday Home’ and checked in right away. We rested for a while and by evening we were back to our usual playful selves. That is the thing about guy fights, it all happens when it happens! And after a while, it is all forgiven and forgotten. We decided to Rent a Royal Enfield motorcycle and explore the town and other areas that were left nearby and were within reach by road. We got a decent bargain of 1300 rupees a day from the guy at the bike workshop (considering the fact that we had the bike with us all night!). Alongside, we also booked for the bus back home in order to relieve all stress at one go. We enjoyed the hill riding experience and rode to nearby places like the cricket stadium and Kangra. We ate a hearty Indian meal for dinner before we returned back to our travel lodge.

Surprisingly, our room was raided by the local police around 12.30am. They checked for illegal substances but couldn’t find any (thankfully we had finished all our stuff by then). They checked our ID’s and then peacefully left without causing much hassle. “Phew! That is close” I said as I winked towards Raj. “Thank your stars, dude” He replied before we both dozed off.

27^th July, 2014 (Dharamshala-Dal Lake-Kangra –Gaggal)

Our bus back home was scheduled for 6.30pm and we had the whole day to do whatever we felt like. Moreover, we had the bike till evening too so we could explore more places nearby. We enjoyed eating street food for breakfast before leaving for Dal Lake, which was 4 kilometers above mcleodgunj. The army cantonment and the challenging steep roads were fun to explore. Dal Lake was just another tourist spot, nothing special. We stayed there for a while playing the stone throwing game, eventually getting bored and coming back downhill. The fun about riding downhill was that you didn’t need to run the engine of the motorcycle, gravity did its job all you needed to do was balance the vehicle. This was a good economical option too as it helped us save fuel. The entire afternoon was spent riding through lush green caves, feeling the light mountain drizzle on the face, exploring nature and not to forget taking some really good pictures. From towns like Kangra (which happened to have a well made airport runway) to Gaggal and exploring various temples and monasteries, we did it all. Which somehow made me wonder that going to Dalhousie wouldn’t have been a good idea at all, as there were so many places lying unexplored in the region itself. We rode till we drained our fuel completely where in a traffic cop, who had stopped us earlier in the day to give us a challan receipt, came to our rescue by giving us some spare fuel and an awesome conversation about development projects in Dharamshala.

The trip had come to an end and I was taking so many wonderful memories back to Delhi. As I sat in the bus and closed my eyes, it all came back to me. The unexpected change in trip destinations, the restaurants having free Wi-Fi, the visit to the Dalai Lama temple, The rave, The verbal brawl with Raj (who was now snoring loudly!), The challenging bike rides and the girl with beautiful blue eyes who had somehow managed to keep my heart with herself. This was one trip I would definitely miss!

28^th July, 2014

I checked the time, 5.45am! We had got down near Jahangir Puri metro station, as the bus sped its way to ISBT Kashmiri Gate. Raj’s house was a five minute walk from the metro station so I bid goodbye to him as left with his bag-pack. I waited for the metro station to open. A large crowd gathered around the station gate. The city was waking up to a busy Monday morning. It was time to get back into action!

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-- Ka-Sak

About the writer!

The writer known by a pen name, 'Ka-Sak' is a fitness freak, who does modelling and in his words, he is someone who, "emphasizes on all experiences in life". He likes to travel and it is music that keeps him motivated. 

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This is for the first time, a write-up by a guest. It was chosen appropriate for this blog, because of its 'straight from heart' content. www.gagansvaid.blogspot.in , appreciates such meaningful, life enriching write-up.