Planning and the Roadblocks
Every meeting at table no.7 on our roof top office cafeteria would always start with some planning for an adventurous trek, its details and finally ending with just two or three out of faalltu five being available for the next weekend. Being in an IT company and in the same team helped us keeping the discussion always alive but never realized. It took more than 6 months of fierce discussion and without fist fights to get the plan finalized. These 6 months weren’t without losses. One of us lost his bachelorhood. Another started frequenting his native place for bride hunting every weekend. Our senior most, in search of the actual meaning of truth joined French classes instead of Satsang. The plan was to come to office with back-packs on Friday, make chits for 4-5 destinations, select one and head for that destination. But this plan was never executed. One fine day with all five of us @table no.7, decided for the final move and every one sweared by the vapors from tea cup, that no matter what happened the trip will happen and place decided was Mcleodganj, Himachal Pradesh. The D-day 18th Sep-2009, finally arrived and surprisingly just two turned up with back-packs, rest 3 dumped again. But we two decided to continue and break the jinx. Will all the enthu gathered over last 6 months we headed for the New Delhi Railway Station in the evening and boarded the train.
Click here for more pics of Dharamsala - Mcleodganj More Triund Pics
Day 1
Reached Pathankot in morning @ 9 am only to realize that we are late by whopping 3 hours, thanks to Mamta di’s Indian Railway. But we did some utilization of our on board time, by getting out return tatkal ticks booked on phone through our Mathura Das. Make sure you do arrange for your return on this sector, its not easy. Once out of the small town railway station we were gherao-ed by people who seemed to be the founding members of the All India Cycle Rickshaw Association of Punjab. For once we even felt someone has just yelled meley Karan – Arjun aa gaye . But soon we realized everyone coming out of the station meted the same response and the Karan – Arjuns were now a just another customer. We didn’t disappoint anyone and entertained all of them with some typical dilli shytle Ricks bargaining till we heard hurrrr. because of our tall claims of being natives of the place a few minutes back, we didn’t want to ask anyone the way to the bus stand, which was our next hop. Walking down the narrow road in front of the station, we asked some one or as we pretended just to confirm the way to the busadda. Setting our back packs right, Ranbir Kapoor way we now started the hunt for some decent breakfast corner on the way, but got disappointment as is expected in places near Railway station.
One overly enthusiastic dhaba owner’s entrepreneurial welcome skills unknowingly pulled us into his small eatery. Had our not so Punjab style tea and paranthas, which were anything but enjoyable. Don’t remember if we cleaned out teeth before getting down from the train, but for sure they were not, once out of the dingy place. Making sure we have not been directed to Paki border we asked another Lion of Punjab on the street, way to the bus stand. Without uttering anything he only tilted his (my thigh size) neck in the direction of bus stand. And before he got it back into its original position, we had covered almost half a kilometer making sure not to break into laughter in-front of him. Set out for bus station which was now at a walking distance. The Pathankot bus station is fairly clean and well kept as compared to our ISBT and also got to see a alert newspaper reading lady constable and lots of trimmed beard Nihaal Singh’s( the counterparts of Delhi thullas) who was prompt enough to enquire about our bags while we were standing just 4 feet away, getting our shoes right for the exciting trek we were off to.
After a quick post mortem of the age old bus timetable sporting Hind and of course Punjabi details, we realized to have already missed our first bus to Mcleodganj. We could have caught the bus had we decided to break at the bus stand cafeteria instead of the one we chose outside. It would have been a much better choice for its cleanliness and menu. Well, the next bus will depart in 30 min time, and it also doesn’t have a 1 on 1 free ticket offer for visa card holder. How primitive! We thought. No other option left, we bought the tickets for 150 bucks each. While waiting for the bus and appreciating the stand our bus is finally spotted and agrees to land at its parking spot with conductor constant whistling and yelling aand do aand do . Chintu Buntu style sincere passengers like us with pre-bought tickets quickly boarded the bus for a window seat.
And then comes our Pakia conductor who convinced an equal number of people still standing at the stand to come along with his persistent shouting of Mcleodganj Dharamshala .Mcleodganj advertising shouts. We are still not sure if those innocent ones actually wanted to go anyway the bus started @ 11am and we were more interested in that. Bus was full of people from all walks, gora foreigners, local taus and of course shoe string budget travelers like us. After spending around 2 hours, driver took a lunch break at a place called – Dramman which was a halt of another 20 min. I almost lost my specs, while washing face, lying on low rise rock. A tau had nearly stepped on it to give the old specs a new geometry à @ angle of 180 degrees w.r.t the glasses. Well, there were still another 10 min to be killed before we set on to our way and driver has his value for bidi money. The road ahead looked plain??? NOooooo. That was a wrong judgment. Rest of the journey was in hilly areas and quite tiring. Because we also avoided our lunch at Dramman feeling both hungry and tired was obvious.
We were now in territory of the State ofHimachal Pradesh . Not being famous for notorious people, the journey was bound to be monotonous and trying hard to sleep was the only option.
But only an hour and a half nap was enough for us to have reached Dharamshala.Suddenly the sounds from outside of bus became louder than bus engine’s and we woke up to experience an all together different weather. Yep.there you are. Welcome to Dharamshala bus stand. We were kinda relieved to have reached somewhere atleast after almost 16 hours of journey so far. It was 2 PM now. BUT But but Mcleaodganj was still 45 minutes more of journey as claimed our conductor. Already hell tired now every minute seemed an hour. Pakia cheated us here. Journey is actually more than 45 minutes and he also convinced us to stick to his bus and not board any other. We wasted almost an hour waiting for bus to start again for McLeodganj. There was no option either, having missed the previous Mcleodganj bus which Pakia didn’t allow us to take and taxis are expensive unless you are in a large group. The bus starts again and we somehow plugged our draining energy to guilt the now crooked looking ticket collector for making us waste an hour. Of course with some harsh arguments. Realizing to have been cornered he gives us a discount on our tickets to McLeodganj. That’s not important whats more important is We Won!!! Jaago grahak Jaago .
Soon, the bus halts at a stand and lots of school children in their Nirma ™ white uniforms crowd the bus. Environment was again very lively and the student’s sincere pondering on issues took us to our school days. Some intense discussions were on regarding the Maths exam paper they had just completed. Those discussions were engaging and made us cover the last mile faster. Back packs on the shoulders again, we end the daunting journey finally! Final destination: Mcleodganj bus stand. Which is adjacent to the McLoedganj square- city’s only THE hep area but definitely far far from the NY times square from which the name seems inspired For all those visiting for the purpose of adventure like trekking etc. we recommend a stay in Mcleodganj instead of Dharamshala. Dharamshala doesn’t have excitement, so called night life and above all proximity to Triund and further Illaka treks. Though you can get much cheaper accommodations in Dharamshala. Area around McLeodganj square is not as crowded as Delhi is, but if you want a more quite place to stay, the address is Bhagsunath in McLeodganj which is a must visit place also and has a few temples as well. Bhagsunath is just 1km from Mcleodganj square and there is a plenty to be enjoyed there. The views and openness of the place, the morning sunrays greeting you straight in your cozy bed.
Being a tourist place and we looking to be ideal bakras, few of the hotel agents approached us. Setting their expectations right we straight away asked for budget accommodations and headed to one of them. Listening at the rates we were disappointed like anything. There was no scope for bargaining.they were already dirt cheap. Deal was struck with the first hotel and the cash transaction was executed instantly. This was perhaps our biggest mistake. A big advice to all planning a visit to the place – Do check the room and its views! They might be blocked and you will miss out on the nature at its best in the valley around which most of the motels are built.After finding a makaan, next was roti because kapda we were carrying. How simple. Playing safe, we had our lunch at a Punjabi dhaba. Good thing about Punjabi dhabas is you can always find them at any place on this earth. We decided to have it open air, the weather was cold with breeze and clouds flowing above the hot food. Views were amazing and the food was too good and tasted even more delicious because we were having lunch @ 4pm. Be it office work or vacations, sleep must follow the meals. Took a 2 hour nap, hoping to feel better from the travel fatigue.
Next day trek plan seemed like an uphill task after the marathon journey. We took an evening stroll in the market and bought some travel essentials for the trek. Our 1-2 hour gedi in the McLoedganj started with a chai at tapri. Enquired about the trek route from the locales, who also gave some useful tips like time to start should not be more than 7 in the morning. We also bought some Uncle chips and kit kats likes. Back in the hotel room, watched some Bhool Bhulaiya and then left for our dinner. Surprisingly most of eating outlets were about to close by then. Luckily we found a Tibetan restaurant and ordered our first Tibetan dinner with lots of pondering over the dish descriptions. Quantity was too much for us but the food was really delicious. Our smiling waiter readily agreed to have the dog food packed. We enjoyed our dinner, wished our Hari his birthday and then decided to do a gedi again to see night life of Mcleodganj. Most of the shops were closed; just few foreigners and tourists strolling around mcleodganj square and few pan wala and liquor shops were the only one opened. We enquired about all the possible routes to Triund, the fortcuts, and thee chotta fortcuts. With all this information we headed back to our hotel as it was already 10.30pm didn’t want Dead Men Walking title. Such places go dead silent by this hour. We decided to go to sleep so that we could start early in the morning.
We were now in territory of the State of
But only an hour and a half nap was enough for us to have reached Dharamshala.Suddenly the sounds from outside of bus became louder than bus engine’s and we woke up to experience an all together different weather. Yep.there you are. Welcome to Dharamshala bus stand. We were kinda relieved to have reached somewhere atleast after almost 16 hours of journey so far. It was 2 PM now. BUT But but Mcleaodganj was still 45 minutes more of journey as claimed our conductor. Already hell tired now every minute seemed an hour. Pakia cheated us here. Journey is actually more than 45 minutes and he also convinced us to stick to his bus and not board any other. We wasted almost an hour waiting for bus to start again for McLeodganj. There was no option either, having missed the previous Mcleodganj bus which Pakia didn’t allow us to take and taxis are expensive unless you are in a large group. The bus starts again and we somehow plugged our draining energy to guilt the now crooked looking ticket collector for making us waste an hour. Of course with some harsh arguments. Realizing to have been cornered he gives us a discount on our tickets to McLeodganj. That’s not important whats more important is We Won!!! Jaago grahak Jaago .
Soon, the bus halts at a stand and lots of school children in their Nirma ™ white uniforms crowd the bus. Environment was again very lively and the student’s sincere pondering on issues took us to our school days. Some intense discussions were on regarding the Maths exam paper they had just completed. Those discussions were engaging and made us cover the last mile faster. Back packs on the shoulders again, we end the daunting journey finally! Final destination: Mcleodganj bus stand. Which is adjacent to the McLoedganj square- city’s only THE hep area but definitely far far from the NY times square from which the name seems inspired For all those visiting for the purpose of adventure like trekking etc. we recommend a stay in Mcleodganj instead of Dharamshala. Dharamshala doesn’t have excitement, so called night life and above all proximity to Triund and further Illaka treks. Though you can get much cheaper accommodations in Dharamshala. Area around McLeodganj square is not as crowded as Delhi is, but if you want a more quite place to stay, the address is Bhagsunath in McLeodganj which is a must visit place also and has a few temples as well. Bhagsunath is just 1km from Mcleodganj square and there is a plenty to be enjoyed there. The views and openness of the place, the morning sunrays greeting you straight in your cozy bed.
Being a tourist place and we looking to be ideal bakras, few of the hotel agents approached us. Setting their expectations right we straight away asked for budget accommodations and headed to one of them. Listening at the rates we were disappointed like anything. There was no scope for bargaining.they were already dirt cheap. Deal was struck with the first hotel and the cash transaction was executed instantly. This was perhaps our biggest mistake. A big advice to all planning a visit to the place – Do check the room and its views! They might be blocked and you will miss out on the nature at its best in the valley around which most of the motels are built.After finding a makaan, next was roti because kapda we were carrying. How simple. Playing safe, we had our lunch at a Punjabi dhaba. Good thing about Punjabi dhabas is you can always find them at any place on this earth. We decided to have it open air, the weather was cold with breeze and clouds flowing above the hot food. Views were amazing and the food was too good and tasted even more delicious because we were having lunch @ 4pm. Be it office work or vacations, sleep must follow the meals. Took a 2 hour nap, hoping to feel better from the travel fatigue.
Next day trek plan seemed like an uphill task after the marathon journey. We took an evening stroll in the market and bought some travel essentials for the trek. Our 1-2 hour gedi in the McLoedganj started with a chai at tapri. Enquired about the trek route from the locales, who also gave some useful tips like time to start should not be more than 7 in the morning. We also bought some Uncle chips and kit kats likes. Back in the hotel room, watched some Bhool Bhulaiya and then left for our dinner. Surprisingly most of eating outlets were about to close by then. Luckily we found a Tibetan restaurant and ordered our first Tibetan dinner with lots of pondering over the dish descriptions. Quantity was too much for us but the food was really delicious. Our smiling waiter readily agreed to have the dog food packed. We enjoyed our dinner, wished our Hari his birthday and then decided to do a gedi again to see night life of Mcleodganj. Most of the shops were closed; just few foreigners and tourists strolling around mcleodganj square and few pan wala and liquor shops were the only one opened. We enquired about all the possible routes to Triund, the fortcuts, and thee chotta fortcuts. With all this information we headed back to our hotel as it was already 10.30pm didn’t want Dead Men Walking title. Such places go dead silent by this hour. We decided to go to sleep so that we could start early in the morning.
 |
| The prayer wheels |
Day2
We got up early @ 6 am in the morning, had our hot water baths and got ready with our travel gears. By this time it was 7am and we could see many foreigners had already started while we were having our tea at McLeodganj square. We quickly finished our tea and started with the first short cut route – the less traveled one, as it was not motor able we could not spot other trekkers on that route but only a few localities and monks. The first km of the route was the toughest for us but after that the trek became more enjoying and we kept on walking with our frequent photo session breaks in between.
 |
| Bhageera following Leela |
We were continuously setting the short target for our selves like will not rest for next 30 min and while trekking also entered into an un-announced competition with a trekker group, of reaching Triund before them and win it. But the 9 km trek was worth it, we realized it just when we hit the Triund ground. What a view! you are actually above the clouds, crystal clear mountains and just greenery every where.
There are 2-3 shops where you can get food, tea or Maggi. One government guest house and one restaurant/hotel have also come up. The shop owner also rent out their tents, sleeping bags, arrange for born fire at night. After roaming around, clicking photos we ordered our lunch for the day. By that time lots of groups were at the top, so the place was much more livelier now, the crowd was good. We spotted a dog couple – whom we instantly named as Leela and Bhageera. The couple soon became very friendly with a French group – the reason as we guessed was that the girls might have fed them with hand made Italian biscuits bought especially for Phunshuk Wangdu. After some time the entire Triund was engulfed by dense clouds and now we were amidst the clouds but after 10 minutes it was again crystal clear, and after another 10 minutes it suddenly started raining and we ran for shelter in the shop, which by now was crowded by all the trekkers. The rained didn’t last long and then it was bright sun just after that, making the place all the more enjoying. The weather change is quite sudden at these places so it’s better to be well equipped for this than to go by just weather reports. We started our return journey from Triund at 4pm and descent was quite fast with lesser breaks. While returning we saw the foreigner group standing at crossroads – trying to figure out which way to go. They enquired the locals about it and didn’t believe them, then it was my turn Ghajni style, after walking the few steps I confirmed the route with my whistle signal. We were able to reach Mcleodganj in just 2 hrs. Reaching Mcleodganj square we saw a procession going on- enquiring a little about we came to know that its Free Tibet silent procession. By that time we were quite tired so we decide to rest for while and then hit the Mcleodganj square again at time. We had our Italian dinner and discussed the next days’ plan. We dozed off early being quite tired after our 18 km Triund trek.
Day 3
Next morning we headed for Bhagsunath temple and the fall. Both the places are very good and the fall is at a distance of less than a km from the temple but its worth going there. And don’t forget to take your swimming trunks and towels as I am sure no body can resist testing the depth of that pond. The last 20 meters of path to the fall is not a very comfortable walk, and requires caution. People especially those with kids don’t cross that small stretch and miss the fun at streams below the main fall. After returning back we headed to another Punjabi dhaba again, had our dahi-pickle-parantha break fast.
 |
| Way to Bhagsunag fall |
At the breakfast table we enquired about Bir-Billing to try for para-gliding. It is about 15 km from that Bhagsunath and the charges for Para-gliding are also too high. Before leaving for Dharamshala we visited the local places, DalaiLama residency, church. Boarded the bus for Pathankot from Dharamshala bus stand, and enjoyed the country side on the way. Back in Pathanklot had our satisfying and hygienic lunch at the Bus stand restaurant. Got some paranthas packed for our on the way dinner in train. Reached station on time to find a big time confusion in finding our train. Courtesy: Indian railways naming convention -All trains from Jammu
Blog compiled & composed by Mohit and Surjan
