Just another brick in the wall. NOT!

Birds eye View (Jaipur)

The journey of a lifetime, the place, the moment and the people.

Jaipur -> Delhi -> Chandigarh -> Manali -> Rohtang -> Delhi -> Bombay

It started off as a casual plan sitting outside college it unfolded into an unforgettable trip.

I left from Delhi on 23/05/2009 for Jaipur in the worst bus imaginable, two others left from Bombay to reach Jaipur on the 24th and one left from Bombay on the 24th by flight. The coming together in Jaipur was nothing like anything we had experienced. After a tour of the city and some very good food. We visited Jaigarh Fort and Nahargarh the place where the famous Rang De Basanti song was shot, Cameras can change the face of any location, Nahargarh is far more interesting in reality the Entire Fort has an imposing view of Jaipur City (which is larger than I had imagined).

Prime Parking Spot!

We had booked tickets for Chandigarh for the 25th from where we would go to Manali by car. As fate had it the train got cancelled due to riots in Punjab. Panic! We had to get to Manali, but we had no way of doing so, we rushed to the bus stand but all buses to Chandigarh were full. Everyone’s brains were running in overdrive mode. We couldn’t manage a bus to Delhi also. I am usually one of the lazy people in the group and  I was running around looking for a bus to get us out of Jaipur!

We were lucky to get a bus to Delhi after 2 hours of running around the bus was a non ac sleeper but we would’ve sat on a bullock cart that promised to get us somewhere. The journey from Jaipur to Delhi was uneventful apart from the fact that we saw our first shooting star at a local dhaba(restaurant) midway to Delhi. We reached the Delhi bus stand at 5 in the morning. Within 15 minutes we ate breakfast, ran to the stand where the Chandigarh buses were, bought our tickets and ran after the bus for a few meters before we lugged our bags on board and got on. The bus was the local kind, with people standing and the bus humming along the Highway at snail’s pace.

We reached Chandigarh just before noon. We had been traveling by road for 10 hours and each one of us had hungry solemn faces. It was going to be a 10 hour drive. After meeting a friend in Chandigarh and picking up lip smacking parathas, we went to a McDonald’s to wash up and grab some food for the road and charge our phones. Rationing the phone battery was a pain! No chargers for 20 hours straight!

The Long winding road

Once we were in the car we forgot all our troubles and it didn’t matter how tired we were. The journey from Chandigarh to Manali was a trip through winding roads and tantalizing streams that were cutting their way through the mountain side. By the time we reached Kullu it was 8.00 pm and we were running on fumes! Fortunately we booked a place to stay on the phone which we later discovered was a rip-off. It also started raining which slowed us down en-route to Manali. We finally reached Manali at 10.00 pm and all we wanted was a hot meal and a warm bed. The weather was enviable and the thunder and lightning added to the effect.

Another first happened when we entered the bathroom of our apartment in the bathtub was a scorpion. The owner coyly apologized and ensured that there was no risk.

26th May, 10 in the morning we decide to go pay our tribute to Rohtang. Everyone was well rested so we were up for the 4 hour journey to 18,000 feet above sea level! Now the road to Rohtang is a single lane road with a cliff on one side and a mountain on the other. Rohtang is a truly a painting from an artists imagination, cloudy skies, streams running, virgin snow at your feet. We couldn’t manage to get hold of gum boots so we decided to walk up in our trusty Converse in hindsight a big mistake.

I don’t want to describe Rohtang cause I can’t do it justice! Thank God for Cameras!

We did get to see Yaks, Sit on tube slides, visit an igloo temple,watch people skiing and zorbing, eat maggi and drink coffee which was great after climbing a snow-clad peak. Once the chilly waters had trickled to our feet it was time to head back to mortal-land.

Once we got back we had to find a place to stay as we had ditched the previous one. We were traveling with all our bags and Rohtang can get tiring! Then we discovered Old Manali. Which is just an extension of Manali with dirt cheap places to stay, great cafes and people. There were all night bakeries which serve the best donuts and chocolate cakes all through the night! Two cafes that deserve a mention are Drifters Inn and Peoples Cafe both served great food and an incomparable ambience.

A4 papers and Crayons to let the creativity flow (Peoples Cafe)

In Old Manali all you need to do is relax at the cafes talk to all kinds of people and most importantly wake up to the most intoxicating sun-rise. There are a lot of Israeli cafes in the area so the cuisine served is mostly continental and a lot of pita bread and hummus.

27th was an early morning as we headed for white water rafting. The trip was coming to an end as we had a train to catch from Delhi on the 28th.

Picture this, Manali is a cold place, Mornings are very cold in any city and we decided to brave the waters of this cold place in the morning. It was a fifteen minute journey in the cool waters of freshly melted snow from the Himalayas. The chilly water splashing on your face as the rickety inflatable boat is tossed about by the fury of the current. After Rafting we were en-route to the hotel to pack-up. When suddenly in that half an hour we decided the stay must go on (forgive the cliche). Frantic phone calls were made train tickets cancelled, flight tickets for the 29th booked and the hotel stay extended. We decided to send the car back and travel by bus to Delhi for our flight. It was after all the night of the Champions league finals! Manchester United annihilated by Barcelona! 28th May the entire night we celebrated Barcelona’s victory and the fact that we extended the trip, i think it was the cold water that got to our heads and made us do it.

The next morning with teary eyes we went for our final lunch at a riverside cafe, and left for the Manali bus stand. We couldn’t get a mode of transport so we took a lift from an open air transport rickshaw. We booked our bus tickets and for the last time bid the marvelous hills goodbye!

The bus journey was uneventful for the most part except for rainbow caused due to the light rainfall. Seeing a rainbow in such an atmosphere can be a sight to treasure for a lifetime.

We reached Delhi at 6 am on the 29th and since we had a 4-5 hours before the flight we went to Chandni Chowk for a hearty Delhi style breakfast.

Ah yes of course bad luck wasn’t to leave us so soon we were shown the ugly side of Delhi when one of my friends bags got stolen from Chandni Chowk, but of course nothing could be done about that.

Metro washroom to freshen up and change!

Laal Kila

Metro to the airport

The return flight was highly turbulent and we concluded it to be part of the great adventure we had.

The purpose of the trip was to leave a mark on the Himalayas, to explore and discover the unseen. We realized we had used almost all modes of transport.(Flight,train,bus,car,raft,tempo). The purpose of the trip was to go where we hadn’t been to walk into the lap of nature that the spirits had so carefully crafted. The purpose of the trip was to experience Heaven on Earth and we did!

It was a journey that began in college and reached the lofty heights of the Himalayas!

Link to clear trip submission - http://mypurpose.cleartrip.com/trips/19675