Day -1 - Shimla-Sarahan

The Volvo reached Shimla on time at around 6'o clock in the morning. We got freshened at the bus-stand and thought of having a chai, but heard that the bus to Kalpa is leaving. We didnt want to waste any time as its better to travel in morning when its pleasant. So got into the bus and took tickets till Jeori. Below is the bus which proves that - No (Back) Pain, No Gain. The bus stopped at a place near Narkanda for Tea. After that it reached Rampur by around 11:00 am, i.e around 5 hours for Shimla-Rampur. Below are some pics we clicked near Rampur bus-stand. After that by around 12:00 we reached Jeori.





At Jeori we had to wait for around 1 hour for another bus. The auto guys were asking for around 250/, but again we didnt feel like spending money. The bus was completely packed and i just dozed off, dont know how i fell asleep with so much sweat.

Sarahan:
1. As we enter the village, all the pain is gone with the sight of the 800 year old Bhimkali temple. Its just amazing. We checked into the HPTDC hotel - Srikhand which is just 100 metres from temple.
2. Finished our bath and then had our lunch at Srikhand. Tasted their special dessert - Srikhand Kheer made from Corn, Cashew, Bread, biscuits and milk.
3. Started trekking to the Bird Pheasantry (Chidiya Ghar) which is on a small hill. Not only we get amazing views of the temple from this place, but we can see the beautiful bird 'Monal', which is Himachal's state bird. Dont think its just another chidiya ghar and give it a miss. The trek is very simple and to and fro you can do in 1 hour along with plenty of time for photography.
4. After coming back, we went into the temple and i soaked myself in the temple surroundings and savoured it to the fullest. The next day is Janmasthami and there was decoration going on. Its an amazing feeling climbing those stairs of the temple. We attended the Aarti also and then had Momo, Thumpka at the small Tibetan eatery near the temple. Below are the beautiful pics of Bhimkali temple and the HPTDC Srikhand hotel.

Day-0-Delhi-Shimla

Boarded the Volvo from Himachal Bhawan, near CP. Finding Himachal bhawan near Mandi house is a little bit tricky. Thanks to Subodh's father, we found it easily. The Volvo's to Shimla are maintained very well. We had very good Aloo-Puri as our dinner, Courtesy- Subodh's mother. But i couldnt sleep well because of the blaring of movie played in the bus. The movie is -Kambhakht Ishq - A high budget 3rd rated crap movie- similar to other Akshay movies-i.e. leave your brains at home. Hero & Heroine calling each other 'bastard' and 'bitch' is not comedy for someone like me!
All the stunts Mr. Akshay does in this movie are showed everyday 4-5 times in the Universal Studios, L.A. I saw them in the one day Universal Studio tour in L.A. After Chandigarh the movie was stopped, thanks to those who complained.

Planning Of Kinnaur Trip

In August, 2009 i was planning to go somewhere during my birthday as i was getting 4 days holidays. The state i zeroed-in on was Himachal Pradesh. As i have been to Shimla last year, this time i wanted to explore something interior of Himachal which is less travelled by Indians and thus a little bit less crowded. I remember pradeep's pics of 'chitkul', which is the last village on Indo-Tibet border. After browsing 'indiamike.com', i found that i can club this place along with 'Sarahan'. For more than 6 months i was in awe of the pics of 'Sarahan' Bhimkali temple and now atlast here i go.

So now coming to the trip planning. The below sites were of immense help:
1. IndiaMike
2. Srinivasan's Blog
3. Himachal Tourism Site - For booking of accomodation in Sarahan.
4. HRTC website - For detailed list of bus timings. Though the site may not be up-to-date, it helps in just getting a feel of the bus timings. As we are not travelling in a big group, we didnt want to splurge money on a private vehicle for the whole trip.

Few people on Indiamike advised me for a one night stop at Narkanda, but as per the suggestion of one of my colleagues i didnt. The reason is -dont waste one night in Narkanda and spoil the 4 day trip. Instead go to Narkanda in a weekend if you want, more over there is nothing in Narkanda in no-snow season.

Now this is the itinerary i planned (though it changed pleasantly later)
Day 0- Delhi - Shimla Volvo.
Day 1- Reach Shimla early in the morning. Catch a bus to Sarahan from Shimla Bus stand. This will be the regular bus and be prepared for a bumpy roller coaster ride in the hills. For Sarahan, we need to go via Rampur, Jeori. We can take any bus to Kalpa, Sangla or ReckengPeo and get down at Jeori and take another bus. Sarahan is around 170 kms from Shimla.
Do the trek to Bird Pheasantry, Attend arti in temple, spend time in and around temple.
Day 2- Check out and leave to Sangla or Kalpa. Most of the day in travel. Night stay.
Day 3 - Explore Sangla/Chitkul or Kalpa. Night stay.
Day 4 - Leave for Delhi. A very long journey.
Day 5 - Back to Office :(

From Swanky Hyderabad Airport

Back after a long long hiatus. I remember writing a post on my blog from the Denver Airport in October, 2008. At that time i wrote (about hopes and dreams) of Indian Airports also becoming sophisticated and Indians also getting that kind of infrastructure. Now i see things moving in that direction. I am posting this from the swanky airport of Hyderabad. I am very much pleased and happy to see the way Hyderabad's airport is managed and even the road that leads to the airport is getting improved on a day-by-day basis. I dont mean this just because of the 45 minutes free wi-fi internet we get, but its about Bose Speakers in which they announce instructions, the way airport interiors are done and cute things like pictures of the tourist places of Andhra, writing Tamil or Telugu Script letters on few boarding gates. Also i am noticing some change in the etiquette of the staff who handle passenger services.
Another little thing of interest - One of my colleagues asked me about Karachi biscuits of Hyderabad and he told me that they are famous. (Surprisingly i never cared before :)). He told me to bring those biscuits when i go to home. As usual all these kind of things start hitting me only in the last minute and therefore i couldnt buy. And to my surprise i noticed these biscuits being sold in nice packs at the airport. Not just these but even the famous PullaReddy Sweets also. This confirms what we always hear that developing airports or infrastructure will definitely develop the economy and improve the quality of life. Without this airport can a small, insignificant bakery like 'karachi bakery' think of doing this kind of business or getting this kind of exposure ? Way to go India...