The first Travel tale on
Thursday is here :) There will be two travel tales each month. Memories,
accidents, hilarious episodes, reviews of a place, wish list – it all will be
part of these Thursday tales. Excited? Read on.
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My parents are pretty
cool people. I found my freedom at quite an early age and have been living
independently for a long time now. If ever one thing that freaks them out, it
is my travel plans with friends. My permission fiasco was daringly shared as a
guest post on Richa’s profile a while ago. (Read it here at http://subzeroricha.blogspot.in/2013/11/mom-actually-there-is-trip.html)
Okay, not to exaggerate
it. All that freaking out is thing of past and my parents now happily accept my
travel plan announcements.
So it was my Birthday in
2012 and it fell on a Saturday. Adding cherry to the cake, Friday was a
holiday. Thus, there I was with a long Birthday weekend and a near perfect
weather of August.
It was an impromptu plan
and before we knew it we were on our way to Mcloedgunj. Mcloedgunj is a small
town in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. It is approx. 500 kms from Delhi
and it is a near smooth 8 hour journey. Mcloedgunj is famous for Dalai Lama’s
residence in exile, due to which the city has a lot of Buddhist and Tibetan
influences.
We chose to drive down
to Dharamshala via Chandigarh. We started early morning and stopped on a
highway dhaba (dhaba is a hindi word for
roadside restaurant) for Breakfast. Another stop to have some tea and enjoy
monsoon rains, and we were in Kangra valley without any hitch.
Only when we reached
Mcloedgunj, we realized how big a tourist attraction the place was. Being a
small town, we expected the place to be a quiet one but the town was bustling
with activities.
The town has several
small hotels and inns and in summers, all are full almost every weekend.
(Lesson – if it is a long weekend, make sure you have booked a room for yourself
in advance). However, after two hours of inquiring in some 20 different hotels,
we found two rooms and thus, began our time in McLoedgunj.
Being a tourist attraction,
town boasts of several eateries serving global cuisine. Although not close in
authenticity, one can enjoy an Indianised global food in the town.
McLoedgunj has several Buddhist
monasteries and a very famous Dalai Lama office. While the office is not
accessible, monasteries are must visit. We began the next day with visiting a
couple of monasteries.
A small water fall which
then runs as a stream for few kilometers before it meets Beas in Kangra valley
is one of the popular tourist attractions. Crystal clear, rapid flowing water
is ultimate solace when a Delhite travels to beat scorching Delhi summers. As a
result, small tea shops, serving Maggie and tea open up during peak season
along the stream. We spent quite some time hopping on rocks and playing with
water in the stream.
For shopaholics like us,
there are many shops selling keep-sakes and souvenirs. There are also specialties
of Tibet to shop like shawl and bone jewellery.
Since, I am a foodie, I
come back to food. One can find some authentic tibetian food in this town
(remember momos and thukpa?) We relished these for dinner at a popular
restaurant.
Weekend that it was, it had
to end in just two days. The next day, Sunday began our long journey back home,
which we completed with more than five stops on the way including Bhakra Nangal
Dam.
A birthday that wasn’t
like every other year was certainly one of the best Birthday celebrations I ever
had.
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