Rupam
has this very peculiar habit of shocking and surprising me with his
last minute plans. Simla trip was one of those shocks. A pleasant shock
:)
It was around 11 a.m. and I was in a mad office rush when Rupu called me from Simla and asked 'Why don't you join me in the weekend?? We will chillax together in the valleys '. It was an instant decision and obviously it had to be 'YES YES YES'! The tickets were mailed to me in an hour, the cab was booked and the excitement gave me an adrenalin rush like never before.
It was around 11 a.m. and I was in a mad office rush when Rupu called me from Simla and asked 'Why don't you join me in the weekend?? We will chillax together in the valleys '. It was an instant decision and obviously it had to be 'YES YES YES'! The tickets were mailed to me in an hour, the cab was booked and the excitement gave me an adrenalin rush like never before.
This
was not my first Simla visit. I had visited Simla seven years back with
friends from my first job. Nothing changed. Simla was as beautiful as
ever. The narrow curvy streets, fine weather, drizzle every now and
then, mall road full of life with all its hustle bustle, couples all
around.I loved it then, I loved it even more this time .
We
had planned this trip just to take a break from our hectic routine and
hence we did not keep it action packed. We spent the first day in our
hotel lazying around,strolling around the mall road, taking pictures to
our heart's content and winding it up with good food. The mention of
food reminds me of the enormous mutton momos and the irresistible hot
cakes we gorged on in the mall road. Momos fans must not miss out on
these king sized delicacy. I wish I could recall the shop's name though
:(
Next
day we planned to visit Naldehra and Jakhoo Hanuman Temple. The cab
took less than two hours to reach Naldehra; a beautiful hill station
nestled between the Himalayan Ranges. We started ascending on the
Naldehra hills on our new mode of transportation which we were told are
horses but looked more like mules. The way up to the hills was so much
fun specially watching Rupam terrified as hell, not moving even an inch
on the mule back. After 10 minutes of ride we reached a muddy plain
where we were asked to get down for photography/ tea - snacks etc. We
had ten minutes which we optimally utilized clicking pictures and
getting clicked ;)
I must not miss the mention of Mr. python
who
was the special attraction of the place. He really got a celebrity
status with all tourists eager to have a picture with him. Here is one
with Rupu.
Dare Me!! |
Going
further up Naldehra hills we halted at the golf course which is famous
for being India's oldest golf course. Naldehra Golf Course was
discovered in 1920 by the British Viceroy, Lord Curzon who was
mesmerized by Naldehra's gorgeousness. the Golf Course also had Naag
Temple at its heart. As a matter of fact Naldehra got its name from the
Naag temple (dehra or abode of the serpent god).
Golf Course |
We
were ascending up the hills with Echo point as our destination. The
horses could ride us till a point from where we had to walk for a couple
of minutes to reach the echo point. Hindi daily soaps has numerous
episodes where in the couple shouts each other's names at the echo point
and it echoes back . To me shouting names at echo point was such a
lovey dovey thing to do till I shouted Rupam's name and nothing came
back :( It was such a 'Tai Tai Fish moment '. But I am still glad that I
dragged my husband till the echo point. It was the highest point of
Naldehra and I could capture entire Simla in my lenses from there.
Simla. A view from Naldehra Mountain Top |
After Naldehra, we headed for Jakhoo Temple. From the experience of my
2006
Simla trip, I must caution everyone of monkey menace on way to Jakhoo
Temple. In 2006 our gang planned to walk up to Jakhoo from the mall
road.Firstly it was a real long walk. We were totally spent by the time
we reached our destination. Secondly, the
Cute, yet notorious |
notorious monkeys were jumping on practically everyone not carrying a stick to shoo them away. One monkey
jumped
on me and even stole my red sandal away:( I had to walk bare foot all
the way back. This time I was extra cautious and we got two sticks for a
rent of Rs. 10 at the temple entrance. But, the big smart monkey was
still successful in snatching prasad away from Rupam's hand.
Jakhoo temple is a place of the Monkey God Lord Hanuman. Legends hold that the monkey god
102 ft. Hanumanji Idol |
Jakhoo
temple's beauty is alluring and the scenic beauty one can witness
standing in the temple complex is truly mesmerizing. One can see snow
laden Kufri top from here.
Jakhoo Temple at the backdrop |
Descending
down from Jakhoo, hunger pangs bothered us to a great deal and we
immediately started hunting for a good place to eat. It was raining cats
and dogs by the time I had plate full of hot mutton momos in my hand.
A
cool rainy evening must be complimented with good coffee. So we headed
towards the Honey hut. Honey hut is a concept chain store that serves
goodies made of pure honey. Honey cookies, honey ice creams, honey
chocolates, honey soaps, honey face wash .... they had everything with
the goodness of honey in it. I must say that our coffee (-sugar +honey) did not disappoint us.
Honey Coffee at Honey Hut- Ridge Simla |
One
thing that cannot go unnoticed about Simla is that it has a beautiful
amalgamation of different religion and places of worship. If picture can
speak a thousand words, let this picture speak of this
beautiful religious amalgamation.
St. Michael's cathedral and Jakhoo Temple captured together from my lenses |
It
was the last day of our three days Simla trip. Toy train was on our to
do list. Kareena Kapoor has really well publicized Simla's toy train.
Simla Toy Train, 2012 |
The
train was cute, small, had basic wooden seats and majority of people
were travelling for fun sake. Our train took us through a mountainous
terrain and some 102 tunnels. In a time when Metro trains has taken over
my city, traveling in Simla's toy train was like traveling back in time
and get the old world travel charm. We witnessed breathtaking view of
valleys during our journey and there was not even a minute of our Toy
Train ride, we did not enjoy.
We crossed 102 tunnels on the way |
Valleys - A picturesque view from the Toy Train |
The
fun ride ended at Kalka from where we fared a taxi to Chandigarh. We
were travelling for almost eight hours non stop and were totally spent
when we boarded our Volvo to Delhi. Sitting can be a killer task at
times. Our B**ts were totally giving up when Haveli came to our rescue.
We had 20 blissful minutes in Haveli at Karnal. The cool night breeze,
glittery decoration of Haveli and good food made it even better. 20
minutes in Haveli totally refreshed us.
The
toughest part of any journey is to end it. We couldn't help wishing we
were back in Simla cuddled in our quilts, sipping coffee, away from the
mad rush of my city.
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