Amritsar & Dharamsala - backpacking adventure!!

It was a lazy Thursday morning thanks to 4 days of planned time-off (Thur-Fri & Mon-Tue) in anticipation of a trip to Dharamsala with my cousin, Hari. We hadn't made ANY bookings whatsoever, and the holiday itself was upon us. Frantically, we started a search for flights to Chandigarh and pretty much all flights were full. The tickets which were available were upwards of Rs. 17,000, one way. But we weren't going to give up so easily. Kingfisher was going through a rough spell (in a future reading of this post, its quite possible that it ceases to exist). And we managed to get return tickets to Delhi from Bombay for 17,000, for the both of us, starting the same evening!

Onwards from Delhi, we needed to figure out a way to Dharamsala in the middle of the night, as the flight was to land at midnight. On landing in Delhi, we asked around and it turned out that there was a bus service called (wait-for-it, this is legendary...) ... "Indo Canadian Transport"!! It started from Delhi Airport (T3) and would take us up all the way to Jalandhar!! On coming across this, we laughed our gut out, only an army of Punjabis coming from Cuhnedda could warrant such a name for a bus service. There were 4-5 buses starting every half an hour from 1am onwards.

1000 rs per head to get to Jalandhar in an AC bus right out of T3. Good deal. We eventually started at 2am, stopped in still-chilly Chandigarh (around 8C that morning), for breakfast and reached Jalandhar at noon. Very conveniently, there was an immediate direct taxi ride available from Jalandhar to Amritsar for Rs 200 per head. Again, provided by the legendary Indo-Canadian Transport! :-)

We checked into Hotel Sita Continental, a very basic hotel with just about enough to get by. Ok for 600 rs a night. After freshening up, we headed straight for Wagah border. The hotel owner was quite helpful in helping us plan our stay there and we might have missed the entire daily ceremony at Wagah he not told us that we needed to hurry up and leave asap. Shared vans/taxis ply from Amritsar market to Wagah, for about 100 rs per head. Although we were asked to not pay anything up-front, we did, and in the process ended up waiting for longer than promised to leave.

At Wagah, before the melee started, we had to grab something to eat, and dinked into a dhaba which is pretty much ON the final gate before you 'enter' the border. Satisfied after a brilliant thali, we proceeded towards the border. The ceremony starts at 5.15 pm and we got there about 5.20. Being a Friday evening, it was jam packed, at least on the Indian side with songs, shouting, flag waving et al. The Pakistani side was more subdued in contrast with a few pathan-styled people looking on and seemingly having a laugh at the frenzied Indian side. The atmospehere was no different from a cricket match - people were jostling for limited space, just to get a glimpse of their 'heroes'.

I was, as usual, trying to get some good shots in the process but no shot would ever be even close to the experience. Nothing like being there, live!

Bruised and battered after the exercise, we headed back to our taxi which would take us to Amritsar. By the time we got back in the city, it was close to 8 pm and there is only one place to eat when you go to Amritsar - the Golden Temple!

By night, the Temple is a view to behold. The sheer grandeur of all that glittering gold is unspeakable. The peace of night, with the background of chanting by the priests in the gurudwara brings a sense of calm to the heart and the world just seems to come to a stand-still.

We wandered around, took some snaps, soaked in the atmosphere (and watched some people get soaked in the cool water around the temple!), and then headed for the famous langar. On the menu was rotis, dal, chana curry & kheer. I think I must have had at least 4 of those humongous rotis. Each one was about three times thicker than what we have at home, fresh, and good to taste.

Barely able to walk after the colossus of a dinner, we made our way inside the temple. Gold and marble, everywhere. People cleaning the floor every 7 seconds. Quietness. Flurry white fans. Steep staircases taking us higher and higher, till we're on top. Witness the magnificent view around. Back out. Without a word. Speechless.

We walked it back to the hotel thereafter, for a well-deserved & much-needed night's sleep.

Waking up rather leisurely in the morning, we decided to bus it to Pathankot from where we would catch the Kangra Valley Express to Dharamsala (almost, it goes upto Kangra). The bus ride was a quite thrilling one with our driver seemingly on steriods and blazing his way through the green-fields-on-either-side roads.

On reaching Pathankot, we learned, much to our disappointment, that the Kangra Valley Express was no longer in operation, thanks to a bridge collapsing. We had an awesome lunch at a dhaba near the station & then went back to bus-stand to leave for Dharamsala. The direct bus took us up into the mountains in about 4 hours (for a 100km ride!) and we made it just about in time for dinner. We had booked a car for the 3 days and our enterprising driver, Akash, was down at the bus stand to pick us up in his trusted Maruti 800!

We decided to stay further up from Dharamsala, at a place called Naddi, which was quieter, cleaner & decidedly more scenic. We picked the last, and highest hotel in the place, with a room on the top floor. Being off-season, we were able to negotiate a good rate as well, of 800 rupees a night. For the view, which according to my brother, was comparable to any in Switzerland, it was a steal. Valley on one side, and the snow-capped Dhauladhar Mountains on the other. Usually, around this time of the year, the summer heat is already melting the snow, but with the winter leaving very very late in the year meant that it was still cool, and the mountains were full of snow.

After witnessing the sunset, we ordered ourselves a sumptuous dinner and took some much needed rest. Next day was going to be spent exploring Dharmsala, McLeodgang & Bhagsu.

I woke up early in the morning to take some snaps of the sun rising behind the moutains and it was well worth the cold, early morning. We headed out around 10, past the Dal Lake (which can be given a miss until its been fully redone) and reached the 'Church of St. John in the Wilderness'. One could have been forgiven for thinking that we were in the middle of a forest in France or Spain. Small in comparison to the ones I've seen in Europe, but set in peaceful, picturesque surroundings, it's surely a must-visit on a trip to Dharamsala. Surrounded by pine trees, cobble-stoned paths around it and no people around in general made it a distinctly European experience!

Bhagsu town was next on the list, and I really loved this place for the innumerable photo-walk opportunities that it provided. There was something weird and funny at every corner and the smiling people made the experience all the more unique. There was a waterfall about a 1km trek away but we decided against it as it seemed not too grand.

After this, we headed to the Dalai Lama's abode, Tsuglagkhang. The Temple was, expectedly, peaceful with monks in red-brown overalls, old women swinging their prayer wheels and little kids with shaven heads practicing amateur martial arts. All with a view of snow-capped peaks, clear blue skies and cool mountain breeze. The Tibet Museum right before the temple was also a nice little detour, albeit giving a very one-sided view of the Chinese occupation of Tibet.

Once in the temple, as it happened, we reached just in time for the free lunch being served there! Rice, dal & aloo sabzi, piping hot yumminess :-)

We had a heap of rice between ourselves, on one plate, and decided it would look a bit rude to ask for more. So we stepped out to have some momos just outside the temple. And they were absolutely heavenly. I think I had about 6 in no time. Spicy, steaming hot and with crunchy vegetables inside, they were the best momos I had ever had, and probably will ever have! And at one plate of 4 momos for 10 rupees they are definitely going to be the most inexpensive ones I will ever have!

One can see the Dharamsala cricket ground from many spots in & around the city and we thought it would be an ideal time to go and take a look around there just after lunch. We reached in time to catch a few overs of the Deodhar trophy game between Punjab & UP. Mohammed Kaif was batting and Harbhajan Singh was bowling. But we were hardly looking at them. The view from the ground was absolutely stunning. No wonder Shane Warne called it the 'most beautiful ground that he has ever played in', and he's played in quite a few, I'd imagine! So as Harbhajan was getting tonked for sixes all over the park, we set out again to my most anticipated leg of the trip - Paragliding!

I have always had dreams at night about flying. Usually they are set in and around very familiar places, like home or school and I'm simply floating around waving hellos to people and generally smiling all the way. When I heard our driver say that we could go paragliding, my heart skipped a beat. I really, badly wanted to do it. I was just hoping Hari wanted it too. He gave a rather questioning nod and we were ON! And at 1500 rs per ride, it sounded like quite a steal!

We drove up a hill and there was a team of skinny yet strong pahaadis waiting for us! I couldn't contain my excitement. Within minutes I got ready and we were all set for take-off! All I had to do was run, and jump right off the hill! My guide/instructor was hooked on right behind me and would do all the maneuvering... Looking at a piece of white cloth on either side of the launch pad for the exact wind direction, he shouted run and off we went...! For the first few seconds I couldn't believe we were actually flying, it felt like a dream! The wind buzzing around, the trees calling out and waving hello below me, the instructor non-chalantly asking me if I was comfortable... it was an experience of a lifetime. Of course I was comfortable, who wouldn't be comfortable in heaven! I must have been a bird in a past life, everything just felt right. Then slowly we descended towards the landing strip, over a bunch of boys playing cricket, over cows grazing and under the watchful eyes of the eagle soaring above.

We waited for Hari to land after we did but he never came. As it turned out the wind had died down and he couldn't take off at all... He came down by car and we rode off back to our room to catch the India Pakistan Asia cup game, where Virat beat 'em black & blue.

The next day was going to start with another paragliding session so Hari could get his fill and I could get another go, this time with my camera! I conveniently videod the entire flight this time and decided for myself that this was certainly NOT going to be the last time I rode a paraglide!

There was a stream running below a nearby temple and we had our wish of touching pure, cold, fresh-from-from-a-melting-glacier, water, granted. We could have spent hours there by the stream/river, but there was much more to do, much more wonder to discover...

Next stop, Norbulingka. This is an institute offering courses in Tibetan Culture. The Hotel there was absolutely top class and I would suggest you stay there in case you're going on a family kinda vacation (ie not backpacking). It was slightly on the expensive side, at 2500 rs per room per night, but the surroundings and high quality room furnishing would have been well worth it. Overall, Norbulingka is a nice little university-library kind of place where you can spend hours reading in the quiet environment, order some snacks & drinks and then read some more!

We were nearing the end of our time in Dharamsala and I was particularly enamoured by the idea of doing a trek up to Triund as I was told that I could see some snow/ice on the way. Triund is about 6km from Dharamkot which is like the highest point you can get to by car in the area. It has a few smartly positioned meditation institutes and the whole place is peaceful, in the lap of nature. Hari decided he was too unprepared for a 10-12km trek and opted out. So I was on my own, armed with a camera and a mini-shawl if it got cold.

I started up really quickly. After the first 200-300 meters itself though, I was running out of breath and getting second ideas. I thought to myself that I run 4km everyday, surely its all in the head that the oxygen here is less etc etc., pulled up my socks and started running up after a short break. That was the last break I took for a while as my sails dramatically found some wind and I was gallopping up the slopes. The road/path was quite clear and only at one point did I need to stop and ask for directions towards Triund. At every corner turn around the side of every hill, was a magnificent view of the valley, but also the promise of an even better view at the next corner. That's what kept me going and before I knew it, after about 1 hour of trekking I was seeing large masses of ice in my path. The air temperature could not have been less than 15 degrees. Although I was wearing just a cotton shirt and no thermals, I wasn't feeling cold at all. The running up was clearly burning energy, and that was enough to make me feel warm. As I went higher & higher, I passed increasingly larger masses of snow. It was around 5 in the evening and I was starting to think of making my way back lest it become too dark. At exactly the half-way point in my 3hour trek, I turned around and started heading back. The views that I had captured were simply breathtaking, and will remain some of the most beautiful natural scenic experiences I will have in a long long time.

I got back to Dharamkot, and onwards to Dharamsala, just in time to grab a quick snack before our bus left to Delhi. It was a rickety old one, albeit with AC, and the tired legs and body ensured that I got a fairly good night's sleep before the flight back next day to Bombay.

We had been away just over 5 days, but the rich, intense & ultimately beautiful experiences made me feel that we were traveling for a couple of weeks at least. Overall, the backpacking adventure turned out to be exactly that - adventurous, unplanned & backpacked all the way!