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Not that this was my first trip to Rajasthan. Having traveled to Jaipur and Udaipur before, I was quite sure of what to expect when we decided to vacation in Jaisalmer. The flight from Mumbai to Jodhpur (the closest airport) took about an hour and thirty minutes. Indian Airlines of course lived up to its expectation of reaching late to any destination but we finally made it to the land of the staunch ‘Marwars’ – Jodhpur. A local friend suggested we drive down to Jaisalmer and after much deliberation, we hired a Toyota Qualis (350 odd Kms from Jodhpur – Jaisalmer) and settled down for at least 5 hours of drive. We were pleasantly surprised when, within three hours we had reached the quaint city of Jaisalmer. On the way we passed Pokhran, famous for its nuclear fields and military base. The weather, being January, was crisp and cold, perfect for an ideal vacation (peak season is from November to March)

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North Indians, especially punjus, love Mussoorie. Being married to one I always wondered why and after visiting Mussorrie I think I know why. Read on if you are interested to know why Delhi-ites, esp a kind of Delhi-ites, love the Queen of Hills and how you can meet Mr. Ruskin Bond.

Republic Day 2007 happened to be on a Friday and a good enough motivation to plan for a quick vacation to a place which can be reached over a not-so-long drive. After not getting much success at Corbett and few other places, we somehow led ourselves to Mussoorie. No one wanted to go there in the first place and I guess all are glad that we finally made it to some place. It was definitely more fun being there than watching the Parade. I heard that these days you don’t even get to hear Jaswant Singh, a regular commentator of the event on erstwhile DD. Yeah, I know DD is still around but not as relevant, at least for metros like Delhi.

So it was me, Smita and Pihu along with Rahul-Rewathi in our Scorpio with Deep, Preeti and Harshal in their Corolla.

Day 1 – Jan 26 2007

We started early morning from Indirapuram where I stay. It’s a mile odd away from Delhi-U.P. Border. We took Delhi-Meerut-Roorkee-Doon-Mussorrie route. After 2+ odd hours we were at Grand Cheetal which is about 100 odd KM away from Delhi. It’s a nice hotel for food. Decent service, very clean loos, spacious place with air to breathe, large parking and well manicured gardens. There is another hotel just after Cheetal, which is also very good, its called Rosette Inn.

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It is also known as The City of TEA. It is located in northern West Bengal. It lies between 26° 31′ and 27° 13′ north latitude and between 87° 59′ and 88° 53′ east longitude. Darjeeling is hemmed in by Sikkim in the north, Nepal in the west and Bhutan in the east. Darjeeling town, Kalimpong and Kurseong are the major urban centres. Heavily influenced by British India,Darjeeling still carries imprints reminiscent of its colonial past. The toy train is one of the most striking examples of Darjeeling’s British Raj influence.

Darjeeling town’s elevation is around 2,134 m.The Languages spoken are English, Nepali, Hindi, Tibetan and Bengali are common languages in Darjeeling. Darjeeling’s temperature drops below freezing point during the Winter season, from November to February. In Summer,Darjeeling is delightfully cool with the maximum temperature reaching about 20°C. So very clear light wollen cloths are required in summer & heavy woollen clothes are required in winter. March to mid-June are good for travelling ,however if you like cold weather travel between September to mid-December but it is highly recommended if you cannot handle extreme cold temperature do not travel between Jan to March.

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Right from Jaipur city, I could see the western skyline of the Hill of Eagles dominated by the extensive stone ramparts and watch tower of the Jaigarh Fort. Reputed to be a fort that has never been captured, it is one of the few military structures of medieval India that has remained intact over the years.

Known also as the Victory Fort, Jaigarh Fort is located at a comfortable distance of 15 kms from the city of Jaipur. The journey to the Fort includes a steep climb passing through rock strewn thorn bush forests. I felt that the tough terrain itself was enough to give the occupants of the Fort an edge over intruders. In spite of that, it was interesting to note that at certain places even as the SUV that I was in was struggling to gather momentum at the precipitous slope, the locals were scaling those slopes by foot effortlessly.

I stopped by on the way to the Forts and decided to stroll in the peaceful and inviting woodlands. Except for the distant sound of occasional vehicles passing by on the road, where the SUV driver-cum-guide waited for me patiently, I enjoyed the walk through the wilderness for almost an hour. I particularly loved the solitude amongst the birds and animals in their natural habitat. Sometimes they scampered past in spite of my quiet steps. It was an out of this world feeling to be all alone, in a remote corner of the world, listening to the melody of the many singing birds.

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