Traveling is good
Koilababa is then brought to Jagmohan Ghar (a special house) after Meji Puoa and on a sacred moment in the night Koilababa is brought to Doul Ghar in a special walk of seven steps (Sapta Thak)
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I came back to hotel and joined my friends for our journey to Muktinath. Today we would pass through the village Kagbeni to reach Muktinath. Jomsom and Kagbeni is the main gateway of Muktinath. We drove only a few minutes and reached the riverbed of Kali Gandaki. Around that place Mr. Bachchan’s film “Khuda Ghawa’ was shot and our driver was more interested in showing us the shooting spots. But we were more excited to the adventurous drive over the riverbed. I peeped outside the window and saw wheels of our vehicle were rolling inside the river water. We crossed the river Kali Gandaki and started ascending through the rocky mountain road.
The climate and landscape all around looked like a rain shadow region of Himalaya, very similar to those of Ladakh region. It’s Mustang! A lost kingdom in Himalayas! We stopped and looked around. Far on the foothills of Mt. Dhaulagiri the view of tiny town Jomsom was awesome.
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It is not a star category hotel but undoubtedly the best of the lot. Hotel owner endeavoured to preserve the past glory by hanging photographs of Mr Bachchan with him and some film shots of ‘Khuda Gawah’ on the walls. Staying in this hotel was comfortable; it had 24 hours hot water facility and free wifi. The foods were nice but they cost too high.
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While coming to Sunderbans I thought that we would see only water everywhere and the trip would be boring. But scenery and surrounding were ever changing. Nobody felt monotonous. While crossing the confluence we did not feel any turbulence. During rainy season, these areas become dangerous. For safety purpose, it is better to avoid Sunderbans during rainy season.
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By the time, we found a momo corner nearby and grabbed few of them to fill the stomach before our two hours ride, the toy train arrived at the station. DHR was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO as it was the first, and still the most outstanding example of a hill passenger Railway. There are various types of rides available on this track, so you can book ride based on your preferences and time availability.
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The best thing he told us was that zorbing and paragliding takes place 1km down the road. So we headed there straight and yeah it was happening. We could see the zorbing ball but no gliders. After talking to the organizers we came to know paragliding happens early morning 9-10am as winds speeds are less at that time.
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They best moment was that Hammad who has been first time to see the hills he woke up and get out of the room to get freshen up, It’s not be a second he rush back to room so fast that we thought of is something happen wrong. However, the moment he said that what a beatuiful moment outside i need a camera to click some moments from the nature, A bang of Lolz Ha ha ha happened in room pack with seven guys and gradullay moving out from the rooom at a certain viewpoint of nature we also feel the sense of touch of that beautifull nature where the clouds are covering up the hills articulatedly
Since we have a plan to get back to Delhi on 18th Eve. Without wasting time everyone get ready and by 08 AM we again started driving and reached to the biggest water fall, Kempty a 15KMs down from the queens of Hills Mussorie. As it was a long weekend (mix with some holidays) the Mussroie roads were packed with Cars and the tourist. Oh! One thing i have missed to bring to your notice that there was a landslide just 5 KMs before the Mussorie which also created a long queue of the vehicles.
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But Chhotu drove his machine like hell. I still do not know whether he was driving in anger or driving made him happy. The other plausible reason, of course, would be his pressing urge to go to the toilet after finishing off his sorties quickly. He was putting the boat into the ultimate efficiency test. The boat was flying on the waves. At number of times, it was on air for a second or so. At other times, it skidded off the waves at full speed. Chhotu was fast and furious. I had been to the drive on the speed boat at many places in the country and had experienced the speed and the thrill connected with it. But, here was the fastest pilot driving his machine like a maniac. And, he did not say a word. I also started believing whether he could listen to our shrieks or not.
Half an hour and a few rounds of the circles on the water later, Chhotu sped his boat towards the jetty. Docked it, took the keys out of the slot and immediately sprang onto the dock. When I came out of the boat, I heard him saying “Thank you”, two evergreen words that trickled up his throat. I have yet to understand the nature of his thanks. Either it was his graceful way to thank his passengers to survive his driving that day or it was just a normal gesture from a stubborn grumpy man, who could not say anything else. Anyway, that fast drive in the speed boat was also a pleasure. What’s the fun of speed boating, if it was not dangerous? And, I was standing safe and sound on the land to start the same life once again. Thanking Chhotu in return, I returned to the Maikal Resort.
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Further ahead, the scenery again changed. We were drawn more deep into the actual jungle. The forest cover got dense and our excitement jumped higher. Under the shade of the trees and some swamps, we found a herd of the world renowned one-horn Rhinos. It was not the first time in my life that I encountered them but still, they being the pride of my State, rakes up my pride too.
Our Gypsy driver suddenly had a rush of adrenaline and after few minutes of some sway-and-swanky driving, he brought us into this clearing, which was clearly bang in the middle of the forest. With a few words of prayers, we de-boarded our vehicle for a photo-shoot!!
Now, you must be wondering, why we were having a photo-shoot when we had prayers in our lips. Well, that’s because inspite of the heavy forest cover, the view and the vibes took our breath away.
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Perched on a cliff-top, Bhutan’s Taktshang monastery, also known as the Tiger’s Nest, is one of the most breathtaking temples in the world. The Buddhist place of worship is built on a rock around 3,000m (10,000ft) above sea level and stands above a beautiful forest of blue pine and rhododendrons. The main temple complex was built in 1692 and is considered to be one of the holiest for the Bhutanese people. There are no proper roads and visitors have to trek for hours to reach the temple. Legend has it that Guru Rinpoche flew to this site on a tigress’ back to subdue a local demon. Thereafter, he meditated here for three months. It is blessed and sanctified as one of Bhutan’s most sacred religious sites.
Apart from monastry, we visited old fort of Paro and museum and then started for next destination, i.e. Thimphu, the capital of Bhutan Royal Kingdom and power centre of the country (around 50 K.m. away from Paro) taking with us wonderful memories of beautiful Paro. Again following the same pattern, we reached Thimphu in the evening and stayed in hotel to get ourselves recharged for next day’s tryst with the capital city.
“No!” uttered my elder brother (Dada). “It’s not going to be like any normal conducted tour. It will be a different sort of tour.”…
Read MoreLater when I Googled, I found that it is indeed a reservoir and an artificial lake and was created by damming the Umium river and covers about 220 square km. This is first hydro-power project in this part of the country. Barapani is a major tourist attraction. Plenty of photos are available on the web.
We reached Shillong late afternoon. I was very excited, keen to find Shillong of my dreams: hills, fern, orchid and low cloud. Unfortunately, the sights and sound of the city did not match my imagination.
We drove past the crowded Police Bazaar area, the assembly and the polo ground and reached a quieter part of the town called Upper Lamthumai. Our hotel, Roseville Hotel, is located there.
Roseville Guest House: The hotel, more like a home stay, has cottages for guests and a well maintained garden. I identified Pine and Birch trees and some flowers. It has an old world charm. The property is famous for beautiful rooms and heritage rooms and was earlier managed by ITC Welcom. The tariff: Rs 3,000+25% tax per day.
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