Tickets- Check
A packed Backpack- Check
Destination- Who knows!
And that’s how I kick started another solo trip back to the hills. With not much to do over a 3 day weekend, but with the acceptance of traveling solo, I decided to venture on the conventional touristy path but to unconventional destinations. Having taken the 12005 New Delhi- Kalka Shatabdi, I was well settled with the picturesque green fields on Punjab and Haryana as the stations kept passing by.
The arrival at Kalka was long and tiring with the incessant delays on the line and by the time I reached Kalka, it was close to midnight. Kalka has all the flavours of a small town that forms the artery flushing traffic to the hills beyond- Busy highways, frequent buses, a small but not so small station and scores of tiny hotels lining the central chowk. And I picked up my base in one Hotel Dharam Villa for Rs.600 a night ( after a brief negotiation)
The next day, I kickstarted my day in the morning with the intention of doing some unconventional-non touristy places. The idea was to cover Dagshai, Barog, Solan and then spent the night at Kasauli. Dagshai is a tiny hamlet and doubles up as an army cantonment and to reach there one needs to alight at Kumarhatti on the Shimla highway and take a mini-bus or jeep to Dasgshai. The village is largely unexplored but boasts of a few picturesque residential schools and some breathtaking view of the coniferous forests in the vicinity. I took a long walk after hopping off the bus near the Football ground which holds the distinction for being the first to host the Durand cup matches back in the 1880’s. As I walked past curved roads housing the army stations and the Principal’s residence, while chatting up with a few locals and playing football with a bunch of 12 to 13 year olds, there was a sense of gratitude towards this little town that has so much to offer for a traveler like me who yearns for his time outside the boundaries of Delhi NCR. With multiple suggestions from the locals, I paid a visit to the Dagshai Jail housed right at the start of the town. The jail premises were small, but a walk inside those unlit corridors does give you the spooks especially when you hear about the forms of torture that the prisoners here were met with. I was partially relieved to see the day light as I moved out of the jail and after sipping some fresh apple juice from a small cafe nearby, I made my way to Barog thanks to a native who offered to drop me in his mini truck.
I was dropped off at a junction from where I could trek down to the Barog railway station famous for being one of the very few stations in India set amidst a beautiful valley with pine forests on all sides. The place was literally seemed like a leaf plucked out from Ruskin Bond’s books when he describes the Himalayan countryside. I whiled away time at the station for a good 2-3 hours strolling around the tiny platform, watching the scenery in awe, until the Shimla- Kalka express would arrive and break my chain of thought. The station master who has been serving at this station for the last 32 years was a jolly middle-aged father who made me sit down and listen to his version of how the station has changed over the years and how he has done everything in his ambit to keep this station spotlessly clean. We spoke about politics, Indian railways and all topics that would lie within our bandwidth. As I boarded the Shimla Express to Solan that evening, I wondered whether my visit had brought some joy to the partially isolated life of that station master. It did bring joy to me for sure.
Upon arriving at Solan, I took the local bus from the Old City stand to the Mohan Maekan brewery Yes, the ones who manufacture our All time favorite Old Monk. I was slightly disappointed upon my arrival there 20 minutes later since they denied me permission to entry the factory premises. But well, I had to be contented with this Tick in the Box visit. Since I did not have any concrete plan, I decided to take the evening bus out to Kasauli at 5 PM from Solan. The journey was excruciatingly long and finally 2 hours and 45 minutes later I touched base in Kasauli. To get a hotel room for that night was a fight against time thanks to the place being overcrowded on the long weekend. An hour and some 15 hotel visits later, a room finally found me. You heard it right. A passerby overheard my request for any sort of room and offered me a place in his relatives house. Thankfully, the place wasn’t very far and had a separate access. I had a quick dinner and crashed in bed while the Old Monk lay untouched by the side. Gosh, I had a long day. But what a memorable day it had been.
This was the first morning on the trip which I had all to myself and I was in no hurry to go anywhere. I woke up to a view, which could have grander had it been the monsoons since I faced the room stood at the edge of a narrow river valley. Nonetheless, the vast expanse of green on the other side of the mountain compensated for what I had missed out when I occupied the room the previous night. After quick breakfast at Cafe Rudra, I set out for what was a clichéd tourist spot at every hill station called as the Sunset point. I choose to walk and it took me a good half an hour considering that I stopped and admired the old architecture at every nook and corner. A stand out building was the Kasauli club. The place emanated what true colony architectural structures looked like and one could not help but imagine the grandeur lifestyle of the past inhabitants. I took a slight deviation on the way to the sunset point and settled down amidst the bushes on what seemed like a untreaded path. The view from here was magnificent. You could sit there the whole day and stare down at the unending greenery. It truly, reminds you of a different world than what you live everyday. A good one hour later with a heavy heart I rose to head back. The route back to Delhi had multiple pit stops and changeover and I had to make sure there were ample means of transport. On the way back from Kasauli I made a last pit stop at the Central Church. Set amidst the shade of tall pine trees, this church looked stunning in the backdrop and had it not been for the Sunday tourists, one could have probably dwelled here for longer. But, I had to head back on the 2PM bus to Kalka.
The bus took an alternate route which turned out to rather scenic than before as it passed through the rear mountains of Kasauli before heading through Parwaano and into Kalka. Here, after a small layover I took a next bus to Chandigarh, where I finally ended up at the Sector 17 bus stand. I was in for a big surprise considering that there were no available buses until the next morning which was when I opted for a car pool option. Although apprehensive about the who the co-passengers would be like, I decided to opt for it. The ride turned out to be rather fun with the bunch of chirpy fellow passengers and a good 3 and a half hours later I touched down in Delhi.
The Corporate Nomad 