Wet lands & Warm Vibes..

Lost in the labyrinth of the equity derivatives, I forgot to plan the Diwali vacation this year & got infinitely bored in the Diwali week.

Anyway, it was over somehow & it was time to plan the Winter vacation. Being in my forties, these days I worry more about time than about bank balance. So a new tour operator & a new corner of India was selected for the winter vacation.

Overnight journey by connecting flights was a terrible decision & the night spent at the airport has been stored in my memory for use whenever I may need to act miserable. The sleepless night was too slow to step aside & let us begin our journey to Kaziranga national park.

Day 1 - Kaziranga Jeep Safari

Kaziranga Jeep Safari

Meghalaya literally means 'abode of clouds' & the clouds were ready to welcome us on the very first outing of the trip. There was no sign of rains on our journey to Kaziranga & so my raincoat stayed in the hotel just like the animals stayed away in their homes leaving the tourists alone to enjoy the natural beauty of the Jungle.

Thankfully, the rain was not heavy or continuous & we were lucky to have a glimpse of the main attraction of the Jungle - One horned Rhino - who was out for breakfast.

Smiling because the Rhinos behind me are not real

Further ahead, we found Wild Buffaloes roaming around freely around the Jungle.

Very few animals were spotted during the Safari but the natural beauty of the Jungle was enjoyed by the tourists with plenty of selfies & reels.

The wonderful feeling of getting up close with the mother nature ended soon & we left the Park with pleasant memories.

So it was time to leave Assam & move towards Meghalaya - Shilong after a very late breakfast at noon. Only task remaining for the day was to enjoy night stay in the beautiful hotel in Shilong.

El Dorado Hotel, Shilong

Day 2 - Cherrapunji Sightseeing

The first stop was the stunning three-tiered Elephant Falls. This was the winner of the photography spot of the day. People exploited the surreal background with lots of selfies & portraits. 

Falls & Caves were the calling of the day - the most memorable was the Elephant falls & the one to forget about was the Seven Sisters' fall with no water at all. The caves were not at all terrifying as I had anticipated except a very short scary passage in the Mawsmai Caves. Another caves - Arwah caves -  with ancient marine life fossilized in limestone walls didn't interest our group. 

Then comes the tallest plunge waterfall of India - Nohkalikai falls - accompanied by a fascinating panoramic view of the valley.

Nohkalikai falls

Early Sunrise, Early Sunsets & long evenings were not mentioned as experiences in the package but it felt special for sure. So it was Sunset before you realize & we were on the way to the beautiful Rhododendron lodge in a secluded location in Cherrapunji.

Rhododendron Lodge - at Night

Rhododendron Lodge - Early Morning

A bonfire was enjoyed after dinner & there I talked a lot about personal life - especially about my chat Girlfriends - with the group members including girls. But afterwards, I blamed the extra chattiness on the old monk I had consumed before the bonfire.

Being in the countryside area, the atmosphere was so chilled at the lodge, I started shivering after the bonfire & it felt like I was going to die of cold tonight. But it was a false alarm & I started feeling hot inside the blanket & had to remove the extra t-shirt & jacket I had worn to fight the death.

Day 3 - Double Decker Living Root Bridge - Nongriat

Going down about 3600 steps & to view the double decker living root bridge was the best experience of the trip if you forget about the extremely tiring & never ending journey up those same steps. The bridge is a world-renowned bio-engineering marvel Hand-crafted by the indigenous Khasi tribe, these bridges are grown from the aerial roots of the Ficus elastica (rubber) tree.

About 2000 stairs at the beginning are dangerous to descend & exhausting to ascend. A better option is to stay overnight near the bridge & climb back on the next morning. That way one can visit the very beautiful Blue Lagoon which I missed as I had to save my energy for return journey from the bridge. Almost all from our group went up to the blue lagoon which lies another 2000 dangerously narrow steps away.

Double Decker Living Root Bridge

Apart from basking in the beauty of the natural wonder, people were seen lounging on the stones around the spring feeding fish with the dry skins of their feet. I too sat on a stone, dipped my feet in the spring water & soaked the nature all around for about 15 minutes.  

This being my very first trekking adventure, the thrill of climbing down & up the steep declines weighed more than the serene beauty of the bridge & so we - I & one elder member of the group - started the challenging journey back to the top. Lunch had been disappointing till date in this trip but today it was non-existent. Cookies after snack & another snack after cookies were the only option to maintain energy.

Finally, as anticipated, the journey back proved to be extremely tiring & the greatest exercise done by me in recent years. Our fellow travelers were enjoying the waters of blue lagoon at this time as we stretched on the bus seats & hoped for their early return. After a day's hard work, luckily we found a nice hotel & enjoyed Punjabi subji with tandoori roti before letting our body into rest mode.

Day 4 - Boating in Dawki river

This was the day of a long, slow journey filled with winding mountain roads leading to the beautiful Dawki river lying across India-Bangladesh border.

Before entering the mountainous region, we were taken to another living route bridge whose name I have forgotten but images will be suffice to relive the experience.

Another Living route bridge

A View point on the way

Photography at a mountain view point & a walk through Mawlynnong - the cleanest village of Asia - was enjoyed before lunch.

As usual, the group took its own time to explore the village & the target to reach the Dawki river seemed quite difficult to achieve. The race with the Sun to reach the river before Sunset was won by a margin of few minutes & the spoils of the win - a mesmerizing boating experience with the backdrop of setting Sun.

Valley of the Gods via Queen of the hills

May the month of May never come again is the wish we make every year & yet it does come back with seemingly more power. The power we know we can only hide from - behind walls cooled by ACs/coolers or inside airconditioned cars. Staying out becomes bare minimum to save our skin but there comes a point when we miss the feel of the outside world & that makes an excellent excuse for a trip to a cool hill station.

The wanderlust in me has become so overpowering that having no savings at all couldn't stop me from planning a summer escape away from the scorching heat.

After the dull group tour of White desert, costly disappointment of Nainital-Corbett solo tour & distressing Jaisalmer group tour, I was extra cautious to avoid any fiasco this year. So the professional help & doubling of the budget was the right decision after all as the trip turned out to be a memorable one.

May 7-9, 2025

Mock drills were the talk of the town all day & it was obviously the day one of regretting the plan of north India trip in such circumstances. Just like everyone around me, all over India & also our neighboring country, I saw the war coming in a few days. And few days was all I needed to enjoy my summer vacation.

The regret turned into shock the next morning as the attack happened in the night & the war which seemed some distance away, suddenly knocked at our doors. The tour operator was ready to go anyway so it was up to me to decide whether to risk it for 40 thousand Rupees or not.

Now having lost almost all savings for the love of options, I was in no position to cancel the trip & lose money again.  Now almost everyone around me thought it was foolish to go out but Shimla-Manali were safe in the tour manager's view & so the trip was on.

Day 1 - Delhi to Shimla

First day was marked for a long road trip starting from busy Delhi roads ending in the cool hilly city of Shimla. The journey & the day both ended at the same time & the only activity remaining was to enjoy sleeping in the chilled atmosphere of once the summer capital of India. 

The very first sign that this trip was going to be a good one came in the form of the cease fire declaration . Now we were going to reach the hotel well past the dinner & drinks time so the vodka was enjoyed in the running car.

Day 2 - Shimla sightseeing

The early morning walk was very refreshing & almost compensated the need of the usual cup of tea. There being no other customer at the breakfast table, I felt like a royalty with all of the hotel staff making breakfast or serving me.

New Kufri

Kufri is the main sightseeing attraction in Shimla & also the only one where you can spend some good money.  A thrilling Jeep ride on the dangerous hilly roads & the breathtaking views at New Kufri are very much if not completely worth the money. There was nothing for me at Old Kufri so I had a nice cup of coffee & moved on.

Next was the Rashtrapati Niwas at Mashorba - the official summer retreat of the President of India - surrounded by nature & completely at peace. The serenity of that atmosphere will stay with me for a long time.

Rashtrapati Niwas, Mashorba

After saving the delightful memories of President's retreat, I retreated to my humble hotel room.

Town hall

Shimla

The very famous Mall road of Shimla was visited in the evening. Sadly, I wasn't feeling very well so I couldn't shop or even enjoy it much. Anyway, I did manage to capture some picturesque places.

Day 3 - Shimla to Manali

Another day of long drive but this one not so boring as there are activities on the way. I chose to go for river rafting in the Bias river. I was charged a little extra - which I later on realized - but still rafting along the beautiful Bias river with the sublime background of Himalayas was an experience that gets you thrilled whenever you recall it. The thrilling day ended at the beautiful stay at Manali.

Bias ride

Day 4 - Skiing lessons

The mistake of staying away from the main town was repeated in Manali as the hotel was few kilometers away from the town. But the loss was more than compensated here as my gallery offered a breathtaking view of the mountains & Manali town.

View from Gallery

The day was pleasant & the views on the road to Koksar was the apt climax of the trip. The journey through the mountains & the activities in snow are the experiences are the essence of the Manali trip.