Manali

Trip: Manali > Rohtang > Keylong

It was the regular group - me, Piyush and Prateek. This time we decided to go for a long one. Our last trip of Pithoragarh was fun. We wanted to continue from that experience. It was the night of 27th May, 2009 when the three of us started. We chose this time of the month because we wanted to go beyond Manali to Lahaul Spiti which opens up during the peak of summers only.

The last few miles before Manali are remarkable when the road moves along the river. Manali is not a very large town, most of the hotels and residential area being located in one side of Beas river. Fortunately we found an accomodation in Hotel Beas (an HPTDC hotel) which was just on the bank of the river. In fact our room was on the ground floor and we could distinctly hear the flowing water. In the afternoon, we paid a holy visit to Hidimba Temple.

We spent the evening roaming around the bazaar area. We packed some snacks and came back to our room as it got darker. After some drinks and all it was time for dinner. The restaurant named Chadrabhaga was impressive with old woodwork and a decent food.

Mussoorie

Mussoorie has always been close to me. Bhaiya completed his high school from boarding school here and I have pleasant memories of the trip we used to make to drop Bhaiya. The last time I was here I was alone. I wanted to know if I can enjoy it that way - and I did.

Tourist map of Mussoorie (Not to scale)

Neemrana Fort

It was one of those regular outing for the three of us - me, Surbhi and Arpita. This time, however, we really went out of Delhi to try something different. Neemrana is an old fort, now converted into a five-star hotel, on Delhi-Jaipur Highway some 110 kilometers from Gurgaon border. We planned to start early morning. Yet the best we could manage was 11 AM. It was the beginning of summer - the date was 19th April, 2009.

We reached Neemrana around 2 and just missed the lunch buffet. It was not bad considering that the buffet was priced at 1000 bucks. The entry itself to the castle was 500 each. However exploring the fort was worth an experience. To top it all the first person I see entering the fort is my ex-boss. That was some co-incidence.

We first comforted ourselves with snacks and juices. The fort exists at various levels all interconnected to each other at various joints. It was easy to find the way us as we wanted to see how it looks from the top. There was an open swimming pool at one of the middle levels. Walking through the corridors of this royal fort generates a feeling of grandiose.

We sat at a lawn which was on the upper half and chatted or took pictures. Coming back down to the lower levels we found a hall which was full of swings. We couldn't have asked for anything better. We spent another hour swinging ourselves and feeling like royal kins. It was a 4 hour journey to Noida and hence we started by 5 PM for the return.