Memoirs of a Wandering Nomad

Dulhousie, Himachal Pradesh 600km from Gurgaon, 10-hour pleasant drive Day 1 – Gurgaon to Dulhousie There are weekends and then there are weekends. This one is, thankfully, the second type. After a long gap which saw time effervesce and get reduced to ashes like camphor does, we find this longish weekend, where all dependant variables are within respectable limits – the kids have finished their homework / projects, the adults have no problem deprioritizing their work assignments, the weather is moderate, the world is marginally stable, and so on. So, we pack a limited set of supplies and needs, and at the crack of dawn hit the road, at 5:30am – which, by itself, is a domestic achievement. Crossing the city is a breeze at this time, and we are at the other end of Delhi before half the group is barely even awake. It is always interesting to pass through Azadpur Mandi – the wholesale fruits and vegetable market of North Delhi – at this time of the day, when the tra...

Day 3: Manali local and Rohtang (Gulaba) --------------------------------------------------------- The next morning at Manali came early. The day looked bright and sunny, and there was none of the gloomy, cloudy feeling of yesterday. We decided to try our luck on the Rohtang road after a hearty breakfast of omlette and bread from a local roadside chap. For Rohtang, one has to cross the river and go to the other side. Taking left, you first reach a petrol pump - one of the last few on the road to Leh - this is the base of a place called Vashisht - famous of its hot medicinal water springs. The road is dotted with shops selling and renting snowgear - jackets, boots, the works. But most of it is reused often and usually quite dirty and smelly. Stairway to Heaven? Anyway, some 20km ahead, a road leads to Solan valley. Do not go there - especially when you know that Manali is swarming with tourists. All Indian tourists go to Solan to play in the snow, and make an absolute lousy...

Day 2: Bilaspur - Aut - Mandi - Kullu - Manali (170km, 4 hours) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning came swiftly on the second day, but before we started off, it was already about 10am - perils of a family traveling together that one has to learn to endure over time. The road further ahead is now narrower and winding, and the going starts getting slower. The surface gets a little rough once again near Barmana - where ACC has a cement factory, but it is better than the last night. There is a large lake near Bilaspur - I believe it is called Gobind Sagar. We could see the glimpse of the water body from far, and the setting looked nice. The road climbed further to Sundernagar - which is actually quite pretty (Sunder - literally 'beautiful') - with a canal flowing along the edge of the road, and has a small-town feel. It is pity they have not developed this one into a nice a tourist place. There are no restauran...

Day 1: Gurgaon - Karnal - Ambala - Chandigarh - Ropad - Swarghat - Bilaspur (350km, 8 hours) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manali is perhaps the most discussed and described destination in North India, as it caters to all sorts of tourists - families enjoying their school vacations in May-June; bike riders trying to scale Ladakh and the valley of Lahaul-Spiti during July-August; adventure junkies trying their hands and feet on various things that drive adrenalin - like mountain biking, snow trekking, paragliding etc. esp in Nov-Dec; and foreign tourists - mainly Russians and Israelis all round the year trying to find a home away from home in the limited dollars they have managed to put together . Manali also offers different things to different people. For some, it is an alternative which is safer than Kashmir - although not as serene - with the snow-clad mountain peaks all around. It is also an alternative easier...

Day 3 – 3 Nov, 2009, Tuesday Fagu – Theog – Chhaila – Khara Pathar – Jubbal – Hatkodi – Rohru – Back to Fagu [250km] I get up early, around 6am. It is a bright and sunny morning. Since we are the only guests staying at the resort, there is no tea or breakfast. I coax the attendant to get me some toast and butter, and chai. The verandah is sparkling with golden sunlight. And so is the Giri valley. We plan to make Fagu the base and move about. A wise decision in hindsight, since there are no livable places in Jubbal area. Around 8:30am, we leave the resort and move towards Theog (10km). At Theog, one road goes towards Narkanda, and the other goes towards Chhaila, which is what we take. The road is downhill and filled with landslides that are recently cleared. The going is a bit rough, and dusty. Chhaila is in the valley, near the river, about 25km from Theog. Once at Chhaila, you start seeing the river to the left of your side. The road is narrow and winding, but the best part ...

Delhi – Chandigarh – Chail – Kufri – Fagu – Jubbal – Hatkoti – Shimla – Return [1200km] Not very long ago, I got caught in a conversation about time-share holidays and how great they are, and how we can plan our holidays and get the best out of the vacation. The gentleman running the time-share business kept insisting that I try out their lovely packages, and I kept smiling, and nodding, and refusing in the most non-offensive manner. The task was especially difficult, since the time-share company I am referring to is also a client for my consulting assignments. There is no way possible that I can explain and convince these people that for me, time-share is not possible in this life. For that, one needs to plan the vacation. And for me, that is exactly what I get away from when I vacation – planning. Consider today’s scenario. I and my wife decide on a forced vacation for ourselves, since we believe it is a well-deserved one, what with her not traveling and me traveling only for ...

The times are crazy. I have had hardly any time to clean the bike, forget about riding it. I feel guilty and depressed, and claustrophobic. The one outlet that I have - writing these blog posts - also takes some time to bake the posts, make them brown to perfection. So I decided to take the easy road - recycle and reuse. Here is one I found in my attic ... one of the earlier published posts (appeared on RE website earlier under Imran's name):. Happy Holi! ... Hope you will enjoy this as much as the recent ones: Memoirs of a Wandering Nomad - Chail Kufri Shimla Here's to the third absolutely crazy madcap bike ride of the three Nomads. This time, the distance is the greatest ever. The terrain we scaled is equally great in beauty and the fun, unimaginable... There's nothing like unplanned trips. Correction, there's nothing like trips planned for one thing and which materialize into something totally different. This is about a trip planned to Mussoorie, which went right ou...