Mussoorie - Kempty Falls

The early morning bus journey through the ghats dropped us to the mountain top city Mussoorie.

Getting  down we were surrounded by the hotel booking agents and the cab driver. We tried to escape to self hunt the room, however, there was a agent who followed us till the end and assured the best room and price. And we bargained the best deal for us.

The next thing on the list was to get a cab to Kempty Fall, our reason to be in the city. En route, breakfast  we tried to find a public vehicle which would take us to the fall. The options were limited so we  had to hire a car.

Mussoorie Library 1843

 With the windows open, wind dazzling the hairs, scenic views and Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh song in mind we reached Kempty Fall.

Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh

The water fall had formed a small pool on the front and was surrounded by food stalls, lockers, changing rooms. We were surprised to see that no one was enjoying under the fall or in the pool. We enquired for the reason and the people said the water is to cold to get in. And that's the reason we were there.

Kempty Fall

1.2..3… and there I was in that pool and under the fall. Where the water was naturally chilled to approximate temperature of  4-5 degree Celsius. The body somewhat freezed and mind calm. I was the only one in the pool lying on the water and swimming upside down with the goggles on.

I don't know why I wanted my goggles to be with me.

   Later on, the cousin and his friend joined in the pool and we shouted like anything. With every dip in the pool the body was adapting to the water temperature. We went on from one end to the other end and to and fro under the fall. The moments were forever and never to come back and I was supposed to make the most of it.

With the fall!

Getting out from the pool was a difficult task we were shivering like anything. When we used the towel to wipe out the water, we were red. However, the experience was worth and memorable.

Last but not the least, the hot and steamy Maggi noodles noodles went in and made up for the chilled day.

We visited a few temples and prayed for someone unknown.

Someone is getting married and you worship the holy akshata on them.

. Shopping in the local market and the walk on the streets.

Walking down!

Sneaking in someone's house

 Mussoorie is also home to the living legend Ruskin Bond. You can meet him at the Cambridge Book Depot on Saturday's 3.30-5.30 pm.  We were not lucky enough to meet him, however, we grabbed a copy of book he had signed on.

Book with Autograph!

Walking on the streets and shopping with a spicy dinner and warm milk brings the day to end.

Every street comforts you in some other way.

Silhouette

And the day ends!

Solo To Trio!

I was supposed to join one of my cousin and his friend and continue the journey. With breakfast at ZOSTEL I traveled back to Haridwar.

From Solo Journey now it was transformed to the Journey of a Trio.

We booked for a room opposite to Haridwar station and later we went for the Ganga Aarti. I was blessed once again. After the Aarti we had the Chole Puri and explored the streets of Haridwar.

Done with Haridwar the next city on the list was Dehradun.

Bye Bye Haridwar.

Sweetest station (Motichur)

 The early morning train took us to Dehradun.

Dehardun

Room hunting

And as of routine we hunted for a normal budget hotel and crashed in with the luggage. The hotel owner helped us with hiring a car and the sightseeing for the day began.

Indian Military Academy

If you have seen the movie Lakshya you just have to recall or try to remember it and you will have goosebumps all over. And if you are a patriotic person you can sense the patriotism in the atmosphere.

We were lucky to see the gates and somewhat interiors of IMA cause on the next day a Passing Out Parade was scheduled and the roads would be closed for all private vehicles.

No vehicles to be halt and no phones to be used I somehow managed to capture this picture.

Indian Military Academy

Forest Research Institute

We entered a huge area which was no more than heaven.

 Greenery all over and essence of British Architecture in every structure you can see. It was a century old establishment with museums and forestry research college.

FRI

 The museums are happening to those who love to know about the types of plants, woods and etc. and we were not the one but the architecture made our day.

Museum

Seems to be a Library!

Robbers Cave (Guchhupani)

Robbers Cave was our last destination on the ride. It's more like a valley which allows a river to flow from its surface and the high mountains which allows a bit of sunlight to reach down.

Robbers Cave

 It was a long walk to remember. Walking in the ankle length water and the acupuncture from the stones below was something new and exciting.

  Before returning back the hot Maggi somewhere between the caves at Ek tha Tiger Food Stall  and some tea made the journey remarkable.

Ek tha Tiger Food Stall.

 You can also enjoy some refreshment at the stalls set up on the entrance of the Cave.

Refreshments on the Water.

Day at Zostel!

Hotels, lodges and dormitories are the old concepts and the world of backpackers and travelers has moved to a new concept called Hostel. Where you meet like minded travelers or the people of your tribe.

Zostel!

Pushing the gates I was to step in a new world. With the first step I was in love with the ambience. I had pre-booked myself. With the check inn I was excited to see my bed and my partners with whom I was supposed to share my room.  But the timing was wrong, everyone was out for a trek, city walk or something else.

As the sun was exactly on head, I planned to sleep for a while and then join for the City Walk which was cancelled later on. The excitement was high and the sleep away from  my eyes, just lying on the bed and the magic happens. Someone enters the room and some sound of bags being opened and something being removed. I dare to rise up and see who it was! A Girl sitting on the floor and eating something. With our eyes making contact we shared a friendly Hello! and the Country names.

The Dorm

With just the Hi from her my Soul was dancing and Body calmly lying on the Bed. As time passed I went out for the Ram Jhula, Lakshman Jhula and the Ganga Aarti at Triveni Ghat.

Lakshman Jhula

Ganga Aarti At Triveni Ghat

Back to Zostel, I entered a room which had a T.V , Guitar, Chess, Carom Board and etc with Matresses and Bean Bags to lie down and Socialize. And it happens again the German Girl joins me and finally I moved ahead of Hi, Hello and we discussed about our travel plans.

The Night was again to a surprise with a Australian Couple joining me for the Dinner. The Cafeteria lies on the top most floor with freezing wind passing and the warm Food maintaining the body temperature. 

The Night was supposed to go on and on and on.

               

The Walk

The part of travel movies for walking down a trail or a city or a country always excited me. And the idea to walk from Haridwar to Rishikesh came in mind. The early morning journey started with a share auto for a short journey to visit the temples on the list. Being the Divine City the lane was occupied with different temples representing various Gods.

With some phone calls and informing current location and the further plan to friends and family.

Roadside stalls and the people got me the directions to reach the Highway which further led to Rishikesh.

The wide open roads where the vehicles moved had hardly any human walking, who would help me to be on the right track. Finally a sign board came to rescue. The direction was right but it happened to be approx 20 kilometers.

Rishikesh 20kms.

With the few kilometers covered I had entered the Wildlife Area (Chilla-Motichur Elephant Corridor). The signage inndicated that if you are lucky enough the elephants would cross your path and if it happens let them cross the road first.

Elephant Corridor Signage

Signage

I crossed the wildlife area expecting to see at least something, but none came into my sight.

the body was craving for food. Which was fullfiled with scrabbled egg at Raiwala Station.

Click with the Stall Owner

And I was back on the road.

I got away from the road every time opting for a Bypass Road or some routes with photogenic views.

With almost six hours the GPS indicated an journey of  more 45 minutes. And now every step was counted. Every five minutes I confirmed whether I was on the right track. And the localites assured that the destination was just few minutes away.

It was almost 7.30 pm when I accommodated in a Hotel.

Dropping of the luggage I got out for a heavy Dinner. And went asleep totally tired and exhausted.

Exploring the City

With many temples representing Gods or their Followers depicting a different story each time, it assures the divineness both in the atmosphere and the air you breathe. The list of Temples goes as follows-

India Temple

Bharat Mata Mandir

SatiKund

Shree Ram Mandir

Vaishnav Devi Mandir

• Maa Anand Mayee Ashram
• Bharat Mata Mandir
• Bhuma Niketan
• Daksh Mahadev Mandir
• Pawan Dham and many more..

But the real experience of the City and the divineness you seek is found at the Ganga Aarti at Har Ki Paudi. With the human infrastructure built on the river helps in getting a proper view of the Aarti.

Ganga Aarti

Huge Fire lamps with Loud ringing Bells on the riverside where the gushing of the river and the blowing wind add up a special tone to the Aarti.

Floating diyas add up to the beauty and you too can enjoy the experience by making one float. Although it adds up to water pollution but somewhere it helps some people to survive. If you are totally against it you can just enjoy the view.

Floating a Diya

As soon as you exit don’t forget to try the Chole Puri at the Mohan Ji Puriwaale. Just a small shop with a promise of quality and taste of many decades.

Mohan Ji Puriwaale

With the intake now you can digest it by walking down the streets and exploring the markets.

And the day ends with a Glass Of Hot Milk to resist the decreasing temperature.

The Dream

PRELUDE

I was enjoying with friends and suddenly we planned for a race on the unknown grounds. It's difficult to recall but at a instance some unknown species of snakes got most of us and two of us survived. Yet to complete; I woke up all sweated when a phone call got me out from the DREAM. It was then when I realized I was miles away from home, all alone sleeping in a dark room. All my Friends, Parents and everyone I knew were at Home and I was far away in a new CITY.

THE FIRST DAY

From a sleepless night in general bogie to a tight sleep on a unreserved seat in sleeper coach and finally a reserved seat from Delhi lands me in Haridwar - The Divine City. It was a thrill to get down in a new city with no plans and all alone.

The Divine City

                         It was 5 in the morning and the hunt for cheap accommodation began.

Bed for 200

The first thing to be done was get a sound sleep as I was totally exhausted. And this was when the Dream got the hell out of me. It was impossible to get back in the arms of sleep.

So it was time to wake up and embrace the City.

With some Breakfast I started with local sightseeing.

The Breakfast

The Holy Ganges

As the sun settled down the people disappeared towards their home, the shutters of the streets shops went down and the streets lamps glowed. Which mad Loneliness visible in the Dark. The night was yet to come. The only happening place was the Railway Station where the trains got the seekers and took the others to their Homes.

To add some entertainment I went up for a movie in a Old Cinema Hall which was featuring a three week old movie Prem Ratan Dhan Payo which took away a little bit of my Dhan with no entertainment and to the worst there were hardly six of them on the wooden seats of the Hall.

Prem Ratan Dhan Payo

The day was all about the Dream, the loneliness and how to be safe and adapt in the City.

With the movie the Day came to an End.