Well, as I am sitting in front of this lappy I am still exhilarated about our recently concluded trip to Manali. It was a really great trip, specially owing to some adventures that happened and were a real torture then, but now I can smile over them.
So let me begin.
The bus we booked was a AC Volvo which started from Ramakrishna Ashram marg at New delhi and we soon reached the foothills of Lower Himalayas (as they are known technically). I must admit that I am really scared of heights and as the bus started to climb, I went numb. The treacherous roads on which it was difficult to drive even one bus properly, two were driving past (in opposite directions) and that too at nearly 60-70 kmph at the dead of night !!!! The entire night I just held on to my dear life as everyone else was sleeping. I just wanted to be sure that when the bus falls into the gorge I should be awake to make an attempt to save myself. What a thought!!!!
We halted at Sunder nagar at 5 in the morning and had our breakfast.
You can easily see Swagata and her face tells about the journey. In the backdrop is the beautiful valley. Well at that time I didn't know what lay ahead.
As the bus rolled on the most dangerous part came. The road width barely 20 feet. On one side mountain is jotting out and on the other side thousands of feet of direct drop into the ravines. Nearly 1 hour of that journey nearly drove me crazy. Finally we reached Kullu and an hour later, Manali.
We stayed at Hotel Hidimba Way, which is a hundred feet or less that the famous Hidimba temple. The hotel was decent and the room was good enough.
We started to unpack and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then we went out for local sight seeing.
The above is the pic of Hidimba temple. We then went on to see some cool places like the Van Vihar. Following are some pics that we took there.
Then we reached the Beas river and for the first time in life I was able to gather enoough courage to do something that I wouldn't normally do at all.
Well then we went back to our hotel, but not before having eaten and bought quite a few things for us.
The next day we started for Rohtang pass and we reached by around 1:30 though we started before 6 in the morning. The jam we got caught into was big.
Dressed in a heavy outfit we reached Rohtang and had the best time of our life, atleast mine. Saw, touched and played with snow for the first time. It was a great feeling. Below are some pics of Rohtang Pass.
As we were returning from Rohtang we were caught in a really massive jam which spanned several kilometers.
So guess what happened???
The driver of our car along with the one in front of us devised an idea and see what happened next.
So finally we went down the slope and avoided remaining trapped in further jam.
The day we were coming back we had a even more precarious situation.
At 9:00 pm our Volvo bus stopped at Sundernagar for Dinner. After that we started on our way. At 10:25 pm, the bust came to a screeching halt with all of us running out of it for our life as the engine of the bus caught fire. We were stranded at a place called BAIRI, 20 km from Sundernagar and 15 km from Bilaspur. All the 45 passengers were stranded with no one coming to our rescue.
We remained stranded there till 3 in the morning when two tempo travellers and a xyllo came to our rescue. Finally we reached Delhi at 3:00 PM almost 24 hours after we started.
But none the less it was a great experience.
Thanks to Swagata for this trip.
I wish to go back there again.
And yes guys if you have not gone there yet, Manali is the place to visit. Really guys it is a great place.
And one thing that I learnt from this trip is that Beauty and Danger go hand in hand. How???? Tune in to know about this in another blog.
So let me begin.
The bus we booked was a AC Volvo which started from Ramakrishna Ashram marg at New delhi and we soon reached the foothills of Lower Himalayas (as they are known technically). I must admit that I am really scared of heights and as the bus started to climb, I went numb. The treacherous roads on which it was difficult to drive even one bus properly, two were driving past (in opposite directions) and that too at nearly 60-70 kmph at the dead of night !!!! The entire night I just held on to my dear life as everyone else was sleeping. I just wanted to be sure that when the bus falls into the gorge I should be awake to make an attempt to save myself. What a thought!!!!
We halted at Sunder nagar at 5 in the morning and had our breakfast.
You can easily see Swagata and her face tells about the journey. In the backdrop is the beautiful valley. Well at that time I didn't know what lay ahead.
As the bus rolled on the most dangerous part came. The road width barely 20 feet. On one side mountain is jotting out and on the other side thousands of feet of direct drop into the ravines. Nearly 1 hour of that journey nearly drove me crazy. Finally we reached Kullu and an hour later, Manali.
We stayed at Hotel Hidimba Way, which is a hundred feet or less that the famous Hidimba temple. The hotel was decent and the room was good enough.
We started to unpack and relaxed for a couple of hours. Then we went out for local sight seeing.
 |
| Hidimba Temple |
The above is the pic of Hidimba temple. We then went on to see some cool places like the Van Vihar. Following are some pics that we took there.
 |
| Ghatotkacha Puja Place |
 |
| Same as above |
 |
| Beas River |
 |
| In Van Vihar |
 |
| Local Dress |
 |
| Down the road to Beas river |
 |
| Went on a ride |
Then we reached the Beas river and for the first time in life I was able to gather enoough courage to do something that I wouldn't normally do at all.
 | |
| Hanging by the wire and literally for my life as I was swinging up and down to touch the river beneath me. |
The next day we started for Rohtang pass and we reached by around 1:30 though we started before 6 in the morning. The jam we got caught into was big.
The driver of our car along with the one in front of us devised an idea and see what happened next.
So finally we went down the slope and avoided remaining trapped in further jam.
The day we were coming back we had a even more precarious situation.
At 9:00 pm our Volvo bus stopped at Sundernagar for Dinner. After that we started on our way. At 10:25 pm, the bust came to a screeching halt with all of us running out of it for our life as the engine of the bus caught fire. We were stranded at a place called BAIRI, 20 km from Sundernagar and 15 km from Bilaspur. All the 45 passengers were stranded with no one coming to our rescue.
But none the less it was a great experience.
Thanks to Swagata for this trip.
I wish to go back there again.
And yes guys if you have not gone there yet, Manali is the place to visit. Really guys it is a great place.
And one thing that I learnt from this trip is that Beauty and Danger go hand in hand. How???? Tune in to know about this in another blog.
