Holidays in Manali

When life can be unpredictable, we opt for the simplest way by preparing for it. Preparation, that includes concerning for the holidays were far ahead from preparing for the paper itself.
Yet time flies so quickly and hence we had our first omen right after our very last paper regarding preferred departure date.
As it was our last year, we somehow managed to survive so far by considering every humps on our way as a mere one and not a wall to get us bounce.
Many of our friends suggested various destination for the holidays and in the end, we all concluded Manali as the perfect destination for our holidays.
Somewhere few people wondered, while some doesn't understand and raised silly out of silliness brain but the reason behind this holiday and choosing the desired place had far more reliable excuses to many unfamiliar ears.
We gathered altogether seven classmates, on 23rd at Delhi and prepared ourself for the overjoying journey that we were about to start. One of our classmate booked a bus ticket, who already made it to Delhi ahead of us.
Our journey to Manali started from Delhi on 23rd night. A worker from travel agency  guided us till the bus and we had a pleasant journey with comfortable and refreshed air condition.
Just as I was sitting on my seat, I saw an ice cream seller nearby the road and without concerning much to health, I started my journey for Delhi with an ice cream holding on my hand.

On our way to Manali, we crossed many familiar places including MANDI, BHUNTAR, KULLU, PATHILIKUL, DHOBI etc.
Beautiful scenarios on our way woken me up. I looked at my watch and it was seven in the morning. The overwhelming curvy road dissected through the high mountains of Himalayas and the bright sun stoked upon the top of the huge mountains mesmerised me with jaw dropping memories of some familiar sights on our journey.


One of our group has a home just ahead from the final destination, the small inclined bus station beside the famous Mall Road. So we all hurried down the bus at the Tibetan school where one of our friend's family resides there.
We all had a pleasant stay at the friends home and we were very much blessed with such warm welcome by the family member to us.
Just as we were all freshen up, we were treated with breakfast which seems a bit like a lunch for us. It was my first time tasting lingri and i might say i was quite lucky for getting a new flavour on my taste list. Yet after we boarded the local bus till the main market, we did had a perfect lunch at old Manali road.



Before that, we visited HADIMBA TEMPLE and I had a ride on one of our legendary mammal and symbol of our country, yak.



After a heavy tummy, we walked down the road to the club house of Manali. we had a long snooker match with an undecided champion at the club house.


Our group then headed towards the main market. Together we walked down the way through the tall deodar trees of Manali till we reached at the Mall Road and rested there for half an hour, hallucinating and stretching neck round and round but the spot flashed from the top of the selfie stick made us posed for it.


The crowded road with lots of people further harden us to deal with compromising the preferable fare of auto on our way back. The overwhelming energy in our heart didn't stopped us from getting on ride but the very strong legs and sporty body energised us walking towards the destination.
It was a tiring walk down the road but somehow we reached at the destination and we all hurried up the long stairs to our allocated big room which was earlier used as a hostel by the school itself.
The night was a memorable one for the game lover as we played mini Mitia  for the last time and I was quite able to score high, which basically means I played well. Next morning was excited and thrilled to wake up around 6:30 and prepared for the short distance first day trip to kalak.
Kalak was just a few minutes ride down from Manali. The place fame was lifted by a few popular hot springs where many people comes in the morning for a hot bath and warm sunbath. One of the greatest curable method for the joint problems during old ages can be hot spring only.


The early morning weather at Manali is a bit chill and shivering for us, as we had just travelled from Varanasi but the vaporising hot springs comforted us from not letting out of the small tub.
There were many small hot springs located nearby this areas and some had great reputation from many years ago but some springs were artificial and extremely modified with desirable changes.
After coming back from the hot springs, we had a short tea stay just outside the school entrance. The shopkeeper had a huge white dog with a small cut underneath his right paw, which made him difficult walking yet he was a lovely dog and we had a short play time with him.


After a short tea, we now felt a lot more freshen up and ready for the big plans.
Yet again, we were treated with healthy breakfast.
Second on our list, we went to the main market to rent motorcycle.
Just as we reached at the shop and had a few conversation with the shopkeeper, he happily rented us Avenger motorcycle and Royal Enfield 350 which together cost around two thousand rupees.
Along with two rented motorcycles, a friend of our group lend motorcycle from his relatives thus altogether getting us three motorcycles with seven friends to ride.


On our first list, we rode towards the high hills of Solang valley. The journey was smooth and comforting while riding Royal Enfield 350. The sound it produced and the charm that I felt riding such motorcycle was indeed my fate decided as I had a long desire for such pleasant time.
It took us around thirty minutes to reach at the destination. The striking steep where paragliding was established was indeed crowded with lots of tourism. We walked few miles up the hill and rested there for a while.


After an hour at Solang valley, we rode back towards our next destination.


Jugnu fall was a little away from the main city but it was located at the other side of the mountain. We were able to ride halfway cross the road but as we rode higher, the road seems more steeper so we decided to walk the remaining distance. On top of the hill, there was a small deep pool underneath the high water fall.


We all hurried inside the cold water and few of us dived into cold water, We could feel the shivering chill running down the body and the fresh winds at the top of jugnu hill indeed gave us a lot more to shrink our body yet we all did had a long sunbath.
We stayed there for three hours until we all decided to go down the road for our next destination.
It was around 2:30 in the afternoon and we all decided to ride towards the other side of the road, which would lead us to the one of the historic place called Nagar.
During Tibetan class, our gyenla use to tell us about how gyendu chenmo, a philosopher and a traveller came to the Nagar and most importantly knowing the reason behind one of his most famous quote; "never trust the blonde hair"
It was rightly said by himself when he was somehow betrayed or in a better word, culprit by the foreigners in India.
There was nothing much to see at the Nagar but down the road it was quite peacefully and we were all able to cheer up for every exciting sights on our way.

Just as we were passing Nagar, we crossed a small yet perfectly infrastructure with every possibility of ecosystem maintained and harnessed.
Trout fishes with different sizes were kept accordingly in a large dome shape where a cold running water swipes over every connected artificial dam. The small place was not only meant for the popular bias river trout fish but many more of wild goose and Turkish within a cage as well as beautiful garden collectively enriched with many small ecosystem.
We rested there for a while under a beautiful hut along side noisy river but something inside our tummy wasn't resting. Indeed everyone's tummy had Usain bolt running inside, so we decided to reroute our last destination.

Further down the road we rode our amazing motorcycles and round the bridge we crossed back towards the main highway.
Just as we crossed the bridge, we came to Patlikhul. Every small restaurant on way seems mouth watering with huge poster of momos and chowmen. We hurried ourself with parking the motorcycle and rushed inside the small tin restaurant own by some Nepali locals.
We couldn't express to appreciate the taste of momo, thukpa and gyuma as hunger blindfolded our instinct for taste.
Every small slice of gyuma and momo were alternatively ingested inside ours tummy within a shorter time duration.

Now after our tummy seems overflowing with gyuma and momo, we had a different feeling while riding a motorcycle.
The road was smooth and weather was pleasant. What more do we ask from such beautiful nature. On our way back, we stopped for an hour at a small tea shop on the other side of the road where we all had to walk on the tilted wooden bridge that somehow gave me little taste of goosebumps.

Hot tea beside the dangerous bias river was indeed worthy to cross the scary bridge.


The sun was already behind the high hills  of Manali  and it was around 8 in the evening when we all started to ride back towards the Warm cozy room of ours.
Crowded road with increasing number of tourism enrolling every day further delayed us in traffic but overtaking and zig zagging the motorcycle surpassed us much easier than the heavily cars and trucks.
In no time, we reached at the shop and redeemed our mortgage with the motorcycles.
The second day ended with a heavy meals at one of the local restaurant near Mall Road. We all dig in for gyuma at the restaurant, engulfing every pieces into mouth as a piece of chips.

On 26th morning, we had a regular morning with breakfast from the friends family. It was a heavy breakfast and we all bid good bye to each other.
Our small group further scattered from seven to five members and we five rode bus down Manali towards Bhuntar.
It took us around three hours travelling in local Himachal Parivaan bus and just as we reached at Bhuntar, we saw shushil bhaiya buying grocery at the small market. We all got off at the small bus stop and hopped inside congested auto.
The cold morning breeze and the striking sound of the bias river stumped my heart for a while but as we reach closer towards the end of Bhuntar, I could feel my own heartbeat thundering and cracking within.
Just as we had a right turn down the steep road beside Kullu Manali airport, the same old tea shop with an old man was still conjoined to its own place.
The massive hall build just after we shifted our centre to Varanasi was magnificent and huge.
We met sukdev bhaiya, who guards the hostel and we asked him for the room's key. Many of the old memories were blasting on our way and when I entered inside my room, two bumble sets were eye striking.
I loaded every useful cloths in my bag including many of the winter wear. Just as we were about to leave the hostel, something did stopped us from not going back so soon. It was a blissful rain and the cloudy weather over Bhuntar area and we all had an hour stay at hostel.
After an hour stay at hostel, we headed towards the small market and on way, we had a hot parata and tea at Mukesh dhaba.
Slowly the blissful shower came to an end and we further walked towards one of the regular restaurant where we use to go earlier, when we almost stayed for two years at Bhuntar. But unfortunately gyuma and momos were already finished so we kept our luggages at the restaurant itself and headed towards the bridge.
The same hanging bridge reminded me of one of the cheerful moment days back.
We further visited some of the few local shops around the market.
Our short trip eventually came to an end, as we all headed towards different destination.
I was the last one of the group to leave Bhuntar as my bus to Dharamshala was around 9:30 in the evening.
The fresh air and the cold winds will always cherish my presence over northern parts of India.
Indeed when you feel too much preoccupied, time take us into various situation to deal with and it was rightly said by Shiv Kher, "you can win".
Now that we were all apart, it feels like time could surely led us into new destination and I believe life can be unpredictable yet we all have a choice to make.
Let's make it worth.