Healing in the Hills

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The last drive up from Delhi to the Himalayas commenced on an “exciting” note - an excited two kids in the rear seat checking if the mountains were round the bend every 20 minutes. A cool wind in an early summer morning with the sun breaking behind some rather neat clouds had all the indications of a great vacation till…we landed in this huge monstrous jam at the Delhi wholesale veggie market with every conceivable vehicle of transport whizzing in all directions - guess this sudden change to chaos overwhelmed me to an extent wherein I allowed this half blind truck driver to rip -off my right tire and the bumper at 6:30 in the morning - boy oh boy --- all the coolness disappeared—suddenly I had two wailing kids, a very upset wife , a broken car , a very angry me and a hit and absolute run driver. So much for excitement …..we returned to base.
 
After a lazy day at home, some more domestic upheavals, a pizza lunch ( No trip - No cooked lunch !!) and a re-done painted almost new car in the parking bay by 9 in the night ( Thank General Motors!), the next morning saw us off earlier - yes we beat the chaos - the menacing machines and their half-blind drivers still asleep -we sneaked our way out of Delhi….bliss and the first sniff of “vacation” air…so very neat.
 
Our destination - Naldera - a  good 9 hour drive if you are lucky else anything upwards of 11 hours if you are one of those regular stop/take a leak / buy some snacks kind of a traveler. Nestled northwards of Shimla, a once upon a time recuperative hill destination and now a commercially exploited wasteland ( I honestly think so)..Naldera, on the contrary,  is one of those quiet , private retreats with a lot to do if you want to else just put up your legs and do nothing - very cool - no checklist driven touristy site - you know what I mean.. its like a “do it yourself” holiday place - good for people like me.
 
The drive up is wonderful if you love driving or too long if you don’t like it….the government has chipped in to provide some good clean places for freshening up and generally chowing down some made in Haryana burgers or chow mien or idlis or vadas - all Indian or customized to India fare at very decent prices. So brunching was a great idea to save on time as we drove up skirting Chandigarh at around 10 in the morning. We made good progress on the hills with a welcome smattering of rain and some roasted corn on a charcoal fire ( yum-yum)…its fun !! Shimla is as much a driver’s nightmare as it is an eyesore, so we zipped through it as fast as a 4 km per hour traffic would let us …..
 
Naldera resembles a tiny speck on the grand map of Himalayas, yet it holds a lot of secrets. We shacked up at the Chalet Naldera—nice pinewood cottages, running hot and cold water but thankfully no TV and no newspaper. Loved it. The chalet has a warm general manager who loves talking - guess must be real lonely up there in the middle of nowhere.. so if you like being regaled about the hotel industry and its pangs/ pleasures its worth spending time with him. The chalet has this amazing trail just behind it winding up and down through a thick forest of oak trees - pristine, green and not for the half-hearted. With the kids on a horse ( Nily) and the wife and I on our feet, we had a wonderful 7 km trek in 3 hours - sore muscles, wet clingy T-shirts and tongues lolling to our knees—worth every cent. If you are there, make sure you do it.
 
Day two was rafting down the Sutlej from tattapani, more known for its sulphur bath than rafting. The Sutlej in June is grey as the melting snow carries down debris od rock, mud ..but the water feels good . Its still got a strong mountain chill and some goose-pimply rapids ….good thrill for 850 bucks and 2 hours. Kids are usually not advised to raft..so Pat ( the wife) and I kind of had a little re-union with the kids celebrating the fact we were still alive and there for them !
 
Day three we bump into Amitava, Nomita and their kids Mihika and Mallika—nice folks- young, well heeled professionals with a yen for travel. Soemthing clicked and we went yakkity yak for a long time - the kids found each other to pester and impress - and the adults time to sip some wine and just unwind. We did try making a trip to kufri but ran past it - crowded and full of horseshit - horses, yaks , people..more people and cars, buses , 4 -wheel drives, vendors all squeezed in a 12 ft wide road on a mountain !! Scary shit - Beyond kufri and Chail (a town further on) lies some interesting treks. We parked on a bend and wound our way on the hillside and voila - that opened up a view into a wide - screen experience of the Himalayan range - it was awesome, humbling - sometimes its worth veering off the trodden path - the rewards as in this case was stupendous..couple of pictures later and several failed attempts to reini in my spirited 3 yr old son ( Ruhaan) we returned to Naldera.
 
Day four - We meet Saurabh, Ritu and their two daughters - Amitava’s B-School pals. The three families leave for Mashobra - a 30-minute ride. Lots of discussion on travel, politics , Gurgaon ( yes - all families from Gurgaon!)and we land up in the horticultural institute—it’s a quaint little place - old trees, fruit orchards and some amazing flower plants. Amitava also took us pickle shopping ( yummy chilly, mushroom and lime) and some local jam / squash store. The Himachal area is known for its fruits and local stores produce some amazing products …..
 
Day Five - chomp thru breakfast and hit the road, press on the gas and after battling some heavy rain on the highway ..hit Gurgaon in the evening.
 
Net, Net….if you fancy the mountain air, don’t get turned on by touristy spots , just want to do your own thing, spend that “quality” time with the family/ friend/ spouse/ partner ..whoever..hit Naldera now—lots of space, few people , uninterested locals - not bent on thrusting wares under your nose yet helpful, - it healing in the hills folks.
 
Dunno when the next trip will happen but its worth making it happen soon….so all you travel bloggers - if you need more dope on the place , just mail me …ciao !!
 

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