"........Sitting on the office chair, I suddenly realized the intense desire to roam around the Himalayas. It's been so many days that I could never escape the daily routine. This time I wanted to go on a well planned trip but maybe the mountains were calling me and I decided to pack the bags & go on the expedition.
I asked my friends if they were interested accompanying me or not. I got a YES immediately. We booked VOLVO bus tickets that goes to Manali at 11PM everyday, tickets were confirmed.
Everything was going smooth till then. HOW COME???
I got a call from the bus booking centre. The person on the other side told me "We're not accepting tickets booked online and also we have cancelled the bus for today". WHOA. Now the fun began.
BUS CANCELLED, CAB did not turn up on time.
We took an auto from Mohali to Sector-43 bus stand. At one side of the waiting area, there was a huge rush. BAck in my mind, I thought that it was not the counter for Manali/Mandi buses. But no, this was the counter for Manali buses. We had to wait there for half an hour. Then, one HRTC bus arrived, the bus condition was pathetic. People ran towards bus like cats run after rats. FUN FUN FUN. Conductor asked to buy the tickets from the counter first. Then again everyone ran towards the ticket counter. DOUBLE FUN. Finally we managed to buy the tickets. We boarded the bus finally. Now no one thought of stepping back as everyone had to pay the fare even in case their mind changes. :D
Bus started, it was roaring like a lion. It boosted the fun. In actual, NO. It frustrated me more. There was not even 1% chance that anyone could sleep in that type of bus. Each & every bone was crying inside. :D
Early morning, we reached Kullu. Kullu is situated on the banks of Beas river. I was damn tired by then. But the views on the way to Manali from Kullu were breathtaking. The river was flowing alongside the road. The mountains covered with trees were so alluring that I was gazing at them constantly. Finally we reached Manali. We took a cab from Manali bus stand to hotel. The snow covered mountains were visible from the hotel room. We checked in to the hotel, freshened up, had breakfast & slept for 2-3 hours.
Around 12PM, we got ready & went to Hadimba Devi Temple. The view was nice & very peaceful.
Then we went to Mall Road Manali, not good not bad place. Tried few restaurants there. After that we went to Gadhan Thekchhokling Gompa Monastery. This is a small Monastery. The statue of BUDDHA at the Monastery is very huge. Go to first floor of the temple & statue views best from there. We also turned the prayer bells there.
There is Solang Valley(Means nearby village),is a good place for trying adventure activities and is situated on the way from Manali to Rohtang Pass. Then we roamed there for couple of minutes & decided to go back to the hotel. In Kullu & Manali, you can visit the Shawl Factory & Museum if you want.
By the time we reached hotel, we all were so tired. We finalized the plan to go to Kasol the next day. We looked for hotels in Kasol. Bad luck, all were already booked. We decided to reach Kasol & find a hotel there only. We slipped into the bed & fell asleep within minutes. Such a sound sleep after a long time."
GOOD NIGHT!!!!
Read next story(MUST READ): The dark side of Himachal - Kasol
I asked my friends if they were interested accompanying me or not. I got a YES immediately. We booked VOLVO bus tickets that goes to Manali at 11PM everyday, tickets were confirmed.
Everything was going smooth till then. HOW COME???
I got a call from the bus booking centre. The person on the other side told me "We're not accepting tickets booked online and also we have cancelled the bus for today". WHOA. Now the fun began.
BUS CANCELLED, CAB did not turn up on time.
We took an auto from Mohali to Sector-43 bus stand. At one side of the waiting area, there was a huge rush. BAck in my mind, I thought that it was not the counter for Manali/Mandi buses. But no, this was the counter for Manali buses. We had to wait there for half an hour. Then, one HRTC bus arrived, the bus condition was pathetic. People ran towards bus like cats run after rats. FUN FUN FUN. Conductor asked to buy the tickets from the counter first. Then again everyone ran towards the ticket counter. DOUBLE FUN. Finally we managed to buy the tickets. We boarded the bus finally. Now no one thought of stepping back as everyone had to pay the fare even in case their mind changes. :D
Bus started, it was roaring like a lion. It boosted the fun. In actual, NO. It frustrated me more. There was not even 1% chance that anyone could sleep in that type of bus. Each & every bone was crying inside. :D
Early morning, we reached Kullu. Kullu is situated on the banks of Beas river. I was damn tired by then. But the views on the way to Manali from Kullu were breathtaking. The river was flowing alongside the road. The mountains covered with trees were so alluring that I was gazing at them constantly. Finally we reached Manali. We took a cab from Manali bus stand to hotel. The snow covered mountains were visible from the hotel room. We checked in to the hotel, freshened up, had breakfast & slept for 2-3 hours.
Around 12PM, we got ready & went to Hadimba Devi Temple. The view was nice & very peaceful.
Then we went to Mall Road Manali, not good not bad place. Tried few restaurants there. After that we went to Gadhan Thekchhokling Gompa Monastery. This is a small Monastery. The statue of BUDDHA at the Monastery is very huge. Go to first floor of the temple & statue views best from there. We also turned the prayer bells there.
There is Solang Valley(Means nearby village),is a good place for trying adventure activities and is situated on the way from Manali to Rohtang Pass. Then we roamed there for couple of minutes & decided to go back to the hotel. In Kullu & Manali, you can visit the Shawl Factory & Museum if you want.
By the time we reached hotel, we all were so tired. We finalized the plan to go to Kasol the next day. We looked for hotels in Kasol. Bad luck, all were already booked. We decided to reach Kasol & find a hotel there only. We slipped into the bed & fell asleep within minutes. Such a sound sleep after a long time."
GOOD NIGHT!!!!
Read next story(MUST READ): The dark side of Himachal - Kasol
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