Well, initially we were planning to go to jaipur, but we found that due to rains the santuaries would be closed. Moreover, there might be lots of heat in jaipur. And we were planning to go on our bikes. Me on my bullet. So, this got dropped. Next we decided to go to some nearby hillstation. After a lot of research, we decided to visit kasauli and chail. Both are near to each other.
Again the plan of going there on bikes was unsuccessful because one of our group members had a leg injury and it was difficult for him to drive for that long on his bike. It was supposed to be a 6-7 hours/300 kms drive.
Kasauli is around 300 kms from delhi and all we have to do is catch the NH1 to chandigarh and from there to panchkula and then to kasauli/shimla/chail. There is a single road to shimla, on taking a left you reach kasauli and on taking a right you reach chail.
Chail is around 60 kms from kasauli. You have to go down to a small river and then there is a very steep climb up a hill via a narrow road surrounded by greenery and trees. Lovely place to drive through.
We left at around 3 in the morning, gathered at a friends house and then moved on from there in his car. We were able to get on the highway by around 5:30 after filling air and petrol in the car. The highway was good and the drive was great. After a very long time i was able to see the sun rise and we also saw 2 rainbows one above the another on the way.
We reached kasauli around 12 in the afternoon. And we were shocked to see the rates of hotels. We were unable to find anything below 700 for a two bed and nothing below 800 for a 4 bed set. Anyways after lots of research we finalized to stay at R Maidens' some nice hotel with a 4 bed big and decent room. Then had something to eat and went to sleep. Roamed about a bit in the evening and relaxed at night.
Well, the next day we left at around 11 am for chail. Had parathas on the way and enjoyed the hills and the cool and clean air. I was able to see lots of people on bikes and really missed my bullet. At chail, the two things that we visited were - worlds highest cricket pitch and a temple. All the time we were in the clouds. The temple was very peaceful. And the drive wonderful. We came back in the evening and then relaxed.
Next day we went to manki point at kasauli. It was the best place we visited. It is situated inside a military layout, so you could not take any electronic items to that place, neither click photos of the place. We had to leave everything including the our cells, cameras and locking keypad of car inside the car. Had to climb for about 500 meters on a 75 degree slope. On top of th e place, there is a helipad and near that there is a temple. It is a very small place. After reaching the top we were inside the clouds. All we could see was clouds above and below us.
The monkeys over there are very aggressive. During our climb downhill, one of the monkeys took all prasad that we had. Anyways, the visit was good. And the place was worth all the effort.
Later that day, we did some shopping and then relaxed. Next day we left kasauli around 12 pm and were in delhi at around 6:30 pm. Back to the city, heat, pollution and our everyday busy lives.
