Kasauli and Corbett......

It was a long time since I had been on train tour, it was all bikes for almost 2 years now. So the time had come to get in to train. This time it was with my friends from college and after a lot thought we decided up on going to Kasauli and Jim Corbett National Park. The tickets were booked well in advance and everything was planned well but then from no where the agitation for the separate state of Teleangana came up and the day we were set to go there was bandh declared and many said that even trains were to be stopped in between. It was nerve breaking situation, at one point it was like we were going then suddenly something came up and we thought we were not going. After all the tension we atlast boarded the train and were so happy about it but it all tense again when it got stopped after couple of hours for an hour.

     In AP Express....

 It stopped number of times in between till we crossed AP border but it did cross and our tour was on. We reached New Delhi a couple of hours late but it did not effect much as our train to Kalka was in the night. But we did not have time to go about in Delhi. We had to go the KMVN office to book the accommodation in Jim Corbett. We did that went around CP and traveled in Delhi Metro which is always exciting though the there was a lot rush this time. 

       Near Barkahmba Road Metro Station...

Now we had to catch the Delhi Kalka mail from Delhi station at 2000 hrs and when we reached there we found out that the train was running late by 8hrs, it was a shock the whole plan now would have be altered but sumhow we got a cab outside which would take us to Kalka where could catch toy train to Dharampuri. The cab was fun in itself with the Driver called “Babbi” sleeping while driving. Reached Kalka in time and as always the toy train ride an exciting one with lots tunnels and bridges. From Dharampuri we got a local bus which took to the small hillock of Kasauli which has an Army and Air Force base. We got into a fairly good hotel R Madiens which had balcony with breathtaking views of the hills and snow capped mountains. 

          View from the Balcony....

Everyone was very tired after a 2 night journey of train and bus, so we all just dozed off. Went to the market area had nice paranthas of almost all varieties and then sat in the balcony but was too cold out there, so called it a day. Next day we started off by visiting the most prominent town’s architecture “The Christ Church” located right in the center of the town near the bus stand. Our main destination today was to visit the Hanuman Mandir situated on top of a 300m hill known as the “Manki Point” inside the Air Force station. 

             The Christ Church...

Its is about 4 km from the Kasauli bus stand and we can take a cab to reach there. But to really enjoy the view one needs walk, it’s the most exciting walk I ever had. At the entrance of the Air Force base one needs to keep all the cell phones, camera, etc in the cab or at the terminal, no electronic item is allowed inside and it’s very strictly followed. From there we need to climb some 400m to reach the summit and one has to go there to actually see the view. Since it cant be photographed, it something one has to go and see, its just breath taking, the clouds and the earth seems to meet some where far in the horizon with the orange Sun making view mystical. 

           View while going to Manki Point...

           My Friends Riaz, Sai, Shreya and Surbhi....

               The best picture of the trip...In classic B & W

We sat there for almost an hour and had to get back as we had decided to walk our way back to kasauli, we clicked many pics on the way but none could do justice to what we had experienced at the Manki Point. Reached back at around 5 but as with all the hill stations the day is quite short, it was already a bit dark. We went to the same parantha shop and had paranthas then took some used crates of the fruits to have bon fire at balcony then got a bottle of red, while and fruit wine each. 

             Bonfire and Wine at Kasauli.....

Had a lot fun there but except for the red wine the other two were just fruit juices. We had to reach Jim Corbett tomorrow which was almost 450km away from here, so we had to start early tomorrow morning. We managed to catch the bus to Kalka at 9.30 and then there was some repair work going on there so had to take autos to Pijnaur. From there we got in to a bus which would take us to Ambala from where we hoped that we would get a direct bus to Ramnagar. By the time we reached Ambala a real dusty town it was 1.30 and there were no busses to ramnagar. So again we hired a cab till Ramnagar which was still 350km away. But the driver turned out to be a real dumb fellow and it was 7 by the time we reached outskirts of Haridwar and then from nowhere the front wheel got burst. And there was a delay of an hour, now the situation was bit tense as still 150km had to be covered in the night, and if this kind of thing happened again we would stranded in the night. So decided to stay over night at Haridwar after the manager at KMVN had accepted to reschedule our stay at Corbett. Checked into a hotel, had dinner and simply dozed off. Next morning went to the ghats and performed a pooja in the holy Ganges though we were not scheduled to stop here. Took the holy water with us in cans to impress our parents. This time we took the state transport bus to Ramnagar, the journey was exciting at first then had become monotonous and boring as the day progressed. Reached Ramnagar met Sharmaji and then headed to the tents in Dhikala region, it was delight to see the tents and were so excited about it. The tents were awesome and the food was even more, the dinner had chicken curry, rotis fried rice, Panner and aloo Gobi with salads. 

            At Corbett.....in KMVN tents....

            The open restaurant at KMVN tents....

               Tents at KNVN.....

Then again set up a bonfire and this time we had taken Smirnoff to ease ourselves, sipping vodka in front of a bonfire on a real cold night with friends is super fun. We sat there till late night as our safari was scheduled for the afternoon in “Jhirna Region”. We had breakfast at almost 11 and then got ready quickly for the safari in the open top gypsy. The ride on the gypsy is a thrilling one especially when you stand. Reached the Jhirna entrance at 2 and the safari had begun. The jungle was dense and we could hardly see anything even if animals were just a few meters away. 

             The track in the jungle....

           Canteen in Jhirna region...

             Jungleeeeeeee..............

Any small sound and we would think that it could be tiger; there would an eerie of silence for long periods of time. We waited patiently for almost 3 hours if we could spot a tiger but it not the day and we had to be content with pug marks. We spotted deer, peahen and some other varieties of birds which were beautiful. Reached back to KMVN rest house and waited for some time as our train to Delhi was in the night. We reached Delhi early morning and checked in some hotel and slept for some time. Then went out to some shopping and to visit Jama Masjid, it’s a huge mosque with wonderful architecture, but the time was running out so had to rush to hotel and then to station to catch the train. 

           The entrance of Jama Masjid....

          We inside the mosque.....

We all got dispersed in different directions with no cell phones working as the batteries were dead, but some how boarded the train a couple of minutes in time.  After a lot of drama and excitement another journey came had to an end and had to get back to normal life for another 6 months before I could be back on the road on my bull, this time heading for the ultimate destination of any biker, the highest motorable road in the world and the highest salt water lake in the world……Khardung La and Pangong Tso….The next post in gonna be…..”Ladakh on Wheels”…….