Our long-planned trip finally materialized in the last week of March - to Dharamsala. This was one of the rare times when we had no reservation - neither for stay, nor for travel. We had gathered information from the net about places to stay (and shortlisted two of them), but did not make reservations because the trip stood to get canceled till the very last day.
The road distance to Dharamsala is over 550 kms, and we learnt that buses are available which cover the distance overnight. So, on Friday evening we reached the Kashmiri Gate ISBT, and looked for a bus. There are three kinds of buses plying on the route - the regular roadways bus, the deluxe bus, and AC Volvo bus - operated by Himachal Roadways. It was there that we learnt that the frequency of Volvo is once a day (at 8 pm). For sometime it looked that there may be a difficulty in booking seats in it, but finally we managed to find suitable seats (one should not opt for the rear seats in buses, definitely never for long journeys). The bus was expected to take abut 10 hours for the journey, reaching Dharamsala at about 6 am. It was scheduled to make a stopover for dinner, but since that was going to be rather late, we bought some burgers and cold drinks, and settled down.
The journey was uneventful, except for the hindi movie [Jaani Dost] they decided to show. Despite having an impressive cast [Dharmendra, Jitendra, Amjad Khan], it set an abysmal standard of nonsense that is difficult to beat. It was a big relief when they switched off after playing the first CD. [You might be wondering how this is relevant - well, I'll come to that too].
I found the journey quite tiresome, as I cannot sleep easily in a bus. By 6am I just could not wait to reach the destination, but it turned out that we were still some distance away and would need another two hours to reach. We were in the high hills though, so I watched out and enjoyed the lovely sights in the early morning.
The bus dropped us at Dharamsala at about 8:30, almost 12 hours after we started from Delhi. We took a cab to McLeodGanj, also called upper Dharamsala, which is about 10 kms from the main Dharamsala town. McLeodganj is where the Tibetan people, exiled from their country by fear or by force, have established their domicile. This is where the Tibetan government-in-exile is established, and where His Holiness Dalai Lama has established his headquarters.
Our long-planned trip finally materialized in the last week of March - to Dharamsala. This was one of the rare times when we had no reservation - neither for stay, nor for travel. We had gathered information from the net about places to stay (and shortlisted two of them), but did not make reservations because the trip stood to get canceled till the very last day.
The road distance to Dharamsala is over 550 kms, and we learnt that buses are available which cover the distance overnight. So, on Friday evening we reached the Kashmiri Gate ISBT, and looked for a bus. There are three kinds of buses plying on the route - the regular roadways bus, the deluxe bus, and AC Volvo bus - operated by Himachal Roadways. It was there that we learnt that the frequency of Volvo is once a day (at 8 pm). For sometime it looked that there may be a difficulty in booking seats in it, but finally we managed to find suitable seats (one should not opt for the rear seats in buses, definitely never for long journeys). The bus was expected to take abut 10 hours for the journey, reaching Dharamsala at about 6 am. It was scheduled to make a stopover for dinner, but since that was going to be rather late, we bought some burgers and cold drinks, and settled down.
The journey was uneventful, except for the hindi movie [Jaani Dost] they decided to show. Despite having an impressive cast [Dharmendra, Jitendra, Amjad Khan], it set an abysmal standard of nonsense that is difficult to beat. It was a big relief when they switched off after playing the first CD. [You might be wondering how this is relevant - well, I'll come to that too].
I found the journey quite tiresome, as I cannot sleep easily in a bus. By 6am I just could not wait to reach the destination, but it turned out that we were still some distance away and would need another two hours to reach. We were in the high hills though, so I watched out and enjoyed the lovely sights in the early morning.
The bus dropped us at Dharamsala at about 8:30, almost 12 hours after we started from Delhi. We took a cab to McLeodGanj, also called upper Dharamsala, which is about 10 kms from the main Dharamsala town. McLeodganj is where the Tibetan people, exiled from their country by fear or by force, have established their domicile. This is where the Tibetan government-in-exile is established, and where His Holiness Dalai Lama has established his headquarters.
13 comments:
It looks easy to reach Dharamsala. I thought we need to break journey in between to reach there.
Looking forward to know the suspense behind that movie.
Wow....Interesting.
Iam also planning to go there again in the next month.I prefer to take a Train but I guess bus sounds like a lot less problem.What happened next ? waiting for 2nd part.I prefer back seats (second last on left side).It is a superstition and the only time i couldnt get it ,I had this terrible accident.Sounds weird but that's how it is :)
@Cuckoo: Given a 12-hour bus ride, some people may feel more comfortable by having a break in between.
The suspense will come too, in its due course :-))
@VJ: Yes, it is a place you would like to go back to. We too considered going by train, but abandoned the plan after we concluded that the time taken would be more or less same, and there will be additional hassle of changing at Pathankot.
Belief apart, you prefer back seats ?? In Indian buses, on Indian roads ?? The few times I have had to put up on those, my brains kept banging inside my head, because of the bumps!
Sigma, thank you for your visit to Blogtrotter and for your comment.
Incredible journey yours to Dharamsala! 12 hours on a bus...
Sigma this is really Cool, please give some description of the pics in next post. Thanks.
Some wonderfully captured shots & a very well written documentary. It seems a very nice place to visit after viewing your shots. I have heard and read about this place till now, it seems we have to plan our next visit there.
@GMG: Thanks! It is really nice of you to say so!!
@Pijush: Yes, I'll do so in the next post. This one was an introduction, and I selected some pics to go with it. I'll include a description in the next one.
@Kalyan: Thanks! It is indeed a nice place to go to!
Loved the pictures. And I think apart from the movies (we had Bhagam Bhag on our trip to Aut) the Government run Volvos are much better than the private ones.
@Mridula: I agree :-) about the bus as well as the movie :-D
What's the feel like the moment you enter the place?
thnx for sharing beautiful pics.
what is that last photo?
@Anil: Well, it is difficult to describe the feeling. It is almost same as any small hill town as such. The differentiating factor is the distinct Tibetan influence - monks, and people with tibetan features. Otherwise, it has narrow lanes, against the backdrop of hills, and lots of shops and road-side stalls selling souvenirs. But all in all, it is a beautiful place.
@Deepak: Glad you liked these. Check out more in one of the previous post, and more to come.
The last pic is a traditional tibetan design, woven in rich fabric, and made into a wall-hanging.
Nice post with pics - good touch !!
LOL - so you took bus ride. I think I had easy the first time as I took train till chakki banks and then the taxi from there to straight to Mcleaod gunj. Try that way next time.
Oh yeah and the other time my sis just ordered me to escort her for a wedding...that time we took 3 buses...seriosuly - volvo till chandigadh and then the " RamBharosein" buses ( twice) :-)
Those movies are laugh riot...who introduced that concept...at the middle of night !
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