Travel Blog

This Year’s Adventurous Start

4 Jan ‘22 - 12 Jan ‘22

- Mitiksha Jain

The tranquil of Golden temple in Amritsar; to snowstorm in Dalhousie; to serenity of Norbulingka Institute in Dharamshala; ending with shopping in cold of Mcleod Ganj, this trip was a roller coaster ride that taught us real life experiences.

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Day 1: Surat to Amritsar Day 2: Amritsar Day 3: Amritsar to Dalhousie Day 4: Dalhousie Day 5: Dalhousie to Dharamshala Day 6: Dharamshala Day 7: Dharamshala to Jalandhar to Surat

Day 1 & 2 Travelling amidst the pandemic, all the precautions were taken care of and our principal took keen interest in awaring us about the ways to maintain our immunity. This 8 - day trip started with train journey from Surat to Amritsar; where we grasp the tranquility of Golden Temple.

Entering the plaza surrounding the temple was like stepping into a whole new world echoed by the Gurbani soothing our soul. As it was a cold day, washing our feet and walking on the marble gave us chills.

Golden Temple Plaza

Clicked by Madhvi Patel & edited by Mitiksha Jain

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Exploring nearby places, we went to a famous restaurant named ‘Zyka’, where we had mix Kulcha and Dal Makhani. It was so delicious. There were many street food stalls of gulab jamuns and mouth-watering rasmalai.

Later, we visited Jallianwala Bagh and the War Memorial to learn about the hardships that people faced prior to the independence. These places were beautifully designed capturing the essence of the space where the incident occurred.

Jallianwala Bagh

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Bullet Marks

Clicked & edited by Karan Patel

The increased number of covid cases led to the sealing of Wagha Border. Hence, we decided to revisit Golden Temple at evening with the lightings. It was mesmerizing. We walked around the plaza, shivering with each splash of cold wind, soaking in every bit of contentment in the environment.

Golden Temple Plaza

Clicked by Madhvi Patel & edited by Mitiksha Jain

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Day 3 It was raining while travelling from Amritsar to Dalhousie. Stopped for lunch at a hotel named DLM Valley Resort with beautiful view. The view was perfect. Reached Dalhousie at 6:30 pm.

Journey

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

View from the Stop

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Day 4 It was 4° out there. We were going to Khajjiar, also known as Mini Switzerland. On the way, we stop for clicking photos at a beautiful view of the mountains. That view had it all; from green terrace like cut mountains on one side to the snowy mountain on other. We chose the longer route from our resort because it was the most secure. We had a great time on the ride as it had a lot of beautiful scenery and our faculty’s mind-blowing playlist. There was no other faculty we wished to enjoy this trip with. But luck wasn’t in our favor, we faced a traffic block from the landslide due to continuous rain that day. It was getting dark at 4, so we decided to return to our resort. While returning, it started to snowfall at 5:30 and we were 7 kms away from our resort. Deciding to walk to the resort, we bought umbrellas from nearby shops and started to walk towards our resort at 7. The journey was quite tedious and scary. We witnessed a completely still snow-covered road with one side hill and the other an unending ditch as we walked to keep our body heat. The sky full of clouds yet illuminated and the snow shone showing the curvilinear road ahead. We faced many hardships while reaching our destination but we learnt to help each other out, encourage each other out through this challenging period.

As we reached the destination at 10 pm, we were welcomed by hot lemon coriander soup.

Drinking the soup re-energized our body to sustain the cold.

Morning Coffee

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

View on the ride

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Walking to our resort

(in frame Janvi Patel)

Clicked by Madhvi Patel & edited by Mitiksha Jain

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Day 5 Travelling back to the spot where our buses left us again in the middle of snowfall, as it continued till afternoon. Departed to Dharamshala where we logged into a beautiful hotel.

Back to the spot

Clicked by Madhvi Patel & edited by Mitiksha Jain

While walking

Clicked by Parth Jhaveri

View from the hotel

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Day 6 After being snow stormed and cold locked the previous day, we were glad to watch the beautiful sunrise. Our room had a lovely view of the mountains, a stream, and heaven’s clouds. It was a blessing to see the sunrays warm the space.

View from the hotel

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

We visited Norbulingka Institute. Amidst the temporary house structures, the building stands out with its beautiful architectural features. With the continuous sound of falling water and the swinging of tree leaves, this temple was so peaceful. It supported local art workers by providing them space to create as well as sell their artwork.

Norbulingka Institute

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

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Next, we went to Dharmshala’s famous cricket stadium. The sun shone brighter that day, contrasting the lush green of the stadium with the blue of the sky.

Nothing beats an afternoon tea, so we went to Tea Garden, where we took a bunch of photos and enjoyed a hot spicy tea. Next on the list was War Memorial.

Cricket Stadium

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Tea Garden

Ambiance at War Memorial

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

We went shopping in Mcleod Ganj despite the cold evening. The market was brimming with lovely trinkets and delectable food stalls.

As we returned to the hotel, we were welcomed by heart pounding music. The day ended with us enjoying a musical night under the stars with the warmth of a bonfire.

Shopping at Mcleod Ganj

Dance Night

Sunset at Mcleod Ganj

Bonfire

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

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Day 7 Leaving Dharamshala with a bundle of happiness and sunshine to catch our train to Surat at Jalandhar railway station. On the way we stopped at Kangra Fort, where we experienced beautiful view of snowy mountain unifying with the stoned fortification.

Kangra Fort

Clicked & edited by Mitiksha Jain

This trip taught us to stick together through thick and thin, connecting us in a whole different level. In the end, it is all about companionship, whom are you travelling and enjoying the whole trip with. It may lift you up in a bad time and enjoy your company in a good time. And, like every other roller coaster ride’s finish, we wished to return.

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