Dharamsala - Winter Trip to Himachal Pradesh - December 2013
07
December, 2013 – Dharamsala
We woke up during the wee hours of morning and as
expected the weather was awesome. We had a lot of distance to cover and few
buses to change while heading towards the Lama country.
6:30 AM
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9:45 AM
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10:00 AM
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3:50 PM
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4:25 PM
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5:00 PM
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5:30 PM
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Bharmour BUS
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Chamba
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Gaggal
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Dharamsala
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McLeod Ganj
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INR 90
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INR 190
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INR
15
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INR 14
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Mcleod Ganj was refreshing
as usual, after looking around a bit we finalized on “Hotel Snow Lion” @ INR 600
per room
Frank and me had dinner at
the “Gakyi” restaurant which served
an amazing veg. Cuisine nothing like we had ever tasted before, would strongly
recommend this place especially for the Veggies out there.
08
December, 2013 – McLeod Ganj
After a good night’s rest in
what was the best stay so far, we headed to the “Shangri La” restaurant for some healthy Tibetan breakfast
consisting of “Tan Thuk” with some Ginger Lemon Tea.
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| Tan Thuk |
We had visited the “Dalai
Lamas Residence” in the earlier visits, from outside of-course, however there
were no restrictions with carrying a Camera inside the monastery, this time however they were particular about
security, apart from obvious cameras, they were restriction on camera phones
too.
The monastery as expected was peaceful and ideal for just relaxing and spending quality time.
For lunch we relished some Italian cuisine at “Jimmy’s” the Baked Potatoes with bacon
filing was delicious, the “Gnocchi Fungi” wasn't bad either.
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| Baked Potatoes with bacon |
After some long hours of X- Box gaming at the
local gaming den it was time for dinner, sticking to this year’s vacation theme
– Travel, eat and sleep, we tried out “Norling”
which was a restaurant endorsed by “Highway On My Plate”
Which is a Travel and Food show airing on NDTV Good Times
The food and ambiance was decent, we tried a dish called “Lamen”
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| Lamen |
09
December, 2013– McLeod Ganj
After trying the breakfast menu at “Snow
Lion” we hiked towards the “Triund Path”
the initial slope was very steep, after taking a few breathers we reached a
junction, it had a nice bench to relax and admire nature.
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| Stupa |
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| Hey There |
After taking a few clicks we headed towards
Triund, Frank had already scampered ahead; we had started the trek at about
11:00 am and even though it was about noon the weather was very pleasant, we
tried to catch up with Frank but after reaching a junction were not sure which
route he had taken, the phone network didn't want to play ball so we decided to
enjoy nature and meet up directly at the hotel.
We had reached the “Dharamkot Village” which was a different side of Mcleod that I had
not seen before; it looked like a proper village with farms, farm animals,
small houses and so on. Spotted this
beautiful painting on the aptly named Radha
Krishna Cafe which just ahead from the “Himachal Vipassana Center”
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| Himachal Vipassana Center |
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| Radha Krishna Cafe |
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| GREEN Himachal Pradesh |
After lunch/snack we headed towards “Bhagsu Village” and then to McLeod at
about 5:00 pm.
After all that walking it was time for some
good dinner.
Frank and I dined at “Tibet Kitchen” feasting on “Shakam
Datse”, “Slice Pork in Mushroom Oyster Sauce” and some “Peach Beer”. Being a meat eater I have tasted a lot of pork
but this was by far the best preparation I have savored.
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| Shakam Datse |
10
December, 2013– McLeod Ganj
Another leisurely day, had breakfast at Jimmy’s we tried the American and
Farmers breakfast with some combination of fresh fruit juices.
Spent the entire day just relaxing at the
monastery and shooting some X-Box towards the evening, for lunch we headed to
our favourite restaurant “Tibet Kitchen”
this time Zariab and Vivek joined us, giving us a chance to try a variety of
cuisines, our menu consisted of “Kung Po” – Chicken, “Shapta”,
Thai Veg. Green Gravy, Mutton Fried Rice and some Peach and Fruit Beer. What a meal this was with such a wide variety
of flavors.
After such a banquet of food and few hours of gaming dinner had to be light, Frank and Zariab shared the local “Thukpa” – “Tibetan Kitchen” and Vivek and me had a couple of “Fungi Pizza” from Jimmy’s.
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| American Breakfast |
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| Farmers Breakfast |
Zariab and I had been to McLeod before and
this place seems to have changed to some degree, there was this plush general
store a miniature version of D’mart which was very convenient, some Punjus
blasting music near the usually quite interiors, restrictions on photography in
the monastery, major cement construction near the monastery rod and so
on.. In Spite of all these changes McLeod had a lot to offer in terms of culture, people, food and the amazing nature and weather.
This was a perfect end to our time in McLeod Gang and it was excellent.
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