Getting away from the heat of Delhi

With the sole objective of escaping the heat of Gurgaon and beat the power cuts I wanted to just get out. Since my wife is away I thought of travelling to Dharamshala – a place I wanted to see but hadn’t seen.

I left New Delhi by 8pm Volvo from ISBT. The one way ticket for this air-conditioned overnight ride costs Rs 840- You can book it over the net. The bus ride was ok except that the bus stopped for dinner at mid-night so decided to forgo the dinner. Reached Dharamshala at 7.30am next morning. I was booked in Snow Crest Inn, Naddi about 14 kms from Dharamshala bus stand. There I was told that unless I wanted to hire a taxi costing Rs 250- I will have to wait for the local bus to Naddi which was expected at 8.30am. I decided to wait. The bus came at the right time but it took 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Naddi a distance of 14 kms because of a major traffic jam at McLeod Ganj on Bhagsu Road. The ride wasn’t bad at all except the traffic jam.

The hotel wsa good and located in a peaceful place unlike the McLeod Ganj which I don’t recommend you should stay. Naddi is more picturesque and peaceful although a bit far from the McLeod Ganj. If you are with your family you will have better in Naddi. The early mornings and sunset are something we don’t get in our own cities.

McLeod Ganj has some good eating joints like for Italian food, Jimmy’s Italian Restaurant, Green Hotel for best breakfast in McLeod Ganj. Actually 2 days are enough in Dharamshala unless you want to go trekking to some great place in Dharamshala. Since it was quite hot by local standards I decided to miss that and return. My request to State Govt is to immediately stop all constructions in Dharamshala, do something about vehicular traffic if they want to save the city otherwise in 5 years it will be all but dead.