It's kind of strange to say this but until now, I had never had a solo trip in my own country, India but I had already been to Europe in 2019 (click here for my blogs on European trip). This pandemic + extended stay in Calcutta had started to feel a tinge more. To be honest, I was been mentally drained of what had transpired in the past few months. There have been multiple cancellations incl. one back in December wherein I had even booked for a full-moon night camping and a weekend trek to Nag Tibba. But in came the Omicron scare :( Guess, it wasn't my time to go back then but then this time it was literally a last-minute plan. Maybe it was a reaction to an incident, I looked up for flight tickets for the very next day which turned out to be exorbitantly high. I then tried my luck for rail tickets and Bingo! Tickets were available under tatkal (emergency) system. And so, Mussoorie & Rishikesh it was to be.
I boarded a Rajdhani to embark on my journey to Mussoorie. A train journey + Rajdhani proved to be a walk down memory lane. As the train started running, my eyes were set on a group of birds flying past the sun in the background (click here for its video). It resembled so much of what I was feeling back then - a sense of freedom, excitement and immense happiness! I had booked myself a dorm at Zostel which was conveniently close to both the railway & metro stations. Out there, I met 4 folks who soon turned into friends as we enjoyed a delicious Chole Bhature followed by some hill station special stuffs. Later, met a couple of friends at Connaught Place for my first Starbucks coffee & some sightseeing.
Boarded an overnight bus to Dehradun which dropped me off at Tibetan Settlement Office in Dikeyiling which was ~10kms from the Dehradun Railway Station. On a cold morning in pitch darkness at 5 am and no Ola, Uber to take you uphill, it seemed a daunting task to reach Mussoorie. This is when I found my savior in form of Ananth. He too was traveling to Mussoorie and thankfully to a place close to my hostel. Journey uphill was so beautiful, full of mesmerizing views, sublime air quality and enriching conversations. I wanted to stay near the Mall Road and hence booked a stay at GoSTOPS Picture Palace Road. GoSTOPS has two properties in Mussoorie with Picture Palace being the recent and more beautiful one. It is certainly one of the biggest hostels I have come across. Spread over G-3, it has plenty of open space for workation and relaxation, multiple gaming options like Foosball, Billiards, TT, Carrom and many more board games. Perhaps the only negative point about the hostel was the quality of in-house food. Except for Maggi and coffee, there is very little to talk about the food section. Thankfully, we had found a nearby eatery joint who served edible food. Moving your head around you will find scores of people on a workation mode. We used to strictly work form ~9 to 6 pm with small breaks in between to intake various lifelines on a hill station. Post working hours, we used to be immersed in various herbal stuffs and drinks, series of games like teaming up for Foosball, Billiards and loud music into the wee hours of the day. So much so that the receptionist had to invariably request us to lower the volume to ensure a peaceful night for the private room occupants. Although, we were a bit unlucky to have not experienced snow but thankfully it rained, making the already cold climate a bit more colder. So much so that we even feared washing our hands post dinner.
I was on a pure workation mode out here, so evening used to be the only time to venture out and explore. DAY 2 seemed like dedicated to my sweet friends - Ananth and Prasanna as we met for breakfast, lunch and a small trek to Lal Tibba. Ananth is pursuing his PhD in Physics (hopefully I'm correct on the subject) and was visiting his local friend who stays outrageously close to Ruskin Bond's home. Prasanna, is a freelance content writer who has been living in Mussoorie for over six months hoping to walk into Ruskin Bond one fine day. Like a perfect host, they cordially invited me for a breakfast, followed by lunch at the Doma's Inn, serving Tibetan food. Doma's Inn has a beautiful ambience which would leave any visitor awestruck. Quality of food served was top notch as we felt bon appétit. Prasanna was gracious enough to lend her New York jacket and to keep my belongings at her place before we undertook our trek. Lal Tibba is essentially a scenic point at a distance of ~4kms from the bus stop. We first took a quick glance at Ruskin Bond's house which has a somewhat rude message board 'No entry for visitors'! The way uphill is sloppy enough at the beginning making most back out and instead opt for a scooty ride to the sunset point. However, I would strongly encourage one to instead walk as its filled with enthralling views all the way up to the top. One can take a short break at Char Dukan stalls next to St. Paul's Church and indulge in some hot tea/coffee (go for honey ginger lemon tea) and quick snacks. View of the sun setting in with multiple hills in the backdrop was simply majestic and soothing to the eyes. We then took a different route to get down as Prasanna kept enriching us with the rich history of the locality. I was simply amazed by her narration skills. They both compelled me to have a piece of cake at the famous Landour Bakehouse which is another must to go place. There was completeness darkness as we walked downhill in pin drop silence, so much so that we couldn't hear buzzing sound of bees as well. Looking back at that day still makes me feel so complete, makes me wonder if I fully live my day like that?
One of the memorable part of my stays in Delhi & Mussoorie was making friends and connections. Just to give a view, I met people from 14 different cities working in more than 10 different companies in 12+ unique roles like acting, medical, entrepreneurs, HR, aspiring IFS officer, SEO etc. Surprisingly, I did not meet a single CA throughout my trip. Few people became friends for life, hopefully. One was, Gunjan, an engineer from Gujarat, who gave excellent vibes of being a good person and humility. We all feel pity for him for being in a WFH mode in Gujarat as it's a dry state. But we did ensure to make him party hard. We feel like having spoilt a good boy in a span of few nights for he now can take all the lifelines of a hill station like a pro - Yo Joginder! Next up is Manish, an aspiring IFS officer. Although, he had paid for only 1 bed for 2 nights but it literally felt like he had booked the entire 10-bed dorm for one memorable night. Manish then went on to Rishikesh along with me as we talked about life, civil services etc. Four doctors from Ambala made our last night very special as we indulged in a full-blown party. Young, wild, carefree and unselfish - is how I would describe them. My roomie was a soon-to-be NRI, having been in a workation mode for the last 6-7 months!
For many Mussoorie isn't that great, boring, so to say least. It's quite subjective though as we all might so with a different requirement. Although, I missed going out to Cloud's End, Kempty Falls, but I don't regret it. Maybe because I already felt like being fully alive or maybe because I might visit it again. Looking back at myself during those days, I see an unleashed version of myself. I partied hard, made new friends, went on treks with strangers (until a day before) in pitch darkness - guess this is exactly how a backpacking, solo trip should be...
Recommendations:
Bus to/fro Delhi to Dehradun - Primo
Dehradun to Mussoorie & back - Take a bus from Railway Station costing just 65 bucks
Hostels - goSTOPS Picture Palace (book via their own website), Zostel, Hosteller by the Stream Side
Places to visit - Lal Tibba, Sister's Bazaar, Cloud's End, Kempty Falls, George Everest, Char Dukan, Mall Road
Places to eat - Domma's Inn, Landour Bakehouse, Cafe de Landour, Paparika,Mussoorie Sweet Shop (for jalebis), Himgiri Cafe at Char Dukan
