The Road to Simla - fun with cousins

Delhi to Simla - It's all about food

The roads are smooth and smart. The car moves without many hiccups other than stoppages for tolls. Driving from Delhi to Parwanoo has become a pleasurable experience. It used to be a pain earlier as driving through cities like Panipat, Ambala, Kalka etc. meant driving along with cyclists, scooterists, cows and rickshaws. Now elevated roads takes us smoothly over the congested areas. Just a few more bridges are left to be completed before the journey becomes seamless. Those who travel to Chandigarh often talk about this improvement as their journey is now smoother and much faster. Compare this highway with that going to UP and you will know the difference. Last year we suffered enough while going to Nainital and Corbett national park.

Our first break at Daana Pani, Karnal. It took 2 hours from Vasant Vihar to get there in morning.

Puran Singh ka Dhaba was voted as India’s best dhaba for many years. People used to be crazy about the chicken curry they served. But now we sail over Ambala and just catch a glimpse of this eatery. His sales must have dropped drastically. Many people now stop at Murthal beyond Sonepat. There are several eateries there like Gulshan Ka Dhaba and Pehalwan ka Dhaba which serve those amazing paranthas. They serve all kind of food but specialize in paranthas. Eat those early in the morning with loads of butter and curd, and you will want to visit the place again. But this time we gave Murthal a miss and had our breakfast at Daana Pani near Karni lake. This was basically a food court with clean toilets. For the women, the clean toilets takes precedence over food so this place had been selected. Some had dosas at Vaango and others paranthas from Chawla’s. A cup of coffee at Costa Coffee and we moved further.

On the way back we stopped at a restaurant called Haveli nearby in Karnal itself. You get chaat, kulfi, gajar ka halwa etc outside in the open. Inside you get the vegetarian Punjabi food. For those who want burgers, there is a Burger king nearby. Food was good and the restaurant had big pictures of Punjabi heroes like Milkha Singh, Yuvraj, Dara Singh etc. For giving it a dhaba look they have a truck in the corner. I didn’t check if it was real or made of cardboard.

The Truck inside Haveli.

It is only the hilly part which causes some delays. One doesn’t have to go through Pinjore and congested Kalka to reach Parwanoo. A road from Zirakpur takes you through the new road made after cutting the mountains and you suddenly find yourself near Timber trail resort. Soon enough we reached Dharampur . Dharampur is known for its proximity to Kasauli and for Giani ka Dhaba. The dhaba was fully packed. The owner and waiters are not too welcoming but food is good. The way we ordered and then polished off everything, it appeared as if we had been hungry for several days.

Rising Mountains, dropping temperatures

Fresh light snow flakes greeted us as soon as we reached Simla.

Declared as the summer capital of British India in 1864, Simla is now the capital of the state of Himachal Pradesh. It has some very fine buildings of colonial era. The major attractions include the Viceroy Lodge, the Christ Church, the Jakhoo Temple, the Mall Road and The Ridge which together form the city center. The Kalka–Shimla Railway line built by the British a UNESCO World Heritage Site is also a big attraction for tourists from all across the world.

We were driving to Simla to attend a function associated with my cousin’s wedding. 20% of those were supposed to attend dropped out at the last moment reading about the cold wave in the hills. Around 20 of us were traveling in 5 cars. I was with cousins in the car and it was good Company with good jokes , good music and loads of laughter. Whatsapp group bonded all the 5 cars and those family members who had not come for the trip. Nothing scares the people living on the plains than the word ‘cold.’ But as we approached Simla, we knew that predictions were right. Soon we were welcomed by something that each tourist dreams of when visiting the hill station – Snow flakes! The tree tops looked lovely and the cold breeze hit us as soon as we disembarked. It was going to be a crisp and cold evening.

Walking the Mall & Ridge

The Ridge is so crowded in summer that you can't walk here. It was nice to see it as open and wide.

The historical christ church in the background

The energy level was high as we did not waste time relaxing but decided to walk the Mall and the famous Ridge of Simla. Some of the old world charm still remains. Many shops have become modernized but several old ones remain. It was a Valentine’s day weekend therefore many young couples from Chandigarh, Punjab and Himachal were on the Mall. The mountains looked very pretty from the ridge as they were covered with fresh snow. There was a queue in front of Baljee’s for their famous Gulab jamuns. Nothing better than samosas , Gulab Jamuns and hot tea on a cold evening. If you enter the Krishna Bakery, you smell the freshness of the newly baked bread but this bakery is also famous for the momo’s (Dim Sums) it serves. We wanted to sit down so the choice was between café Sol ( located in Hotel Combermere) and ‘Wake and bake café.’ The displayed pastries and patties looked good at café Sol so we sat there and ordered cookies, pastries, veg puff and chicken patties. It was an hour of relaxation there over hot cups of cappuccino before we were ready to walk further towards the renovated Gaitey theatre and the famous Town hall (under renovation now). As always it was nice to be on the ridge which has the lovely mountains and the christ church ( The 2nd oldest church in North India) as backdrop. It was worth braving the icy cold winds.

Simla has many bakeries and cafes. Cafe Sol at hotel Combermere serves excellent food.

It's extremely cold- so let's party in the open !

The Bonfires kept us warm. With Aman (our host) and Avin

Our hosts had organized a welcome dinner for us in their house. Panic set in as realization hit that the dinner was in open. The temperature at 8 PM showed 1 deg C. Woolen caps, gloves and extra clothing was taken out of suitcase. But these were not enough to fight the bitter cold. It was the bonfire and scotch which provided the warmth. Seeing our condition, Aman (the bride’s brother) was gracious enough to set up another bonfire. We stuck to it through the evening.

New day - different weather

Simla bathed in morning sunshine. Not an inch of mountain can be seen as houses and hotels have cropped up due to unregulated construction.

The next morning was bright & sunny. Entire Simla seemed bright and fresh. We drove to Mashobra as my cousin Avin's family's summer house is located there. The water bottle left inside the car overnight was frozen. Avin had several agenda's lined up for us and the main two were to show us his magnificent house overlooking the valley ; and for us to eat at his favourite restaurant located in Gables hotel which has now been taken over by Club Mahindra. He was extremely pleased when all of us went gaga over the house and the views it offered. But his disappointment was evident when everyone vetoed his suggestion of eating at his favourite restaurant. Nevertheless he is hopeful that we will accompany him again to Mashobra so we could have a holiday together in his house and we could eat at Club Mahindra a few times.

Fun at Chalets, Naldera

Chalets boasts of revolving restaurant and a heated pool.

The sun felt good as we further drove to Naldera golf course. While Simla and surroundings look like an overgrown slum with every inch of each mountain occupied, places around Mashobra and Naldera look very pretty. The houses in Valley looked nice and bright and reminded me of the houses we saw in Bergen, Norway.

Chalets is a lovely resort next to the Naldera Golf Course. It boasts of a heated pool, a revolving restaurant, deluxe cottages and lovely wooded area behind the resort. Each cottage has a private lawn. As the sun was nice and warm we requested them to set some tables in the lawn so we could have drinks in the open. They obliged and it was time for family to sit around and chat, gossip, laugh while bottles after bottles of Beer and soft drinks were guzzled.

For the family it was fun time.

Food order for 20 odd people was complicated as it was a mixture of steaks, sizzlers, Chinese and Indian fare. I loved my fish steak sizzler and seeing the food disappear, it was evident that chalets had lived upto its reputation.

Chalets has some lovely cottages, lawns and behind the cottages there are woods.

Snow time at Kufri

Driving through Kufri.

Kufri is just a few kilometres from Mashobra. If you wish to go to Chail from Simla, you have to go through Kufri. Luckily due to recent snowfall, the entire area had some nice fresh snow and we saw many sikh and punjabi gentlemen being very happy about it as they must have travelled from Chandigarh for touching the snow. Many parked cars had music at full volume as turbans went up and down as these Punjabi’s danced away to the rhythm of Bhangra. Yes, they were very happy.

Our photo op with the snow. Rahul, me Kunaal and Amit

The pre-marriage function

I am here with Amit, Pooja (bride to be), Aditya (groom to be), Jyoti, Kunaal and Avin

The main function for which we had travelled was held at Marina Hotel. I had stayed in this hotel 40 years ago and it was difficult to recognize it now as it had become very plush . Our hosts had been living in Simla for many years so the entire Simla population seems to have converged here . The downstairs hall was covered and was full of women and old people who did not want to brave the 0 deg chill. The terrace upstairs was magnificent and huge and was partly covered where the food was served. My cousins and I found it even difficult to hold the whisky glasses . It seemed that hands would freeze. We discussed ways to fight this cold. Whisky did not taste good as it refused to warm us. We decided to switch to boiling hot water instead of normal water. Now whisky tasted good & this suddenly made us warm and energetic. The guzzling started, the conversations became more fun. We met some very fine people. Our knowledge about Himachal, its hidden holiday spots and people increased as we talked to the locals. Many ideas were given to us about future holidays to the state which hopefully I will utilize. The younger cousins were trying to make conversation with some pretty young ladies from the city but failed to get their full attention. The bride and groom mixed around with the people and getting photographed by all and sundry.

Getting ready for some serious photography session

The main function photographer was an enthusiastic gentleman who used actions to explain the kind of photograph setting he wanted. He had no choice as he happened to be deaf and dumb. His smiling face made others smile.

The official photographer and his infectious smile.

Then the scene shifted downstairs and it was DJ and dancing. A big roar went up when the DJ played a Himachali song. We all danced in Himachali style as the bride’s mother guided us through.

Everyone in a good mood.

A walk to remember

At around 2 AM, the four of us cousins ( Kunaal, Amit, Avin & I) found ourselves walking on the Mall walking back towards our hotel. We missed Rahul as he had left earlier. Actually all others from family had left earlier. I had never seen the Mall so quiet and peaceful. No one could be seen anywhere. The fluorescent halogen lights gave it a lovely and serene look . The lights twinkled from several homes on the spread out mountains. We were oblivious to the temperature being minus 3 deg C as cousin Avin regaled us with stories. His enthusiasm had been infectious through the trip. Every few yards we would try out a ‘selfie.’

Selfie at 2 AM on the Mall. Temperature -2 deg C

None of us wanted this walk to end even though we had to drive back to Delhi early next morning. Sadly, this short but a wonderful trip was coming to an end.