Hatu Peak... When Adventure Never Ends...

 View from Hatu Peak

Hatu Peak

2 bikes 4 people... we were all set to go for a bike ride from Chandigarh to Shimla. We left Chandigarh around 4pm. Initial one hour was not easy with hot sun piercing into our thick  heavy helmets . Later with higher altitude and mercury level going down we started to experience a pleasant cool ride . We slightly diverted our journey towards Sanawar Hills, went to the top. We parked our bikes, sat there for a while enjoying the view and enjoying some food and drinks as we were hungry. After a pleasant break we rode again towards our destination Shimla. We reached Shimla around 9pm. Experiencing a temperature of 12 degree from 44 degree in Delhi... Amazing!!!

                                                                    Sanawar Hills

Narkanda Himachal Pradesh

Early morning we rode for our main destination Hatu Peak. Hatu peak is around 3hrs ride from Shimla. We stopped at Kufri for famous Maggi and Chai at the roadside . We had a good chitchat with the chai wali auntie. After having a good chitchat breakfast we headed for our destination. Ride from Shimla to Narkanda was simply awesome. Roads are so clean. You could see apple orchards on both sides of roads. We reached Narkanda around 1pm. We checked in to the Govt guesthouse. All thanks to Shammi who did the booking of all stays. Guesthouse was quite royal and too big for us. Bathrooms are of the size of my bedroom, no kidding! You could imagine how big would be the rooms. We rested for a while and then headed towards Hatu Peak which is 6 kms from Narkanda.
 

                                                       Kufri Chai & Maggi Hut

                                                                  Apple Orchard

                                                      View from Guesthouse
 

Hatu Mata Temple

Ride from Narkanda to Hatu peak was very thrilling with narrow and steep roads, that's why we preferred bikes to car. Also bikes saved all traffic jam especially in Shimla. We parked our bikes and first went to Hatu Mata Temple, a very beautiful temple made of woods. Normally in India you don't get to see temples made of wood. I was surprised to find such a beautiful unique temple at the top. Another surprising thing was our two travel mates Shammi and Govind who are by profession Physical Trainers started doing some stunts in front of the temple. Priscilla and I including other people enjoyed the scene.

                                                                    Hatu Mata Temple

                                                View from Hatu Mata Temple

We left the temple for the main peak point from where you could see the Himalayas. We were very lucky as it was a bright sunny day and the view from the peak was breathtaking . We could see the Himalayan range... what a majestic view! We sat at the edge, not to take a selfie but to experience the thrill and enjoy the view. Every bit of pain we went through in reaching the place was worth it. While Priscilla and I continued to enjoy the place quietly , Shammi and Govind continued to enjoy their stunt acts.

                                                             Hatu Peak

                                                        Spot the Eagle 

 After we came down from Hatu peak we headed for Thanedaar which is 16kms from Hatu Peak. We got to see more apple and cherry orchards. We stopped by a place where farmers were packing freshly plucked cherries. They were very sweet to offer us a bunch of sweet and juicy cherries. It was so refreshing to have those cherries as we were tired and hungry also. We planned to go back to guesthouse after having lunch at some roadside dhaba or restuarant. We continued to ride down the hills but no dhaba or restaurant to be seen. We saw an uncle walking. He must be in his mid or late 70s but quite fit for his age. We asked him about eating place nearby. He told us to ride down for around 4 kms and we would find eating places near the river. We rode down to realize that it was not 4 km but 40 kms. We could see the river but it was like seeing the sky from earth. We rode nonstop tired and very hungry. Finally after riding for more than an hour we spotted a restaurant. We hogged like anything.

                                                  Riding down from Hatu Peak

                                                        Freshly plucked Cherries

                                                               Way to Thaanedar

If you think that our adventure is over, you are wrong, there is more to come. We rested the evening in the guesthouse, where we had some fun, dance and music. Early morning we got ready for our long ride from Narkanda to Shimla and then Shimla to Chandigarh. On the way we stopped at a dhaba for breakfast. The dhaba lady looked so beautiful, I wanted to capture her picture in my phone. Somehow I have a thing for beautiful village women. But I was scared of her tall and heavily built husband, I dropped my idea of clicking her picture. We reached Shimla in less than 3 hours. We spent another 2 hours in Shimla. I remembered my last Shimla trip, it was a solo trip, there was a blood donation camp at Ridge, Mall Road where I donated my blood.  

When we were just about to leave Shimla, it started raining. As we were already running late and I had a bus to catch in the evening, we decided we would ride in the rain. Shammi and Govind were quite hopeful that rain will stop in no time, which actually did. But we never thought that it would rain again in the mid of the hills where there were no shops/shades. It started raining heavily with hailstones. Thank God the size of the hailstones were tiny otherwise it would be painful. With no shades nearby we continued to ride. I couldn't stop myself humming the Hindi not-so-popular song... Jab bhi koi ladki dekhu mera dil deewana bole Ole Ole Ole (Hailstone). Shammi joined me in humming the song. We reached a dry area after around 45 minutes ride. We stopped at a dhaba to change. Dhaba-wala said we had to buy something otherwise they wouldn't give us bathroom key. That was not the challenge. Challenge was they only had provision for ladies. Anyhow we handled the situation, we were all good and ready to continue our journey. We were just 30 minutes away from Chandigarh on the highway. What we could see in front, 1 km away... Rain... Oh No!!!  Another song in my mind... Rain rain go away, come again another day...

A night of terror which will never be forgotten even if I want to

Night of Terror

It was a night which we thought would be a night to remember, a night full of fun, after all 3 girls were meeting together after a long time.  

It was 9ish at night when we were returning home, looking forward to a gala girls night at my place. As usual I was in the driver seat. While I was driving slowly due to traffic jam, a biker knocked on my car window and said There is a riot going ahead. If possible go back. I heard him, I looked around, everything and everyone seemed normal. I didn't believe him. Perhaps because  riot is something I get to hear and see in movies and news channels,  my brain denied to believe the man sent by God.  

After driving not even a km, I started sensing  unusual things. On the other side of the road I saw a group of people carrying a body full of blood. After sometime, a mad mob came and choked the entire road. I wanted to take a u-turn but it was too late. They blocked both sides of the road. My car was the first to get trapped in that mad crowd. People started screaming Delhi police hai hai. They started burning effigies right in front of my car. We were literally surrounded by a mad mob. Then came the worse part,  people started jumping over my car. Few of them told us to leave the car and run away. They were not going to spare anyone and anything. In such scenario people normally become numb and their brains stop working. My case was different. My brain worked faster. There were so many things running in my head. I was responsible for the safety of 3 women, including me. Getting down the car in that very short dress I was wearing was not a good idea at all. I had to drive out of the place by hook or by crook. 

God is great. For the second time He sent saviors for us. Five people from the same crazy crowd turned out to be our protectors. They assured us that we would be safe and no one would harm us. They stopped other people from attacking our car. They escorted our car while I was driving in reverse. Then they helped me in taking a u-turn. God bless You were the words from three of us for those unknown angels sent by God. 

While I was driving at the wrong side, people continued to throw stones on cars and buses.  I was somehow managing to escape from the place. Then I saw the car in front of me. The driver was a policeman in uniform. My next challenge was to overtake that car as I would also be in trouble if I kept following that car. The policeman literally joint hands and begged for his life in front of the angry mob. I didn't know how but I overtook the car and many other vehicles. For the first time I felt proud of my own driving, it saved us. I thanked my dad inside my heart who taught me driving when I was in my 10th class. Things we saw in movies happened right in front of us, we were part of it. It was indeed a miraculous escape. For a moment I prayed for the victims of such unfortunate terrible incidents. And every moment of that night we thanked God for saving us.  

Lesson Learnt - Listen to all kinds of words of caution even if they are from strangers. Do not ignore!