From America to Amravati, Mussorie with its virgin beauty continues to rule the hearts of travellers
From America to Amravati, Mussorie with its virgin beauty continues to rule the hearts of travellersu00a0
Matches made in heaven should 'honeymoon' in heaven too, I was made to believe. But heaven, unfortunately, doesn't come cheap. And those that do are either cupped in terrorism, too steeply priced or don't exist. I had no plans to go on a mushy holiday post marriage because desire and pocket don't generally gel well. But since all my friends (obviously married ones) had gone for a honeymoon, I too decided to go on a trip. Like all
couples, I'm from Mars and my wife is from Venus so when I insisted on Kerala, she suggested Gangtok, and when we finalised Ladakh, she Googled Vaishno Devi. In Goa, it was raining and Rajasthan was baking. Suddenly, I don't know from where, Mussorie came to my mind and surprisingly we both agreed.
Vermont Estate is a heritage property originally built by an Englishman
Be a roadie
Till the time it's possible, I prefer road over tracks and air because a train can't stop at every scenic spot and an airplane can't land at the roadside dhabas. But you can always ask your driver, "Bhaiya, zara side mein rokna." And as such it just takes six to seven hours to drive down to this legendary getaway of all times.
Start early
It's four in the morning, and someone's frantically calling me up. I take the call. "Saheb ji, main aapke ghar ke neeche khada hu. Come down when you're ready." It was the cab driver. "Ten minutes," I told him. But 10 minutes for most of us is 10 minutes multiplied by 10. At six, we 'rolled' down the stairs, parked our luggage in the backside of the car and left. If you ever plan to travel on this highway that connects Delhi to Roorkie, Haridwar, Dehradoon and Mussorie, try starting early to avoid the traffic. Once you're out of the Capital, it's a smooth ride.
Doon's doom days
Our cabbie, Mahesh, was well travelled, which was a good thing considering the ignorance that most of the drivers demonstrate and the most noticeable thing was his ringtone, Poker Face, which he hummed too. Those used to waking up at nine (on weekdays) and one (on Sundays), if woken up at four or six in the morning, will go back to bed at eight. And that's what happened to us. The moment we touched the highway near Ghaziabad, we decided to take a power nap that unlike Shahastra Veer Buddhi's aka Virus's seven and a half minutes power nap, ended after we reached Dehradoon. My perception of the town took a sudden blow when I saw packed roads and massive construction work.
"Jab se Dehradoon capital bana hai, iski haalat kharab ho gayi hai," remarked my driver. The charm of this city has fallen prey to commercialisation and the heavy inflow of VIP cars. The only 'old' thing left about this city is the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Ellora Bakery. We would visit these places while returning. The mercury on the dashboard of the car was reading 40, but as I drove towards the foothills of Mussorie, I could see that it was raining up there. As we started driving up the hill road, it started drizzling. It was time to switch off the AC, bring down the window glass and enjoy the trip that takes you. During the monsoon, though it's off season in Mussorie, the queen of hills is no less beautiful. It's cleaner, less crowded and moderately priced.
Hotel ke andar
An hour later, we drove down the scenic Hathi Paon road to reach our hotel -- The Amber - Vermont Estate, a small boutique property that provides luxurious accommodation at affordable prices. It was peaceful up here, something that I value once a year.u00a0 A heritage property, Vermont Estate was originally built in the late 1800's by a prominent Englishman.
No mug of beer in a swish lounge can match up to the sip of a coffee in the middle of a dense forest at 7,000 feet with birds chirping. In the balcony of these newly built cottages, I could spend days cherishing the breathtaking view of the Himalayan mountains. The day we reached passed over several rounds of coffee, amazing food and unmatched luxury.
The next day, we decided to walk down the famous Mall Road. I could see couples all around, 'stuck' for life.
During the British Raj, Indians could use this lane but they had to pay heavy tax to enter this lane. Localites would tell you stories of kings and freedom fighters who would pay exorbitant penalty to take a walk on this road every evening. Similar is the story of Camel's Back Road (resembles a camel hump), which now houses the kothis of rich Delhi-bellies. Landslides are frequent during monsoons, but if you like a bit of adrenaline rush, you wouldn't care for them. In spite of repeated warnings from the hotel owners and our driver, we decided to drive down to Kempty Fall, Bhatta Falls, Lal Tibba and Dhanaulti. Those who warned were not wrong, we could see fallen rocks every ten metres but nevertheless we enjoyed the drive that ended late in the evening. The next day, it was time to come back, by train since the highway was blocked due to heavy downpour.
Stay at
The Amber -- Vermont Estate has 13 rooms with a European feel. The 150-year- old property has been restored to its original glory and spruced up with modern amenities and a restaurant that serves mouth-watering Indian and Continental cuisines. Indeed an exotic off beat location to unwind.
The Amber - Vermont Estate
Hathi-Paon Road
Mussorie
Package price: Rs 12,000 for 2 nights/3 days
Book online at https://www.theamber.in/
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