MY FIRST SOLO TRIP- NARKANDA DAY 2 (XXVII)

2nd May, 2015- 4th May, 2015

Day 2

Getting up at 5.30 am with the chirping of birds without any alarm, seeing the sunrise, watching the colour of the mountains changing from dark green to bright green, it was an unbelievable dream. I haven't thought about this in my dreams also.   

View from Krish Rauni

View from Krish Rauni

View from Krish Rauni

I had a delicious breakfast when the owner of the resort guided me as to how to reach Hatu Peak. Owner, Mr Vineet who stays with his wife and a cute Labrador at Krish Rauni only, is a thorough gentleman and very helpful. He dropped me till Matiana bus stop from where I could get a bus till Narkanda.

Matiana-Narkanda-Hatu Peak

Narkanda-Narkanda Lake

Narkanda-Thanedhar

Narkanda-Kotgarh

At Narkanda I hired a taxi (it took me a while there as I was looking for a sharing taxi but all in vain and I had to hire a taxi all for myself) to reach Hatu Peak-Temple, Narkanda Lake, Kotgarh and Thanedar. The road till Hatu Peak is a very narrow road and my driver- Mr Surender (very professional) had to reverse the car at least 11-12 times to make the way for other cars.
Finally I was at Hatu Peak. No words, no picture could describe that scene. It was like a painting, a wallpaper in front of me. Snow covered mountains and clouds like cotton above them, clouds in all shapes as if telling me a story. Tears rolled down from my eyes. I was at top of the mountain above which there was only sky and all other fellow mountains were beneath me. I could see all the roads I had travelled to reach there. 

View from Hatu Peak

View from Hatu Peak

Hatu Peak

View from Hatu Peak

At Hatu temple I thanked God for letting me do this. When I was trying to take selfies Surender ran towards me and said "Let me take it Mam." He then said "Mam, you came at the right time. 10 days before there was lot of snow and the roads were blocked and after 15 days there will be Hatu festival. People from everywhere come to attend this festival. At a time only 200 cars can come here and others have to wait down the hill till they return." When we were crossing some apple orchards he showed me his house and his trees. He told that every season he could gather at least 4000 boxes of apples and sold them to Narkanda market vendors or sent them to Delhi or Chandigarh. 

Hatu Temple

Hatu Temple

Hatu Temple

Narkanda Lake

Narkanda Lake

Narkanda Lake

Apple orchards

Apple orchards

Surender dropped me back to Narkanda bus stop and from there I took a bus till Matiana. The bus was full and I sat on one empty seat. I still could not believe that I was roaming on those strange roads amidst all strangers, unaware of what was store-in next for me. Without realising I by mistake sat on conductor's seat. For a while he stood and collected money from passengers and when one of the passengers got down, he sat beside me.Sometimes even if you don't want to talk, you have to. I couldn't ignore him, as I was alone I couldn't be rude to the locals (though afterwards it became an interesting talk).

Conductor: Where are you from?

Me: From Delhi

Conductor: O! Delhi is very polluted, it is too cold, and it is too hot. I go there only in winters and come back in 10 days as I get really bored there. Anyhow, how is Arvind Kejriwal? What all has he done till date?

Me: Let us give him some time. I can't say anything as of now.

Conductor: What do you do in Delhi?

Me: I am a lawyer.

And suddenly he moved 2 inches away from me. That was hilarious. 

Conductor: That is very nice. 

I got down at Matiana bus stop when I realised that my phone had stopped working. Nevertheless it was just 3.00 pm so I decided to walk till my resort. I was walking and asking and confirming from people about the way till Krish Rauni resort. After walking for a while I came across a building which I realised I had never seen before. I got a hint that I was going in a wrong direction. I saw a guy coming from a distance and I ran towards him. He said "O! Are you the one who has come alone? I actually work at Krish Rauni only.Can you see that truck. Just opposite to it climb a little, then stairs would come and you will reach the resort." I had a sigh of relief. I climbed the mountain, took some stairs and then I again climbed the mountain when I realised that I am stuck in middle and there was no way to go either up or to come down. I was about to take out my whistle calling for help (I went all prepared for the trip with whistle, pepper spray, swiss knife etc.) when I saw a girl from my resort. I shouted.
Me: Heyyy! Excuse me! Please call someone, I am stuck here.
She: Heyyy! How did you manage to reach there?
Me: It's a long story. Please call someone fast.
She called her father.
Dad: Heyyy! How did you manage to reach there?
Me: It's a long story. Please call Mr Vineet.
He called Mr Vineet's wife.
Wife: Heyyy! How did you manage to reach there?
Me: It's a long story. Do something.
Wife: Ok. I call Vineet.
Vineet: Heyyy! How did you manage to reach there?
Me: Do something.
Finally Mr Vineet came for my rescue, he pulled me up and that was how I reached my lovely Krish Rauni resort.

Me: Thanks a lot and sorry for all the trouble
Vineet: O! That's ok. The best part about mountains is you can start from anywhere and you will reach your destination.
And I thought "Thank God! I didn't reach my final destination" and I laughed on my own.

The mountain which I climbed to reach my resort

Day 3- The journey back to Delhi is following in next post.