THE PONG ECO VILLAGE- A DESTINATION IN ITSELF!

This place made me take my another solo trip

This place made me read that book script

This place urged me to write again

Beauty of this place made me insane.

Pong Dam- View from The Pong Eco Village

It was one random Sunday evening when I decided to take a trip to Pong Dam.  Pong Dam, a dam on Beas River is also known as Maharana Pratap Sagar. It is a perfect place for bird watchers.  This destination was on my list since long. I started searching for places to stay and I came across this place, The Pong Eco Village Resort http://thepongecovillage.com/. Beautiful, serene, calm and peaceful, words are less to describe this place. I booked it immediately and called Mr Mukesh, the owner to confirm my booking. What started with Mr Mukesh turned to 'Mukesh Bhai' in the end. I planned to stay here for two days. When I was about to book my bus tickets, Mukesh Bhai called and told that he was also leaving by his car from Delhi till Pong Dam. I joined him and  the solo trip no longer remained solo. I got the company, Mukesh Bhai.   

How to reach Pong Dam/ The Pong Eco Village

By Bus- There are direct buses from Delhi till Pong Dam. 

By Road- There are two ways and one may choose any looking at the traffic conditions

1) Delhi- Panipat- Karnal- Kurukshetra- Rupnagar- Nurpur- Talwara- Pong Dam- The Pong Eco Village Resort

2) Delhi- Panipat- Kaithal- Cheeka- Patiala- Ludhiana- Hoshiarpur - Talwara- Pong Dam- The Pong Eco Village Resort

We reached The Pong Eco Village Resort and tiredness of nine hours drive vanished in few seconds. The Pong Eco Village is a destination in itself. After having scrumptious dinner cooked by Mukesh Bhai I went off to sleep, dreaming about star studded sky, clouds, thunder and the rains (which were actually there). 

Mukesh Ji cooking dinner 

The mornings were as peaceful as the sound of thunder at nights.  I woke up and was welcomed by spicy tea flavoured with elaichi, adrak (ginger) and kali mirch. I wonder what kind of spices do they use in their food. It all together had a different taste. While I am writing this my mouth has started watering thinking about that food. 

I had ample time with me. I wrote poems, my thoughts and I finished reading two books. Whenever I am travelling I carry minimum two books, lest I finish the first. This habit proved to be useful here.  I finished reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera and Ruthi Rani by Premchand. This was a prefect place to read and write.

The Pong Eco Village Resort is made in a small village consisting of 14 families and houses. I started walking around the vicinity and curious eyes of villagers kept watching me. To break their curiosity I started wishing them 'Namaste' and they started replying back with wide smiles. 

I took a small walk crossing the village and the jungle and in between various thoughts kept poking my mind. Butterflies were touching my feet and from a distance I could hear chirping of birds.  Vibes, I thought. We say that a person has got negative or positive vibes. What are vibes? Are they in our control? In that moment I felt that the answer is yes, they are in our control. They are dependent on what we think, what we feel. It is all in the mind. Positive mind yields to positive vibes. 

Village and jungle walk

I extended my stay by one more day. Everything about this place was fascinating. One morning I noticed that Mukesh Bhai has put agarbatti (incense stick) in the temple. However, there was no idol, no murti in the temple. Curious, I was, I asked him the reason, and he told me God is everywhere. Such simple sentence which we hear so many times but for the first time I found somebody practicing it. 

Temple with no idol

For a person like me who love peace, nature, birds, water, luxury with simplicity, food and books, there is no better place than this.

Here are few glimpses of my dwelling place for these 3 days:

Jungle way to The Pong Eco Village where we spotted a fox

My room which became like home

The Pong Eco Village

Can you spot the insect?

My host and dost Mukesh Bhai

Videos and more pictures on Facebook page and Instagram handle

The Day I Realised that I Am Alive

Insta Handle

TRAVEL: WITH MONEY (CVII)

Disclaimer: Read the full article to arrive at any conclusion.

"Do I love my job? 

No.

But does it afford me the ability to go on lavish vacations and buy anything I want?

Also no. "

I pondered a lot thinking about the title of this article and I could not think of any appropriate one. I am a pro traveller and I can't imagine my life without travelling. But recently I came across many articles usually emphasising on travelling by quitting one's job, by stating that you do not need money to travel. I would say, that it is a very optimistic approach to encourage travelling but in my opinion it is quite impractical. Yes! There are people who travel without any money, but what they do in turn is hitch hike, ask locals to give them a place to stay and cook them a food. Humanity exists and that is why they exist. I do not see any problem in that also till the time they get the help and they are happy about it. But what bothers me is when they ask for money with a promise to return it, which they never do and then claim that they travel without any money and their life is totally sorted. I have many traveller friends who have made travelling their jobs and they are quite happy about it. In the end one needs to work to survive- mentally and physically. 

During my solo travels I have come across many travellers and have found many travellers on social media also. It is always good to talk to travellers as they have lot of hidden stories with them. But amongst them few asked money from me stating one or the other very emotional and genuine reason- example: one needed money for his sister who is travelling abroad and his net banking is blocked. To few I had to say no (it was very difficult and uncomfortable for me and that ultimately ruined the friendship) and to others I fell for their "genuine" reasons, owing to my gullible nature at that time. That somehow saved the friendship for that period but ultimately it was ruined as that money was never returned. I felt a sense of being used, I felt foolish. For me money was never the issue, what bothered me was the broken trust. 

As rightly said by Robert Kiyosaki- "Money is not the goal. Money has no value. The value comes from the dreams money helps achieve."

I realised value of money when I was admitted in hospital.

"The importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future."

It is true that money is not everything. What is important is to be productive which ultimately leads to making money. And more money is also not a solution as there is no definition of "more". What is important is to have a content life. 

Some pictures from my solo trips:

Narkanda, Himachal - May 2015

Tosh, Himachal - December 2016

Jibhi, Himachal - June 2017

Arambol, Goa - December 2015

Kasol, Himachal- November 2015

JIBHI- AN UNSPOILED PLACE IN HIMACHAL (CVI)

23rd June -27th June 2017

Reaching home from office at 8.30 pm, convincing Dad, booking tickets at 9.30, packing by 10.00 and in bus by 11.00. I love sudden plans and that sudden plan made me find Jibhi- an unspoiled place in Himachal. 

With every new journey I evolve a little, with every new journey I find a little new me. And I know that travelling solves everything for me. It was a long weekend when  half of Delhi was going to Himachal but I was lucky enough to find one seat for me in a Volvo bus. Tired from the hectic day in office, I immediately slept in bus and with such an unplanned trip and no place to stay I started googling for places to stay in Jibhi. After 6-7 unsuccessful attempts I came across Mr Sandeep who runs Jibhi Camps & Cottages. Denying any vacant space initially, when I told him that I was travelling solo he ensured to arrange a place for me in his cottages. I had a sigh of relief.

View from my room- Jibhi Camps & Cottages

HOW TO REACH

Delhi- Aut (Bus)

Aut to Banjar (Cab or Bus)

Banjar- Jibhi (Cab or Bus)

THE JOURNEY AND THE EXPERIENCES

I meet so many helpful people during my solo journeys. But then there are certain people who could not do anything for you but are always ready to give free advises. So as I proposed my idea of going to Jibhi solo, a "friend" of mine messaged me on 'social media' that I should be careful as this is "India". Probably he does not know that India is unsafe because of negativity the guys like him possess. It was not an advise, it was an attempt to create fear in mind. However, I continued my journey and like all other journeys I met beautiful people on this journey as well- Sonali, Sandeep and Rahul.

SONALI

A 22 year old solo traveller, I met Sonali in bus from Delhi to Aut. It started with a simple 'Hi' and ended with hugs and goodbyes. With Sonali, this solo trip turned into a duo trip where we both were together but still we had our own space. Seeing Sonali I thought that I started travelling very late, but then present is the right time to start anything and I am happy that at least I am doing it.

Me and Sonali- Jibhi Waterfall

SANDEEP

Well I have less words to describe Sandeep. He is the owner of Jibhi Camps & Cottages and he came as a rescue for me when I had no place to stay in Jibhi. The long chats over beer and tea, listening his stories, discussing economy and philosophy, the jokes and his morning teas, he clearly considers that 'The guest is equivalent to God'.  The one line which Sandeep said very casually but I could not forget it is that, " It is easy to earn money. But it is difficult to digest it. And that is why money is the cause of all diseases in the society."

RAHUL

Before Jibhi Rahul was my facebook acquaintance whom I used to follow to get to know about different travelling places. So it was Rahul's facebook post which made me decide to travel to Jibhi. But I had no clue that I would get a chance to meet him on this trip. So all this happened because of long weekend traffic jam in Manali, when Rahul decided to find a peaceful place and ended up in Jibhi. We got in touch on messenger and he was staying just beside Jibhi Camps. We had endless chats but still there is so much left to talk about. I hope I will be meeting him soon again to talk more about places and our journeys. Indeed it is a small world. 

PLACES TO SEE

SEROLSAR LAKE TREK

From Jibhi to Jalori Pass via Sojha village- in Cab or bus (I took a cab and shared it with three more people who were staying in the camp)

A 6-7 kms trek from Jalori Pass to Sarehul Lake

The trek to Serolsar Lake

The trek to Serolsar Lake

It was beautiful 6 kms trek, very serene and calm. While I was walking there were so many thoughts running through my mind. But there were times when my mind was totally free. There were no thoughts. That was the time when I found myself totally elated. That was the time when there was complete silence and I could hear myself in that silence.

It was moderate but a long trek. I took a maggie and tea break in between. It was picturesque. 

Way to Serolsar Lake

Way to Serolsar Lake

Way to Serolsar Lake

I finally reached Serolsar Lake. I sat on a stone, closed my eyes and in that silence the cooing of Himalyan crows touched my ears. Meanwhile the lake was playing hide and seek amidst the clouds

Serolsar Lake

Serolsar Lake

While returning back I wondered that any new trek creates an excitement, anxiousness and curiosity in beginning. But the same trek while coming back creates totally different feelings- feeling of tiredness and a feeling of 'known' which makes it little boring. Probably all known people and known things become boring after sometime and that's why we humans keeps running after 'change'.

JIBHI WATERFALL

The regular showers became too boring for me and Jibhi Waterfall became my daily shower on this trip. My day used to start and end with Jibhi Waterfall. 

In the end I could realise, "That this is my journey and I have to fight it, enjoy it and complete it on my own."

IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING UNKNOWN - TRIP TO SARAHAN, HIMACHAL (CIII)

10th March- 14th March, 2017

INDIA- a book gifted by a fellow traveller, is an ocean in itself. I opened its chapter on Himachal and the first heading I saw was Sarahan. Secluded Sarahan- erstwhile summer capital of Bhushar rajas is some 170 kms ahead of Shimla. I couldn't resist myself after reading about it and two days later I was on a bus to Sarahan.

HOW TO REACH?

Delhi to Shimla night bus (10-11 hours)

Shimla to Rampur bus (4-5 hours)

Rampur to Sarahan bus (2-3 hours) 

There are direct buses also from Delhi to Rampur which I got to know later on my return journey.

START OF THE SEARCH

I didn't know what I was looking for or what I wanted. I was just taking this journey, probably in search of "Nothing".  

The bus crossed Shimla and my eyes became wide open in amazement. I had never seen Shimla like this before - It was white, pure white. The trees were covered in snow and the sunlight was falling on them, the water dropped from my eyelids like that melting snow falling from the leaves. It was start of a good journey.

The bus had to take another route to reach Rampur as route from Narkanda was closed because of heavy snowfall. Narkanda, every time I hear this name I go back in my memories - my first solo trip was till Narkanda. The trip which has given me strength to fight my fears, the capacity to know me well, the trip which has given me new perception of looking at life. (Story on Narkanda)

It was raining cats and dogs in Rampur. The Hotel Satluj view came as a rescue- cosy room, with all amenities and a beautiful view of Satluj River.  

Rampur is a small town in Himachal with River Satluj flowing through it. The sound of river, the vibration of the bridge, prayer flags emitting good vibes - everything was positive about that town. The rain droplets were kissing all my body and the mountains merged in me making me feel alive. At night looking out of my room window I cried, I cried a lot hugging those mountains, no ifs and buts were asked, no questions were thrown, it just let me cry and the river soaked in all my tears. 

Places to Visit in Rampur

1. Padam Palace

2. Rampur bridge over Satluj River

3. Small beautiful market after crossing the bridge

4. Peaceful mountains and river water

SARAHAN

The journey from Rampur to Sarahan is beautiful. I saw snow covered mountains from Rampur and I wished to reach there and after reaching Sarahan I realised I was on those mountains. 

Sarahan is famous for Bhimkali temple - a temple with beautiful wooden architecture and I was lucky to have its tasty langar food. Snow covered mountains surrounded the temple making it even more pious. 

The road ends at Sarahan and I was glad to touch the last point.  

END OF SEARCH

As I said, I didn't know what I was looking for but I was sure that I was not going empty handed from this place. Leaving this place was not easy for me. I didn't get enough of this place. Any number of days or how much time I spend there were less. I felt as if I was leaving something really important behind. I had no relationship or connection with it but still when I bade goodbye something in me was sad. The conversations I had with nature I could never share those thoughts with anyone else- my fears, my views, my thoughts which are unacceptable to this world. It had lent such a good hear to all my talks. If I had an option I would have chosen this place as my home, but unfortunately I had no choice. All this while I was leaving love stating it to be impractical, but for the first time love was leaving me as the same was not possible.  I wish I get only one reason to hate it so that I never come back here again. However, I took a promise- not to forget me ever and keep me as one good chapter of life.  On the way back to Delhi I said "I will miss you" and the setting sun shone even brighter as if it held my hand in that moment. Only two things could bring tears in my eyes- love and nature and I got both on this trip. 

For pictures on Rampur and Sarahan visit my facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/thedayirealisedthatiamalive/

BAROT- ULTIMATE ABODE OF SERENITY (XCVII)

12th August, 2016- 16th August, 2016

A plan which started with Morni Hills, got fixed at Shikari Devi and  I am glad that it finally ended at Barot, Himachal.

Barot is a place Where one goes and do Nothing. It falls under Mandi district, not to be confused with Barog in Solan.

BAROT- VIEW FROM MY ROOM

Travel Journey

Delhi- Chandigarh- Mandi- BAROT- Baijnath-Palampur-Dharmshala- Chandigarh- Delhi

Like always I booked HRTC bus from Delhi to Mandi and like always Ashish was waiting for me at Mandi bus stop. Meeting my traveller partner almost after 3 months was exciting and getting his first glimpse from my bus window was warming and comforting.

Barot is 70 kms from Mandi bus stop and from there our journey on my beloved Duke started.

ON THE WAY TO BAROT

RIVER SIDE RESORT

It was a sudden plan and we left everything on the time and the destiny. Plus point of travelling is that the destiny never fails you in it. Even if it fails you enjoy that failure also. Our destiny took us to River Side Resort - A cluster of rooms and tents on the bank of River Uhl. 

RIVER SIDE RESORT

MY BOOK AND MY CUTE FRIEND 

WHEN OUR CARETAKER SPREAD
THE UTENSILS IN THE BRIGHT SUNLIGHT

MOON ALWAYS SUPPORTS ME IN MY JOURNEYS

Taking full advantage of the crystal clean, fresh river water my mornings used to start with a dip in Uhl River.

IT WAS FREAKING COLD WATER

FIRST TIME EXPERIENCE IN FISHING

Barot is famous for trout fish and one could catch fresh fishes from the river and barbecue them. Having no experience in fishing we hired a guide, Mr Vivek who rented us fishing rods and hooks and taught us fishing. It was totally a different experience. A fishing license is required in Barot which costs Rs 100/- for an amateur. Mr Vivek arranged for that license and told us "Now you have got license to kill." Something in me died at that time. We went for fishing and I was not able to catch any fish (later I thanked God for that). Vivek told that catching fish is a matter of luck. Vivek caught two fishes for us- two big trout fishes. While he made me clicked pictures with those fishes and I smiled and laughed but seeing those dying fishes was repulsive. And after coming back to Delhi I tried eating fish curry but I must accept that I didn't enjoy it. Well, it was an unusual, exciting and adventurous experience for me.

*Purposely not sharing any pictures with the fishes

A PLACE WHERE THE ROAD ENDS- POLING VILLAGE

While exploring Barot we reached at a point where the road ended, though a further construction for connecting Barot and Bir was going on there. We took our bike on a kaccha road which was getting connected to some village. It was Poling village- a village full of lovely and smiling people, children playing and enjoying their Independence day holiday, women washing clothes and oldies sitting and chatting with glass of tea in their hands. One of the old men offered us tea and became happy after knowing that I had come from Delhi. For a while I became part of that village.

  

My return bus was from Dharmshala and to reach Dharmshala on time we started from Barot at around 12 pm. Taking halts in between and enjoying the nature, having kheer served by the temples, getting drenched in rains and tea and pakoras at Satyam cafe in Dharmshala, all  have somewhere got a place in my memories. 

Chasing butterflies

Spotting rainbows

Naming birds from red tail to yellow neck bird

Watching hidden waterfalls

This trip to Barot was full of beauty, nature and ecstasy. 

For more pictures, stories and quotes on Barot visit- Everything out there is for A reason  - A page owned by Ashish Sohal and The Day I Realised that I Am Alive-  My Facebook Page