A 2.5 year old's First Encounter with Himalayas.

They said YES, & advised me to book it online as fast as possible.

Bus to Jaipur Available....? YES!

The bus is a 2*2 Volvo....? YES!

Three Seats Available...? YES!

Tickets booked...? YES!!!.

First time in my life I was travelling with a small bag full of theplas, Khakhars( We are Gujarati), milk powder, boiled eggs etc. I kept my old sleeping bag with us. It was old, but perfect for Ziva.

We stuffed our bags in my Santro and started to A'bad (70 Kms from My Hometown Anand). My parents were worried, but then, they are always worried when I go to the Himalayas. This time they were worried for Ziva. I was relieved to know that, I am no more only child in the family. That pampered position was taken by Ziva.

The plan was to park my car at one of the relatives' place (At A'bad) and catch RSRTC's Volvo. We reached our relative's place, they gave us some more homemade food & lots of instructions about Do's and Dont's while travelling with a kid. All were worried about Ziva. She was going to spend two nights in a bus first time.

And Ziva !!?

She was excited. She got some new words to play with, like Volvo, RSRTC, Jaipur, Delhi etc.

We boarded the bus. It was nice and clean, full of people, whose tickets to Delhi didn't get confirmed. We made our selves comfortable on the bus. Wife was in a good mood. Ziva was excited.There were some other kids on the bus and they got busy playing with each other. I was a bit tensed for Ziva but she was fine. She was enjoying the journey. I was satisfied to see that my kid also have that travel bug in her.

After some time she slept. I and wife took turns to seat with her.

I wasn't worried about "What after Jaipur?". Once you reach Jaipur "Delhi dur nahi "(Delhi is not far).

So, this was how our trip to Manali started...

The problem with government buses is that they never have the sense of responsibility.

The road to Jaipur is always good.

The bus was a Volvo. They could have maintained a good speed.

But no! The bus was slow with very frequent stops for driver's tea and smokes.

That actually worked in our favor. We got enough chances to get out of the bus and enjoy the fresh air, which was necessary for Ziva. We had a brief stop at Udaipur. We had nice sleep on the bus.

We reached Jaipur at 0830.

We checked in a small guest house on hourly bases and got freshened up. Ziva got much needed one hour's sleep in a flatbed. At 1000, I got an angry call from my friend, asking... " what the hell I was doing in the guest house,". I explained to him that after 15 hours of the bus journey, it was necessary to check in. He said my journey to Delhi was arranged. One of his drivers was going to Delhi to deliver some stuff. That driver would drop me at Paharganj. I knew, Once I am in Jaipur everything works out.

We met at one of the family restaurants. It was my wife's first meeting with my friend and his family. They wished us all the best for the journey, we got in the car (A M&M Bolero) and left Jaipur at 1130.

I was a bit worried, I asked the driver...

"bhaiya hame panch baje Pahadgunj se Volvo pakadani hai".(We have to reach Pahadgandj before 1700 to catch Volvo)

He said...

"Chinta mat Karo,Pahoch jayenge" (Don't worry)

I tried to tease him...

"nahi pahoche toh" (What if we cant reach before 1700?)

He was well informed...

""toh sab ji Manali tak chod ne aavunga"(I"ll come to Manali to drop you.)

Jaipur to Delhi is always boring drive with lots of trucks on the road. I slept in the car. Wife and Ziva were enjoying the journey. We reached Pahadgunj at 1545 and checked in a small hotel on hourly bases. We all took a quick bath and reached the starting point of Volvo buses to Manali. Pillar number 7 at some metro bridge(don't remember the name) which was within walking distance from our Pahadgunj Hotel.

I didn't want to take any chances for Volvo to Manali, so I booked my tickets on Himstuta bus. Best Volvo buses operated by HRTC(Himachal Road Transport Corporation). Himstuta buses are reliable and comfortable. We boarded the bus, entire bus was full with foreigners going to Kasol.

Wife and Ziva were in good mood, some of the foreigners started playing with Ziva. Within some time Ziva was a famous figure in that bus.

Our journey to Manali begun.

I was trying to convince her that mountains and rivers playing in the lap of mountains are beautiful, and wife was trying to talk her into beaches. Her preference is going to be the base of our almost all future family trips. She loved mountains, but then she also loved sea and beaches at Diu, Goa, Daman & Mumbai.

We(I & wife) both were confused, our 2.5 years old daughter was being diplomatic or may be greedy.

What you like Ziva...

Cat or Dog....? Both.

Ice Cream or Chocolate ....? Both.

Car or Motorcycle....? Both.

Mountains or Beaches....? Both.

We stopped trying. Ziva won.

Kullu to Manali is always beautiful & most of the time this journey happens in morning after a comfortable night in Volvo. We reached Manali at 0845. Our Himstuta dropped us at the bus stand near mall road at 0900, There was a taxi waiting for us from Himanshu Resort.

We bid farewell to all Ziva's new friends.

We reached Himanshu Resorts and checked in.

Ziva took a power nap in hotel & we got freshened up. After nice brunch (Part of resort package), at 11 Am we got out of the resort. There wasn't any plan for the first day. In reality, I didn't have any plan. We spent a good amount of time clicking around at Himanshu Resort.

We walked to Mall road.

Our resort was on one of the hills. There were some local houses. We visited those local houses and talked to locals.

My wife was shocked !! Why?

Normally in my city life, I am not a social person. I always try to avoid social gathering but in mountains, I was a different person, Talking and chatting with locals, playing with their kids, discussing their daily life. This was a mild shock for my wife.

We reached Mall Road, first things we bought were a Himachali cap and softy for Ziva. It was raining mildly. I checked the weather forecast, it said there will be rain in Manali for next two days. A bad news for us.

We roamed around on Mall road. Mall road was full of tourists. I took my wife to some internal market. I told her not to do any shopping. I was with family and shopping is always a major and important part of the trip but it could be done on last day. Due to a nice brunch, we were not hungry. We had some panipuri and headed for VanVihar National park just across the road from Mall road.

PS: I am not able to understand female's attraction to this panipuri. They(Panipuri) are dirty and unhygienic. Thanks to wife, now We have started making panipuri at home.

VanVihar National Park, I couldn't understand why they call it a national park. In my opinion, it was just a municipal garden located on the Mall Road and has a pond for boating surrounded by tall deodar trees watching over. Children can indulge in games or enjoy riding the swings. A boat ride would certainly be exciting for them. For the convenience of visitors, the park is provided with concrete as well as wooden benches. It is an ideal place for enjoying picnics and spending moments of repose with your loved ones.

One thing I hate about this kind of tourist places is, local authorities are only interested to take entry fee and not at all interested in its maintenance. Entry fee to enter this park was 20/-.

Ziva played there, after that, we found some locals with Himachali dress. If you are with the family and a kid, try it. We tried that, It was fun. Before my marriage, I used to laugh at people who try these locals dress and pose for the photograph. After marriage, I had to do it, no problem, Its fun.

I was clicking photographs of Ziva and wife. Wife was forcing me to wear those dress.

..."Thick hai"(Fine)

I asked those locals to dress me up. There were some young drunk tourists, they were laughing at me. I put on my angry face & went to them, the wife was scared thinking...

..." yeh ab zagda karenge". (Now, He"ll fight)

I went to them, gave a smile and asked them to click our family photo. Once again wife was surprised to see her husband in a new avatar. Those young guys clicked some pics for us & offered some thumbs up(Mixed with Old Monk). I took three or four sips and instructed those brats not to throw the empty bottle in the park. Wife was not pleased. I avoided eye contact with her and moved ahead with Ziva.

There was a small(dirty and stinking) artificial pool for boating. We avoided it. At the end of the park, there was a broken wall. It was broke by tourist to reach Beas river.. It was time for Ziva to meet Beas River. Wife and Ziva both were excited to see the playful Beas river. Water was cold. It was getting dark. Those young brats were there only, I asked them to click some more photographs. We spent some time on the river.

Zive loved to spend time with the river. She wanted to get inside and play with water. " Chalo"...I took her near water and asked to touch the water. It was cold, she didn't ask me to do it again. We started back to Mall road.

We spent some time at Mall road, toyed with the idea to have dinner at some restaurant and then decided against it. It was 2100. We all were tired.We decided to order some food in the hotel room and sleep early. We went to the hotel room, had some cider with some nice chicken and called it a day.

Before going to the hotel in evening, I hired an RE Classic 500CC. I, myself am an RE Classic 350cc owner, so wife and Ziva are familiar with it. We decided to do local sightseeing by RE motorcycle.

When we woke up, it was raining heavily. It was very cold outside with heavy fog. We wanted to get out, but it wasn't possible by a motorcycle in that kind of rain and fog. We decided to wait for the rain to stop. We were ready to move as and when the rain stops. We waited at hotel reception area. Hotel's reception area was full of couples and families who wanted to go out. I toyed the idea to hire a cab, but it was useless to get out even in the cab. Ziva was busy with running around at reception area and playing with other tourists.

It was irritating. We were in Manali, we had a motorcycle & there we were sitting inside the hotel. Some tourists were discussing Leh- Ladakh, I joined them and sprayed my knowledge and experience on them. Within 15 minutes I was a celebrity, a wanderer, a great explorer who been to Leh 4 times.

Meanwhile, the wife came in her teachers' mode. She took all the kids on steps and taught them to sing a song. All the kids were singing "Rain Rain Go away!! come again another Day". We all joined kids and had fun.

Nature listened to our kid's request. Rain stopped.

All of us rushed to our vehicles. Our first target was to visit Hadimba Devi temple. This was my first visit to this place. I am never interested in visiting the temples.

The Hadimba temple is a unique shrine dedicated to Hadimba Devi, who was the wife of Bhima and mother of Ghatothkach. Surrounded by gorgeous cedar forests, this beautiful shrine is built on a rock which is believed to be in the image of the goddess herself. The construction style of the temple is entirely different from that of any of the other temples, with its wooden doorways, walls, and cone-shaped roof. This temple is a fitting dedication to its presiding deity Hadimba.

There was heavy tourist rush in the temple so we took the chance to roam in the woods. Some of the parts of this area were secured by fences. There were Yaks for riding and photography. Ziva was scared of Yaks.

After Hadimba Temple, We skipped Manu temple and moved towards old Manali.

Back during my trekking days, I used to spend many days at Old Manali. Sipping cider with Israeli folks, sharing their smoke, discussing Che Guevara, talking about Royal Enfield, getting into the heated arguments about Israel - Palestine Conflict. The best part was getting invited to their crazy full moon parties. I have a very fond memory of Old Manali.

This time it was a different scenario. I wanted to visit Club House, as it has some attractions for kid and shopping center for woolen cloths.

After crossing the bridge on Manasalu River, we stopped for a while. I convinced my wife to try zip line on Manasalu river. Ziva was worried and crying all the time. She was worried that her mother will fall in the river.

Visit of Club House was very disappointing. Wife liked to roam in their woolen shops. Once again, I convinced wife not to do any shopping. We were going to visit Factory outlets for woolen cloths. Food was overpriced and unhygienic. However, we were not there to enjoy their food. We were interested in their games and rides for kids. Ziva played on some rides.

We visited Old Manali market.

It was drizzling mildly. It was about to rain. We were on a motorcycle. We rushed back to Our hotel before it starts raining heavily.

A tip: If you have a kid with you, visit it. Your kid will love to spend sometimes on these games and rides. Otherwise please avoid this place.

Raindrops were cold, and we didn't have any rain gears with us. Moreover, we were on the motorcycle. We were worried about Ziva. Fortunately, we made it. We reached our hotel before it starts raining heavily. It started raining heavily. It was 1600.

After one hour rain stopped. It was just 1700, we had more than two hours of sunlight available to visit one more nearby sight. We headed for a local Monastery named Himalayan Nyingmapa Buddhist Temple, Manali.

You have visited almost all the monasteries in Leh and Spiti region. Your first impression of a Monastery is like a small hill outside of the city with Thiksey Monastery kind of architecture.

Himalayan Nyingmapa Buddhist Temple was just like a normal temple with praying wheels. We were not the only visitors who took the chance to visit this place after the rain. Almost all the people who were waiting for the rain to stop were at that Monastery. I tried to explain Ziva about Buddhism(whatever I knew). Ziva loved to play with Praying wheel. After monastery visit, we went shopping.

We did heavy shopping at Mall road and surrounding market. Most of the woolen shawls and other clothes to gift our relatives and friends. We had to buy a big bag from Mall road to carry all this to the hotel.

We had dinner at Mountain View Restaurant, Mall Road. We went back to the hotel, packed our bags and called it a day. Our two days at Manali was over.

We packed our bags and deposited it in hotel 's clock room. We kept some basic necessary things with us.

Our Plan was to go to Palchan by RE, check in at Clifftop Cottage and visit Gulaba or whatever nearest snow line. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily. We had to drop our plan to ride a motorcycle.

We gave back rented RE and hired an Alto. Rs.2100 for Gulaba and drop at Palchan during our back journey. There were some issues going on at the taxi stand, but they were very much cooperative with tourists. It took me just 5 minutes to higher a cab to Gulaba.

We were all set to go to Gulaba. I was very much prepared for this trip as far as warm clothes were a concern. I and my family were well prepared to avoid those dirty rented snowsuits.

I was busy with some important business call and during that time cabbie was talking to my wife...

"barf bahot hai(There "ll be snow), barish bhi hai(Its raining)....and aap log itna uccha ja rahe ho(and you guys are going higher)...bahot thand hogi( it"ll be very cold)....240 rs ka snow suit le hi lena chahiye"(hiring a 240/- snowsuit is advisable)

I tried to convince my wife that it's absolutely fine without those dirty snowsuits, but wife came up with the counter argument...

"locals ko jyada pata hota hai" (Locals know better.)

I said ..."thick hai, you and Ziva wear those snowsuits."

She replied...." nah, aap bhi pahenenge" (You"ll have to wear)

I didn't want to get into more argument. I agreed. That Cabbie gave me a sarcastic smile. He was trying to say that..."Biwi ke samne kaun jit saka hai" (Noone can win the argument with wife).

We all rented snowsuits. The shop owner gave a brand new cute snowsuit for Ziva. She was looking like a penguin in that suit. I forgot all my irritation after seeing Ziva in Snowsuit.

We didn't reach Gulaba. There was a long unorganized queue of vehicles along the road.

Our Cabbie stopped there and said... " dekho vaha upar snow hai, jao dekh ke avo, mai yahi khada hu" (See, There is the snow, go and see it)

I asked..."kaise jaye? (how to go there) He replied ..."chal ke"(by foot)

Whats !?. That snow was more than 3 or 4 km far from our car. I asked Cabbie to take me as near as possible. We went ahead and came back, up there it was a chaos of vehicles. This was why I wanted to visit Gulaba on a motorcycle

We tried to walk up to snowline. It was the stiff slope. It was raining mildly, it was all muddy and slippery. We knew we were not able to walk all the way up to snowline. We decided to have some nice time with nature.

Ziva had her first taste of trekking in Mountains and that too on the slopes of mighty Rohtang Pass.

Yes! we didn't make it to snowline. Ziva didn't witness snow. But there is always next time. We enjoyed in the lap of Rohtang. We walked more than one km, clicked lots of photographs. Ziva was excited and having fun, that was all we wanted.

We started walking to snowline.

We started back from Gulaba. We kept stopping for photographs. We had all the time, nothing was planned for that entire day. Ziva was excited and having fun.

We stopped for some light breakfast, stopped at almost all the water streams. We spent more than enough time with every stream clicking and playing. More and more vehicles were going towards Gulaba. Six months back, during my Leh trip, I was stuck on this roads for 6 hours. I wanted to get out of that danger zone.

We started for Palchan.

We reached Kothi.

Kothi village was a safe zone for us as far as the traffic jam was the concern. Our Hotel at Palchan was within walking distance from Kothi.

We came back early from Gulaba. The driver knew that, so he was not in any kind of hurry. He was co-operating us for each and every small stops. We stopped at one more water stream.

Ziva wanted to get in the water stream and play with water. Wife tried to explain to her that the water would be very cold. Ziva didn't want to listen to anything. I took her near to that water stream. She touched the water, it was cold. She understood that she couldn't play with water. She touched the water three or four times and ran away from the cold water.

We spend amazing time on the road. We started for Palchan. Our cabbie was going to drop us at our stay at Palchan. Our Plan was to check in at our home-stay and spend rest of the day at beautiful The Clifftop Cottage.

We checked in at the Clifftop Cottage, Palchan.

During my 2016 Leh trip, we stayed here for a night. Staying in The Clifftop Cottage was one of the primary reasons for coming to Manali. I wanted my wife and kid to have an experience of staying in a home-stay. Wife loved The Clifftop Cottage. Here are some photographs of that amazing property.

The Clifftop Cottage have total 6 well-maintained rooms. The best room was attic room on the second floor. Here is some glimpse of the attic room.

The best part of The Clifftop Cottage was the amazing views it offers. The Clifftop Cottage is strategically situated on a small hill and one can see Rohtang Pass, Solang Valley and Manali town from that hill.

Personally, I am in love with this place, & I "ll keep going to The clifftop cottage again and again. The clifftop cottage doesn't have a dedicated parking area for cars. We parked our car on road to Rohtang. If you are in love with mountains, If you want to spend some time with nature, this is the perfect place. If you like to spend time in hustle and bustle of Manali, the clifftop cottage is not ideal place as its 12 km far from Manali town.

And what we did at The Clifftop Cottage?

Actually nothing!

Ziva was busy running around and playing in and outside of the cottage.

After a small afternoon nap. We had some food and got out to visit Palchan village. We spent more than three hours roaming around the village. We had our dinner at one of the small dhaba and called it a day.

After a comfortable night at attic room. We woke up late in the morning. It was our last day in Manali/ Palchan. We had breakfast at The clifftop cottage and headed to meet Bias river.

Beas river was more than one Km far from our home-stay. We walked all the way to river. The flow of water was comparatively low. Ziva once again wanted to get in the river. This time I took her all the way inside the water.

She was excited. I was explaining her many things like rivers, their origins and mountains. She was not at all interested in that. She wanted to touch the water, I warn her that it would be cold. She was not ready to listen to anything. I allowed her.

The water was very cold.

She started crying and ran away from me. She ran to her mother and complained about her father that I didn't tell her that water would be cold. Kids!!

We got back to our cottage. Had our lunch and checked out from the clifftop cottage.

Our Volvo bus to Delhi was at 1800 from Manali. We had more than six hours. We went to Solang Valley.

Solang Valley is a side valley at the top of the Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, 14 km northwest of the resort town Manali on the way to Rohtang Pass, and is known for its summer and winter sports conditions. The sports most commonly offered are parachuting, paragliding.

We spent two-three hours at Solang valley and headed to Manali.

We collected our luggage from Himanshu Resort and headed to Manali bus stand. We were early but our bus was already there. We boarded the bus. Ziva wanted to sleep.

Our journey to Delhi was event-less and comfortable. Ziva had nice sleep on the bus. We reached Delhi railway station on time and boarded in our train. Wife and Ziva, both were in good mood. We started discussing our next trip to the north. Wife asked me to take her to Leh. Why not!

Thank You..