A Rainwashed Bir and a cozy little walk

Day 1

Bir

And as usual she was late. What's the use of all the planning and setting itineraries, when your travel partner feels that the time spent in dressing up is worth missing the bus to the destination she is dressing up for.

God, the bus from Majnu Ka tilla for BIR is at 8:15 p.m. and here I am in Gurgaon, waiting in the cab at 6:20 p.m. for her highness to grant me the good fortune of her company. Map is showing a total time of about 2 hours, thanks to the Friday traffic. Her highness is getting ready for an 'overnight bus journey'. All we can do is sleep in the Volvo, and all we need is a pair of comfy PJs and a rucksack with another one. This is only a two day backpack trip to Bir. But then again, a lady's gotta do what she gotta do.

Finally, moon descends with a huge rucksack and I don't dare to ask what's all in that chamber of secrets

"I am so sorry, you know this top that I bought for the trip last month, won't fit me now, it just shrunk. I am so mad at the online shopping site, I have already requested a return. That's what got me late", she said

"Well, you can't trust these websites these days. Anyway, let's hurry, we have already missed the bus while you were placing your return", I realized the damage I had done to my peace for the entire journey as soon as I blurted out these words of wisdom. And I knew the top in question did not shrunk. But that's another story.

God she looks cute when she makes excuses for being late, but then I was not interested in admiring the pristine cuteness at the expense of INR 5000 that I spent on Redbus for booking two seats to and from Bir and another 1500 bucks on the homestay for one night.

As expected, she shrunk those big eyes to the size of tiny almonds and gave me the look that scares the bones out of me. I knew what was in the offing and made haste requesting the patient Uber guy to hurry. He had, by now figured out the trouble I was in.... And that we may miss our bus.

As the cab zoomed by, with peppy Punjabi numbers on the radio, there was dead silence. And I was shaking.

"You think I do this on purpose. I am sorry. How many times should I apologize. Why would you be so cruel all the time", she said placing three slaps on my arm.

I do not, I swear, remember her 'apologies', and I did what any sensible man would have done in such a situation. I apologized.

"Ohh, hey I am really sorry. I should not behave like this. You know there's something from work bothering me. I came directly from office today. Making a plan that involves travelling on a Friday has its set of cons, right?", my excuse. Just look at this.

And she was now calm and she smiled and I got a lifeline. I had the contact details of the bus service guys sent over SMS and WhatsApp from Redbus. I called them to check the location and thanks to the Uber guy, we reached just in time to catch the Volvo bus.

Bus left Majnu Ka tilla by about 8:25 p.m. we were not the only ones to reach in the book of time after all. We had bought few cakes, ancks and beverages for in my experience of such travels, it's always advisable to have light packaged food and avoid the 'on-the-way' restaurants. Eating light helps in the bus.

Ahh, yes. Forgot to mention that menacingly cute look that she gave me when we reached at 8:13 p.m. for the 8:15 p.m. bus, for we had 2 minutes to spare and hence, we were NOT late. Acceptance is a virtue my dear friend. Trust me.

We put our luggages and took our seats. Guess what, she had forgotten the comforter. Despite reminding her a million times. We tend to avoid using the blankets that they provide in the buses. It does smell and one never knows when was the last time they were washed. I avoided direct eye contact and did not utter a word. I took out two light jackets from my backpack. It's always good to carry at least one jacket when you are off to mountains. And why was I carrying two? Well, my dear friend had forgotten hers. And I KNEW she would.

We decided to use blankets for covering the lowers in case we needed.

She asked me about the itinerary that I had emailed her, explaed her earlier THREE times. Anyway, so I went ahead, "see, we reach Bir tomorrow by 7:30 a.m. and our homestay is about 3-4 Kms in Suja. I have spoken with the host and they have arranged for a taxi that will pick us up and drop. We will freshen up and post breakfast, we will go around for a little hike to a monastery nearby and then in the evening we will visit the Bir market and will check out the dear institute and some cafes. Next day we will go for paragliding and some nearby hikes, that's the overall plan"

I knew she wasn't interested in any planning and just wanted me to direct my attention away from the fact that she had forgotten the comforter and her jacket. I played along for obvious reasons.

Well, we soon dozed off. It was a tiring day. She put her head on my shoulder and hugged my arm. That was enough to forget all the worries behind.

Day 2

We woke up to a beautiful morning and a beautiful Palampur around us. Mountains do have an enchanted smell that pervades air conditioned coaches. It was about 5:00 a.m.and we were told that we were running a bit late. Well, why would one complain if the surreal beauty of Palampur is what you get to relish.

We reached Baijnath temple by about 8 a.m. I was getting hungrier and bars of chocolates that I always carry came to be of great use. She slept through the beautiful mountain greens. A warm, cozy sunlight enhanced the beauty of the scenery outside of that innocence dripping from her face. I was not sure what looked prettier but I skewed my attention towards the beautiful scenery outside.

Many buses come till Baijnath temple and there's a taxi stand right next to where the buses halt. So it's very easy to take a taxi and reach your hotels or homestays from there. It's about half an hour journey to Bir from there. We had got a bus that went till Bir.

We reached Bir at about 8:30 a.m. through the famous Tibetan colony. There was another taxi stand right next to the bus stop. It's quite easy to get a taxi there. There were small shops run by Tibetans, cafes, offices that arrange camping, paragliding, trekking, etc. There was a monastery and a Tibetan school as well.

She finally woke up all refreshed. "ohh, did we reach? I am so so hungry, where the cab? When will reach the hotel?", She gasped.

She did ask many other questions that I pretended to attend to. I had the contact number of the taxi guy and I called him before her highness could ask anymore questions that I had no answer to. We got into our taxi and it took us about 15 minutes through rustic village road to reach our homestay.

It takes about INR 200 for each round from the taxi stand, but one can bargain for the while trip. There aren't many operators there but it is easy to strike a bargain if you share your plan and book the cabs for all the days you are going to stay.

Well, our homestay wasn't much but had a clean washroom, a nice clean bed and a stunning view in the backyard. Well for the amount we paid, we couldn't really complain.

We met our host and told him about our plan of the day. But first, we wanted some breakfast. We were famished. While the menu was limited and her highness wanted some muesli and some oats with some fresh juices, we had to settle for parathas with curd and some hot ginger tea. I wasn't complaining.

We were ready for some hiking and some nature basking by about 11:00 a.m. I have made it a point to discover the locales on foot and visit nearby villages or jungles which are not really a touristy thing to do. Such trails that are actually off the grid offers a great deal of satisfaction. But then, to each his own. She doesn't really like to go out on any trip. Her idea of a vacation is to rent a room and laze around all day. After all, what's the hurry. However I, the nomadic soul, prefer to soak in nature and take an unknown path to nowhere. You must have realised that these opposing vacationing hobbies create a strange outing every time.

I had to drag her out of the room for this walk. She was walking as if a kid just finished her summer holidays and was back to school. I leave the situation to your imagination. We were walking towards the Palpung monastery. We had asked for the directions from our host and some kids on the way helped us to be on the right path.

It was a bit cloudy and there was a gentle breeze. I was carrying a small bag with essentials like a bottle of water, some snickers, my cap, sunscreen lotion, power bank and a whiney little kid in the body of a grown lady.

There's something about mountains. They make you fall in love and you just can't have enough. Twenty minutes of mountain-gazing and she had started to like the idea of walking. From, "why can't we just call a cab, go to this monastery thing, get some cool pictures for my insta instead of walking in the dust" to "thank god, I convinced you to walk till this monastery thing, else we would have missed out on this romantic trail", things were changing.

"Yeah, you DID convince me for the walk", I smirked. If sarcasm had a face, it would be my twin at that moment. As expected I got that 'tiny eyed' side look and two slaps on my arm. Anyway, we kept walking and were greeted by lovely flowers, small, narrow streams, green grass, some fauna that I couldn't recognise. There was a steep hike after a while. The path was between a trail of tall trees. We had to cross a narrow creek to get to the bottom of the hike.

We started climbing, it wasn't too steep but we had to be careful as the path was full of dried coniferous leaves that made the path slippery.

After a while, we were among the silent jungle with birds crafting a melody that you miss in the cities. Monastery was still about 15 minutes away but we decided to sit there for sometime. It was surreal. We sat near a tree and were overlooking a breath taking scene of a hut, few reapers, green meadows and mountain ranges. It was completely out of a picture that one would draw as a kid. No, it was more than that. It was pure, it was surreal, it was a healing for the tattered souls and the dust-filled city eyes.

We sat there for quite some time, sometimes chatting, sometimes just sitting and listening to the ecstatic silence and the chirping. It was one of those rare moments when she can sit for hours without saying anything. I could have sat there for days together. But we had a monastery to attend to and Lord Buddha waiting for us. So, we decided to complete the hike.

Well, after about 5 minutes, there was no recognizable path that led to the monastery. We could see the canopy from the woods but absolutely no path leading to it. God, were we lost? And before she could blame this and global warming on me, I googled the way to the monastery only to my utter horror. It showed 11 Kms. Was it really happening? I pretended to look towards the directions.

"Where is it? Are we lost? I don't want to get lost in the woods. Let's go back", she said.

"C'mon, we are not lost. We just took a wrong turn, it is only 10 minutes away. Look it says we are right here", I was gasping but kept it under control so that she couldn't notice. I knew we are somewhere near and Google only shows a recognized path, it doesn't at times considers hikes in the mountains. But I had to find that way.

Lord smiled on me and I saw three Buddhist monks coming towards us from the side of a tree. It WAS the shortcut. It had to be.

"That's it. We have to go there. That way", I pointed in the direction from where the monks were walking towards us. Boy, was I releived man. When we came near to those monks, I reconfirmed the shortcut. It was quite steep.

There's a proper road that leads to the monastery. Those village boys had shown us the shortcut, so can't really blame anyone. I, in retrospect, loved that little hike. Finally we were at Palpung monastery. We were in time and in luck. Temple was open for visitors. We went inside to find a jaw-dropping statue of Lord Buddha. It must have been at least 30-40 feets tall. There was an uncanny calmness inside. We sat there for sometime and the calmness and positivity of the temple just enveloped us. Both of us refused to leave anytime soon. There was so much peace inside. Photography was not allowed inside hence couldn't take the picture of the lord.

Somehow, we left the place and by the time we returned to the room, it was about 5:00 p.m. we were hungry and we had to decide where to eat. For the limited menu of the homestay wasn't going to work for her. We decided to check out the market place, Tibetan colony and the cafes and take our dinner there.

We had to hire a cab for walking another 4 Kms was certainly not an option now. We had the contact number of the taxi guy and he took about 15 minutes to reach. Enough time for her to change into 'casual walk in the evening and chilling at a cafe' clothes. I didn't change my camouflage pants and it annoyed her. My sense of fashion had always annoyed her. Now, once we were ready to go out, I realized the difference in our appearances and the repurcussions that followed thereafter. Cab driver opened the door for her.... Only her. I had to manage on my own. So, an Alto took us to the market in about 15 minutes through the same rustic village road for another 200 bucks.

On the way we saw the gliders and were excited about our paragliding the next day. Market was nice place moving a slower pace. There were other tourists perhaps checking out the cafes like us. There wasn't much though so we decided to sit at an open cafe called Vairagi for some time. We ordered for some momos, tea and some chicken tikkas.

Suddenly, there was a storm. It wasn't too much at first but then it intensified. We saw some people gathered at the exit of the cafe, looking towards the sky and murmuring. There was a palpable tension in that group of people. I went to check out about what all the clammer was.

There were three gliders that they were pointing at. These three appeared too high.

"The storm has thrown these gliders way too high and the pilots are not able to control it now. It had become very risky", the onwner of the the cafe told us sensing the confusion on our faces. I still couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. He continued, "this sudden storm is very dangerous. Last year there was a sudden storm and one paraglider was thrown to Mandi. I hope these three come down", he said, still looking with conspicuous concern at the three gliders that looked like tiny birds now.

"I don't have a good feeling. Will they be safe", she clinched my arm as she said this. I didn't know what to say.

"Of course they will be safe. Bir is famous for its paragliding. They are professionals and quite good at what they do. These things happen. Don't you worry", I patted her, trying to calm her down. Those gliders were slowing descending and every one around took a sigh of relief.

It strated to to rain and our cab had arrived just in time. I had ordered plain milk tea na she had asked for an organic version of the same. Tea was divine. Momos were tasty as well. Rain became intense and the breeze became colder. Tea was quite comforting. We were a it cold and I took out both jackets. We were warm and cozy. Rain had a strange music to it. Rain intensified and we could feel small droplets on our faces. There were few foreigners enjoying their tea and the weather I we were liking it.

Suddenly the lights went out. "Ohh, the laid shedding. Damn these storms", blurted the café owner. Small lights, perhaps run on batteries filled the café. Lights had a soothing effect in the cafe. It became cosier. We were definitely not complaining about the load shedding. There were thunderstorms every few minutes and the sound of the rain drops falling on the rocky ground warranted another round of teas.

There was an elderly gentleman sitting across our table immersed in a book. He had a small torch attached to his head gear and he seemed completel oblivious of the romance between the sky and the clouds and the endangered paragliders. Hot cups of tea were his only distraction. Old age does that you I guess.

It was about 10 p.m. when the rain took a breather. Half the town was asleep and the café was about to close. We beckoned our cab and headed towards our room. She was still scared a bit and sat close to me clinching on to my jacket.

"Golu, will we miss paragliding tomorrow", she asked. Well, she called me golu and that is not my name. She calls me golu only when she wants to get pampered. I knew the weather is doing its part. I patted her on the head and told her, "of course, this is just a one off rain. Everything will be clear in the morning and it will shine like your smile"

She looked at me, smiled and buried her face in my chest. God, this cab journey was hardly 15 minutes. Sometimes you really wish the time to freeze or at least get 4x slower.

There was complete blackout around our homestay. There was a small emergency light for our comfort in that pitch darkness. At some distance, there was a street lighting by solar batteries I guess. It started to rain again, however, it was more of some residual drizzle than actual rain. We could hear the narrow creek that ran hardly 100 meters from our room. We were tired and the rain was soporific. We went to sleep.

Day 3

We woke up to a beautiful morning. Cool and with abundant sunshine. We were hopeful of a great paragliding event.

The greatest disappointment struck when our host informed us that government has put a temporary ban on paragliding for next two days. This was the thing we had planned this trip for and it was NOT happening.

We didn't know what to do. She had brought a complete set of clothes only for paragliding and pasted the upcoming event all over social media before coming to Bir and now it was not going to happen.

"This can't be happening. Are they made, see there's so much sunshine, the skies are clear. If this is not the weather to fly then what will be? Monsoons?", She blurted.

"Well, I spoke with one of the organizers on the phone. He said there's going to be another bout of rains over next few days. Let's take a nature walk instead", I tried to calm her down.

"I don't want to go for any walks anymore. I had told you that this trip is going to be a disaster", she couldn't be consoled. And I do not remember her telling me about the impending disaster that this trip is going to be.

"C'mon, we can again come here on any weekend. It's not that difficult or expensive to get here. Any weekend can be planned and we can have that flying thing. Let's explore the nearby villages. I think it's good", I tried again to calm her down. But on the inside, I was more disappointed than her.

"I am never coming back to this place... Never", she was inches away from crying.

"Cheer up. We are going to make today count. Get dressed, we are going out and doing something completely unplanned. You are so going to enjoy it", I winked. She obliged and put her 'casual walk in the meadows' tracks.

Well, I had no idea about what to do next so I googled and found that we can go to the Dear institute. We called for thebcababd the cabbie suggested that we can go to the landing site as well and sit there for sometime.

We woke up to a beautiful morning. Cool and with abundant sunshine. We were hopeful of a great paragliding event.

We didn't know what to do. She had brought a complete set of clothes only for paragliding and pasted the upcoming event all over social media before coming to Bir and now it was not going to happen.

"This can't be happening. Are they made, see there's so much sunshine, the skies are clear. If this is not the weather to fly then what will be? Monsoons?", She blurted.

"Well, I spoke with one of the organizers on the phone. He said there's going to be another bout of rains over next few days. Let's take a nature walk instead", I tried to calm her down.

"I am never coming back to this place... Never", she was inches away from crying.

Well, I had no idea about what to do next so I googled and found that we can go to the Dear institute. We called for the cab and the cabbie suggested that we can go to the landing site as well and sit there for sometime.

We decided to go there and then go to the Deer institute. It was hardly a kilometre away from the landing site. There were ships that rented mountain bikes but we decided to walk instead.

Landing site was more like a plain surrounded by hills. We went towards the farms that were about 500 metres away. There we found a tree and sat beneath it. It became overcast again and there was a nice breeze. We sat there and looked at the beauty surrounding the place.

I never knew Bir would offer this experience. I wasn't sure if the paragliding getting canceled was a good thing or not. They take 2000 bucks for a half an hour flight usually. I checked the prices in case we visit soon.

We kept sitting, chatting and hours went past. We just lost the track of time and then we realized that we should head back to the room and pack our bags for it was near our boarding time. We had to catch a bus at 6:00 pm for Delhi.

On our way back, it began to drizzle and the rain intensified by the time we reached our room. The rain drops on the car windows looked like little pearls and the overcast hilly beauty was enchanting.

We took the same cab back to the market. We decided to sit in the Vairagi café again as it was hardly 300 meters from the pick up point.

We enjoyed hot sips of tea and some nice chicken fried rice. She ate something vegetarian that I had no clue about. It was still raining and she seemed to be no more upset about the paragliding.

"Golu we will come again for the paragliding, okay?", She said. And now that there was a 'golu' in the sentence, I knew I had to pamper her. I patted her and said, "well of course, in fact I already have a plan being worked out in my head".

She smirked and went back to sipping her green tea. I looked at the watch. It was about 5:30 p.m. the food at Vairagi café was not only delicious, it was cheap as well. They gave us water bottles at the MRP and yes it was a big deal for us delhiites. I thanked the host, picked our bags and went to the pick up point. Rain had stopped and it was nice and breezy.

Bus was already parked there as Tibetan colony in Bir is the terminus for some buses.

We took our seats and left Bir with so many memories and a promise to return. I had a feeling that perhaps this cancellation was a sign that we need to return. Or maybe the hills were working their spell on me. Whatever the case might be, I will return. In the meantime, she was snoring away to glory with her head on my shoulder. I looked at her, smiled and then decided to take nap myself.