Backpacking to Uttrakhand....

OVERVIEW

Travelling has always been a passion for me. Life becomes dry if new places arent explored and new people arent met. Its what shapes the vision and helps me understand how diverse is the whole world been. In search for such a desination and making life a bit juicy, I happened to explore north west portion of Uttrakhand. 

The itineary would allow you to explore every part of travel planning that one would undergo. Places we travelled and couldnt travel , things which were worth exploring, best places to eat and expenses on a day to day basis have been seperately provided.

TRIP PLANNING

Trip to Uttrakhand came out of the blue and became a reality. Proposed by some other friend to explore some other portion of Uttrakhand and then made into reality by me with some other friend. Such was our trip filled with zeal and zest. The 8days were filled with life and each moment were immeasurable and invaluable in nature.

It had many obstacles too. Planned on a short period of 4 days we were unaware of any place to explore and neighther had  we researched as such . Just on D -1 day, at 10am , We sat on the laptop and raced against thousands of people across the country for 2 tickets to Delhi. Luck not favuoring us, we obtained a waitlist ticket for Rajdhani express.  Not lossing hope, We repeated the process at 11am in search of sleeper class ticket. However, we failed again. Determined to travel, We overlooked the  nature of the trip-backpacking and straightway booked flight tickets. This is how our trip to Uttrakhand became a reality.

DAY 1

Mumbai AIRPORT

Our flight was scheduled at 7 45am from Mumbai domestic Airport. We left by 5 20am and reached by 6am. After clearing all the checks and procedures, we waited for flight. This trip being an uncommon one , uncommon  things had to happen. Flight got delayed by 2hours. Within minutes of the news, chaos spreaded among the passengers. There was one Bengali business man who had his other flight scheduled at 1030am from Delhi. A Punjabi business man who had his business meetings lined up for the day and many others with similar such problems.

However, among them also present were a Gujarati family who were out for tourism to Nainital. It was because of them that the go air staff was spared by the public. They relaxed the situation and asked for a good breakfast in return for delay in trip. People laughed at their way of talking and they were througly an entertainment for next 30minutes. The staff promised a take off at 9 15am. Things started worsening again at 8 45am when flight was going to get delayed by 30minutes more. People were furious , the airport authority head did not turn up and neighther was being a helping hand for the passangers .

There was a moment when the whole crowed gathered the commanding officer of go air and did not allow him to move an inch. Finally, senior person came to the rescue and promised landing of flight withing 10minutes. Flight landed and people applouded in happiness. Viewing as a third person, we also had to appreciate the calmness of voice maintained by airline staff. Not for a moment they lost their temper or gave a rude answer.

We were enjoying these moments and one such moment waited for us in flight, when before take off the lady from same Gujarati family pranks with air hostess  and asks if they would take her to hospital if she faints or something happens to her( humko hospital leke jaayenge naa aap log agar kuch hua hoh...ke phir idhar hi chod denge) It was all fun and hats off to that family for saving the life of Go-air staff and keeping the environment calm and composed

DELHI

METRO

Delhi has got best connectivity across the city by Metro. We headed to New Delhi metro station  cloak room, where there is good facility to keep the luggage and very safe as well. We took a day pass of rs150 which provides unlimited travel during the day.

CHANDNI CHOWK

Famous by name parathe wali galli in chandni chowk, Delhi is famous for its parathas.  we tried some delicious parathas like kaju paratha, muli paratha and cabbage parathas. They are served with aachar and some curries. Near by , there were also kulcha chole...which were equally famous. The combination of soft kulchas with spicy choles were worth trying in Delhi.

RED FORT

Built 33metres high, 2.4kms long stands Red fort which is 5mintues from Chandni chowk. Huge, magnificient structure creates a natiural awe  in itself. It took Sahahjahan 9 years to built this fort. There are 2 entrants to Red fort. Lahori gate which was used by common public and Delhi gate which was used by Emperor himself. He also built an outside gate providing proeteciton to the fort inside.

• We first came across Noba khana which can also be called as drum house. Huge drums were  played in earlier times manily during the prayer time or during the time when a dignified person enters the fort.
• Further we came across Diwan-e-aam, the place where Emperor Akbar sat. It was made of a marble stone at a great height. Below it was a table like stand made for his sectratory in chief  to pass the papers and appeals by the people. It was said that diwan-e -aam could accomodate 10000people at a time and was made by paying a hefty one lakh rupees during that era.
• Then we saw Diwan-e -khas , a special room where all secret meetings and pleasure moments of emperor took place. It was seperated by the railing depending on order of higness of a man.
• There was also a water gate which was mainly for Emperors personal enjoyment which was later taken over by Britisher.
• We also saw khwab gaa, a place where Emperor slept and our precious Kohinoor Diamond was stored.
• Further, came balcony where shahajahan enjoyed watching Elephant fights and was also a place where he used to dress up elegantly every day in front of his people and solve their queries.
• Rangmahal,a place where princess stayed. It was nicely colured with silver celiling which was then looted by Britishers.

Iskon temple

One of the famous temple in Delhi is Iskon temple. One need to go to kalkaji mata mandir metro station and walkthrough the huge garden and then reach iskon temple. A peaceful and serene place to be. There are various video shows avaiable as well. It is important to go a bit early as you can visit lotus temple situated besides it as well.

CANNAUGHT PLACE

Connaught Place  officially Rajiv Chowk) is one of the largest financial, commercial and business centres in NEW DELHI India. It is often abbreviated to CP and houses the headquarters of several noted Indian firms. The former location of the headquarters of the BRITISH RAJ, the area's environs occupy a place of pride in the city and are counted among the top heritage structures in New Delhi. It was developed as a showpiece  with a prominent Central Business District.

A good place to hangout in the evening . We had dinner at one of the best restaurant- suvarna bhavan serving a  a south Indian cusiine decorated in an elegant manner as well as offering a great taste at a very reasonable price.

After visiting Delhi, we headed for Haridwar by bus in the night from Kashmiri gate ISBT. The connectivity of buses from Delhi to Haridwar , Rishikesh and Dehradun are awsome.

Expense for the day 1

MUMBAI AIRPORT-rs. 6000(flight)

DELHI METRO- rs.150 pass + rs90(cloak room)= rs 240

CHANDNI CHOWK- RS150parathas+ rs.20/kulcha chole=rs170

RED FORT- audio machine- rs 120 english+ rs 65/hindi= rs185

Cannaught place restaurant- rs290/pp

Auto expenses- rs100

Bus for haridwar- rs600

Total expenditure=rs.7585pp

Important things to note

• All temples are closed on tuesdays.
• Ask for unlimited metro pass of rs 150 else they wont give you
• Government buses- rs256pp, private bus- rs350- rs700
• Do not book any bus from prior basis. There are lot of government buses available at cheaper rate with good conditions from ISBT kashmiri gate.

DAY 2

HARIDWAR

The bus ride was smooth from Delhi and we reached Land of Gods.......Haridwar at 4.30am in the morning. It was chilling cold and the excitement of the trip was at its summit. Heard about the ashrams in haridwar we enquired Auto walas about ashrams and all they said were hotels were more better and we should opt for that. Not having much option, we decided to take auto and asked him to show us only ashrams to which he acknowledged and on resuming the trip slowly  he muttered in hindi....(unnees bees to chalta hai) meaning a little adjustment would have to be done. I found something fishy, but decided to wait and watch. Driving some 3 kms away, he took us to some shady place in a small alley full of hotels. On insist , I paid a visit to the room and they were bad enough to not even stay for free. The owners still asked us 1000 bucks a night. Keeping my calm, I asked the driver to take us to a N.D youth hostel which I had already researched.

http://www.jnnyc-haridwar.org/ndtiwariyouthhostel.html

He was upset as he lost his commission but we were relaxed that we managed to find a good place to stay. The  rooms were neat   and the staff was humble. We opted for dormitaries as it sets an option of meeting new people. We checked in and after having  few hours of good sleep, we had great delicious healthy parathas made for us. 

• Mansa mata temple and chanda mata temple

We first visited Mansa mata temple through an share auto which costed 10bucks and would leave us at post office. Then after walking for 3 minutes , we arrived at the window of cable car that leads directly to Mansa Mata temple and Chanda mata temple. We took the cable car and reached divine temple. It was all windy upthere and the beauty was in at its best. After taking blessings at the temple, we left for chanda mata temple ,again by a cable car. Here We had an opportunity to meet our ancisters, Monkeys. Sachin had a great time observing them. He would even love monkey as his pet for sure. 

Feeling hungry, we left for famous restaurant hosiyana in the market, the best punjabi food in hardiwar. The rates were very economical and food was very tasty. It was 4pm already and so we rushed to Hari ki pauri.

• Hari Ki pauri.

It is the most famous and a must visit place in haridwar. Known for its famous aarti every evening, it is a main place for kumbh mela, one that occurs once in every 12years. We headed toward lake and decided to take  plunge in water. It was cold and water was chilled. My friend Sachin took the iniative and went into water. I followed him and we were shivering in a matter of seconds. We came out quickly but were satisfied of dipping in it once. 

The aari time was near. So we went to the place where aarti takes place. The aarti were lively, energetic and blissful. Nothing was happening and eternal bliss was being felt. Seeing other devotees lighiting diyas, we too joined in and completed it with the help of saints with proper rituals. The atmosphere was electrifying

• Crackers

We then left for home and bought some crackers on the way back. We had terrific time bursting rockets and 1000ka Tada tadi. But what followed later in the night was overwhelming for both of us. The sky was colourful and stayed that way for the whole of night.We had never seen such amazing crackers being bursted anywehre in Mumbai and that too on a consistent and continous manner. For next 2 hours we just enjoyed Diwali in Haridwar. Neck started paining and then we went off to sleep.

Expenses for the day 2

Rickshaw from Bus stand to hotels sightseeing and then to youth hostel-rs.50 + rs.25 =rs.75pp

Rickshaw to valmiki chowk or post office from Hostel-rs10

Ropeway for 2 temples plus travel internal by road amdist travel- rs.290pp

Hari ki pauri- rs 70(diyas plus saint bakshish)

Check-out at haridwar youth hostel- rs.300pp

Breakfast-rs150pp

Total-rs895

Important things to note

• There are 2 bus stands in Haridwar. One is main bus stand which links to places like Rishikesh and Hardiwar. Other is Rishikul bus stand , the place where all private buses from Delhi would halt.
• The main road , where all ashrams lay is just a minute walk from Rishikul bus stand. Refrain from using rickshaws. If you need to, give them proper address of the ashram to stay.
• You may stay at the following

a. N D youth hostel.

b. Shree prem Nagar Ashram

jwalapur road, Hraidwar.

Www.premnagarashram.com

01334-226345/227503/8941095262

DAY 3

RISHIKESH

Next in our list was the spiritual capital of India- Rishikesh. We found 2 options to reach  -share auto and by uptdc bus. We went by auto rickshaw for rs.40 and enjoyed the beautiful view of Lord Shiva and Jain temple along the way.

We checked inat Zostel and had a dormitary stay. We had a great time there. It had a fabolus grafiti with seperate room for games, reading as well as roof top for chilling and a restaurant to eat. We hit the bed which were very fluffy .

http://www.zostel.com

We then took a rented scooter for rs.400 and then left for Jumping heights, the only place for outdoor activity. It was a long driveof 90 minutes to jumpin heights office. We opted for a combo of Bunjy jumping and fire fox. The videos can be seen below. The road of reaching jumping heights is superb. Green river on one hand and mountains on others.  

We had great fun in bunjy jumping. It was thrill mixed with anxiety. The moment of jumping off the bridge was full of high heart beats and fear. But as it is said... darr k aage jeet hai, i jumped off and had a moment of joy and happiness when i landed on he bed waiting for me at the bottom. However, my friend Sachin Who was watching me jump was super scared and was shivering for 10minutes till New zealand coach motivated him enough to jump. He said, there was a moment when he thought of giving up and even sacrificing 3000 bucks. But hats off to his courage and determination , he had the guts to jump.

On the way back, we were searching for a good camping site and to our good luck we found a great site on the banks of the river. We finalised the deal for rs1100, which included morning breakfast+ Lunch+ evening tea/coffee and Dinner followed by borne fire.  Comingback we left for dinner and landed at Restaurant Ganga jamuna on the way to Laxman Jhula. The owner was very sweetly spoken and had made a good interior. We ordered soup to begin with . However, it had very bad taste and not of good quality. We left and found another good restaurant near Laxman jhula which was very good.

Coming back to the hostel, we went to roof top Where we met 3 amazing guys from Surat. Krunal, Dharam and Mashal. They were happy go lucky and we all went all very well. All being gujju, we started playing cards and enjoyed for 4hrs. Finally at 1am in the morning we Went off to sleep.

Expenses for the day.

Zostel-rs475pp

Bunjee+ firefox= rs.4500

DVD= rs.1000pp

Dinner at ganga jamuna=rs180pp( Not recommended to anyone)

Dinner= rs.190pp

Scooter= rs200pp ( booked from Zostel)

Petrol=rs100pp

TOTAL= RS.6745

IMPORTANT THINGS TO NOTE

• See Laxman and Ram Jhula
• Stay at camp site for rs.1100 as per details below.

Camp Hideaway...The Jungle camp

09411338307 or you can directly reach camp site. Its on the way to Jumpin heights.

• Go for bunjy jumping . FIre fox can be skipped.
• Stay at Zostel for all the fun.http://www.zostel.com/
• Oyo room can also be found next to Zostel. FOr Ashram Accomodation- Ananda ashram is a good option ( al near Laxman jhula)
• Eat at Chotiwala Restaurant
• DOnot miss aarti at triveni ghat in evening.

DAY 4: RISHIKESH - DEHRADUN 

After a good sleep at Zostel, we woke up with a spirit of positivity and medtative mind. Having heard a lot about meditations in Rishikesh, all of us along with one new mate from Delhi, Nakul bhaiyaa left for meditation at Anandi ashram. It was 8 30am and we were confident about getting a chance of  good meditation. However, in Rishikesh 8 30 am seems to be too late for anything.  The saints informed us that meditatiion takesplace from 6am to 7am. We then took a stroll around Rishikesh and then settled at a good south Indian restaurant on the main road. The entrance and place was small and we wondered about the tastiness of the food. But as it is said, dont judge a book by its cover was very true for this restaurant and every item we ordered was as delicous as it should have been.

Rafting was on the list for the day. So we directly visited some rafting offices( one can find a lot of people offering rafting in Rishikesh) The person told us 300 bucks as the rate. We then bargained and brought him down to 250 bucks. ( I was given a quote of rs.550 by email from Ganga valley adventure before the trip) It also included to and fro travelling. All 5 of us left in excitement for rafting and 15 kms away was our starting point...... shivpuri. It was a long rafting of 18kms and every moment was truly cherished and enjoyed by us. We encountered some huge waves and the thrill and excitement was at clouds end. Finally after 2hrs 45minutes of hard work and sweat in raft, all of us got down  dead tired . There was not enough energy left among us even to talk. We headed straighaway  to chotiwala restaurant ... the most famous one for its food as well as choti of the person who always sits outside. It was already 5 30pm when we finished our lunch. At 6pm , it was dark and thus we skipped the plan of camping in Rishikesh. 

We had 2 options

a. to stay in rishikesh

b. to go Mussorie

We opted for a more adventourous 2nd option and left for Mussorie through Dehradun. We reached Dehradun at 8 45pm . The route to Dehradun from Rishikesh is dangerous due to attacks by Wild Elephants. So forest department travels along the road for safety. After reaching Dehradun , we rushed to Railway station bus depot for bus to Mussurie. But all the buses for that day had been departed as it was risky to drive in night. One could also avail share taxi for 210 bucks. Bus costs 56bucks. We found a goodn Dharamshala to stay o Gandhi road near to station and decide to halt at Dehradun

The halt at Dehradun turned out to be the best decision of our tour.

EXPENSES FOR THE DAY

Stay at Dehradun- rs125pp

River rafting- rs125pp

Breakfast (south indian)-rs100pp

video of rafting- rs250pp

Lunch at chotiwala- rs16opp

share jeep (rishikesh to dehradun)- rs70pp

Miscellaoneus- rs250pp

TOTAL-945pp

DAY 5: DEHRADUN

We had no plans to stay at Dehradun as it was less renowned place and nor it anyone reommended us to pay a visit. However, the morning coffee with biscuits did the magic for us.  The owner of the stall was perplexed by our question, (yaha hai kuch karne ko aur kuch dekhne ko) meaning is there anything to do and see in Dehradun. The locals were very proud of the region. With pride and confidence, he narrated all the great things to see  like Sashastra-dhara( the sulphur water spring), Robertcave or Gucchu pani, Tapkeshwar temple, FRI museum, ghanta ghar and Deer park. We skipped going to Mussorrie and decided to explore Dehradun. 

We expored our options of travelling as we couldnt find rented bikes in Dehradun. Most of the locals asked us to opt for an auto rickshaw and pay a hefty 800 bucks except an old wise man who motivated us to go with local transport like the localites. Excited by the option, we took the locak transport which not only saved us 700bucks but also created a pride for the government on the quality of buses and its frequency. We donot remember anywhere standing for more than 3minutes for a bus .

One more important thing to noteis that share jeeps in Dehradun are called Vikram and their dirvers are known as vetal. So concept of Vikram and vetal still lived a legend on the streets of Dehradun. We took a vikram from our Dharamshala till the chowk where we would get the bus for our first sight seeing point Shahastradhara.  

• SAHASTRADHARA

Sahastradhara literally means thousand fold spring is a waterfall in Dehradun combinhed with garden , temple and caves as well. People from all over the world are known to visit here mainly because of its sulphur water. It is said that many diseases get cured by drinking sulphur water.

After 15kms of journey through bus, we arived at sahastradhara. We took the cable car for our way up . The garden up were very well maintained and worth visiting. We then visited temple and later camne back down after enjoying some archery and gun shooting at the top.

Coming down, we enjoyed waterfall and drank sulphur water. Then after visitng the small cave besides the waterfall, we headed to our next and the best destination of our whole trip- Roberts cave or Gucci pani.

• ROBERTS CAVE

Robert cave or gucci pani is a mountain cut by river in the interiors from both the sides making its way ahead and resembling the shape of a  open cave . There are 2 portion of a cave. The innermost portion and exterior portion. As we make our move through waters, inner area comes to the right which is covered from all sides and looks a proper cave. It ends at the waterfall with huge force and people enjoying themselves in it. After enjoying the waterfall, we  made our way up to exterior area. As we moved ahead, the scenary was becoming more and more beautiful. We had some great clicks in this region.

It was a long narrow path ending in a jungle like area. This place was a real heaven and we recommend not to miss visiting this place when one is in Dehradun. After enjoying roberts cave, Sachin had maggi and noddles and we left for our next tourist spot known as tapkeshwar temple.

• TAPKESHWAR TEMPLE 

It is a very famous Mahadeva temple in Dehradun. It is located on the banks of river and very peaciful and serene place to be at. The winds deposits cool breezes and devotees offers flowers in the river. After taking the blessings, we left for our next and final destination for the day which was Ghanta ghar

•  GHANTA GHAR

It is also known as clock tower. Made by Britishers lay a huge tower in the centre of market. Dehradun city centre resides at this place. There are lot of retail outlets and good restaurants to be visited for a foodie.  We had a great punjabi dinner at one of the restaurants. The price for dinner was quite economical as well

Tired for the day, we left for our Dharamshala and got ready for our next destination which was Mussoorie.

EXPENSES FOR THE DAY

• Stay at Dehradun 2nd night- rs125pp

• Bus expenses= rs53pp

Dharamshala to bus stop- rs8pp

Bus to sashastradhara- rs17pp

Sahastradhara to Robert cave-rs10pp

Robert cave to Ghanta ghar- rs8pp

ghanta ghar to Dharam shala- rs 10pp

• Cable car to sashatradhara- rs120pp
• roberts cave entrance- rs25pp
• Dinner-rs150pp
• Miscellaneous- rs 50

TOTAL- RS.523pP

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW

• Explore Dehradun by Bus . The quality of bus are very good. The frequencies are mind blowing. We did not have to wait for more than 3minutes for any bus to depart.
• People in Dehradun are very helpful and friendly. Its a very safe place to be at.
• Dharamshala is located on Gandhi road, 3minutes walk from Railway station.
• Visit FRI museum and Deer park -equally famous( we ran out of time)
• Travel mussurie by taxi if you have vommitting problem. The bus drivers drive rash.

DAY 6

MUSSURIE

On the dawn of day 6, we reached bus station which was just 2minutes walk from our stay. I stood in the que for getting a ticket of mussorie. Uttrakhand governmernt had the very good management in terms of tourism. They would issue the tickets only after arrival of bus. Just like private operators we were allocated seat numbers and i was really surprised at such great managaement. The buses were neat, clean with leather seats which  increased the comfy of the travel. However if one is prone to vommiting I would recommend to use a cab or carry paper bag as to avoid any problems to fellow passangers. 

We arrived at Mussorie at 10.30am after 90minutes of travel. Mussorie was a different experience all together of all the hill stations I have visited. The road went uphill and ends at the tip of the hill which is Lal tibba. So there is no way that you can get lost along the way. However, if you have not got the good stamina to walk then kindly avoid it as it had steep inclinations. 

At Mussorie bus stand, one could find all the hand carts rickshaws as well as agents who could show you some good hotels as per your budget. For us, we both were comfy with walking. So we walked for 1.5kms to reach Bunkotel( only hostel in Mussurie- you can find more at www.hostelworld.com) It is exactly opposite to cable car in Mussorie. We were excited as we had great experience is Zostel. However, to our surprise things didnt work out as we planned. The dorms were good and neat. However the way to dorms was very shady. The owner had no clue whatsoever about the concept of dorms. He Showed us the room with 8beds and asked us 1200 bucks. We tried understandng him but all in vain. So we had no choice but to find another place to stay. Luckily again I had researched about Dharamshala and it was very well known. It was far off and 1km ahead, we decided to take the walk. The journey was tiring but we were determined to walk and so after 20minutes we reached Dharamshala. The building looked old from outside but when we had an inner look of the Dharamshala we were very happy to see huge rooms, nice beds  at resaonable price. We took the rooms and went to bed straightway due to ice cold weather. After some time, we headed down to bhojanshala( the place where food is served). The cook was really god. He made Special parathas for us. We had aaloo, gobi , Muli and paneer parathas. We were very much filled which led us to take a small nap. Later in the afternoon, we left for sightseeing.

CAMEL BACK ROAD  

It was nothing but a union of 3 rocks combined together to take the shape of a camel. The road was long . Suddenly we found a man with a binocular. He showed the whole mussorie with  tehri garhwal region and camel shaped rocks as well. The need of reaching up there faded after seeing the rocks through binocular. So we directly left for Gun hill which can be accessed through cable car or through trek. We took cable car and reached the top to see there was nothing much. We had a cup of coffee and headed downwards not through cable car but through other route. It was a good experience coming down. Later, We explored the markets of Mussorie, famous for shopping and then we headed to book our train tickets to an agent. We found only one agent and he charged rs 450 for getting a tatkal ticket. We gave him 3 options- Rajdhani, Durronto and paschim express. One of the things I noted was the value of time taken by agents in terms of money. There was a board which said if you inquire about bus, train or flights you would be charged rs10 each for inquiry. Then we found a restaurant serving herbal tea with different flavours. We had it and found very healthy indeed. Coming back we rested for the day.

EXPENSES FOR THE DAY

Bus (dehradun-mussurie)- rs.56pp.                    

Stay-300pp

cable car-75pp

Herbal tea-30pp

Lunch-150pp

Miscellaneous-180

Dinner-150pp

Total-rs935

THINGS TO NOTE

• Kindly carry super warm clothes as it is fricking cold in Mussorie
• Best spot to visit is Lal Tibba( as described in below para)
• Explore best of Mussorie by walking
• Donot miss the hot corns along the way.

DAY 7

MUSSURIE-DEHRADUN

 The next day we checked out from Dharamshala and hanged out to explore some new places .  Dhanaulti, a good nature trail near Mussorie was our best option. Share jeep was only option left for us as last  bus departed at11am and private cab costs 1500bucks. We reached taxi stand and waited for 45minutes as they would depart only after all the passengers have filled in the jeep.  Long wait made our patience lost and we headed towards Lal Tibba, another famous tourist spot in Mussorrie, the highest point og Mussorie. On the way ip, we found people shooting for  a movie and suddenly we ater ll were asked to take a stepback. Curious to know, we went down and suddenly appeared Ajay Devgan shooting for his movie Shiva. Then we watched his one scene and left for Lal Tibba. Lal Tibba was a spectacular  scenic beauty with  some mouth watering coffee served  at the top

We then headed to the Sister market, where we sawAjay devegan shooting for his film Shiva.We spent almost 3hours up there watching the shoot Leaving mussorie was the hell of the job. More than 50people stood in the que for getting ticket of last bus at 630pm. People fought amongst themselves for the ticket. Luckily we got the ticket and headed our downward journey.  The downward journey was a bad incident. All over the place people were vommiting without carrying a bag. The bus was smelling but not option left had to bear 90minutes in the bus.

Finally coming to Dehradun, we went to Dehradun ISBT and took the government bus to Delhi. Thanks to my friend sachin  who truly believed in backpacking experience that we rode this journy.  We miscalculated the  distance from Dehradun to New Delhi

EXPENSES FOR THE DAY

• LAL TIBBA ENTRANCE- 20PP
• TICKET FOR RETURN-2800PP
• BUS TO DEHRADUN-56PP
• BUS TO DELHI-256PP
• MISCELLANEOU-100PP 

TOTAL-rs.3232PP

DAY 8- DELHI

. We caught the bus at 9pm which dropped us at 3 30am in New Delhi. Shivering in cold and unsatisfied by sleep, we searched for bus to Railway station. Unfortunately, we couldnt get one after standing for 30minutes thereby forcing us to pick an auto for rs60, which dropped us to Ajmeri gate. We headed towards Paharganj by bridge and reached Arakashan road, where Zostel bed was waiting for us. We checked in doze off. It was 11.30am when we checked out of Zostel and looked for breakfast. Fortunately, we founda great South Indian restaurant exactly in front of New Delhi railway station.  

Then we headed for Lotus temple. The speciality of this temple was that if did not favour any particular religion. A dome shaped ceiling with huge space to meditate was provided to all the devotees and could pray in any manner they wished.After meditating for 45minutes, we headed to our next spot which was famous Akshar dham temple. 

We reached Akshardham temple at 3 30pm. The temple had huge tourist attraction due to Diwali holidays. We took the tickets for water show and special cultural show. It took us 2 and half hour before we could actually attend the show. The show was phenomenal. We th5en saw water show of 20minutes. It started with National anthem and then some cultural water show was shown along with great dynamism in water colours and its deisgn. Finally at 9pm we headed back to Zostel to take our luggage. We caught the Duronto train which left at 1125pm and headed

to Mumbai.

EXPENSES FOR THE DAY

• BREAK FAST- RS260
• METRO TO KALKAJI MATA MANDIR-18PP
• KALKAJI METRO TO AKHSHARDHAM METRO-25PP
• SHOW-250PP
• LUNCH-130PP
• TOTAL-RS685

DAY 9

TRAIN JOURNEY TO MUMBAI

The Journey of train was the most comfortable journey mostly because of the fellow travellers we found along the way. We found uncle and aunty from Pune .. Very bubbly, humble and light natured. We had great moments playing cards. We also had a young old man travelling with us and he resembled the old person from movie Munna bhai Mbbs. Resembled not in terms of face but in terms of thoughts. Remember the famous dialogue ....rani toh papani. He actually was the living legend of the same.

I remember the incident when we were playing a game called Napolean where one needs to ask pair of cards from the other. When someone aked queen from the other , uncle used to get up from his sleep and ask for queens. It was a wonderful train journey. Finally we arrived Mumbai......aamchi Mumbai and feeling of Home sweet home was being fulfilled. A wonderful journey finally came to an end or you could say it is going to be the beginning of a new journey with new people at a new place..

TOTAL EXPENSES FOR 8DAYS

DAY 1- RS7585

DAY2- RS895

DAY3-RS6745

DAY4-RS945

DAY5-RS525

DAY6-RS935

DAY7-RS3230

DAY8-RS685

TOTAL- RS21545