McLeod Ganj memoir - Day 1

A late night flight to Delhi, then a long sit down at the airport and then another flight to Dharamshala...my back has started to complain. As I lazily stare outside the window of my flight heading to Dharamshala, suddenly a big bold block of snow capped range pops up into the view! And then the entire Dhauladhaar range appears in its full glory. A perfect welcome! This is one of the prettiest airports I have seen so far - with the zesty green grass along the runway and the white snowy wall at the backdrop.

Kangra/Dharamshala Airport

As I step out of the airport, my little cousin who has become quite a grown up now and is out on his first trekking trip, gives me a loud cheer. Exhausted by the long journey, our tummies start grumbling. We venture out on an unknown stroll in search of food when we find this cutesy café playing 'Om Mani Padme Ohm'. Can't be better than this! We go in. The café serves us a specialty bao, phad thai noodles and a strawberry-orange concoction. Not sure if it is the lack of food or a lot of food after a long gap, but what follows hereafter is a lot of nonsensical laughter!

Refreshing

This then leads to a long amble through busy honking streets, narrow steep lanes, buzzing market area and finally, the Nemgyal monastery. The monastery doesn't seem as peaceful as the others you might experience in Sikkim yet it has its own unique vibe. My cousin spends the entire time establishing everyone in red robes as the Dalai Lama and calling out to them! Sometimes, I pretend not to know him in public! By the time we are completely out of juice, we get a taxi to our bnb and check in.

Nemgyal Monastery

An instant energy kicks in! After the busy McLeodGanj, this place tucked in a little corner in Upper Dharamkot, is a picture of serenity. After a quick freshening up, aided by some pedha and Kolkata nostalgia, we stroll down to Gallu temple which is just a stone throw away from our place. We walk a few trails leading to the Gallu waterfall and settle in a café called 'Sundowner café' with two cups of strong milky coffee. The evening starts to set in, the orange hue floods the sky , the strong heat of the Sun vanishes amidst a chilling cold breeze. With lots of beaming plans and a plate full of hot food straight out of the kitchen, we call it a day.

View from the room balcony

P.S. We got chased by a cow on our way back from the café! Now some might tell you that the calm and quiet cow was simply on her way back home. But you weren't there and it was just us and the cow was climbing up the path, right towards us. So very justifiably, indeed, we took an about turn and started to climb up the mountain wall on the side of the trail. I'm happy to report, we are safe!

Pretty path which leads to the cafe

Spook alert: When we were out exploring the trails around this cafe and leading towards the falls, amidst lots of trees with hanging branches and roots, we suddenly found a leg! Yep, you read it right. A human leg dangling itself comfortably from a branch! We could see just that one leg, no body, not the second leg either. We approached it with caution. It turned out to be a dummy prop. But the very next day when we ventured to visit the leg again, it was gone! What was it about?! Below is a picture of the leg for you to ponder...

The Leg!

Now, I'm standing outside on the balcony and looking at the night sky. There's a bit of rumble in the cloud. I hope the weather holds for tomorrow...