[asmr]

"What am I doing here?".

A question that had sparked in my mind by end of March this year. This grew to be a proper flame and by the end of April, I had conveyed my decision to quit to my manager. It was not an easy decision nor one taken lightly, since I had to brace for the financial impact and uncertainty in the market, especially for someone like me with a work profile very different from the usual specialist ones. But if one can't trust their intuition, what else can be trusted?

Though not too thrilled with my decision, they respected it and helped to make my transition out a great experience and my break (second one in 17 years) began in early August. One of the things I had decided even when I put in my papers was that I would take a 2 month break, and not even worry about what's next.

I also had decided that I should take a solo trip for myself, just to unwind and rejuvenate. I would have loved to take a sabbatical of 3+ months, but didn't proceed with that plan for practical reasons. I reached out to folks here on the Travel queries forum on good places that I can unwind in and got some good directional inputs. Then the whole fiasco with landslides happened.

Apart from the 3 road trips in August-September that totaled ~2500km, I had all the time I needed to do a full, patient search myself for places to visit in the North and stay. Going to the popular hill stations got ruled out. I also decided I didn't want to experiment with homestays this time around, which basically left me with the choice of good resorts that I could find in non-touristy places. After a ton of hours, screening places on Google maps, Tripadvisor etc., emails and phone calls, I zeroed in on Araiya @ Palampur.

I was about to book my travel when I was told there was a family function that was happening in Mumbai right on the date I had planned to get out of Chennai. So, as with everything, I had to roll with the punches and built an itinerary that took me through Mumbai.

The resort was outside of Palampur town, parked on top of a hill at around 1600m. The easiest way to travel there was flying via Delhi to Kangra (Gaggal) Airport and then take a cab for 40+kms trip via road. I had to stay in Delhi for one night during the transit given flight timings and I also decided to stay for one night in Delhi on the return trip as well, planning to do a few things. The trip was set to happen in September, combined with a quick stop in Mumbai for a relative's family function.

A few photos of the resort itself are posted here. I also have most of them in this slideshow hosted as a video.

https://youtu.be/rHCPYrnXSK8

Day 1:

Flew out of Chennai along with a few family members to Mumbai. We had one person in a wheelchair but due to the inefficiency of Indigo staff, and the crappy quality of systems in Chennai airport, we had to wait for 30mins even in the special queue for check-in. Security check was a breeze, though. We reached Mumbai right around noon.

The day was spent at the mandapam where the function was held and we were given rooms at Ramakrishna hotel, right next to Vile Parle station. This was my first stay in any Mumbai hotel ever, and I was shocked/surprised at how cramped the place was. Our rooms were in the 3rd floor and they did not have an elevator. There were actual, occupied apartments in the middle of rooms as well! Strange!

The rooms were newly refurbished, with good enough cots, air conditioning, bathrooms etc. The walls already showed cracks in plastering, but this was an old building, so I guess it was as expected. After a fantastic dinner at the mandapam (which was a short walking distance from the hotel), we retired for a good night's sleep.

Day 2:

The function continued for the second day and I took my leave before noon to catch my flight to Delhi.

I checked out from my room and hailed an auto-rickshaw to take me to the airport. I was quite surprised, pleasantly, that the the driver simply turned the meter on after confirming the which terminal I wanted to go to. This was something I haven't seen happen in Chennai for a decade. A short ride of 15-20mins, I got dropped off at the airport. It was quite a walk from that point to the check-in area. My flight was on Vistara that day. The luggage drop-off at the terminal, and the security check was very efficient. A quick stop at a book shop to pick up something to read and then at Starbucks to grab some hot chocolate brought back memories of from my days of frequent flying. The flight itself was uneventful and had good seats with decent enough grub. In 2hrs or so, we were in Delhi. I picked up my bagged and took a prepaid taxi to my hotel, Taurus Sarovar Portico.

I will not recommend this hotel as a good place. The staff was helpful, bedding and breakfast were decent enough but the hotel itself gives weird vibes. Windowless rooms, bathroom fixtures breaking apart, loud guests, cigarette smoke smell wafting through corridors with uncleaned carpets. I thought this was one of the better choices in the nearby area but I was wrong. The area is weird too. I stepped out briefly to find a store to get some specific shampoo sachets and for the entire 5mins of walking, I was hollered at by brokers/agents of "Spas".

Day 3:

After a quick breakfast, I checked out of the hotel and caught an Uber to Terminal 1 for my Indigo flight to Kangra DHM airport. I did a self check-in, which was very seamless. Some repair/renovation works were going on inside the airport but overall it seemed well maintained. The flight was delayed a bit but we landed in Kangra by 1:30pm. The Kangra airport seemed well maintained but was really small. Within 10mins of landing, I was in my cab (arranged by the resort) which would take me to Araiya.

The 2 lane road to Palampur were pretty good for the most part, but there were sections that were getting repaired after local landslides or something like that. The environment changed from flats to hills quickly, with thick forest like vegetation in sections and the road became narrower. I even saw a huge snake slither across the road at one point in time when nearing the resort. By 3pm, we were at the resort, after traversing some pretty steep ups and downs, including a pretty scenic river crossing.







A few words on the booking experience and about Araiya itself. I had sent out an email asking for a quotation. This got a prompt reply from their sales person. A few back and forths, a phone call and then I booked the base room with breakfast plan. They send an email with pre-checkin formalities and a brochure with all of their available additional activities/services (I did not choose any). This made the check-in process really smooth. I learned later that this resort was opened only in 2019. I can imagine what the covid times would have done to this place.

At the resort, the people there seemed to be well trained, very polite, smartly dressed, most could speak & understand English too. The check-in process was very quick. I was famished at that point, since I hadn't had anything to eat after breakfast except for the hot chocolate at the airport. So, while starting the move to my room, I asked for a lunch thali to be sent to me.

The room, though I had seen photos in the brochure, was a pleasant surprise for me. It was quite big, and the bathroom was huge as well. I have seen 5 star hotels that might fall short on few things here on quality and aesthetics.











This is brand of soap, handwash and shampoo they provide. I have never come across this before but they were really good.



The lunch was absolutely fantastic. The presentation, taste and portions were all very nice. They had gone overboard with the number of rotis, however. I try not to waste any food and so, over the next couple of hours, I devoured the entire plate.











It was then time to completely relax and unwind, with a hot shower and a quick stroll outside. Given the late, super heavy lunch, I skipped dinner and went to sleep in the huge, very comfortable bed.

Day 4 (and till Day 7):

My routine on all the days was pretty much the same. I woke up daily to a very clear view of the Dhauladhar range's peaks right from my window.

A few photos of the scenery from the resort:

[asmr]

After finishing my morning routine, I headed out for breakfast. A full buffet set up was available, with pastries, bread with all sorts of accompaniments, chole bature, idli, vada, dosa, baked beans, mixed veggies, upma, poha etc. I tried pretty much all items in the vegetarian menu over these 4 days and found them to be overall pretty good in taste and quality. Special mention to Mr. Arunbir, who took care of my needs during most of my visits to the restaurant.

I do have a bit of nitpicking to do. Even though the south Indian items were decent enough but my one feedback to them was that they needed to get their dosa station fixed. It took them 10-15mins to prime the hot plate (run on electric), there was lot of scraping which wasted batter since it stuck to the plate and got burnt easily on one side. I shared some of my thoughts on how they could make that better.

A few photos of the restaurant and the food items:





























After breakfast, I usually took a walk down to the main gate and on to the winding roads nearby. I didn't go too far but doing those and getting back to my room was enough for me hear my heart thumping in my ears. I made a note to self that this was bad and that I had to get back on my fitness routine.

Here are some photos from my walks. You can see the resort itself from the nearby ghat road. There is also some ground getting cleared for construction, but in all the 4 days, I didn't see a any workers or machines there.



















This is the view from just outside the entrance to the reception.



It is to be noted that the temperature hovered around slightly chilly to warm during the entire stay but there were a lot of afternoon/evening rains, unfortunately. It was not a big deal breaker since I took my walk in the morning and could walk inside the room if I wanted to that badly.

There is a trail path running behind the resort but I was advised not to use it due to large number of leeches present there during the rains. The entire resort was nicely done, with lot of flowering plants all around. In general, the evenings saw a large variety of insects flying around and parking themselves on the walls outside, attracted by the lights but thankfully none of them entered the room.

Afternoons and evenings were spent on either in just sessions of deep thought, reading or watching some interesting documentary on Discovery or National geographic channels. I usually skipped either lunch or dinner, given that the food was pretty heavy for one person and I mostly ordered room service.

When I checked in, there were close to 15-20 guests as a single group in the resort, occupying many of the 25 odd rooms in the resort. But by evening of Friday that week, I was the only guest in the entire resort! I learned that the rains had dissuaded many guests/regulars from Dharamshala from coming over and that they had the place fully booked for the winter. It was a strange feeling, being the only guest in the huge place. Breakfast buffet was not available on Friday and Saturday, understandably, but I was able to place place orders for whatever was there on the set menu and they served those well.

On the last day, after breakfast, I completed the check-out process and was on my way to Kangra airport by 9:30AM. The ride was a little slower due to traffic in one of the towns en route to the airport. But I got to the airport with lot of time to spare. The check-in for the Spicejet flight started after about 15mins or so. It was not that crowded as my previous flight on Indigo. I was seated next to a Buddhist monk who asked if he could have my aisle seat. I agreed and moved to the window seat, which proved to be a good choice. The scenery during the climb, flying around Maharana Pratap Sagar, seeing cotton like clouds billowing upward were all worth the seat change.









We landed in Delhi early evening and by the time I took my checked in baggage and came to the airport's exit, it was raining very heavily. It was funny how the weather changed so drastically. Sunny with low clouds when getting down from the aircraft to dark, gusty rain just 20mins or so later.

I had booked my flight to Chennai the next day, having planned to meet with a friend and also do some shopping up near old Delhi. But whatever plans I had in Delhi got spoiled because of the rain and I was also not feeling too good. I just checked myself in my hotel and crashed to take some rest before flying back to Chennai the next afternoon.

This was my first solo trip ever, I believe. Ever since my first trip to Manali almost 12 years ago, I have noticed for myself that the Himalayas hold some sort of power. Not the call of the mountains that many of us get, but something different. One can keep staring at them and yet not feel bored, have a sense of calm and peace that makes one forget all troubles in that time.

[Sheel]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[noo.b]

Loved the writeup and pictures, though you should've explored the place a little bit more. Also thanks for including the details of the hotel, looks good, could use it for our next group ride.

And the bit about Himalayas holding some power, I totally agree with you on that. It can't really be described, only felt. I haven't felt that in any other moutain range yet.

[FAIAAA]

Nice travelogue and pictures. Reminds me of my solo travel for 3 weeks in Himachal Pradesh across Chamba, Kangra and Teerthan valleys.

[asmr]

Originally Posted by noo.b

Loved the writeup and pictures, though you should've explored the place a little bit more. A

Yes, I should have. But I had very little plans for it anyway, and it just became a non-exploratory one with the rains. The resort does have planned trips, hikes and such, but I just didn't opt for any. I also think that they need some critical mass in terms of numbers to do those trips and I am pretty sure there weren't enough people to opt in for these during the time of my visit.

The other thing is there is very little public transport accessibility to this place, like 3 buses a day or something to Palampur or nearby Chamunda. So it is better to visit here with an own vehicle or a rental vehicle.

Happy to help with any queries regarding traveling to this place!

[gauravdgr8]

Awesome pictures for a quaint hill station. Lots of activities to explore, however you need your own set of wheels. Good you did not have an agenda and only relaxed 😎

[raptor_diwan]

I really enjoyed reading your travelogue, and the food photos were truly tempting. I'm definitely considering trying something similar, thanks for sharing. The place seems wonderful and perfect for a solo trip.