The Holy City- Haridwar

The Siva's Statue at Haridwar

The city of Haridwar

     

                Haridwar, the holy city on the banks of the river ganga is a major tourist attraction for Indian pilgrims. Being an adventurous youngster looking for some fun I couldn't find it very appealing though. The reasons may be a bit obvious after reading this blog. A six hour bus journey from New Delhi lands someone to this tiny place bustling with tourist activity. I had travelled these six hours in an Uttar Pradesh Transport bus (with heating facility; As if I know what help would that be during Summers!). A Volvo bus would have cost four times the amount but would have been ten times more comfortable. Can't blame a soul for not getting into it. This is a common woe of cash strapped students all over the sub-continent. So after all those hours into a wooden bench with a thin strip of foam, bouncing recklessly over the great Indian pot holes I couldn't curse myself enough for my choice of a retreat.

              The city didn't seem much hospitable either. A guy in his twenties moving around in a cap and glares with a bag on his shoulders was a bit of an attraction for the people of that place. The reason may be my typical tourist attire making me a customer for the numerous shopkeepers and Rickshaw wallahs there. The entire city is basically stretched along the road connecting the bus stand to Har ki paudi ( the ghats, and the soul of Haridwar). Moreover it has nothing much to offer other than the ganges and temples along its banks. Since I was too young to marry or bear a child (which is anyways a strict no no in India without marrying) and blessed enough not to lose a kin I couldn't appreciate the beauty of the overcrowded ghats or the temples that mushroomed around it.

       Another factor that soiled the trip was the gruesome heat and the scorching Sun. I knew the weather is not much of a sport during the summer season  in these areas and may not be of much help to travellers coming from the sub-continent but this was particularly appaling for someone who had braved a six hour long bus journey to get to this place. The over crowded atmosphere of the city makes the weather even stuffier during summers. And being the person who prefers his own company and cherishes a quiet walk I wasn't particular pleased with all the crowd.The only retreat from the dusty, overcrowded streets are the banks of river Ganga. A dip in the cool waters can completely refresh a corpse leave alone a vibrant human being. The ganga makes up for all the lacunas of the city and the sight of the holy river and a dip in its cool waters makes up for everything the city doesn't offer otherwise. I did the same and all I could mutter was "Har Har Gangay".

The ghats at Har ki Pauri

      What the city does offer is a variety of Hotels and Dharamshalas for the visitors. A wide range of these rest houses caters the needs of all the visitors travelling to Haridwar. Most of the hotels are quite cheap, a standard double-bed room can cost anything between Rs. 500- 750 and offers decent facilities. I chose a cheap hotel for myself. It looked as if it was a house being renovated. the room was decent and comfortable. But I know for sure that it was plain luck that I didn't encounter mosquitoes at night. I would suggest carrying a repellent. As far as I experienced there are quite a many hotels and rest rooms here.There is room for everyone, which is a high point and therefore advance bookings are generally unnecessiated (barring the festive season). Most of the luxury hotels are situated at the periphery, on the road connecting Haridwar to Rishikesh and look pretty decent for a lodging.

                 There are more than a dozen food joints in the city. The restaurants are mostly ( if not wholly) vegetarian and offer a decent variety of eatables. Being the foodie types the "Food" factor is a turn on for me. I expected to find atleast a couple of decent Non-Veg joints but was disappointed. Vegans don't have to sulk though-There are pizza outlets and multi- speciality restaurants for them but something which catches the eye is " The Dosa Plaza". With more than 104 varieties of Dosas it is an awesome place to eat and the dosas are a delight. I was salivating every time I had the first bite and though I was fully stuffed my tongue generally craved for more. The dosas were crisp and savoury and their fillings delicious.There are dosas of every style; chinese, italian and traditional indian ones being the hot favourites. In addition to it there are a variety of Uttapams, Rice and Punjabi snacks. I have personally had only dosas and curd rice but I was impressed with each and every dosa I ordered.The price is very pocket friendly and the ambience of the place is comfortable and cool. A must visit for a refreshingly new experience.

     The main attraction of Haridwar lies in its ghats. If one really wants to enjoy these ghats, he should visit them at dawn or during dusk. The water is cool and amazing. The giant statue of Lord Siva, the flowing ganges and the mesmerising beauty of the hills in backdrop is a feast to the eyes. There are many temples on the banks of the river where important hindu rituals are performed. Priests, Sadhus and pilgrims are a common sight at the ghats. The flipside of these ghats is their being overcrowded. For people who would love to spend a quiet time by the river- go to Rishikesh, Haridwar is simply not meant for it.

  

Dehradun

Road to Dehradun

 On 16th March 2012, I undertook a trip to Dehradun by bus. An adventurous trip, as it was meant to be started in the Delhi metro which took me to the Anand Vihar ISBT where I boarded an Uttarkhand Travels bus to Dehradun. This was the first adventure trip I was to have on my own. The bus was a standard, non AC bus offering minimal comfort but a cheap ride. I got half a seat, thanks to the fat gentle man  seated next to me. Cursing obesity and the gentleman I kept on shifting and turning to save my body from being paralyzed.The bright spot was that the ticket from Delhi to Dun costed 183 Rs., a cheap affair. The bus takes some time to get out of Delhi as Ghaziabad suffers from the problem of traffic congestion. It could have been a nightmare but by God's grace the time for my trip was pleasant as the day was warm and the nights cool, offering me a lot of relief. The bus takes almost six hours to reach Dehradun making a half an hour stop at the Midway restaurant to cater to the needs of the travellers. The restaurant is expensive and the quality of food is unmistakably not upto the standards of a decent restaurant. I felt a knot building up my stomach having to pay Rs.5 extra on a chips pack of Rs.10 i.e. an increase by 50%. It can be avoided without any regrets.  Anyways it wasn't too bad for the first time.The next stop, the bus makes is at Roorkee (known for having the prestigious IIT). The halt is for a duration of five to ten minutes at the bus stand. Moving towards Dun from Roorkee turns out to be a feast for the eyes. Forests and Valleys surround the road to Dehradun. As the bus takes the road upwards to the hill, the sights grow more pleasant and the bus, slower.

      As I had to meet a friend at Roorkee who would accompany me to Dun I had the opportunity to get out of the bus and stretch my legs. The trip from Roorkee to Dun was amazing thanks to the enjoyable and pleasant company of my school time buddy. Moreover the natural beauty of the place is enthralling even from the bus. Mesmerised by the scenic beauty and the school time memories I arrived to Dehradun by nightfall.

The Clock Tower in Dehradun

    Dehradun is a small place, a sleepy town which welcomes visitors rather well. The cordial attitude of the people won't overshadow the fact that travellers may be hassled by autorickshaws fighting over them. We face the same hassling at the bus stop which disturbed my friend a little. But we soon got over it and boarded a Rickshaw to a nearby hotel.Too tired from a long trip we settled for a quick rest. One of the nearest hotels to the bus stand which offers a peaceful and decently comfortable stay is "Sunder Palace". Moderately priced, it offers modest rooms with basic amenities like hot water, t.v and 24 hours room service. The attraction of the place is the food, which is good to taste and isn't heavily priced. An A.C Room for two costs around Rs. 1500, while a meal (for two) would cost somewhere between Rs. 200-300. We quickly ordered some food for ourselves as we were totally famished. The quantity and quality of the food was a pleasant surprise for us. Tired of the long trip I soon was asleep. I got up late the next morning. We had a quick breakfast and went around to explore the city. Staying at Delhi doesn't help you appreciate the amenities a city like Dehradun provides which my friend stuck up in Roorkee did. Instead of concentrating on exploring the town we trekked towards the valleys. We came back dead tired at night. We had some supper in our room and then went off to sleep. The staff of the hotel was helpful and polite making the stay pleasant.


        Dehradun enjoys the bounty of nature. To be able to enjoy the place, visitors need to trek to nearby areas such as Jharipani which would ensure their bonding with the nature. The forests and valleys appear beautiful and the experience takes a man far from the hustle and bustle of modern day life. One can visit some famous schools in the vicinity which are marvellous constructions and a sight to watch resting on the top of the hills or at the bottom of the valleys. Some of them, such as the Oak Grove school are quite old and are beautiful specimens of British architecture. The town is not much to watch and resembles any other town of India. What makes it worthy of a visit is the abundance of nature in the place, the opportunities for adventure sports such as trekking nad rafting and a quiet retreat from the busy life of a large city.

  The return journey was more comfortable in comparison as I was able to catch an Uttarakhand Travels AC Luxury coach. It costed twice the amount of money but ensured a comfortable travel especially when it took me an hour more to reach Delhi on account of heavy traffic at Ghaziabad. The comfort was balanced by the sorrow of parting with my friend who helped me forget everything for a couple of days and just enjoy life. But the mood changed as soon as I set my foot in Delhi and as usual it was buisness the next day onwards.