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A Silent escape to quietude | Kangra and Chamba (Jan 2014) – Part 7

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[ Earlier posts in this series:  Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5  | Part 6 ]     Day 5 : Amritsar & Wagah A non Himalayan day   This day’s account is not typically Himalayan – but nevertheless a part of my trip to Kangra & Chamba. It was around 6o clock in the morning when the bus reached Amritsar. From the bus stand, I walked towards the temple. I had heard that the temple offers rooms – but when I got there, I saw a massive queue wrapping around the booking desk. So I decided against waiting and initially headed to a hotel (which was super expensive). A good natured rickshaw guy guided me to a guest house, which looked clean and fitted my budget too.
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A Silent escape to quietude | Kangra and Chamba (Jan 2014) – Part 6

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  [ Earlier posts in this series:  Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5  ] Day 4 : Bharmour - Chamba contd…   C.     Bharmour It Is.. Finally without any more incident, we reached Bharmour - It seems as though I had Lord Manimahesh’s grace that day..   We got down from the shared cab and Sanjay warned me that I may not get return transport, hence it would be better to look around Bharmour and quickly and get back. With the snow around, I was tempted to stay overnight, but reality stepped in; Tomorrow would be the same problem - I wouldn't get transport well until 10 in the morning, and getting to Delhi back by Sunday would be difficult.   The main attraction in Bharmour is the Chaurasi temples (literally named after its 84 temples). Sanjay guided me to the temple complex (I mean, it was just a 5-minute walk, though navigating the thick snow made every step a hilarious balance test! ). It was ...
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A Silent escape to quietude | Kangra and Chamba (Jan 2014) – Part 5

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[Earlier posts in this series:  Part 1  |  Part 2  |  Part 3 | Part 4  ]    B. Life is full of uncertainties !! Turning a bit philosophical, am I not? Well, that’s how life’s subtle lessons hit you—through raw, unexpected experience .   Here I was, (kind of) stranded in a tiny village about 14 kilometres short of my destination, completely uncertain if I’d actually make it to Bharmour today . And then, I had already walked close to 7kms to get to this place Khadamukh, and I was not sure if   I should push ahead or if I should turn back and walk the same 7kms and try to get a bus back to Chamba.
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A Silent escape to quietude | Kangra and Chamba (Jan 2014) – Part 4

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    [ Earlier posts in this series: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 ]       Day 4 : Bharmour - Chamba   The epic day !!!   Last night, the bus had started a bit late. It was supposed to reach Bharmour by 5am. I thought I’ll spend some time there, head to Chamba and if possible, Khajjiar. But then, everything doesn't happen as planned, does it?!!   (Coming to think of it, I picked Bharmour out of sheer impulse ! At that time, I did not know that Bharmour was more a gateway to the holy Manimahesh Kailash Yatra. My colleague in office (who’s senior and well-traveled) had once mentioned to me that he had once gone to Bharmour to audit a branch of the Punjab National Bank there, and told me how beautiful it was.   And now, while sitting in Dharamsala and deciding where to go next, I was browsing the HRTC (Himachal roadways) website – I put Dharamsala as the source, and in the destinations that popped up, I saw Bharmour list...
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