Garhmukteshwar- Dip, Pray, Breathe

Garhmukteshwar is about 90 km from Delhi, on NH24 enroute to beautiful Nainital. It is an unfancied tourist spot, which only gets a distant glance as the hill bound tourist only slows down to steal a glance at the mighty Ganga flowing beneath the bridge and toss a coin into the river for a slice of good luck.

Garhmukteshwar is Delhi's closest view of the mighty Ganga. Take the left road down as you approach the bridge, park your car at the end of the road and walk down to the paved ghat area. It is business as usual, as is wont of any ghat on the Ganga, filled with all kinds of people, from the preists to the soothsayers, to people who have come for a holy dip or simply for the fun of taking a dip, not to mention of the boating crowd hagling away with the boatmen for a ride.

During the monsoons, the river flows at its mightiest, the landscape seems quite distant across the river on the farside. The water seems to be much cleaner than at Haridwar, and ofcourse the crowd much less.

Take a dip in the clear flowing water, or simply sit by it and be at peace, a small slice of life you wouldn't forget in a hurry. Or you can take a boat ride to the middle of the river, enjoy the cool breeze, stare at the calmly flowing water and forget the worries of life. There are no traffic snarls, no honking from behind, just your boat, the sound of the wind whispering in your ear, the mighty river in front and the ghats in the distance. The city is a distant dream.

Kasauli, A walk in the clouds

If you want to get away from the heat and dust of Delhi, not go too far up the mountains, and yet want to breathe in the pristine mountain air , dump yourself into a comfortable deck chair and tell yourself you are not going  to do any thing today, then Kasauli , tucked away in a corner enroute to Shimla (turn left from the highway, 60km before Shimla) is the perfect place for you. Kasauli is a small hill station, a cantonment area where the military hold sway, and consequently still retains its pristine charm, with no crass commercialisation spoiling the natural beauty typical of a hill station.

As i mentioned, if you intend to do nothing , then this is the place for you, for there is absolutely nothing to do. Get up in the morning and breathe in the fresh misty air, a

steaming cup of tea later step out into the misty morning and trudge along the winding roads loosening those limbs which have stiffened over the years due to lack of any physical activity.There is no traffic on the roads and the way is all yours, you are suddenly reminded "What’s this life so full of care, when we have no time to stand and stare?" Stare at the hills around, stare at the flowers, and breathe in deep, as you wander through the mist and clouds, there is no one and nothing around to hurry you. Walk around and across the town, you'd feel that you haven't felt so alive in a long while.

Go to the various view points in the evening , and watch the swirling clouds beneath you (see the photographs below) as the evening sets in and you would feel like god staring at the earth below.

If you are a mall person, then this is not the place for you for the mall road here is quite small and unimpressive. Make sure you book well ahead, as weekends are always full and the hotels charges can be quite atrocious, but be rest assured, at the end of the visit you will tell yourself "I will be back !".