Lucky is the traveler who manages to visit all the places that he or she set planned to. We were not as fortunate. So here is the list:
1. Khalanga War Memorial
When we set out on our Dehradun sightseeing tour, the Front Desk staff could not find the location of this monument though they made a lot of calls. When I mentioned to our driver that it is located somewhere in the vicinity of Sahastradhara, he spent a good 15 minutes asking around after leaving Sahastradhara. But no luck. It is sad that even the locals do not know much about the places to be visited in their own city.
Tip for fellow tourists – when you do your research before the trip, be sure to collect all the information about the location of places that you intend to visit. Do not assume the locals will know.
2. Kasauli
I asked everyone and everyone told me that Kasauli lies along the Chandigarh-Shimla route and it would not be feasible to take a detour to go there when you are on your way to Dehradun. So we had to drop the plan. What worries me is how much this quiet village would have changed by the time I manage to visit. I seriously hope I don’t end up seeing a McDonald’s there.
Tip for fellow tourists – keep an additional day in the schedule for unplanned activities.
3. Daat Kali Mandir
Based on my research on the net, I was under the impression that this temple would be quite big. I didn’t inquire about it because it was clear that whatever locations we had planned on covering would take up most of our day. But in hindsight I should have asked about it.
The reason I am saying so is because when we were traveling back to Chandigarh on the last day of our trip, I happened to see a temple with a board ‘Daat Kali Mandir‘. But given the fact that the driver was driving like a man possessed, I didn’t have the time or the heart to ask him to stop.
Tip for fellow tourists – follow the saying ‘Ask and you shall receive’.
4. Morani
We were traveling from Chandigarh to Dehradun when the driver told me about this place. According to him, one has to go down a mountain to reach a lake and it is very beautiful. ‘But it is dark now’ he said ruefully. On our way back to Chandigarh I saw directions for the same. Though it was daylight I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there. So we moved on.
Tip for fellow tourists – Ask the drivers if there are other places worth visiting and don’t hesitate to change your itinerary based on that.
5. Suketi Fossil Park
I had forgotten about it till I actually sat down to write this post. Its name had never come up during my pre-trip research but I saw directions for the same on our way back to Chandigarh – at least along part of the way. Then they disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared.
When I checked on the net just now, I found a review about this place on TripAdvisor. Not sure how I missed it earlier.
Tip for fellow tourists – when you feel as if you have all the information that you possibly could need, search a little bit longer. You might just have missed out on some ‘हटके’ spot.
6. Ancient Shiva Temple – स्वर्गकी दुसरी सिडी
This one goes down as my biggest regret of the trip. We had stepped in an eatery run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department on our way to Chandigarh. It has a fantastic location but pretty limited menu. We were not in mood for sandwiches or chhole-bhature or prantha. So we got back into the car and were soon on our way. A couple of minutes later the car negotiated a sharp turn and to my left this board with words like ‘Ancient Shiva Temple – स्वर्गकी दुसरी सिडी' swept into view. I had a glimpse of a gate and a walk through the forest area before the car moved on.
I now know we should have stopped and visited the place. I searched the net for some information about this temple but couldn’t find any. It probably has something to do about the ancient story of the Pandavas going to heaven after winning the battle at Kurukshetra.
Since coming back I must have kicked myself a thousand times, if not more, for not stopping that day. I doubt if I will ever be able to make it there.
I am almost tempted to say ‘Someday’. Then I remember what Tom Cruise's character said in Knight and Day:
Someday. That's a dangerous word. It's really just a code for 'never'. :(
1. Khalanga War Memorial
When we set out on our Dehradun sightseeing tour, the Front Desk staff could not find the location of this monument though they made a lot of calls. When I mentioned to our driver that it is located somewhere in the vicinity of Sahastradhara, he spent a good 15 minutes asking around after leaving Sahastradhara. But no luck. It is sad that even the locals do not know much about the places to be visited in their own city.
Tip for fellow tourists – when you do your research before the trip, be sure to collect all the information about the location of places that you intend to visit. Do not assume the locals will know.
2. Kasauli
I asked everyone and everyone told me that Kasauli lies along the Chandigarh-Shimla route and it would not be feasible to take a detour to go there when you are on your way to Dehradun. So we had to drop the plan. What worries me is how much this quiet village would have changed by the time I manage to visit. I seriously hope I don’t end up seeing a McDonald’s there.
Tip for fellow tourists – keep an additional day in the schedule for unplanned activities.
3. Daat Kali Mandir
Based on my research on the net, I was under the impression that this temple would be quite big. I didn’t inquire about it because it was clear that whatever locations we had planned on covering would take up most of our day. But in hindsight I should have asked about it.
The reason I am saying so is because when we were traveling back to Chandigarh on the last day of our trip, I happened to see a temple with a board ‘Daat Kali Mandir‘. But given the fact that the driver was driving like a man possessed, I didn’t have the time or the heart to ask him to stop.
Tip for fellow tourists – follow the saying ‘Ask and you shall receive’.
4. Morani
We were traveling from Chandigarh to Dehradun when the driver told me about this place. According to him, one has to go down a mountain to reach a lake and it is very beautiful. ‘But it is dark now’ he said ruefully. On our way back to Chandigarh I saw directions for the same. Though it was daylight I wasn’t sure how long it would take to get there. So we moved on.
Tip for fellow tourists – Ask the drivers if there are other places worth visiting and don’t hesitate to change your itinerary based on that.
5. Suketi Fossil Park
I had forgotten about it till I actually sat down to write this post. Its name had never come up during my pre-trip research but I saw directions for the same on our way back to Chandigarh – at least along part of the way. Then they disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared.
When I checked on the net just now, I found a review about this place on TripAdvisor. Not sure how I missed it earlier.
Tip for fellow tourists – when you feel as if you have all the information that you possibly could need, search a little bit longer. You might just have missed out on some ‘हटके’ spot.
6. Ancient Shiva Temple – स्वर्गकी दुसरी सिडी
This one goes down as my biggest regret of the trip. We had stepped in an eatery run by the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Department on our way to Chandigarh. It has a fantastic location but pretty limited menu. We were not in mood for sandwiches or chhole-bhature or prantha. So we got back into the car and were soon on our way. A couple of minutes later the car negotiated a sharp turn and to my left this board with words like ‘Ancient Shiva Temple – स्वर्गकी दुसरी सिडी' swept into view. I had a glimpse of a gate and a walk through the forest area before the car moved on.
I now know we should have stopped and visited the place. I searched the net for some information about this temple but couldn’t find any. It probably has something to do about the ancient story of the Pandavas going to heaven after winning the battle at Kurukshetra.
Since coming back I must have kicked myself a thousand times, if not more, for not stopping that day. I doubt if I will ever be able to make it there.
I am almost tempted to say ‘Someday’. Then I remember what Tom Cruise's character said in Knight and Day:
Someday. That's a dangerous word. It's really just a code for 'never'. :(
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