Trip to Indo-Pak Border on Independence Day

Hello guys, here I am with yet another exiting trip. I hope you liked my last 2 blogs and now I am going to share the experience of my new trip. When you will talk about Indo-Pak border with anyone, they will come up with one name Wagha border. In my first blog I told you guys that I will share less explored location’s experience with you guys. So, this time I am going to share the experience of Indo-Pak border. This location is around 430 KM from Delhi and is in Punjab. The border name is Sadqi border.

It was Friday, I was going to my hometown Fazilka. I reached Fatehpuri (new old Delhi railway station) to take a bus for my hometown. Currently, there is only one direct bus to reach my hometown. You can take train till Abohar and then can take local bus from Abohar to reach Fazilka. Bus departs around 10:00 PM and I was very excited because I was going home after 4-5 months. I called my dad and informed him that I am coming home.

Next morning around 7:00 AM I reached my home town. My dad was waiting for me at bus stand; I hugged my dad and reached my home. The feeling to be at home is quite awesome, we can’t express these feelings in words. My cousins came to meet me early morning, they all were waiting for me. While talking we planned to visit Sadqi border which is around 10-15 KM from my town. Fazilka is a small town but you will get everything in this town. It is famous for three things Border, Punjabi Jooti and local sweet called Tosha. 

There are only 3 hotels to stay and charges are reasonable. Food quality is also very good as compare to other cities you can try pure cow/buffalo milk, butter, lassi and desi ghee.

On Independence day: Around 5:00 PM we started our journey to Indo-Pak Border- to reach border you can choose to walk, or opt for motorbike, cycle, autorikshaw, car. Retreat ceremony timing varies in summer and winner. We reached border around 5:20 PM by bike. Road condition is very good and straight from the town to border.

On the way to border

Border

Retreat Ceremony

The feeling is totally different when you see a retreat ceremony between 2 counties. I knew the ceremony of Amritsar is world famous but the feeling at Sadqi border is also awesome. After ceremony you will get enough time to click photographs. While returning from border it is a tradition to visit 'Martyr Dargah'. There is a story behind this which you can read when you will visit this place.

In the evening you can explore the local market. You can try local dishes golgappa, aalu tikki made with pure ghee and local lemon juice. Annie's bakery is famous for their cakes and pastries in the town.

Next day spent time to explore the city and shopping. Punjabi jooti and local dish tosha is very famous that i have mentioned earlier. Few old monuments are in the city which you can explore like Gol kothi (Near Badha river) and Raghuvar Bhawan outside the city.

In the evening took a bus from Fazilka at 7:30 PM to Delhi and came back to the city were people don’t have enough time and are always in hurry.

Fare

Delhi to Fazilka

Non-AC bus: 550 approx.

Volvo AC Bus: 650 approx.

Volvo sleeper: 750 approx.

Hotel Starts from: 400-500 approx. (Per Night)

Fazilka to Border

Auto: 200-250 approx. (Both Side)

Taxi: 400-500 approx. (Both Side)

Shopping

Punjabi Jutti starts from: 400 approx.

Tosha: 200/kg approx.

Fazilka to Border

Non-AC bus: 550 approx.

Volvo AC Bus: 650 approx.

Volvo sleeper: 750 approx.

Sudden Trip To Ajmer Sharif (Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty)

I hope you guys liked my first blog and thank you for your valuable comments and feedbacks. Today I am going to share my trip experience of world famous place which is known by several names "Ajmer Sharif, Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty, Garib Nawaz".

It was Saturday, I got a call from one of my friend that he needs few stuff. I asked him to come to my room and picked them up. He came to my room around 8:00 PM and I came to know that he is going to Ajmer Sharif. I never been there and asked him what’s the plan, budget and for how many days he is going. He said, he is going with his friends and they will return by Monday morning. The budget was around 2000. After listening to his plan, I told him that “I am also coming with you”.

I packed my backpack and gave him the stuff he came for. We reached ISBT around 9:00 P.M. His friends were waiting for him. He introduced me with them and we took a bus for Amjer. This was also a budget trip so we took ordinary bus and by Delhi to Amjer is around 7-8 hrs journey. Initially, only formal conversation was happening between all of us. Everyone was talking about their respective office, work and all formal stuff. Around 1:00 A.M, bus halted on a Dhaba. We guys were hungry and the worst part was the Dhaba’s  food which was actually not good and not even they had a food menu. So, we just had coke and chips in dinner as we didn’t had any other option.

Early morning, halt was again on a local Dhaba. As we guys just had coke and chips last night so we all were hungry. I took a milk bottle (like amul cool) for me and my friend. While I was going to pay the amount, i asked him "bhaiya kitne hue", he said 150. I was shocked and told them "Bhai Sherni ka dhoodh hai kya". Everyone started laughing and shop keeper felt very bad. I gave him 100 bucks and we boarded the bus again. We reached Ajmer around 7:00 A.M. We took local auto from bus stand and reached Delhi Gate near dargah. We took a room for 2 hours and had some rest. After getting fresh we bought chaader and flower.

Dargah was full of people and it took us 1.30 mins to across the auspicious sight of holy Mazaar. Feeling was awesome and can’t be explained in words. It feels so very good, mind and heart will feel relaxed after having that auspicious sight of Mazaar.

Inside Dargah

Market Near Dargah

Ajmer's 'Red Meat' is very famous around the world. We had our food and went to the historical building around the dargah. Pushkar is around 40 KM from Ajmer because of time constraint we were unable to visit Pushkar. Pushkar is also one of the very famous place in Rajasthan. It is famous for Load Brahma's temple, Pushkar fair and Pushkar Lake.

While leaving from Ajmer to Delhi, we had decided to cover Jaipur also. We left around 2:30 P.M from Ajmer and reached Jaipur around 5 P.M. When we reached Jaipur we came to know that all the monuments are closed today apart from "Hawa Mahal". We dropped our plan to explore Jaipur and took bus for Delhi. We boarded the bus at 6:30 P.M and reached Delhi around 1:30 A.M.

Suggestion

Who am I to suggest anyone to visit the Dargah. You will visit the dargah when Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chishty will call you. But try to visit dargah in Monsoon, autumn, pre-winter and winter.

Fare

"Delhi to Ajmer"

Ordinary bus- 400 approx.

Semi-Deluxe-700 approx.

Volvo- 900 approx.

"Amjer Bus Stand to Delhi Gate (Dargah)"

Auto- Rs. 10

Taxi- 300-400 approx.

"Hotel @ Delhi Gate"

Rs. 400 for 2 hours

1 day stay- starting from 800 approx.

"Ajmer to Jaipur"

Ordinary bus- 120 approx.

Semi-Deluxe and Volvo (Didn't find any option)

"Jaipur to Delhi"

Ordinary bus- 250 approx.

Semi-Deluxe- 600 approx.

Volvo- 800 approx.

Do share your experience too which will will give us more insights.

An Unplanned Trip To Narkanda

This is the first time I am writing a blog. These days we all read the same line on every blog but trust me this is my first time.

I am working for a company in Gurgaon and I love travelling and adventure. I have traveled to a lot of places in Himachal. Now I want to share my latest trip experience.

A trip to Narkanda & Hatu Peak (Himchal)

Before travelling to Narkanda, I always used to consider Mcleodganj as my second home. But when I visited this place, now I can say I got another home. This place is actually very beautiful. I visited this place in month of June'16 and temperature was somewhere around 13-14 degree Celsius. Narkanda is a gateway to apple country of Himachal and It is a very good option for skiers. Slopes are very good and it snows till March in the region.

Day 0: I left my office early but I had no plan and I had not even decided any place to travel. The first place that came into my mind was Mcleodganj then Manali. Then suddenly a new name came in my mind Narkanda. I read about Narkanda in Google and took my decision. I reached ISBT and took a bus for Shimla.

Day 1: Bus reached Shimla at around 6 AM. From Shimla one needs to take a bus or taxi to Narkanda. I asked the way to reach "Narkanda" from local people. The local people were very helpful, they told me the bus timing, way to reach, famous places in Narkanda. I took the very next bus to Narkanda. Bus will take 2-3 hrs to reach Narkanda. The road is in very good condition. If you want, you can rent a bike for Narkanda which is very easily available from Shimla. The route to reach Narkanda is Shimla - Kufri - Fagu - Narkanda. The distance is somewhere around 65 KM from Shimla.

I reached Narkanda at around 10 AM. It is a very small town of Himachal so if you are looking for a peaceful place or a place where you just want to relax/rejuvenate yourself then this is the place. Not over crowed like Shimla, Manali. Every type of hotel options is available in Narkanda like "Resort, luxury, budget and home stay". As I am a budget traveler so I took home stay near to the main market. The best thing about the home was that you can see the magical view of Tibet Himalaya from the balcony.

"Narkanda"

Food options are very less in Narkanda. I tried food at every restaurant and very nominal in comparison to other hill stations.

Trekking Time: I love trekking and I found an option in Narkanda as well. After interacting with the local people, I came to know about the trekking option in Narkanda named "Hatu Peak". It’s total 11 KM trek from the main market. You can also take your bike, 4 wheelers till "Hatu Peak" top. Hatu peak is at the height of "11152 ft. (3400 mtr.)" from the sea level. It’s easy to moderate trek. It will take around 3-4 Hrs. to reach on the top. In a clear day you can see the White Mountains with naked eyes. On the top there is a "Kali Mata Temple". If you like camping, then this is the place where you can do camping as well. But it’s recommended to carry enough food because you will hardly find anything on the top. Tip for trekking "always carry water and something to eat".

"Trekking Road"

"Hatu Peak"

"View From Hatu Peak"

"Kali Mandir"

Day 2: I took a bus from Narkanda to Shimla. I got good time to explore Shimla as well. If you have not booked your return ticket, then there is Himachal Tourism office on mall road from where you can book your return ticket. If you are not very tired, you can take a walk to "Jakhu Temple". It will take around 30-45 mins (a steep Climb) to reach the temple. Beware of the monkeys at Jakhu temple because they can steal your goggles, mobiles, bags even your shoes. Jakhu is an ancient temple of “Hanuman Ji”. You can read the history of the temple in the premises itself. If you are hungry then you can have “Langer” in Jakhu temple.

Way Back to daily boring life: It’s a 10 mins walk from Mall road to old Shimla bus stop. I took a local bus towards new bus stand. Boarded the bus at 8:30 PM and reach Delhi next morning at 6:30 A.M

Bus Fare 

“Delhi to Shimla”

Ordinary bus- 600 approx.

Semi-Deluxe- 800 approx.

Volvo- 1200 approx.

“Shimla to Narkanda”

Ordinary bus: 120 approx.

Taxi: 1500-2000 approx.

“Old Bus Stand to New Bus Stand”

Ordinary Bus: Rs. 10

Taxi: 400 – 500 approx.

Do share your feedback and will come back with other excited trips.