We had been planning this trip for ages. It was supposed to be my friend, her daughter, me, and Little N. Coordinating dates was a nightmare, but once we sorted that out, we were off!

We began our adventure on the 16th, heading to Chandigarh. This was my first trip with Little N without my spouse. I was a bit worried since my spouse usually handled Little N during trips, leaving me free to enjoy the scenery and take photos. This time, I had to juggle everything.

Exploring Chandigarh

We stayed the night in Chandigarh and started our day with a visit to the Rock Garden. This place is amazing, with sculptures made entirely from industrial waste and discarded items. Nek Chand Saini, a government official, created this masterpiece secretly in his spare time back in 1957. It covers 40 acres and feels like a hidden world of art and creativity.

A craft lover myself was mind blown to see his creativity. The faces of these scriptures are so beautiful that I kept staring at them for a while. Broken bangles, ceramics, electrical items, stones.. it’s just rubbish pieces for all of us in which he got this creation!

Next, we visited the Doll’s Museum, where we saw rag dolls crafted by Nek Chand in the 1970s. Despite the scorching 40 Degrees heat, the kids loved these locations. We were exhausted by the end, so we skipped boating at Sukhna Lake. Instead, we indulged in some fresh cucumbers from a nearby vendor, which helped us stay hydrated.

Our train tickets to Shimla from Kalka didn’t get confirmed and we couldn’t get tatkal tickets too, much to the kids’ disappointment. We promised them the toy train ride next time.

We hired a taxi and set off for Shimla, thinking it would be a four-hour journey. However, due to bad roads, landslide repairs, and traffic jams, it took us six hours. The kids kept asking, “Amma, when will we reach?” At first, we tried to tell them the philosophical  line “Enjoy the journey, not just the destination” but that didn’t last long.

To distract ourselves, we looked outside and admired the deodar trees, pine flowers, beautiful buildings, and black-faced monkeys. We even found ourselves humming “Piya Basanti Re” as tiny white flowers along the roadside reminded me of the song. Isn’t it wonderful how journeys can connect you to songs or movies?

We found the hills were covered with some and our driver told us about the forest fires on the way. Most of them were lit by the forest department to control the accidental fires, and to burn the dried grass it seems. Those were controlled-fires according to him. But the smoky mountains didn’t look good to us.

The salt vendors near the roadside struck a beautiful conversation with our very talkative driver, Sagar ji. He talked about the various types of salts available with them and the uses. I learned something new – cattle here are fed with salt! I wonder if we also do the same down the South? Are you aware of it?

After an extra two hours on the road, we finally reached our destination for the night. We had dinner, played Uno, and then drifted off to sleep, ready for the adventures awaiting us in Shimla.

The second day of our journey was a mix of excitement, exhaustion, and unexpected delays. But it set the stage for the memories we were about to create.

A.