YoLO so.... SOLO - Part ONE

Of all the GenZ terms, the only one I have begun to relate to is YOLO (You Only Live Once), a modern take on what millennials referred to as 'carpe diem'. As if YOLO wasn't clear enough, I am made to understand that there is another one that's fresh in the GenZ acronym-market called 'DITP' (Do it for the Plot)'. Let's just say- all of these above slangs have been playing a key role since a month in GYFW (Get Your Feet Wet) - apologies, I do acknowledge it's a millennial's poor attempt to be cool! Back to the point- I did get my feet wet- literally (in Ganga) as well as figuratively - by taking up a SOLO (no, it's not an acronym yet) trip, my first ever! So, this one is just going to be about me re-living the 5 days which I spent up north in Mussoorie and Rishikesh! Part ONE covers my Mussoorie experience ....

Mountains of Mussoorie and river of Rishikesh

Chapter 1: The background

Jaa Simran, jee le apni zindagi !

I guess when life shocks you, you decide to shock it back- by doing/trying things that your life hasn't experienced it yet. I was the Simran, though clearly not as flustered as in the picture while my wife perfectly portrayed Bauji -by quickly moving from shock to happiness (In your happiness lies my happiness equivalent) ! Of course, booking my return ticket helped convince her unlike Simran who went to her Raj-La-Land on a one way ticket (or was it ticketless)! And thus I went, quickly from DDLJ to .........ZNMD !!

Chapter 2: The shocking 4C's of Mussoorie

1. Crowd:

   

   Monday afternoon crowd in Landour(Mussoorie)

   The best part about going solo is not that you can travel without co-ordinating with prospective companion's calendar- It's actually the fact that you don't need to click anyone else's pictures! Well, it took the naive solo traveller in me few minutes after reaching Landour to realise it was a fallacy! Many couples and tourists see a budding photographer in solo traveller and there I was, hoping the phone turns into a gun and I would happily shoot them! My attempts to get a clear shot of the prettiest churches in the mountains of Landour was met with disappointment - as all I got was shots of ugliest people (except me, ofcourse!) It was only when I came back to my room did I realise that all my selfies had more than 1 person in background and no, I don't believe in ghosts! Landour bakehouse (super famous bakery with rich history) had a 45 min waiting time to enter (for a solo seat which I was ok to share) and to put things in perspective, this magnitude of crowd was on a Monday afternoon! (I eventually jostled my way in for a take-away)

2. Cold weather:

   

   4 layers, heater, warmers, soup, tea and a Mumbaikar!

   While the picture enunciates the situation wherein I was trying to stay warm in every which way (from 30 deg to 3 deg), the Mumbikar in me went one step further by placing all 4 layers in front of the electric heather hoping the layers absorb heat and then transfer that heat to my body when I wear them!

   Fun story: I spent a night in a hostel in Mussoorie (YOLO, ZNMD and shit) when temperatures plummeted to 3 degrees and the heater was heating nothing but itself. It was only in the morning that I realised that there was a glaring gap between the balcony door and the floor which was letting in the cold air through the night! I cut short my Mussoorie stay by 1 night after that episode!

   

   Situation in Hostel: Heater vs the cold air from the gap

   3. Commercial intent:

   Yes, Landour is 2200 m above sea level but that's no excuse for sky-high prices and unreasonable excuses to charge tourists. Some examples: (a) Lal Tibba point restaurant in Landour charges INR 50 just to enter, thanks to its location (b) A cab from Landour to Mall road charges INR 1000 for 4.5kms if booked directly and INR 2000 if booked from the hotel (c) Paneer Tikka Croissant in Landour Bakehouse costs INR 320++ (d) Indiscriminate parking allowed in and around Mussoorie/Landour by thugs who charge INR 100 for parking and thereby blocking half the roads.

   Chaotic area of Chaar Dukaan in Landour

   4. Clear Skies:

   I guess, I will just let the pictures do the talking for this one. Delhi-ites and Mumbaikars can try breathing through these pictures!

   

   AQI was IQA (Incredible Quality of Air)

   Chapter 3: WTBPF ! (What to be Prepared for !)

• Lots of Walking: Local Mussoorie (mall road) and Landour is best covered by foot and thankfully the weather helped. For those who mind walking but dont mind haggling, there are electric golf carts and cycle rickshaws to the rescue! I definitely loved walking ....atleast in Mussoorie and Rishikesh as is evident from the chart below! And walking brings us to the next thing to keep an eye out for..

  

• Local hideouts: While there will always be those 'popular-on-Instagram' outlets which charge exorbitantly, keep an eye out for local favourites which serve fresh and reasonably priced food. Sharing some of them for Mussoorie ,marked out on google maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QjkhTEY2Fty4mNRY7?g_st=aw

  

  Vocal for Local food!

• Driver's music taste: Back home, its a fight between you and your spouse or kid on the kind of music to listen to in the car....sadly there is no respite during your solo vacation! You may be feeling pumped up but driver may have just had a fight with his wife, you maybe tired but driver may be in the mood for Punjabi rap , you may be feeling romantic and driver devotional....there is no way out as I found out (check out this video) except having your own playlist and earphones OR an open mind!

Driver was feeling devotionally sombre and I let him be in the driver's seat

• Narrowest & steepest roads: If you plan to self-drive especially in and around Mussoorie, ensure you have imbibed the principles of Buddha- here's a quick summary for the potential brave-hearts: Gautam Buddha's teachings revolve around the Four Noble Truths, which state that life involves suffering, suffering is caused by craving and attachment, suffering can cease, and a path to end suffering exists. However, if you lack patience and judgement, let the locals drive. There are locals waiting at steep curves who charge INR 500 just to help the driver negotiate those 1-2 steep curves.

  And while walking makes much more sense in this terrain, remember the enthusiasm with which you rush downhill will comeback to haunt you on your return leg! Pounding heart, gasping lungs and sore feet are a given if you are a wee bit unfit but then what better way to burn those parathas and momos!

  
  
  
  

  Walking uphill is truly an uphill task

  Part TWO of my Rishikesh journey will be out soon....Till then BYE BYE from the Queen of Hills:

  
  

  

  When the Pawn meets the Queen

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