Let me start by introducing myself. I was a happy go lucky single, who took the detour towards the road of Marriage. Well, yes how do the places come into picture you will know. The year started with me finding my Prince Charming, well thats what they tell you in all the stories right. I will stick with the fairy tale phrase. Thats when my journey began....In January I got engaged and my price charming crossed seven seas to be away from me. yes, you got it right, I was living in India and he was in the US. So once we got engaged he had to join work so he went back. And I decided to have fun and explore my country before I left for states. Well, a girl gotta do what she has gotta do.
Place 1:-SHIMLA
This was the first trip I went on with my friends. Well, let me tell you it sure was fun. We started te journey by taking Shapadi to Shimla. Well, it does not dirctly go there and it takes about 5 hours to reach Kalka. Kalka is like four hours away from Shimla. The train is awesome and they keep serving you food so you are always well fed and taken care of and it rocks. Once we reached
Kalka, we took the Toy Train to Shimla.
Toy Train:- Its a small train that goes on Hills. Its special in Shimla and was built by the britishers when they were ruling India. Its speed is slow and it can get really cold once you reach the top. So be prepared to wear warm clothes when you sit in the train. The compartments are small and cozy to be honest.
The toy Train takes about 6 hours to reach Shimla and its well worth it. You go though tunnels and its a ride of your life. we went in January and it was awfully cold and by the train the train reached the top it was snowing and let me tell you the view was spectuclar.
The hotels in Shimla can be expensive. The one we took we really bargained for it and one room costed us like some 1100 Rs. I am sure many of you can find cheaper hotels but our was really nice. The food was awesome. You should visit the churches, Hanuman temple and the mall road when you are in Shimla. Bargaining should be done so you can get the right price for things.
If you like sonw you should go to Kufri. It is some 19 miles form the city. It can be crowded during high season. Kufri is a winter capital and you can do a lot of activities there like snowboarding, sking and all. Everyone is bound to have fun there and we also had lots of fun.
The 3 days went in a blur doing all these wonderful things. We took a taxi back to kalka to board the train. While coming back you have to try the timber trail which is some 1/2 away from kalka. Tis trolley takes you on great altitudes and you get a spectuclar view.
Shilma certainly rocks and so does the whole Himachal.
Place 2:-ALLAHABAD
There are many trains which go from delhi to Allahabad and its a 9 hours journey. My childhood was spent in this amazing city. I would suggest that you take a night train to reach it so that your journey is comfortale. Once an empeor came and by the beauty of the place said this place is "Allah ke baad" (After God) so the name Allahabad. It a holy place also know as Prayag. Here all the three holy rivers Ganaga, Jamuna, Swarswati meet. Its hosts the Kumb mela each year and the maha Kumb in like some 10 years on the banks of the rivers.
The places to visit here are the Anand Bhawan, this was the house of Chacha Nehru. The all Saints Cathedral is an amazing piece of Art. Its in the middle of the cant area and is a must see.
You have to Visit the Sangam area and watch the sunset there, its quiet and peaceful. You can also take a boat ride and do bargain the fares. It can cost you about 75 Rs to go for a ride for the whole family. Its worth it...
Places to eat:- It has all modern places like Mc Donalds and Domonios in the Civil Lines area. You still need to try some local places. RR Tradition in the main civil lines area servers amazing sizzlers. Hot Stuff has been an all time favourite with youngsters with mind blowing thick shakes. We used to love this place in school time. Civil Lines was our main hanging area.
El Chicos is one pastry shop you do not want to miss and they serve amazing snacks too. The restaurant is expensive but their pastry shop rocks. The nest stop would be Paradise it servers food haldiram style and is affordable, and there are two of them. You have to try the laddus of Kamdhenu, you will never want to eat any other laddus after that, and they are about 300 Rs a kg. I just adore thezse laddoos.
Place 3 :- JABALPUR
Jabalpur is an overnight journey from Delhi and a few hours away from Allahabad. This is where my Masi lives and I adore her after my mom. I have some very nice memories in Jabalpur from time to time that I visited it. Its a very big city with amazing culture. The must see place in this city is Bhedaghat or the Marble rocks. This a a smaller version of the Niagra, a much smaller version. The boat rides among the rocks is just amazing though and you get all sorts of things made out of marble here. Dhuadhar is the waterfall created by the falling narmada here. You can also visit the Madan Mahal fort here which is nice and has balancing rocks near it.
Place 3:- HYDERABAD
My brother lives in Hyderabad and I planned a long vacation when I visited him. It was a bit crazy and tiring as my mom ended up getting sick and i had to extened my leaves from work. Let me tell you it was worth it. In this trip I went to Shridi, Hyderabad and Vizag. Yeah, I know I am nuts but thats the fun of living.
Hyderabad
This city has a unique spell. Anyone who has visited it can tell you that for sure. The necklace road has a wonderful view of this gigantic lake. In the middle of this lake resides the buddha statue. You need to take a small boat to reach it and enjoy the view. There is a large food court here with multiple cuisines. You also need to visit the NTR gardens, they are fun and unique. I loved it there with huge animal figues made across and fun things to do inside the park.
Ramoji City is a must see place when you visit this city of dreams and wonder. It will take a whole day so plan ahead of time. There are so many things to do inside, its the Indian Universal Studio. Take the bus tour inside the Ramoji City and go and see all the wonderful sets used in films. If you are lucky you may see an actual shoot also.
