Girls Trip gone wild ....

It had all the ingredients of an adventurous trip. One Car, four girls (Komal, Medha, Niyati & I), all by themselves, doing the Chandigarh-Dharamshala-McLeodganj-Chamba-Dalhousie - Chandigarh route.

View from Dalhousie (Photo Credit: Komal L.)

We had a very able driver in Medha. She was from the hills, she knew her way around, had driven extensively in the hilly terrain, nothing could go wrong.

All was well till Chamba. It was a fantastic journey. Our first halt was at Dharamshala - Quaint, quiet and cold. It was late Jan, spring was around. Girls were ecstatic. We were putting up at a rather well looked after location. Four to six guards and two cooks were manning the place. The Bombay girls (Komal & I) discovered a weird looking device known as 'heater'. The whole night was spent marveling at technology.

We spent more time shopping on the streets of McLeodganj, evenings were spent at the bustling Irish Cafe. It was almost utopia there. Quiet, serene, great weather, Buddhist sites, cute dogs and tibetan market! :P  But we had less time on our hand. Having spent one night there, we moved up to Chamba.

The city girls would've sworn they had never seen a river earlier. Ravi River was almost magical.

Our day was spent appreciating the beauty of Ravi and indulging in a rather heavy Madra. Kidney beans made with curd and some generous portions of ghee along with rice - don't miss this Kangra delicacy, the next time you are there. We were too full to drive further hence we took a driver on board.

Having spent a full day in Chamba we started for Dalhousie. It was already dark. There was fresh snowfall. We were driving downhill into a black forest and it didn't seem to end. The shadows of the big Pine trees on the pavement had spooked me. I was the first one to stop talking amongst the four of us. In the next five minutes one by one we were all soaked into the environment. Silence.

Terrified. All of us. Something was really wrong, but we couldn't single it out. We were about to take a sharp turn on the valley, when suddenly, Komal asked the driver to stop the car and take a u-turn back into the main city. We trusted her instincts. There was no room for debate. Medha got out to guide our driver for the turn. She stepped out of the car for a second and shut the door asap. "Let's just drive back, i'm sure he doesn't need my help," she said.

We drove back in pin drop silence and discovered -  Peace Channels Resorts, our night halt. I hit the bed as soon as I saw it, while the rest of them continued to finish college assignments due for the next day. I woke up with a strange dream of a big black bear pounding on our door and a big black cat tip toeing on the resort stairs. Apparently as it turned out, it wasn't a dream. The bear was indeed there and so was the cat. Our room was heated and the only one with lights turned on. The animals were looking for warmth or saw a good meal in us. We were only thankful of the glass door being strong enough to take the pounding.

The next day whizzed by and we started for Chandigarh. I was just glad to be out of Dalhousie and that godforsaken road. While a trip is planned to explore what we could've encountered that night at the turn, I definitely don't want to go there, ever!