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Cloud's End |
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As I mentioned earlier, had to get out of the city soon. Too much , too soon, was happening at work, too close to a return from the Ladwa Ride. Just couldn't take it. So when an extended weekend presented itself, I grabbed it faster than you could say "Ride" . But for a change I decided on going pillion this time round on the Pulsar 180. Pady would be the designated rider on this one. Couple of reasons for this: a) I'd had enough of hearing complaints from her about how, on the rides where she'd be the pillion, it was misery for her. Wanted to experience this for myself. b) Taking care of 2 bikes on the Uttar Pradesh highway wasn't something I was too keen on doing. It's a horrible highway, especially during the nights. The other option was of going to McLeodganj as the roads are excellent. But the distance was a deterrent. So on Thursday finalized the location - Cloud's End, 9 kms beyond Mussorie. Had initially booked a log cabin there. But on checking their website, saw that they had the option of pitching one's own tent too. So overnight, changed the plans and decided to take the tent along. Had hoped to get out by 5 -6 in the morning. But both of us overslept and eventually got moving at 11 after a call to Paraj. Despite getting out that late, I had managed only about 2-3 hours of sound sleep. The highway from Delhi to Uttranchal is horrible. I've always hated this one stretch. Not so much for the quality of the road, which is not much to speak of anyway, but for the quality of traffic. The traffic here on this stretch is perpetually choc-a-bloc with rowdy drivers in trucks, buses, cars, vans, scooters, cycles and thelas. The route taken : Delhi - Ghaziabad - Modinagar - Muzaffarnagar - Roorkee - Dehradun - Mussorie - Cloud's End. The route till Dehradun is not much to talk about. Beyond that, the stretch is somewhat of a relief till Mussorie. The final 9 km stretch from the Library Road(Mussorie) till Cloud's End via Haathipaon is an absolute delight. The road beyond Haathipaon is exceptionally steep and extremely bad but the Pulsar lugged both of us on, along with the luggage. It was 9 by the time we reached the resort and took us another 20 mins to pitch the tent. Both of us were dead tired and cold, but the moonlight made the night magical. The restaurant at Cloud's End prepared dinner for us and served it to us at the tent. A lantern provided by them added to the charm. Packed off the evening with enough booze, before dinner, to put a herd of elephants to sleep :) The night was cold and the sleeping bag, though doing a great job, still let some of the nip through. I woke up at 6:15 in the morning to catch the sun-rise on the camera. Got some amazing shots. Sadly, only later did I realize that there were tons of fingerprints on the lens. Not quite sure how the pics would come out, though they looked fab on the LCD viewfinder. The various hues and shades that the sky and the snow capped mountains in the distance take on, during the sunrise had to be seen to be believed. The air was more than nippy with dew all around which had formed overnight. The resort used to be a Summer Retreat for the British Generals in the past and was passed on into private hands during the 60's. The owners kept the original structure intact and converted it into a Resort. The place overlooks the valley on three sides and one can see entire snow capped ranges in the distance. This place too would go down under snow in another few weeks and would emerge out of the snow cover by Jan - Feb. In a while, the warmth of the fast rising sun warmed up the sunlit areas. The tent was still in the shade, so the dew on it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I dragged Pady out of the tent and hoped she'd thank me for it :) We lazed around for a while , while a breakfast of Aaloo Parathas was being prepared. After a hefty breakfast, we set out on a short walk upto a place they call the Sunset Point. It's a gorgeous hilltop , where the owner of the resort has made a small 2 room dwelling unit for himself. The locale is absolutely mindblowing. Ahh .. someday I shall own a house in the hills .. It's a dream I've had for ever now. one day , some day ..... We spent a couple of hours, lazing in the sun and caught up on the week's talk before walking back to the tent. It was nearing noon and we had the choice of either spending another day here or rush back home now and spend a relaxed Sunday at home before getting back to work on Monday. We decided on leaving immediately as spending the day driving on Sunday on the same highway didn't seem appealing. A huge traffic jam at Mussorie further slowed down our pace. Stopped by at a dhaba after crossing Mussorie, for lunch. I wasn't feeling very hungry and thought 1 would be enough. However, an amazing serving of Parathas had me gobbling down 5 of them. We were getting late and the Muzaffar Nagar stretch is highly advised against, for two wheelers and solitary vehicles, as the stretch is lonely and stories of looting are rampant. So it was decided, that the return journey would have me driving in bits to make up for the time. The road lived upto it's reputation of horror traffic, though nothing untoward took place. Avoid the Muzaffar Nagar bypass at night. It's highly recommended against. There was a slight problem with the clutch wire going loose. Tightening it over one of our halts sorted out the issue. Had a delicious dinner of Kari Pakora, Chana Masala and Tandoori Rotis at a dhaba, before hitting Modi Nagar. Finally, reached home at 9 pm. A Hot bath and a swig of vodka later, felt relieved enough to crash like a log for practically all of Sunday. Havn't yet had the time to look up and upload the pics yet. Will put out the link as soon as I'm done. To conclude, Hats off to all riders who go pillion on rides. It's hard. On my part, I didn't complain. Helped me understand the misery of a pillion better :) Would I go pillion again ? I think so. Provided Pady's riding ;-) It's hard for me to get over my phobia of riding pillion. And there are very few people I can feel comfortable sitting behind. Pady made the mark over this ride. :) Contact Details for Cloud End Estate: Digvijay Agarwal (Owner) - 0 9412050242 Resort Site Phones: 0135 2632242 , 0135 2753520 .
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