Trip to Shimla-Chail: Part 1 ~ A Dream Turned Nightmare

Hey everyone! I'm back with another blog and this time it is about my recent trip to Shimla and Chail and all the amazing I made there with my family. 

Before beginning, here's a little information for those who are unacquainted with these places.

Shimla

Swathed by cedar, rhododendron, fir and Himalayan oak trees, the state capital of Himachal Pradesh is one of the most popular hill stations in India. Basking in the grandeur of the British era with apparent influences in its architecture, Shimla did charm the British colonizers of the 19th century so much that they elevated the small township into the summer capital of an empire sprawling the sub-continent.

Chail

The erstwhile summer capital of the princely state of Patiala, Chail is an alluring hill station that lies about 63 km from Shimla. Nestled in the Himachal Pradesh’s Shivalik region, Chail is spread across the three hillocks - Sadh Tiba, Pandewa and Rajgarh. Surrounded by the beautiful pine and deodar forests, Chail is a laidback hill station in Himachal Pradesh which promises a pleasing retreat from the chaotic city life. A paradisiacal locale set against the backdrop of the Shivalik hills, Chail not only allures tourists with its picturesque landscape and unspoiled natural beauty but boasts of being the world’s highest cricket ground.

Coming back to talking about the trip. 

It was a 4-day trip. We left for Shimla in the early morning of 7th June 2022, stopping at Amrik Sukhdev, Murthal for breakfast. While I and my younger brother had burgers and sandwiches, our parents enjoyed the deliciously big parathas with lots of white butter made by the ladies of Punjab and Haryana themselves. My mother liked the handmade Aam ka Aachar so much that she bought one container of it to eat at home. 

Our next stop was the town of Kasauli where the first thing we noticed was the different varieties of apes and the huge amount they were present. Next, we clicked pictures around an honorary statue of Major Dhyanchand, The Hockey Legend of India. Walking around the famous Mall road of Kasauli, we enjoyed softies and momos and ended up buying two wooden windchimes for our home. 

 

 

We reached Shimla in the evening the same day and checked in at Hotel Landmark where after changing and resting for an hour we out for dinner. On the exhausting walk to and around the Mall road, we were enlightened by these wonderful works of art.

After dining, we left for the hotel while having softies and ice creams (Again! If there was anything we did the most on the trip was eating lots of softies and ice creams) and clicking lots of pictures.

Waking up early the next day, I had to get ready for my dance performance at the 67th All India Drama and Dance Competition organized by the All India Artist Association (AIAA), Shimla. Believe me, when I say dancing is one thing and getting dressed up is another as a Bharatanatyam dancer. But I was all ready and looking perfect thanks to my one and only super mom, who is a makeup artist herself and well, can handle my tantrums.

By the time we reached the auditorium, it was lunch break (All due to my mom being obsessed with clicking pictures of me, oh! and also the long steep hill we had to climb to reach our destination). 

After a touch-up and lots of peps talk my turn to perform finally came. But, alas! What I believed was supposed to be one of the greatest performances of my life, turned into a nightmare. The nervous jitters made me feel like puking and not even a minute into the performance my throat felt dryer than a dessert, my head felt heavier than an elephant and my heartbeat was so loud I could feel it or rather hear it. Keeping a smile and having stable moves was proved difficult when my whole body was shaking, even one of my armbands came loose and so I had to remove it without making it noticeable. In the last two minutes of the performance, my head started spinning and all I wanted to do was get off the stage. 

Thankfully I finished the performance with a smile on my face throughout it. I am very grateful to one of the bhaiya's backstage who gave me a candy to suck on as soon as the performance ended. My parents were waiting for me in the audience area. They gave me a big round of applause and lots of compliments for the improvement in my performance throughout the years. But I didn't feel as great and happy as they did. I was dissatisfied, angry and disappointed with myself. Holding back the tears, I thanked everyone who congratulated me.

(THE VIDEO OF THE DANCE WILL BE POSTED LATER)

We left for our resort in Chail in the evening that day, enjoying the Maggi in the mountains. It was just like its name - Village Live Inn Resort; beautiful and serene. Everything was great until I found out about one little (Not so little for me) problem - the cottages we were living in were full of insects and when I say insects the only thing I am absolutely scared of i.e. spiders. BIG SPIDERS. Like the size of my palm. I have arachnophobia you see. Spiders and I are not a good combination. Still, no biggie spending only two nights in there, no biggie for me, right? Wrong! Oh dear God! Only my brother knows how much of a hell it was for me after all I shared a room with him. 

Oh! But I have to say the food there was one of the very best I've ever had at a resort. Especially, the hot chocolate that helped me relax after a tiring day. I also made a friend there, Spotty, the village dog who frequently visited the place. I fed her bread and went on walks with her. We became so close that she even slept outside our cottage. Leaving her was a sad event.

 

That will be it for Part 1. See you all in the next blog!