It was a pleasant surprise to hear from
Ravi that he has plans to visit me on his way to BITS, Pilani. When he reached, he also wanted me to make a plan for a 3 day trip to somewhere. I’m always on for a trip and journeys as I like to travel a lot.
I always looked for an opportunity to explore Himalayas and river
Ganga and this was a right time to execute it.
We decided to go to Gangotri. It was early November when
Delhi got into a pleasant weather and chillness spreading out across the northern parts of
India. We planned to take a cab ride all the way.
It all started 2
nd November, 2007 early morning 06.00.
Ravi, at school times was not this talkative, it was good fun to be with a school mate after such a long time and that too for three continues days without any other disturbances. The driver was so good to keep the pace of the vehicle not exceeding 80 kmph on the highway. After three hours of drive since we started, we thought of breaking for break fast. We came across a highway stoppage place called “Cheetal Grand”, which was too good with lots of food option, {like a food court in malls, with beautiful garden around. We grabbed sandwich and pakoras along with a map of Uttarakand. [It also had a book store :D]
A non-stop journey from there to Haridwar, and we decided to wash Ravi's sins in the holy Ganges. Ravi was there for the first time and I asked him to take bath so that he also can become [atleast try to become] like the "holy me" :D. I’ve already taken bath in Ganges for a couple of time earlier to increase its holiness :P. Ravi then wanted me too to take a dip so that its holiness will be enriched and I did. When we got back to our car, we had a shock to hear from the near by bhaiya as he said Gangotri is closed. I knew that Gangotri and its route would be closed for a couple of months during the winters and this was unexpected. As Ravi like me is open to take up challenges, we decided to go as far as possibleJ. I also had an alternate plan of River Rafting at Rishikesh and a quick trip to Dehradun if possible.
Past Rishikesh [we didn’t stop there as we decided to stop there when we get back], we started to drive up the hills as I started to enjoy the scenic view of the ranges. The feel you get when you sit on the front seat along by the driver, riding on a mountain, cannot be put on words. We were traveling at a pace of 25kmph, which I think is the optimum speed to drive at mountain range. We had a few stoppages to capture the views in camera [by doing it we lost the camera cover :( ]. By now we’ve passed a couple of valleys[couldn’t count exactly the numbers], and we observed a stream running alongside the road in the opposite direction of our travel. We again thought to break for lunch at around 15.00 hours and we had a delicious lunch along with an awesome tea [must be a herbal one], for Rs.45/- for three people.
We got back to business and started to travel back. I observed a village at every 5th Kilometer. Terrace cultivation was at all the corners. Children going to school. Mobile phones all across. Cricket on road with ball made with cloth [I suppose]. But still they lead a different life with different culture and to term it simple “a difficult life”…..
The rest would follow soon……
It was a pleasant surprise to hear from 
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