Mussoorie

Well, better two week late than never I figure...

The pic to the left is from Google Earth. It shows the view from Mussoorie.

A couple of weeks ago, Mallika and I took a trip up north to Mussoorie- on the edge of the Himalayas. We left around 11pm and drove all night. Well- we road in the car. We had a hired driver for the trip. On the way, we met up with some old friends of Mallika's and toured Rishikesh of Beatles fame. Then we headed up to Dehra Dun where we spend the night. By this point- the car had broken down 3 times. Twice we got flat tires and then a belt broke. The car still ran so we made it to Dehra Dun, but left the driver there to figure out the problem and took the bus to Mussoorie the next morning. Dehra Dun is in the valley and Mussoorie is at the top of the mountain. It was only about half an hour on the bus and sure, there were switch back- but nothing crazy. The ride certainly didn't bother me. I can't say the same for my fellow, Indian passengers. I didn't get an proper count - but if I had to guess, I would say half the people on the bus threw up. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen. People were throwing up all over the place. When we got there, getting out of the bus was a little tricky because the floors were so slippery.

Anyway- Mallika was fine so we looked around a little and hired a cab to take us to kempty falls. We walked down to the bottom of the falls. A mountain goat passed me on the way down. The falls were very pretty and Mallika waded in the water. Then we headed back to town. The main road through Mussoorie is known as The Mall. It is on the side of the mountain and offers great views. At the end- there is a Gondola lift that takes you up to the top of Gun Hill which is the highest point in town. Theoretically, you can get a great view of the Himalayas from there - but the air is quite hazy. I'm not sure if it is caused by natural organics in the air, or if it is from pollution. Either way, it was a shame. I couldn't really see much.

So, after our tour of Mussoorie, we headed back down to Dehra Dun again (by bus). Going back down- it was the same deal. People throwing up left and right. Only this time, the bus had been going back and forth all day and had built up quite a layer. I was really happy to shower when we got back to our hotel.

The next morning, bright and early, we headed back toward home. As Delhi was on the way, we stopped for a little shopping and then continued on, getting back to BITS around midnight. So, it was a very full three days, but a good time all in all.

The pictures are posted here: http://picasaweb.google.com/vickirwilliams/ToMusoorieAndBack