When the Mountains Called - I

This weekend me and my ex roomie took off for Mt. Abu after planning it for almost a year now. We had always been very good at planning trips but execution somehow was never our forte`:). We flew to Ahmedabad by the much delayed SpiceJet flight and finally slept at 3.30 in the morning hoping to wake up at 9.00 am.


We finally woke at 10 and after rushing through the basic chores left house at 11.00 for some breakfast. There was a bakery right in front of the apartment. Now Ahmedabad is a much vegetarian place and just to see the expression on the shopkeeper’s face I asked for a ‘chicken pattie’. The look on his face was as if I had committed blasphemy. I enjoyed it thoroughly :). Finally we settled for a veg pattie. The guy smashed the pattie and put some red chutney in it as if he were preparing ‘aloo chat’.


Around 11.30 we took off in the ‘Alto’ which I found a bit too cramped after being so much used to the Santro. As we drove, I couldn’t stop admiring the infrastructure in Gujarat. Broad roads perfect for driving, trees planted by the pathway across the entire stretch of the highway, no potholes, construction activity in full swing. Explains well why Gujarat is becoming the most favoured investment destination. Narendra Modi, for all the media may paint him to be, has done a lot of good for Gujarat and people swear by him. Another thing which I noticed was the temples. Most of them are built on identical architecture similar to the image below. And all of them are huge.
Driving was fun & we stopped at an abandoned shop, which had a cot outside under a thatched roof, just for fun. Stretching on the cot puffing on the cigarette reminded me of the hostel days. Again the drive started. After an hours drive we came to the end of Gujarat and entered Rajasthan. The unmistakable wine shop was present right thereJ. Then after another hour we could see the outlines of the hills faraway. The destination was not far! We reached Abu Road & then the foothill of the Aravalis. The treacherous terrain of Mt Abu had begun.

The Long & Winding Road

All of 18 kms it was an amazing drive. Flanked by the mountains on both sides, we could feel the air pressure decreasing as our eardrums started throbbing. The wild life protection signposts were put up on both sides. We switched off the AC since the weather had become very pleasant. Have to admit, the entire path has been wonderfully maintained. Finally at 1600 hours we reached our hotel, “The Hillock”. The ambience at the hotel was good being one of the better hotels in that place. The hospitality was admirable. I remembered that Rajasthan is famous for its hospitality. We had driven non stop not stopping for lunch too. Once we had checked into our rooms we went down to the coffee shop for the much required beer and lunch.

The Evening

Tired from the long drive and with the beer taking its effect, we overslept. When we got up it was 1900 hours already. We rushed and were out with our car and reached the first destination, “Nakki Jheel”. Pleasant surrounding although boating stops at 6 in the evening. The lake wasn’t anything out of the world but what made it attractive was the garden with a fountain at the periphery.

Then started our shopping. Amazed at my bargaining skills and the variety of choices my friend commented that “Looks like you are shopping too much with women” :). Brought quite a few handicrafts, hand carved decoratives, kurtas, a saree for mom and most of it from the government owned Rajasthan emporium.
By the time we returned to the hotel it was almost midnight and the restaurant was closing down. We ordered our drinks and dinner to be delivered to our room.
We enjoyed the drink watching Brian Lara play his final one-day match. A win would have been just the perfect farewell for this wonderful player. By the time we went to bed it was 3 in the morning. A day well spent. Tomorrow awaited for more of Mt Abu.

Will write more on the sight seeing, Guru Shikhar and Delwara Temples in part 2.