The last 1.5 years had been very frustrating for me and for most of us due to the havoc caused by the pandemic which had made our lives monotonous and it seemed as if the whole world had been slowed down by an invisible force. But as they say, there is a ray of light always at the end of the tunnel, no matter how dark the tunnel is. Thankfully, things are coming back on track now with the fast pace of vaccination all over the world and specially in India. Travel and tourism has resumed, at least within India and I was looking forward to a break to relax and rejuvenate my mind. The long weekend of Dussehra came as a blessing in disguise when one of my friends suggested that we should make the most of this weekend and go on a road trip.
Two more friends came on board and instant plans were made to visit Rishikesh in the 3 day long weekend. As one of our friends in our group had his own car, we were pretty much sorted with our road trip. Rafting was the main excitement of our trip and it was the only thing I was looking forward to. Initially, I thought to book hotel rooms like OYO for our 2 night stay in Rishikesh. Just before 4-5 days of our trip, someone suggested me that we should confirm whether rafting is going on in this season because of the monsoons, and even if it's there, we should do the bookings in advance. This seemed to be a sensible advice and I started searching randomly on the internet if I could get any details about rafting and its prebooking.
I found the contact number of a tour operator and contacted him. This again turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he not only confirmed that rafting would be absolutely possible, but also informed that his company provides a package which includes camping, food and rafting as well (all inclusive in the package). Till now, we hadn't given a thought about camping but this idea excited me. I knew camping would be more fun as I had already experienced it in Munnar in Kerala and it was a moment-to-be-cherished kind of experience. So finally we booked the package which was 3400 per head (this included accommodation and food for 2 day stay in camps, rafting as well as car parking).
On 15th October, we started our road trip at 6.00 AM in the morning. The road trips are always fun when you are with your friends and this trip was no exception. The long distance was covered before we realized and we were finally in Rishikesh at about 3.00 PM in the afternoon. It took us some time to drive to our Shiv Ganga Nature Camp. The camps were comfortable and the view from there was amazing, with a swimming pool just beside our camp.
After having lunch, we put our chairs outside and enjoyed the scenic vibes of that place. I couldn't have wished for something better and we just sat there, chilling and relaxing. After some time, we went for a walk nearby where we saw the mountain ranges from more proximity. There was not much scope of going anywhere since it was getting dark and driving back to our camp at night would have been riskier at such a place. So we came back to our camp and what I observed simply blew my mind. The place looked even more mesmerizing with decorative lights, live music being played and amazing vibes. We enjoyed the lively evening with snacks, good food and even better music. I can now say with conviction that even if you simply do camping and nothing else, you will enjoy in a way that you could not even think of, if you haven't done it before.
The next morning, we got up early, freshened up and got ready to go for the adventure which we all were looking forward to - river rafting. Before coming here, I had watched several videos of rafting on YouTube and it seemed more scary than fun. But what is the meaning of life if we don't experience thrills and adventure sometimes. We reached the location and waited patiently for 2 hours before we were ready to onboard our boats. The guide gave us all the necessary instructions and ensured us that every safety precaution was being taken. Still, my nervousness increased as the countdown started. The guide gave us life jackets and helmet, and the oars for rowing the boat. Everyone occupied their positions and started rowing as per the instructions of our guide. It was fun initially before the guide told us that there would be three rapids coming where the flow of the water would be so strong that the boat can even turn upside down. (Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence). For a moment, I thought why I had decided to do rafting in the first place. But it was too late to think about it. I heard the voice of our guide instructing us to row the boat as quickly as possible since we were approaching the rapids.
In those turbulent waves, our boat started shaking violently while I held the rope in between as I felt the boat is going to turn anytime soon. But thankfully, nothing like that happened and we passed the first two rapids in succession. The third rapid was the most thrilling with the cold waves splashing across our face continuously. Our guide also took a few photos and videos meanwhile with his Go Pro camera attached on his helmet. The enthusiasm was at the peak when we crossed all the three rapids and that adrenaline rush I felt was something which I had been missing since a long time. Finally the 12 km stretch was covered in almost one hour and we reached the shore. We collected the photos and videos from the guide and paid him for that. Since we were all drenched in water, we decided to go back to our camps and change our clothes.
After having lunch at the camp, we got ready and proceeded towards our next destination that was 'Shri Neelkanth Mahadev Mandir'. The path to the destination was very beautiful with lush greenary on both sides of the road and the mountain ranges visible at a far distance. We reached the Neelkanth Mandir at about 5.00 in the evening. This mandir is dedicated to 'Nilkanth' (an aspect of Lord Shiva). The temple architecture is very much influenced by the Dravidian style of temple architecture and I felt a divine presence in that place. After spending about one hour there, we proceeded back to our camps since it was already getting dark. This night was no different than the previous one with DJ, party vibes and decorative lights all over the place in our camps. (You can see us dancing to the tunes of music in the video below 😄)
The next morning, we started our journey back to Delhi from Rishikesh and the return trip was even more amazing due to the pleasant weather. We stopped at Laxman Jhula in our way and spent some time there. Basically, it's a 450-ft long iron suspension bridge constructed over the Ganga river. As per Hindu mythology, this bridge was originally built by Lakshman while he crossed the river on jute ropes. Later in 1923, this was reconstructed and made stronger by iron rods. The bridge is always packed with tourists, with people taking selfies amidst the mesmerizing background. We had to make our way to reach the other side. The pleasant weather and wind blowing added more calm to the soothing atmosphere.
This was a much needed break to rejuvenate our mind and soul and it brought a relief to the otherwise hectic schedule of our day-to-day life. This journey came to an end but I brought back lots of good memories and enriching experiences. It is these little moments of joy which add meaning to our lives after all. 😊
Do let me know in the comments section if you liked reading this blog. Till we meet next time, keep reading, keep travelling and keep enjoying life.....
