So, what does each actually give you? Endurance training makes your heart and lungs remarkably efficient. Your body learns to sustain effort, recover faster, and manage stress better, both physical and mental. There is also something almost meditative about long runs that is hard to replicate elsewhere. Resistance training is more of a long-term investment. The muscle you build in your twenties is the same muscle that keeps you functional and independent decades later.

The honest answer though is that you do not really have to pick, and what you lean towards can be completely dependent on your goals. Someone training for a marathon will naturally skew towards running, while someone focused on body composition will spend more time in the gym, and both are valid. But the two actually make each other better. Stronger legs from the gym mean you tire slower on long runs, and cardiovascular fitness from running means you recover faster between sets. Endurance keeps your engine clean, resistance keeps the structure strong. Physiologically, the combination wins because the two genuinely build on each other in ways that neither can replicate alone.

I recently ran a marathon myself, and the energy that you get from pushing yourself and seeing others push themselves is electric.

I saw a marathon for the first time today. Having an outsider's view, I felt the energy radiate even more. Everyone is aiming for PBs. Everyone is claiming energy for the crowd and their loved ones. Their loved ones were waiting for 2 hours just to see a glimpse of the runner in their family.

Gym can never compete. The feeling of pushing your body continuously for hours, talking to yourself and achieving something even you thought impossible is something unique to running. I have felt it. And it is so much more evident seeing other people feel the same thing and even achieve their goals.

People say that if you’re losing faith in yourself, run a marathon, and if you’re losing faith in humanity, go watch people run one. It is true. I have felt both, and I can promise you you won’t ret regret it.

I don’t expect anyone to take my word for it. But I expect you to use this as motivation to do a marathon (distance doesnt matter - 10K/21K/42K) and watch a marathon.

I was on this trip with two friends I had met barely two weeks earlier during the first week of my exchange semester. We reached the airport a little over two hours early, mostly out of excitement and caution. The wait did not bother us; it only gave us more time to sketch out loose plans and get to know each other better. While queuing for our flight, we met three Americans in their mid-twenties who were teaching in Spain for a year and traveling whenever they could. Some people really are living life right, and for once, I felt like I was one of them, too.

Once on the plane, I tried to squeeze in a quick nap to make the most of Friday night after landing, but sleep completely eluded me. Adrenaline took over as my mind raced through everything the next three days could hold. When we finally descended into Malta, I just sat there quietly, taking in the feeling of landing in a new country entirely on my own terms, without family, and without a plan that was too rigid to bend.

We took a cab straight to our apartment and barely paused to drop our bags before heading out to explore. Staying in central Valletta turned out to be one of the best decisions we made. The city felt instantly alive, with uniform sandstone buildings, narrow winding streets, music spilling out of doorways, and glimpses of the sea appearing at the end of almost every road. It felt structured yet vibrant, historic yet buzzing. One friend grabbed a burger from a nearby joint, while I picked up something quick from Spar before we headed back. We wanted to be well rested for the next day, or at least as rested as one can be on a trip.

Saturday was dedicated to the Three Cities. We woke up after one of those dangerously refreshing sleeps, the kind you are not supposed to have while traveling. My friend clearly agreed and made sure to wake me up by throwing a pillow straight at my head. We were out soon after, heading to the Saluting Battery for the noon cannon firing. The views were nothing short of spectacular, with wide open seas, fortified walls, and scenery straight out of a postcard. Getting a good photo required constant movement and quick reflexes, which accidentally turned into a solid calf workout.

From there, we took a ferry across to the Three Cities. The ride itself was calming, almost meditative, with the sea stretching endlessly around us. Once there, we simply walked. That was all the city asked of us. Every turn revealed something charming: quiet streets, balconies leaning toward each other, and a slower rhythm of life. Just as we were settling into it, the rain started pouring, and we found ourselves nearly a kilometer away from the ferry stop. We decided to cut our exploration short and head back to Valletta. Completely drenched, we changed into dry clothes at the apartment and rested briefly before heading out again for sunset.

We walked fifteen minutes to a viewpoint, only to be greeted by thick clouds masking the horizon. It was mildly disappointing, but five minutes of gratitude, just acknowledging the fact that we were here, traveling internationally, quickly reframed the moment. We curled up in our blankets afterward, scrolling through options for the night.

Craving comfort food, we ended up at Pizza Hut for dinner before heading to Paceville to experience Malta’s nightlife. The night began unexpectedly with a large instrumental street band playing old English classics. Around thirty musicians filled the street with sound, and the crowd sang along, swaying gently to the music. It felt communal and warm. We later stepped into a club playing familiar English party songs and danced for over an hour, leaving just as the place started getting crowded.

While wandering afterward, we stumbled upon a bar with loud music and karaoke underway. It immediately felt like our kind of place. I signed up without hesitation and found myself singing with complete strangers. At two in the morning, in a bar in Malta, surrounded by people I had never met, united only by music, it felt surreal. We eventually took a late-night bus back to Valletta, tired in the best possible way.

The second day was initially set aside for island hopping and exploring the Blue Lagoon, but unfortunately, our tour had been cancelled because of turbulent waters. Honestly, I wasn’t too disappointed. Even on sunny days, it was cold, and there was no chance I would have actually gone into the ocean. So instead, we decided to head to Mdina, also known as the Silent City.

The moment we stepped in, it felt like walking into a storybook. The streets were narrow and picturesque, flanked by sandstone buildings that all seemed to follow the same architectural style, giving the town a uniform elegance. The quiet streets, lined with small cafes and little courtyards, made it feel like time had slowed down. The town was small enough to cover in about an hour walking, but we definitely spent much more than that wandering. It was slightly confusing at first; every street led into another, none were labelled, yet every turn offered a new beautiful view. Honestly, I didn’t mind seeing the same streets multiple times; there was so much to take in.

Around 2:30, hunger struck. About half an hour back, we had passed a crepe stall that looked promising. We circled back and treated ourselves to sweet crepes before finally leaving the walled city. The sugar rush was perfect fuel for the next adventure: a ride on a toy train that loops around Mdina. It was charming in a way I hadn’t expected. The ride took us past fortified walls, quiet gardens, and historic buildings while a cheerful marching tune played in the background. I almost dozed off, lulled by the rhythm, but the scenery kept me awake. Along the way, I learned a bit more about Malta’s history; it remained a British colony until 1964, and the architecture reflected that colonial legacy in subtle ways.

After the train, we wanted to catch a sunset that would actually satisfy us, because the previous evenings had been underwhelming. Our friend found a spot on the far end of the island, and I tagged along reluctantly. I was feeling tired, but it ended up being worth the effort. We took two buses with an interchange, and the journey lasted about an hour and a half. When we arrived, the view was unlike anything I had ever seen. One narrow strip of land stretched between two vast bodies of water, and the sun pierced through scattered clouds, illuminating the ocean in golden light.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, pink and purple hues spread across the sky, and that’s when the moon revealed itself in full. We wandered through the streets nearby, following viewpoints wherever they appeared, and stumbled upon the porch of a building with an infinity pool. It felt surreal; we clicked a few photos, fully aware that this was the kind of memory we’d replay in our minds for years. Eventually, the receptionist shooed us along, and we began the long journey back to Valletta. Predictably, it started raining, making the commute even more tedious. Even though there was a direct bus, it still took an hour after waiting nearly that long in the rain.

By the time we reached home around 7:30, I was completely drained. All I wanted was something comforting, so I ate thepla and one ready to eat Palak Paneer I had brought along. I thought about going out to see the city one last time, but exhaustion won. I packed my bags, crawled into bed, and tried to get a few hours of sleep before our early departure.

I woke up around 6:30 and decided to take a quick walk. The streets of Valletta were quiet, the early morning light soft and golden, turning the sandstone buildings warm. I watched the city wake up, soaking in the vibe for the last time, feeling that unique mix of nostalgia and gratitude that only comes at the end of a trip. Back at the apartment, I woke my friends, and we packed quickly before heading down to catch our Uber.

Flying out of Malta was an experience in itself. I stared out the window as the island shrank beneath us, and felt that peculiar thrill of having carried a piece of it with me in my memories. Malta had been everything I hoped for.

This trip had the most confusing haphazard planning, yet I am assuming it is a very common scenario. Every semester, we have a mid-semester break, and we usually take a trip during this break. However, this one break, all our schedules were not overlapping, and we were not able to get a quorum for our trip. However, I had decided to go somewhere, anywhere this mid-semester break. So, in the hubbub of the group, another determined friend and I, just the two of us, decided to go to Mussoorie. Next day, when the group was unable to finalize anything, we told them that we are booking our tickets and going.

Since our group had not planned a trip this semester, we all decided to spend one night in Delhi at a friend’s house. Unfortunately, it happened to be the night that we were taking a train to Mussoorie. We figured we would spend the day with our friends in Delhi and then leave for our train. We left with an hour to our train and the cab showing 35 minutes. This is usually enough, but our Uber Driver followed Google maps into a narrow 2-way street with double parking. We were stuck here for 20 minutes. We were still a kilometer from the train station and now we only had 15 minutes to the train, and the route was still jammed.

Both my friend and I are runners and having an average speed of 6 minutes per kilometer, we thought it possible to run to the train station. We forgot to factor in our luggage and the crowded sidewalks of Delhi. 200 meters into our run, the traffic cleared up, and we took an auto the train station. Now, there was just 2 minutes to the train and the platform was at least 10 minutes away. There was a buggy driver who said he will help us catch our train but we need to pay him 500 rs. Our entire trip was on the line so without a thought, we said yes.

Those 2 minutes were more dangerous than anything I had ever experienced. He was driving so close to the gap of the railway lines that if he was a foot to the right, we would have collapsed onto the tracks. It was need for speed on steroids. We reached our platform when the train had started moving. Our buggy driver raced the train to reach the last compartment. He quickly offloaded us as we ran to board our train, forgetting to pay him. We started making our way through the compartments to our compartment when we noticed our buggy driver on the train demanding his money. His effort was well worth the money and, the train would have left the platform if we didn’t pay him immediately, so we did. Then, we breathed a sigh of relief as we made our way to our seats. Once on the train, we each ate a protein bar while watching Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani before we went to sleep.

The next morning, we woke up, brushed our teeth and stood near the open door of the train embracing the chilly mountain air. We were listening to music the entire time and stood amazed by the change of scenery we witnessed overnight. We got off at the Dehradun Train station from where we bought a 100 rs bus ticket to Mussoorie. We got on the bus that was departing the earliest as we thought all of them were going to Mussoorie. Fortunately, the bus we got on was going to Mussoorie but the number of the bus we had to board was written on our tickets and that number was different than the number of the bus we were on. We were kicked off the bus 15 minutes into its departure when we showed the conductor our ticket. They told us to board the next local bus that was going to Mussoorie and buy a ticket on that bus.

Lucky for us, there was a tea stall next to where the bus dropped us. So, we enjoyed a soothing sugary chai biscuit while awaiting our next bus. It came half an hour later and we had pay 200 rs per person for this slower local bus. Both of us started to feel a little pukish as the bus winded up the hilly mountain roads. The bus dropped us to the Mussoorie bus station about an hour later. Our hostel was just about a kilometer and a half away from here. Energized by the mountains and pleasant weather, we decided to walk. Lugging our suitcase, we came across a very vibrant street. It was mall road. Google Maps was consistently reducing the distance. And yes, our hosteller property was on Mall Road.

We reached the property around 12 after our long arduous journey. Our check in was at 2. Taking that in stride, we went out to the balcony of the property that had an amazing vibe. It had a turf mat, a hammock and most importantly, a view of the mountains. We brought our speaker out and took turns lying down on the hammock while the clouds passed through us. Once we got our room, we freshened up even though we didn’t need it after the rejuvenating nap each of us had on the hammock.

We then stepped out around 4 to explore the area around us. Hungry, we stopped at an omelet and Maggi stall on mall road. It is the first meal I crave in hill stations and succumb to my cravings each time. Locals then guided us to Dalai hills for a pretty sunset. The walk to the sunset point was approximately 4 kilometers. Wanting to experience the serenity of the empty mountain roads, we decided to walk. About a kilometer in, we came across an Amul shop which had a wide range of high protein products we had not seen before. We spent a good 15 minutes there before we realized our picturesque sunset was on the line.

I don’t know why but we felt an urge to feel connected to earth, so for the next kilometer, we walked barefoot and only put on our slides once we felt the road hurting our feet. This experience really grounds you, I would really recommend trying it. Once we reached Dalai hills, we saw a statue of Buddha and the hill was designed accordingly. You could feel the presence of peace in the hills. We walked ahead to a sunset point where only adventurous people would venture. We switched on the speakers and sat in complete silence until the sun had set. Transcended by this view, we got up in darkness, switched on our torches and maneuvered our way down the hill.

On the way down to our hosteller property, we noticed a theka just as it was closing its shutters. I really wanted to taste some local alcohol, but they did not have that, so I settled for a large beer. We settled right into our OG balcony spot while I snacked on some chakhna (haldirams salted peanuts) while sipping my beer. About 45 minutes later, we decided to go to mall road to get a bite to eat. There were so many interesting stalls that we mapped out all our meals on this trip.

That day, we settled to pack pav bhaji and head back to the hosteller property for movie night. Unfortunately, there was a problem with the projector, so we went to our dormitory and enjoyed the pav bhaji in my bed while watch one of my favorite comfort movies: Yeh Jawaani hai deewani. I was still a little buzzed, so we decided to call a few friends before we fell asleep.

Next morning, my friend woke up way before me. She journaled and sunbathed while I continued to sleep peacefully. When I freshened up and came to the balcony in search of her, I was greeted by 4 more of my batchmates. Pleasantly surprised, we planned the rest of our trip with them. We headed out for breakfast. This time, instead of going to the more crowded area of mall road. We went to the other side – the side that was leading to landour. We found one overlooked paratha shop. We went there and asked if they were open. This was the best find of our trip.

Aunty made us some delicious aloo parathas, and we put a dollop of butter on top of each of them and gobbled them up. We headed back for the property and packed our bags to leave for the day. Since our friends had not received their rooms yet, they decided to use our dormitory to freshen up and then we decided to visit Bhatta Waterfalls.

Once we came up to Mall Road, there were people renting out scooties for the day and my friend said she knew how to ride one and maybe it was the wrong to put my faith in her skills, but I thought it would be a fun experience. So, the two of us rented a scooter while the other 4 traveled via bus. I guess the bus took more detours while reaching the falls, so we had a headstart on the attraction. It turned out to be too much like a tourist attraction with rides and a commercialization of the waterfall and the place around it.

Fortunately, we found a detour we found some peace in the sounds of the falls. Just listening to this sound makes you aware. We ventured into the crowded commercialized spots once again. We really liked one of them: the food stalls that were constructed in such a way that the seating was at the foot of the waterfall and we could sit with our legs in the water. We ordered maggi with parathas once again. While waiting for our order, we treaded a little deeper in the water towards the waterfall and played around in the water a bit. Obviously, this paratha did not match the one we had for breakfast, but the refreshing coolness of the water made up for it.

After this, we roamed around the area a bit. It was commercialized but it did still fit the vibe of the hill station. Once we had soaked in the vibes, we headed back to our property. Unfortunately, we had some issue getting the scooter started since we parked it on a slope but people around were extremely helpful and helped us on our way. Unbothered by these trivial hindrances, we continued enjoying our trip. The mountain breeze rejuvenated our tired bodies, and we no longer felt the urge to nap once we reached our property. We did rest in the balcony of hosteller for some time; we all just lay down in the sun and shut our eyes for a bit.

We then set out to Mall Road. We enjoyed an evening of fun banter and window shopping on this energetic vibrant street. There was no agenda for the evening. Strolling aimlessly soaking in the vibe of the place felt like a cultural experience. Again, something I would highly recommend doing. On our way back, there was a chole kulche stall I had been eyeing, so I and a friend packed that for our dinner in the hosteller property. We enjoyed seeing the stars twinkle from the balcony while we devoured the chole kulche. Our other friends were eating on Mall Road and bringing back warm hot chocolate for us which felt so soothing in the cold foothills of Mussoorie. Even post this, it felt like the stars were calling out to us to hang out with them for a little while longer. My friend and I spoke into the night while sitting in the balcony itself and ended up sleeping pretty late.

The following day, we were craving aunty’s aloo parathas after we were all refreshed and gathered in the reception of the property. We strode out in the warming piercing sunlight and enjoyed some yummy parathas soaked in butter. We even invited aunty to come join us for breakfast and she did. We headed back to the property to decide our plan for the day. On the way to the property itself, my friend and I got hellbent on visiting Landour today since we were leaving that night. We debated the mode of transport to take while packing our bags but finally settled for walking as it would give us a holistic vibe of the hill station.

Landour was 5 kilometers from mall road and at an incline, so we packed light. Only I carried a bag within the 6 of us. We played the Abbey Road album by Beatles and began our incline. Two kilometers in, we came across a concrete hut. We were pretty tuckered out by this point, so we paused here to admire the view we had earned. Just 100 meters later, we stopped at an aesthetic antiques store. It was called Faiz Vintage Collection. The quaint store had rustic wooden flooring and walls and diaries which needed to be dusted off but had a wealth of knowledge. All of us thoroughly enjoyed and spent at least 15 minutes here just appreciating the depth of knowledge in this small antiques store. Just to give you some context, I spent my time reading a book about the sports that were there in the first Olympics and how they have evolved over the years. On this same street, I further stopped at a store of handmade chappals. I did not plan to buy anything from here. However, after hearing the cobbler’s heartwarming story and the amount of thought and effort he put into each shoe, that plan changed and I ended up buying a pair of slippers for my mother.

Onward and upward, we treaded towards Chaar Dukaan and were now impatiently awaiting some delicious food. Once we reached Landour, we had to be guided to the main chaar dukaan area by the locals. We approached the emptiest stall and glanced through their menu. Some dishes called out to us. We ordered all of those, while attempting to save some appetite for the famous Landour bakehouse. Awaiting our order, we walked to a nearby church to tick off our itinerary. It turned out that the church is shut on Mondays. Disappointed, we walked back to our order. Honey ginger lemon tea was placed on our table, and it did sooth our throats but not our hunger. Just as we finished this walm calming drink, our pancakes and waffles were placed in front of us and all calm went out the window. The dishes were clean in 2 minutes, and everyone’s faces covered in chocolate. How we devoured that food!

We walked deeper into the heart of Landour to our destination of Landour bakehouse. The rush was worse than that at a 5-star restaurant on Valentine’s Day. We had to wait 30 minutes before we got a seat, but our food was served in 5 minutes and eaten in 2 minutes. We inhaled our food! The chocolate croissant and the pastries were to die for. We continued to the A. Prakash & Co. store where we bought hot chocolate powder. This store seemed like the end of general Landour and the beginning of the rich Landour with big bungalows with transcendent views. These were the kind of places I would want to retire.

Reluctantly, we began our walk back to Mall Road. The sun had begun to set on our way down and we wanted to enjoy the sunset from a nice sunset point. We were told by local that Lal Tibba is a nice area to view the sunset from and it just happened to be on our way to our hostel. Lal Tibba happened to be a restaurant, but it was too crowded to enjoy a peaceful sunset. So, we settled for a café that had a rooftop and no people. We ordered a plate of fries for access to the rooftop of the café. We sat on the ledge with our legs dangling off the roof from the first floor while we enjoyed some hindi music played in the background.

We got out of the café and spotted a chai stall. We were craving something warm in the chilly mountain breeze. One of our friends was still hungry and fortunately, this stall had something all mountain stalls do. You guessed it, it was Maggi! While we were drinking our chai, the sky was filled with pink and violet hues after the sun glimmered with a gold shine had set. Apparently, Mussoorie is one of the two places in the world that has a winterline from October to January. So, this was a truly rare phenomenon we had privilege of witnessing. My friend and I had our bus back today. So, we were in a little bit of a rush.

However, we had to tread lightly and carefully for the rest of the trip with a flashlight in our hands. It became exceedingly dark extremely fast, so our goal was to reach Mall Road as soon as possible. So, no stops till Mall Road now and that plan was indeed executed. We had called aunty and placed an order for aloo paratha which we expected to eat in the bus. We picked that up, reached Hosteller and quickly packed up our things. However, we were struggling to find a cab and the bus stop was 10 kilometers away. Meanwhile, we were talking to our friends, and it seemed like they had booked a cab tomorrow which was turning out to be more economical if we joined them tomorrow, hosteller had two empty beds in the same dormitory we were already studying in, and we were also getting a refund for the bus we had booked. We eventually decided to stay the night and just leave with our friends tomorrow.

After this confusion was over, the bright side was that we still had 1 more night in Mussoorie. We wanted to maximize it even though we had already done so much. We just wanted to be on Mall Road once again. We just stayed out. Another thing I wanted to do was eat ice cream in the low temperature. It has always been an experience for me. Fortunately, we found a softie stall. I happily devoured it all by myself. We walked to the I Love Mussoorie sign and took cliché tourist photos there. We winded down for the night at 2 am when we noticed an aggressive pack of dogs staring at us.

The next day, we followed the same routine. We freshened up and walked to aunty’s aloo paratha stand. She was very happy to see us again. She had really begun to give an extremely homely vibe. I stood in the kitchen with her while she made our breakfast and got to know her life story. She made a paratha for herself as well and joined us at our table and so did her daughter. This was most wholesome part of our trip. To make locals feel heard and seen is the most fulfilling part of all my trips. After this, we bid farewell to the property, lugged our packed bags into the Innova waiting for us and set off to Ashoka.

Key takeaways:

1. Confirm your train and bus details well in advance. Google Maps can deceive you, and traffic in Delhi is very unpredictable, so always keep extra time in hand.

2. Consume locally available foodstuffs. Begin the day with buttery aloo parathas, sip mountain chai, and end it with Maggi. These small meals can define your hill station experience.

3. As much as possible, start your day early. That would be the quiet mountain mornings when walking to Dalai Hills or exploring around Landour before they get crowded is when Mussoorie feels magical.

4. Walk whenever possible. Wander through Mall Road, climb to Landour, or take spontaneous detours. The journey, not the destination, can be the best moments.

5. Good shoes aren’t optional. Steep inclines, rocky paths, and slippery shortcuts demand footwear with grip. Your feet will thank you after every downhill stroll.

Continuing with the second edition of my blog, I am going to write about my trip to Mcleod Ganj in this blog. On this trip, we did the Triund trek and some sightseeing in Mcleod Ganj as well, but the trip centered around the trek.

This was our first trekking trip from campus, so it included a little more attention to detail in bookings than my other trips. But like all college students, we were unbothered and delayed it till the last possible moment. Finally, one week before, the only girl coming on the trip sat us down, created our entire itinerary in 15 minutes and pulled up all the bookings that aligned with our itinerary. To be completely honest, we were fortunate to have her coming on the trip and for the accommodations to be available since we were staying at a campsite with a maximum occupancy of 8 people, so I would recommend booking a little prior especially if you are travelling in peak season. But regardless, we had made our bookings for 2 nights and 3 days including travel for 6,000 per person. We were happy with that as it included a guide we would have for our trek and the meals on the trek too.

We were taking midnight buses to and from Mcleodganj so we could maximize the time spent there. We left with a lot of time in hand for the bus to Mcleodganj. We reached the pickup point at Kashmere Gate ISBT 15 minutes before the departure time of the bus. However, once we called the conductor, he told us the bus was 2 kilometers from us because the parking space for buses on ISBT stretches that long. Short on time, we booked an auto to the location of the bus. However, we encountered traffic 100 meters from the bus. Ironically, it was due to a bottleneck caused by the short delay of our bus (due to us). Scrambling with one hand on our luggage and one hand on the phone convincing the bus conductor to hold the bus, we just caught it. One important piece of advice I would give you if you are travelling via bus in India is that you should always keep half an hour in hand and verify the pickup point with the bus conductor.

Just 5 minutes after we got on the bus, anxiety from missing the bus was replaced with excitement for the upcoming 3 days. However, containing our excitement, we reminded ourselves that getting a good night’s sleep is essential for having our batteries fully charged for a headstart tomorrow. So, we all forced ourselves into a restless yet required sleep. Next day, we woke up in the foothills of Dharamshala. I got off the bus for a washroom break, and the mountain breeze freshened me up 10x more than my usual morning routine would have. Back on the bus, I kept gazing at the picturesque town surrounded by mountains longing for when I could step out and be immersed in that scenery. About an hour later, we arrived at our stop. A curveball was thrown our way when we learnt that the base point for our trek was 10 more kilometers from the bus stop. However, with no alternative, we had to resort to the expensive cab hailing services from the bus stop itself. Furthermore, the taxis in hill stations usually have unions so they offer a uniform price and you should incorporate that into your budget. Anyways, we were forced to take a 1000 rs cab for 10 kilometers.

We then arrived at the base of our trek, which was also the office of the trekking guide we were booked with. Over here, we unpacked our two suitcases and repacked our trekking gear in our haversacks as it would be inconvenient to take suitcases to the campsite. We had carried some trekking essential foods like dry fruits which we started munching on the way to the campsite. The campsite was 4 kilometers from the base which we climbed in approximately an hour and a half. We reached here around noon and now had the entire day free. We settled into our tent and unpacked everything in the order which we would be needing it. This was very helpful as you usually came back tired and having everything laid out for yourself really minimizes effort after coming back from a tiring day. Lunch was ready for us at 1. It was a simple dal rice and aloo gobhi with aachaar and papad. In the mountains, all you need is hot food and it tastes better than the food of 5-star restaurants. I took two servings and ate till I literally could not eat further. Now, this much food required some digestion so the 3 of us set off on a stroll to discover our surroundings. We ventured out till we came across an interesting finding.

We found a religious idol constructed of stones of various sizes. And a shed made of stones. We decided to pass some time in the sheds. Fortunately, this also turned out to be the perfect place to take some sun kissed pictures. The sunlight was falling from right in between the crevices between the trees. Clearly, the historic architects were building in the right place. The more we sat there, the more I felt like maybe this was made as a place to meditate. It was in the middle of nowhere with the sun piercing the entire area apart from the shed which felt like a safe haven. We returned to the campsite after doubling our walking distance for the day and took a fat nap. I guess we had not had the best sleep in the semi-sleeper bus. We woke up in time for the sunset. The sky transformed from a clear blue sky into a canvas with brush strokes of different hues. Pink, purple and orange dominated the canvas of the sky. We were served with chai and Parle G to enjoy this lovely sunset. Just about then, our cohabitants that night arrived from the trek we were going to do the following day. They refreshed themselves and joined us at the table while stars filled the sky. We shared a nice dinner when we learnt that they are school friends from South India and try to do a trek like this annually since they have gotten very busy with their jobs. Post dinner, they opened a flask of their local alcohol and invited us to join. The two friends on the trip with me did not drink alcohol but I did not refuse. I believe the best way to experience different cultures is to try out items from their culture and for me, alcohol was a part of that. We enjoyed hearing stories from their day today to get a feel of what we were in for tomorrow. I also always love to know about other treks that I can go for. And these people had been going for at least one trek annually for 15 years, so I had a fun conversation with them. I noted down at least 3 more treks to go on in North India. We stargazed for half an hour in silence before heading into the tent for the night. Once inside, we tried to sleep since we had an early start the next day but we still weren’t tired so we played a couple of rounds of Uno before winding down for the night.

Refreshed, we woke up at 6:30 the next morning. We brushed and did our morning ablutions. We had a 6 kilometer trek to the peak and the same route back. We walked up very energized. After the first 3 kilometers, there came a clearing where there was a large area of flatland. All of us sat separately for about 30 minutes spent. I spent the first 15 minutes journaling while listening to music through wired earphones: they fit the vibe. After that, I shut my eyes in the sound of the mountain breeze and forgot about everything else. Onto the second half of the incline, we crossed pebbled paths and climbed over big rocks to make our way. We came across a maggi stall and considered it essential of any mountain experience to have at least a little. So, even though we had a meal booked at the peak, we thoroughly enjoyed sharing one plate of maggi between the 3 of us. At this stall, a dog joined us and stayed with us till we reached the top of the peak. The warmth and love that you get from mountain dogs feels overwhelmingly pure. They are guiding souls that can lead you to your destination when you are lost. Once we reached the top, the purebreds joined us while we ate our meal and shared the leftovers with them. Seeing this, many other dogs approached us, and we happily purchased more packets of Parle G to feed them. For them to give us a moment to ourselves, we climbed the rocks from the base of the peak. They could not follow us here. Now, we were in true solitude surrounded by only the mountains. We thought it was the perfect time to create an embarrassing bonding moment. So, my male friend and I recreated the “Jahapanna tusi great ho” scene from 3 idiots and exposed our butts to the chilly mountain air. After that, all 3 of us screamed at the top of our lungs to in our attempt to recreate the YJHD scene. We all came down to the flat area of the peak and witnessed our guide playing cricket with the store vendors. Happily, we joined in. I don’t think we were helpful to either team but at least we got to be part of the game. If you ever do end up playing cricket with mountain locals, don’t expect to score even a single run. Think about it: all the good pacers in the Indian cricket team are usually from North India. Till this encounter, I didn’t think there was a reason for this but I do think they have some genetic advantage after this match. Oh! Our last spontaneous activity at the top was to make some funny reels with our tour guide. Laughter also feels much more riotous in the silence within the mountains.

Refueled and energized, we began our descent. Believe me when I tell you, we felt like we were on a mission while coming back. There was absolutely no rush. We were well in time to make it back to the campsite before sunset. I was extremely motivated to enjoy the sunset once again with a cup of tea and a packet of Parle G from the campsite. Believe me when I tell you, we were back to the campsite within 2 hours. We continued to appreciate the beauty all the way down and we even stopped at one point to just lay down and rest our eyes. I think the color green has a calming effect on me, and even 10 minutes power naps felt like a 2-hour afternoon nap on a lazy Sunday. Anyways, once we reached the campsite, we freshened up and started pulling up to the dining table one after the other. We debriefed each other on the best parts of the trip even though the trip was just half done. While we were doing this, the background behind us was characteristically changing its colors. Patiently, we admired this sunset. On normal days, a sunset can feel like a background character but at least on this trip, it was the main character.

After the sun had set, we helped our guide collect some wood to start a bonfire. He taught us the skill of identifying pieces of wood which would be appropriate for a bonfire. After lugging it back to the campsite, we put enough wood in the fire pit, which our guide ignited with rocks. Even though we had heard of this as a common way of starting fires in pre-historic times, this was the first time I believed it. With countless stars in the sky and a flaming bonfire, the mood had been set for some old Hindi music. We did have a speaker, but we had left it in our suitcase as we did not consider it essential to bring on the trek. So, we played it on our phone, and it was more than sufficient. That setting can truly heal the soul, and it did. Also, that night two travelers from the UK joined us at our campsite. Introducing them to this old hindi music and explaining the lyrics and meaning of the song really enhanced my belief that Hindi music, especially old, has some feelings that just cannot be expressed in English. I went to sleep thinking about the depth of Hindi music while gazing at the stars that the tent allowed to be in my purview.

The next morning, we started our descent to Mcleod Ganj and reached there by breakfast time. Now, we had the entire day to spend in Mcleod Ganj and no itinerary for the day. Fortunately, we had found one bakery we wanted to go to in Mcleod Ganj. We thought we will go there for breakfast and decide our itinerary there. This happened to be on the Mall road of Mcleod Ganj, so we knew that at least the touristy sightseeing will be done by just taking a walk post breakfast. However, we did have an issue with walking now. We had to lug our suitcases along with us wherever we went. We weren’t going to let this stop us from viewing the attractions we wanted to. So, after relishing a cinnamon apple pie, we hauled our luggage with us down Mall Road. We bought a lot of tidbits for family and friends. I bought a crystal necklace for my sister that she still wears today. We were guided by locals to a 3-floor monastery just a kilometer from Mall road. Surprisingly, it was not paid. So, this was truly for anyone who wanted to experience the Buddhist culture. We made the most of opportunity. We were greeted by a room of meditating Buddhists. We then spun the prayer wheels even though I felt like I had everything I wanted in that moment.

Some tourists at the monastery suggested going to a church at 3 kilometers distance from the other end of mall road. Even though it seemed like a lot, we did not have anything else planned for the day. So, we casually strolled along Mall road. We arranged for a cab to pick us up from the church in the evening so we could reach our bus station by 8 for our 9 o’clock bus to avoid the mistake we made while coming to Mcleod Ganj. Before leaving Mall Road, we did want to experience the local cuisine, so we settled for standard mountain momos. They were so spicy; I was the only one able to have more than 2. The walk from the mall road to the church was frequented by few people, so we blasted old English songs on our speaker and walked in a single file. It kind of looked like a recreation of the Beatles “Here comes the sun” cover. Soon enough, we started engaging in deep conversation along with the music. Trips make friends feel closer and we all end up sharing more on trips as compared to the usual, so we did unearth some secrets about each other, which felt more than appropriate for the end of the trip. Anyways, we took an hour to reach the church. We all prayed in the church for some time and took some time to come out of our personal thoughts. But the area around the church was extremely pretty. We spent a good hour just walking around this area. There was even a wishing well full of coins. It made me ponder about how people are never satisfied and always want more and if the well was renamed to “gratitude well” instead, would it get the same number of coins?

Anyways, we were tuckered out even though it wasn’t that late. We had not eaten much for lunch. So, at 6 we called our cab. It arrived at 6:30 when food was the only thing on our mind. As the cab ride began, the realization that the trip was coming to an end began to sink in. Hunger overruled this thought. We reached the bus stop which was fortunately adjacent to a mall. We entered the mall and sat down at the most comforting places of all: McDonalds. We ravaged through our food, and I even packed a burger for the bus. We still had 45 minutes till we could board the bus. So, we created a shared album and started uploading all our photos on it. Smiles flashed across our faces as we remembered the memories we had created. Soon enough, we boarded the bus and fell into a deep sleep before the bus even departed. We woke up straight at Balgarh Chowk in Sonipat, with the AQI back to 300, from where we took an auto back to our college.

Key takeaways:

1. Confirm your bus pickup point early. Always call your conductor beforehand and keep at least 30 minutes in hand to avoid last-minute chaos.

2. Budget smartly but plan ahead.
Last-minute bookings can work out, but trekking camps and guides fill up fast. Secure your spot early, especially in peak season, to avoid higher taxi or stay costs.

3. Pack light and smart for the trek. Repack into haversacks at the base; suitcases on a trek are a rookie mistake. Keep essentials accessible in order of use.

4. Slow down and sit in silence. Whether it’s a sunny clearing or a hidden stone shrine, moments of stillness are what make treks memorable. Carry a journal or just sit with the view.

5. Talk to fellow trekkers. You’ll discover more authentic future trek suggestions from travelers than from any website.

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Why this, why now

I am a fourth-year undergraduate student at Ashoka University. During my stint at college, I have travelled across North India, and I want to document my journeys for myself and any other college student in North India that wants to travel on a budget but does not know where to go.

Dalhousie

In no specific order, I want to talk first about my trip to Dalhousie.

Just 2 of us had planned this trip so we were delaying booking the tickets since we knew everything would happen eventually. So, approximately a week before we were supposed to leave, I forcedly took my friend, opened my laptop and within 15 minutes, we were going to Dalhousie!

We were starting our trip with an overnight bus and like all college students, we started packing just 2 hours before the departure time of our bus. We met outside our college an hour prior to the bus time and we went to what we thought was the pickup location (G-Town Wines) of the bus. We thought we were early so we went to check out a mall nearby. Just around that time, I received a call from the bus conductor saying they had been waiting for 10 minutes and were not going to wait any longer. We did not even know where he was. We quickly booked an uber to the landmark that he mentioned but by the time we reached, the bus had left. We thought our trip would get cut short to an hour! But the Uber driver persevered and caught up with the bus 10 minutes later and we were able to board it. Our first adventure happened before even leaving Sonipat. Anyways, we had booked an upper deck on the sleeper bus, so we climbed up and tried to sleep. After all, we were going to Dalhousie for just 3 days, and we needed to be on full batter to maximize each day.

Next day, we woke up in complete darkness when we needed to change from the bus into a minivan in Pathankot around 5 AM. We fell asleep again in the minivan. As the bus curved around the mountainside and sun gently graced our faces, my eyes opened. It was unbelievable that in just 12 hours, our view had gone from college dorms to snow-capped mountains. We were filled with enthusiasm and adrenaline. We got off the bus and just took it all in. Our accommodationturned out to be 3.5 kilometres away from the bus stop, and we happily opted to walk. We blasted music on speakers the entire way and stopped to take reminiscent photos on our digicam throughout the way (Don’t worry, we packed light other than these essentials). Old Hindi music in snow-capped mountains during your college days really feels like you are living a movie. When we reached our hotel (Hotel Eagle Nest), we recharged our phones while my friend took a bath and I spoke to the locals to figure out what we can do around here.

Around 10, we ventured out again. We stopped for local omelettes that melted in our mouths, one of the best I have had till date. We then followed a trail down to a park. On our descent, we stopped at an abandoned temple. There was no one in sight, and the excitement of being in Dalhousie just had to be let out. Wont you believe, we had a dance session outside the temple to the hit song: Barbie Girl. We continued downhill until we reached the park, which just had a couple of random equipment and two dogs. After a breather, we started our ascent and half an hour into the uphill climb, we saw 3 kids playing cricket and we asked if we could play with them. They happily agreed. We felt like kids again, playing in the space outside our own home. Anyone could come join us and we would make new friends. Let’s get into the details of the cricket match. Each of us was paired with one of the kids and one child played as a jack fielding for both teams. They played so well, especially bowling. I was unable to make more than 10 runs in both the matches we played. I am only glad that we ended up winning one of the matches because I was definitely a liability to have on the team. Anyways, after playing 2 matches, we thought we should continue with some other part of our trip. They were so reluctant to let us leave that they noted our phone number down on a brick with stone. This was one of the most heartwarming moments of the trip.

Still in surprise from the way the children welcomed us and how gracious they were, we walked back energized into our hotel room. As our backs hit the bed though, tiredness kicked in, and we decided to take a short nap before stepping out again.

In the evening, we decided we should do a little conventional hill station sightseeing, so we set off to Mall Road. Having had such nice experiences with walks, we thought it best to use our legs as the mode of transport again. But this incline was horrible! It took the life out of both of us. By the time we reached mall road, we only wanted food. We picked up some quick roadside delicacies – soya chaap, paneer roll, potato twister. We had forgotten about the Asia Cup final between India and Pakistan and the giant screen in the middle of Mall Road was a huge reminder of that. So, we joined the crowd and cheered on our country as the food fueled our bodies. We walked around a little more, shopped for our family and friends and then shared a much-deserved dessert – chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. On the way back, it was a 4 kilometer walk and we were dead tired. So, we approached a taxi service, and they were charging an expensive price but being on a budget trip stopped mattering: we were on interrupted sleep and already 20 thousand steps for the day but most importantly, the darkness was eerie.

For the next day, we had researched a few places to go to around Dalhousie but they were in a 20-kilometer radius. Unfortunately, it would not be possible to go to these places on foot, so we arranged for the driver that dropped us the first night to chauffeur us around tomorrow. We reached the hotel, quickly showered and lights were out at 10 itself.

Onto the next day, we woke up later than we wanted but extremely fresh, so it was worth it. We packed our bags as we were shifting into Hosteller tonight and placed them in the boot of the cab. We were on our way to khajjiar (Mini Switzerland of India) by 8 am. We were the first ones to reach the flatland, so we had an hour to discover the area before the crowd settled in and the stalls set up. We treaded downtrodden paths around the flatland and came across a sign that said watch out for bears. We ultimately concluded that this adventure was not worth our lives and decided to hike down to the flatland. By the time we reached, the atmosphere had become lively and jovial. We made a few epic fail reels including my friend trying to skip stones on a barely liquid river and me trying laughably to do a kick up. We then ate some chaat - paani puri and chana chaat. It truly hits different in the mountains. While eating, we spotted a family playing frisbee and once done eating, we asked the family if we could join. They happily agreed; in fact, the child seemed specifically glad to have some young company. My friend finally learnt how to throw and catch a frisbee and that signaled it was time for us to leave for the highest peak of Dalhousie.

It was a 45-minute drive from Khajjiar to Dainkund peak, and it started raining on the way. We were worried of some potential closure due to the rain, and it just so happened that we were right. The car was not allowed to go to the peak, and the peak was a trek of 5 kilometers on an incline. However, it was a snow covered peak, so we just had to take a chance. Additionally, it was an awesome opportunity to get our adventure of the trip in. We took off in stride even though it was drizzling. Soon enough, the weather supported our enthusiasm and the sun came out. Along the way, we meticulously made snowballs and flung them at each other. We slid down snow covered hills. However, our main adventurous highlight was when I heard water flowing down below on a downtrodden path. I could also see a clearing but could not see where it was leading. I made up my mind that we had to go there. I easily convinced my friend, who was wearing Converse shoes (It’s important for you to understand the next part of the story). I had trekking shoes so at least one of us had some stability. Naturally, I started the downhill first and my friend followed. His shoes had no grip. He was literally sliding down. I was so scared for his life. But we had decided to go down. So, we did reach down no matter the consequences, which were that my friend slipped and fell into the small waterfall. The view from the waterfall was so worth it though. We enjoyed a nice SuperYou protein bar along with the view before we trekked back to the mapped road to the peak.

We then restarted our journey to the peak. An hour into our journey, we came across a maggi stall. Everyone knows a trek in the mountains is incomplete without a Maggi and Chai-biscuit stop. That was our refueling station. It truly made the soul happy. From this stall, the incline became steep, and we had to start climbing stairs. Reenergized, we left our pit stop and raced to the top. On the way, it also started snowing and we felt our adventure truly encompassed everything we could have possibly wanted. After reaching the top, we enjoyed the solitude for a bit. I took out my journal to write whatever I could with my barely functional freezing hands. We tried to do a few pushups at the peak: just guys being guys. Then, we started our descent. The 360 degree view from the peak was even more energizing than the maggi and chai. So much so that we reached the starting point in just an hour.

Once we reached the car, we knew it was getting late. There was another thing on our list for the day – Kalatop Wildlife Sanctuary. We were very glad this was our last stop because there was not much to do here. It was only 2 minutes from Dainkund Peak and we were not allowed to be on foot here. So, we had to take the car all the way to a park, where we were allowed to get off. Sun was setting by the time we got here so we used our time at the park to take some sunkissed pictures.

We were staying in Hosteller the second night. The closest drop point accessible to the property for cars was actually Mall Road, which was a kilometer from the property. Tired, we got off there and dragged our luggage along with our bodies along a dark pebbled road and reached the property.

We unpacked, showered and were craving a hot dinner. We had spotted a Sher-E-Punjab on the mall road the day before and were yearning for a hot filling Indian meal. We truly did think we had earned it today, so we dragged ourselves back to Mall Road. We ate a classic Indian meal: Paneer Makhani, Dal Makhani and Naan. The meal just had to end with some Gulab Jamun topped with Vanilla Ice cream. Honestly, this food was not enough to give our legs energy after day we had. We just had to hit the bed. Somehow, we made it back to Hosteller. When we reached, we were informed of a bonfire they were setting up. My friend went to sleep but I could not pass up the opportunity. I went to the roof and sat with the manager of the property and a couple other strangers. Just sitting under the stars sharing stories felt blissful. I hit the bed around 11 and fell into a deep sleep almost immediately.

On our last day, I woke up early. I went to the terrace of the property and journalled a little. After that, I left for a walk in the opposite direction to the Mall Road. I saw many parents accompanying their children in sharp red blazers to their school. I reached a crossroads where I saw a church. I knew I would come back there eventually, so I walked ahead a little, just to see the area. There were monkeys all over the place and they joined the snowcapped mountains in every view I saw that morning. I then went to the church on my way back to Hosteller. When I reached, my friend was bathed and ready to leave. We did not have anything planned so we looked up some attractions close by. We strolled to a waterfall close by. The waterfall was really small. Again, my friend and I decided to make the most of the opportunity and we took a few couple pictures to show my friends’ parents because they had actually been to Dalhousie for their honeymoon. There was a bouncy castle in the vicinity of the watefall. Even though it was overpriced, we just had to go inside. We spent an hour there. Tumbling down fighting several times, we both discovered multiple scratches on each other once we got down from the bouncy castle. We then came back to Hosteller. We packed our bags and headed up to the games room. We played foosball and giant jenga. We gave each other 10 minutes timed massages and napped for 15 minutes. Refueled, we dropped our luggage to the reception area and left to go down from Hosteller towards the church area.

From the church area, we saw a road heading down the hill and we took it. In hindsight, this was a mistake. We did not have anything else planned for the day, so we kept walking down till the sunset viewpoints were getting better. There were a lot of turns that we were making on this path and we did not keep track of the direction we were going in. There were no landmarks either, which made it difficult to identify the path we descended. We had our bus back tonight at 8:30, so around 5:15 we decided to turn back and find our way back to Hosteller. We ended up taking a wrong turn and lost our way. I started panicking as the sun was setting, no one was in sight to guide us, and network was not reaching our area. We just started taking the steepest paths to reach an area where network would reach us. Fortunately, we saw an occupied house and we shouted to the kids on the balcony. They guided us to an area with network which turned out to be only 500 meters from Hosteller. We quickly bought some roadtrip supplies from a supermarket for the 10 hour bus journey ahead of us and rushed to Hosteller. We reached around 7:15, hurriedly took our bags and went down to get some dinner. We ate at a paratha stall right outside Hosteller and booked our cab. We did not want to take any chances with our bus departure given how our trip started. We reached 15 minutes early for our bus. We were waiting for it but it turned out that the first 2 hours to Pathankot were in an Innova after which we would transfer to a bus. The Innova was already parked and full, and they were waiting only for us. We departed as soon as we got into the Innova.

It turned out that there was a 1 hour stop between the Innova and the bus to Delhi. While waiting for the bus, we checked our fitness app. And guess what – we had completed 20 kilometers every day of our trip but had completed only 19 kilometers today. So, we each took a 15-minute walk while the other stayed with their luggage to complete our 20-kilometer milestone. It was another thing we could add to our list of highlights from this trip. Once in the bus, we woke up at 6 am in Sonipat. Longing for the mountainside again, we reluctantly got in an auto which dropped us to campus. Our trip was over but we had so many memories we carried back with us, which more than compensates for any post-trip blues.

Key takeaways

1. Talk to locals and use their help to plan out your itinerary for the day. Their tips will be more helpful than anything you have read on any blog (including mine).

2. Eat local food items. Indulge in necessary mountain meals like maggi and chai-biscuit

3. Start your day as early as possible. This lets you avoid crowds at tourist attractions and maximise your day outdoors.

4. Walk whenever possible. This not only saves money but also lets you discover hidden gems (and burns off all that maggi).

5. Good shoes are non-negotiable. Converse won’t cut it on slippery mountain paths so would recommend shoes with good grip.

6. Leave space in your itinerary for unplanned experiences. Sometimes, the best memories come from the moments you did not plan like the cricket game for me.

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