The day we reached Chandigarh the power was out for 6 hours! Luckily my Dad has an inverter so we could have a fan or two running in the house. But otherwise it was just as hot here as it was in New Delhi with the temperatures in the 40s C (100s F). My Dad told us that this was the first time all summer the power had been disrupted in Chandigarh. Anyhow, this was just too much for me and the very next day we set off to the mountains for cooler air.
We drove for 5 hours to Chail in Himachal Pradesh. It follows the same road to Shimla and just about 20 km short of Shimla it diverts off towards Chail. Shimla is a major city and capital of Himachal, it is also a major tourist attraction, so it is crowded with traffic and people. Chail on the other hand is just a quiet little town with a population of less than 10,000. Chail has beautiful pine and deodar forests surrounding it. There is a sanctuary near Chail so the areas surrounding it remain undeveloped. Chail’s claim to fame is they have a cricket ground at the highest altitude. (Pic 1: view from our lodge)We stayed at a resort run by Himachal Tourism (I completely recommend any hotels run by them) that was at one time the palace of Maharaja of Patiala called the Rajgarh Palace. Since they are the palace grounds the resort itself is a charming campus with beautiful lawns and spectacular views and separate from the town.
The Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupinder Singh, was expelled from Shima by the British. He took it as a challenge and found a small village which was within sight of Shima, in a beautiful location and most importantly was at a slightly higher elevation than Shimla. So he was able to look down his nose at the British from his new amazing Palace.
When we reached Chail the weather could not have been more perfect, it was cool and pleasant. My kids finally came alive and were running about and enjoying the openness and the open air. The deodars surrounding us kept the mountain air fresh. When we booked the rooms at the palace hotel, we learned that there were no rooms available in the original palace building, but if we were willing to stay in one of their lodges on the palace grounds we could get rooms right away. I wasn’t going to wait to get out of the heat, so we took a couple of rooms in the lodge and it turned out to be a wonderful decision. At the lodge we had our own little courtyard overlooking a beautiful valley. Since it was away from the main Palace Hotel there weren’t as many guests and staff about. In fact, everyone at the lodge felt quite comfortable coming out in our pajamas to breathe in the fresh morning air everyday. It would have been perfect if we could have our morning tea in the courtyard as well. But there are lots of monkeys that live in these forests and will grab any food that is out there. So we had to drink our teas in our rooms.
We would walk up a mountain trail to get to the Palace Hotel where the only restaurant in the resort was located. The food was simple and well prepared. If anyone is familiar with Himachali food, you will know that it is healthy, nutritious, tasteful, but not spicy. So this was one time, both my kids ate well. This was great for me considering there are no McDonalds or Dominos nearby.
On the way between the Palace and the lodge is a children’s park. We never saw any of the families from the resort visit this park, but we made it a regular haunt during our three days in Chail. My kids loved it and loved that kids from the town came to play too. They town kids were fascinated by my kids and would play near them. By day three, they were so familiar with us that when I took pictures they would ask me to take theirs too. They loved to see their pictures on my camera and posed for more. (Pic 2: children's park and local kids)One evening we stayed until dusk at the park. The local kids and their families headed back home taking a mountain trail back home and needed to do it with daylight. Then it was just us in the park and even as we watched the monkeys from the deodar trees started slowly making their way into the park. I guess when the people leave the park belongs to the monkeys.
The first night in Chail it rained. This brought the temperatures down even more. I got a little worried. Here we were escaping the heat and my kids and I did not have any long pants or long sleeved shirts. Luckily there was never any breeze (I don’t know if this is typical of mountain areas) and so after a very short while we were used to the cooler temperatures – we are from Wisconsin afterall. On the second day, my only slippers with me in Chail started to show a tear and I thought I would have to buy new footwear. We set off to the town nearby to get a few snacks to keep in the hotel room for the kids and to repair my slippers or buy something new. We found a mochi (cobbler) who fixed my slipper for Rs. 10 (about 25 cents). What a deal! (Pic 3: the mochi in town)
Then it was time to head back to Chandigarh. Luckily during the one day we spent there the power stayed on. My Dad’s house – my youngest calls this the Gate House – is right across from a park. The kids enjoyed playing there in the evenings, and I enjoyed watching the neighborhood kids play cricket. The teams are fluid as kids come and go during the evening. Disputes happen, they resolve them and the game goes on. My kids will never experience anything like that in the US where everything is so structured. (Pic 4: kids at the park in Chandigarh)Copyright Kalpana Kanwar August 2009
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