How strange is this
combination of proximity and separation. That ground - seconds away -
thousands of miles away. ~Charles A. Lindbergh
The above lines
describe how I was feeling when I boarded my second flight (BLR- DEL) with my
college friend Vivek. Boarding the flight was our first step towards a ten day
long vacation. Friday, the 12th of August 2011, I boarded my second
flight and as we entered we thought to ourselves, lets not expect anything
out of this most awaited trip which was planned just in two days. There was
another friend of mine who was flying at the same time but on an international
airline for his higher studies and that is Pramod Natraj.
|
Spicejet |
The flight being
Vivek’s first, he took the seat next to the window hoping to capture Bird’s eye
view of Bangalore. As the metal bird took off, the most admired Nikon SLR was
out only to make us realize that the battery power had drained out. Hope its
not an ‘Omen’ we thought and managed to capture few snaps from Samsung phones.
Experiencing the minor turbulences, within no time we had dozed off. I woke up
with a ear block and the flight circling around the Delhi airport. After a few
circles, the bird protruded its claws and held firmly the asphalt led track
made for it. And so we were in DELHI. (12 noon)
|
Utkal Express |
A cab from the
airport to H.Nizamuddin Railway station gave us a feel of the Delhi traffic and
its wide roads. At 1.30 PM, we made it to the station and had a quick lunch to
board the Utkal Express at 2.30 PM. Then began the long, really long wait for
the train to arrive. The rain gods showered their blessings in excess, I was
forced to sit with all our luggage on my lap and Vivek was busy charging the
camera’s drained out battery. Finally the train arrived at around 5.45 PM and I
really don’t remember when it departed. At 2 AM in the morning we reached
Haridwar, the land of the holy River Ganga and the scary ‘Aghoris’. Luckily for
us Shankar, a SAP professional once upon a time had booked a room for us.
|
Hotel in Haridwar |
We entered the
room, dropped our luggage and got some Biscuits + Tea as our dinner, breakfast.
A four hour short nap and then a quick bath, we were back at the Haridwar
Railway station to meet the other 14 strangers and begin our journey towards
wonderland.
|
Haridwar Railway Station |
Additional Details:
BLR-DEL Airfare
: Rs.3300/- (Spice Jet)
Del Airport to
Nizamuddin Station : Rs. 280/-
Utkal Express
(To Haridwar) : Rs. 141/-