Days 13 and 14, Chandigarh. Taj Poshi! A Le Corbusier welcome!

TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Days 13 and 14. Recharging in Style. Taj Chandigarh ki Mehmaan nawazi!
27th and 28th May 2010, Thursday and Friday.
Route : Pathankot to Chandigarh. About 270 kms. Mostly National and State Highways. Via Phagwara and Ludhiana.
It was a lazy start. Got up leisurely and Blue was the colour of the day. The skies followed suit except the aura of heat generated by Mr Sun was blinding and the mercury touching 45 deg. C. Shekhar and Sadhana were ready early and the awesome threesome ( me, Nisheeth and Vijay) who shared the room, were flitting in and out of the bathroom tried to get our act together, interspaced with morning tea and some missed calls. Yes, they were back and Nisheeth was a busy man. The minute the phone signals were back, so were the MISSed ones, with a vengeance. They were averaging at 6 to 7 a day!
By around 10 am, breakfast was ordered in the Hotel room itself and omlettes and breads later we were burping and ready. Shekhar in the meanwhile was down with the Fortuner, trying to get rid of unwanted junk in the luggage storage area and organizing the water and essentials for each passenger, as he had been doing religiously and immaculately, all these days. Only today, it was a perspiring effort!
As the luggage was brought down and I settled the Hotel account, it was touching 11 am and we had an estimate 5 hours of driving time ahead of us, with our usual stoppages customized to individual needs!
We were kind of getting used to the scorching temperatures and Nisheeth at the wheel negotiated the unruly Pathankot traffic and we were soon on the state highway to Phagwara. The air conditioning shielded us from the pot boiling temperatures outside and some good old hindi film numbers had us humming along. Nisheeth tried to catch his forty winks, whenever we let him, which was not too often and his hunger pangs were a few hours away, so it was pretty manageable.
The Punjab terrain was dotted with well tilled fields and hard working farmers. Infrastructure was also visibly being upgraded everywhere. We were looking forward to our lunch stop at the gorgeous Orchid Cabana Hotel which we had discovered on our way up to Leh. We would get in there in a couple of hours or more. The traffic was a deterrent since the state highway construction work limited the top speed and the we ambled into Phagwara by 1.45 pm. The cool and pristine environment of the Orchid was welcome and we settled down for some chilled drinks and a lightish lunch. The Lassi saga had eluded us again as Nisheeth insisted that we visit the ‘Haveli’ and we never seemed to spot one at the right time.
I took over the wheel, an hour later and headed for Ludhiana, not very far away. We had some shopping to do, at the Monte Carlo factory outlet, we had visited on our way to Leh. So we pulled up and picked our pockets and the store for goodies and headed for Chandigarh through an exit to the highway.
The GPS on board provided by Toyota obviously had some updation to be done as new roads and flyovers beat its imagination. At times we would have driven in the opposite direction so ‘mute’ was what it was told to do. Some asking and road signs later, we were finally headed for Chandigarh.
Around 5 pm, we spotted a Dhabha which offered some tea, and cold water, besides our very loved onion pakoras.
At the rate we were going, eating driving, then stopping, eating, sleeping and eating again………….our rotund profiles would raise a few eyebrows when we got back…………..but what the hell, weren’t we supposed to be holidaying?! So more pakoras and chai later, we were headed for Chandigarh. Vijay had taken over and handed the wheel to Shekhar an hour and a half before we hit Le Corbusier’s creation………Chandigarh. The GPS helped here as all the Sectors looked similar and we had no clue which direction to head once we entered. A well planned city and a GPS that wasn’t confused was what took us to the Taj Residency in Chandigarh.
We were accorded a very warm and traditional welcome and allocated our rooms. We chilled out and decided to go for a swim. Except Nisheeth who chose to relax in bed with his phone on tap, Vijay, Shekhar and me cooled ourselves in the first floor pool which was heavenly and refreshing. A cool stormy breeze also helped.
The appetite built up, and Nisheeth showing signs of hunger pangs with his fuel needle precariously heading for red, we headed for the bar and enjoyed the ambience and some great chilled beer. This was followed by a special menu at the Black Lotus Chinese restaurant on the property. The Chef had churned up a few of his specialties and we gorged on what was served.
It had been a long yet fun day so we chose to call it a day and agreed to meet for breakfast the next morning.
The morning of Friday the 28th May at the Taj Residency Chandigarh, started as planned. A lavish breakfast menu and Vijay in his Kurta and Pyjama adding a dash of Lucknow to the surroundings. Idlis and Dosas, eggs to order, cold cuts and sausages, beans and roasties and more…………..we let go and splurged for the same reason as always………! We figured out our programme for the day and decided to meet in the lobby 11.30 ish, after a shower.
We had planned to leave for a new Spa place called Moksha, for lunch. It had been recommended by a friend who had been there. It was just above Timber Trail, enroute to Kasauli and Simla, about a couple of hours away.
I took the wheel soon after we reconvened and thanks again to the GPS found our way out headed for Timber Trail. It was a winding and congested route, past Pinjore gardens. Once there, we were disappointed to learn that due to the still gusty winds, the ropeway which one would have to take to get to Moksha, would be risky and had been suspended for now. So we changed course towards Kasauli to another resort, Kasauli Resorts, for a bite of Lunch. Winding narrow roads later and a terrain full of monkeys and meat pickles, besides the cute toy train that runs through the hills to Simla, we were in Kasauli resorts just before 3.30. It was a great place with a lovely view. The restaurant had a deck overlooking a valley and we savored the view before the food arrived. Tandoori Chicken and dal and some great rotis helped ease the pangs and we then sauntered around the property admiring the curated gardens and flower patches. Around 5 pm we were back on the road to Chandigarh when a Baskin Robbins beckoned us. As we headed back, we spotted a shop selling Apple cider which Vijay apparently liked. So we picked up a bottle which turned out to be something completely different. Moral of the story………..when you want cider, go to Europe!
As we entered the outskirts of Chandigarh, Nisheeth and Vijay spotted a sweet meat shop and couldn’t hold back. And lo and behold we had half a kilo of fresh milk cake on board! Delicious it was, as I managed to get a few bites while I drove. The day was relaxed yet tiring, but fun. We were just unwinding. As we entered the Hotel, the in house shopping centre in the Hotel complex caught our attention so we browsed around for a while before hitting the showers and meeting over dinner at Dera, the Indian restaurant. The menu was special………….Raan! Anyone reading this blog would probably think we were on a Vir Sanghvi rude food trip. I guess, that was our way of saying, 'agar Leh jana hai, that’s only food for thought!'
Nisheeth was however complaining about being deprived of eye candy since he hadn’t got an opportunity to ogle at the sights in Sector 17. No one was wanting to do any such thing at 11 pm. So I volunteered to walk him down just so he’d have a good nights sleep. We settled for a paan and decided to call it a night.
Next morning was our scheduled drive to Hodal, via Delhi, where Vijay was to meet the Nikon guys to check on his camera under repair. We were certainly not looking forward to civilization that is Delhi! But the light at the end of this tunnel was home………that was motivation enough!
Signing off, as I watch NDTV news in the Hotel room and almost dozing off!
Catch you guys en route to Hodal and there!