Budget for the trip: Rs. 2000
I have travelled to Macleodganj twice and the place has definitely not disappointed me. If one is looking for a much more quieter, slower and tinier place to go visit- Mcleodganj is the place to be. The first trip: The first trip was taken 2 years back with Alokika during October. We took a train to Pathankot (the Jammu Express). Oh my that was quite some experience! We were travelling by ladies general and as the coach was full of piligrims. The coach was so crowded that I remember sitting on my bag huddled up on the floor and noticing a tear run down Alokikas cheek. However, we soon got comfortable, the beauty of the human species is after all its awesome aptitude to adapt to the situations. (I always wonder why people don't explore that more) What started as a complete disaster resulted in one of the most exhilarating nights iv ever had- All of us women sung songs, chatted and I did manage to get some sleeping leaning on this woman. We reached Pathankot at 6 in the morning and ate paranthas in the bus stop there and took a bus to mcleodganj from there. The bus reached mcleodganj by 1. On out way,we bought plenty of sweet to tide over my tendency of getting car sick but we shall not get into that. As soon as we stepped in mcleodganj we had a guy running towards us telling us about rooms that he had to rent for 250 bucks a day. We took it. It had a T.V. set with cable, Hot running water, a restaurant, a double bed and was fairly neat and decent. Plus it was right near the monastery. After getting all freshened up, we went for brunch. There was this awesome cafe on our way down to the main monastery. It projected out towards the streets and was placed on an elevation from the main road. The cheesecake there is the best iv ever had in India. It was so good that we had more of it the next day as well. The music playing from a nearby music shop was the icing on the pretty damn awesome cheesecake. It was this prayer song with the chant of Om Mani Padme Hum and was so calming. We then headed to the monastery. The monastery was beautiful and relaxing. When one goes to visit the monastery, it should be borne in mind that it is probably the most pious places for the largest religion in the world- Buddhism: It is the home of the Dalai Lama. After spending a couple of hours in the monastery and looking at the sunset we headed out to sample some momos from the street stalls. The momos werent exactly what we were looking for. They were tofu made with potatoes and spinach and I almost hurled it all out. After a brief time spent on window shopping we decided to go eat at this restaurant called Lhasa Restaurant in the main square as was recommended by a Nepali shop keeper(daaju). The thukpa (tibetan noodle soup) was good. We bought some Old Monk from the nearby Wine and Beer shop and headed out to our hotel.Day II was the day we had allotted for trekking. We decided to eat cheesecake for breakfast and then headed out to Bhagsu. Bhagsu has a huge temple of Shiva and also has a massive waterfall. We hiked upto the waterfall and on our way got temporary tattoos and ate at this restaurant called "No name cafe" (you cant make stuff like this up). The waterfall was beautiful as was the walk to it. We then walked back to Dharamshala and sampled some Lemon Tea at Nicks Kitchen and Momos at JJ Cafe where we met these two women who we shared stories with. After some quick shopping for all our friends, we took a state transport bus and returned.
Mode to travel around the city: On foot.
Mcleodganj is an absolute foodies paradise so enjoy a lot of food and teas.

The expenditure:General Ticket: 150Hotel: 250Food: 600Shopping: 300Tattoo: 30Bus Ticket: 200
Total Expenditure: Rs. 1500
Tips to Trip:

1. Carry sour things to eat to deal with Car sickness.. menthol doesn't do the trick
2. Trek to Triund or Dharamkot if possible.
3. Its Mcleodganj, not Dharamshala!!!
4. Travel Light Go to JJ Cafe for night gigs. They are awesome and the people are very friendly.
5. Don't hesitate to explore placed for a room. Create a strict budget for accomodation.
6. Carry woolens depending on the month you are travelling in.
7. Try to be back by 8. The place gets deserted after that.
8. Do not forget your camera.

Hogenakkal

Budget for the trip: Rs. 1000 per person

For the weekend break from the internship at Alternative Law Forum, Bangalore Nimisha and I went to this place famed for waterfalls, scenic beauty and massages. The place was called Hogenakkal which means smoking stones in Tamil. The name of the place is difficult to pronounce but the place is beautiful.

Travel: We took the train to Dharampuri at 6 in the morning from Bangalore Central. The train reached Dharampuri at around 10. After eating a breakfast of masala dosas in the bus stop we luckily managed to get a seat on the really over crowded bus which meandered through the Naxal inhabited areas for an hour and dropped us off at Hogenakkal.

Travel costs: General W/T (:P)- 0

Bus from Dharampuri to Hogenakkal- Rs. 40

As we had decided to visit Hogenakkal for only a day, we didnt have to waste time looking for a hotel. We directly went to the waterfalls. There was huge crowd all wishing to go through the waterfalls in these basket boats. The nauka wala informed us that it would cost like 250 bucks a person to travel in those boats. Paranoid of getting ripped off and going over budget, we decided to go and browse around the place for a little while. There we met the massage women. Massages for 150 bucks.. full body with hair. They made us buy shampoos, soap and a lot of oil too and took us to the dingy massage parlour. The massage was possibly one of the best massages ever and there was oil everywhere. They then shoved us towards this otherwise hidden waterfall where a commune of women were bathing and having the time of their life. That is one experience I shall never forget. A trip to Hogenakkal is incomplete without a massage and the bath in the women's waterfall.

We walked towards the bridge following all the other pedestrians where we paid 10 bucks each for the entry ticket. The waterfalls were magnificient. There were three of them each smoking away. There was a lot of area to sit and chill.

Eating: The fish pakoras are apparently legendary there but being a vegetarian I didnt sample them. They were being sold everywhere. There were other fruits and other roadside munchies sold everywhere. A couple of restaurants were also there where the food was really cheap but not very yummy. Food rating: 1.5/5, Cost: Rs. 100

Trip Tips:

Funnily all the shops charge more than the MRP so its advisable to carry all the things from the city, esp. booze and smokes

The bus from Dharampuri is always crowded so jump on the bus as soon as it stops.

carry a set of extra clothes.

Try to avoid weekends as it is generally very crowded then.

Carry sunblock

Try not to travel alone , especially if you are a north Indian woman. The menfolk are very lecherous and annoying.

Wear monsoon chappals.

Travel Light

The seven years itch

We go through so many travel guides before we travel.. trying to look for places to stay and places to visit, eat, etc etc. However these travel guides do not suffice for a low budget low maintenance traveller. As a student I really cannot afford to have long luxurious and pretentiously expensive travels. My motto of travel being "Spend less on conveyance and accommodation, splurge otherwise. A lot of my friends ask me for help while formulating their travel plans and I thought a blog would be a good idea to write about my travels. So lets trip!!!