Hotel Sakoon, Dehradun at a glance... Part III

A Hi, hello and a trip is born..-Part I

Here we go, up and away to Dehradun.. Part II

A 30km ride away, a few phone calls later the hotel finally came into our vicinity and so did apprehension.. We wondered how good it would be, whether it would be decent... And this was one destination where I had a room to myself.. Friend thought places wouldn't allow an extra bed... Well, I ain't complaining... 

The only issue we had with Oyo was that they do not reveal the name of the Hotel, this one we got lucky.. Friend noticed a review that said "we found Sakoon in Sakoon" and so we knew the name. Else, only option is to call the Oyo number given along with your booking to retrieve the name of the Hotel and their number!

We stayed at Hotel Sakoon which we had booked via Clear Trip and must say OYO has been quite impressive in the North!  

We saw the hotel, walked into the lobby and looked forward to the rooms. Much to our surprise, the rooms were beautiful- they were large, spacious and just wow! There was a huge bedroom as you opened the door, and then there was a smaller room with a wall to wall cupboard beyond which was the bathroom. It was neat, clean and beautiful.

The hotel offers,

- Free Wifi

- Food in room service [ they don't have a restaurant]

- Prompt service 

- Courteous Staff

- Good food

- Air condition

- TV with Tata Sky

- Kettle with tea bags, milk powder & sugar packets.  

- A decent parking space and terrace in the back where they also host weddings/parties

-  Slightly off the main road and so is fairly quiet

You can walk down the road and will be greeted by the majestic schools and posh homes along the street. At the end of the street we were able to find auto to take us around, also spotted quite a few fruit vendors selling some delicious looking Strawberries.. 

Room- 5/5

Service- 5/5

Price- 5/5- we got the rooms for about Rs1500 odd which is quite a steal. Booked via Cleartrip app 

Location- 5/5 -conveniently located! 

A hotel I would definitely recommend to anyone travelling to Dehradun! 

Here we go, up and away to Dehradun.. Part II

Well, in case you haven't read Part I, go on read it already... :-) 

What began as a "Lets do the 40hour train journey to Dehradun transformed into lets just take the flight out to Dehradun, we still reach on the same day as planned" and that was that! I managed to convince the friends R&A [should say Spicejet also helped since the flights weren't too expensive] and on 10th Feb morning 4am, I was getting into the cab with my one small suitcase to pick them up and head out to the airport. 

I know, who on earth takes such an early morning flight right.. well, apparently we do!! Reached the airport, hungry, sleep deprived we had to deal with security folks who thought people in Chennai spoke nothing but Hindi..  I know the language but was pissed off at how these folks seem to just rattle off in hindi.. There was a lady who brought a print out and asked the guard at the main entry gate to ask where she was to go. He, instead of figuring out what she wanted, went on in hindi asking her what she was flying and where.. She looked lost. And similarly, inside in the ladies security zone, the lady there again shouted in Hindi asking women in the 2nd half of the queue to go to the other line for frisking/check. And she was rude & loud... 

When it was my turn for the security check, the lady inside the booth said "Namaste ma'am, kaise ho" and I stared at her with a blank look and then she changed it to "hello ma'am, how you are?"... Well, showed you didn't I!!

Grabbed something to eat, and headed off to the aircraft which was parked somewhere near my home [am convinced].. Why do I say that? Well, the shuttle bus went on and on and on for nearly an hour...alright I exaggerate, but it did drive down all the way around the airport till it went past the cargo zone as well and then reached the airline.. Phew! I thought for a second we were gonna be taken to Dehradun by bus... [take that you *40hr train journey skipping passengers...*]

The flight was a few minutes late, the seats were tight, I felt like I was a colour pencil inside a box of 24, where you need to empty them all out to find the one colour you want.. We were rubbing more than just shoulders, the backrest was made for vertically challenged folks and so I ended up leaning on the window and catching a nap [ there goes all the years of - do not lean on the door/window].. The stewardesses were grumpy, not even a smile when greeting us Good morning and they did the safety routine like they had a stick up their bottoms.. [I kid you not.. and if you think I made all these up.. d'uh]

Now that we are done with all this, the pilot finally decided to take off and we reached Delhi half an hour later, which meant we had lesser time in Delhi airport.. yay!! 

After an eventful morning, we finally made it in one piece [two airlines and twice the security checks later] in beautiful cool Dehradun... 

A Hi, hello and a trip is born..-Part I

About a month or two ago, the bunch of us met for a Tamil play.. A friend’s sis had also come down and she joined us. It was during the few minutes I spent talking to her that she mentioned we should do a trip to Rishikesh enroute to Haridwar for the Ardh Kumbh Mela. Now, I have been wanting to attend a Kumb Mela just to experience the energy and witness the crowd that comes down. So, when she gave us an open invite, it was all that I needed. A friend[couple] and I planned the trip, booked tickets and then came the drama.

With this friend, nothing is what it seems. The Trip began with him, his folks and Me doing the trip, and what finally happened was he+his wife [also a friend] and I ended up going on the trip. We booked onward journey tickets, but that changed over time and then came the return.. The hotel bookings were done literally the night before we were to fly out. If that isn’t last minute I don’t know what is.. 

Well, that is how I first official big trip of the year 2016 began. More to come in subsequent posts. But for now all I will say is that the trip was quite the interesting, insightful one.. I firmly believe that when you travel with someone is when you actually learn about them, and discover if the friendship is what it seems.. True to this, it was one hellova trip!! No regrets!!

 

According to Hindu mythology, 'Ardh Kumbh Mela' takes place when the planet Jupiter enters Aquarius and the Sun enters Aries. Kumbha (meaning pot) Mela (meaning fair) is considered a very sacred Hindu pilgrimage. It takes place at the following four sacred places across India:

• • Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh)
• • Haridwar (Uttarakhand) 
• • Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh)
• • Nasik (Maharashtra)

The Ardh kumbh Mela in the holy city of Haridwar is from January 2016 to April 2016. 

Main Bathing (Snan) Dates of Haridwar Ardh Kumbh Mela 2016

Dates	Events on this Day
14th January	Makar Sankranti
12th February	Vasant Panchami- the date when we planned our trip!
22nd February	Magh Purnima
7th March	Mahashivratri
7th April	Chaitra Amavasya
8th April	Chaitra Shukla Pratipada
14th April	Mesha Sankranti
15th April	Ram Navami
22nd April	Chaitra shukla Purnima

You can read more about the Kumbh Mela here

Celebrating Chennai - Elliots Beach, Besant Nagar

After the rains, after the floods, the city is slowly getting back on its feet. And so, when my uncle and cousin had come down from Delhi, we decided to go to the beach. Elliott beach announced my uncle and that was that. 

We parked the car near the string of eat outs, and walked down to the water. along the way, I noticed that the Schmidt memorial had gotten a makeover and was now protected by a fence. 

Beyond that, there were one or two Corn hawkers. They had the stove on, and were busy cooking corn on the cob. I went and spoke to a lady, asking her if I could click pictures of the sparks flying. She asked if I wanted corn. I promised her I would buy on my way back. I also chatted with her asking how she was coping. She said this is what I do for a living and so I come here daily, irrespective of whether other hawkers come or not. That evening, the entire stretch was deserted. But she sat and kept a watch for any customers. 

And on our way back, we did pick up corn and nibbled on them as we rode back home..

Here are a few shots clicked that evening... My city never ceases to amaze me.- the grit, the way people came together and the whole "life shall go on" spirit... :-)