Reaching Mussorie; stay and sightings
Having reached Dehradun, it took a little over one hour to reach Mussoorie. A public transport bus choc a block with passengers, the ride essayed the significance of preserving the eco diversity of the region with hoardings at regular intervals imparting the message. A footwork lasting three hours delivered a lodge on camel's back with a surety from those manning it that peace won't be hard to secure for the duration of stay. That was not to be felt/sighted with ease as random moments suggested the vociferous boast the inhouse caretakers had. Two lodges occupied during two different occasions showed the best deal lay in to never check in a lodge where those manning it tend to create a ruckus. In the first one, the room was just above the reception and i mistaking it for the fact that a rent a little beyond 500rs a day was a godsent opportunity not realising how disturbing would be the stay. Whenever i sought milk or tea (milk or tea was all i sought from this lodge)which i preferred to have it from terrace, i would make it a point to make the payment then and there itself. In the second lodge as well payments were made on spot for milk/tea delivered.
As a friendly advice refrain from staying in the hills and if need be just for a day.
A walk from from Picture Palace to Library bus stand constantly reminded the congestion that had gripped the region with fewer efforts to check it. Simple steps like the private vehicles making their way to Mussorie from Dehradun could be dissuaded by imposing a congestion tax of 100 rs or more for every hour of stay in Mussorie. The lodges and the liberty to charge exorbitant rents simply stemmed from the fact that there were fewer such establishments which were run by locals; most having been taken over by parties from Delhi adding to the din.The search for a simple room with no interest to seek one with a view were rejected point blank by different managers and those reporting to them. A season sauce they had been dipping themselves in now and then and so how they could afford to tame the rents and tame those who were willing to pay irrespective of the size of their pants. The common refrain being there were no dearth of parties coming from distant lands or lands adjoining Mussorie sands who could pay any amount they sought showing the entire machinery to manage it had begun to rot.
Steps to check degradation
A few steps can indeed do some good to this hill station. Restrain those from charging huge rents; those who wish to let out their premises for lodging/boarding irrespective of their size and the number of rooms have to pay some form of congestion tax for the duration the season is on. Second impose congestion tax on those tourists who ply their vehicles inside For any stay more than a day, for every rent accrued for the following day, 50 per cent would go towards govt kitty. A lax administration lacking in conduct for over 15 years has brought things to such a standstill. Even for a govt functionary who wishes to visit Mussorie from Dehradun should do it not more than once in two weeks. Let the locals run at least a quarter of the guest houses as a partner or full fledged owners and the govt should encourage this process.
For a tourist visiting the hill station a stay not spread for more than two days would be advisable and if a large contingent has come the stay by no means should exceed 24 hours. Lack of discipline in everyday conduct shows the mushrooming of hotels and hitlers-turning-to-whistlers, a telltale sign of commercial contingent that we all seem to swear by. For hill stations and those with a rich green coating of the past , the commercial caravan with green spaces being gobbled by merchants of merciless marketing should be discouraged. This reminds me of the green and ever mushrooming cover that areas beyond Bhiwandi/ Thane has and for residents of the city, they need not travel more than 20 kms from the heart of the city (say Dadar) to witness the bounty boast of green with no grunt. The rich eco diversity shows at least for now the green gain would endure and hopefully no mad and merciless constructions would be applied.
Returning to Mussoorie , few steps to discourage commercialisation, bringing a lake to check the hullabaloo and asking the tourists to return by evening or next day if Mussorie Motor has to run.
Sightings in Mussorie
-Shree Gandhi Ashram Khadi Bhandar,
registers brisk sale (woolen, khadi, shirts, blankets)
Tej Pal Singh , the manager, opening time 10 am to 8 pm
- Neelam Restaurant
- Standard opticians
- Delhi Hair Saloon
- Bengali Sweet Shop
- Priya Appartments
- Central Methodist Church, Established in 1885
- Hotel Doon Place ( it provides a perfect view but exorbitant charges that no person
in his or her senses would pay)
- Raj Cold Storage
- Game point
- Readymade garments
- Meeting Prem Singh, vendor
- Honey Hut
- Beachwood Hotel
- Kashmir Art Emporium
- Rama Hotel (would settle to give a room only next to kitchen)
- Indian terrain
- Cottage Industries Emporium
- Khanduri Store (for coffee)
- Chic chocolate
- Jewellery emporium
- clark's restaurant
- Mussorie Wool House
- Cambridge Book Depot
- Chander book depot
- SBI. Since 1955, SBI is operating from the historical building. Banking in Hills
began in 1836. In 1923 came the imperial bank of india as the board at the entrance suggests.
After chander book depot a lane going inside
- Hotel Glenvilla
- Hotel Sheela
- some old structures
- Hotel Nand Residency
- Further away is etched on a stationary cart "Yahan Durbin se camel rock dekhiye"
- Mussorie Public School Vivekananda Bhawan
Two breathtaking viewpoints were
1 View from winter line point
2 View from New Samrat, New Bharat Hotel
Other sightings
- Mussoorie Tourist Photo Deal
- Taking tea from Peak View Hotel, getting the perfect view
- Meeting two students of Saraswati School Vidya Mandir, class 10th and class Ist , janak and pankaj
- Royal cafe, another breathtaking view from here
- Central Command Holiday Home
- Value Hotel and Spa ( has chessboard tiles at entrance)
- Near hotel broadway sedbrough appartments. From here as well the view is breathtaking
Sightings near Landour Road
Jasmine Mist
PG G House
Hotel Darpan
Meeting Nima, a Buddhist running a store, discussions centred around Ladakh and Mc Leodganj
While milk from Green Restaurant was the order of the day, meeting cloth vendors from Kashmir was no less forgetting. As for getting to Dehradun, from Baramullah to Banhal it takes three hours by train, followed by eight hours ride by road from Banhal to Jammu. From Jammu to Dehradun it takes roundabout 24 hours by train .
Having reached Dehradun, it took a little over one hour to reach Mussoorie. A public transport bus choc a block with passengers, the ride essayed the significance of preserving the eco diversity of the region with hoardings at regular intervals imparting the message. A footwork lasting three hours delivered a lodge on camel's back with a surety from those manning it that peace won't be hard to secure for the duration of stay. That was not to be felt/sighted with ease as random moments suggested the vociferous boast the inhouse caretakers had. Two lodges occupied during two different occasions showed the best deal lay in to never check in a lodge where those manning it tend to create a ruckus. In the first one, the room was just above the reception and i mistaking it for the fact that a rent a little beyond 500rs a day was a godsent opportunity not realising how disturbing would be the stay. Whenever i sought milk or tea (milk or tea was all i sought from this lodge)which i preferred to have it from terrace, i would make it a point to make the payment then and there itself. In the second lodge as well payments were made on spot for milk/tea delivered.
As a friendly advice refrain from staying in the hills and if need be just for a day.
A walk from from Picture Palace to Library bus stand constantly reminded the congestion that had gripped the region with fewer efforts to check it. Simple steps like the private vehicles making their way to Mussorie from Dehradun could be dissuaded by imposing a congestion tax of 100 rs or more for every hour of stay in Mussorie. The lodges and the liberty to charge exorbitant rents simply stemmed from the fact that there were fewer such establishments which were run by locals; most having been taken over by parties from Delhi adding to the din.The search for a simple room with no interest to seek one with a view were rejected point blank by different managers and those reporting to them. A season sauce they had been dipping themselves in now and then and so how they could afford to tame the rents and tame those who were willing to pay irrespective of the size of their pants. The common refrain being there were no dearth of parties coming from distant lands or lands adjoining Mussorie sands who could pay any amount they sought showing the entire machinery to manage it had begun to rot.
Steps to check degradation
A few steps can indeed do some good to this hill station. Restrain those from charging huge rents; those who wish to let out their premises for lodging/boarding irrespective of their size and the number of rooms have to pay some form of congestion tax for the duration the season is on. Second impose congestion tax on those tourists who ply their vehicles inside For any stay more than a day, for every rent accrued for the following day, 50 per cent would go towards govt kitty. A lax administration lacking in conduct for over 15 years has brought things to such a standstill. Even for a govt functionary who wishes to visit Mussorie from Dehradun should do it not more than once in two weeks. Let the locals run at least a quarter of the guest houses as a partner or full fledged owners and the govt should encourage this process.
For a tourist visiting the hill station a stay not spread for more than two days would be advisable and if a large contingent has come the stay by no means should exceed 24 hours. Lack of discipline in everyday conduct shows the mushrooming of hotels and hitlers-turning-to-whistlers, a telltale sign of commercial contingent that we all seem to swear by. For hill stations and those with a rich green coating of the past , the commercial caravan with green spaces being gobbled by merchants of merciless marketing should be discouraged. This reminds me of the green and ever mushrooming cover that areas beyond Bhiwandi/ Thane has and for residents of the city, they need not travel more than 20 kms from the heart of the city (say Dadar) to witness the bounty boast of green with no grunt. The rich eco diversity shows at least for now the green gain would endure and hopefully no mad and merciless constructions would be applied.
Returning to Mussoorie , few steps to discourage commercialisation, bringing a lake to check the hullabaloo and asking the tourists to return by evening or next day if Mussorie Motor has to run.
Sightings in Mussorie
-Shree Gandhi Ashram Khadi Bhandar,
registers brisk sale (woolen, khadi, shirts, blankets)
Tej Pal Singh , the manager, opening time 10 am to 8 pm
- Neelam Restaurant
- Standard opticians
- Delhi Hair Saloon
- Bengali Sweet Shop
- Priya Appartments
- Central Methodist Church, Established in 1885
- Hotel Doon Place ( it provides a perfect view but exorbitant charges that no person
in his or her senses would pay)
- Raj Cold Storage
- Game point
- Readymade garments
- Meeting Prem Singh, vendor
- Honey Hut
- Beachwood Hotel
- Kashmir Art Emporium
- Rama Hotel (would settle to give a room only next to kitchen)
- Indian terrain
- Cottage Industries Emporium
- Khanduri Store (for coffee)
- Chic chocolate
- Jewellery emporium
- clark's restaurant
- Mussorie Wool House
- Cambridge Book Depot
- Chander book depot
- SBI. Since 1955, SBI is operating from the historical building. Banking in Hills
began in 1836. In 1923 came the imperial bank of india as the board at the entrance suggests.
After chander book depot a lane going inside
- Hotel Glenvilla
- Hotel Sheela
- some old structures
- Hotel Nand Residency
- Further away is etched on a stationary cart "Yahan Durbin se camel rock dekhiye"
- Mussorie Public School Vivekananda Bhawan
Two breathtaking viewpoints were
1 View from winter line point
2 View from New Samrat, New Bharat Hotel
Other sightings
- Mussoorie Tourist Photo Deal
- Taking tea from Peak View Hotel, getting the perfect view
- Meeting two students of Saraswati School Vidya Mandir, class 10th and class Ist , janak and pankaj
- Royal cafe, another breathtaking view from here
- Central Command Holiday Home
- Value Hotel and Spa ( has chessboard tiles at entrance)
- Near hotel broadway sedbrough appartments. From here as well the view is breathtaking
Sightings near Landour Road
Jasmine Mist
PG G House
Hotel Darpan
Meeting Nima, a Buddhist running a store, discussions centred around Ladakh and Mc Leodganj
While milk from Green Restaurant was the order of the day, meeting cloth vendors from Kashmir was no less forgetting. As for getting to Dehradun, from Baramullah to Banhal it takes three hours by train, followed by eight hours ride by road from Banhal to Jammu. From Jammu to Dehradun it takes roundabout 24 hours by train .
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