Tending towards Kibber - Kufri

The plan for Snow Leopards was hatched when I got an invite to a wedding in Kolkata end January 2024.

After much debate across stakeholders, my younger daughter booked her tickets. All others were not too happy to be left behind. But, work called.

Kolkata from the 25th to the 28th was crazy.

Got into Kolkata late 25th evening. Delayed flight. 

Stayed at an Airbnb in south Kolkata - penthouse with a bedroom, living cum dining area and a kitchen. Clean and comfortable.

Had thosai rolls packed by my daughter for dinner, after some Paul John.

Lunch and dinner next three days was planned at the wedding. So only had to cater to my morning food.

Breakfast was mixed.

Day one was on the street. Went along the roads of the area, a gentle couple of kilometers circuit. Was a discovery of sorts, to figure out my options. 

Street food in Kolkata was a revelation. Shops place stools outside, people come sit order and gorge. The place is filled with the non Bengali. Food served extends from katchodis to loochi aloo. I opted for a dry katchodi plus a toasted vegetable sandwich. Did not want a system overload on day one.

The second morning went for a long walk. Distance including the breakfast part was over 8 kilometers. Ended up at an Udipi place. Indulged in a Masala Thosai.

Day three, went to a cafe I had seen the previous day called Eggpresso. Ate something called Egg Gree Aioli Fry. Basically three boiled eggs with some vegetables.

Lunch and dinner was at the Bengali wedding. Brilliant spread, as expected. While I was polite with the food, cannot say the same about the sweets. Over indulged by miles.. 

Net result was that I departed Kolkata with a messy system. Good part was I had at least 4 days before we got to the really cold stretch - where we would possible see Snow Leopards ( SL ).

Stayed 29th night at Chandigarh. Landed late evening.

Took an hour to the hotel from the airport - place called Arista. Do not stay there. No hot water in the shower, food is not great. Only win is that there is a excellent booze shop close by. A bottle of Ballantyne's Finest is INR1300/=. Picked up three.

30th morning the taxi was there at 0900 to drive to Kufri. The fog was not too bad. But, traffic was seriously bad. Fortunately, the driver knew the roads. He swung all around the traffic areas. Longer run, but saved on time. Even with that took us over an hour to get out of town.

Stopped at Solan for breakfast. Got to Sterling at Kufri by 1430. Had stayed here in 2022. Seems to have remained as good in service and amenities. Bodily system started stabilizing. Ate early and slept.

Woke up 31st to light snow on the ground. Went for a walk to get blood circulation going. And, it started snowing. Had a chance to test my shoes and jacket. The water proof shoes had been picked up a couple of months back, and walked in a lot. The jacket was a new buy, a light weight, slightly snow proof. Needed getting adjusted to by the body, which was used to the heavier wool lined style. Was glad to note all functioned well. The shoes stayed dry. The jacket kept the cold out, and the light snowfall did not get thru.

Was relaxing post breakfast, when my daughter called to say that her flight into Chandigarh was delayed by a few hours. Plans were worked around that.

And then, a few hours later, my daughter's flight was cancelled. The weather plus too much hopping by Indigo flights.

So worked around that. The travel guys were really flexible. And, fortunately we had a day spare.

So it was decided that I stay in Kufri one more night. Daughter would get to Delhi. Then drive up to Kufri the next morning.

Had some Mutton Himachali for dinner. Only problem was that there was only bone, little meat. 

1st February Woke up to fresh snowfall. And that continued for a while. Went for a walk. Lot more snow on the roads than the previous day. And, no traffic on the roads. Found that local admin had stopped traffic pending clearance of the roads. Saw the snow clearance in action. 

It kept snowing thru the day, after a brief let off. Went for a brief walk to stretch legs. Shoe sank in a bit. Still stayed dry.

Kept a tight reign on checking where my daughter was thru the day. She had left late because of a very late flight. By the time she reached Solan it was around 2 PM. My anxiety was more about the roads being shut by the administration than anything else. Little did I realize that there was a greater problem.

Snow that had fallen thru the day had melted and formed ice. The sedan she came in from Delhi was no way equipped to deal with that. It got past Shimla, then got stuck in a jam with many other vehicles trying a steep climb towards Kufri. This was close to a check point called Dalhi.

Asked around the resort and was lucky to get connected to a guy who owned a 4*4, and was around Dalhi at that moment. Connected the two vehicles and the package transferred mid traffic from the sedan to the 4*4. Got to Kufri by 1830. Massive relief for all around, including resort staff. 

Called the SL guys to check on plans for the next day. Was told to be ready at 0700. Informed the resort reception accordingly.

Then was told by our guide cum driver that he would be at the resort by 0800 !!

Had a comfortable dinner, with an extra drink.