Summer expedition: A journey of discovery, culture & family adventures

Summer vacation is taken to refresh oneself and take a break from school. It is needed so that we will be prepared for our next session in a good mood and perform much better than we did last year.

This summer vacation, we traveled to Amritsar, Oatnorisie, Dharamshala, Chandigarh, and my native place Nagpur with my family. We first flew to Delhi. At Delhi airport, our driver came to receive us. After that, we traveled to Amritsar by car. After the long journey, we were tired, but we freshened up and went to see the Golden Temple at night. The reflection of the Golden Temple was falling off the lake, and it looked gorgeous. We spent some time around the temple, clicked a few photos, and then asked one of the people in the temple when we could go inside. He said the gates would open at 10:00 am, so we canceled it. We shopped for traditional Punjabi footwear (jutis) for my mother. After that, we drank badam milk and went back to our hotel.

The next day, we went to Jallianwala Bagh and paid respect to the freedom fighters. Then we went to eat chole kulche. After that, we saw the Partition Time ceremonies at the Wagah Border, where the parade was going on between India and Pakistan. We then traveled to Dalhousie and reached there at night. We had our dinner and went to sleep. The next morning, we had our breakfast, went to the Mall Road by bus, and saw the Himalayan Ranges and Deodar trees around us. It was so beautiful. On the way, we clicked a lot of photos. When we reached Mall Road, we saw shops selling shawls, sweaters, jackets, etc., and enjoyed some local snacks. Then we called our driver, who took us to Khajjiar (Mini Switzerland of India). There was a lot of snow, and we clicked photos in Kashmiri dress. Then we went to our hotel.

The next day, after having our breakfast, we checked out from our hotel and went to Panch Pulla waterfall. We then went to Ganji Pahari, where some Bollywood films have been shot. We had our lunch, clicked pictures, and then we went to see Satdhara waterfalls. The view of the Dhauladhar ranges and snow-covered peaks was breathtaking. In the evening, we went to the Dalai Lama temple, a Buddhist temple. The Dalai Lama got the Peace Prize, and they believe that when one person dies, another is born. The current Dalai Lama is the 14th. We also visited a Tibetan market and bought some key chains. After that, we went to Bhagsu temple, a Hindu temple, with a cold waterfall attached to it. It was freezing!

The next day, we explored more. We checked out from the hotel and visited the Rock Garden in Chandigarh. We enjoyed momos and bought Punjabi suits. After that, we headed to Chandigarh Railway Station and took a train to Delhi. In Delhi, we visited Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate, and Qutub Minar. Later, we boarded the Rajdhani Express to our home. The first day back, we were tired, so we rested.

The following day, my dad’s uncle invited us for dinner. My grandparents and my mom’s aunt were there too. We had a cake and played games. Another day, we went to my aunt’s house, and at night, we celebrated my maternal grandfather’s birthday. We had dinner with my maternal grandparents, and my family.

We saw so many places – it was an incredible vacation!