An Intro to the Mariah Carey Season

Atu has been MIA the past fortnight because of Manipur and its restrictions on the internet. This sucks because she is my emotional support friend and I run most things past her. And these past two weeks have been, to put it mildly, busy. For her part, the first text I received once she got her internet back was a curse on the universe for having inflicted this shit on us. And a query as to why the asteroid that doomsday scientists keep warning us about never reach us and obliterate life on earth as we know it.

A few years back, the pair of us with my sister and the boy who would one day be her husband decided to team up and have a Shimla Christmas. Moshil was already a friend at that point but that trip was supposed to be the hard launch of their relationship to me. He passed the test. Aside from the fact one day we were walking around, the four of us, and Atu and I got worked up over wine, and he shoved us. 

There was so much choice in terms of local fruit wines in Shimla. But about 80% of the wine we’d tasted the day before had been dry and not at all tasty. If you wanted to get knocked out, they probably were fine. But in terms of taste, they sucked. Which irritated the pair of us when we passed the wine shop again and we started ranting.

I have a shrill, annoying voice. Atu is the same. And we get very nasal and high-pitched the angrier we get. And the wine selection got us properly stimulated to the point that maybe only squirrels could hear us. We did not drink a drop that day but we were standing near a wine shop, facing each other, arms flailing (we’d learned this as we were learning to be Delhites) and talking so shrilly dogs started getting agitated around us (I’m kidding), and Momo was embarrassed. We looked and sounded properly high. My sister was already pretending she did not know who we were. Which was a joke on her because we look very similar and often could pass for twins. 

So, in his mortification, Momo shoved us and herded us away like cattle to a more convenient location. We were highly offended (again, I kid). I forgive Momo, but mostly because he shared his glass momo with the three of us that evening. In Shimla, you should try this; it’s quite tasty.

I forced my garden to listen to Christmas Songs this evening and the fact Atu is back online took me back to the Shimla Christmas, is why I decided to blog about the Mariah Carey season. It is a good time of the year!

Phawngpui

I’ll make this short. Mostly because I was playing with the dog and I don’t really have a lot to offer in terms of directions.

So what you do is, if you’re not from Hnahthial, you spend your night in South Vanlaiphai. That's about 2 hours South-East from Hnahthial. There’s a Tourist Lodge there. And there’s a nice man called John who will take care of you. Granted I haven’t spent the night there but I plan to soon. If I do, I’ll let you know. (And if you want to book your stay there, get in touch with me and I’ll see if I can get you Pu John’s contact details.)

I’m not talking about scaling the heights of the Blue Mountain. I just have plans for the picnic style route. From South Vanlaiphai, you leave after breakfast and you’ll reach Sangau after about half an hour’s drive. From there, you push on ahead to Thaltlang. About a half hour again because the road sucks. At Thaltlang, you need to rent a 4-wheel drive. And when I say you need a 4x4, I mean that you should not drive your own 4x4 up the hill but that you make sure you hire one. The drive up is very challenging and you really need someone who knows the road. And knows it well. Be safe.

So! The Pick-Up truck will drive you to Far Pak. That will be about 3000 INR. The drive up is not pleasant but good for experience. The meadow there is to die for. The view is breath-taking. The air is gorgeous. Your IG will be flooded.

You can leave when the air gets a bit nippy. Or when your tuck supply runs out. Then drive back to South Vanlaiphai and have your dinner and rest for the night there. I think Pu John will be able to arrange a bonfire if you ask nicely. He makes really good fish curry, by the by, so make sure you tell him to prepare that. I don’t joke about food much and in my old age have gotten pretty persnickety over food so you know I’m good for my word when I say someone made good food. The chow in South Vanlaiphai town, however, is nothing to write home about. As in it is not good. And the boiled egg sweats beads because they put it in a fridge otherwise. But the fish curry in the Tourist Lodge is good.

Spend some time in the paddy fields of South Vanlaiphai before you leave the next day. The brook that runs there has fishes in it is how clean and healthy the water is. You can also make a pitstop at Darzo Peak for the history of it. It was where Fort Treager was before it burned down.

Not a bad way to spend a weekend.

P.s.: Unmanned veggie vendors are a big thing in this route. Come with change. Make sure you buy a bunch of the tiny bananas. Very tasty.