Part I
Having spent a considerable part of my childhood in Dehradoon, it is needless to say that the old memories always call me back to the land of beautiful sun rises amidst thick blanket of clouds in grayish hues, the breeze sets the soul free to wander around and the dusk fills itself with thousands of colors to paint the sky in the most spectacular colors of purple, red and pink. Doon as people call it, is the perfect home to my wandering soul. Every time I look back at it or visit it, I feel a strong sense of a perfect nostalgia just like Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris where as you go back in time you find the past to be better than the present.
Below is the beautiful Doon valley for you to believe me!
This time around, instead of staying in the government's guest house, I explored a different option. As I was wanting to have a digital detox (yup, it's a thing and damn, it's addictive!) my options included far off home stays and places with no connectivity. i somehow find it easier to have the devil absent rather than abstain from it (in this context mobile signals, TV, Wifi) and so in my quest to find the haven for peaceful stay I stumbled around this beautiful place called Rio Resort.
One look and got completely bowled over by it's view of the breathtakingly beautiful peaks of Mussorie whose lights kept twinkling like the stars in the night sky and felt as if a parallel universe of fireflies and lights have filled the sky over our heads. The Rio river flows alongside the resort and the sound of its soft water gushing through the pebbled stones adds a soothing vibration of music that calms the mind immediately.
Above - Mussorie in the night, like my own galaxy of stars twinkling for me!
Below - The rippling Rio river gushing through the side of the resort in perfect harmony.
The decision to enjoy this virgin beauty of Doon was taken immediately as I sipped hot chocolate milk next to the swinging silver oaks of the high grass in the open yard next to the river. Here was Dehra, welcoming me with open arms into its cozy backyard of warm hospitality and glowing beauty all wrapped in one.
John Keats has the emotion immortalized in his poem that says,
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever, its loveliness increases, it will never, pass into nothingness but still will keep, a bower quiet for us and a sleep ..."
And that my friends is Dehradoon for you, through my eyes!
How to Reach?
Rio Resort - Robbers Cave, Guchchu pani, Garhi cantt, Dehradoon, Uttrakhand 248014
Dehradoon is well connected by Air, Bus and Trains.
Air - Jolly Grant is the nearest airport which is 25 kms from the city centre. Air India, Indigo, Jet Airways have frequent flights connecting Dehradoon to the rest of India, major hubs being Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc.
Bus - Delhi ISBT has regular AC Deluxe and Non AC bus service to Dehradoon several times a day. It is also connected to Haridwar, Roorkee, Shimla, Allahabad, Jaipur and Rishikesh via various bus services.
Train - Dehradoon is one of the main railhead of northern railway and is connected via trains to all the major parts of the country. Shatabdi express that runs between Delhi and Dehradoon is one of the best options.
Having spent a considerable part of my childhood in Dehradoon, it is needless to say that the old memories always call me back to the land of beautiful sun rises amidst thick blanket of clouds in grayish hues, the breeze sets the soul free to wander around and the dusk fills itself with thousands of colors to paint the sky in the most spectacular colors of purple, red and pink. Doon as people call it, is the perfect home to my wandering soul. Every time I look back at it or visit it, I feel a strong sense of a perfect nostalgia just like Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris where as you go back in time you find the past to be better than the present.
Below is the beautiful Doon valley for you to believe me!
This time around, instead of staying in the government's guest house, I explored a different option. As I was wanting to have a digital detox (yup, it's a thing and damn, it's addictive!) my options included far off home stays and places with no connectivity. i somehow find it easier to have the devil absent rather than abstain from it (in this context mobile signals, TV, Wifi) and so in my quest to find the haven for peaceful stay I stumbled around this beautiful place called Rio Resort.
One look and got completely bowled over by it's view of the breathtakingly beautiful peaks of Mussorie whose lights kept twinkling like the stars in the night sky and felt as if a parallel universe of fireflies and lights have filled the sky over our heads. The Rio river flows alongside the resort and the sound of its soft water gushing through the pebbled stones adds a soothing vibration of music that calms the mind immediately.
Above - Mussorie in the night, like my own galaxy of stars twinkling for me!
Below - The rippling Rio river gushing through the side of the resort in perfect harmony.
The decision to enjoy this virgin beauty of Doon was taken immediately as I sipped hot chocolate milk next to the swinging silver oaks of the high grass in the open yard next to the river. Here was Dehra, welcoming me with open arms into its cozy backyard of warm hospitality and glowing beauty all wrapped in one.
John Keats has the emotion immortalized in his poem that says,
"A thing of beauty is a joy forever, its loveliness increases, it will never, pass into nothingness but still will keep, a bower quiet for us and a sleep ..."
And that my friends is Dehradoon for you, through my eyes!
How to Reach?
Rio Resort - Robbers Cave, Guchchu pani, Garhi cantt, Dehradoon, Uttrakhand 248014
Dehradoon is well connected by Air, Bus and Trains.
Air - Jolly Grant is the nearest airport which is 25 kms from the city centre. Air India, Indigo, Jet Airways have frequent flights connecting Dehradoon to the rest of India, major hubs being Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai etc.
Bus - Delhi ISBT has regular AC Deluxe and Non AC bus service to Dehradoon several times a day. It is also connected to Haridwar, Roorkee, Shimla, Allahabad, Jaipur and Rishikesh via various bus services.
Train - Dehradoon is one of the main railhead of northern railway and is connected via trains to all the major parts of the country. Shatabdi express that runs between Delhi and Dehradoon is one of the best options.
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