The bus screeched to a halt and jolted me out of my slumber. Looking around with sleepy eyes, I tried to gather bearing of my surroundings. I checked my phone. It was 6:33 am. Rubbing my eyes, I looked out of the window. And I rubbed my eyes again. It was the break of dawn. The skyline was covered with dark mountains, looming over the bus like majestic beings. There was a faint yellow glow in the sky which was rapidly spreading. As I kept looking mesmerised, parts of the sky started catching a crimson tinge. The whole sky was soon a palette of yellow, crimson and orange; a game of bright tones. Stepping out the bus, I kept looking at the sky, totally ignorant to the throng of taxi drivers who wanted to take me to my destination. Standing there and looking at the sunrise, I smiled to myself. I had already reached my destination as soon as I arrived in Himachal.
Perched in the lap of nature and separated from Delhi by only an overnight bus journey, Himachal Pradesh (literally "snow-laden province" or rightly named as "The Land of the Gods") has ended up being one of my favourite extended weekend destinations. The convenience of the buses plying to and from Delhi makes a trip to Himachal possible without even having to taking any official leaves. You can catch a bus from Delhi at night and wake up in Himachal the next morning. Grab the bus back to Delhi and you reach early enough to go to work the next morning. The miraculous service of HRTC incessantly connecting the remotest parts of the state is another lifeline of your trip. The network of public transport is so strong (even at heights of 4000 meters and above), that you will seldom need to rely on private transport. If one is willing to experience Himachal at the finest, I would recommend taking the public transport or hitchhiking wherever possible.