Winter stay at the Cloudberry

In December, 2021, I had planned a trip to Mashobra, Himachal Pradesh, India with my family. Mashobra is a little town in the Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh, in the Himalayas. For a change, I booked an Airbnb instead of a hotel, and we could not be happier.

Day 1

After spending a day at Kasauli, we drove towards Mashobra. We checked into our Airbnb–The Cloudberry–around 3 pm where we were greeted and escorted by a couple of staff members–yes, the apartment had its own staff. The place took us by surprise due to its efficient use of the 1100 sq. ft area with a modern touch. The balcony view was breathtaking, showcasing layers of elevating mountains. We spent the evening chilling in the house followed by a bonfire in the balcony amid the -3°C weather. Before concluding the day, we watched Akshay Kumar's Sooryavanshi 🎥 in the lobby–perhaps, not the best choice.

Day 2

My day commenced at 7 AM. I quickly donned more layers of clothes, then greeted my parents who had already had their morning ☕️. Next, I scurried towards the balcony to see the gorgeous mountains surrounding the town.

While I gazed in awe, the Sun rays began to bleed through the sky, coloring it in yellow, orange and red—play the video below. Don't miss the sound of barking 🐕.

There were many pigeons cooing around our apartment. In the morning, I saw them warming up their wings over the picturesque valley, compelling me to capture their flight. The video below shows an excellent specimen of multi-object tracking, courtesy of yours truly. 😉

We had a lazy morning as we were tired from the travel the previous day. For breakfast, we were served with some aloo parathas which pushed us further into the sleep mode. Though we soon realized that it was time to get ready to explore the town. Our first stop was at a temple which seemed to be closed at first as there was some paint work ongoing. But we later discovered that it was open. Across the road, there was an adorable lawn (see picture below) where we basked under the Sun for roughly half an hour while sipping some ginger tea. As a transitory souvenir, I got a Sun-burn mark on the right side of my nose.

During that time, I had the rumination of being fortunate to be with my family in that peaceful place. In essence, I wanted to savor those moments to their fullest.

The second stop was at the Carignano Nature Park where we strolled around for 2 hrs. Of all things, using the monkey bar was my favorite part.

Finally, we returned back to our apartment. Since it was our last night, we entertained ourselves with some desi karaoke. I concluded my day after capturing some shots of the night sky.

Day 3

We all wished that we should have booked the apartment for longer–unfortunately, it was not available. Everybody got ready and had breakfast by 10 AM. Before leaving, we clicked some photos with the apartment staff and thanked them for their hospitality. At last, sayonara. 👋

For those planning to visit Shimla, I would highly recommend switching to Mashobra instead. 🏔 🧘‍