I loved our hotel – it was funky but it more than met my needs. It was built at a place where the Mall splits into two branches – one section winds above a rise, the other loops below it. Our hotel was right in the middle - built on the rise. You could enter from either the upper or lower sections of the Mall. If you started from the lower section, you walked up a steep switchback and then went up a few steps to enter the terrace of the hotel. If you started from the upper Mall you followed a much more circuitous, maze-like, path. If I were giving directions from the upper Mall they would be:
1. Find the stall on the upper Mall road with the lady selling eggs (not refrigerated – just set out in stacks on the counter). Walk down the 5 narrow, uneven stone steps to the right of her stall.
2. Walk past the a small shop, hidden below the others on the Mall above, that sells snacks, tobacco, pencils, pens, water - and a variety of other unrelated products.
3. Go around the building and enter an enclosed area that opens onto several decrepit dwellings. Enjoy the reaction your appearance brings – children will come out and stare, then try out their English. “Good Morning” is the usual greeting – given any time of day. Enjoy their giggling. Be prepared. A mother might even bring her child out for your approval.
4. Find a nearby set of stone steps that lead you down to a path that twists in and around other buildings.
5. Follow this path to still another set of steps – be careful - uneven, no railing, and no light when it gets dark.
6. Go through a narrow passageway around another building and, suddenly, you are at the bottom of the steps to the terrace of the hotel.
Either path will work - I preferred the upper one, however – so much more interesting.
The hotel is probably 50 years old and had 14 rooms – 3 led off from the terrace, the other 11 were on 3 upper floors. We each had our own room – a typical HARD Indian bed, my own bath – Western toilet and leaky shower. It had a TV with cable! I only watched part of one Bollywood movie - but it was a treat. The room’s best feature? It’s location. It was one of the rooms that let out on to the terrace that was the heart of the hotel. This was such a wonderful feature that I decided to ignore the room’s moldy smell. The terrace offered spectacular views. I could look right down at Dehradun – 25 miles below Mussoorie – or look to the right and see what was happening on the Mall. It had the ubiquitous plastic molded tables and plastic chairs that are in every small restaurant, on every balcony, EVERYWHERE in India. But they are comfortable, can be moved easily to enjoy or avoid the sun, and were perfect for watching the view while sipping a fresh lime soda. I felt like I was in a resort – high above the rest of the world, looking down on life below.
The man who ran the hotel was charming. I had called from the Ashram to see if he had rooms available. He assured me he did. He asked our arrival time – I guessed between 2:30 and 3:00. Our cab dropped us off at a taxi station at one end of the Mall at about 2:00. We hired a man to carry our two suitcases to the hotel (it cost 70 rupees – about $1.50 – he carried them on his back, braced by a rope wound around his forehead!). We walked with him – after all, he knew the way. Many, many rickshaw drivers offered us rides but we enjoyed the walk after the long cab ride.
When we got to where the Mall split, a man standing nearby asked, “Are you the new guests at the Valley View Hotel?” It was the hotel manager! I couldn’t believe it. Sulochana asked me how he possibly knew we were the ones he wanted to meet? I laughed and said, “Look around? Do you see any other Westerners?” He then walked with us to the hotel. At first I was impressed by his kindness but, on second thought, I decided he was very savvy. Who knew what other hotel we might have selected as we walked along the Mall? I hadn’t given him any credit card info. He had no hold over me. He was doing good business - and I respected him for this. He remained attentive to our needs the entire time we were there. Because the season has not started, there were not a lot of other guests, so we were important to him and he treated us accordingly.
So, yes, I had to put up with a moldy smell, but what fun it was to open my door and step out onto the terrace. We ate at least one meal a day there, watched the happenings in Mussoorie, enjoyed listening to the chatter of other Indian guests, loved the view down to Dehradun – especially in the middle of the night when I couldn’t sleep. No one else was out there. I had it all to myself - the twinkling lights of both Dehradun and Mussoorie, the moon, the stars, the sense of the Himalayas. It was all mine. I would highly recommend it. In addition, I don’t want to forget one interesting character offering services to hotel guests. Each day, an older man - more than a little scruffy looking – who carried a little metal box, would come up from the lower Mall road, approach me and ask, “Massage?” When I shook my head, “No,” he then asked, “Hair cut?” What an interesting combination of skills! I decided to try out neither but I enjoyed the daily interaction. So, if it appeals to you, add Valley View Hotel, Mussoorie, India to your list of “Slightly Funky Hotels to Visit.”
By the way, the cost of my 3 nights and 3 meals? $37. What a deal! I wonder what it would have cost if I added massages and hair cuts?
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