KASAUNI + NAINITAL .. 24/10/06

24th October, 2006.

Up @ 7 am, breakfast and go up to the terrace; crowded with people for the snow view. It’s a clear day, lo and behold, we could see the snow-caps clearly in the distance, one could look on and on and on to and make a million screen savers. I mount the Sony CS H1 on the tripod and start clicking away, what a photo opportunity of a life time !!!! We see the Trishul and Nanda Devi peaks clearly and many other smaller peaks. Most tourists there are Gujaratis on their vacations post Diwali, which they normally do. Most city folks take off for 10 days + during this time, state celebrates long holidays; you could find foot-loose Gujratis all over the world this time of the year. We meet many families on the terrace and exchange addresses and cards for whatever it’s worth.

The kids and Anu play TT on the garden, have fun scooting around. 1030 we start towards Nainital, 120 kms away. We pass Someshwr, Koshy Bazaar and tank up at Almora bye pass entry. Almora is as beautiful as Chamoli, with lesser hues. In the background you could see the Himalayan range clearly, it’s a nice staying option, but we need to move on. We pass Garam Pani and hook up with friend Kumar who’s on his way from Nainital to Badari on his Scorpio. We look out for his MH registration car, it’s a meet we both have been looking forward to, he’s a road warrior, constantly on the move and a real petro-head. Around 130 we cross after Bhavali and spend time catching up with our log books and sharing info. He’s keen to know the road condition up around Badari and is planning to go around Tehri, Danaulti, Dheradhun and back to Delhi. He’s an encyclopedia on Indian roads and very helpful with what he has. We say adios and head our ways. Reach Naini Retreat around 0300 PM and rest for the day.

Naini Retreat is up on the hills, looking down into the mall road and lake, a tastefully done up property. The very well kept garden, service, the food and the ambience is class; the room we got was a duplex, 2 beds on the top for the kids and 2 on the ground with the room heaters humming away. It’s a huge property and the evenings are abuzz with live music, campfire and lots of holidaying families milling around. We sit in the restaurant overlooking the lake and spend 2 hours on the dinner just watching and listening to the human drama unfolding around us. We hit the bed around 10 PM and watch TV for some time.