Mayday Mayday!!

The month was May & the situation was Mayday - insides were smoldering & outsides were scorching. Afternoon heat burned the skin until late evening. Even early mornings felt like afternoons. In the night, my pillow was getting sweaty in no time. I could have bought an AC but my calculating self argued that the summer is to be over in a month & I will have it well before the next summer starts.

Thus the summer luxury was delayed but summer vacation was not to be delayed & Nainital / Corbett National park was the cool interlude I decided to have.

Global warming has left no corner of the world untouched but still it was much pleasant & cool atmosphere in Nainital compared to the city. My stay was nice & very peaceful as it was in a deserted area few kms away from the city of Nainital. Only facility I missed was a bar during my stay there.

First day was spent in Delhi & I made it memorable by my first Metro ride & a visit to the India Gate. Having nothing else to do I spent the evening at a small bar. I overslept the next day thanks to the old rum named after some monk.

The all day long drive to Nainital wasn't boring at all as we had a tire burst in the afternoon, traffic jams & the last minute stay change in the evening. The tiring journey ended at dinner time & anyway the location offered nothing to do in the evening except enjoying sleep in the soft bed of a deluxe room.

Sunrise at hotel

First day of the trip was a paid holiday for my driver as no outside cars are allowed inside Nainital & you have to hire local Jeep for sightseeing. Before the afternoon I had realized that I have come alone to a honeymoon destination.

Suicide point

Gabbar bridge

Naini Lake

There was a suicide point, a small waterfall, beautiful lake for boating, narrow unwinding roads filled with view points - all the usual stuff available at any hill station of India. Only that Nainital is ahead of all in the number of lakes. The morning was pleasantly cool & refreshing but was turning out to be uneventful so I tried go-carting to add some thrill to it. Hill station temperatures are not so cool in these times of global warming but if you compare that of your city you will surely be happy about it.

I was in no mood to enjoy the scenery & greenery inside the Nainital city as it was well past lunch time. Looking forward I arranged for drinks for the lonely evening at the hotel. One lunch at a hill station costs you as much as half bottle of good scotch & having such ideas show exactly how middle class minds like mine function.

Thus Nainital sightseeing came to an end & I was back at my luxurious room to enjoy afternoon siesta. The peace at the secluded location - my hotel in the wilderness - was revitalizing & scored above all the sight seeing. Soon it was evening where comes my usual woes of loneliness & for which I already had a potion ready. So with the feeling of being on top of the hill I went to sleep.

Day 2 turned out to be worse than day 1 as Ranikhet was boring & far away as per my driver cum guide and Bhimtal - which we decided to visit as it was nearer - had nothing to do / visit & all we did was a darshan of Bhimtal lake & immediately made a U turn towards the hotel. But it still was about noon & whole day was there to spend so we headed towards Nainital town. The disappointment came in a different form this time as there was heavy traffic jam inside the town & no vehicle was available to get there.

Anyway a luxurious afternoon siesta erased all memories of dull days of Nainital & I started looking forward to the excitement of jungle safari in Corbett park.

The next day around lunch time we reached another luxurious hotel in Dhikuli village. This day turned out to be an experiment on effects of trees on our environment as the jungle safari was to begin at 3 PM in the May afternoon.

Deer in the Daylight

Even as we didn't find any wild animals in the Jungle, it sure was a pleasant ride as the temperature was cooler inside. If you feel contended to see deer, monkeys, Sal trees & termite mounds then you will enjoy the Sitabani zone. For those who wants more should book resorts inside Dhikala zone for 2-3 days as it takes about 6 safaris to fully experience wild life of the Corbett National Park. This revelation was the final blow on the Nainital trip's report card.

The Jungle trip was over very soon & I was back in my luxurious room thinking about the long evening ahead. Even as I didn't get to click a tiger in the park, I did buy a beautiful picture of tiger in the jungle as memorabilia of the Corbett trip.

Here's a selfie at a beautiful bar visited on the last night & that's the end of this tour diary.