23/Mar/2007 Bhim'tal se tal mila'!

There are many options for a weekend getaway when you are in Delhi. Vaibhav and I choose to go to Bhimtal, some 23 kms from the more famous tourist attraction of Nainital. The idea was to go to a location which was not choc-a-bloc with other tourists. And the choice was spot-on.

Bhimtal is a part of the Kumaon region ( famous for its lakes and mountains, snow and adventure sports) in the state of Uttaranchal. We took the overnight Ranikhet Express from Delhi to Kathgodam, which is the closest railway station to Bhimtal and Nainital. The station had recently been renovated and looked quite quaint. From here, you can hire a private taxi to Bhimtal for between 200 to 300 rupees depending on how hard you bargain. We choose to go in a shared taxi (Rs. 50 per head) that was going to Ranikhet. 45 minutes and 15 kms of winding ghat roads, beautiful scenery and dangerous turns later, we were at the "Nature's Retreat" (http://www.nature-retreat.com/). This retreat is built on the face of a mountain and is the first structure as you enter Bhimtal. The place is theme based - with an emphasis on experiencing the 'satvik' lifestyle. Our room was called "Marichaye" and was very tastefully decorated with a large attached rest room. Step outside the room and we had an unobstructed view of the mountains from the large verandah. The staff was ever so courteous - no hard sell, no push towards making any choices, only suggestions. All of this at 1200 rupees per couple per night - we just completely, absolutely loved this place ... one that we would definitely recommend to all.

Day 1 - We walked down to Lake Bhimtal which is around 700 meters from the resort. There were hardly any visitors at that point since the tourist season is 15-Apr until around 15-Jul. The lake has a small island in the middle where an aquarium was under construction. After having lunch, we got into a local jeep taxi that transported us a couple of kilometers to the Museum of Folk Culture. We were shown around this museum by none other than the founder himself - Dr. Yashpal - who would have been be around 70 years old. He said that he did not accept any donations and had built and was maintaining the museum all by himself, including everything from sweeping the floors to painting the walls. He explained about how he had collected the artifacts, showed us his paintings and answered all of our questions with great enthusiasm. Truly inspirational meeting a man like Dr. Mathpal. We bought prints of some of his paintings, including the one seen here, in which a tribal woman is painting tribal art on a wall. We ended the day with a row-boat ride in the serene Bhimtal lake. Standard charges are 100 rupees for half an hour and 150 rupees for an hour.

Day 2 - Close to Bhimtal are Naukuchiatal and Sat-tal. We decided to go to Naukuchiatal, which is the largest lake in the region. A local jeep taxi got us to the destination at 8 rupees per head. Again, not many tourists at that time of the year. This lake supposedly has 9 corners, which is why it is called 'Nau'-'kuchiya'-tal. There are a variety of boat rides available, including the shikara, paddle boat, row boat. We choose a two-seater paddle boat which had a rental of 60 rupees per hour. When we were right in the middle of this peaceful ride, there was a call from ICICI bank offering a credit card. Grrrr! For a trekking enthusiast, the only choice to make is which mountain you would prefer to blaze your trail.

We came back to the resort, bade our goodbyes to the staff and caught the evening bus to Kathgodam railway station. A bus is a better option than a car - for one, it is more stable on the turning roads. Also, the bus has a better height which gets you a much better view of the beautiful valleys. And at a cost of only 20 rupees, no better way of contributing your bit to anti-global warming. We reached Delhi the next morning at around 4:00 am.

18/Mar/2007 Wah Taj!

What better way of chugging from Delhi towards "the Taj" than the Taj Express! Well, actually there is a certain Shatabdi Express that covers the distance shorter while, but this train was completely booked by the time Ramya, Imran and I decided do "the Taj". At under 200 rupees for a three hour journey in first class of Taj Express, I would any day vote this as a better option than taking a bus or hiring a taxi. We reached Agra at 10:10. Right outside the train station, there is a government run counter for pre-paid tourist taxi. We got a spacious trusted Ambassador for the whole day at 950 rupees. On the itinerary was the palace in Fatehpur Sikri, the Red Fort and of course the Taj. (A possibility is to include Mathura - the birth place of Lord Krishna - and Brindavan on the itinerary, but then this requires a two day trip. Plus for those who are not very interested in worshiping at temples, I would say that if you give these two cities a slip, you would not be missing anything).

Fatehpur Sikri, the Mughal Capital of India, is around 45 kms from Agra station, around 1 hour drive. It has a beautiful and very well preserved fort built using red stones in the 16th century and a sprawling mosque complex that houses "Jama Masjid". Legend has it that the great Mughal king Akbar had come to this place to seek the blessings of Salim Chisti since Akbar was without a heir since a long while. When blessed with a son Salim - later to known as Jehagir or Sharjahan - Akbar built this new capital as a mark of his gratitude. The famous "Buland Darwaza" (see photo) located in the mosque campus was built in 1573 to mark the victory of Akbar over the king of Khandesh. (Gujarat).

On reaching this historical site, the first thing I did was to fight with a rest room attendent who was asking for 2 rupees for using the toilets. All I asked him was where were the charges displayed - one argument led to another and the whole thing ended up in a little shouting match. I sure felt very refreshed which surely helps if you have had to get up at 4:30 am. I did on reaching the place was There are quite a few guides who tried to stop the taxi on its way to the fort, but we initially decided not to opt for one guide. For the record, the guides are very affordable, around 100 rupees to show you around the fort and another 20 rupees for a guide who would show you the mosque.

Next stop - the Red Fort at Agra, which is just 2.5 kms from the Taj. This fort is huge, much bigger than the Red Fort in Delhi. In fact, the Mughals referred to the Red Fort in Delhi as "Laal Haveli", meaning the red bungalow. Again we did not take a guide, but I think that this fort definitely calls for a guided tour. Ah! Did I mention that we spotted the world famous Indian graffiti on one of the doors of this fort (see photo). Other than this, the fort was spotless - very clean and very well maintained.

A major photo op is the courtyard of the fort which offers a clear sight of the Taj. In fact, it is said that when Sharjahan was building the Taj, he monitored the progress of the monument from this very spot. In more contemporary times though, you are likely to see me at this courtyard (evidence: inset photo - with the black arrow pointing to the Taj) .

We could have spent much more time at the Red Fort, but then the great Taj was beckoning us. So we grudgingly bade our good byes to the Red Fort and made our way to the Taj. The Taj holds the "kabar" or the burial site of Mumtaz, the deeply loved wife of Sharjahan. One thing I must say - however awesome Fatehpur Sikhri and the Red Fort were, you just couldn't be prepared enough for the magnificence of the Taj. This is where I must stop writing, because the Taj is something that neither its builder, nor any poet, nor a scholar can describe. It is something that can only be felt. And poorly captured in a few pictures:

31/Mar/2007 Talakadu Jaladhama

It is said that after you have had the worst, anything else that happens can only be for the better.

After a quick wink of no more than 4 hours, Vaibhav and I got up at 5:00 in the morning on Saturday, 31st March. All of this to make it in time to the Oracle office from where we are to board a bus to Talakadu Jaladhama resort (http://www.jaladhama.net/). After an hour of loitering outside the office, we were finally on our way in a 21-seater mini bus with 6 seats still vacant. Breakfast came an hour later at Kamat's Lokaruchi (loka = world, ruchi = taste). At 60 rupees for unlimited breakfast, this place is amazing value for money. There are a couple of ducks and a bunch of monkeys roaming around the hotel for added entertainment. Some 3 hours and 125 kms later, the only entity separating us from the resort was a couple of hundred meters stretch of the backwaters of Cauvery. A boat from the resort was ready to pick and transport us to the "Jaladhama" (which literally translates to the Water-Island).

Welcome to another world, which is at complete peace with itself. Smiling staff, dense bamboo shoots and a lush green carpet of grass along with a welcome drink for starters. At Rs. 750 per person for a day outing, which includes lunch, swimming pool, boating, volleyball, basketball, cricket, football, badminton and a lot of hammocks and swings hanging from branches of trees, there is hardly anything more you could ask for. Add to this a boat ride to a waterfall so crisp and refreshing, your soul would start to sing like a bird. No wonder the tag line of this resort is "The only place to celebrate holiday resort with bird". Errr ... okay, but what exactly does that tag line mean?! :-)

The fun continued on the ride back home with Francisco Chinese Whispers (don't ask me what this game is about), dinner at Kamat's Lokaruchi and a little bit of sleep. We were back home by 12:00 mid night, thoroughly refreshed and thoroughly tired.