| A vacation always mean searching and booking for | | | | last point where Uttaranchal is connected by rail. Buses |
| well-known tourist places and asking the opinions of | | | | and jeeps are the only form of available logistics to |
| friends and acquaintances who visited those places. | | | | travel to these mountain areas. |
| For most of the tourist spots are well connected with | | | | Reached Haldwani in the early morning and waited |
| logistics and have a good network of boarding facilities, | | | | with bated breadth for our jeep driver, arranged by my |
| it is less painstaking going to such places. But a trip to | | | | friend. A small Pahari man greeted us with a smile and |
| Uttaranchal last year changed my perception of | | | | asked us to take seat in the jeep. |
| traveling altogether. | | | | Natures Bounty: Picture perfect scenes, lush green |
| After which I find that most of the popular tourist spots | | | | mountains and cool breeze made us forget the |
| are overcrowded, polluted and most important | | | | tiredness of the journey. |
| commercialized by the locals. | | | | Was it a bad decision? The situation changed the |
| My Itinerary for the trip: Corbett National Park was | | | | equation when our jeep started to go higher in the |
| zeroed in after a quick search on Google. I found it a | | | | mountain. Steep roads, hairpin bends and the low |
| perfect place for vacation, wherein the whole family | | | | pressure of air made all of us dizzy and nauseate. |
| can relax and enjoy. | | | | Suddenly the whole trip was looking as a bad decision, |
| The planning started quite early, as it requires 3 months | | | | and I was blaming myself for accepting the request of |
| of advance booking for the jungle resorts inside the | | | | my friend. Anyway our misery found an end and we |
| CNP (Corbett National Park) There are many staying | | | | saw my friend on the doorsteps of her house greeting |
| options available outside the CNP, but you loose on the | | | | with a big smile. |
| adventures of being in the real jungle with the wild. | | | | Heaven on the Highlands: My friend, who was a bit |
| The U-Turn: The actual plan was for a 3 days stay in | | | | upset by the happenings, woke us up the next day |
| CNP, proceed to Nainital and then visit a few near by | | | | with a hot cup of tea. Night sleep made us fresh again, |
| places. | | | | felt very cold (in May) and asked her for a sweater. |
| When a phone call from my childhood friend from | | | | It was foggy and the Sky was covered with a thick |
| Uttaranchal made me change it little. She invited me to | | | | smoke. |
| her place in Uttaranchal called 'Didihat'! | | | | Jungle fire and fog is a normal phenomenon in |
| "Where on Earth is this Didihat located?" my | | | | mountains, which often mar the visibility in these hilly |
| exhausted hubby murmured digging deep in the map | | | | areas. Most of the pictures came out blurred because |
| of India. He was a bit apprehensive traveling to an | | | | of the same. |
| unknown place with small kids. | | | | My eyes opened wide when I came out in the balcony. |
| "You just book the tickets and come till Haldwani, and | | | | I was sitting and sipping tea with the majestic |
| the I will take care of the rest" the call from my friend | | | | Himalayas in front of me! |
| gave us some respite. | | | | '"There is lot in store to see" informed my friend, who |
| All Aboard: Arrived at Delhi as per plan, and boarded | | | | asked us to take a day's rest before starting to |
| Ranikhet Express to go to Haldwani. Ranikhet Express | | | | unravel the beauties of mountain. We would not have |
| starts in night from Delhi and goes till Kathgodam, the | | | | asked for more from this vacation. |