This trip took place in 2008. This article was published in ERGO – an erstwhile supplement of The Hindu – under the title ‘Roadtrip Diaries’. ERGO is defunct now.
We flew to Delhi on a Tuesday morning. I was traveling with my parents and we were to stay at my maternal grandparents’ house. We arrived on schedule and I was seeing my grandparents after six years. It was a nice feeling to be with the family again.
After spending two days in Delhi, we started our road trip. We had a driver and an Indica to make our way to Nainital, Ranikhet, and Corbett National Park. Our first stop was at Nainital. A journey that was to take eight hours took fourteen hours….thanks to the traffic jam in Uttarkhand.
Our driver turned out to be pretty rash and after he hit a cow and rendered it unconscious, I was extremely uncomfortable sitting in front, not to mention worried about the livestock that would invariably wander on the highways. A small, wiry guy who was born and brought up in the hills of Uttarkhand, he turned out to be quite a shrewd, stubborn sort as later incidents revealed.
We reached Nainital past midnight and we were relieved that the hotel had our dinner served to our room. The next day, we headed out to Naini lake. The beautiful expanse of water looks emerald-green reflecting the hills around it. We went boating on the lake and enjoyed the warm rays of the sun. The temperature in Nainital was around four degrees centigrade. So we took every opportunity to bask in the sun. The neighbourhood dogs in Nainital all had shaggy coats and were lounging around in the sun as well.
My parents went to the zoo in the afternoon, but I chose to relax in my room. The next morning, we left for Ranikhet. We reached in four hours. The hotel was a beautiful old bungalow with eighteen rooms, of which only three were occupied. The construction was late eighteenth century and the architectural style was Queen Anne’s.
The cook rustled up some amazing food for us, which just seemed so wholesome. From outside our room, we had a view of the mountains. Later that evening, we went to Chaubattia gardens, which is actually more like a trip into the jungle. Our guide pointed out the different species of trees like weeping willow, cedar, and so on. He also took us through a small portion of the forested area. The temperature was 2-3 degrees.
Most of Ranikhet is army area. You need to sign in the army register before entering Chaubattia garden. The whole area is very well maintained. We then went to a nearby children’s park. There were huge stone dinosaurs and other animals. There was a breathtaking view of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks from there.
We headed back to the hotel after that and enjoyed some more of the cook’s delicious food. The next day we drove down to Corbett. I was holding my breath as our driver went 80 km per hr on hairpin bends. I was very conscious of the fact that if he just lost his grasp of the wheel, we would land up on the hillside!
We reached Corbett without incident. I took lots of snaps and kept myself engaged. The hotel in Corbett was a marvel of modern architecture with all the comforts you could ask for. We had central heating, which made the temperature in the room 23 degrees. The next morning we headed out at six am for our jeep safari. Having gotten acclimatized to the warm room, I underestimated the cold outside and wore only a sweater, scarf, and gloves. It turned out that I should have brought my windcheater as well.
The biting cold wind blew against our faces in the open Gypsy and we shivered until the sun came out. Our guide in Corbett National Park though was very interested in his job and made a splendid guide. The previous evening, the hotel had arranged for a power point presentation of Corbett National park, which we attended. When the guide started repeating most of this information during our safari, I switched off and started looking out for animals instead.
We saw spotted deer, barking deer, black-faced monkeys, a variety of birds, and the domestic elephant that was being used for rides.
The exciting part was when the black-faced monkeys and the deer gave the alarm call signaling the presence of a tiger. We were thrilled! We were even more energized when we saw fresh pug marks of the tiger. However, our luck ran out and we couldn’t for the life of us find the tiger!
Anyway, the safari lasted three hours and it was three hours well lived. That evening I went for a nature walk along the dried up river bed of the Kosi river. It was covered with beautiful, smooth stones and pebbles of all shapes and sizes. We saw the famous suspension bridge too and then got back to the resort, where I went on a hot-air balloon ride. This was exciting!
The next day, we left for Delhi. This time, I opted to sit at the back and kept reading my book. We reached Delhi late (as expected) since our driver ran into a spot of bother when a truck driver backed into his car. He argued with guys twice his size and got them to pay for the damage, although it meant an hour’s delay. He probably appreciated the fact that we didn’t give him any trouble by asking him to hurry up and so on, so he rewarded us with two fresh cauliflowers from the field 
When we went back to Delhi, we reunited with my grandparents and spent quality time at home. This was a splendid trip and I enjoyed every moment of it!
