I have left a piece of my soul there...

There's nothing much to write about the 'nondescript' start of our journey. We left New Delhi around 3.30 PM. We talked a lot and stopped at various places to eat. It was around 10.30 PM that I started feeling sleepy.

I was dreaming... I could hear strains of 'Hotel California' in the background.. people in the car were singing..

They were singing about cool wind in their hair....

I could feel it on my face... cool wind and scent of pine trees.. It was making my nose twitch.. but I was too tired.. to open my eyes.. or take my arms and hands out the comfort of the woollen stole which warmed me.... It was cold... in the month of June it was positively shocking for my poor frayed nerves... I remembered the sweltering heat and sticky humidity when we left Delhi... which was abated by effective air-conditioning.... I also remembered Haldwani... which was not as bad was Delhi... but was still hot enough to bother us...

What I did not remember was falling asleep... When I heard unison of 'WOWS' a lot of times... I peeked from the corner of my eye.. noticed that the windows were open and we were in a small town...

I woke up peered out of the window and saw tall pine trees and a beautiful lake in the midst of a tiny town. It was Bhimtal. The car stopped all of us got out of the car like kids who have broken loose from their mom's apron strings and rushed towards the wrought iron railing... a place which overlooked the lake... a parking lot.. We parked the car and decided to stay the night there... It was a daunting task to look for a place to stay in the middle of the night.. we managed to check-in in a small inn.. which was near the parking lot and the lake...

Our rooms were utilitarian... no frills... we had to share a bathroom... We were too excited.. about the second leg of our journey.. which would take us to the place which was out destination... Mukteshwar.

The morning was a pain in the neck.... with just one bathroom it was difficult for all of us to brush our teeth and have a shower. We managed.... reached Bhimtal Ghaat had a quick brunch. We stayed there for some time looking at the beautiful lake and spent time aound the lake drinking in the sight....after 2-3 hours we went on our way Mukteshwar.

This time I did not sleep. The way to Mukteshwar was nothing less than enchanting... I was enjoying every bit of it... It was a long way and it took us a longer time because we were stopping every now and then! We stopped at Sargakhet... There was a Gift Shop in that small village which sold Belgian Chocolates!! And there was a campsite called 'Camp Purple' which looked pretty fancy and comfortable for a mere camp!

We went all the way up to the highest peak of Mukteshwar... stopped the car.. roamed around a bit and then looked for a place to stay (Yes.. we were foolish enough to reach there without making any prior arrangements!!) Our worst fears came true when we were unable to find a place to stay... There was a resort of some sorts.. very expensive and the rooms were not that great... We were looking for a suite where all us can crash together. Somebody suggested driving back to Sargakhet.. and yes.. We found a place to stay!

It was an inn... We managed to get their best room... It was a suite with a huge bedroom with wooden floor and a view of a garden with peach trees laden with lovely pink fruits! (They were for free!! You can eat as much as you want!) There was a nice bathroom and a tiny sitting room with french windows which opened in a balcony with the most beautiful view of the valley and mountains.

We spent 4 days in Mukteshwar... it wasn't enough to explore the place.. to discover where most of the trails ended and to drink in the fresh, clean air of the place.... Trees looked as if they have come straight out of a horror flick in the misty late afternoon... The roads floated in the clouds in the evenings and stars shone very bright in the night (i.e. when you could see them!)

Most of the days were spent in idyllic sightseeing, hiking, sitting, chatting, roaming around Sargakhet & Mukteshwar... nights were spent around a bonfire... singing, eating and drinking...

The most memorable hike was the one which we took late evening returning from a place called Chaule Ki Jaali... It was dark and we were informed that there are panthers and wild animals in the surrounding forests and they often come out on the roads... We had one torch and It was scary... We talked about ghosts and wild animals all the way...

Another exciting adventure was a natural stone platform overlooking a deep chasm.. a sheer drop of at least 5000 feet... enough to make anyone giddy...We spent close to 4 hours...sitting on that platform... doing nothing at all... It was perhaps one the most daring things I've done in my lifetime...

Soon it was time to go home....

We left... I left.... but the solitude and serenity of the place gave me time to think... rethink and decide on certain things.... I was sorry to leave...

I promised myself that I'll return... if not to take one of those numerous hikes I have missed on... to look for the piece of my soul which i left there....