Episode 233 : The Devbhoomi Experience- Part 4

A fellow biker's fiancee is our hostess at Nainital. We are invited to dinner, which much to our surprise, is south Indian cuisine. We attack the food with a lot of enthusiasm. I also get a glimpse of Ram Lila; three years of living in Delhi and I never got a chance to see it... misplaced priorities I think.

Day 6: October 5, 2008

The next day, our hostess takes us to see the Golf course and the zoo. I will never understand why people have to be so noisy in a zoo. We go shopping after that and I get myself a nice beanie. I know I will need it in the coming days!

Naukuchiatal is a little over 25kms from Nainital. We had intended to start before sunset. But nobody looked keen to start from Nainital- I am not the only one who has fallen in love with the place!

The bellboy, while helping me pack, suggests I return to Nainital in a few months' time. Why, I ask.

'You can see snow then' he says.

I smile. Seeing snowfall is a tempting thought, but I got to be in Bangalore then.

By the time we pack up and start, the time is past 6. Zim, in his hurry to clean his helmet, picks up Tiger's bottle of rum-and-cola thinking it is water and pours it over his head!

The ride to Naukuchiatal is through roads with no lights. We do not know how the roads are, but Naukuchiatal is not far away.

Naukuchiatal, Uttarakhand @ 59654km

Our good spirits do not last long. The dormitory accommodation at the tourist home at Naukuchiatal is grimy with an awful toilet. I am sure Ronald will not stand it. After seeing Zim's reaction, who has a much higher level of tolerance than Ronald or me, we arm-twist the manager into letting out a toilet from another room for us.

The kitchen staff tell us stories of how leopards sometimes come down in the night and advise us against talking a walk after dinner. The night is temptingly chilly, so we stroll for a little while within the walls of the tourist home.

Naukuchiatal means "nine-cornered lake" but at this time of the night all we see is a dark expanse of water.