I Rushed to the Hills.

To get rid of the scorching heat and usual life of Delhi, I rushed to the Hills, Kausani-Ranikhet-Nainital. It was an eventful and unexpected journey. To start with the train tickets were not confirmed till the last moment. What happened next was, the tickets didn't only get confirmed but also were upgraded! A real good start indeed. I t took a whole night to reach Kathgodam Station. And the moment I stepped out of the train I saw a big hill with it's tip covered with clouds. Mesmerizing!

I was still a little sleepy. The car was ready, and we drove through the giant hills covered with lush green trees till we reach Kausani. And, in between we stopped by Ranikhet, Chaubatiya Garden. The garden was large and full of apple trees. Bright red luscious apples were hanging down from the branches of the tree.We climbed hills, hills which were absolutely green, saw beautiful and eccentric butterflies, monkeys, tents and what not!

We then continued the drive and finally reached Kausani in the evening. The first thing we saw after reaching Kausani was the heavenly view of the Himalayan peaks, clear and perfect.

The rain had stopped and the sun was shining bright which made the Himalayan peaks look even more clearer. We booked the rooms, freshened up and headed to the large balcony and stared at the himalayan range till the sun went down. There was this silence, not eerie, but a peaceful silence which made me calm.

The next day, all fresh and ready, we drove down to Jeolikot. I captured the hills, quaint waterfalls and streams, all of it, in my mind. We were heading to Jeolikot just spend a day in the huge bunglow, Inspection Bunglow, built in 1871. Jeolikot had no places to visit in particular. The bunglow was the only attraction. And, this bunglow was going to be all ours for a day! I was inquisitive about how the Bunglow will be. We reached the Inspection Bunglow. The Bunglow was huge. It had big royal fireplaces and the wash rooms, they were of the size of my bedroom. Also, it had this beautiful mirror just outside the wash room. Everything about the Bunglow was royal and luxurious. The garden was full of mango trees and colourful flowers and fresh lush green grasses with the foggy view of the hills.

Next day began with the showers of rain. We were headed to Nainital finally. It took us probably 3-4 hours to reach Nainital. And then, began the struggle to find 'good' hotels to live in. Nainital is just like another city, over-crowded and busy, the only difference being it has beautiful hills and a long vast lake.I stepped in, it was enthralling. It had royal fireplaces and it was really huge.

Our voices echoed there, which made a little creepy though. The wash rooms were the size of my own actual room. It had a dressing room right outside the wash room with a beautiful stool in front of the big mirror. Everything in the bunglow was royal. Jeolikot was even more quieter. It had a deafening silence. I again enjoyed the hills as much as I could till the sun went down. I explored the lawns. The trees were heaved down with mangoes, peaches, apples and what not!

Finally, with a help of a friend, we landed up in a decent hotel. Without wasting any moment, we quickly were done with lunch and went to Bhutia Market, also called Tibetan Market. The market had everything to sell, clothes, shoes, food, decoration pieces, candles, umbrellas and the list can go really long. After looking around the market for bit, I picked up momos from

the very famous momo shop in the market and sat beside the lake with my friend. Sitting beside the lake and chatting endlessly was such a bliss. It made me realize that, petty little things can make people happy, it's all about emotions rather than materials. We covered almost all of the Nainital walking for it was a tiny city. In the evening, I was called for this dinner at a hotel by a friend. The hotel was absolutely on the top of the hills away from the hustle-bustle of the city down there. Though it took a lot of energy to climb those steep hills and reach the hotel but it was worth it. The hotel was a totally different part, there were cottages, bon fire, live music, food, fountains and was decked up with beautiful lights. The whole Nainital city was visible from the Hotel. The shops and restaurants down there looked like little twinkling stars at night from the balcony of the hotel.The next evening, we walked a long way from Mallital to Tallital, called the Mall Road. We explored the various shops and restaurants that came on our way.

I shopped for my friends. Then we took the most awaited Rickshaw ride. The Rickshaws were super-fast, faster than the ones in Delhi and were more comfortable. They looked good too! On the final day, we went to the snow view by a ropeway. The ropeway was the best part. I could see the clouds falling on the lake and on the city covering them up. After reaching snow view, we saw lots and lots of rides, cafeterias and shops. It was like an amusement park. There was free-fall, go-carting, cable cars, etc. Also they were providing us with binoculars to get a clear view of the Himalayan range. While coming back by the ropeway, we were all surrounded with white clouds!

The evening arrived and we were all ready to head back to Delhi. But, the catch was that our tickets weren't yet confirmed and few hours were left for the train to depart. Traumatic! I know. The driver who drove us till the Kathgodam Station turned out to be quite amusing. And, he shunned away all the trauma with his shayeris, jokes and singing. He kept telling us not to worry and that our tickets will positively get confirmed. And well, there we were, our tickets were eventually confirmed and we reached the station an hour and a half early. The driver was like an angel! We bade him goodbye. And, an hour and a half later we bade Nainital goodbye.