27-08-19
Dear Doddamma,
I am now writing about the last day of our trip. It seems like a dream now but a very nice dream. I had written to you that our last day had been a long one. We left Nainital in the morning. On our way to Haldwani where we had to catch the night bus to Delhi, we saw many lakes. The sight of so much water is very sartisfying.
On our way we saw Garud taal ( taal means lake). We went on to a lake called Saathtaal. Long back there were seven lakes which merged to form this lake.
Boating is a prominent pastime in all the lakes. Near Saathtaal we had lunch in one of the lakeside hotels called Lucky restaurant. Sahil recommended this place because they serve vegetarian food. The food was very tasty. We saw rotis being baked in the tandoor. We decided to taste rice kheer which was very tasty.
Then we set off to the next lake. On the way purchased balmithai to take back with us. We reached Bhimtaal at 4.15. Here we enjoyed boating on the waters, which were surprisingly not cold at all. The boatman said he had been in this occupation for more than thirty years. There was a small island with a building which housed an aquarium. But we did not go there.
From there we went on and reached Naukuchia lake at 5.15. The word Naukuchia means nine corners. We sat by the side of the lake for half an hour watching people enjoying adventure activities on the lake.
At 6.30 we stopped to drink tea at roadside hotel. The tea was hot and very tasty. While waiting for the tea we watched with fascination water pouring out of a pipe on the other side of the road. It was from a natural spring. People were stopping to drink water, and others were cleaning their cars collecting water in their cans.
In cities there is shortage of water but here there is a surplus of the resource. People do not worry about this because they say it flows back into rivers.
At 7.30 we reach Haldwani . Our driver dropped us near the bus station. He would be driving back to Nainital the same evening. Forty two kms but 1 ½ hours on the road. We had to wait till 10.15 for our bus. It is fascinating to watch people. Next to us a girl and her grandmother were waiting for their bus which would leave at 8. They had come from near Kausani. One man was lying on the floor a little away. He was drunk and lost to this world. It is very sad to see such people. Our bus came on time and it was a relief to see a brand new coach. Remember all the trouble we had while coming to Haldwani from Delhi. Before boarding the bus we purchased some lychees and mangoes.
We reached Anand vihar bus station in Delhi before six on the 19th morning. We walked to the metro station. It was crowded that early in the morning. We went to New Delhi metro station and from there to the airport. We avoided travelling inside the city because the heat and pollution would have been too much after the fresh air of the hills. Somehow we did not feel like going inside Delhi again. Our flight to Bangalore was at 3.25. It was a long wait but we were not bored. We ate the lychees for breakfast, a healthy breakfast. 😊. We ate pav bhaji in the airport food court for lunch too after checking in. The flight was uneventful. We had been waiting long for our vacation to the hills, and now we were already back home after a wonderful time with good and bad moments. We reached Bangalore at 6.10 and went to our cousin’s house.
After dinner we caught our bus to Manipal at 10.45. We reached home at 8.30 on the 20th morning. Fortunately the bus driver stopped very near our home. It was raining. Fortunately it was a two minute walk to our home. It was good to be back.
Yesterday we had been to Maikuri ( where my father-in-law lives) He is 93. Due to rains everyday he had not been able to leave home. So we all went to my husband’s maternal uncle’s home in the village. They have now installed solar panels in their yard and use solar energy for all their requirements. My father-in-law was happy to learn more about it. It was a good change for him. We left at 3.45 for home. There was lot of traffic and we reached home only at 6.45. I made boiled rice conjee and rasam for dinner.
I will write again soon. Aravind is busy with German certificate classes in the evening. Most of his students are from the Engineering college.
With lots of love,
Lakshmi
From the aeroplane
“A strange world
The land of white clouds
They look soft and quite solid
But they are floating in the vast sky
A blue and white world far above mother Earth.”
“Back
To home
Holidays
Experiences
Good and bad moments
Seeing old temples
Trekking through mountain valleys
Soaking feet in cold water
Many full lakes in this land of hills
Tasting local food made the days more fun.”
Bal Mithai – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bal_Mithai
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