N-igmatic, N-chanting, Nainital... Review on Nainital

Well, well, well.... after such a long gap, bck to MS. it feels just gr8 to be bck, with a travelogue & hope ye all like it...so here goes...

'' Too much of a good thing can be wonderful'' said Mae West & this is true 2 me in two contexts- as I got a grumble in the stomach!! & the second one was the 2nd leg of our tour, ie, Nainital. The cold winds have set in Mumbai, as the heat recedes fast & it gets so very comfortable-n-chilly indeed + I go for my jogs in the early morning hrs(on & off!!), suddenly a whiff of cool breeze loaded with clarity passes by me, with the fog descended on the road, it suddenly reminisced me of my lovely visit to this enchanting & r-o-m-a-n-t-i-c hill station & I just cudnt help myself..

Nainital,is a hill cum lake resort located at an height of 1938 mtrs & the yrs temperatures vary btwn a single degree to as much as 20 degree max(u wnt more than this??). As history goes, the lake was known as tri rishi sarovar(tri- sage- lake!! I hope its a proper translation) & the rishis were atri, pulastya & pulaha. Nainital is like a huge shopping mall as it offers touristers with a fantastic climate, gr8 food(once again!!), cool tourist spots & the attractions range frm quiet walks in the meadows & forests of pine-n-mighty oaks-n-teaks to adventure sports as well. For people who r first timers, Nainital is kasauni(or kausani??) frm the flick koi mil gaya.

Anyways.. the hot thing abt the place is the really chilly climate, as it surrounds & wafts around u once u start approaching Nainital. The small roads make their way thru the tropical Himalayan evergreen forests as in & out, u get the fresh mountain air... the air which has transcended upon every affectionate snowy mountains, forests...& directly comes 2 u, & this is very energizing indeed.My tour was again a grp tour & I wud recommend a good 3-4 day stay at this place. As the roads made their way thru the fog, it was time 4 a break as we took one at this hotel, situated on in the mid of a v-curve on the road, which provided the most spectacular-n-enchanting view of the valley tht lay ahead. It was really breathtaking indeed as there was a li'l stream tht flowed by & pink roses all around. The chilly climate added to it made it a fantastic romantic halt. It just provided an iota of the luvly landscapes tht lay ahd. The drives are rough indeed, but u just cant keep looking outside as the views r very very captivating & dont forget to keep ur snapper..i mean ur cam with ya all the time.

As one enters Nainital, the winds get even chillier & the Kumaon University welcomes the tourist. The surroundings make it a fantastic place for education.My halt was at Hotel Vikram Vintage Inn @ Mallital ie inner Nainital & quite a decent hotel ,i would say.. the only thing tht bothered me was the grumbling as every now & then I had to rush to the washroom!!! Nainital is very well connected by motorable roads(no rail here as the nearest railhead is Kathgodam ie 35 kms away & which is very well linked with all the major cities in the country.) as the nearest metropolis is Dehradun, ie 373 kms away. The accomodation...well again, it suits evreyones pockets & some recommended hotels include Fairhavens hotel(non a/c...jab itni thand hai to a/c ki kya jaroorat hai bhai??), Arif Castle( DLX) or chk out many hotels along the mall or ones along the picturesque lake such as The Metropolis.People with lower budgets have the K.M.V.N's(Kumaon. Mandal. Vikas. Nigam) lodges as alternatives. After docking, I chkd out the the view frm the gallery of my room which had the mighty peaks in the backdrop, coupled with lush greenary & the small village houses seeming like colorful jewels embedded in it...i still wonder hw ppl live in such cold conditions & on steep slopes!!

Carryin' on, we were lucky tht the place had xperienced a lite drizzle & tht just added to the beauty of the atmosphere. I had already made the mistake of not carrying woolens & was payin the price as my teeth rattled with speed!! So again- dont chill out, but carry along enough warmwear. It was evening as we happened to pass by the mosque area, which serves as a gateway for a view of the naini lake & on the very first sight, I was bowled over clean.... the naini gymkhana built by the British in 1860 odd..was a true spectacle as the naini lake lay besides it!! so a fantastic ground without any grass, but with a cut out true pitch it cud make for an ideal stadium indeed as my mind alrdy strted imagining of a mtch here...hw bout sachin slogging for a six & the ball directly gettin lost in the lake waters!! The gurudwara, the temple, the mosque, just adjacent to each other adds to the religious imp. of the place. We wlked along the mall rd as many honeymooners cud be seen in & out!! my heart went out again as I got lost in the fantasy of being with someone. The mall is a shoppers paradise as u get to buy handicrafts, woolens, gr8 food & the trudge uptil the head post. office .ie Tallital, is worth as I sed to myself,' These steps dont stop, until theres a way ahd..'. now the drizzle got a bit hvy & I took shelter inside a book stall where the thermometer reading the temp as 1.5 degrees was enuf to freeze me further. Amidst book hunting, my stomach strted the ooh aahs again & in the chill I was pretty amazed to find a long queue....at the only public toilet in the mall!! despite the rains around, one felt a lot more cozier. Incidently I tumbled upon the only cyber cafe at the place & being a net addict, surfed for a solid 40 mins. As the stars strted to crop up & the atmospheric canvas turned black, nainital looked like mountains-n-mountains of diamond heaps with a black pearl ie the naini lake in the middle...truly an artists delite.

The day ended with gr8 elan, & speaking of tours around nainital, there r many as 1.)the kmvn offers daily tours to all the interesting

Places around(chk local listings or contact kmvn@yahoo.com) or 2.) our own organised pvt. tours. a few very imp.places include Kausani(or is it Kasauni again!!), Ghorakhal, Bhimtal, Mukteshwar, Almora, Bhowali & so on. As there r lots of places to c, its strictly advised to plan a highly disciplined-n-organised tour which shall of course be subject to changes later on. Movin on..my 2nd day of nainital was imp.coz we visited Ranikhet, famous as an idyllic hill resort, full of army houses, orchards & wt not..there r so many taals around tht I lost numbers while counting...like Ramtaal, Sitataal, Bhimtaal, ye taal vo taaal, hey bhagwan! Also, its very geographically interesting as one finds so many lakes around these hill stns. The trip to Ranikhet is a pure rollercoaster ride...first descending down with all the effort & again climbing up another hill with all the power.

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