Rejoicing Life at The Retreat, Bhimtal

We all need that “break” from our everyday routine to breathe, to connect to our roots, to just be ourselves in the lap of nature. Such breaks not only explains to us what “freedom” means, but helps us be more humble in this human-made world of “I”’s and more “I”’s. 

Inspired by this quote, me and hubby make sure we travel at least once in 6 months to a place which makes us understand where we truly belong. So, in our 2 years of marriage journey, our first trip was to the beaches (Goa-which I haven’t blogged about), then it was the hills (Kasauli - Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3) then the Riverside (Soulitude by the Riverside - Part 1 and Part 2) and this time it was the forests. Yes, I’m talking about THE RETREAT, BHIMTAL.

Going to this place was a cat-and-mouse run. We have been wanting to go here for over a year, but whichever dates we asked for, it was always full. There was so much we had read about the place already, that when we finally got the booking confirmation this time, our happiness knew no bounds. As I have mentioned in my previous posts too, we love travelling by train. There is a different enthusiasm to waking up early morning, taxi waiting down, seeing such a hustle bustle on the railway station when half of the world is still in their sugar sleep, and the train snacks they serve. When we were close to our destination, the cameras came out and the blogger within awakened. So here’s some from our train-journey:

Many people I have seen are not too keen travelling in the monsoons, but for us, the rains bring out a different beauty to the nature. The views of the mountains and valley from the 45 minute taxi drive from Kathgodam Railway Station to the Retreat are picturesque. When we arrived, a happy smiling woman greeted us, just as one of our family members would welcome us to their home. Yes, that is Paddy, and yes, The Retreat is the homestay she runs. 

The place had a very positive impact on us from the moment we stepped inside, as we knew we are standing in a 19^th century colonial bunglow with the artifacts, furniture, photographs/paintings on the wall and other stuff maintained just so well up to date.

Our room was a simple, neat and fairly large room with attached bathroom and there are 2 more rooms similar to this in the bunglow that are for guests. 

The staff greeted us with a welcome drink Lemonade and we went for a quick stroll around the property. 

There is just so much to see around in Paddy’s garden and around that i am going to post a different photo-blog about it. (Wait for my next post). The flowers in full bloom, different types of plants, and huge trees of oak, pine and cedar around the estate which Paddy tells us was earlier a tea Estate. By the time our clicking-session was over, our lunch was ready. Paddy had already asked us about our meal preferences earlier, and we had already started drooling looking at the number of dishes she had set on the dining area outside. So, there we had our perfect delish Indian meal looking at the lush green garden around.

Mother nature has her own way of telling us how miniscule we are in front of her.

There was mutton curry (which hubby really licked his fingers for), Paneer dry sabzi (perfectly spiced), eggplant stir fry (a little salty for our taste), Chole (Ahh… just writing about them has got my mouth watering), rice, some warm chapattis and how can we forget – those tangy and spicy pickles! We really ate our heart out. And then came the dessert. Spice infused fresh pears served with a dollop of mint flavoured whipped cream. The flavours were literally dancing on our tongues. Having had such a yummy meal, we knew we are in the right place for food :)

The rest of the day just passed by lazying around, catching up on some sleep and reading. We woke up all refreshed followed by a cup of masala chai for hubby and filter coffee for me. It just seemed like a place to be, sitting in the patio watching the night dawning upon us making the same very beautiful place look like a scary dark area (Fear is all in our mind, it’s true). Since the weather was cloudy, the moon-God didn’t show us any favour.

It was time for dinner already. I will go all out here to say, this was one of the best dinners we have ever had. Since the dining table inside was already occupied by another family sharing the other two rooms, we loved the idea of dinner being served to us in the patio. There came the fresh vegetable salad dressed in citrus flavours, followed by baked chicken, followed by the perfect al-dente Pasta served along with some home-baked bread and the thin crust pizza. For whoever visits this place, we would highly recommend the pizza topped with some veggies, cheese, olives and herbs. This candle light dinner ended for us with a lip-smacking dessert too.

The next day, rain Gods were bursting heavily. We woke up to the fresh smell of mud, the music of the rain showers and feeling the smooth touch of cold breeze playing with our skin. After having some heavy breakfast comprising of scrambled eggs, cheese tomato omelette, toasts, various types of jams (must-have’s), cereals, fruits and our tea-coffee, we set out for a small trek to the Garud-Tal with the perfectly drawn map by Paddy. She packed us a picnic basket (some sandwiches and fruit salad) and was kind enough to provide us with umbrellas.

Our small trek full of adventures, watching the local flora and fauna, enjoying the gorgeous views on the way, and of course giving feed to the blogger inside us to click pictures. 

On the way, we passed a beautiful St. John’s Church built in 1912 by Mr. A.C.Evans in memory of his beloved mother. 

The Garud Taal is one of the “Saat-taal” and had a lake-side Chapel with the seating area flooded with water from the taal. We enjoyed our sandwiches and fruit salad there and walked back to the homestay meeting some fur-riends on the way. 

Then we went for a small trek to Bhimtal (there is nothing much to see there and is more commercialised and crowded).

Back home, and our feet had started showing signs of tiredness. So we spent the evening sitting in the patio listening to some wonderful colonial era stories by Paddy. Oh, she is wonderful at this. So if you guys are interested in knowing about the history, culture or traditions of that time, don’t forget to ask her. Paddy would happily narrate some to you. Paddy’s son took it to serve English dinner for us that night and we were served pumpkin soup, mashed potatoes, pasta in white sauce, some bread, paneer and cheese cutlets, and traditional pot roast chicken, followed by some traditional suji pudding topped with caramalised sugar and nuts. 

Oh, each of it was just perfect. No wonder, we had heard some rave reviews about the food. It has a whole feel of homecooked yet different and lipsmacking. I would say, Paddy and her son have magic in their hands when it comes to food. Paddy also takes jam-making or cooking sessions which I was keen to do, but this time it was all about holidaying and rejuvenating. So, the next time, I am going to enter that kitchen and watch and learn some tricks and tips for sure.

And oh, did I mention? They have their 3 paw-mates too. Tessy, Terry and Seeker (we loved that name). Terry came to us with all the wags from the moment she saw us and let us click some beautiful pictures with her too. They are the perfect trek-guides when you go for your adventures. 

The place also brought out the child inside us. We played some Scrabble and Jenga and some cards too. The next morning went by soaking up the warmth of the sun falling on our face after a rainy day. We seeked pleasure listening to the sounds of birds chirping, walking on the grass and connecting to our real selves taking as much as we could from the Nature.

Post breakfast, we spent some time reading, playing and petting the fur-riends and photographing around. And then came the time to leave! Yes, it’s always a moment of sadness when you leave such a beautiful place but we were happy that we are coming home with loads of positive energy and having made a beautiful friend named Paddy.

For all you explorers and wanderers, The Retreat, Bhimtal is a perfect weekend gateway from New Delhi. You can check the details on their website here.  So, pack your bags, and go go go !!! :)

Do check our next photo-blog post.

Happy Travelling!!!

  

Anniversary special - Part 2 (Soulitude by the Riverside)

Continued from Part 1..


After about one and half hour of trek, we decided to walk downhill crossing some local homes and smiling women doing their daily chores. The guarding dogs always greeted us with their barks, as compared to the cows/buffaloes who didn't seem bothered. The homes, as we saw, were always painted bright in colours of blue, green, pink. There is a lot of use of Batan-Una (Pata-varvanta as we call in Marathi! It is a flat stone and a grinding stone used to process different kinds of foods), mud vessels, metal utensils and food cooked on wood burning village stove. A typical Village stove is made of mud and stones and the fire is lit with the charcoal and/or wood. 

The locals do a lot of farming (mainly Terrace farming), eating their own grown veggies and supplying the abundance to a local towns nearby - Bhowali, Haldwani, Bhimtal etc. Arbi and potatoes are staple diet and some also catch fish from the river and eat. Buffalo milk is preferred as compared to cows', who are mostly used for farming/agricultural purpose. 

Few kids go to town for school, but a lot of them help their parents in the farm. Little girls help their mothers in the kitchen and we saw some washing clothes along the river. As compared to other tourist destinations, they never bother the visitors/tourists but are busy in their own sweet world. Guess the place has made them serene and humble.

We reached a 100-odd year old bridge named "Jhoola-pul" which was built by the British. The bridge offers some breathtaking views on both sides. A 30-40 minute trek crossing the river from the bridge to the resort is a photographer's walk. 

Once back, we were welcomed to an elaborate Kumaoni special lunch. The delicacies still have a taste on my buds. Khada masala chicken, Arbi fry, Bhatt ki daal (also known as Chudkani as told to me by one of our facebook page followers), ragi ki roti, sitaphal sabzi, bhaang ki chutney, homemade pickles, gulab jamun and freshly picked baby carrots from the garden as salad. Can it get better? 

Again over-eating our diet, we went for a small trek with Dinesh, crossing river and jumping on the rocks to the "Paradise on earth"- Pari-tal. This place has crystal clear water made into a natural pool flowing down the mountains like a waterfall. Surrounded by mountains and rocks from all sides, i never wanted to leave that place. So, Dinesh told us a story behind that lake which i would love to share with you all. It is said, that a merchant used to flow down woods from the top to the towns/villages below and on one such occasion, the woods never reached the destination. On finding out the reason, it was seen the woods were absorbed in this lake. The merchant gave a sacrifice of 5 lambs at a nearby temple, and the woods automatically came up and reached the town. It is said so, the merchant left doing this business after that and since then the pool of water is known as "Pari-tal" (Pari meaning angels). 

The place looks as mystical as the story and there are a lot of positive vibes in that place. Back to the resort, we saw the staff at work cutting weeds and planting potatoes for the season. Its so good to see there are so many activities to do in life, than going to malls, shopping or watching movies. 

Evening saw us with some cold winds and we sat by the river having our tea-coffee. And then came surprises one after another!!! To make our anniversary special, we were greeted to a bonfire, some juice, some Elton-john songs and a cake placed in a small decorated shack. A table surrounded with plants, flower petals shaped in hearts and candles. The staff members won our hearts by making us feel so special. 

This was followed by lip-smacking dinner of Matar ke paudhon ki sabzi (Stir fried matar leaves), gobhi mix vegetable, gehad ki daal, mutton curry, roti, cucumber raita, and Shahi tukda. We felt like a king and queen with this royal treatment. 

Now comes the most lovely surprise! We didn't know when these guys came in the room and switched on the heater, the bed-warmer and placed this beautiful flower decoration on our bed!!! Our smiles became wider and wider with each passing moment. So, there we slept under the open sky looking at the moon and stars on a warm bed decorated with flowers in a dim-lit warm room!!! The perfect pampering for our celebration!

I also want to mention about the Bedmi Poori with aloo sabzi. Terrific combination and so tastefully made, that hubby almost had 5-6 of them! 

This place truly brings out a different part of you alive and we would surely want to visit them again! A soulful holiday at Soulitude :)

100th post : Anniversary special- Soulitude by the Riverside

There are some experiences in life which cannot be described in words. I am sure each one of us has gone through this. A moment which could only be felt but expressed, a dish which could only be tasted than reviewed, a scenic beauty which could only be seen through the eyes than captured in a camera or the love that touched your soul than just showed. Well, last few days i have gone through all this! I couldn't find the right words (still can't) to pen it down for all of you. But I will try my best to bring out the soul of my experiences, so you can walk down the memoirs with me!

Well, there are a few vacations from where you don't want to come back home. Just as our last experience at Kasauli ( Part 1 , Part 2 , and Part 3 ) was one memorable holiday, our recent outing to Soulitude by the Riverside was one enriching too! Over initial discussion whether to go to their other property Soulitude in the Himalayas or the riverside one, people who know us well, would have guessed why we went to the latter. For those who don't, my hubby is a fish hobbyist and manages almost 12-odd fish tanks at home for almost over 7-8 years. So, whenever and wherever we see a water body, he wants to cross mountains to get a look at it to study the aquatic life. Here's a look of our Fish room :

After reading tons of positive reviews online and getting a recommendation from a friend who had been to their property before, we knew where we are going for our Anniversary! It had to be a special place for the occasion, and also since we were looking forward to this break since a long time. I have had a busy three months of my pet-sitting bookings due to holiday season and wanted to take some days off. Me and hubby both prefer rustic to luxury, and this place just seemed so for us. But when we reached, we were surprised to see "Rustic marrying luxury".

As mentioned before, we love train journeys, and hence so we took the early morning Shatabdi from Anand Vihar station to Kathgodam Railway station. Until yet, we didn't even know there existed a railway station by the name of Anand Vihar in Delhi. The train went past some nice open fields giving a treat to our eyes of greens, morning sunrise and fresh air. The 5-6 hour journey went past in a jiffy with all the snacks and drinks that Shatabdi offers. I want to mention here about the name of "Nimbu pani" (Lemon-water) that we were served - Dadu!! Dadu means 'Grandpa" and mostly Punjabi's use this term for elder men. 

The pick up car waited for us and the drive was all about twists and turns. We drove uphills through the ghats and the views of the mountains and valleys just seemed to get more and more enthralling. As mentioned in their website, the car drop is only till a particular point after which you need to trek for about 30-40 minutes to reach the place. Hence, it is clearly mentioned to book the place if one is keen on walking/trekking and is not suitable for old people/kids. Since there had been a landslide on the regular route, we went through the other route wherein we trekked downhill for about 30 minutes. Walking on the small path of stones/mud and surrounded by tall pine trees, the walk seemed an enjoyable one!

Once we reached the place, we were greeted with a welcome drink (Cucumber chaas) and guided to our colourful room. 

They have 2 cottages and one Village home consisting of 3 rooms. We had booked the room "Shaant" in the village home, as we were fascinated by the idea of sky-view from the room. The room had opened windows (also in the bathroom), so you actually sleep and bathe under the stars!!! Isn't that pretty cool?

Another most important aspect why we chose to stay here was there are no televisions in the room. There is a common living area in the village home where there is a small TV for those who can't do without it, but we were more inclined towards the book-shelf with some really interesting reads. The place filled us with energy, and though we had done an early morning journey and a small trek, we were keen on exploring around. A small walk with the most helpful and humble Dinesh showing the property around just seemed the right thing to do.

We got our hands dirty picking vegetables from the farm which they grow organically. You name a vegetable/fruit, and they have planted it there! We learnt a lot about seasonal plantings/sowing/plant care etc. from him and also shared some ideas with him about re-cycling kitchen waste which we didn't see them doing. 

For those keen on doing yoga, there is a yoga-hut at the edge of the resort overlooking a small waterfall gushing out of the rocks where one can sit for hours listening to the music of the flowing water. 

The place is surrounded by huge mountains from all sides, which just make you think how small "I" can be (or is). Its places like these, which make you realise the importance of nature, the beauty of it and how much we need to respect it than spoil it. We skipped lunch, and had some snacks. The warm pakoras (bhajiyas) were absolutely crispy and tasty. The sandwich was just okay with cheese, tomato and cucumber filling. The coffee was a little light to my taste, hence was requested to be made strong. A little chat with the Chef Kamal, who is a 22 year old boy (looks even younger), explaining our personal tastes was welcomed by him. As he was open to suggestions, we never had a chance to complain after that and the food just seemed getting better, making us lick our fingers (and plates) clean!!! :)

Dinner was served in the dining room which is decorated like a village room with Clay-pots, metal plates and dinnerware, khaat-like seating (made comfortable with cushions and hand restings), artifacts placed neat-fully around and the special mention to the embroidered frames on the wall made in the shape of a kite. Who wouldn't want to dine in such a colourful place and to top it all, they made it special for us by decorating our table with roses, flowers and candles. Romance sizzled in the air (with songs from the movie 'love aaj kal') with hot trays of sizzlers being placed on our table. 

The momos, the tikkis, the perfectly cooked noodles, steamed and stir fried veggies, french fries - Every item on the plate was just so perfectly done that we over-ate our diet! Oh, and i forgot to mention about the smooth and warm cabbage-cucumber soup that was served to us before! Served in a cup and saucer, the soup was absolutely hearty. The sizzler was followed by a rich, thick, creamy chocolate mousse which was relished by hubby too, who is not much of a chocolate-fan.

Since we were the only guest around during that time, we thoroughly enjoyed the "alone-ness". One very good thing about the staff is they "Never" bother you. The right meaning of the word "freedom" is what you can feel here. It makes it even more special. They are always there to help, to assist or guide when asked, but would never be a hindrance in whatever you want to do. It's good to be by yourself in a place like this- and they totally understand that!

The other rooms are beautifully done too, one of which has a huge rock (with water flowing down it) in the bathroom. One very important thing i observed here is a lot of time and effort has been given to detailing. Each artifact is carefully placed in the right space and hence stands out. The owner Manish Chandra, as told to us, loves collecting stuff and his wife has a huge interest in art and craft. One who would visit the place, would surely know and understand that.

As they say, "Eat breakfast like a king", we were pampered the next day with an artistically decorated breakfast table with juices, cereals, fruits, jams, made-to-order eggs and parathas served with homemade pickles. We loved the stuffed parathas of gobhi and aloo that we had along with fresh curd and chilli and potato pickle. The aloo pickle was to-die-for! I have taken the recipe and someday i will make and post it. After having some nice strong coffee, we left to trek in the forest along with Dinesh. 

This place is a heaven for trekkers. There is no end to how far you can go in the forest. But yes, it is very important to respect Mother Nature or else she bounces back on you. The views along the walk were breathtaking and some beautiful birds were singing music to us, to keep us entertained.

Dinesh gladly was explaining us about the tropical flora and fauna and gave us a lot of information about the local life. I will put pictures and write about some in a separate post. Hubby was keen on exploring waterlife, studying the local plants growing inside it and searching for the local fishes that are found there. And he was not disappointed. We came home with a box full of goodies for our fish-room!!! :)

Our journey continues in Part 2.....