Day 5
The plan was to drive down to Katgodham and onwards to Delhi. It could be a long 10-hour drive - 3-4 hours to Katgodham and another 6-7 to Delhi. We were up early, had our coffee and were off by 9. No spectacular views in the morning from the panoramic setting in front, save a few distant snowclad peaks. The idea was to breakfast along the way. And off we went.
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| Scenic route |
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| More heaven |
We passed by some really scenic roads, some narrow ghat sections and we descended down to Bhimtal, passed by the lake town.
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| Bhimtal |
At one particular bend we found this cute place with some parking and some inviting chairs out on an open space overlooking the mountains. Too good to resist so we didn't.
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| Stopping at the 100 Mile Resort |
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| The general mood after waiting for long for breakfast |
The owner, an enthusiastic young Sikh, offered us a fine menu and when we ordered tea and bread and omeltte and paratha, disappeared for a longish while. After about twenty minutes we got worried and asked and he said he had only opened shop a couple of weeks ago and his boys were playing truant. After about 30 minutes he finally got stuff on to our table but he set us back by a good half hour there. Anyway, the place was nice and the break quite enjoyable.
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| Ganga |
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| Vardha pleased after sprinkling some holy water from the river |
Onward to Kathgogham or Haldwani (sister towns) where we bid goodbye to Mr Naidu, Jitendra and Mohan, and sped on our way. I caught some shut-eye. Diwan was in good form and was clipping at a fair speed. I am not sure if Vardha was sipping a bit of rum and coke. We did have a discussion though about what we would do if there was no shortage of money - and we came up with some rather simple and mediocre plans. Goes to show how limited our thinking was, or has become. But it was an interesting exercise.
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| On the road to Delhi |
We passed the Ganga along the way and Vardha wanted to stop by and touch the holy river and sprinkle some water on his head. We stopped, had a chai, while Vardha did his thing. Further down the road we stopped once again for a chai and some toast. By the time we hit Delhi it was 8 pm and Suresh was waiting for us with Yogesh, Kanu and Ramanuj. They had booked some seats in 'The Pianoman' a jazz bar. I had never been to one so I was excited though tired.
The Pianoman was a lovely experience. The musicians kept playing in turns and I slowly got used to the music and its rhythm.
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| Jazz at the Pianoman |
One chap on the clarinet and one on the violin stood out for me, so did one on the drums.
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| More jazz |
We finally made it back to the guest house by 1 am and then had a couple of drinks more while chatting with Suresh before crashing for the night.
After all these days of freezing cold, Delhi appeared rather warm. The flight's at 1 pm tomorrow so we plan to leave by 1030 am.
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