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We wanted to go somewhere. Preeti, the doc wife of Dee (Deepender) didn’t want to go to hills again, we were at Mussorrie on 26 Jan same year. Incidentally me and Smita had no great idea on where to go but we wanted to go. After all it was feb and a time when one must get out and visit places. So courtsey an old friend, we booked ourselves a part of Piramal Haveli which is a Neemrana property.

We were going to Shekhawati which is a region in Rajasthan best known for wall murals and old havelis. It lies between Jhunjhunu - Bikaner - Seekar triangle with Mandawa as central town and Fatehpur, Dundlod, and other small places around. We were in two cars (Mahindra Scorpio and Toyota Corolla), a total of 8 adults and 3 kids (Harshal, Tanya and Pihu)

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Post the exhausting ride from Sarchu to Leh, I had dropped dead in probably the most comfortable bed on the entire duration of the ride till now. The beauty sleep lasted for about 9 hours with me having skipped dinner… I awoke at 0900 Hrs and was feeling as hungry as a pack of rabid wild dogs who have been not fed since time immemorial… Decided that I needed a cup of tea to get the weary and tired body moving, I called up room service and ordered it.

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When we, five members of our family,decided to have a week’s break after the 10th Board exam of our grand daughter,we thought of Shimla which we have not visited for many years, though we go to hills almost twice a year. The drive to Shimla from Gurgaon became quite easy after we read the very detailed and valuable information about the route right up to Stutter wine shops and Shimla. I must thank you all at ghumakkars for making trip to Shimla an easier trip to drive. Your article was most useful, especially avoiding almost dozens of traffic police at various points in Panchkula and buying Stutter wines. Also your tips about avoiding jam at Panipat flyover proved very useful.

Beautiful Hill Side
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The trip to Mukteshwar was born out of our strong desire to go somewhere. Anywhere. We started with a plan for Dharamshala, moved to Rafting in Rishikesh, and, at last, zeroed in on Mukteshwar. Main reasons for choosing Mukteshwar were:

1) Relative nearness to Delhi (10 hrs drive in a Qualis)
2) The fact that none of the group members had been there
3) It sounded peaceful

So after basic planning (booking hotel rooms and a cab), we started on Friday Night at 11:00 PM. The road from Delhi to Kathgodam is pretty bad so it definitely wasn’t a smooth ride. The journey till Kathgodam was uneventful and many of us (esp. the ones in the middle seat) spent it catching up on their sleeps. As for the front rider and the unfortunate fellows sitting at the back, they spent their time trying to keep others awake.

The drive from Kathgodam to Mukteshwar is very scenic with breathtaking views of Bhimtaal and lush green valleys. The end of spring and a sunny morning also meant vividly colored trees and the sweet fragrance of flowers blooming in the morning. In spite of having hardly slept during the night, we were wide awake during this drive. Except some people in the middle seat who were sound asleep all through.

We had booked our rooms in Krishna Orchard Resort which is about 5km from the 0 milestone of Mukteshwar. I would like to specifically mention here that the resort is reasonable, location is good, rooms are comfortable with excellent views, and the staff is extremely helpful. I will gladly recommend this resort to anyone who goes there with family or friends.

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