Ok, this post is long due!!! Like, really really long due!!
Sorry Bobby (the owner of Oak Trails and the most fun person we ever met)!!
The reason was that we wanted to do complete justice to Oak
Trails & not write a hurried post that lacks the life that this resort
pumped in us in one day.
In fact, we, Musafir & Hasina proclaim that Oak Trails
Eco Lodge is NOT a resort; no it’s NOT just a property; it is a SUMMER HOME!!!
Remember, summer homes in the hills??!!
Hasina & Raahgir, who boast of half Kumaon heritage from
their mother, have known their summer homes well enough. Every summer vacation
invariably meant escape to Mausi’s home in the hills of Kumaon. The home was
accessed after a hike that would leave city bred Hasina & Raahgir
breathless. After the initial welcome, hugs, pleasantries later…while mausi
prepared fresh lime soda for the kids & tea for elders…we would just take
in the view & be stunned!!! The whole vacation was then spent playing in
the open, reading, admiring views, eating mausi’s expert cooking away to
glory…each demand from kids was met with nothing but a smile & lots of love
(oh the memories!!). In the evening Mausaji would be back from work & regale
us kids with interesting information about the hills & its many, many
stories.
Oak Trails Eco Lodge was just that!! No really, not
exaggerating!! And to top it, we stayed there for just 1 night & in the
month of January!!!!
Let us take you to the trip of Musafir, Hasina, Raahgir
& Sufi…a motley bunch…to Nainital & Pangot!! J
As our luck would have it, a friend of ours was getting
hitched in his hometown. His hometown happened to be Nainital. Now we might
miss any wedding, but we NEVER EVER miss such weddings J J J
Especially, since all of us are mountain enthusiasts.
The wedding was also conveniently planned over a long
weekend in January, so there was no stress of taking an off from work.
Enthused with a small vacation prospect, we planned the
following:
·
Day 1 - Take the early morning Shatabdi from
Delhi (Anand Vihar railway station) to Kathgodam.
·
Reach there by noon. Take a cab from there to
Nainital (which is 1 hour approx.). Attend wedding.
·
Day 2- Early morning push off to Pangot post
breakfast, which is merely 45 mins away by car.
·
Spend day & night happily in the resort.
·
Day 3 – Push off post breakfast for Kathgodam
Railway Station to catch 3.35 pm train back to Delhi.
·
Reach Delhi by 9.30pm & then home to resume
work next day after a night’s rest!!!
We did not wish to drive this time, as the roads between
Delhi to Uttarakhand, at some stretches are a nightmare; especially Rampur
& Bilaspur in UP are the worst thing that can happen to a traveller.
Nobody was desirous of such stress, especially when we had
to dress up same evening to attend a wedding & had limited time for our short
break too.
Day 1:
Oh man…was it coldddd!!!! Who said the World is warming up??
Dilli aao January mein & then tell me the same thing.
We boarded the train in multi layers of clothing at around
6.15 am. Boy!! Was it cold!!
The Shatabdi journey was obviously uneventful & we
dearly missed our car voyage. But then one memory flash of Rampur &
Bilaspur roads put us back in a good mood. The Shatabdi crowd was pretty good,
& it became clear that the newly opened train line had become vastly
popular with Uttarakhand travelling junta.
By 12.30 our train halted at Kathgodam & we alighted on to
a railway station back in time…
Such a cute little station, surrounded by hills, with view
of small winding country roads. We can literally spend a whole day just sitting
& doing nothing here!!! J
Anyways it was time to push off to “Yaar ki shaadi”…Nainital
ahoy!!
Nainital, once a summer capital of Britishers (along with
Shimla in Himachal), is a cute little town straight out of a picture book. The
first imposing sight that welcomes you to Nainital is the Azure water of Naini Lake.
The lake is the centre of this town. According to Vedic scriptures, Lord Shiv’s
first wife, Goddess Sati self immolated herself (there is a backstory to this).
Seeing her burnt corpse, Shiv was so overcome with grief that for days he
carried her in his arms & roamed all dimensions as a completely lost soul.
His mourning was creating huge friction in the cosmos…and was almost reducing
him to the state of a mere human. This would cause complete imbalance to the Universe.
Therefore Lord Vishnu, pierced Sati’s corpse with his Sudarshan Chakra. Her
dismembered body parts fell on the Earth & got converted to Shaktipeethas
(the source of energy) that still exist. Naini Lake was a result of her eyes
(Naina) falling on Earth.
After the British made it their summer capital pre
Independence, Nainital became a popular summer vacation hotspot for the rich
& privileged class of India. 1970s-80s onwards when the Great Indian Middle
Class established its roots firmly, & family summer vacations became a norm
for working class. Options in North were centered around Nainital & Shimla.
The burgeoning middle class holidayers soon made it a repetitive, over crowded,
to be avoided if you really want peace, typically touristy holiday spot.
Travellers like us would otherwise strictly like to avoid such
typical holiday spots. But this time, in the absence of tourist crowd (due to
just a 3 days weekend haul or freezing temperature), Nainital looked straight
out of a fairytale book.
Small roads, limited vehicles, beautiful homes, lovely
hotels, small little market lanes…where everyone knows each other, all centred
around this beautiful lake that was the heart of this town.
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| Small market of Mall Road, Nainital |
 |
| Decorative Candles has been an old business of Nainital |
 |
| Ahaa!!! |
It was a bright sunny day, and we were in no mood to rest at all!!! We immediately reached the hotel our friend had arranged for us. Dumped our bags & walked down to the lake. The walk was a pleasant & short one on neatly laid town with pine trees flanking on both sides of the walk. Soon we reached the Lake and saw the famed Nainital Boat House Club.
 |
| Are you reminded of Eastman Color movies starring Shammi Kapoor??!! |
The outer seating area & balcony of the Club is made
like a deck of a ship…all word, old worldly with neatly laid chairs. It is
typically 1960s in its seating & still spells class, even after so many
years.
The club, once prima donna in the town, only allowed members
inside. Members were obviously influential, wealthy families of the era. Even
today the club allows members only, to keep up the appearances, but also allows
you 24 hour membership privilege. There is obviously a membership fee of
Rs.1200 for a group of four people. Many tourists would run away normally at the
prospect of paying 1200 bucks for just an entry & well there are many other
options there where they can just pay for food & drinks and have the
view!!! But well…the classic old world charm of Nainital Boathouse Club is
definitely irreplaceable.
Happily we perched ourselves on the upper deck!!! J J J
Warm sunshine washing us, ruby red wine & golden beer in
our glasses, classic old world snacks like fingerchips & salted peanuts…and
chilli chicken with tangy tomato sauce 60s style for our friends, lots of
laughter…and this gorgeous vista….
 |
| The Picnic!!! |
 |
| Hasina, Raahgir & Sufi!!! |
It was a beautiful picnic lunch.
We had almost forgotten we were there for a wedding!!!
How we spent more than 3 hours just sitting, chatting,
laughing there we will not know!!!
By 4.30 we realized we had to be ready for the Wedding by
8pm. We stumbled back to our hotel…all happy, drunk, well fed and crashed to a
much-required nap.
In a couple of hours we were up to get ready for the
shaadi!!!
Well, nothing much to tell you there, as it was a personal
celebration. Except one thing…Wedding, hills, winter…boy!! Oh boy!!! Be
prepared with nerves of steel!! Especially women!! Brrrrrrrrr!!!!
Day 2:
And today we were off to Pangot!!! :) :)
Pangot is a small village near Nainital. It is famous mainly
for bird watching as many migratory birds make this village their summer
capital too J.
The place is so tranquil, that Nainital seems loud when compared to it.
Travellers, who like to explore a little offbeat destination, flock to Pangot,
much like it’s migratory birds.
The day was bright & sunny with a deeply azure sky.
We first halted at Baker’s Hut in Mall Road for a typical
bakery breakfast. Baker’s Hut is a unit of Hotel Pavilion & situated just
below the sprawling property.
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| Hotel Pavilion |
We had a great time stuffing ourselves happy with freshly
baked crossiants, muffins, freshly made waffles with syrup & eggs on
order!!! :) :)
Post a lovely breakfast under the sun…we happily started for
Pangot around 9.30 am. It was a mere 45 min drive!!!
And then the nightmare began…
Apparently tourists were there, they just came a little
later. The route to Pangot has a typical tourist point where some mountain
ranges can be spotted by a telescope on a clear day!!!
The winding mountainous route is narrow, it was a clear day & wayyyy too many people were at the point. Naturally all of them came by their cars, naturally there was no sense prevailing of how many people should go in at a time, but naturally there was no sense of how vehicles should be parked, where they should be parked…and naturally there was a Maggi & momos cart at this point too…so well…you can imagine.
We were stuck in a 2 hour jam on 1 single point only….and
here we met the owner of Oak Trails Eco Lodge, Bobby.
The poor guy was also en route to receive us & was
equally stuck.
The whole idea of reaching Oak Trails by 10.30-11 & then
enjoying the property was thrown out of the window.
Morosely we sat in the jam for 2 plus hours, post which it
started clearing gradually.
Hasina was obviously regaling everyone with her “filmy” OTT
rants…
Tantrum mode: My vacation is ruined
Tantrum mode continues: ruined…it’s ruined.
Melodrama mode: My dreams are ruined
Greek Tragedy mode: Everything is ruined…it’s ruined
Climax of the Greek tragedy: My life is ruined.
Oh boy!! Philosophical rant: What is the meaning of life???
The drive ahead was a slow one!! There had been snowfall and
the ice had become slippery sleet on road…and then there were people…so many
people.
Apparently, walking on heels is a must do on slippery sleet
of a road too. Yes, that’s right. Wearing the most uncalled for, uncomfortable
pair of footwear is our calling. If we won’t do it who will?? Another need of
everyone’s hour is selfie taking amidst jam, cars trying to move further on a
super slippery road.
Anyhow, we reached Oak Trails Eco Lodge by 2pm.
Oak Trails has a bit of trek to reach the main home. It’s
not much of a trek frankly, but at that time, with irritation & tiredness
set in, it seemed very cumbersome.
Finally we reached, & all tiredness swept away in 1
single stroke seeing the lovely sight.
It was a beautiful place, very tastefully done up interiors.
Simple, down to earth, & laidback. Unfortunately it was already 3pm, and we
were tired due to the jam. It was a delicious lunch & a nap that awaited
us. We thought the best part of the day was already over. The whole idea of
sprawling on the lawns of Oak Trails, sipping wine, listening to music,
watching unmistakably stunning view (and the lodge has many) was kind of over.
We had planned a laidback sunny barbeque…well we did get delicious barbeque
food, but the whole joy of savoring it slowly was gone, though the food was
very good.
We thought how exciting can the evening be? It’s quiet,
people in the hill wind up early. Well that’s where enters our man…Mr.Bobby!!!
Bobby is the life of Oak Trails Eco Lodge. He has made this
summer home with so much love & detail in mind, that it never seems a dull
place to you. We woke up to the lodge lit up with cute fairy lights!!! It’s a
small effort…but glammed up the look of the cottages instantly.
We were welcomed to the prospect of a bonfire.
It was not as cold as we thought it could be & the
bonfire made it even more comfortable.
Bobby regaled us with how he made his labour of love – Oak
Trails Eco Lodge. The story was so inspiring that we immediately chalked plans
of buying properties ourselves in the mountains & build our own summer
homes :) :). But truthfully it was
not an easy journey for him & his wife. They have made each corner of the
home with boundless love, & each corner of Oak Trails radiates that warmth.
It’s unexplainable how…it is something that can only be felt when you stay
there.
After a while, Bobby left us, comfortable around the bonfire
to our own pursuit & privacy. However, we had found his company so good,
that after sometime we entreated him to join us for further conversation.
The conversation that started then….continued till 2 am in
the morning!!! No kidding!!!
We found so many common interests in each other’s stories.
Bobby told us about his very adventurous trip to Kailash Mansarovar. That is
one story you must entreat him to tell you, when you are there.
Bobby also told us about Om Parvat & showed us a picture
of the same. We were stunned seeing this wonder of the World!!! Let us show you
a Wikipedia image as we personally do not have one obviously:
 |
| Om Parvat picture - Source: Uttarakhand.org |
The conversations were just not stopping & ranging from
travel to Vedic philosophy. Sufi, who is a tank of knowledge on the subject (as
the name suggests), got us into a perfect discussion on evolution theory as per
Vedic scriptures. The story had us all spellbound.
Now imagine this backdrop…its 1am in the morning. We are
sitting right across a mountain range…one of the mountain in this range is
dedicated to Lord Vishnu, the other dedicated to Lord Shiv….and the
conversation is getting deeper into Vedic tales & relevance to modern
times. It was such a surreal moment, that nobody wanted to get up.
Bobby & his staff seemed in no hurry to wrap up &
when Hasina expressed worry that the staff might need rest, Bobby entreated her
to relax. He told her that his guests have at times had dinner at 5am too. The
staff seemed comfortable around their own bonfire, casually peeking in the
conversation themselves.
By 2.30am we had to get up as it started snowing lightly. To
our mind the night could not have wrapped up better.
Finally we sat for dinner, & the staff even at 2.30am
served us with smiles on their face. (We were the only guests in the resort at
that time, so maybe they could take it easier too).
The food was simply superb. Daal, fresh vegetable curry, rice,
pahadi mutton...and hot rotis right off the tawa. It was an incredible meal.
Bobby told us that in summers the vegetable curry is made with vegetable
growing around Oak Trails Eco Lodge itself. In fact he told us that during
summer, when guests come with their kids, he takes them to see the vegetable
farming & they can pick out their own dinner, fresh, right there…fill the
basket…& come back happily, giving it to the cook to be made into a savory
meal. Isn’t that wonderful??!!
Dinner & crash!!! Despite the minus temperature outside,
the cottages of Oak Trails were very warm & we slept very comfortably.
Day 3:
Musafir & Hasina were up early at 7.30am to go for a
walk around the grounds of Oak Trails Eco Lodge. The tranquility & peace of
the place was a balm to the frayed nerves of city lives.
Not to forget, the first warm rays of sun gave us some
stunning views.
Gradually everyone woke up & after getting ready it was
time for breakfast of Aloo Parathas & looking longingly at the grounds for
more stay!!! But it was time to go.
However, just before we were trekking down & saying our
final goodbyes to Oak Trails family…we saw a beautiful rainbow stretched across
the valley.
We could not have had a better closure than this, to our
stay there.
With a very reluctant heart we bade goodbye to Bobby &
Oak Trail family.
Oak Trails is a happy home. A stay there will fill you with
nothing but happiness, and you will come back truly refreshed. Yes it’s not a 5
star, yes it can be accessed via a hike…but then who said the best things in
the World came easy? Oak Trails is a must visit for those who look for a home
like stay; who look at peaceful & far from crowd options; who look for
happy, smiling faces & a close interaction with nature.
With promises to be back soon for more days (and we will be
back!!)…we moved ahead to Nainital & then Kathgodam to board our train back
home.
Bobby, if you are reading this: As travel bloggers we travel
constantly, but never has a place made so much impact on us & that too in a
less than 24 hour stay!!! Hats off to your management & the sheer pleasure
of your company. Looking forward to meeting your family too next time!! J J J
Note: This is NOT an advertorial or a paid write up for the
resort, but the travellers’ genuine feedback of how we felt during our stay
& holiday in Nainital & Pangot.
