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Thurs.31st. & Fri. 1st. March...We departed Chandigarh station at our scheduled departure time of 1120hrs. for the five hour journey and arrived at New Delhi around 1640hrs...Once again we found the journey time flew by, as Songhi & I got chatting with a cheerful group of families from Surat in Gujarat who were on their way home from a holiday in Dharamsala & Manali..Typically, they were intrigued to hear me speak hindi and my childhood days in India, so not surprisingly we had now made a new set of friends to visit when we return on our next trip to India..Incidentally Mr. K V Patel, we would like to thank you for your wealth of knowledge and guidance in helping Songhi to make the right decisions in her chosen career and path in life...we look forward to spending more special times with you when we return to India in the near future... On arriving in Delhi, Songhi & I caught the Metro to Old Delhi (Chandni Chowk) for our overnight Ranikhet Express train to Kathgodam...Unfortunately, our train was not due to leave till 2245hrs. so sitting around at Old Delhi station was something we were not particularly looking forward to..we found ourselves a comfortable & surprisingly quite clean restaurant close by, where we had some dinner and waited it out for our train...Travelling in an air conditioned 1st. class sleeper does have it's benefits though the comfort of long distance travel by train does have it's drawbacks, especially in India....On arrival in Kathgodam we caught a taxi to Ranikhet remembering always to negotiate the price first (Settling on Rs.700 from an initial Rs.1000) "I just enjoy watching the look of surprise on the faces when I break into the local dialect"..The two hour drive up to Ranikhet is through steep hilly terrain and gives you the odd panoramic view of the Himalayas across the lush green valleys of the Kumaon Hills...It's always an emotionally happy feeling to be back in this part of the world for me..Memories of my younger days with family and in school while dad served in the Kumaon Regiment seem to always flood back...Ranikhet meaning "Queens Meadow" has always been a hillstation close to my heart..Except for a few additional buildings and shops in the village this place seems to have stood still with time and we hope that as long as the Kumaon Regimental Centre, who have been here for more than a century stays, Ranikhet will always stay the same...The peace & tranquility here is something Songhi & I settle into almost immediately on arrival and go for a long stroll through the many pine forest trails and pathways littered around in these hills..Though strolling & walking is definately not recommended after sunset..not neccessarally because of the large families of monkeys,barking deer or Himalayan Bear but more to avoid the frequent confrontations we have heard with the mountain leopard..Fortunately they are a shy animal, although I still don't think a face to face meeting with one is a desire for most people.. After checking in at the Kumaon Villa on Mall Road we decided on a surprise visit to our friends Girish & Deepa who we had last seen on a previous visit in 2008..Girish was away overnite with work but we had a wonderful reunion with Deepa who now has a beautiful two year old daughter born on the 26th of January (Indian Independence Day)...With lots to talk and chat about over many cups of probably the best homemade ginger tea and me acting as the occasional Indian interpreter for both Song & Deepa we headed back for a good night's sleep and the promise of catching up for lunch on Sunday...
Saturday 2nd. April..."India vs Sri Lanka" the Big Final today...So knowing the match started at 1430hrs. we decided to sort out our errands & jobs (emails & my $2.00 haircut) so we were back in time for this exciting & memorable game..Though tempted to sit through the whole match we both went for a walk to the nearby Jhula Devi Mandir (Temple) ..This over one hundred year old hindu temple is situated almost halfway between the Kumaon Regiment's Officer's Mess and the beautiful orchards & fruit gardens of Chaubatia 10kms. away...We returned intime to watch India chase down a surprising large total of 275 runs set by Sri Lanka...With a couple of heart stopping moments when Sehwag & Tendulkar were out after a flying start we settled down to watch a fantastic win and finish by Yuvraj and especially MS Dhoni, who not only took the reins and played a proud captain's knock of 91 but also smashed a huge six for the winning runs...Great to see India on the top again after a long dry patch & to win on home soil too was a certain added bonus...."GO INDIA"..."BALLE BALLE"
Sunday 3rd. April....After breakfast this morning Songhi & I walked down to Girish & Deepa's house for the afternoon and a delicious homecooked Kumaoni lunch (Mutton curry,Okra,Bhoondi Raita,Dhal and Rice with Chapatti's)...With a thunderstorm brewing we were not allowed to walk back to work off our lunch, so were dropped off by Girish by car at our accommadation in the Kumaon Villa...We did manage to take a quick hour walk along the Chaubatia Road & were fortunate to meet another good friend Mr. Malhotra who has organised a meeting for Songhi with Dr. Vijay an Ayurvedic Specialist who is setting up a practice in Ranikhet in the very near future.... Once again by sheer coincidence Dr. Vijay and Songhi had met and discussed working together when we had visited Ranikhet in 2008 so we were both excited to catch up with him again the next day....We ended the evening with dinner at Mr & Mrs Malhotra's house...
Monday 4th April..."Happy Navratri" (Hindu New Year)...On request by Brig. Jasbir Singh (the Commandant) Songhi & I took a walk to his office in the Kumaon Regimental Centre..Having recently commanded 9th. Kumaon Regt. (the very same battalion that dad had commanded a few years previousley) it was nice to talk to an officer who had something in common and remembered dad from all those years back..With the regimental museum being extended and refurbished I am also extremely proud and grateful for the offer to accept and display dad's personal army memorabilia in commemoration of his many years of service with the Regiment..Song & I look forward to visiting the museum on completion in the near future. It's an amazing feeling of sentiment and nostalgia to see & feel how previous soldiers and leaders are still remembered and shown the respect and honour they deserve... Our next meeting was with Dr. Vijay at his new clinic which is due to be complete & ready for opening in early May..Apart from the clinic we found that he has a health retreat in the plans too and nearby to Ranikhet...After a lengthy chat with the doctor and his wife, Songhi & I were both shocked & stunned with Song being offered the position as a Therapist at his new premises...With the news still not having sunk in we both walked around town like a couple of stunned mullets for a while before deciding on a few changes on the last stretch of our world trip to accommadate the fact of making a return trip to India for Songhi and I to be present for the opening of the new clinic & Songhi being introduced and made familiar with her new surroundings, procedures and patients... Well, shocked & surprised everyone..???..Probably no where as much as we were at first...Unfortunately, our scottish trip on our return to the UK has had to be put on the backshelf for now as we have decided to return to Ranikhet by the end of April and stay for another month... We ended the day with another surprise while at Mr & Mrs Malhotra's home..Thinking we were being visited by a family of monkeys on the roof we were surprised to experience our first tremor of an earthquake in Ranikhet..The epicentre we found was approx. 250 miles away and apparently quite a regular occurance..."Not too regular we hope..!!!"
5th/6th & 7th April...Busy,Busy,Busy..!!..Considering we came to Ranikhet to relax & unwind towards the end of our Indian tour it has turned out to be the absolute opposite.. We both think this beautiful spot in the Kumaon hills is about to make an incredible change in our lives..Our return ticket here is booked and we arrive back in India on the 25th April to stay until the 29th May. The decision was something we both think was the right one and it will give Songhi a better idea of working & settling here for a longer period..We shall also be here for the opening of the new clinic... Anyhow, as it is said, You never know if you don't have a go..!!!!!..We are both looking forward to this challenge and feel considerably confident that with the help & guidance of our many new friends here, we will settle in fairly quickly..Song is determined to learn Hindi and not surprisingly is adapting very rapidly, especially with the amount of friends who are willing to teach her the basics....We both dropped in at the Commandant's office on request and I proudly presented him with dad's medals, ribbons & memorabilia which he had acquired during his years of service with the Kumaon Regiment...Thankfully once all the renovations at the Regimental Centre museum are complete they have offered to display & showcase all dad's stuff..We feel comfortable with the thought, knowing that apart from being kept safe it will play an important role in preserving the rich history and traditions of the Kumaon Regiment..Importantly, further generations of the "Watts" family may have the opportunity to enjoy a shade of their ancestral past on visits to Ranikhet.... We had afternoon tea with Col. Ram Singh (now retired) and his grand daughter today...At 94 and still going strong he is one of a few officers now living in and around Ranikhet who served in the Kumaon Regiment during dad's years..It's a nice feeling to hear some of the stories he still remembers of work & family times spent with dad as fellow officers, especially as his kids and us went to Canossa Convent School together....Apart from new staff and a few extensions to the buildings Canossa Convent seems to have stood still in time...
8th & 9th April....Having decided to take the day off work today Girish and his family were looking forward to spending the day with us in Nainital before seeing us off at the bus station at 2100hrs...He picked us up from the Kumaon Villa at about 1100hrs. and set off for Nainital after a delicous Kumaoni lunch prepared by his wife Deepa..The drive to Nainital takes around two hours, though on the way we stopped at picturesque Bhimtal and enjoyed a pleasant boat ride on one of the peaceful lakes surrounded by thick pine forest...We headed on to Nainital another 25kms. away arriving at around 1830hrs....Nainital has changed considerably in the last twenty or so years both commercially and in tourism, a far cry from the days when it was a popular holiday destination for the british during the days of the raj...Not so many foreign tourists but plenty of young indian honeymooners and city folk driving up for a few days to get away from the busy city life and office...We took a stroll around the lake that is now surrounded by hotels and designer & souvenir shops of all shapes and sizes. By the time we had stopped for a cup of tasty ginger tea and a snack it was time to walk back and board our AC bus to Delhi (Kashmiri Gate)...It had been a wonderful day spent with Girish and family and though we were sad to say our goodbyes it was certainly a nice feeling to know we would be seeing them again on our return at the end of this month..Nine hours on a bus on the roads in India is not something we'd recommend to everyone..We arrived in Delhi around 0630hrs. and feeling quite weary from lack of a good sleep..We were very fortunate to find the new metro line to the airport had been opened only just a few weeks, so we decided to head for the domestic airport before the morning work rush started..With one change New Delhi station and at a cost of Rs.90.00 each we were at the airport by approx. 0800hrs. where we both were able to freshen up and have a good breakfast while taking advantage of the free WiFi to catch up on emails...Our GoAir flight G8-372 to Srinagar in Kashmir left on time at 1320hrs. and within the hour we were in sight of the snowcovered himalaya mountains and green fields that surround Srinagar city..Unfortunately, with all the heavy security in Kashmir now, there are distinct feelings of change since I was here more than twenty years ago..The presence of heavily armed police & army both at the airport & through the busy streets is certainly not a very welcome sight to the foreign guest on their first visit to this beautiful part of the world..While driving through town there were times you felt you were in the backstreets of a war torn city in Afghanistan or Pakistan.."Not a comfortable feeling at all"..We were met at the airport by Mr. Shafi Kawa and to our complete surprise were told we were staying in his houseboat even though we had previously booked into the Holy Night Hotel thru. the Traveller's Point website..We were told there was some constuction work happening at the hotel & there had been a death in the owner's family...After reading & hearing certain stories and being typically suspicious of the obvious "tourist being ripped off saga" we felt highly uncomfortable with the situation we were in...After much debate and question on the drive to Dal Lake we were taken across on a shikara to our houseboat to meet the rest of Mr. Shafi's family.. Our main reason to visit Srinagar was see a good friend Nithin Upreti who was on a posting here with the Indian Army.. With heavy security and all phonecalls being closely monitered we initially had problems contacting him but through the help of Shafi and his brother in law we were able to arrange a meeting with Nithin at the army camp approx. 60kms. out of Srinagar the next day..Seeing our desparation in catching up with our friend in Srinagar we were shown wonderful comfort and support by the Kawa family on the houseboat, which certainly eased our initial suspicions...
Sunday 10th. April...Both Songhi & I were extremely excited to catch up with Nithin at the army base approx. an hour and a half from Srinagar so after breakfast Shafi's brother in law and close friend drove us out with the offer of some sightseeing on the way...As the camp is unfortunately in the midst of probably one of the most heavily guarded areas in Kashmir due to constant terrorist activity we were not quite sure how we were going to succeed in what was now turning out to be quite a mission..Arriving and driving thru the tiny village of Sardarpur near the camp we were sure we were entering what looked like an area ready for war..Four civilians especially two foreigners in a small blue Susuki Muruti was obviously not an everyday sight in these parts...With local eyes and a multitude of army checkpoints we felt totally out of our comfort zone and were thankfully releived to reach the main gate to the camp and see Nithin's look of pleasure on seeing us both...As he mentioned to us at lunch that day, if I had not been an ex army officer's son and he had not been the Army Chaplain our planned & expected visit would probably not have eventuated...Though very honoured & thrilled, it was a very unique experience to be sitting next door to the army mandir (Temple) in the midst of an armed camp having lunch with Nithin and his senior officer Sgt. Major Sharma...With three years of news to catch up on including the excitement of Nithin's upcoming wedding on the 27th of April, which Songhi & I will now fortunately be attending in Almora, we had a memorable few hours together before saying our goodbyes and heading back to our houseboat on Dal Lake....Thanks to Shafi and his family they had certainly helped in making this day a very special & memorable one for Songhi & I.....
Monday 11th.April..Feeling much more relaxed and happier than when we first arrived in Srinagar we took up Shafi's offer of a Shikara ride for the day on Dal Lake..It turned out to be a wonderful and interesting day out with a visit to the the largest mosque in Srinagar and a delicious Kashmiri lunch with our very friendly boatman Bilal, a local boy with a wealth of knowledge and a great voice as he kept us both amused with his singing because the stereo was not working...How can we now forget "Her name is Shiela,Shiela mere javani"..??? We were back at the houseboat by 1600hrs. and in time to celebrate two of our co guest's birthdays on board..It ended a very pleasant three day stay in Srinagar with Shafi Kawa and his warm, hospitable and very unique family...We are certainly making plans to return and if there are any doubts from various horror stories we may hear in reference to visitors to Kashmir, I would most definitely brush them aside if you stay with this amazing family...We found the houseboat to kept extremely clean & tidy, with nothing being too much to ask for..They seem extremely proud to have been in the business for over twenty years and have a wealth of knowledge in where to shop from carpets, clothes,shawls to even handcrafted furniture...The added bonus being that you can feel completely safe of not being "ripped off" because Shafi will actually take time out to come along if your confidence is not the best when bargaining.."Didi's food is simple but typically Kashmiri and extremely filling..We admire their courage and zest for sticking it out and coming through the extremely tough last three years which has visibly taken it's toll on the tourism industry in Kashmir..Due to heavy showers of snow & rain still in the higher regions, plus lack of time we were unable to do any trekking around my favourite areas of Gulmarg, Sonamarg and Pahalgam, thus the reasons for planning to return very soon and using Shafi's place as our base for a few weeks...
12th./13th & 14th. April.... After a number of security checks and expected disorganised chaos at Srinagar our GoAir G8-457 flight flew us back into Delhi at around 1700hrs...We caught a prepaid taxi service to our cousin's in Gurgaon where we were to stay until our flight back to London at 1405hrs. on Thurs. the 14th...The news of our return to India on the 25th. of this month has been a topic of great interest both to most of our friends & family, mostly positive we are happy to say..We too are still coming to terms with the facts of our decision.. As mentioned, it's been a fairly quick decision but not one without much thought and research..We guess we did not want to return to Australia wondering "What if..??"..We have the valuable fortune of meeting & making some wonderful friends while we have been here in the last two months and with their offers of help and positive vibes we feel very confident of making this decision a success...
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