Our Corbett trip in Feb, a few years ago, was rather uneventful. 3 safaris and just a glimpse of the Tiger miles away from us, it was a total disappointment.
Entertainment and surprise awaited, thanks to this auto rickshaw ride which was supposed to be inside the periphery of the national park. We asked him to take us around the place for lesser known spots. Kailash, the rickshaw driver, was beaming, he had just seen two naive youngsters and he was to guide their travel crusade for the rest of the evening, and perhaps even the night. "Nainital is forty five minutes away, you must've heard about it," he said in a very matter-of-fact manner.
We were ecstatic! Nainital! That too 45 mins away? Seemed way too good a proposition. Didn't bat an eyelid to blurt out. "YES!!"
Indeed, adventures happens by surprise. With our cell phones drained out, we had no way to check where we were headed. But, how harmless could a 45 minute ride be? Anyway, we were gung-ho for Nainital. Half an hour into the ride, it was hard not to notice the drop in temperature. Dressed in light, cotton summer wear, me, the Mumbaikar was certainly having a tough time containing herself.
After what seemed like an eternity we reached Nainital. The temperature was around 10 degrees. In the last two and a half hours, we were two teeth chattering, clueless tourists, heading to the nearest store to pile on couple of layers of clothes.
We took in the sights and sounds of the place for the next forty five minutes, as the sun was setting. Time was less and who knew another two and a half hour had to be spent in the Rickshaw with forests and valley in the periphery. We hurried back, and about 10 kms away from the national park, my heart skipped a beat. We finally had our date with the bold yellow beast. What a frightful sight, s/he was a few metres away, crossing the road and Kailash beamed, "You are lucky. It was surely chasing some animal, else we would have been dead meat."
I think we paid him extra that night.
Come to think of it, who could have imagined, a rickshaw ride from Corbett to Nainital, three safaris, one tiger sighting and one helluva escape! Phew!
Entertainment and surprise awaited, thanks to this auto rickshaw ride which was supposed to be inside the periphery of the national park. We asked him to take us around the place for lesser known spots. Kailash, the rickshaw driver, was beaming, he had just seen two naive youngsters and he was to guide their travel crusade for the rest of the evening, and perhaps even the night. "Nainital is forty five minutes away, you must've heard about it," he said in a very matter-of-fact manner.
We were ecstatic! Nainital! That too 45 mins away? Seemed way too good a proposition. Didn't bat an eyelid to blurt out. "YES!!"
Indeed, adventures happens by surprise. With our cell phones drained out, we had no way to check where we were headed. But, how harmless could a 45 minute ride be? Anyway, we were gung-ho for Nainital. Half an hour into the ride, it was hard not to notice the drop in temperature. Dressed in light, cotton summer wear, me, the Mumbaikar was certainly having a tough time containing herself.
After what seemed like an eternity we reached Nainital. The temperature was around 10 degrees. In the last two and a half hours, we were two teeth chattering, clueless tourists, heading to the nearest store to pile on couple of layers of clothes.
We took in the sights and sounds of the place for the next forty five minutes, as the sun was setting. Time was less and who knew another two and a half hour had to be spent in the Rickshaw with forests and valley in the periphery. We hurried back, and about 10 kms away from the national park, my heart skipped a beat. We finally had our date with the bold yellow beast. What a frightful sight, s/he was a few metres away, crossing the road and Kailash beamed, "You are lucky. It was surely chasing some animal, else we would have been dead meat."
I think we paid him extra that night.
Come to think of it, who could have imagined, a rickshaw ride from Corbett to Nainital, three safaris, one tiger sighting and one helluva escape! Phew!
