I mentioned that when we got back to India, we planned a couple trips with the DeHarts to give us something to look forward to. Goa was the first trip, and the Indian Himalayas was the second--more accurately, the foothills of the Himalayas. The older kids usually go on overnight trips once they hit a certain grade (this year would have been E's first overnight if not for Covid), and we knew that the Himalayas was sometimes an option. So we asked the school trip coordinator if he would be willing to plan a trip for our families. He arranged the itinerary, hotel stays, transportation . . . we couldn't wait!
Due to Covid, we had to get a negative test before travelling. We found someone who was able to administer the test in our apartment and give us back the results in 24 hours, so that we would have them just in case we were asked before boarding the plane. For us, this was no problem. He was very professional and very thorough in his testing. For the DeHarts . . . we think the guy must have forgotten about them, even though they live in same apartment complex as us. They had to message him repeatedly to get him to come, and then hassle him about getting the results back in time. It all worked out, but it was one of those eye roll-because-of-the-unnecessary-stress type instances.
But we all got our negative tests back and we were good to go! First was the the 2ish hour drive to the airport and then the 2 1/2 hour flight to Delhi. We dropped our things off at the hotel walked to a nearby restaurant that Brandon's coworkers had suggested ('best butter chicken in Delhi!'). The intent was to see the India Gate along the way, but for some reason they weren't letting people in so this picture was the best I could do:
But because we couldn't cut through the Gate, it ended up being a much longer walk to the restaurant, along busy streets. At one point, the kids all sat on a low wall to take a break, and there was a tuk tuk nearby. Out of curiosity, Brandon asked how many tuk tuks it would take to fit the eleven of us. He said just two! We had a good laugh, but Brandon opened the flood gates and the tuk tuk driver then wouldn't take no for an answer. Soon enough, there were five tuk tuks lined up, eager to take us. Even though we kept assuring them that we were fine--we were only a few more blocks away--as soon as we started walking again, their tuk tuks followed along side, trying to convince us to ride. Eventually, they petered off until there was just one left, but by then we were practically there. Two years ago when we came to Delhi for the first time, I know that whole situation would have stressed us out. But this time? It was just another day in India. And the butter chicken really was amazing.
This was the first time our family had eaten
inside a restaurant since the pandemic began
The next morning we got up early, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the station to catch our 6:20 am train. None of us had ridden the train in India before, so this was going to be a new experience for us all. Such being the case, we didn't realize that our families' tickets weren't seated together until someone told us we were in the wrong seats. In fact, our tickets weren't even in the same cars! It was fine--we split up the kids so they could be with friends--but it would have been nice to have been altogether for such a long trip.
The train ride was long, but it was also interesting to watch the Indian countryside go by:
After five hours on the train, we finally arrived at the end of the line at Kathgodam where we found our drivers, figured out how to split two families into three cars, and then headed to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We were planning on just picking it up and eating on the go, but after the long train ride and seeing just how much food they had prepared for us (it was a lot), we decided to take a break from travelling and just eat. It was the better choice.
After everyone had eaten their fill, it was back to the cars for
a four-hour drive that we were definitely not prepared for. Indian mountain roads are not for the faint of heart--or stomach. The roads twisted through little mountain villages and past beautiful
terrace farms. There was a point on the drive when we were stopped due to road construction (I think?) and it was nice to get out of the car for a little while. Right as we were getting close to our destination, Kiddo's car spotted a leopard run across the road! The rest of us weren't so lucky.
And then we made it to
Binsar Wildlife Sanctuary! At this point, the rest of the road was too rough for a regular car, so we piled our luggage and the smaller children into the back of a jeep. The rest of us walked the remainder of the way to our home for the next few days:
Binsar Forest Retreat. This place was lovely! We each had our own
little home to stay in, with trails going throughout the property, a club house for meals and down time, a little store, an outdoor ping pong table, red flowering
rhododendron trees everywhere (which they used to make their own juice and teas), and beautiful views. On clear days, you
should be able to see the Himalayas, but because of nearby fires it was too smoky to see them. (Sigh.)
The kids were on one side of the house
and we were on the other. Perfect!
Clubhouse door
The DeHart's had a rock to climb inside their house! Lovely views despite the smoke
The intent was to do some hiking while we were there, so the owners planned some trails for us. The first day's hike was the easiest, shortest and it was all of us together. (It should have given us some idea of what to expect for the next two days, but it didn't.) The girls had a difficult time for part of the uphill climb, but the end treated us to a pretty overlook and delicious homemade chocolate truffles from the owners. We then we opted to take the longer, but less steep, way back down to the Retreat.
After the hike, we had the rest of the day to recover and relax. The kids were enjoying the outdoor ping pong table when H had to fetch a fly ball from the bushes. Unfortunately, he brushed against some poison oak and immediately got itchy hives on his arm. We showed his arm to the owners and they had one of the workers find another plant that grows near poison oak. He took some leaves of this plant, smashed them up, and put it on H's arm. Within minutes his arm was noticeably better. By the next day, you would hardly have known anything had happened. Pity we didn't catch the name of the plant.
Dinner wasn't served until 7 pm, which meant their shelves of books and games went to good use while we waited for the food to be ready.
The next day's hike was supposed to be the most strenuous--something I wish I had remembered. We split up this time: the older boys going on a longer hike, and the rest of us on a shorter one. I didn't think the hike was that bad, so when our guide asked if we wanted to head back or keep going I unhesitatingly said we were up for more. What I didn't realize was that 'keep going' basically meant we were going straight up what I assumed was a sheep trail. The poor kids were troopers. And while the wild
bayberries at the top of the hill--and more homemade chocolate truffles!--were fun to snack on, overall it was a little more than we were prepared for.
This picture was just before we made the decision to go up the hill
We made it to the top! But we still have to go down...
bayberry up close
Our hike back took us past some terrace farms
Meanwhile, the boys started out on the same trail we did, but instead of going up the hill, they continued straight on the trail they were already on. It was much longer hike than ours, but--again--no massive hill.
After lunch at the Retreat--and a couple hours of recuperating--Brandon, Heika, Greg, and the girls walked down the road to explore some of the buildings we didn't take the time to see when we first arrived at the Retreat. I'm not sure how they found the energy, but it looked beautiful.
Our last full day at the Retreat had one more hike. This time both groups were going to a local village, something we had been looking forward to, but one took a jeep half-way and the other group walked all the way. When we heard 'village' we assumed it would be like the little towns we drove through on our way to Binsar. But actually it was just a cluster of houses along the side of the mountain. We stopped at a family's home and they kindly gave us homemade lassi to drink. Plain lassi is not our favorite, but the kids politely tried it and Heika and I gulped ours down, hoping it wouldn't make us ill later. (It didn't.) The view was lovely, and the kids had fun playing with the cats and dogs. But Ellie started to not feel well--tired and achy--so we didn't stay long. Aspen hadn't been feeling well the evening before, so we thought maybe they just each had gotten a bug. E was very sweet and stayed with Ellie all the way back up the trail.
The boys went through two villages, but also ended up getting a little lost, so their hike was a little longer and rougher than anticipated, but they got there eventually.
The next morning, it was time to move on to the second part of our trip. Our wonderful hosts made tea for those who were feeling under the weather (no Aspen, Ellie, Peter, and Heika), and wished us luck on our journey. Did we think it was covid? We had all tested negative just a few days before. And, like we kept telling ourselves, if covid weren't a thing, we wouldn't think twice about them feeling a little ill. All we could do was continue on with our trip. We took the jeep back down to the main road where our cars and drivers were waiting for us, and said hello to the monkeys while everyone got situated again. And then we were on our way.
One last thing: after day one of hiking, my knee was already starting to give me trouble. After Kiddo's run in with the poison oak and the herbal remedy, I became curious about the things they had for sale in their shop. Among their wares was a collection of natural salves, soaps, lotions, etc. I saw this nettles salve and thought I'd give it a try. I put it on morning and night, and right after hikes, and I really think this is what got me through those three days without much pain.
(Consider this your soft sell.)
The smell of clove and black pepper really come through
