Nainital

The wing went out for a Nainital trip in the non-academic weekend after registration. A brilliant initiative in my opinion, the trip was a grand success and a refreshing experience. Its certainly one of the most beautiful places I have seen in my short life. It is comparable to Munnaar which is an equally amazing place.

I immediately changed to a pseudo-British-tourist mode with pedal-pushers , cap and a T-shirt on , it was a bit cold outside though.But I pretended to enjoy the weather as male machoism theory might suggest me to do so in front of your friends. The immediate view of the Lake surrounded by clouds provided a mystic touch. The swans ,sails and bright green colour of the lake provided the beauty. Since the trip was just after the Grand Indian Tourist season , we could bargain for a good price at a hotel. The single faced hotels are almost cascaded one upon the other on the hill facing the Lake.

We were stupefied by the supercool weather in the midst of the Indian summer.We were told that the weather remains almost similar throughout the year.Then we were took around for a city tour involving a horse ride through Land's end to the Tiffin point(the guide was quick to point out films of Amitabh Bachchan , Dilip Kumar which had been shot there) ,great scenic views I must say.Then there was the China peak(rechristened Naini peak) which gives a view radius of around 175 km and we could see China's territory from there.Fascinating ride that was, ..as the bus driver was taking sharp turns at such a height it was giving everyone a nauseating feel apart from the feeling of being engulfed by huge mountains embroidered with trees and shrubs.Along came Suicide Point and a big Hanuman statue. Then there were Bhim Tal and a Lotus lake.We finally dived into our nest in the evening. Then it was a shopping walk along the alternatively bright and dim street selling souvenirs. I bought a wax candle which looks exactly like an apple with the thought of keeping it on my study table as a way to resist my urge to eat it.

We were a bunch of guys from IIT Kanpur- ugly and stinkingly intelligent.As a result we were dazzled by the beautiful people around . Unfortunately our constant gaping caused them (including many foreigners ) embarassment and amusement. A geek had devised a clock gaping system , it worked like this - whenever a beauty is around , her coordinates were coded as in the hours of clock ... we shouted 3 for example when she walked by from your right side.
All this was good fun. The excitement was often neutralised by the expensive food.


I have planned another trip to Nainital in my future to be completely on bike and music provided by The Whispers!