CORBETT REVISITED 2015

Going back to places you have been earlier to with your loved ones brings back pleasant memories. And revisiting such places is always double the fun, enjoying the present and relishing the past.

Two years ago while coming back from our weekend trip to Corbett my husband said I love the solitude, wish to come back here. May 2015 saw us heading towards Corbett again, adding more members to our brood this time- (literally) a seven month old gem of a girl, extended family and more fun.

Mostly I am the trip planner when we travel. There were certain things on my mind before I zeroed in on the trip, first and foremost the place being child-friendly, coordinating in accordance with everyone’s feasibility, travelling time should be less as it was a weekend trip and so on and so forth. Our group of 13 reached from 3 different locations and it was from Moradabad that we packed ourselves into two cars and headed towards ramnagar which is around two and a half hours drive away. The drive wasn’t a very smooth one as there were potholes for around 5kms stretch before we entered the town of kashipur. My 4 year old kept on asking why we need to travel on such an awful road. Rest of the time he kept a track of the vehicles passing by. Meanwhile the l’il one was in a real holiday mood, enjoying the drive to the hilt. She didn’t want to sit on my lap and enjoyed peeking out of the car window and the windshield.    

The bookings were already made at a hotel at dhikuli zone of Corbett National Park, though we didn’t get to stay in the same resort as during the last trip (remember relishing the past J ), we checked into our respective rooms, were served welcome drinks, followed by lunch which disappointed us a bit and spent the afternoon taking naps , while few others flipped tv channels. I wanted to book rooms where there was no television but there was no such facility, I hate it when people travel length and breadth of the world and still watch television when they can do it every day in their homes as well.

After the evening tea we went for some adventure sports. There’s a bridge known by the name of “jhula pul” some 2 kms away from our hotel, where a team of professionals were waiting for us. And to my horror I freaked out this time. I refused to go ahead for zipping, though I have already done it twice in the past, yet I couldn’t muster up the courage to look down from the bridge, suspended on ropes and pulleys and zip my way to the other end. Rest of the folks happily zipped their way into the air and landed on the banks of the small tributary that flows down from there. The kids loved playing in the water and we headed back from there after sunset.  With wet clothes and eager faces we embraced the dusk of the wilderness.

Now as it got darker, the temperature dropped by a few degrees and cool breeze hit our faces as we adults took turns on swings with childlike enthusiasm. The one aspect that worried me started becoming truer. The cruel mosquitoes! I changed the kids into full sleeved suits, applied mosquito repellant and settled near the pool while my li’l one enjoyed a feet dip. We tried our hand at every possible game that could be played, cricket, badminton, pool, table tennis. Then came the sumptuous dinner, which took away our lunchtime woes. We had more than our fill. Though I had trouble feeding my elder one during both meals as he was too busy playing and never wants to waste time in eating food, it was over promises of a jungle safari in an open jeep by his dear father that he gave in and we as parents took a sigh of relief. The night ended with lots of chatter, old stories and a game of cards late into the morning. Yes I managed to make the kids sleep and play endlessly like I used to in college (old memories- I am a sucker for them).

It was around 6 am the next morning that we went for the coveted jungle safari. We entered through the bijrani zone. Taking in the fresh misty morning air, the kids too kept awake for most part of the safari, dozing a bit only while we were riding in the jeep. The lush jungle is dotted with sal and poplar trees among others and everywhere curry plants could be found. We spotted several deers, sambar, exotic and rare species of birds, monkeys, reindeers, peacock, wild cocks, tusker which had apparently lost its way and finally a tiger which two of us claim that we spotted, lying low in the base of a huge tree, rest of the folks did not.  Our driver cum guide took us to a narrow stream in the middle of nowhere, where the water was clear, fresh and spring like. It was cold and we were informed that the local residents drink this water as it is rich in minerals. After a few touristy snapshots and playing in water we headed back to our resort for breakfast and checkout.

A quick breakfast later I started packing up while the kids rushed again to have one last dip in the swimming pool, one last ride on the swings and all of us for one last selfie in the garden.

Yes we enjoyed our stay here, loved the serene greens, small water bodies around and the presence of loved ones, and each one of us made memories which would be etched onto our minds forever.