Page 23 - Seniors Today - May21 Issue
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room service. Peace and silence reign; and The more I trekked, the better I became at
time to commune with oneself. My room had it. Trekking in the mountains is not simply
a fabulous view and was the furthest from about physical challenges; it makes you
the common areas – a four-minute climb each mentally stronger- after all, you have a long
way. We hiked from 7am to 1pm carrying a uphill way ahead of you. It also makes you
packed breakfast and would try to be back more alert and focused- the traits that we also
in time for lunch. After some peaceful time need in our everyday lives.
with myself, I would go down to the common One day we hit the rapids in our two-man
area outside the restaurant for drinks and Kayak. It is safe and adds another, a different
banter around a fireplace with other guests, element of adventure - a not to be missed
ending with dinner with lip-smacking local activity
ingredients and style. Then back up the hill to
my room to bed, tired yet fulfilled by the day’s
activity. Wake up at 6am to watch the day
coming to life, with the most beautiful vistas
all around me was an experience, which will
remain forever etched in my memory. Some
of the places that I ate were memorable for the
sheer deliciousness of the food.
The next morning, we started from the hotel
and meandered uphill crossing the Ganges on
a footbridge. A lush green enveloped us, and
the Ganges was unimaginably pristine and
clear. Alone with my guide, I was one with
nature. The whistling of wind in my ears, the
chirping of birds and the sound of rushing Alas, the day of departure had come. It
water. I thought of the lines by John Muir: “In was a short two-and-half-hour hike around
every walk with nature, one received far more the hills around my hotel. At the Ganges
than he seeks.” And I did: tranquility and an rafting start point, I embarked on a thrilling
unspeakable joy that was always remain with rafting experience. As I jumped and swam
me. in the Ganga, I viewed life with a different
perspective. The cold clean waters added a
freshness to my thoughts, and I felt free and
renewed.
The next trip – Decemnber 21 to 26 – was
with family to Kanatal and a beautiful hotel
called The Terraces. My day began with a
6am–12noon hike on the hills and forests
around Kanatal, after which I would join the
family for lunch and the day’s activities with
the family. Lunch in the middle of a stream
and bonfire gatherings closing with dinner
were the norm.
SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #23 | MAY 2021 23
