Mukhteshwar: A Do-Nothing Vacation

The beauty of staying in Delhi is the accessibility to fabulous locations in the hills. So, it was a no-brainer when it had been a while since we travelled and we really needed a break; that the mountains were calling for a relaxing weekend in the lap of the nature.

We left in an early morning train on Friday to Kathgodam and hired a cab to the Zostel in Mukhteswar; which is around 20km before the city in the village named Gajar. We reached there for a late lunch around 3:00PM. It is serenely located on the hill top with the most beautiful view! We checked in and ordered ourselves chai (tea) and egg maggi.

We spend the evening lazying around and chilling with the other hostellers. Given the location, we ordered for dinner in the hostel itself. The hostel has 'Aunty Ki Kitchen' which served delicious home cooked meals. Amidst music and Uno, the night ended on a relaxing note.

The next morning we woke up with energy, had a good breakfast and strolled around the nearby lanes. The hostel has a dog named 'Naini' who was a good guide in the hills. As the title mentioned, this was a chilled out weekend with no pressure of going out to explore anything. The feeling was really peaceful.

Towards the later half of the day, the quest for food got us to move out of our pajamas and find a perfect place. Fortunately, we found 'Birdcage'. We hitch hiked for a few kilometers and then took a shared sumo for 20 bucks to reach the restaurant. It is difficult to find transportation so far off, so you'll have to plan and manage accordingly. The food and drinks at the restaurant was heavenly and gave our taste buds the much needed meat craving.

We then returned to the hostel and explored the nearby houses and the had conversations with the people working on the fields. They were very warm and welcomed us with curiosity and questions about the city.

We ended the evening with a calming sunset and with the multiple hues of the sky. The mountain skies with their cloud, night lights and greenery are indeed a treat for the eyes.

We again enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal by aunty at Zostel and called it a night. We woke up late the next morning, had a heavy breakfast and left for Delhi as our train was in the evening. We had already asked the cab driver who dropped us to coordinate our pick up from the Zostel.

We left feeling energized and ready to get back to work. It felt good to not be prepared to go out, shop or roam around the tourist places. We wanted a comfortable getaway and this was just IT!