Vaya con Dios Harwood. Play it safe, keep your wits about you, those kidneys are useful to Harwood, Inc. itself, you know, a turn of phrase you undoubtedly will pick up along with assorted exotica, dead and alive!
Do go to the Delhi Meetup 2007 & 2008 section for some ideas on places to eat at Delhi, Jaipur and Mumbai: street food and other. You will be pleased, if you are aiming to try out Indian cuisines.
For the last leg of your journey, if you are flexible, Cyberhippie and others will be travelling through the state of Uttaranchal, just north of Delhi, and stretching eastwards. See
http://www.gourmetin...?showtopic=4391 for ideas:
Other than that, the most remarkable thing was the superb Northern views from the Bageshwar – Almora road, including of Maiktoli, Nanda Devi, Panchchuli and some of the Nepalese peaks. Binsar KMVN has the most beautiful locations in Uttarakhand that I have had the good fortune to see. It is simply wonderful – with little noise, pollution – traffic or even light, and a fabulous view all around, particularly the Northern view extending well past Annapurna range into Nepal on the (North) East to well to the West of Trishul to the (North) West. We did walk to the Zero point the same evening, and enjoyed the views from there as well. The KMVN has very limited solar power in the evening from 6 till 8:30 PM, and candle light outside of it. The night views of the Northern peaks as well as the sky are something to behold.
Day 4: Day hike around Binsar:
We took a day trip all around the mountain on which the KMVN is located, and visited a couple of local villages along the way. We were guided by the hotel cook, standing in for the regular guide. He seemed to be quite knowledgeable, an amateur botanist and had interesting experiences from his time as a staff on the Mansarovar Yatra. Apart from the beautiful setting for an easy hike, some wild animals (while we did not see the leopard, we did come across footprints, small digs that were fresh – and heard of a cow killed in one of the villages we visited). The people in the villages were very nice. Unlike the touristy setting we found on the Kerala backwaters trip, these folks were not looking for revenue from us. One place we had tea, I tried to give some money and the guy was embarrassed. Knowing that they were quite poor, I persisted but he only accepted after giving me a bag of fresh oranges from his garden. Women seem to do more of the work in these areas (my wife thinks in our house too!) but it was fitting to see that a woman was the village chief in one of the villages we visited. Also, folks here did not have the weight problem I saw in some abundance in the middle class India. It was, in all, a wonderful day.
One of village persons (Sunder Singh - +91 94 10 59 0980 ) we met was organizing home stays in the village / village groups for tourists as a way to make a living via ecotourism. KMVN Binsar personnel also facilitate this modest venture as his father works there, and you can contact them as well.
Day 5: Drive from Binsar to Jageshwar; hike to Vriddha Jageshwar and beyond:
Again, we opted for a short driving day to Jageshwar KMVN. Upon reaching there, I had a bout of diarrhea. There was no chemist available locally, but there was an Ayurvadic clinic. The Vyaida ji there made a mixture of what seemed like 17 different things – for a whopping sum of 2 Rupees. It tasted awful, but one does chase away the diarrhea. Anyway, although worried about the state of my stomach, we decided to move on to Vriddha Jageshwar. It was a short hike and since my stomach was cooperating, we continued on the trail part ways which led to a village. We did not go to the village, but enjoyed some rays on near a local peak.
Day 6: Drive to Ranikhet and trip to Chaubatia gardens:
We drove up to Ranikhet and stayed in the KMVN 6 km out of town in Chilianola. It was excellent.]
End of february, the Rhododenron arboreum/dalhousiae of Mussoorie above 7000 feet, that is Landour Cantonement, and points north are in full bloom. You can go to the Yamunotri area too, but it is too cold right then, so should wait for April-May. And combine with above route.
March is Bhutan and orchids and rhododenron, plus the Himalayan peaks like Kanchendzongha seen from that perspective [Sikkim, if you can get a permit] is just too fantastic to miss. Sikkim too, is just absolutely stunning, and this time of the year, February-March April, dry, beautiful, cool and bursting with flowers. And the bamboo forests are just amazing. Fly to Bagdogra airport, Siliguri West Bengal, from Delhi or any major hub. Darjeeling will be on your way. Or fly straight to Bhutan, Thimphu. Don't miss Bhutan. Don't wait till April, because the rains will have started there.
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