Kumaon trip ..need help

Dilliwala

Honda's fine. Just lay back (ok, not literally!) and relax, take it nice and easy, no medals to be won racing. Girgaon to Kalamuni, as Piyush also indicates, is a narrow section.

Remember to tank up at Thal. When I was in Munsyari, the fuel pumps were out of order! Repair time was expected to be 3 days, ex Haldwani.

EOS

Thanks dilli for the tip on narrow section between Girgaon to Kalamuni....and for filling up at thal. Will certainly need those valuable tips from you and others.....thanks....

Was just figuring out the route to haldwani from bhopal.
From Bhopal I go to biora and take the Agra Bombay road to Agra.
The road upto Agra is good.

From Agra I go to Hathras and then turn right to take State Highway 33 to Bareilly and then to Haldwani.

The distance from Agra to Haldwani is about 315 Kms. Can anyone please tell me whats the condition of road between Agra to Bareilly. That would be of great help.

Or is there any other route from Agra to bareilly...??

Thanks

capt_mahajan

The shortest route is Hathras/Bareilly, as you say.

Roads around Bareilly are decent. Have not travelled from Agra myself.

http://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/pock...ranainital.htm

Dilliwala

I'm looking at an atlas, and it seems the obvious way to go is as outlined above - NH 12 from Bhopal, onto NH 3 to Agra.

Am wondering though, whether it might be an option to turn off at Morena and head towards Shikohabad, Itah, Dundwaraganj, Badaun and Bareily. Certainly looks shorter, but no idea about the condition of roads.

EOS

I have also looked at that option...but again no idea about the road conditions.. ...will inquire from local travel agents here...lets see if they can shed some light...

EOS

Hi! guys...

I finalized the plan and as suggested by you all i have dropped pithoragarh. Instead, on day 7 of my plan will come to jageshwar and stay the night there.
I have booked the KMVNs at Kausani, Chaukri and jageshwar...

Now the problem is that i am not getting accomodation at KMVN Munsyari. All booked for 24th and 25th May. However i was told that they are expanding and new wing will be ready by the time of my arrival...??

Other options are Wayferer resorts and Zara resorts....

Any ideas about these...?? Wayferer appears to be better with tented accomodation...??

what to do guys ....wait for the KMVN or book any of these two...
considering that 24th & 25th are saturday and sunday..??

Or are there any other alternatives...??

BTW does KMVN munsyari has only 5 rooms as shown on the net booking site..???

Almoraboy

KMVN also has 2 dorms... so extra ppl can go in there. But are the dorms also booked?
Haven't stayed in the other places. But the new extension was pretty much complete in my last visit (building wise). they were painting it and stuff.

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shahronakm

I have stayed at Zara Resorts in Feb 05. Stay was good & food was also good. In fact we were the only guest staying there at that time. Had visited Wayfarer also, the tents were good but costlier as compared to Zara. Staying in either of them will be comfortable for you.

Ronak.

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Dilliwala

EOS,
Here's my opinion about Zara from last July. Also note info re Wayfarer - no parking on property.

I wud advise waiting right now and checking KMVN regularly - you still have six weeks to go.

EOS

Thanks guys...

Almoraboy...

The dorms are not up for net booking...so don't know about the status...but its good to hear that the new extension was near complete during your last visit...so i think they definitely open it in this season.

Ronak..

Will check out Zara also..

Dilliwala..

I had read your report on Zara earlier.. Infact my opinion was purely based on your report only...
So Wayfarer has no parking...How far its actually away from main market...one guide book said 1 km and another said 10 KM...

Yes i am also thinking of waiting...i still have 6 weeks to go...but time and again i have been reminded that we are a country of 100 crore people..where resources are few...

Does anyone know the name of caretaker at KMVN Munsyari....
I think i'll give him a call...may be i'll get to hear the same reassuring words that another distraught traveller "earth.anon" got..."saab aap to bas aa jaiye..baki hum dekh lenge.."...

one more querry....Is there a mettalled road to Dar Kot ( 6 km from munsyari on madkot road )...my wife came to know about Pashminas made there...since then its "first" on her priority..

shahronakm

It's 1 Km.

Ronak.

Almoraboy

Munsyari KMVN Details:

http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2006/0...formation.html

Check Ganga Ram's older landline numbers (that is the actual Munsyari KMVN number). If nothing works, you can give Ganga or his neighbour a call on 05961 - 211418. And then ask them for the munsyari KMVN status (hope it works)

I can't open my blog in office :-(, but i guess that page would have some useful number.

yes, vehicles do go all the way down till madkot (darkot is on the way). from darkot, the trek to milam glacier starts (if i remember correctly). You can get pashminas in Munsyari itself..but the prices will be on the higher side. Try Gandhi Gram ashram in Almora, Bageshwar or Munsyari.

here is a link which ahs pictures of the road (in snowfall):

http://almoraboy.blogspot.com/2007/0...-love-you.html

heavy vehicles like trucks, etc do not go on this road. and if u like daredevil rides, then you will surely enjoy this road

Dilliwala

Certainly not 10, 1 km is about right - maybe a little more. There is that uphill walk though from the road. Certainly put me off in the dark, plus I had my mother with me, so no way were we going up.

Pashminas? Have you ever come to the right guy - I know ALL about the local cottage industry in the area! (Ok, I don't - but it was worth a try )
A few things you need to know before buying, becos we actually had the opportunity to have a pretty good look around, and ended up buying a small carpet at Darkot. AFTER which we discovered we cud have got a larger size for the same price in the Munsyari bazar at the women's cooperative. I'll just put down our wanderings in order, and then you can sift and sort as desired.
First day we just did a local drive around. Ended up in a village just below Munsyari. Can't remember the name, but if you drive down the Munsyari main bazar road to the bottom, just keep going. A few km ahead there's this village. The road continues and shud (by now) join up with the Darkot-Madkot road. Last year they were building it so we cudn't get further than this village. I started talking to a nice elderly man there, asked him lots of things about the area, we probably talked around 20 mins. He then mentioned that they do weaving in the village and wud we be interested? We weren't really, wasn't even in the plan as such. Anyway, in a matter of minutes a few carpets materialised out of thin air, nice work, 2000 bucks, phew! We hummed and hawed, didn't have the cash on us; no problem, they'll bring it to the hotel next day; well, we didn't want to commit just yet; no problem, the son or nephew has a shop in the bazar, they'll leave it there and we can buy it there next day if we want.
So next day we drive to Madkot and on the way back decide to check at Darkot, as by now my mom was inclined to buy something. We actually found out earlier there was a women's cooperative shop in Munsyari bazar selling this stuff, but guess what?, the caretaker had gone for lunch .
So the main bazar of Darkot is basically a few shops against the hill-side. When you go, ask and look around here, but don't buy yet! Becos, man are some of those shopkeepers sharp! Specially this old woman, steer clear of her, she can sell a fridge to a Bhotia in winter! Wanted 2500 bucks for similar carpet as the one above, not a paisa less! Her neighbour was a bit cheaper but still too smart for us. I think his name is Lakshman Ram. Note: These are all general stores who also stock this stuff, many of them produced in their own homes. Ask around for a guy called Rajendra Martolia a.k.a Raju. We were already driving off, when he approached our car - he must have sniffed it in the air, becos he says, "I hear you're looking for carpets?" Phew! that was fast! And this guy knows how to sell! He also has a shop, but he takes us home, which was just below the road. Mom, wife, sister (working at the loom), kid, everybody's introduced, tea offered, declined, carpet comes out, nice stuff - price? "1600 bucks". Ok, now we're getting somewhere, time to negotiate, tea offered again, declined again, what's your best price? Oh boy! wrong Q, mom starts off - this is the last piece, I need to sell it as my daughter's getting married in a month, more blah; ok, for you - final price "1500 bucks". Hmm, haw, tea offered again, this time we accept (nice village house, nice view in front, nice family; I'm actually beginning to enjoy the seduction, so don't mind staying a bit longer). We start discussing among ourselves, and then offer -"1400 bucks". Oh BOY! Repeat routine above, drink tea, more discussion, finally I agree to 1500. Yes, cud have held out for 1400, and I'm sure they wud have sold, but I appreciated the sales pitch and the effort they made, and the tea was good. Raju's very happy, gives address and fone number, and if we ever want to go to Milam glacier, he's a guide as well!

Start driving back to Munsyari, and realise uh oh! we wanted to check the women's coop before buying anything! Too late, but we decide to have a look anyway. Good, there's a guy at the shop this time, we look around and figure we cud have done a (slightly) better deal here. Never mind, it was for a good cause, since Raju's sister was due to marry. Of course, back at the hotel the room-boy says it shudn't have cost more than 1000 bucks. Yeah right, after the fact everything's cheaper.

Long story, short moral - check out all these places before buying anything. Altho my experience was to do with carpets, some but not all of those folks also have woollens, just ask around.

EOS

Thanks Almoraboy for the numbers.....and wow..great pics...must have been a splendid tour..!!

Dilli your carpet experience is making me laugh like anything.. ...and i am recollecting my wife's face when she saw the same shawl she bought in Manali for 1200 Rs. at a price of Rs 1000 in a local fair in Bhopal..

In fact my experience is that 50% of the time you get duped at these tourist places...but that dose'nt deter my wife from shopping ...

Man i surely plucked some dormant chords in your heart...!! thanks for the tip on womens cooperative...

Dilliwala

EOS,
You're right when you call them tourist prices - that's certainly what the roadside shops were offering. I figure 1400 was the fair price for the carpet we bought, specially after having visited the cooperative. Like I said, I consider the extra 100 bucks as a token contribution to the upcoming marriage! And considering the fact that 2 cups of tea elsewhere wud have cost us 10 bucks, so in the end it was 90 bucks net.

The coop have some other nice stuff - I now recall my mom bought an asan (don't know the English word, but I'm sure you know what I mean).