AVOID - 'Dhanaulti Woods' Camp of Wanderlust

I went to Doon couple of weeks back and we had planned to do a night at Dhanolti. We had a bad experience and I thought I would share it here.

We have booked a tent at 'Camp Woods' which is run/managed by Wanderlust. This was the first time, we have planned to stay at a property of 'Wanderlust' and probably it would be the last time. The camp was sold to us as a wonderful place with a swiss tent and all those things. We were asked full advance (Rs 3800 for two people for a night) and even for a swiss tent, it was quite a premium. We spoke to one called Uma at their Delhi office.

Initially we were refused as there was no place but surprisingly when I e-mailed them, they readily agreed. We were told to pay the full money in advance. It was something which should have alerted me and we really paid the price for that lapse.

So we reached there and what we really saw was a small piece of land, next to road having some tents. The tents were not swiss ones as they didn't have the attached loo and were not as big as what the standard swiss tents are. It was all vacant and spooky. There were three punters who claimed to be the ones who would provide services. From a distance, we could guess it that we have been taken for a ride. The tents were not swiss and at best they looked like a concoction built to survive a traveling-camping group. The infra was really poor. Not that I haven't been to such place but I have never paid through my nose for this kind of infrastructure. When I confronted with the guy at the camp who was more like a poor-chap who works for 2K a month and handles the cheated travlers, he really had nothing to say. He had no phone (only BSNL phone work so our phone was not working) and there was no office. We were promised that we will get the invoice at the camp and as you could have guessed it, the guys there had nothing like that. If not for that worn-out board at the road which has the name of the camp, the place could be called anything w/o any change, say 'The great Dhanulti Camp' or whatever. They were surprised when we told them that we were supposed to get an invoice :) They genuinely were.


Photo from the road. Its about 20 steps away from the road, though the other side opens out into a valley.


Row of tents. There is nothing else there and its not child safe.


It looks good in photo, as long as you dont get cheated for the price.

We went back to Doon and stayed there. We called them from Dhanaulti and told them to refund our money. Even after repeated calls and follow-ups, I am still to get the refund and I hope that they realize their mistake and I dont have to resort to legal ways :) which I am fully prepared to , if need be. It was really amusing to hear back from Uma and Anuj (someone at Wanderlust) that its our fault since we were looking for a luxury holiday and tents are not like that. May be next time, I book something I should go with my log of travels. I didn't even feel like responding to these remarks :)

I know some of you must be thinking that why dont I write this at www.ghumakkar.com and alert other ghumakkars. I thought about it and I was so pissed off by this experience (they actually ruined a vacation) that I didn't want to spread that.

Still I am writing it here, just to vent. If you do go, then negotiate hard, from my camping experience, those were not more then 1000 Rs including meals. Infact if you can drive about 20 KMs further, there is this camp called 'Whispering Pines' (there is another one with the same name but thats more like a hotel, this is true-blue campers place) where you can get one for a night at Rs 600- Rs 800. And mind you, we were in off-season :) It was all empty, not sure whether other people did the same thing as what we did.

So AVOID Wanderlust. I waited for four weeks to write all this and probably if they would have apologized and returned my money by now, I might have not done this.

So Avoid them and dont ruin your much earned vacation.

Chopper Ride - A memorable experience

Last month, I got an opportunity to be in a chopper. It was a four + two (driver, co-driver) seater one and we flew from Delhi (Indira Gandhi International Airport) to Faridabad (Escorts' some Factory) and then back. About 30 minutes of air time + 20 minutes of snack break at Escorts.

From the terminal 1B, we were taken in a Innova to the embarking point. The chopper was all ready. While its difficult to explain the experience, here are some pics.


Me and Aditya.


Thats the chopper


Look at the no of those circles. Its a tough job.


Trucks lined up at some construction site. They seemed like ferrying stone or something like that.


Some housing apartments.


Golf Course


Gurgaon Toll Point

Hope you enjoyed the trip.

Lazzez in Kanchan Junga Market, Sector - 53 Noida

The corner butcher shops are difficult to find. Even though there are some which still exist (like the one in Lal Market, Sector 37 or in Sec-12, Sabzi Mandi) but gradually big boys with swankier shops are taking over. I like to eat home cooked mutton and I prefer to buy from a shop where I can see the mutton being chopped. That helps me to gauge the quality and also allows me to choose, i.e. whether I want from 'pichli raan' or I need 'chaap' or 'boties' or may be some 'kaleji'. I somehow is yet to be get comfortable with tinned mutton.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I discovered a shop in sector - 53 which off late has become to point of choice for buying mutton. Though I have bought stuff from this shop for many years but I was not making any attempt to go to this particular shop. I used to either buy it 'Shipra Sun City' since it was close to my house or in Tot Mall, Sector 62 as it used to be on-the-way to home.

This shop is called 'Lazzez' and they have a wide choice of non-veg ranging from all kinds of kebabs, to chicken nuggets, lollypops, mutton etc. They also have a food counter where one can get some quick snacks. The prices are ok , not expensive.

They are located in Kanchanjunga Market, right in the centre of it, behind 'Mother Dairy' milk-n-vegetable shop. The shop is open on all days except the last tuesday of every month. They do home-delivery as well.

Here is some pointed information.

Directions and Phone no.
Its on the Road which connects NTPC to Flex. Its the same road which starts near the film city, then Great India Palace, then Vishwa Bharti School, DPS, NTPC, Shoprix, Flex. If you are coming from NTPC side then take 2nd right (just before Shoprix). If you are coming from Shoprix (sector 61) side then the cut after shoprix.

Address - Lazzes, Kanjunjunga Shopping Complex, Sector - 53.
Phone No - 9811608901, 0120 2584222, 0120 2585584

The Tea Shop, Sector - 37, Noida

Its been a while I have been wanting to write a small note on a very special shop in Noida which serves different kinds of Tea. So here it is. I stayed in Sector 37 from 2000 - 2003, almost 4 full eventful years i.e. from beginning of 2003 to end of September 2003. Moved to my own house in October 2003, got married on Oct 4, the same year. This was the first time I actually stayed in Noida. Was working with Quark, Chandigarh, when I decided to move back to Delhi and picked a job with 'Legato Systems' (now called EMC software).



Anyway, so while we were there, there was this small shop in a garage, just on the other side of 'Lal Market' which used to have quite a big collection of Tea viz. Darjeeling Tea, Black Tea, Ginger Cold Tea, Ice Tea and so on. Since it was not really a hotel/restaurant there was no seating arrangement so people used to hang around the place using stools or muda-s (thats like a round roped contraption, soft). It used to be a place for young college goers or old school boy-n-a-girl kind of place.



Recently this place has shifted to a market place in Sector 37 itself. There is this dilapidated place at the end of the sector and its called gulmohar or some other flower named market which has a Indane Gas Agency and nothing else. Its on the back side of 'Army Public School, Sector - 37'. Just ask around for the market behind APS and someone would help you to find it.



I still see the same gentle man behind the small counter where you order. In its old avatar, the lady who owns the place used to be at the shop in the evening herself but I dont see her any more. There are about 15 odd choices for drinks ranging from Ice Tea to Hot Tea to some cool options. You can also get a bite of sandwiches, momos etc. Next time I visit there I would try to get a snap-shot of menu and would paste it here. Its worth a visit for sure. Go in evening but before it starts to get dark since its not a very busy market and can get a little lonely.



And here's the bonus pic for reading this far. There is a halwai shop just round the corner so while you tea is brewed enjoy a Samosa, they are really good. Incidentally , this Halwai had a shop in a close-by garage when the 'Tea Shop' was near 'Lal Market' :), I think its called 'Ram lal' ke samose, does any one from 437 gang remember this ?

enjoy and if you make then do share your views.

Shoprix Mall Bowling Alley, Sec 61, Noida - Review

Noida has only two Bowling alleys. Yeah, read it again. Even though Noida has seen tremendous growth in terms of Malls and 'BPO Call Centres', there are just two bowling alleys. Out of this two, one of them just opened a few months back at 'The Great India Place, Opposite Sector - 18' and the other one which is been there for some time is at 'Shoprix Mall', Sector - 61 and is called 'City Bowl'.



There are four lanes and if you go on a week days there is a fair chance that you would find a lane for yourself. The charges are Rs 100 for a game in week days and Rs 125 in weekends and that includes Fridays. If you are 12 or more then you get a 10% discount or a free game.


The quality of the lanes is decent and the infrastructure is also ok. It is not very uncommon to ask for help (pins not being picked by the picker, the system just get stuck , whatever) once for one game. But thats fine.




Apart from Bowling, they also have two pool table, an ice hockey table, couple of video games and snacks to munch. Its not very big but usually its not crowded as well. So all in all, a decent neighborhood joint to enjoy a game or two.



Here's contact info. citbowl@airtelbroadband.in and contact no is 0120 - 4334477