I love the vacation feeling. The feeling of recharging your batteries with fresh air and beautiful locales. Include sumptuous local cuisines and merry drinks - that's just the cherry on the pie.
This time I really wanted to immerse myself in the local experience and get an authentic feel for the place. And in my opinion that is not something one can realistically do whilst living in a hotel.
Shimla is one of those few places in India where commercialisation hasn’t really taken hold. The people have an innocence which is a large part of their charm – they are genuine, accommodating and helpful to a fault. And that is where we decided to vacation.
Trawling through Booking.com for a holiday home rental, we found several properties. Some were really over-the-top ostentatious and very expensive while others were located in walking distance of the very ‘touristy’ Mall road. While others were just bland and blah! We finally found a unique, exotic-looking property in the heart of Himachal, around 10-12kms from the centre. It was a lovely set of luxury suites set atop a small hillock called Merlin Grove Suites in a village called Sadhora.
The hosts were very prompt and courteous and responded to our booking with a map of the location. We were picked up by them once we reached a meeting point near the property.
The suites had two bedrooms set in a contemporary style, a HUGE bathroom, a kitchenette and patio/garden were fitted with all modern amenities includes Netflix. Yup! That is a big requirement for me! And that bathroom, it was almost as big as my kitchen at home!
The property has three floors and we were on the ground floor. It was so lush and green, surrounded by orchards on all sides. There were apple, walnut and plum trees blooming in all their majestic glory.
The hosts were warm, hospitable and full of ideas when we asked them about how we could get an authentic experience in Himachal.
We were given a live cookery demonstration in an old-timey kitchen. It had an old-style stove or 'Chulha' connected to a chimney where the fire that cooked the food also worked as a heater during winters.
Instead of eating out we preferred the sampling the local dishes that our hosts prepared. At a couple of hundred rupees per meal, it seemed like a steal to sample fresh delicacies cooked by locals. The hosts have been in hospitality for several decades so the taste, the presentation of the food was superb.
The view from the garden was tres instagrammable! Every colourful sunset was different with vibrant hues of red, purple, orange and yellow. I must have taken hundreds of photos. The garden overlooks the majestic mountains and has a very wallpaper feel. I don’t think my photography skills did the view justice. We spent several evenings watching the sunset before lighting a bonfire and just sitting under the clear, star-filled sky. The pole star would shine as bright as a street lamp right outside our window.
There were several small trekking trails that we explored near Sadhora. Himachal is also known as the land of temples and there are several famous ones in a 10-km radius that we visited. Our favourite was the Jhakhoo temple dedicated to the monkey-god ‘Hanuman’. It is filled with monkeys and you really need to keep out for those cheeky buggers who will steal whatever they can lay their hands on. One of them pickpocketed by husband’s sunglasses but our expert guide was able to retrieve them for us.
We also spent some time playing golf at Naldera Golf course, a 30minute drive from Merline Grove Suites. Well, the husband did, the kids and I enjoyed a lovely pony-rides. And the small treks brought out the adventurer in them.
‘Tattapani’ Sulphur springs were a revelation! This was also an activity suggested by our hosts. The hot sulphur springs situated in Mandi on the river Sutlej. It was a fun day trip. ‘Tattapani' literally means 'hot water'. The sulphur in these hot springs helps cure a variety of bodily ailments, especially bones and joints-related problems. The water level of these springs keeps fluctuating depending on the water-level of the river.
Don't take a shower after you have finished bathing. Medicinal components in the water will get washed off in the shower, and their effects will be reduced. However, if your skin is sensitive and easily irritated, please do rinse yourself off with fresh water.
We also tried some white river rafting – it was exciting and gave me quite the adrenaline rush.
What did I learn from my holiday homestay in Shimla is that it is a completely immersive experience. Now I feel like redoing all my previous holidays! And you should definitely try this too – if you find the right property and hosts, it gives you a better idea the local culture and cuisine.
If you do try it out or have already done let me know in the comments below so we can exchange notes.
If you want to visit Shimla and try Merlin Grove Suites, the same place that we did, they are available on Booking.com and you can click here to view the property
What did I learn from my holiday homestay in Shimla is that it is a completely immersive experience. Now I feel like redoing all my previous holidays!
