It was summer holidays for my elder son and as a ritual we had to get away SOMEWHERE. Plans of going to Singapore had to be shelved as passports were not in place. I had just got in touch with a school friend after 16 years who happened to live in Shimla. I thought it was a great opportunity to kill two birds with a stone. Meet Shalini my friend and then head off somewhere to RELAX!!! So I had to plan our holiday near Shimla. After a lot of research on the net I finally decided on Dak Bangla Homes.
Dak Bangla Homes is a beautiful homestay nestled amongst pristine pine and cedar forests of Mashobra. Mashobra is a 45 minutes drive from Shimla through picturesque forests. Ten minutes drive from Mashobra town a road less travelled through pine forests lined with wild daisies and strawberries takes you to Dak Bangla Homes.
After a wonderful meeting with Shalini and her beautiful family we were ready to leave for Dak Bangla Homes. I was not very sure what was going to meet us. A lot was going on in my mind, would Dak Bangla be a dampener after the great stay at Shalini's awesome cottage reminiscient of the Raj and the most awesome 360 degree view of Mashobra town? Would the food match up to the great food whipped up by Shalini's in laws (from meat pies to khow suey to baked trout)??? BUT, the drive was very promising. We were driving through mist laden pine forests and mountainside covered with wild daisies, when we reached 2 cottages with green roofs. We had reached Dak Bangla Homes.
As we parked and entered Dak Bangla Homes all my apprehensions disappeared. We were greeted by the lovely hostess Uma, her warmth and vivaciousness was contagious. I felt I had reached my own hill home BUT without having to worry about the nitty gritties of running it. My own home with the luxury of being taken care of. The two cottages stood beautiful in the middle of the beautiful pine forests. They were a harmonious blend of traditional Himachali wood and stone architecture with huge modern glass windows. The glass windows made sure each room enjoyed the spectacular views.
The next 4 days at Dak Bangla was exactly what I had hoped for my boys (my husband and 2 sons) and myself. We were in a beautiful place far away from civilisation with all the modern amenities. Each cottage had 3 bedrooms, 2 on the 1st floor and 1 on the ground floor with a cosy living area replete with the fireplace to keep you warm and snug on cold days, a TV and DVD player for cosy evenings with popcorns or the yummy vegetable pakoras whipped up by the quite Pushpa. AND they had a decent library of movies and books, with beautiful and serene places where one could just immerse oneself with a book.
Meals were the yummiest! healthiest! home cooked meals cooked from fresh organic vegetables coming from Uma's farm an hour away from Dak Bangla. Pushpa's cooking was just the way we liked. Not too oily, nothing ever overdone and we had a variety of cuisine from Himachali to Continental. Though Dak Bangla announces that there are fixed meals for each day, if you tell them in advance they cook you whatever you fancy. For my 2 fussy boys we had a well stocked pantry where Papa could go just cook some corn or sausages the way they like it done.
There was ample to do for my 2 boys who just love nature and openess. We hiked down beautiful paths to Uma's farm and orchard with a picnic basket and explored the lovely farm set admist virgin forests. The boys thoroughly enjoyed walking through the cabbage and cauliflower fields and checking out the green house where they saw their favourite vegetable Cucumber hanging from the creepers. Dan even got to meet Moo Moo Cows, whom he absolutely adores. After the arduous but lovely hike and a heavenly picnic at the most beautiful setting, Rocky and Chandan the 2 beautiful horses were waiting to take us back to Dak Bangla. The boys thoroughly enjoyed the horse back ride this time through another beautiful and serene path.
If the hikes and horse back rides are not enough we also had 2 bicycles at our disposable to take out riding to more beautiful places just around Dak Bangla. Dan just loved riding pillion on Papa's back through absolutely peaceful and beautiful surroundings. And for Rayan who did not want to go out cycling there was Simba the adorable resident pup to keep Rayan entertained under Uma's watchful eye and company. On many evenings' Uma would take Rayan to her personal library to pick up more books.
And if you think that's not enough to do!!! You can step out star gazing into the night. The most beautiful sky you'd see... It is a surreal experience!!!! So if the peace and quiet admist nature's beauty is what you long for? GO ENJOY!!!! Dak Bangla Homes.
Here's their website for those of you who want to contact Dak Bangla.
