The Homestay With a View at Kullu

Following the first day's ride (during our recent long ride to Himachal, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab), we spent the night at a homestay on a hillside on the outskirts of Kullu. The homestay was owned by an Indo-French couple: a French man and his Indian wife. They said they had two children studying in a boarding school somewhere. The French man, who spoke a smattering of Hindi and English, told me he had come to India during the early 1980s and stayed on. He said he had lived in a village up a nearby hill until he and his wife bought their current residence. He said it often snowed in the higher reaches of the surrounding hills but hardly ever where the homestay was. I didn't ask, but it seemed like the French man had converted to Hinduism, for there was an elaborate pooja room on the top floor beside the bedroom he shared with his wife. On the other hand, it could have been used only by his wife. I can't say.

Both the French man and his wife were fit and slim. In fact, the wife had told us when we arrived that we could use the terrace only after an hour and a half because she would work out there for that long. The French man did smoke, though, which would considerably lower his score on the fitness scale.

As I discovered the next morning, the terrace had spectacular views of the river valley below and the hills all around. Unfortunately, I could only take 3-4 photographs from there. I could not sit and enjoy the surroundings for any length of time since we were supposed to get ourselves and the motorcycles ready and leave for Jispa as soon as possible. I wish we had started from Delhi earlier than we did, and a group member had slept well enough the previous night not to need a nap on the way so that we could have arrived while there still was daylight and enjoyed some time on that beautiful terrace!

Meanwhile, the house itself was pretty charming. Like most houses on hillsides, one had to descend from the road to reach the lowest floor. The furniture, crockery and glassware looked exquisite. Evidently, the couple had good taste.

Also, the French man and his missus were friendly towards and fed stray dogs in the vicinity, two of whom made themselves home around the house. I have posted photos of one sleeping peacefully on the mat next to the front door. He was there to greet anyone entering or exiting the house during the day and at night. So, that gave me one more reason to like the couple. Perhaps I can revisit them to see their dogs and sit on their terrace for a while if nothing else.