Learnings from my weekend trip to Ranikhet

Like so many others I also went on a trip last weekend. Independence Day holiday being a Monday made people do massive bookings and by the time my friend and I woke up to the thought of getting the arrangements done, places had the "No Vacancy" sign boards up. But when your wife wants an outing (and this was the case with my friend, lets call him "AK") you have to do better than give up! AK is into Admin and Facility management and thus has some contacts which he leveraged.

Planned Requirements

1. Destinations should be peaceful
2. Not too far, 6 to 8 hours (by road) away
3. Place should have some options for kids - we were two couples and three kids aged between 3 to 6 years
4. We want to chill out and relax, so the place should be able to offer some entertainment and indoor games like TT, Pool etc.

What we got
After two weeks of "after office" Google searches, discussions with spouses and inquiries to hotels/resorts we finalized a destination in Ranikhet - Woods Villa Resort.While searching for a good place which fulfilled our requirements, somehow, Ranikhet seemed to fit the bill.
We got a duplex cottage - only one left, we were told.

The Trip
In one word, DISASTER.

• Started on Saturday, early morning around 4:30 a.m.
• Spent 14 hours on road to reach the resort
• Spent, practically, just one day in resort 
• Spent 13 hours on road to return home
• Reached back Sunday late night, more tired than when we had left

What went wrong?

1. We did not do proper research
2. We thought it will take 6 to 8 hours by road to reach the destination
3. We didn't know all the possible routes and which one was the best/shortest
4. We did not check the vehicle (Toyota Innova) fitness. One tyre needed change and we could not go beyond 80 km/h speed for most of the possible route
5. We had to bear two jams - the one at garh mukteshwar was more than an hour long
6. It rained like hell while returning.We got very wet and drenched
7. For kids it turned out to be too much - they puked as we went up the mountains and when we drove down
8. The time on road was too much for the kids, though we took two breaks.

Learnings

1. Know the routes well when planning a road trip
2. Ensure that the vehicle is fit and can take up the desired speeds
3. Take a lot of disposable bags and give it to everybody so that in case the need to puke they can do that without soiling themselves and everything around
4. Lime and Salt helps manage the feeling to puke
5. With small kids a long road trip may not be a good idea. Take a call while planning
6. With small kids plan for multiple breaks
7. When planning for a distant location keep a week of vacation in hand
8. Plan well in time to avoid compromises in location and accommodation

I will post my feedback on the resort here. I will post the snaps - taken at random, en-route in the next post. Till then ciao!

BTW : I am into IT Services and a manager :) , thus couldn't help breaking this into categories that you see. Cheers!