The fourth day in Ranikhet was marred by car trouble. We ended up at the golf course again. After breakfast and a round of golf, we ended up at a car service center ( one of only two in all of Ranikhet ) because Dad’s Maruti Ertiga was giving us problems while driving. Literally every trip we’ve made to Ranikhet has meant car trouble with this car. Last time it was the steering wheel jamming while I was driving through Jim Corbett park, this time there was barely any pick up while driving uphill. After the car was left at the service center, we headed back to the room for lunch and passed out in our beds for the rest of the day – there was no walk but I did skip dinner. Resting relaxing, enjoying the cool breeze in the garden outside the rooms.
( The guy who handles marketing / digital for Parijat Retreat, Aditya Shah, drove us in the car from the workshop to our rooms, left us there and drove the vehicle back to the workshop for repairs. The workshop guy had diagnosed a faulty clutch in his initial assessment but then after a couple of hours he called up Dad to tell him that he had been wrong and that in fact it was the engine oil that needed to be changed and the air filter needed to be replaced. Both my parents were grateful for the honesty and professionalism – my Dad told me that he’d given the vehicle earlier for replacing the engine oil not once but twice but it turned out that the engine oil had not been replaced any of the two times in Gurgaon at a very well known Maritu Service Center! Unprofessionalism and disrespect seems to be the norm in North India’s big cities and towns. The hills beckon! )
All in all, Day 04 was SLOW.
