"Sorry sir, we have no room," the hotel manager told my husband. My jaw dropped in amazement as I looked wide eyed at my husband. He was busy on the phone, annoyed with someone on the other end. "Didn't you book our hotel rooms before we came here?" I asked in complete disbelief. With two young children hungry and tired after a six hour drive I was lost for words.
Some hateful words that came to my lips were stopped in time by my biting so hard into my lower lip that it almost bled. My eyes flashed in the anger that my words failed to utter. "Do you have a restaurant here?" I asked the manager, an elderly gentle man, who kind of sensed what was going on. "Yes ma'am" he answered politely, "you could use the washroom" he said pointing in the direction of the washroom as he walked away.
The manger quickly turned back after taking a few steps as if he had second thoughts. Looking right into my eyes he said in a calm voice, "My friend runs a motel next door if you want I'll ask him if he has rooms to spare while you have something to eat." I responded in the positive with utter relief. I helped the boys wash up before lunch, but they weren't very hungry they were restless and sleepy. They barely ate a few morsels before the younger one started to cry for no reason. All this while I was watching the manager, his face told me that his friend had responded in the negative. I was almost in tears, my brain was on overdrive.
As we were finishing our meal the hotel manager came to us bending down he said in a whisper, "I am sorry but my friend says they are full, however if you'll wait for an hour I'll have a room ready for you. It is not a suite as you wanted but a big enough room if you can adjust", he said a little apologetically. "If this is okay with you, you could take the children to the games rooms and they could play games while you wait," he added. I was more than relieved, I don't think I was ever so grateful as I was at that moment.
The children slept as soon as the room was cleaned and ready for us. I pretended to sleep, I was seething with anger inside. How could this man plan a holiday without booking rooms in advance I thought. Can anyone be this stupid? We had both been working on projects without breaks and these four days were meant to be a break from work, cooking, cleaning and the general tedium of life and here I was again worrying about rooms, sleeping arrangements and such.
While pretending to sleep the tiring heat of the drive and the back breaking journey on the Indian roads sent me into a deep sleep. It was around four in the evening when I woke up. The boys were up and around chasing each other. The man was considerate enough to have ordered some coffee for us and snacks for the boys. The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee was like a pleasant melody to my nostrils. I closed my eyes to fully enjoy the brew as I drank the liquid. Coorg is the coffee cup of India and the coffee didn't disappoint.
My spirit lifted with every sip of that magic liquid. Coffee always had the power to make me feel better and the man knew this too well. "Let's go out for a walk", he suggested. "Ok", I mumbled, the anger inside had still not abated. We didn't even have comfortable beds, the little one would try to snuggle in and ruin my sleep at night I worried. Stop making things difficult for yourself, I had to scold myself.
The weather was so pleasant outside, a cool breeze was blowing and it felt like a gentle kiss on my cheek. I let myself take in that moment as I enjoyed the walk. I still kept my distance from the man busying myself with the boys. The boys were soon bored and hungry.
Back at the room the boys were thrilled at having to sleep on a bed on the floor. You never know what amuses kids and before I knew they were fast asleep. All I remember is walking up early in the next morning to the sound of the alarm. We had scheduled a safari trip.
The boys were excited about seeing a forest and animals in it, the day went by rather peacefully. The boys were thrilled at having seen deer, bison, boars and elephants on the trip. However, the cold war between me and the man still ensued.
The driver from the safari trip suggested that we walk down to a old dam near by and we took his advice. The place was beautiful in a rugged sort of way, far from the tourist crowd and madness. Perfect peace reigned there as there was just another family with two boys there .
The boys quickly made friends and were happy playing. I took pictures from my point and shoot camera. The sun was setting and there was a golden glow about the place. We sat down on the banks to enjoy the sunset. The silvery notes of the sunbirds, and the melancholic call of the Koil (Indian cuckoo) were pure magic to the ears. The pleasant weather, the smell of jasmines and I guess some ylang-ylang blooming near by gave an intoxicating feel to the evening .
The golden glow spread enveloped us and a clam descended on the scene, even the boys sat quietly watching the sunset. The man took my hand in his as he whispered, "I am sorry, I let my assistant take care of the bookings and she mucked up. I should have double checked, I know." Those words added to the golden glow of the moment was like a balm to the soul. In a moment all ill feelings were erased, never to return.
In a tree far away two birds sat close together watching the sunset as we did. The world was at peace and the cool breeze laden with the fragrance of the ylang-lang and jasmines washed over us like a tide of young love. The golden glow of the sun did tricks on our mind that we were lost in the beauty of the moment.
All pain was forgotten, this holiday turned out to be my most memorable one ever even after all these years.
Images used here are from my personal collection.
