If Turtles Could Fly!

A birthday usually means getting together with friends and bringing the house down. And when you have two surfers sharing the honour of a common birthday, the party has to be double the fun! So this time around, the plan was a day picnic to a location previously undiscovered around the precincts of Delhi NCR region. A few hours drive from any part of Delhi, the venue was an idyllic picnic spot called Turtle Farm Resort in Manesar. We hit the Delhi-Jaipur highway by 9 am and after a brief stopover at a McDonalds outlet on the way for a power breakfast, we made good speed to reach the location by 11 am.

Slightly off track from the highway, you need to keep your eyes out for Uppal Farms and take a dash towards the left off the highway to hit a rough dirt track with sunflower fields before you finally see farm houses with massive gates to your left. A short drive down this road takes you to B-14, Turtle Farm Resort. What hits you immediately as you enter is the greenery and the well maintained infrastructure. The reception is an example of desi chic with art work and design inspired by North Indian and Rajasthani folk lore. A grand stairway on both sides takes you up to the rather steeply priced duplex rooms at the resort.

A welcome breakfast of tea and sandwiches awaited us but we preferred going ahead to explore the location further, happily satiated on our burgers at McD’s. The boys being boys hit the cricket lawn where they quickly teamed up with another group of boys to play a round of cricket leaving us girls on the sidelines. Much sweat and grime later, we were ready to hit the poolside where a mini waterfall and a rain shower with a DJ awaited us. Very soon, other groups joined in, dancing, swimming, playing, drinking and enjoying a tasty barbecue on the side. The summer heat bore down on us making us take refuge in the pool for hours, and I doubt any of us regretted it! It was only at 3 pm that we finally pulled ourselves out for a lavish lunch with bhindi, mixed vegetable, dahi vada, papad, pulao, rotis/naan and chicken, topped with piping gulab jamuns. After such a heavy meal, it was time to head indoors for games like carrom and table tennis and before we knew it, it was time to head home! A quick chai session and a last pic of us together later, we drove away from the resort with lots of happy moments to savour in the form of memories. 

Overall, this is a place where you can enjoy with a group of youngsters given the kind of activities they offer but if you are planning a family get together, think twice as there is not much to do for aunties and uncles, mummys and papas and senior citizens. If you are really keen on taking your folks along, try the resorts in Shogi, Narkanda or Dalhousie also maintained by Aamod who run this resort. As for Turtle Farm Resort, it’s a decent daytime getaway for a bunch of indulgent youngsters.

Note: Make sure you go at a time when the weather is favourable.