Birds Eye View: A travel of slightly more than 100 km today, as we abondoned the Kumaon region and entered the Garhwal region at Karnaprayag. Now, when we had talked to locals in Kumaon, I had always felt a subtle sense of competition with Garhwal. Historically, lords and kings of the two regions used to fight like the dickens, of course, particularly during the Moghul times, and an aftertaste must still be lingering. A caretaker in the KMVN at Kausani said he had worked in all sorts of govt guest houses in Uttarakhand, and GMVN was always better maintained. Our guide from yesterday, Deepak (the mountain goat?), was all in favour of Kumaon roads during monsoons. “The soil here has more pakad (grip), you know. Those Garhwali’s keep having landslides.” They spoke highly of Kumaoni cuisine, their healthiness and simplicity, but were pointedly silent about their western counterpart’s kitchen. One of the hotel managers also commented on the nature of tourists: “Here it’s ...