Ride of Tears and Joy: Our Last Dance to Nuwakot
Bro, listen up. This Nuwakot trip wasn’t just some casual office group outing; it was a Personal Outing that felt like a heart-to-heart with destiny. It was a last, beautiful hurrah before life drags us all in different directions. Every moment, every laugh, every scary turn on the road felt like a precious, final memory. And that’s why my heart is still heavy with emotion when I think about the entire trip.
The Layered-Up Panic and the Wallet Master
My journey started at 7:30 AM. My hands were shaking. Why? Because I was driving a car, a long distance, for the first time. My passengers? The most beautiful ladies and the handsomest infant.
Before we left, our friend, let’s call him The Weather Guy, had given us serious warnings. “Wear warm clothes! It’s freezing in the hills!” He even sent screenshot of the weather. Fair Enough. So, guess what? I listened! I piled on three layers: Sweater, Hoodie, and Jacket. The moment we hit the city edge, I was sweating buckets, driving like a grandpa with my hands glued to the wheel.
Side note on the driving: You know that feeling when you’re driving so slow and cautiously that local motorcycles start overtaking you, and the drivers give you that look and they would think that the speed limit must be set by a nervous snail. Yeah, that was me. But the ladies’ encouragement, and the baby’s random smiles, kept me going. Nobody complained! I drove good.
After an hour, we stopped for breakfast. Club sandwiches, coffee, tea, and the glorious, warm Sun. The moment I stepped out? Jacket came off!
The path through the Shivapuri jungle was beautiful, but the heat was winning the war against my layers.
We were waiting for the ‘boys’ crew. They finally arrived around 10 AM. Our group included The Accountant, who handled all the money like a seasoned bank manager, paying every bill without a single disapproval. Then there was the second car’s driver, The Speed Demon, who drives his car like Michael Schumacher and his bike like Valentino Rossi. My slow and cautious driving and his racing style? Total opposites.
And of course, the ladies did their quick shopping. Ladies will be ladies, always finding time for beauty. And there I was, stripping layers while my wallet master paid for everything.
The Pothole Saga, The iPhone 17, and The Chicken Critic
Then, the real battle began.
The road was a good enough road, but it had everything: narrow paths, sharp turns, muddy patches, and those huge and small potholes that made the car jump. It was one hell of a ride. My leg was aching, and the heat was still intense. At the first tight corner on the hill, my Hoodie came off! Thank God we didn’t have a third break before reaching the resort, otherwise, it would be a striptease show nobody wanted!
We kept stopping, but strangely, not for the ladies. The boys’ group kept pulling over. Why? Because our buddy, The Photographer, had just bought the latest iPhone 17 Pro Max and was determined to flaunt his photography skill to the fullest. He’d spot a leaf, a cloud, a rock, and demand a stop and lots of photos of boys, which you might see in his Insta handles very soon. The ladies surprisingly didn’t take any breaks for photos! (based on a true incident)
In all this chaos, there was The Smiling Buddy. Everything was always fine for her. “No worries, bro! The road is great! The heat/cold is perfect! The view is amazing!” Her constant, calm positivity was strangely soothing.
Around 2 PM, we stopped for lunch. The Nepali Thali was good, but the moment the fried chicken arrived, The Chicken Lover, who can instantly judge a chicken dish from a mile away, took a bite. She closed her eyes, nodded slowly, and announced: “This is a winner. The best I’ve tasted all year!” With her blessing, we ate the meal.
The Broken BBQ and The Farewell Sip
At 3:30 PM, we arrived. I was completely drained. But the view! It was so beautiful it slapped the pain right out of me. The mountains, the clouds, it was worth every struggle.
The evening was pure friendship. We gathered for the great UNO War! We ordered tea and, trying to be fancy, some BBQ. But The Chicken Lover took one look, took one small bite, and her face said it all: “This is a failure.” The BBQ was a huge disappointment like a small dent on a Taj Mahal.
But then came dinner. I swear, that was the best Nepali Thali I have ever eaten. That local rice, the Ghee, and the Daal, OMFG! Even The Chicken Lover was nodding his head at the quality of the local ingredients. By the way, still UNO was on, on the dining table. Was there other guests disturbed by our sound of UNO war? No, we were the only guests.
My stomach was full, but I kept eating. This may be our last trip together as a “office” office-group, and I wanted to fill my body with the memory of that meal. I ate even though my stomach screamed, “Bro, stop! There’s no space!” because I remembered: There’s no second meal in the package!
Post dinner, we sat for a long time. Chit-chat, more UNO, snacks, and then the drinks came out. The Accountant was still keeping track, The Smiling Buddy was still smiling, and The Photographer was trying to take moody low-light shots of faces, lights and what not. It got quiet and emotional sometimes. We knew this was it. The feeling kept reminding us frequently.
My time to shine: Yayyy I am the winner of Eating a Lemon Without Making a Face challenge 😂. Can somebody please give me a single name for this game? Phewwww.
I was having a sip of my drink, listening to the soft voices of the boys, feeling the warmth of friendship, when the exhaustion finally hit me. My eyes closed, and I slept, right there and then. Then, just a couple of minutes later, I woke up, looked at my glass, gulped all the remaining drink (bottoms up!), and then I died till morning.
The Sunrise That Stole Our Breath
The morning began with the most sacred of rituals: Coffee and the silent promise of a perfect day. We stumbled out, half-asleep, only to be struck dumb by the view. Bro, I’m telling you, it was one of the finest sights one could ever witness. The Moon was still hanging high in the west, a silvery memory of the night, and from the other end, the Sun was bursting forth, painting the mountains in gold and fire. Spectacular.
This was prime time for The Photographer and his iPhone 17 Pro Max. The air was crisp, the light was perfect, and naturally, mandatory morning photographs ensued. It felt like standing at the very edge of the world, capturing a memory we desperately wanted to keep forever.
After that majestic start, we headed out to visit the Nuwakot Durbar. As soon as I stepped onto the grounds, I felt a rush of nostalgia. The Durbar was badly damaged and under construction after the 2015 earthquake, so we couldn’t go inside, but just standing there, the place I read about in my history books back in school, took me instantly back to those dusty classrooms and my old schoolmates. The Mandir and the Durbar place, though scarred, were still majestic. More photographs, of course, for memory’s sake.
Omelets, Epic Reels, and the Goodbyes
We returned to the resort, hungry. Breakfast was ready, and my heart was stolen by the omelet. It was so perfect that I instantly ordered a second one. The waiter politely informed me, “Extra pay garnu parcha (You have to pay extra),” and I just waved her off, already calling over The Accountant to settle the tab. That omelet was worth every rupee! Lots of coffee followed, fueling the morning’s next epic task.
The plan was simple: a 30-second reel set to “Chaiyya Chaiyya.” The execution? A magnificent disaster! Bro, the group took one full hour to practice the 30-second reel, generating two hours of BTS (Behind The Scenes) footage! Can you imagine? We laughed until our stomachs hurt, watching The Smiling Buddy try to nail the steps without losing her composure. Guess what? A perfectly synched dance, calling it a final shot and our director forgot to roll the camera 
. That hour of pure, chaotic joy was the perfect final farewell to the location. After mandatory final group photos, we hit the road.
The High-Stakes Breakdown and Sabina’s Rescue
We were about an hour or two into the drive, feeling good, when suddenly, disaster struck. The other car, the one driven by The Speed Demon, broke down completely. It wasn’t moving an inch. We found the problem: the vital wire connecting the gears to the engine had snapped.
The absolute saddest part? There were no spare parts nearby.
We managed to find a mechanic, but the wire had to be brought from Kathmandu. We were stranded. The clock was ticking, and the sun was climbing. It took a heart-wrenching four hours just to get the part and another two hours to fix it. This is where our friend Sabina became the hero of the day. She luckily had a guy in Kathmandu who ran from shop to shop, found the exact wire, and managed to send it to us via a public vehicle taking the same route. We were saved by quick thinking and strong connections!
But we couldn’t wait that long. The girls’ group, carrying the infant, waited for almost three grueling hours before we had to make a tough call. We couldn’t keep the baby stranded for that long. So, once again, I took the wheel with the ladies.
I drove the car, leaving the boys behind to fix their mess, and headed back to Kathmandu. We had a much-needed dinner on the way. My final duty, my last act of service for the group, was to drop each beautiful lady safely to her respective house. I finally got back home and went straight to bed. Tired. My whole body felt the weight of the two day journey and the emotional load.
A Personal Farewell to the Happiest Chapter
And that, brother, is the deeper truth of this trip. With the group, there was one member who had to bid an unwanted farewell from the office before this trip. His departure had already made us sad, and during the planning phase, the whole trip was on and off because he was no longer working with us. As I write this, the rest of us are not sure either; some may depart soon, and some may continue working. That is why this was our last trip as an official group. It was a farewell to our happy ending. It was a memory that we fought to keep forever, battling bad roads and broken wires, because we knew that no matter where life throws us later, this bond is solid. This trip was great in every sense. Cheers to you, brother!
I wish I was there❤️.
Kaas mai bhi hota trip me, felt the unsaid story. Miss you dai.
Hello daddy
Felt touching, nicely written dai