By the time we arrived at Dunagiri Retreat, it was well past sunset and dinner time. Our hosts happily greeted us nonetheless, and welcomed us with kind eyes, genuine smiles, and a warm meal. The other friendly staff members organized our luggage and took it up to our rooms with ease. After brief introductions and a beautiful meal, we headed up the hill to our cozy cottage-like setting where we were each greeted by a charming suite with fresh flowers and giant fluffy blankets.
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Inside, there was also a lovely welcome letter and an “instruction manual” for various aspects of the property, namely the facilities and the infamous bucket shower. I was unfamiliar with these concepts so it was very helpful to have this information right away. To put it lightly, the toilet paper does not get used in the traditional sense, and does not go down the toilet (use your reasoning to go from there…). Also, the hot water for each room was generated by an individual tank and heating system, which on average took about 20-30 minutes to heat the water needed for daily washing. I will say that the description of the bucket shower was intriguing and I was actually looking forward to it.
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After a long, sleepless 2-day journey, I was so grateful for the safe arrival, the clean water, the comfortable bed, and the quiet room. Excited for the following day when I would see our illuminated surroundings, I fell asleep with a smile on my face and peace in my heart.