There was no fixed plan by the time we slept the night before. So we all got ready a bit early than usual. We had a quick breakfast at a bakery near the hotel and discussed what could be done for the day. The girl at the bakery advised us that if we don’t mind walking then there is a trail along the coast up to a small hill called Sentier des Douaniers. It is very scenic and we won’t regret taking it. I think the total trail was 15 km to and fro. So we thought of giving it a shot.
Now, the special thing about this place was its pink granite stones formations. Over the years, the sea waves have carved some really interesting formations on the rocks along the coast. We started walking on our trail with a lot of enthusiasm and after some time reached the end of the trail where there was a light house like structure. The weather was nice and sunny and we took enough pictures on our way. After taking some rest at the light house we headed back to the place where we started.
When we reached the parking place to get our car we had to take some decisions about the next day. Now, K wanted to go further north along the coast and explore another town. On the other hand A and D wanted to go back to St Malo and spend the day there. The reason was that our last destination called Arras was towards the east. If we would have gone north west and stayed the night there it would have been a long straight drive the next day for D to reach Arras. And it made sense since she was the only driver. Frankly speaking, I liked St Malo so much that I also wanted to stay another day there.
So, it was decided. We would drop K to a town called Morlaix which is further north west and then A, D and I would head back to St Malo to spend the next day. We helped K to book his tickets from Morlaix back to Paris from where he had his flight back home. We finally reached St Malo in the evening around 4 and the next task was to find a hotel for the night. We went to the hotel where we had stayed before but it was surprisingly full. So we looked for other options. While on the hunt we found one hotel where the booking was done in a way I have never experienced before.
It looked like a small family hotel. We could not find anyone at the reception nor could we find any customers around. “Hello, anybody home ?” was something A and I tried but still no response. Just when we were about to leave, I saw a notice on the wall of the reception written in French and also an arrow which pointed to a rotary dial type telephone. There was a number written on it but also with an alphabet. The number was 09.24.H6.66.37. We assumed that we might have to call this number to ask for someone. I jokingly asked A, that the numbers are fine but how can we dial an alphabet ‘H’ on a dial type telephone. We were still very confused. While playing around with the telephone with a hope to find more clues, I accidently picked up the receiver. Suddenly, we heard a voice coming from the receiver. There was a lady on the phone. I asked her that we are looking for a room in the hotel. She checked something on her end and told me to go to the first floor and see room number 4 and if we liked it, we should call her again. She then hung up. A and I still not sure what was happening went up to check the room. I am not kidding but I have never seen such a room setup before in my life. Here is a photo of that room. It had the shower right next to the bed :)
A and I were looking at each other in amusement. We went down, picked up the receiver and the phone automatically dialed a number. We asked for the price since we forgot to ask her before. She told the price and said if we liked it then get our stuff in the room. The key is in the room. She will meet me at 6 pm at the reception. She had to go and pick her kids from the school in the meanwhile. A and I were shocked for a moment and then totally cracked up laughing at the whole system. I said to A, dude this is called Ram Rajya.
Finally, we found a room at another place. We all then went to have dinner and were anxious to tell the hotel story to D.
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