DEV BHOOMI - Day 6

9th July 2010

Had a very bad night’s sleep. Major stomach ache, all through the night. Could hardly sleep through the night. Maybe it was the anticipation of crossing Rohtang today, that was playing havoc with my system! Was awake much before 4.00 am. Washed up (bath was out of the question, no hot water) and got ready. Arshad and Dinesh are up and ready by 4.15 am. Asked Dinesh about the stomach ache, he suggested some medication. Thought it prudent, to stick to my Homoeopathic medicine, rather than take something, I was not comfortable with. Tea arrived at 4.25 am. Finished tea and all set to leave the hotel.

Packed all our luggage into the car and moved out of the hotel at around 4.45 am. Headed towards the Rohtang road. Stopped at the Rashpian Filling Station on the way. Not a soul in sight. What the heck? Dinesh decides to pry into the office and sure enough the attendant is all curled up and sleeping. He is woken up and finally decides to come out and fill diesel into the Bolero. We pay up and finally are on our way. Its almost 5.00 am.

Pass Palchan, Kothi, Gulaba villages. Gulaba is named after, Raja Gulab Singh, who camped here on his way to invade China! (Wonder what happened to him?). We stop somewhere in between to take some snaps of the sunlight hitting the mountains.

Cross Marhi at around 6.30 am. The restaurants/ stalls are just about opening shop. We decide not to stop and keep moving. A few meters ahead, a passerby informs us that, there is a road blockage up ahead and traffic is stuck! He advises us to wait at Marhi itself and not proceed further. Having already spent two days in Manali, we decide that it would not be wise to wait in Marhi, but rather proceed ahead and wait in line for the traffic to move. I even forget about my customary tea break and continue driving.

So on we go, along the twisting and turning roads, some of them, barely qualifying as roads. The condition of some bad patches of the road is mainly due to the incessant rains that have been lashing the region this season. At many parts, we see boulders, that have run down the mountain side, or maybe boulders that have been cleared by bulldozers from the road above. Progress along these roads is a little slow. It is better to be cautious and slow, rather than rash and fast, and find yourself being hurled out of the mountainside.

Finally at around 7.05 am., we fall in line behind, what appears to be the main line of vehicles. Trying to find a gap somewhere in the front of the line of vehicles, we proceed a little further and sort of double park. Step out of the car, make enquiries and are told, that there was a landslide a little ahead late last night. Most of the cars and trucks stuck at this point, have been here since last night, or very early this morning. We are around 3 to 4 kms. from Rohtang Pass.

At around 7.30 am. we see some of the BRO/ GREF workers arriving, to try to clear the roads. We catch hold of a BRO man in uniform and ask him about the situation. He tells us that the bulldozer is on its way up, to clear the landslide. He also tells us to move our car (which is double parked) out of the way, or the bulldozer will do it for us! That does it for me. Rush inside, start the car, reverse and find a gap in between two trucks.

The bulldozer finally arrives at around 8.45 am., trundling past us. As it passes us, a GREF officer (looked like a Major), gets into the driving seat and proceeds to drive it down further towards the landslide. The mood turns a little cheerful, compared to the sombre mood, we were in some time back. Arshad and me step out of the car and decide to explore. I take a few snaps of the snowcapped mountains opposite, where we are stuck.

Little did I know, that these were to be the last snaps we would take today! Arshad has strolled off somewhere, while I was taking the snaps. My stomach ache is sort of under control, thanks to the medicine (Homoeopathic). I loiter around for a while. Down below, I can see the snaking road into Marhi, full of parked cars. Maybe all of them are having their teas/ breakfast, etc., before the assault on Rohtang Pass!

I hang around for a bit and then head towards the cars to catch a nap. See that Dinesh is already taking his 40 winks. I get into the back seat, make myself comfortable and close my eyes. I really don't know how long I slept, but the next I know, is that Dinesh is shaking me awake and insisting, that I have something to eat. I can barely open my eyes, I'm feeling that drowsy! He thrusts a cheese sandwich into my hand and I eat it. I see that Arshad has also joined us and is having some sandwiches himself. I glance at my watch and see that it is almost 10.30 am. I have gone without teas for almost 6 hours. Must be a record of some sort! Maybe the drowsiness is due to the lack of tea. I finish my sandwich, have a gulp of water and the only thing I can think of, is shutting my eyes!

Close my eyes and out like a light! The next time I open them, I see Arshad has also joined Dinesh and me in our siesta. Somehow manage to shake myself awake and step out of the car. Splash a little water on my face and decide to take a stroll along the road. There are many guys, selling Chole pao. Hoping against hope, to find someone selling CHAI! No such luck. Salvation is to be reached around 5 to 6 kms., down the road or maybe a kilometer as the crow flies at Marhi! I resist the urge, take a peek at my watch, its almost 12.30 pm. Enquire around and am told that the road may be cleared soon. Unfortunately there's also a truck stuck somewhere up ahead. But the news of the road being cleared soon, sort of cheers me up a bit.

Call H.V. Kumar in Mumbai and inform him about the road conditions. Its been 9 hours, since we left Manali and almost 7 hours, since we arrived at this place. Doesn't that qualify as the longest traffic jam, that many of us have been stuck in? It surely does for me! All I can say, we are mere puppets in comparison to Nature and its might. Whatever we may do, we are no match, if Nature decides to play spoilsport. Experiencing it first hand!

After about 15 to 20 mins of strolling about, I feel the drowsy feeling returning! Is it A.M.S. ? I don't even know the altitude we are at. All I know is that Rohtang is at 13,045 ft above MSL and that the climb from Manali has been quite a bit. Back to the medicine chest I have got with me. Dr. Deepak Kulkarni a consulting homoeopath, and my next door neighbour in Bombay, has been kind enough to give me medicine for various possible ailments, that may be encountered. The earlier medicine for the stomach ache, was from the same cache of medicine! I refer to the list and take a dose of the right medicine.

Arshad and Dinesh are still sleeping. Hearing me pottering around, Arshad wakes up. Dinesh merely opens his eyes and asks as to what is happening. I inform him about the situation. I ask Arshad how, he is feeling, he says ok, but a little drowsy. Dinesh says that he is fine, but I would beg to differ. I'm sure he also is feeling drowsy, cos he shuts his eyes the moment any conversation ceases!

Its almost 3.30 pm. and finally some good news. The road will be cleared soon. Yeah finally we can move on. This bit of news peps us all up! We start doing the calculations. If we can manage to clear Rohtang pass by around 4.30 pm. then we will have probably have around till 7.00 pm., before it gets dark. That would roughly mean around 50 kms. covered at an average of around 20 kms/hr. That would probably get us to Keylong, if we pushed a little harder. The only problem with that; we would have to cover the Keylong to Leh stretch the next day. That would be stretching it a bit!

The traffic has finally started moving. Unfortunately they are letting the traffic blocked on the other side of the landslide, heading towards Manali pass by first. Lots of cars passing us by, all in the opposite direction. Again a conference to decide our future plan of action! We stop a Senior Police official passing by and ask him about the time it will take to get the traffic on our side moving. He says that it may be around 6.00 pm., before they will allow movement on our side.

That does it for us. If we cross Rohtang at 6.00pm., we reach Keylong, maybe by 9.00 pm. That is a little dicey, considering the conditions of the road and the darkness that surely would have descended by then. A decision is made to head back to Manali for the night and come back early tomorrow morning, so we atleast reach Jispa, if not Darcha during the daylight hours.

Its 4.30 pm. Take a quick turn and we join the long line of cars heading towards Manali. Reach Marhi, which is full of cars parked, wherever you look. Manage to spot Padma Tashi. He has been waiting here since around 11.30 am. The cops and BRO/GREF had actually stopped people from proceeding beyond Marhi towards Rohtang, since around 11.00 am. Padma insists that he will wait for the road to open and then head out, whatever the time of the day or night. He has to be in Leh by the day after tomorrow. We exchange our byes and move on towards Manali.

Back via the same road, only descending this time, instead of ascending! I've got a throbbing headache. After Marhi and just before Raahla Falls, is a small bridge over the river. There are some stalls here. I desperately need tea, so we decide to stop. Park the car, and head towards the stall. Suddenly I get a very quesy feeling in my stomach, classic signs of me wanting to throw up. I try to control the urge, but without any luck. After that, the headache sort of lessens. I wash up in the river and splash the cool water onto my face. Feel much better after that.

At the stall, we order for tea and Maggi noodles to go with it. Remember none of us has eaten anything much for the whole day. Gobble up the noodles and wash it down with tea. Spend around 40 mins. here and are ready to move on.

We cross Gulaba and reach Kothi at around 6.30 pm. Just at the end of Kothi village, on the left is a hotel: Hotel Sagu Valley, which appears to look good from the outside. They appear to have rooms on the 1st floor. We decide to check the place out, since it makes better sense to stay the night here and leave from here rather than go all the way to Manali. We have a look at the rooms and are pleasantly surprised to see, that they are quite nice. Infact the bed is big enough to accomodate 3 adults. Over and above that, is the promise of hot water availability. We are staying here for the night, no 2 ways about it! We haggle a bit over the price of the room, get a decent discount and move in with our luggage.

I go for a bath first and come out feeling completely refreshed. Maybe we can attack Rohtang Pass now! (Just kidding). Dinesh takes out his laptop and does some photo transfers, while Arshad has gone for a bath. Its almost 8.15 pm., and everyone is ready to hit the restaurant for some dinner. We order dinner and while it is being prepared, we stroll out on to the road. Stop a few cars passing by, and ask about Rohtang Pass. Most of the cars have come over from the other side of the landslide. Get to know that the road towards Keylong is also operational now. Yipee! So we are definitely going to cross Rohtang tomorrow.

Get back to the restaurant, just in time to see our food being served. Have a hearty meal, made all the more delicious, with the prospect of finally reaching Leh the day after tomorrow! After dinner, head out on to the road, once again, just to stop a few more cars and double check on the status of the road. ALL IZZ WELL, we are informed. Traffic is moving both ways.

On that cheery note, we return to our rooms and hit the bed. The actual journey starts tomorrow, wouldn't you say! Lie down on the bed and out like a light, the moment the head touches the pillow.

To be continued................

DEV BHOOMI - Day 5

8th July 2010

Another morning in Manali. We were not supposed to be staying in Manali for 2 nights on the way to Ladakh. And here we were spending 3 nights and 2 whole days. Nature sure has a strange way of turning your best laid plans to dust!

Wake up and get ready, albeit at a very relaxed pace. Have breakfast at the dining room. Dinesh is heavily into Lemon Tea, Arshad likes his tea strong and I prefer very light tea and hence the many cups that I am wont to consume in a day.

Leave the hotel at around 10.45 am. and proceed towards Vashisth Temple and Hot Springs. Its around a 3 km. drive to the parking lot before the temple.

The last 750 mts is an uphill walk. You will find lots of shops and salesmen, selling everything from Saffron, Shilajit, Shawls, etc. The loudest are the ones, who insist on showing you Chingoo! More on that later. The whole stretch is interspersed with budget hotel, restaurants, tea stalls, tour operators, shops, internet cafe, bakeries and even a bike service centre.

The Hot springs are inside the temple premises. Cameras are not allowed inside. Separate enclosures for Men and Women. Go inside to find people taking a bath, with soap and all. Thankfully arrangements have been made, so that the main water is not polluted. The water is piping hot. Wash feet and hands, visit the temple. Come out and take a few pictures of the temple entrance and the surrounding mountains.

Walking back to the parking lot and we are again accosted by salesmen, selling us CHINGOO! Curiosity gets the better of us and we troop into a shop. So what is CHINGOO? Chingoo is a blanket made of the hair of an animal called Chingoo! It would have been nice, if the guy had just said that and shut up! But he didn't, and we were subjected to a 15 min speech on the virtues of the chingoo, the way it is manufactured, etc. We ask him the price, and lo and behold, he tells us that it can't be bought! It is given on hire for a period of roughly three to five years. After that you have to return it in whatever condition it is in. For this you pay Rs. 5,500/= only. Now the best part, you get 5 free gifts along with this! All of which are things like bed sheet sets, pillow covers and the like. "If you want to take it right now, you can pay by credit card or cash. Otherwise you can order it, give your address and it will be delivered to your doorstep via V.P.P." The choice is entirely yours! (If I had purchased this, or rather hired the chingoo, I would have been surely barred from coming home). We troop out of the shop. On the way back to the car park, we are accosted by many more shopkeepers, who are ready to offer from 2 to 10 free gifts. We have a hearty laugh and move on.

We come back to the hotel at around 12.30 pm., park the car and decide to have lunch at the Mall. We decide on Chinese at Mount View restaurant. Decent food. Finish and decide to have Ice cream as dessert at one of the shops on the Mall. Head back and reach the hotel at around 2.oo pm. Relax for an hour or so and decide to leave again, to visit Naggar Castle and the Roerich Museum.

On the way to Naggar Castle, we stop by at the National Institute of Mountaineering Sports (NIMS), now known as Atal Bihar Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (ABVIMAS) whew, what a mouthful. Good location, but looked pretty forlorn. Visited the museum housed in the premises, just about ok.

Leave after around 15 mins and are on our way to Naggar. Stop by in between to buy some Apples and Naaspati (type of pear) being sold on the sides of the road. The apples though small are delicious. For us Bombayites the price we got them at, was a steal!

Reach Naggar Castle at around 4.15 pm. Beautiful wooden and stone structure. Part of it has been turned into a Luxury Resort by HPTDC. The views from the top floors of the castle are fabulous. Stop to take few pictures. There is also the Jagtipatt temple in the castle premises. Unfortunately it was locked and we could not enter.

Leave the castle and step outside to the German Bakery for some tea and snacks. Arshad checks under the table for unclaimed baggage! LOL. We order a slice of Lemon cake, a peanut cookie, Yak cheese sandwich and Lemon teas for Arshad and Dinesh and plain tea for me. I demolish most of the lemon cake, and take a bite of the sandwich. Not much to my liking. Leave after about fifteen mins., and head towards the Roerich Museum.

The Roerich museum is a nice bungalow, overlooking the town of Naggar. It is now a museum, housing some of the paintings painted by Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich, who was married to Devika Rani considered the First Lady of the Indian Silver screen and the grand niece of Rabindranath Tagore. Most of the painting depict the mountains. Unfortunately could not photograph them, due to the reflection of the glass.

Its almost 6.00 pm. and the museum is about to close. We head out and proceed back towards Manali. On the way stop to take a few snaps of Apples growing on trees. (First time for city dwellers like us, though Dinesh would beg to differ). Also spot a red Scorpio sporting the Live To Drive sticker. Is it a Team BHPian in the mountains?

Reach the hotel at around 7.00 pm. Lots of discussion regarding tomorrow's Rohtang crossing. Road is open, from what we gathered after speaking to cab drivers. Decide to buy bread, butter and cheese, just in case we get stuck on the road, or for emergencies. Fill all the water bottles. Total of around 18 litres. Diesel cans are full. Will fill diesel in the Bolero on the way to Rohtang, at Rashpian Filling Station. (24 hrs. open) in the morning. Time of departure has been fixed at 4.30 am. Pay up all the hotel bills and request the manager to serve us tea at 4.15 am., which he agrees to.

Have dinner at around 8.45 pm. Vinayak and his tour group are leaving for Chandigarh tonight, by Tempo Traveller, for their onward journey to Bombay. We bid farewell to Vinayak and assure him of keeping in touch. Touch base with Rameshbhai and Padma Tashi. Padma is leaving for Leh tomorrow at around 10.00 am. He promises to meet us either at Darcha or Jispa, where we will be spending the night. Say our goodbyes and good nights and retire to our rooms.

Its going to be hard days drive tomorrow and we need to start early. On that note we hit the bed.

To be continued.............................

DEV BHOOMI - Day 4

7th July 2010

Woke up late, really late at around 8.00 am. Dinesh as usual was all ready and raring to go. He was cleaning his camera and lenses. The point was that we really had no place to go to. Rohtang crossing was out of the question, so it would probably mean hanging around Manali and places around Manali. Got ready and proceeded for a leisurely breakfast of piping hot Aloo Parathas at the Hotel dining room.

Met up with Vinayak and Rajeshbhai to find out the latest position on Rohtang Pass. Situation looked pretty grim. Possibility of the road being cleared by the afternoon, but then again, just a possibility! The weather is still quite cloudy and chances of rain are pretty high.

Finish our breakfast, and decide to leave in the car for a trip around Manali. First destination - Hidimba temple. Lovely old temple, built entirely of wood and stones. Lots of huge Deodhar trees surround the temple premises. Full of tourists and mainly honeymooning couples. Its drizzling a bit. The umbrellas are out. Spend some time here and decide to move on.

Big dilemma, where should we head next? Decide to head towards the Rohtang pass road. The last time I was in Manali, was in 1978(Yes I am ancient), so I remember very little, and whatever I do is because of the pics at home! Though one thing I remember very clearly, is that the HPTDC Tourist Lodge was housed in a large compound, on the banks of the river Beas. It was among the few hotels in Manali at that point of time. As of now, the HPTDC Beas stand next to the Tourist Lodge and there is a road, right in front of the two hotels. I am pretty sure that wasn't the case in 1978. I remember very clearly climbing three floors to reach our room from the ground. Now, your entry into the hotel is from the 3rd. floor itself. How times have changed Manali!

Across the one way bridge over the River Beas and we are on the road leading to Rohtang Pass. We stop to take few pics of the mountains in the distance. Arshad's first time seeing the ice capped mountains! Dinesh behaves like an old hand, having been here many times before. Me, I'm too excited for words. Go crazy with the camera, shooting everything in my field of vision.

Head off again after some time. The whole road is dotted with shops renting out Ski Gear, Warm clothing and Rubber Gumboots. No names, just numbers, starting at 0 and reaching 4 figures! Business is slack though, what with Rohtang being closed! Stop for a cup of tea at a small restaurant. The backside of the restaurant is on the banks of the Beas. What a view! Head out and reach the Solang exit. This is where the new tunnel is going to start from. After completion, there will hopefully be, all weather connectivity with the rest of Himachal. Spend a few moments there , take a U turn and head back towards Manali.

Its almost 4.00 pm when we reach town. Park the car at the Hotel. Decide to walk down to The Mall area. Arshad decides to rest for some time and heads back to the hotel. Dinesh and me decide to stroll along the Mall. I suddenly realise that I need a good pair of shoes for the onward journey. The present ones are not preventing water from entering, and that is something, I'm not too comfortable with. So off we go to scout for some nice hiking boots. Into one small lane and an even smaller shop. But the variety he has, just amazes me. Try on a few and settle for a First Outdoor ankle length hiking shoe. Am told its waterproof. Credit cards not accepted. So off looking for an A.T.M. For all its advertising, Axis bank, doesn't have an A.T.M in Manali! The funds in the BOB account are still not cleared. Will have to wait another day to withdraw from that account. (My advice to fellow travellers:- If travelling within India, get yourself a S.B.I. Account and A.T.M. card. There is a S.B.I. ATM everywhere and I mean really everywhere!)

On the way back to the hotel, look up at the sky and for the first time in many days, see the sun shining. There is a huge smile plastered on Dinesh's and my face. We are the only two Idiots in the middle of the Mall looking up at the sky and the mountains with this stupid grin on our faces. If this weather holds, we will surely be crossing Rohtang tomorrow. The rest of the public, could hardly be bothered. They were way too busy, buying stuff, walking around, eating GolGappas, et al!

Return back to the Hotel, to give Arshad the good news bout the weather. Head to the terrace of the Hotel to capture some images of the mountains. Some truly scenic views all around.

Photo-op session over and we head for a cup of tea in the Dining room. Meet Vinayak and Rajeshbhai again. Some cars were allowed to pass today, but very few. The landslides are still continuing. We take the advice of Rajeshbhai, who suggests that we should stay one more day in Manali and allow the area to stabilise and the BRO (Border Roads Organization) to do a thorough clearing of the road. Sounds like a good and practical suggestion. So crossing Rohtang is out for another day.

All three of us decide to go back to the Mall, me to buy the shoes, Arshad to loiter around and Dinesh to guide us! LOL. Reach the shoe shop, wear the shoes, ask for a discount before buying, no luck with that. Get to chatting with the shop owner and ask him about the durability of the shoe. He insists that it will last for a really long time. Dinesh comments: Is it "CHALA TOH CHAND TAK, YA PHIR SHAAM TAK!" This has the shopkeeper in splits. We have made his day. He says that he will not forget this phrase and use it whenever necessary! Since we have given him something to remember us by, we ask for more of a discount, he insists on serving us tea!

Return to the Hotel for dinner. The dinner is a feast of Trout stuffed with a chutney.(Sort of like the Paatra Ni Machhi). Its delicious! We are joined at the dinner table by Padma Tashi a tour organizer from Leh. He has just come into Manali from Leh by car, driving down a group of tourists. The situation at the Rohtang pass is very grim. He also suggests that we should wait for one more day and allow the mountain to stabilise. So its decided, we spend one more day and two more nights in Manali :-(

Head back to our room. I make my first call to Mr. H.V. Kumar, the guiding light of many road travellers in India. I explain the situation to him and he totally agrees, that we should have a little patience and try for the day after tomorrow. No point in taking unnecessary chances he says. I am a little relieved, that he agrees with our plan of action. With this big load off our minds, we retire for the night. Tomorrow can be another lazing around day!

To be continued..............................