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..............................

DEV BHOOMI - Day 3

6th July 2010.

Wake up a little later than the past two days. Has been raining all through the night (I know, cos I woke up once in the middle to pick up a Razai to cover myself, Arshad had hogged the blanket for himself). Dinesh is already up and ready. Shaved and had a lovely hot water bath. Am hoping that the rains subside, or actually stop. The attendant arrives with the tea. Breakfast not available, so will have to make alternative arrangements. The attendant informs us rather sheepishly, that there are some charges to be paid for using the Officers Mess facilities. We ask him:- Kitna Dena Hoga? Almost apologetically he tells us Rs. 150.00. I almost spilled my tea, when I heard the amount. Any decent hotel would have charged us nothing less than Rs 2000.00 for a room of that size. We pay up and add a tip of Rs. 100.00, for services rendered and hoping to be attended to well, on our return journey!

The rains are playing a bit of spoil sport, but our enthusiasm has not faded. Today we will be reaching Manali. We leave the Officers Mess at around 9.20 am. Chandigarh looks pretty different in the day. Was less crowded last night, maybe it was the late hour and the Bandh. Today its a lot more of traffic and everybody heading towards work I guess. Good wide and clean roads.

After a couple of wrong turns and asking directions, we are finally onto NH21 heading to Manali. We reach Kurali Toll plaza at around 10.25 am. Stop for breakfast just after the toll plaza, at Lee Rose Fast Food and Restaurant. We order for Aloo Parathas. The Fast Food is a misnomer. The food came anything but fast. Leisurely breakfast (not entirely our fault) and we move on.

The rains have somewhat subsided. So the going is pretty smooth. There are patches of the highway, where widening and other works are happening, so some small diversions. Cross Ropar at around 11.35 am. A little after Ropar, we come across a bridge over a river. Interesting part is that the colour of the water is practically like chocolate. There is a spot where the water from a canal mingles with the water of the river. We stop to take a few photos.

This is the first time that we get a glimpse of the Great Himalayas in the distance. They will not leave us, neither will we leave them, for the next 12 days and boy are we glad! We move on and reach Swarghat (Not to be confused with Swargate by Puneites!) by around 1.10 pm. The climbs, the descents, the twists and turns have begun. It is truly a wonderful drive. Arshad and me are as excited as a couple of schoolboys. Dinesh more or less has a very "Been here done this expression" on his face, having done these journeys a couple of times earlier. Though it is his first time driving on these roads! We stop to have teas and capture some images on camera.

We move on, after a short break of around 20 mins. and soon pass towns and villages of Kullur, Bilaspur, Nauni, Lakhanpur, Hamirpur, Barmana. Barmana has a huge ACC cement factory (don't really know whom this is of interest to, besides me!), so the road is a little blocked by the truck traffic and trucks parked on the side waiting to enter the factory.

Pass Slapper (yes thats right), Charol, Sundarnagar, Ner Chowk and reach Mandi at around 4.20 pm. Head on towards Pandoh. At Pandoh we were informed that the road ahead to Manali via Aut is closed, due to the river Beas overflowing and submerging the road. This is the first time that we are facing a situation, wherein nature has conspired to thwart our journey. The unprecedented rains have necessitated some dam gate upstream being opened, resulting in the overflowing Beas. Traffic has been stuck since 11.00 am. in the morning. Was that bad news! We are informed of a single lane road, over the mountains from Mandi, passing through the villages of Kumand, Kataula and onwards to Bajora, bypassing Aut completely. We decide to head back to Mandi and try out this road.

Reach Mandi at around 5.30 pm., and stop to ask for proper directions. The shopkeeper in Mandi, tells us categorically, no point in taking that road, because it will most definitely be jammed with traffic. He insists that we should stay back in Mandi and leave the next day, when the water has subsided. A much better option according to him, rather than being stuck in a one lane road, without proper food and shelter. We ignore his suggestions and decide to carry on. (Having sleeping bags, food and warm clothing, in the car probably made the decision easier). We move on and hit the one lane road. A few kms. on and we reach our first major traffic jam. Being a one lane road, there is a snarl due to a Local transport bus being unable to pass due to cars lined up on one side.

The cops finally arrive to sort out matters. After about an hour, things ease up a bit and finally we are moving. Arshad takes over and drives for around 20 mins, until we reach our next TJ. This one seems huge. Cars just lined up, engines shut, everybody out of their cars, walking around, no concrete information, just that it will be sorted out soon! We wait, Dinesh catches a few winks, Arshad and me walk around, admiring the scenery and the quaint villages in the valleys. After about an hour, the three of us are resigned to the possibility of having to spend quite some time here, maybe the whole night. Do a check on the food and water situation, we are comfortable.

Still trying to gather some information regarding the TJ, very hard to come by. Finally someone with some pucca info tells us that we are just about a Km. away from Kataula. That is the good news. The bad news, there is an Army convoy, coming in from the Bajora side, that has got stuck in the village itself. Looks like its going to be a long wait, a very long wait!

At around 8.00pm. see some senior police officials arriving. Finally someone, who can probably give us some good information. Alas we were wrong. They seemed to be as clueless as us. Many calls over the cell and the walkie talkies, they tell us that the situation at Kataula village looks grim. The army trucks are unable to move, causing the other side of vehicles to be stuck. After a few minutes the senior lady police officer, informs us that the road at Aut is open and that traffic is now moving smoothly. No water on the road.

Its 8.30 pm. and we decide to head back to Mandi and onwards to Manali. What was going to be leisurely drive to Manali, is turning out to be a major Traffic saga! Reach Mandi at 9.15 pm. A lot of cars follow us, back down to Mandi. Head on towards Pandoh. Stop for Diesel at Pandoh at 9.45 pm and dinner thereafter. Have a quick delicious simple veg. fare at a roadside dhaba. I can't believe that I have managed to survive without my customary teas!

10.00 pm. and we leave for Manali. Arshad goes off to catch some sleep, I am driving, Dinesh beside me. Its raining quite a bit. Dinesh contacts the hotel in Manali (Hotel Marble), informs them of our impending late arrival. He is told by the hotel manager, that a group coming in from Leh is stuck on the other side of Rohtang, due to a landslide. So we will not be the only ones arriving late. Vinayak, the organiser of the tour group is a close friend of Dinesh. He is the person who will be arranging our accommodation and other things in Ladakh.

Driving on through the rain, through poor visibility we pass through the tunnel before Aut. All along, I can only hear the Beas river, unable to catch a glimpse due to the rain and poor visibility. Progress is a little slow. After passing over some bad roads, due to the rains, we finally reach Manali check post at 12.10 am. Pay up the Rs. 300.00 entry and parking charges for Manali, valid for a period of 7 days. Reach Hotel Marble at 12.10 am.

Some good news at the hotel. Vinayak and his group have arrived from the other side of Rohtang. They had to cross the area covered by the landslide on foot and then get into other cars and come to Manali. The Tempo Traveller they were travelling in, was still stuck on the other side of the landslide.

We meet up with Vinayak, Mr. Bhim(Hotel Manager), Mr Ramesh Bhai (Tourist car/bus service owner), exchange pleasantries, gather information. Rohtang pass looks unpassable the next day. So our plans of heading on to Jispa/ Sarchu look bleak.

Nice double bedded room, with decent sized Bath cum Toilet. Thankfully there is hot water. We wash up. Can you believe, there are no fans in any of the rooms in the Hotel!!!! This would be the case in every place we stayed, right upto Shimla!

The three of us, gather for a post midnight discussion regarding the next days drive. Decide to give the drive to Jispa/ Sarchu a miss for tomorrow, and let the weather and road conditions stabilise, before driving through Rohtang pass. The news on TV is that there have been floods in Haryana, Punjab and NH1 near Ambala has been shut down, due to waterlogging. Boy are we glad that we missed that!

Decide to finally retire for the night. We can sleep late. Nowhere far to go the next day!

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