The Way We Travel

It was 1999. I was out of my college and used to stay in a Calcutta suburb. One Sunday morning in October, I got a call from a club member informing that there was a slide show in the evening.

The club was one of the many mountaineering clubs that we have in West Bengal. I had taken part in some trekkings with the club members in the past two years. This kindled the desire of travel, adventure travel to be precise, in me.

Those were the days of slides, projectors and screens. It was customary to have a slide show after every expedition or any major adventure. The slideshow would start in the evening after sunset and would run for 2-3 hours. There used to be competitions for slideshows, conducted by various adventure organisations. Members of one club would visit another, as a guest, to show slides and tell stories of their travel. There were gifted people who would tell stories in a manner that would leave the audience spellbound and mesmerized. You would be travelling with them in those faraway lands, through their slides and stories. After every such session, the urge to visit those places would increase manyfold. The itch would grow so much that you will start daydreaming about those places and the desire to travel there once, would be unstoppable. Yet lesser mortals, like me, would be grinding in the search of a livelihood. The dreams would still be there, somewhere lurking beneath. It would not be identified individually but would be there in you as a lump. Some or the other incident once in a while, would bring that dream out in the open. It would be rekindled and you would cherish it and then regret thinking that all the people can go and you are the only one who is left out, thinking ‘surely next time I will go’ will keep the dream alive.

That year (1999) the expedition was to Chamser Kangri in Ladakh Himalayas. It was the first time I saw Tsomoriri, albeit in pictures. Internet was scarce and available through dial-up modems. Information was personal in nature and not public, like what we have now. That evening the seeds of Ladakh were sown in my heart. Good 15 years back.

Prelude

For the last 15 years (time since I first dreamt of Ladakh) I and then we (me and my wife) for last 9 years and then us (we and our son) for the last 6 years, have travelled to many a place in the world. There have been very rare and challenging experiences that we have had together. My son is travelling from the age of 45 days. He has spent night, out in the Sahara Desert in December when he was just one and before his second birthday has experienced Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) in -15 C at the middle of the night braving the Norwegian and Finnish winter. In his seventh month he has been to Jungfraujoch (11300 feet) in Swiss Alps. And many more experiences in between, thus has become a seasoned 6 year old traveller in his own right.

But then, the conditions he was about to face was unparalleled. Nothing prepares you for your tryst with Ladakh than Ladakh herself. First time is always tough no matter what.

When we started talking about Ladakh in our household some four years back, it was always clear that it will be a self-drive. The caveats were many. We did not know from where we would start our journey. The origin of it. We did not have a car. And the biggest of all, I did not knew how to drive.

Finally when it was time for us to buy a car came, in the end of 2011 we were in Hyderabad. People suggested us to buy a hatch, as that would be easy to drive in the city. We thought, who needs a car in the city? Bike is sufficient, we need a car only for long drives, cross country runs, to go to Ladakh. So, we went for the city, Honda City it was.

Learned driving and bought the car in November 2011. We were eager to finally make our way to Ladakh. So, with 1000 KM of total driving experience we went for a road trip of 3500 KM to Madhya Pradesh, Agra and parts of Maharashtra, as a warm up and experience gathering trip, prior to Ladakh. That was an eye opener. Never in our wildest dream did we know the condition of roads in MP, back then in 2011. With 1000 KM under my belt, I became an astronaut and was riding on the lunar craters of MP roads. Oh boy, we did one big mistake, in no way we could take this Honda City to Ladakh.

With an unsuitable car and change of city, from Hyderabad to Bangalore, our dream once again went to the back burner. Only to be reignited in early 2014. By this time we were in possession of a Pajero SFX, the mountain goat, the perfect vehicle for any or no roads. So it was now or never. In May the serious planning started. My wife was taking care of the route to follow in Ladakh and the knowledge gathering and other nitty gritty of the travel. I was taking care of the vehicle preparation and the route to take, in the sprint stage of the journey from Bangalore to Leh. During that time I opened a thread to seek help from the learned members.

The Planning

Like most of the Ladakh trips our plan was also to go via Srinagar and come back through Manali. It helps in acclimatizing as the height gain is slow. We had not been to Kashmir before, this was one more reason for us. The target time was second week of September for three weeks. Less tourists, good weather, better roads, no snow, these were the prime reasons for choosing this time. Because of our past very bitter experience with Madhya Pradesh roads, we had decided we will go through Pune – Ahmedabad – Jaipur – Srinagar instead of travelling through Central India. Total number of days were 23 including 2 reserve days. We had planned to cover Zanskar as well in this trip. The detailed day by day plan can be found in the previously mentioned thread, for which the link was provided in the earlier post. Seeing this post of mine, I got a PM from a fellow BCMTian [MENTION=17069]nagzzz[/MENTION]. It so happened that he along with his wife, had their flight tickets booked for Leh for end of August from Bangalore. After a couple of visits to each other, we decided to travel together in our vehicle. That way we will have mutual support and each other to fall back on. By then, we had agreed on the dates, shifting from the original plan. 19th September we would start from Bangalore and 12 October we will make a touchdown back in Bangalore. Giving us a good 24 days.

The final team looked like this:

 

Some candies from Himachal for now

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Journey is the Destination

Day # 1 & 2

Link for the route we followed: http://goo.gl/maps/c38Bq

The day came when we were not talking about the trip in the future tense. Finally, the moment was there when I started the car and it was moving towards the main gate. ‘We are about to achieve our longest and most cherished dream. WE ARE GOING TO LADAKH.’

In short, I will list the things that we carried in the vehicle apart from our luggage. This does not go well with the flow of the story but might benefit someone planning for a similar trip.

1. Engine oil, coolant and brake oil.
2. 4 bungee cords to be used as luggage tie.
3. A shovel, to help in any vehicle salvage operation.
4. 8 numbers empty sunflower oil cans to carry extra fuel, which we filled from Leh.
5. 2.5 tonne rated hydraulic jack.
6. Stanley Socket set.
7. Stanley Box and open spanner set.
8. Funnel for refueling from the cans.
9. Thick nylon rope.
10. Jumpstart/Jumper cable.
11. 5 tonne rated tow cable.
12. Portable tyre inflator.
13. Tyre pressure gauge.
14. Extra Wipers, and bulbs.
15. Sleeping Bags and a 4 man tent.
16. 2 Ltr, portable gas cylinder.
17. 2 numbers 5 ltr water cans.
18. A very heavy blanket, to cover the car bonnet in cold condition.

I am not listing food items and clothing, these are personal preferences. Would like to mention here that we had enough to sustain for 3 days for five persons in extreme distress condition.

Naga had to attend office on Friday and I did not want to lose a day by starting on Saturday morning. After doing many a discussion regarding the actual start date and time, we decided that we will start in the evening and drive through the night to reach Ahmedabad, some 1500 KMs. The expectation was to reach by early evening the next day and have a good night’s sleep. It was my first drive through the night, but since we were two of us on the steering, we decided to do it this way.

Whoever is familiar with Bangalore would be knowing that Friday evening is the worst time to drive through the Outer Ring Road from Electronic City to Hebbal at around 5 PM. We were going to pick up Naga and Divya. They were waiting on the ORR after crossing Ramamurthy Nagar. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes from our home to the point they were waiting. Yes, a delayed start it became. The target time for the places that I had in mind was definitely going to be breached. After the final loading of the luggage, we were all set.

When we were near Hebbal, Paramita called [MENTION=20394]mithun123[/MENTION] who was already in Leh. Luckily she could connect to him, he updated us the weather and permit condition in Leh. We took the Hesarghatta route to reach Tumkur Road. For the detailed route please refer to the google map link. After filling at a fuel station on reaching Tumkur Road we were making a dash. We stopped for dinner at around 9 PM and then again continued. Naga took over the control and I was trying to catch some sleep. Was not easy, but then I did manage to have a power nap of about 45 min twice in that night. We changed hands, couple of times and proceeded to Pune. My target of 6 AM was off by two hours.

By 9 am we had crossed Pune town and were heading towards Mumbai. It was overcast sky with light drizzle to heavy rain. Lush green all around.

 

Good time we were having, until we had our share of traffic jam while crossing Lonavala.

 

Every time a tunnel would come my son would be super excited.

At 11 AM on Saturday morning we were passing by Mumbai streets, had to encounter a good amount of traffic driving through the city. Do not know if there is any bypass, was just driving as per Google map.

It was heavily raining..

12:30 PM we were cruising on the Mumbai – Ahmedabad highway with close to 436 km left and were off target by quite a distance. Our plan of reaching early in the evening and resting well was not going to be materialized.

 

5:30 PM in the evening we reached Sardar Bridge over Narmada in Bharuch and it to the first major traffic jam of our trip. Which took hours to pass.

The sunset over Narmada was giving us some respite from the otherwise stifling traffic jam.

After taking the Vadodara Ahmedabad Express Highway, 8:30 PM we were in Ahmedabad town looking for hotels. We stayed one in the Ahmedabad – Jaipur highway so that the exit from Ahmedabad would be easier the next day.

1630 KM in 27 and a half hours with many appropriate breaks in between. Shall I need to say that we were dead tired but the day ended in satisfaction. Yes, we could make it – was written all over our faces.

Day # 3

Link for the route we followed: http://goo.gl/maps/aQunW

6:45 AM was the start from Jaipur. After taking an early morning bath our car was ready for the day’s duty.

Waiting for breakfast in the hotel would have cost us a lot of time. It was decided to have breakfast on the way. We were already on the Jaipur highway and this helped to give us a good start. The distance to be covered was around 700 KM. So again the expectation was to reach by early evening. After getting out the Ahmedabad city limits, we did a mistake of going straight instead of right that would have taken us to Udaipur. The reason was google. It wanted us to take the shortest route and not necessarily the faster route. By the time we could realise we were already some 20 -25 KM in the wrong road and did a course correction and came back to the same point to take the road towards the left which is the one that we should have taken the in first place.

We had stopped for a tea break. Have been relaxing a little.

 

 

My son was getting bored by the monotonous road and needed to be engaged. He started watching a movie in the laptop while we were busy negotiating the road. Naga had been in Jaipur before, as per his suggestion it was decided that we will have our dinner in “Chokhi Dhani”. We did not have time to look around in Jaipur, at least we wanted to have some authentic Rajasthani food and some fun.

Handicrafts stall was another attraction of this place.

 

There were performances by the folk artists.

So it was Rajasthan in a nutshell in Chokhi Dhani. We reached there at 7:30 PM finding our way through the Jaipur roads. After having some great food we were headed towards the hotel. This time as well we opted to stay somewhere near Jaipur – Delhi Highway. To finally find a hotel took some time. And thus we ended the 3rd day of the trip.

 

Day # 4

Link for the route we followed: http://goo.gl/maps/ABvZ7

8AM start was a delayed one. But then, the previous evening was hectic. Body needed some rest. Road widening work is going on in in the Jaipur – Delhi highway. We had expected the day to start bad enough. The first 160 KM stretch was on NH8 till near Rewari. After that internal Haryana roads till Rohtak. But when we started, in spite of having truck traffic and diversions we were not doing bad at all. We clocked the maximum speed in the Rohtak – Panipat section of the trip at 160 KMPH, the roads were empty and straight.

Leaving plains and approaching the mountains. We were thrilled, coming closer to our dreams.

 

Our plan for night halt was Theog. Bypassing the Shimla crowd and giving us a head start for the next day. By the time we were entering Shimla, it was already evening and every turn of the road was leading us to a new traffic jam. Cars were parked on both sides of the road. Leaving a very narrow portion for vehicular traffic.

This made our progress very slow and we could not make it till Theog. So, at the end of the day the place of choice for night stay was Kufri. By the time we did hotel hunting and found a place to stay, it was 8:45 PM.

The next day we were to start the Himachal leg of our journey. The actual start. Exciting times were ahead and the infamous Himachal roads were waiting for us, to prowl.

 

Day # 5

Link for the route we followed: http://goo.gl/maps/2xeWT

With late arrival, an early start was mostly ruled out. We were very eager to start our journey for the day. This would be the most awaited part of the journey. The earlier stage was just a commute to the starting point, though we equally enjoyed the stage.

At the breakfast table my son was very excited to see the clouds from the window. We took out our DSLR for the first time. My wife was busy clicking.

Sea of clouds with island of mountain. This was the breakfast view from Kufri.

My son totally immersed in his own world with the clouds and the mountains.

Our start was at 8:15 AM. We were thrilled to find the road ahead lost in mist. This was forcing us to go slow.

Soon we were out of the mist and could enjoy the view around. It was clear sky for most of the time in our entire trip. This day was no exception. It’s been a long time that we went back to the Himalayas. Moreover it was the first time for our son. He was so awe struck, that every bend of the road he would be asking if it was still Himalayas and would be happy to know that it was. It took some time for him to understand that we will be in the Himalayas for quite some days.

Around 12 PM we reached Rampur and filled up the tank. Had tea and snacks. Bought Asthalin inhaler, this came out to be effective as we had to use it a couple of times in Ladakh. By this time our son had taken out his camera and started clicking.

This is one of his captures.

And then it was time for us to step on the land of the Gods – Kinnaur.

For the next 45 minutes we could hardly make any progress, stopping many a time for the customary shots of the famous rock cut roads. Sometimes it was us in the pictures, sometimes the car and yet some other time just the road. Next few pictures are the result of this.

 

 

 

Doing all this took a toll on time and soon it was 2 PM and we were left with a long road ahead. Around 2:30 PM we reached Tapri. We reached a spot where many vehicles had stopped. We parked ours at a side and went to enquire. Soon came to know that there has been a massive landslide and the road is closed for months now between Tapri and Chooling. We were asked to wait by the solitary policeman for the oncoming vehicles. But we found many vehicles were actually proceeding without stopping. When we asked him whether we can go as well, he said since ours was a car we can go but cautiously, as there are trucks coming from the other direction and the road is narrow.

We started again and too soon realized that the policeman forgot to tell “very very” when he said the road is narrow. Multiple times we had to reverse for 40 to 50 meters and wait for the trucks to pass. There were plenty of them. The vehicles were passing by with couple of inchs between them and barely a foot from the sheer drop. It was scary to the core.

Our vehicle was waiting for the trucks to pass.

At 4:15 PM we were near the Karcham dam. The worst part of the day was over.

 

 

In between Sangla to Chitkul we saw hundreds of ships grazing, which is a very normal sight here and we all love to see. But little do we realize the effect of it on the forest. These are not wild animals but domesticated ones by man for his own benefit. By over grazing they are reducing the vegetation, which leads to soil erosion. In such a fragile ecosystem as is the Himalayas, it will cause havoc.

It was nearing 6 PM and we saw the majestic first view of Kinnaur Kailash.

We were approaching Chitkul.

We reached Chitkul at 6 PM and before we could look for hotel we were clicking picture of the last magical rays

 

With the advantage of being in such a place with clear sky I had to attempt this.

After dinner started the car to bring up the temperature to the half point mark and then put a blanket on the engine and closed the bonnet. This was our routine for the next many days.

 

Day # 6

Link for the route we followed: http://goo.gl/maps/PCxlX

When you are in the first day of your actual travel in the mountains, getting up before sunrise to take some snaps is almost mandatory, if you are not feeling too lazy. We got up at 5:30 am and went out to capture some serene moments.

This was some crop which they had harvested. We could not make out what it was (was it Ramdana?).

There is a road getting constructed till Gangotri, which can be seen in this picture, though not too clear from this angle. We were told that it will be completed in next few years. The total distance is some 40 KM from Chitkul. Do not know the veracity of this claim. My be the next time we come here this will be an alternate entry or exit point for this valley.

The first rays of Sun hitting the peaks, the reward of waking up early in the morning cold. Truly golden moments.

 

Sun was still not out in the open and was hiding. This was taken moments before it came out and gave us some warmth.

We left Chitkul at around 8 AM. By the time we were ready to leave, the Sun was all over the bonnet of the car. I managed to start the car after some good 10 mins, this was with the bonnet having been covered by a very heavy army blanket. We had breakfast at Sangla after more than one hour. I can live eating momos for days together without complaining. But I must admit neither did I had good momos in this trip nor was it the most available food in the menu. But, in Sangla we had good mutton momos as an exception.

The pictures that we could not take the day before, as we were passing through these places quite late, we took in the morning. The beauty of the place was evident in this early morning light. We could not stop clicking.

The cute little devils of destruction or shall I say tasty link in the food chain, were causing a mini jam. 

In the valley below we found some tents belonging to a camp. This place could be an alternative to Chitkul for staying.

This was one of the few amateurish water crossing we passed on the way. These crossings would excite my son and we were instructed to splash as much water as possible. This was one of the places where we could oblige him. And he was very happy.

We were in search of apple orchards since we passed Rampur, and finally found a small one. My knowledge of apple classification is limited to the colour of the apple. Hence green apple, red apple, white apple etc. etc. The last one is made in the Chinese factories. The first two are the Rampuri versions.

Yes, the green apples…

…and the red ones.

Wish I could ever have stayed back in such a place.

Bright sunny day and sunflower both does mood upliftment.

Once we came back to the Karcham Dam site, we revisited this very philosophical signage. Is the the place for ultimate salvation?

The roads were so bad in this stretch that even though there was space available most of the vehicles were not interested in overtaking the vehicle in the front. Tailgating albeit from a distance resulted in a bit of relaxation in this tiring stretch.

 

 

Soon we found two army gypsy and we diligently followed them till Pooh showing no urgency to overtake them and speed ahead.

 

All three vehicles were moving in unison and we were overtaking other vehicles on our way. The similar capability of the vehicles ensured that this was possible.

 

We came cross some real bravehearts and were awed by their effort and sheer perseverance.

Finally came Pooh, the gypsys parted there way and we got better roads from this point onwards.

The landscape and the nature of rock keeps changing in every turn of the mountain.

 

A totally barren village where the road remains camouflaged. No apparent water source, might be they are having a stream passing through the village but there is no sign of it from a distance.

We knew that we will be missing the famous moonscape of Lamayuru but as a consolation we did find somewhat similar landscape in many places in Himachal and Ladakh.

 

Across the gorge a loan villager was carrying firewood. It was time to go home and we were yet reach our night halt.

Finally we reached Tabo, at 6:15 PM, as it turned out, it was our destination for the day. We were headed to Kungri that day but could only make it thus far.