Pedaling Up Jalori Pass

YHAI National Mountain Biking Expedition 2013 - Jalori Pass

Our group : MB 20 - An awesome bunch of people

“It is well said, ‘Do not wish for something that you might regret later’, these were the exact thoughts running through my mind when I was 1 km short of the last destination on the final ascend to Sojha, our final camp before Jalori Pass at about 9000 ft. Everything that happened prior to the trip, the excitement, the practice & the eagerness had all come down to this final day. But, frankly, there are no regrets; instead there is a sense of achievement of having pushed ourselves to the limits and having completed the biking expedition to Jalori Pass.

Prior to the trip, Myself, Shyam & Akhilesh had made a pact that we will cycle the entire route and not resort to “zero gear biking” as far as possible J

Well what exactly happened will surely unfold as you read along J"

Right from the start the trip was jinxed with all possible uncertainties. We had initially booked the batch starting from 24^th May but had to cancel the same and book the 1^st June batch, all thanks to Mandar. By the way, Mandar we are still awaiting the reimbursement for the cancellation charges J

Thanks to Shyam for being a sweetheart in adjusting our request to reschedule the trip and all this without Mandar’s knowledge in order to surprise him on his SPECIAL DAY. Having booked the trip 3 months in advance, it was only a week before the commencement date that we finally had confirmation from all participants; Sachin, Akhilesh and Shyam (hereafter referred to as SAS)

We did all the shopping for the trip post attending Mandar’s wedding. We had just about bought the entire Dadar market. Frankly, much of that stuff was not even used during the trip J We did all the packing during the week preceding the trip and were ready to leave for the trip.    

Day 0 - 30^th & 31^st May 2013: Bombay Central to New Delhi, Delhi Tour & Delhi to Kullu

The day started off quite early. Got ready and loaded the backpack on my shoulders. Had plans to go to office by train but very soon realized that carrying such a load on my back in the train would be torturous. So, took a cab to office and deposited the luggage in the security room. The rest of the day in office was quite lame as the focus had now shifted towards the trip. Had to board the August Kranti Rajdhani Express from Bombay Central Terminus (BCT) in Mumbai.

Had planned to leave at 4 PM from office. But Murphy had to strike and was thus delayed. Left office half an hour later than planned. Took a cab and rushed to BCT. Akhilesh and Shyam had already reached BCT. Met them at the terminus. Had some snacks at the canteen and by then the train had arrived at the platform. Akhilesh in the meanwhile finally managed to purchase a 32 GB memory card outside BCT which we had suggested not to. Our seats were reserved and unfortunately our seats were along with the RAC seats. There was some chaos on the seats and the same was finally resolved by the TC only when he came in to check the tickets at Surat. Till then the fate of the people on RAC tickets was uncertain. Now that we had all settled down, we had a round of introduction with the other passengers. We were obviously the centre of attraction for the other passengers given the large size of our bagpacks clubbed with our enthusiam and excitement. There was Gurudutt from Mumbai who was going to Delhi for some official work. He joined us for a game of cards. I & Gurudutt were partners against Shyam and Akhilesh. Well to put it in simple words, we demolished them in the card games as Shyam & Akhilesh were amazed at Gurudutt's and my brilliance in contrast to their stupid moves J

SAS in August Kranti Rajdhani Express

Myself & Shyam with Gurudutt in the train

The train took a halt at Surat station. Akhilesh got off the train and was roaming on the platform. We assumed that he would come on time and thus Shyam and I we got busy chatting in the corridor. Just then the train started moving and there were no signs of Akhilesh. Initially we thought that he might be in the restroom and thus waited in the corridor. It was embarrassing to see who comes out of the rest room which was followed by the disappointment of it not being Akhilesh J By now that soup was being served and this was followed by dinner.  We finished the meal and by then Vadodara had arrived. This time we were more cautious and thus all of us got off the train and had a long walk on the platform. By the time we realized we had already come a long way from our compartment. So, we got into the compartment close to us and walked back through the train to our compartment. We finally reached our compartment after having walked past some 14-15 compartments J It was followed by a game of cards and then we decided to call it a day. We plugged in the mobile phones and camera batteries for charging and went off to sleep. Akhilesh had a unique set of rechargeable batteries. They take infinity to charge fully. The indicators of the batteries being fully charged were 2 green LED’s which have to be switched off. Frankly all through the ten day trip we never got the opportunity to see the LED’s switched off J

At the break of dawn we had probably reached somewhere close to Mathura. Breakfast was served. But considering the kind of appetite we have we needed a second helping J so we decided to give it a try and requested the train attendants if we can have a second round of breakfast. He hesitantly agreed but kept his word and we enjoyed the second round of breakfast. We returned the favor by tipping the train attendant appropriately.  We finally reached Delhi at around 11 AM. We got off at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Terminus. We immediately felt the difference in temperature. Getting off the AC train directly into the Delhi heat. Not that there was much difference in the temperature of Mumbai and Delhi. But the dry heat of Delhi was killing considering that we are used to the Mumbai humidity. Since we had around 4-5 hours to spend in the national capital we decided to roam around a bit.  Gurudutt suggested that we visit the Akshardham temple which was the closest to the terminus and avoid getting stuck in the unpredictable Delhi traffic considering that we had a bus to board in the evening. We would easily spend around couple of hours over there. He also cautioned us not to be fooled around by the auto rickshaw drivers and end up paying too much for the fare.

With these handy tips we got out of the terminus and straight away we were poached by the waiting entourage of auto rickshaw drivers who started quoting fares to Akshardham twice or thrice the actual fare. We finally managed to find an auto driver who quoted a reasonable fare of 70 bucks. You can call it confidence or callousness but he frankly told us that it would cost you around 50 bucks by meter but I will take 20 bucks extra. We went along and he introduced himself as Vinay, a very interesting character with a unique take on life. He had a photograph of Mallika Sherawat on the rear view mirror and after much probing & teasing about Mallika, he surprised us by saying that he loves his wife J He dropped us at the entrance of the temple and we paid him the decided fare.

Shyam & Me @ Akshardham Temple

We entered Akshardham and were immediately the subject for discussion for the other visitors at the temple. We frankly could not blame them either as anyone would start staring at three young guys visiting a temple with at least ten kg of loaded bag packs. We deposited the luggage at the security counter. The attendant at the counter too had a tough time trying to take our luggage into the cloak room. We then continued towards the entrance of the temple through yet another security counter. Finally after all the checks we made it into the temple. We bought the information guide from the counter. It was a grand temple with idols of many Hindu deities. We roamed around the temple and spent at least a couple of hours in the temple premises. Apart from the Hindu deities there are statues of great Indian leaders, mythological characters and young achievers out up in the open lawn with an audio running continuous to explain the history and information related to each of them. We decided to sit in the corridor and prepare some plans to utilize the extra days that we have post the trek. We somehow managed to make some tentative plans with hopes of sticking to those plans.

 

Akshardham Temple from Metro Station

With all the roaming around within the temple premises in the sweltering Delhi heat made us hungry and thirsty. We took a halt at the cafeteria in the temple and had some snacks with cold drinks. We then moved ahead and performed the “Abhishek” at the Swami Narayan temple. Now it was time to visit the main temple which had a series of stairs and we are supposed to walk bare feet on them. We had second thoughts considering the marble flooring and the hot summer heat beating down on it. But strangely the flooring is made up of some material which does not absorb heat and it was not as hot as we taught. We took a round inside the temple which was a classical example of Indian designs and history. Upon visiting the temple and exploring so much of it; the fact that this temple has been declared as the largest temple complex in the world by UNESCO didn't take us by surprise. We finally decided to leave since we had to board the bus at 4:30 PM to Kullu.

Shyam & Me @ Akshardham Metro Station

Shyam & Me while waiting for the Metro

Delhi Metro

Shyam & Akhilesh in the Metro towatds Rajiv Chowk

SAS inside the Delhi Metro towards Vidhan Bhavan 

We left Akshardham temple and decided to take the Metro to go towards our boarding point in Delhi to a place called “Majnu Ka Tila”. Prior to which we had a superb session of Goti Soda (making us nostalgic of the good old childhood). We were very glad that Delhi still caters to people’s thirst with this awesome drink. With some help from locals and the security guards at the temple, we got directions to reach our boarding point. We had a hectic time trying to get directions with every second person giving us different options and routes to follow. We finally spoke to the person on the ticket counter who after consulting his colleague finally gave us the option of traveling till Vidhan Bhavan via Rajiv Chowk. We boarded the Metro from the Akshardham station. Vidhan Bhavan was the closest Metro station to “Majnu Ka Tila”. I must say the experience traveling by the Delhi Metro was awesome. Come on Mumbai gear up and come up with something equally awesome or even better. One striking observation I had about the Metro was the cleanliness maintained at all the places. The most stark observation was though the absence of the infamous "Red Terror" created by people consuming paan, tobacco and gutkha which we Mumbaikars are very used to. We got off at Vidhan Bhavan and took an auto rickshaw from there. He dropped us at the travel’s office. We had done prior bookings on redbus.in via Asian Shina Travels. Here we met the first of the 3 Karthik’s which we happened to meet during various point of times during out trip. Karthik 1 was from Hyderabad and he was also going towards Kullu. He had enrolled for the YHAI “Keep Rohtang Clean” volunteer program. He had bookings in the same bus but his seat was away from us. Being a fellow Andhraite, he got along well with Shyam and sometime in the middle of the conversation they would start talking to me and Akhilesh also in Telugu J. The bus was of course late and thus we decided to have some snacks. We managed to find a small hotel where we had some snacks. By now we had figured out there was some problem with the bus bookings since it was over an hour from the scheduled time and there was no signs of the bus. By God’s grace, we were finally accommodated with another travels, with similar facilities. We managed to convince the bus attendant to change Karthik’s seat so that he can seat along with us. The locality around Majnu Ka Tila had many people with origins from the North East. We also happened to see some Buddhist monks who were probably on the way towards Manali.

SAS with Karthik on our way towards Kullu

Delhi Sunset
[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

The bus finally took off from Delhi towards Kullu at 6 PM. We got to enjoy the sunset on the Delhi skyline from the bus. The bus picked up good speed and just as we thought nothing could go wrong the AC stopped working. We found it very uncomfortable to sit in the bus with limited ventilation. We finally took a halt for dinner at around 9 PM at a dhaba. I don’t exactly remember the place but the driver & cleaner used this opportunity to try and fix the AC. They partly managed to get the AC working but the effect was not as strong. Well we said something is better than nothing. We chatted for about an hour while listening to beautiful old songs on our cellphones after that we finally decided to sleep since we were all tired from the travel during the day.      

Day 1 – 1^st June 2013: Reporting to Base Camp, Aut – Banala

At the break of dawn we entered the Aut tunnel, a 3 km tunnel just before the town of Aut. The route before the tunnel was quite exquisite, a winding road leading to the top of the hill and a roaring river flowing with all its might alongside. Just as we get out of the tunnel, we are greeted by a quirky voice of the bus attendant who calls out to the 3 of us to get ready to descend at Aut market. We get off the bus, collected our luggage and bid adieu to Karthik. There was a pleasant chill in the atmosphere. It felt really good considering the screw up that we had with the AC in the bus during the entire trip.

Signboard @ Aut Banala

Walking towards the Old Base Camp

The bus moved on and we loaded our bag packs on our shoulders. We tried to inquire about the YHAI base camp, but not many people in the market were aware of it. I had read it in some blogs that the base camp was about 500 meters from the Aut market. So, we decided to walk. About 100 meters ahead we met one guy just getting ready to open his shop. Much to our surprise he told us that the YHAI base camp has been shifted some 5 km ahead L

OMG, what a start!!!! We will have to walk 5 km in the morning with the loaded bag packs L we decided to walk at least till the old base camp and check if we can get some help from there to reach the new base camp. Just as we approached the old base camp, we saw two people standing outside the building with luggage in hand. We realized that we had company. Here we met Deepak and Priyal from Mumbai. A round of introductions and we decided to handle the task at hand of finding the base camp. We boarded a bus going towards Kullu and asked the conductor to drop us at Panarsa which was about 5 km from the place we boarded the bus. The first thing I realized about the bus ride was the way the bus driver drove the bus. These HPRTC drivers can surely give Michael Schumacher a run for his money. It requires great skill and control to be driving a bus at that speed and on the curvy roads of Himachal Pradesh.  Kudos to them. He dropped us at Panarsa and again we started asking some locals for directions. Finally we found a person who told us that we have come a km ahead. Actually the base camp is left behind, damn !!!! not again. This time we decided to walk considering it was only a km, but even this walk became interesting with the local dogs deciding to give us a welcome J the entire welcoming committee was ready and we finally made way through them and reached the base camp.

HPRTC Bus

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

The base camp was at the Café Adventure on the Kullu Manali Highway some 23 km short of Kullu. A YHAI representative was available at the entrance to show us the way. We entered the building and were shown the way towards the registration office. Here, we met Mr. Surajkumar Das and Mr. S.S. Mitra, the program in charge and program director respectively (hereafter referred to as Mr. Das and Mr. Mitra).  They gave us a warm welcome and we filled in all the registration formalities. We submitted the medical certificates. YHAI is very particular about the medical certificates and the format in which it is required. Deepak and Priyal did not have the same and they were asked to visit the local practitioner Dr. Ayush at Aut to get the medical certificates. Dr. Ayush became quite a legend in our group considering that there were quite a few participants who did not have the medical certificates J

Base Camp @ Aut Banala

The girls were provided accommodations in rooms while the guys were given tents for accommodation. The tents were nice and spacious assuming that the group size was smaller for this program. The base camp was a picturesque location. We had the river Beas running close to the base camp in all its might and a tall mountain right opposite it which were punctuated by a flying fox equipment and a power and water line across the river.

View from Base Camp

Towards the Left

Towards the Right

  

We got into the tent area where we met Siddharth and Parmarji from Vadodara, Gujarat. They had arrived a day earlier than the scheduled reporting date. Sid is a freelance photography and Parmarji works for Railways. We got settled in our tents and it was time for breakfast. Before breakfast we were requested to join in for the flag off for MB19 which was commencing their ride from today. We all gathered at the entrance of the base camp to see them off. All participants including a sixty five year’s young gentleman were all set for the ride. We took photographs from our cameras as well as their cameras hoping to get a similar flag off for ourselves. Loads of cheering and the group were flagged off by Mr. Mitra and Mr. Das.

MB 19 flagged off

Just after the flag off another member from our group had arrived from Delhi. Ritesh, an intern at Google who had just finished his internship a day ago and was straight away reporting for this program.  He was the guy with the most compact bag pack in the entire group. We were just amazed at what all would come out of his bag. He had probably done his shopping at Mom & Me or Jiny and Jony. He could easily pass off as a brand ambassador for Winzip considering the size of his luggage. We then moved on to have our breakfast. It was a pleasant change from the normal schedule where we got the opportunity to have breakfast with complete strangers close to a river and under the open sky….WOW !!

SAS outside our Tent

Now that our stomach was full, the next task was to have bath. There was a severe water shortage at the base camp. Frankly, with a river flowing in front of your eyes just 20 meters from the base camp, who needs to have bath in a normal bathroom. We were told by Mr. Das that the water is really cold and the currents are also very strong. So, if you plan to have bath in the river then only venture out a bit later by 11 AM when the sun is out in all its glory so that you do not feel the chill as much. Considering that it only 9 AM now and with not much to do around, we dared to get into the river. Frankly, I never thought the water would be this cold. It must have been somewhere close to 5 degrees and naturally so as it came from the melting snow in the mountains. We all were very cautious considering the strong currents and frankly even if the currents were not strong it would take some courage to get into the water at that temperature. Finally one by one everyone got down into the water feet first followed by other parts of the body. The water was really chilled, the entire body was numb. To add to the torture everyone started flashing water at each other. Frankly, this was an experience which became a routine for the next week. We just could not resist having bath in the river however chill the water’s were. All the camps in the program were selected meticulously such that river was a walking distance from the camp, an added incentive to have bath in the river J

Relaxing after the bath in the chilled river Beas

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Kayaking on Sand :)

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

We returned back and kept the clothes to dry out. Being tired from the overnight travel, we all took a power nap. A power nap turned out to be a long sleep. By the time we woke up it was lunch time. We had lunch and then decided to go out to roam a bit. We knew if we slept then we would not get up before evening. We were given instructions by Mr. Das that if we want to venture out on our own than we need to have prior permission from them. We got ready and went to take permission from Mr. Das to visit Kullu which was about 20 km from the base camp. But, Mr. Das instead suggested that we go to Bhuntar which was about 10 km so that we can come back by 5:30 for the YHAI briefing. So, we reluctantly agreed but finally went to Kullu J We boarded the HPRTC bus to Kullu and we were once again treated to an amazing ride. The driver played some vintage songs from the 90’s which we had not heard for ages.                   

With the conductor in the bus towards Kullu

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

We finally reached Kullu in about an hour. We spoke to the bus conductor to suggest some places to visit in Kullu. He suggested that we visit the Vaishnav Mata Mandir which was about 3 km from the Kullu depot. We took a auto rickshaw to the temple. He dropped us at the entrance. At first it looked like a multi storey residential building. But as we got in we were amazed at the way the temple was designed. It comprised of multiple floors each interconnected and each of the floors dedicated to multiple Hindu deities. The building also housed lodging and boarding arrangements for pilgrims who come from far away and on one of the floors "prasad" was also being served. We visited the entire temple and came out as early as possible since we had to adhere to the 5:30 PM curfew. We took another bus from there to the Kullu depot and then boarded the bus going towards Mandi which would drop us till Banala. With about 4-5 bus rides by now since yesterday we noticed one peculiar thing about the conductors. They all had a crew hair cut with a thin trimmed mustache, clean shave and a navy blue outfit. We also came to know that due to some recent accident standees were not allowed on the bus floor and with more people and fewer seats it become a problem which was quickly resolved by the good nature of the locals who managed to accommodate fourth person on seats meant for three reminding us of the fourth seat battles in Mumbai lifeline “the Suburban Local Train”. Had a nice chat with the locals in the bus who told us some interesting stories about Kullu and their take on life. It feels really good that sometimes the simple things in life can be so cherishing. We urbanites keep slogging day in and day out for monetary benefits but don’t have the peace of mind to enjoy it. We finally reached the base camp with 10 minutes to spare J    

Mata Vaishnav Mandir @ Kullu

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

HPRTC Bus Conductor in the attire as described above :)

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Mr. Das requested everyone to assemble at the lawn for a formal round of introductions. Hot soup was served and everyone sat in a circle on the grass. We started the introductions. Mr. Das had some pointers to highlight as part of everyone’s introduction which should include your profession, interests, purpose of coming for this program and expectations from the program. The introductions went really good and we came to know a lot about each other. Mr. Das also briefed us on the history of YHAI and the purpose of the organization. We were surprised to know that YHAI has its origin in Germany. The camp site had a nice dog. We named him “Arthritis” because of the structure of his hind legs. Priyal bought some new sweet dish from Chandigarh named “Chenna Murki”, it tasted by a smaller variant of the Bengali “rasgullas” minus the sugar syrup. 

Shyam, Ritesh, Parmarji & Siddharth during Introductions @ Base Camp

Camp Dog "Arthritis"

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The group leader, deputy group leader, environment in charge and the master of ceremonies (MC) were elected. Sid was named the group leader who is supposed to lead the group in the cycling trip, I was named the deputy group leader who is supposed to follow the group at the end, Priyal was named the environment in charge who is responsible to ensure that no one in the group litter’s any waste during the entire trip and Shyam was named the MC to coordinate the camp fire. Frankly said, none of these worked out and we all failed miserably at our jobs J

The evening gave a beautiful view of the sun setting in the hills which we Mumbaikars are not used to thanks to the beautiful sea face on the west coast. Upon nightfall we could see a lights scattered far and few on the mountain giving evidence of human habitation on those hilly terrains. This was followed by the call for dinner. We finished with the dinner and then all of us were called for camp fire. Well we all associate a camp fire around a bonfire but YHAI has some rules which do not allow burning of wood. Hence the camp fire is done without fire. Shyam being the MC was given the task to get everyone to either sing, share jokes or come up with something interesting. Akhilesh was the real winner here all thanks to his singing and lyrical skills. Till now only 8 members had arrived. There were 2 members (Abhishek and Ketul) from the earlier batch who had completed their trek in the morning who were also part of the camp fire. We had a surprise visit by the local Sarpanch Mr. Mahant. He had some motivational words for us along with a political speech on their accomplishments towards the betterment of Kullu. He stressed a lot on the fact that there is enough reason to believe that Himachal Pradesh is called “Dev Bhumi” (God’s land) and frankly I concur to this fact J

Just as we were getting ready to sleep, Riaz and Binoy from Mumbai joined the group. We had a round of introduction and everyone went off to sleep. Around mid night I heard some activity at the entrance of the base camp. A group of 4 from Delhi and Hyderabad had arrived. The group comprised of Aman, Salman, Lokesh and Chandan. They took the sleeping bags and slept in the lawn.     

Day 2 – 2^nd June 2013: Acclimatization Trek & Trial Bike Ride

By morning the group was finally complete. The last two entrants were Vandana and Ridhima. The group members for MB20 (Mountain Biking Group No 20) were final; comprising of 16 members. The group comprised of members from various demographics. We were diverse in our origins, language, gender, age but we still gelled really well. The camaraderie and enthusiasm was very much evident in the group. Everyone being first timers to such a cycling program were really open to suggestions from anyone who dared to come up with it J

The many hues of Himachal Pradesh

[Courtesy: SAS]

It’s Sunday morning and I really don’t recollect the last time I woke up at 5 AM on a Sunday J The day commenced with a morning jog. Well this is where I had a small fall on the road all thanks to “Arthritis” who accidently got in between my legs tripping me on the road. Mr. Das led everyone down the road towards Aut. We jogged for about a km and then stopped at a beautiful spot by the Beas River for some exercises. Parmarji was requested to lead the exercises who came up with some basic stretching exercises so that our body is loosened up for the acclimatization trek coming up. The exercise was refreshing especially considering the beautiful location at which it was done. Post the exercises we were asked to jog back to the base camp. This time though the jog was up hill and naturally it soon turned into a stroll for everyone J

Start of the acclimatization trek

We reached the base camp and breakfast was ready. We finished the breakfast and were told by Mr. Das to collect our rucksacks from the registration office. The rucksacks were not so big but they were intentionally kept of that appropriate size so that it is easy and comfortable to carry while cycling. We were asked to fill the rucksack with a sleeping bag and a bottle of water so that we have some weight on our backs while we are trekking. The whole idea in doing so was to ensure that everyone becomes used to carrying the rucksack on their back which also formed a part of the acclimatization regime. Everyone was ready and we all lined up at the entrance of the base camp. Head count was taken by Mr. Das and we were off for the acclimatization trek. We were told that we would be trekking to a nearby hillock for about a couple of hours and get back by noon just in time for lunch.

A newly constructed local house

Reminded us of Sunny Deol :)

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

The trek route

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Make hay while the sun shines :)

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

A local house on the trek route

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Fresh garlic kept out to dry

The trek route was beautiful. It ran through small villages. The locals were busy with their daily chores. The route and scenery just kept on getting more and more beautiful as we got higher and higher. SAS as usual were last in the trek. Not because we were the slowest but we just wanted to enjoy the environment as much as possible and frankly there was no rush. All of us were shutter busy and kept clicking as many photographs as possible. We finally reached the top of the trek which had a temple. We visited the temple and offered our prayers. The local kids were excited seeing us and were really egged on by the idea of being photographed. We took loads of photos with the kids. As a reward for reaching the top without much difficulty Mr. Das treated everyone with a local fruit juice. He was carrying the syrup with him and since we all had water bottles, the juice was ready in minutes and over in seconds J

A local lady stacking up the hay

[Courtesy: Shyam]

During the trek

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Contribution from the environment in charge

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

During the trek

Now that we had finished the juice our bottles were empty and thus we decided to go into the village and refill our bottles. We could see from a distance that there was some function going on in one of the houses in the village. We had heard a lot about the hospitality and welcoming nature of the people of Himachal Pradesh, a fact that even Mr. Das had endorsed. And we were surely not disappointed. Just as we entered the village and asked the locals for water they were more than welcoming and even invited us over for lunch as part of the wedding brunch. We were really overwhelmed by their gesture but we politely declined their invite and left after filling our water bottles.

A Rest Break

Up we go !!!!

Resting Under a Tree

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Group Pic

[Courtesy: Shyam]

We started our downhill trek and this time we took a partly different route. Midway through the downhill, we found Mr. Das waiting for us. He asked us if there was anyone left and we gave him a smile with a standing instruction that if he sees us anywhere during the program always assume that we are the last ones and there is no one behind us, we will keep the legend of last benchers alive by being the last trekkers J We met a lot of locals during the downhill who were more than welcoming and shared some interesting stories with us. We met some really beautiful kids along the route and one thing I must say that these kids have naturally pinkish rosy cheeks. They have a natural glow on their face all thanks to the amazing climate of Himachal Pradesh.

A temple on top of the hillock

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The temple's interior

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Local kids playing

[Courtesy: Shyam]

During our drinks break

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Meditation in broad daylight :)

[Courtesy: Shyam]

We finally reached the base camp and were once again faced with the daunting task of having bath in the chilled waters of River Beas. We prepared ourselves mentally, picked up our spare clothes and went down to the river. This time round the water was even chillier and the currents were even stronger. We maintained all the possible due diligence and had bath in the chilled water once again. The experience was nerve chilling but very refreshing. We came back and lunch was ready by then. We had lunch and slept in the tents for a small nap.

SAS during the acclimatization trek

[Courtesy: Ritesh]

Going Down

Local House

With a local kid - More Singh

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Local Lady

[Courtesy: Shyam]

With a local lady

[Courtesy: Shyam]

A local family

[Courtesy: Shyam]

At 2:30 PM, we got a call from Mr. Das that it was time for the briefing by Mr. Mitra and Mr. Dimple (the cycle expert). We all gathered at the lawn and sat down for the briefing. Mr. Das started the session by explaining the program and itineraries for the next 5 days. He laid down the rules and regulations along with the safety precautions to be taken during the ride. The most important thing he told us was to remember that it is not a competition nor a race so no overtaking or rash riding.  Then it was Mr. Mitra who briefed and welcomed everyone on behalf of YHAI. He gave out some helpful tips to handle the uphill and downhill while cycling. It was followed by instructions from Mr Dimple on how to manage the cycle, the various parts of the cycle and its importance. The air pressure in the tyres, the seat adjustment as per the uphill and downhill cycling, the gears and the brakes. I have listed down some of the key pointers given by M. Dimple and Mr. Mitra:

1. Always check the air pressure in both the tyres
2. Adjust the seat height in such a way that you are comfortable cycling and your feet can touch the ground in a normal sitting position
3. The seat should be lowered completely on downhills so that your centre of gravity is lower and you avoid tumbling over in case you have a fall.
4. Always apply the rear brake first and then the front brake slowly in tandem. Do no brake suddenly. On downhills never apply the front brake first; you will surely topple over as the bike would do a wheelie on the front wheel.
5. Never leave your hands of the handle since the handle of these bikes can spin entire 360 degrees.
6. The bike has 3 x 7 gears (front & rear). The numbering is done from 1 to 7. The closest to the wheel is numbered as 1 and the farthest as 7.
7. For the front gears, 1 was to be used for uphill, 2 for downhill & flat lands while we were discouraged from using 3 since it picks up great speed which could be dangerous on the curvy roads of Kullu
8. For the rear gears, they were supposed to be used in tandem with the front gears. 1 for the easy downhill and 7 for easy uphill. In other words, 1-1 was the combination for the easiest uphill and 2-7 was the combination for the easiest downhill. Most important to remember is that during downhill you don’t ride the bike instead the bike rides you.
9. For higher gradients do not directly get into 1-1 gear combinations. Instead start off with 1-7 and gradually come to 1-1 so that you do not exert yourselves too much
10. Be careful while parking the bike if you wish to take a break during the ride. Ensure to park the bike in such a way that it does not come in the way of the moving traffic.        

Beautiful bunch of flowers

Tiny Pomegranates

Black Pepper Seeds

Beautiful Flowers

Tiny Fruits

[Courtesy: Shyam]

After all the heavy dose of instructions and tips, we were finally given the BIKE and the gear. The gear included the helmet, pair of gloves, elbow pads and knee pads. Everyone checked their bikes and other equipments. After everyone was satisfied with stuff given to them we were ready for the trial ride. To ensure that everyone is seriously concentrating on the trial ride we were instructed not to carry any cameras or mobile phones. We all assembled at the start point and after a final round of instructions we were flagged off for the trial ride some 5 km towards Kullu. Sid was asked to lead the group while I was asked to follow the group being the deputy. A job that I sincerely did at least on the first day J. The trial ride went fine. The road consists of small uphills and gradual downhills. We enjoyed the experience of the trial ride. We stopped at one petrol pump at the end of 5 km and Mr. Mitra made us do some exercises to test our stamina J We had a drinks break and then started our ride back to the base camp. Some people found problems with the bike which were reported to Mr. Dimple. I also had a problem with my front gears. Mr. Dimple worked overtime to fix all the problems reported by us.

Parakeet

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Colorful Butterfly 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

By the time we reached the base camp, the soup was ready. Since this was our last day at the base camp; Shyam and I decided to take the soup and go down at the riverside to have the same. Akhilesh joined us a bit later. It was Harshal’s birthday today who happens to be our SAMBHA gang member. We called him to wish him from the riverside itself. It was a pleasant evening with a cool breeze, a hot soup in hand and a chilled river flowing by. What a setup!!!!. Harshal was surely jealous of us J

At lunch post the acclimatization trek 

[Courtesy: Binoy]

We came back and started packing for the next 5 days in the rucksacks given by YHAI. We were given instructions to travel as light as possible since we would be required to carry the rucksacks on your back while cycling. The toughest part was to decide on what to carry and what not to carry. We did some packing by which time dinner was called. We left our packing incomplete and went for dinner. We had dinner sitting in a group in the lawn and then returned immediately to the tents to complete our packing. Again we were interrupted by the call for the campfire. This time round we had a bigger group for the campfire now that we had 16 members in the group. The new members for obvious reasons became the scapegoats since they were not present last evening. They were requested to either sing or come up with an interesting incident. Parmarji broke the ice with a shayari and then Shyam followed up with a regional devotional song. Shyam dude you should sing more often; you have a sweet voice. We wrapped up the campfire by 10 and everyone returned back to our tents to complete the packing. We finished the packing in another half an hour and we quickly off to sleep…..Lots of snoring ….. zzzzzzz

Day 3 – 3^rd June 2013: Aut – Banala to Phagurpul - Banjar

There was a chill in the air when we woke up in the morning. There were dark clouds in the sky and signs of rain were around. We took the morning bed tea and headed straight for the riverside. This time it was me, Shyam and Ritesh enjoying our tea along the river and cursing our lives and wishing everyday to be like this. We returned back to the tents and had breakfast. We got ready and then packed our lunch. I went up to the registration office to check my bike if the problem with the gears have been fixed. Surprising, I could not find the bike. Well I thought Nelson had struck; after all my bike number was 22. The ominous double Nelson. I reported the same with Mr. Dimple and after much searching around we found the bike below the heap of the other parked cycles. The bike looked perfectly fine but later on in the trek cycling uphill through tough gradients on slippery roads I realized both my tyres had no friction causing serious trouble particularly when going down.

And the ride begins !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Everyone joins in 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The route 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Today was the big day which we were eagerly awaiting. We deposited the extra luggage with Mr. Das and assembled at the start point. The rain gods had also arrived and were ready to see us off. A light drizzle had started which made the climate really cool. We lined up at the starting point and Mr. Das took count. Mr. Mitra gave everyone a pep talk and with some members of MB21 present to see us off; we were finally flagged off. We started cautiously on the route towards Mandi; in the opposite direction from the trial ride and were asked to stop just before the Aut tunnel. The Aut tunnel is 3 km long and supposed to be the longest road tunnel in India. This time for a change, Shyam and I took the lead and were among the early birds to reach the tunnel where Mr. Dimple was waiting for everyone. We lined up our bikes along the footpath and waited for the others to join.

Aut Tunnel 

[Courtesy: Salman]

Shyam, Ritesh, Akhilesh & Me inside the tunnel 

[Courtesy: Riaz]

Last minute instructions by Mr. Mitra, Mr. Dimple and Mr. Bindu Sr 

After the tunnel 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Follow the rules 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Jalori Pass - 37 KM to go 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

In about 10-15 minutes everyone had reached the tunnel. Everyone assembled at the start of the tunnel and were given some last minute instructions by Mr. Mitra and Mr. Dimple on the precautions to be taken while riding inside the tunnel considering that the visibility inside the tunnel was very low. Apart from the low visibility, there were vehicles zooming past us in both directions at neck breaking speed, some places were even slippery because of the fuel leakage from vehicles clubbed with rain water from leakages in the ceiling. Some places in the tunnel were pitched dark with absolutely no light. We were told to keep making sounds and travel in a straight line so that at least the oncoming vehicles can detect you by the sound. We started the ride inside the tunnel and everyone stuck to the rules and cycled in a straight line making as much noise as possible. I am damn sure a lot of the members had a sore throat after the first day considering that we screamed our lungs out for the entire 3 km.

2 KM ahead of Larji 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

A beautiful shot 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Shyam : Striking a Pose

After the first major downhill 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Bridge over river Thirtan 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Glimpse of the river Thirtan

[Courtesy: Shyam]

"Yeh Dosti Hum Nahi Chodenge..." 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Just as we exited the tunnel, we were welcomed by a heavy shower. There was a giant dam on the river Beas at the exit of the tunnel. Photography was strictly prohibited at the dam and thus we moved along till the end of the tunnel and took a stop just before a bridge over the river. Some more members joined in and we started again. Mr. Dimple asked everyone to stop at Larji where we would be meeting MB17 which would be returning from higher camps. We reached Larji in sometime and parked our bikes. We waited for the other members to join till then we ordered tea considering the amazing climate. By now all the members from our group as well as from the MB17 had arrived at Larji and Mr. Mitra introduced everyone. Mr. Mitra introduced everyone to Rinku and Bindu who would accompany us for the next 5 days. They would follow the group on a motorbike all throughout the ride and would be available on call for any problems we faced. And I must say we are really grateful to both of them for all the help that they have provided during the trip. Some of the members exchanged their bikes with the group coming down while some of the members from MB17 were requested to share their experience. They were more than frank and open in their experience sharing. The most interesting piece of advice that we took from the session was a very well articulated line by one gentleman. I sadly do not remember his name.

“Enjoy the journey while going uphill and do not worry about the destination. You will surely achieve it because while in the downhill you will hardly get time to enjoy”

The 21 km route for day one was: Banala – Aut – Larji – Bali – Manglor – Phagurpul

The rain soaked route 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The rain was continuous till noon and we surely made the most of it. We continued cycling while being totally drenched in the rain water. We took regular stops for resting which would then get converted into opportunities for photography. I must say, each and every turn during the journey was a picturesque location which became even more amazing with the rains. Some place before reaching Bali, we took a stop at a village. We met a lovely couple who offered juicy apricots to us right out of the fields. We offered to pay for it but they refused to accept the money. Another example of the hospitable nature of the people of Himachal Pradesh; they simply said that they don’t take money from guests. We had a nice chat with them and then moved on putting the extra apricots in our rucksacks. The first day was a mix of steady uphill and downhill. The downhill were fun and the uphill were testing. SAS had decided to stick to the pact of not resorting to zero gear biking. Many of the members had already resorted to zero gear biking right from day one. SAS however continued to stick to their pact and by God’s grace we completed the entire stretch on day 1 cycling J

Local Kids 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Power Nap !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The lovely couple who offered us fresh apricots 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

On the downhill

Towards Phagurpul 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The Last Mile 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The Last Mile - Part 2 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Day 1 Camp Site - Phagurpul, Banjar 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

As expected we were the last ones to reach the camp site at Phagurpul. By now the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We parked our bikes and enjoyed the welcome drink (Litchi juice).  We kept our rucksack in the tents and kept the gear out in the sun to dry. We had lunch in the tents and then everyone decided to go out to have bath in the river. Phagurpul was situated close to river Thirtan which has a lot of mythological history with reference to the sage Markandeya. The water here was clearer than at the base camp. Also, though the water was chilled the temperature was a bit higher as compared to the base camp. We sat along the river bank on the rocks and had bath. Everyone had a rocking time with the same fun and games of teasing everyone by throwing cold water on each other. There’s something really special about the waters in the Himalayas. We were totally tired from the ride in the morning but all of that just vanished after the bath and we were rejuvenated again. We came back to the camp site and by then tea was ready. Had tea and then everyone decided to take a nap. 

Parked Bikes @ Phagurpul

Tents @ Phagurpul

Camp site @ Phagurpul

Phagurpul

River Thirtan

Rocks @ River Thirtan

I, Shyam, Sid & Parmarji instead decided to go to the nearby village for some photography. We took a lot of photographs of the local kids playing while returning from school. We witnessed the sunset from a lovely location on top of a hillock.

Shyam with the local kids

Me with the local kids

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Up the Hill 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Girls returning from school 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Kids @ Camp Site

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Bridge on river Thirtan 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Near the campsite 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Near the Camp Site 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

We returned to the camp site and since our mobile and camera batteries were down we connected the same to the charging point. The fight was that there was only one charging point. We had done the risk mitigation by carrying a spike guard which leveraged us 4 charging points. An advantage that everyone enjoyed in the group. The soup was ready by now. We chatted with the kids and watched them place hide and seek near our tents. Shyam had bought some chocolates from the shop at Larji. We distributed the chocolates among the kids in exchange of knowing their names. Since this was the first camp with complete tented accommodation even for the girls, the toilets were also makeshift arrangements.  We personally chose to visit the nearby river. Some of whom who used the makeshift arrangement termed it a sea saw ride. It resembled the settings of the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

Temple close to the campsite 

[Courtesy: Salman]

Birds near the campsite 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

In another one hour dinner was served. We had dinner and everyone shared their experience of day one. We decided to go out for a walk and reached the bridge over river Thirtan; a landmark on which the town is named as Phagurpul. It was a clear sky and we did some star gazing. It just reminded me of one of the scenes from Munnabhai MBBS in which Circuit tells Munnabhai, “Bhai Mumbai main bahut pollution hain, meri maa marke tara bangayi hain magar aasman main dikhti nahi”. We even happened to see shooting stars and I must say everyone would have surely wished for easier next couple of days J 

A shayari dedicated to the shooting star we saw goes as ….

“Nikalta chand sabko pasand aata hai, dubta suraj kaun dekhta hai, tutata hua tara sabki dua puri karta hai, kyunki use tutne ka dard maloom hota hai”

We returned to the camp and went off to sleep.    

Day 4 – 4^th June 2013: Phagurpul - Banjar to Ghiyagi – Jibhi

It was an early morning start. We packed all our clothes in our rucksack and then had breakfast. We took the packed lunch and got onto our bikes. Today’s 12 km ride to our next camp site Ghiyagi was going to be tedious. We got our bikes checked for brakes and air pressure. We lined up outside the camp and left together with a downhill of about 200 meters till the bridge from where we had to take a left to go towards Ghiyagi. Well this was only downhill that we had during the entire day apart from the one which was only after 7 km of continuous uphill…. Phew!!!!

A buoyant start !! 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

River Thirtan 

Thanks for the warning !! 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Deepak, Me & Priyal on the narrow road 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Zero Gear Biking 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The route for day two was not as picturesque on the previous day. We cycled through small towns, markets and pedestrian traffic comprising of locals, school kids and cattle’s. It was the first time in the last 4 days that I have been here; that I actually saw traffic cops on the road maneuvering traffic. Well you get the idea now of the route for day two. We finally made it through the cramped roads and the constant uphill all of which was punctuated with constant breaks. As compared to day one our breaks started getting more regular and after not traveling much further. Such was the turmoil of the uphill on our bodies. The only companion to help us through the ordeal was the glucose juice that we were carrying in bottles. During one such break in the middle of the market we purchased some more packets of Glucond-D for the next day since we had already exhausted our reserves on day two. At several places on the route we were cycling on roads which were broad (read narrow) just about more than the length of our cycle and we have all possible light, medium and heavy vehicles moving in both directions on such narrow roads; a far cry from the 2-3 lanes highways with dividers we city dwellers are used to.

One of the smaller gradients during the day !!

Riaz with his broken cycle chain 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Back to cycling 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

You get the idea of the road width !! 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

A makeshift shower !! 

[Courtesy: Riaz]

Pine 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

SAS with a local

Finally after a crawl through the 7 km of uphill we got the sight of the first downhill. It was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert. But sadly our joy was short lived as this only lasted for a km and we were back to our routine to try and fight the mighty Himalayas. Well the only consolation for us during the day was that SAS was still on track with their pact of not getting down to zero gear biking even if it means finishing last. During the only downhill of the day, Akhilesh decided to record the downhill on his camera. After all he needed to utilize his 32 GB memory card that he purchased before the trip and how else would he be exhausting it if he doesn't take videos. And as expected he had a fall during his attempt at trying to ride the bike one handed with the camera in the other hand. Fortunately he was not hurt.

Zero gear biking 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Building momentum to take on the uphill 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Still building momentum 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Akhilesh trying to measure the tree trunk

Ran out of momentum :) 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Shyam taking on the curves

We finally reached Jibhi which was 2 km short of the next camp site at Ghiyagi. On route we saw the old camp site at Jibhi which was actually used till last year but for some reasons YHAI had to move to a new camp site from this year onwards. Some of the group members decided to halt for lunch at Jibhi since it had some decent hotels. We on the other hand decided to move on considering that the camp site was 2 km ahead. While Akhilesh and Shyam moved ahead, I got confused and thought the old camp site at Jibhi as our camp site. Just to clarify I asked one local passing by who suggested that the camp site is ahead and this was the old camp site. Taking the cue from him I cycled ahead and found Akhilesh and Shyam waiting for me some 500 meters ahead. Since we had stopped, we took the opportunity to have some chips and cold drinks as starters before the lunch. Here we came across several people who are visiting this region on cross country motorbike expeditions on their rumbling Bullets. We also met an Israeli lad named “Alone” with only a guitar as his companion who has been hanging around in Himachal for last 6 months.

5 Km to Jibhi + 2 Km to Ghiyagi

Shyam taking a break

Midway between the uphill 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

The winding road

An indication of the gradient

The winding road

4 Km short of Jibhi

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Honey boxes 

[Courtesy: Binoy]

We decided to move on and in about 20 minutes we reached the camp site for the day at Ghiyagi. We met the MB19 group which was coming down after completing their trek up till Jalori Pass in the morning. They shared some of their experiences and then they moved downhill. With them we also met a bike rider (An NRI from California) who has been cycling from Shimla, a distance of over 170 km by now…..Phew !!!!. We parked our bikes and as expected we were greeted by the welcome drink. We settled in the tents and opened our lunch boxes. We had lunch and then decided to go out for bath. Akhilesh insisted on taking a nap before going to have bath which we gracefully obliged. Post the nap his mind changed and he decided to skip bath. But we were keen on having bath. Just like the other camp sites this location also had a stream of water very close by. The water was again very chilled but pleasant. The location was very picturesque and since this was a small stream we decided to lie in the water and enjoy a chilled Jacuzzi. It was indeed very refreshing and we felt rejuvenated again. All the tiredness from the cycling during the day just vanished in minutes.

A beautiful birdie 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Different varieties of flowers 

[Courtesy: SAS]

Another Birdie 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Blue Birdie 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

We came back to the camp site and kept our clothes out for drying. But since it was already evening there was very less chance the clothes would dry. This camp site unlike the previous one had better toilets. At least the flooring was solid and not a sea saw ride like yesterday J Everyone decided to rest. Shyam and I instead decided to explore the place and thus went down till Jibhi for a walk. We tried our hand at photography while we walked around in the woods. By the time we came back on top, the others were up and Akhilesh also joined us. Since it was evening, the local village kids were merrily playing around. We decided to join in and go crazy with them. It felt amazing to relive our childhood again enjoying with the kids. There is something about the kids in Himachal Pradesh. They are naturally blessed with rosy cheeks which make them amazingly cute. A special mention of one such girl named Anamika. She was a lively kid busy with her drawing when Shyam and I decided to take her snaps and then during the entire conversation became friends with her.

Girls returning from school 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Day two campsite @ Ghiyagi - Jibhi 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Top view of our chilled Jacuzzi

Opposite our campsite

Anamika busy with her drawing 

Shyam in conversation with Anamika 

Tap with drinking water directly on the table :) 

Procession of the local goddess

Anamika's house 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Since we had reached late and were further delayed having bath, we missed the tea at the camp site. Since we had the urge to have tea we went to a nearby dhaba and ordered tea. The tea really tasted amazing more so because of the ambience of the overall environment. The dhaba had an amazing setup with a tap for drinking water on each of the tables with glasses for self service. We were also fortunate to get a glimpse of the local goddess’s procession. Later in the evening we spend some time at the local shop which was incidentally owned by Anamika’s grandfather who was also the owner of the camp site which he had rented out to YHAI. We bought some chocolates from the shop and distributed among the kids. We showed Anamika and her family the snaps that we took in the evening. Anamika insisted on using the camera and Shyam obliged. And as expected, she went bonkers with the camera clicking as many photos as she could. Shyam took the address from Anamika’s family so that we could share the snaps with her. We were pleased to have had an amazing evening. By then dinner was served. We had dinner and went back to the tents. Tired from the day’s cycling we decided to sleep early. 

A cute local kid 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

SAS with Anamika & her cousins 

[Courtesy: SAS]

Some fun @ Anamika's shop 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Anamika going bonkers with Shyam's camera :)

Day 5 – 5^th June 2013: Ghiyagi – Jibhi to Sojha

We woke up to a moist morning with a lot of dew on our tents. Shyam and I again decided to visit the lovely stream to get fresh. We came back and had a really delicious breakfast today. It was cholle with puris and to top it up we found a really good location behind Anamika’s house to eat the breakfast. We came back to the tents to pack our rucksacks but our clothes were still wet and thus we packed them as it is. Some of the group members decided to leave some of their luggage at Ghiyagi to lighten their rucksacks and collect it on the way back. We finally left Ghiyagi and the ride began!!!!

The Ride Begins !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

After the first km....phew !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

SAS : 3 Km short of Sojha

Akhilesh - First wicket down : 3 Km short of Sojha

When I say that the ride began it means we were in for a torturous day. There was absolutely no downhill. We had to attain an altitude gain of about 4000 feet in a span of 5 km. We took nearly 5 hours to cover this distance. You pretty much get the idea now of the ordeal that we went through. Frankly, I enjoyed it the most since I came here with the intention of stretching myself to the limits and going all the way cycling. 

Crumbling rough road

One of the serpent bends

Shyam on the serpent bend

Phew !!!! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

A picturesque view 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Even though the ride was taxing, the route was very picturesque. The Himalayas can really surprise you. The view just gets more and more amazing as we move upwards. We had traveled for about 2 km when we reached the milestone which read “Sojha 3 km”, this is when we lost the first wicket. Akhilesh pulled out with a knee injury and decided to complete the rest of the 3 km with zero gear biking. Shyam and I decided to continue cycling and not give up. We let Akhilesh continue in front and we followed him on our bikes. A km further and Shyam’s bike had a problem with the chain. Even while he was pedaling, the wheel did not rotate. The chain had come loose. We called upon Bindu and Rinku for help. They came and tried to fix the problem but it seem to be beyond them as they needed some special equipments to fix the problem which would only be available at Ghiyagi. It meant Shyam’s wicket was also down but “retired hurt”. Finally it was only me would was left pedaling up till Sojha. 2 km short of Sojha we faced the toughest route in the trek. The roads were winding up the hill with at least a 60 degree gradient and hairpin bends. There was a series of 6 such hairpin bends which we had to go through. The route if captured from top view would resemble a serpent. We took breaks at each and every turn and used these breaks as a good opportunity for photography. Shyam and I were the last ones in the group; so we decided to take it easy as there was no hurry to reach the camp site. We decided to enjoy the route as much as possible. By now we had exhausted our water reserves and on the way we reached one shop just a km short of Sojha and asked for a soft drink. But unfortunately the fridge was not working and thus we requested for water. Here we got to see another instance of the hospitality of the locals. The shop keeper went down to his house and came back with a jar of water for us. We had water and thanked him for his gesture and left.

Shyam - Retired Hurt with a broken gear equipment

On the way to Sojha

The Final Ascend towards Sojha

Still Cycling :) 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Mission Accomplished  

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Camp site @ Sojha

Huffing and puffing, we finally reached the final camp site at Sojha. The others had already reached and were settled. For a change we had rented accommodations. We straight away went for the welcome drink and we must have had at least 4 glasses each. There was option to get hot water for bath by paying 30 bucks to the locals. We went for the option and after a week we finally had bath in a normal bathroom with hot water J. It feels amazing when we get such simple facilities after a week which we otherwise take it for granted in our normal urban lives. We kept our clothes to dry out as the sun was really blazing and thus we used it as an opportunity to wash our clothes also for the first time in a week. Just outside our camp there was a tap which had water leaking out of it. The water from the tap was frothy making us feel as if its contaminated with some detergent and the bubbles persisted for long even after that water was filled in a container. However a local told us that  the water is like that because it comes directly from a nearby gushing stream. We were really not in the mood for lunch but just as we heard that we can order maggi and omelets from the local shop, we jumped up and ran to the dining area. Shyam and I ordered omelets while Akhilesh went for maggi. We customized the lunch with bhindi paratha which was our packed lunch with omelets. By then it was evening and we rounded that off with tea.

View from our room

View from our room

The tap could not stop the water from the stream

Camp dog @ Sojha - Dharmendra 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Hotel next to our campsite 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

In the evening we walked down in the nearby village and started our photography sessions. There was a beautiful hotel just next to our camp site with all the modern facilities like provision to play table tennis, a lawn with benches, a bar and provision to have camp fire. A bit later we saw a entourage of foreigners coming down from Jalori Pass in multiple tourist vehicles who went into that hotel. We spent the evening roaming around the camp site chatting with locals and enjoying the sunset. The scene was awesome with the sun setting behind the hills with pine trees and the birds returning back to their nests flying in the sky which had turned amber with the sun rays.

Around the campsite

Around the campsite

A local lady collecting leaves 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Handloom - Very rare

The colorful threads from the handloom

We were given an offer by the locals that we can hire a sumo and avoid the 5 km trek to Jalori Pass and instead trek a further 5 km from Jalori Pass either to the Raghupur fort or the Sarolsar lake. Since the 2 options were in opposite directions, we had to choose one. We opted for the fort. We took the consent of all the group members and booked the sumo. By now it was time for soup and dinner. Since we had lunch very late we decided to skip dinner. Instead a bit later on we just had a maggi and juice from the local shop. Back into the rooms we collected our sleeping bags and blankets and then decided to play cards. Akhilesh and me Vs Shyam and Parmarji. We had a wonderful time playing cards. The fun used to start after the game was over and we would analyze each step and find out who goofed up. And no prizes for guessing, it invariably used to be Akhilesh J    

We finally decided to sleep and as usual the musical carnations of our snoring starts ……… zzzzzzz

Our Campsite @ Sojha

Garlic's kept out to dry

Sunset @ Sojha

Day 6 – 6^th June 2013: Sojha to Jalori Pass & back to Phagurpul - Banjar

We woke up and got fresh. It was time for breakfast and there was poha. We decided to customize the same and bought bhujia sev from the local shop and mixed it with the poha. Since we were 16 members the sumo had to make 2 turns. We went in the first turn. The ride was through a winding  uneven road. Our breakfast was surely digested J We finally reached the top at Jalori Pass and the driver left us at the start point of the trek. He gave us directions to start the trek for the fort and left to get the others.

During the trek 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

On the way towards the fort 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Awesome View !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Akhilesh in the middle of the green meadows 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

We started the trek. It was a sunny day with a strong wind. The breeze was chilling. The blazing sun did not have any effect on the temperature. After about half an hour of trekking we reached an open field with an awesome view of the valley below. From here we went on a wrong route. We realized it about after 15 minutes since the route was going downhill and we were told that the trek is entirely uphill. By now the rest of the members had also reached and they were on the right route. We heard them calling out from the top and we followed their directions. Now that we were on the right route we trekked for about an hour and eventually got a glimpse of the Raghupur fort from a distance.

Wild horses 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Clear Blue Sky

Raghupur Fort - A Panoramic View 

[Courtesy: Salman]

View from the fort 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

The location was amazing. It was a green meadow with cattle’s grazing, wild horses and different variants of butterflies. An amazing mix of the flora and fauna of the Himalayas. The breeze was really chilling and along with a blazing sun it made an amazing climate. We just kept walking endlessly but we just did not get tired. We reached the fort finally and the scenery around gave us the chance for some awesome photography. We clicked some fabulous group photographs. We also attempted the Harlem shake initiated by Lokesh and we followed on. We also saw some construction work going on for dormitories for tourists at the other end of the mountain opposite to the fort. It would be a once in a lifetime experience to spend a night in one of them.

Its all about the timing !! 

[Courtesy: Ritesh]

@ the Raghupur Fort

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Harlem shake !!!! 

[Courtesy: Siddharth]

We spent around another hour on top and then started the downhill trek. We witnessed one really awesome view but sadly could not capture it on camera.  Just as we were coming down one of the wild horses came running from one end of the meadow to the other end. It was an awesome sight. We took about half an hour to reach back to Jalori Pass. Since it was noon by now we were really hungry and thus stopped at the local shop for some snacks which eventually converted into a full-fledged lunch. We had maggi, omelets, rajma chawal and curry chawal. The taste was awesome. By now the sumo also arrived. We got into the sumo and started the downhill. On the way our route was blocked by a flock of sheep. We reached the camp site in an hour and it was time for lunch. Since we already had lunch at Jalori Pass we skipped the lunch and went back to our rooms. We backed our rucksacks and were ready for the downhill now to Phagurpul. This time we had to go down 17 km in the same day bypassing Ghiyagi.

A beautiful butterfly

"Chhota Don" 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Herd of sheep

We started the downhill. If uphill was a test of one’s endurance than downhill was a test of one’s control. There was absolutely no pedaling instead the entire stress was on the brakes. We had to carefully maneuver the bike and control it. Aman had a fall while starting from Sojha when his bike slipped. Luckily, he escaped with minor bruises. We totally agreed to the statement on day two by Mr. Mitra, while on the downhill the bike rides you and you can only try and control it. The entire body weight was on the wrists halfway down Sojha our fingers were really stiff. If we took 5 hours to reach Sojha from Ghiyagi while coming up, it took only 15 minutes to get back to Ghiyagi from Sojha…. Phew !!!!,,,,Well you now get the contrast in the level of difficulty and the difference in strategy needed to handle both scenarios.       

We reached Ghiyagi and waited for some time since Shyam had to replace his bike. We met the MB21 group some of whom had reached the camp site. Some of the group members collected their excess luggage that they had left at Ghiyagi. After Shyam got his bike replaced we started our further downhill towards Phagurpul. We crossed Jibhi and some members decided to take a break. Shyam and I decided to move ahead. We met Anamika’s grandfather on the way who bid farewell to us and inquired about how was our morning trek. He was surprised that we did not visit the Sarolsar lake. He shared some trivia and history about the lake. The lake has trees on all sides but you will never find the leaves in the lake water which is astonishing. Another local explained that Discovery channel recently made a documentary on this phenomenon and found out that there is a species of birds that actually clean the lake of any fall leaves !!

The climate just changed and I must say it changed for the better. From a blazing sunny day it went to a cloudy breezy day and then to a rainy wet day all in a time span of just 10 minutes. Between the sunny and rainy phase it was cloudy and breezy and this resulted in the dry leaves from the pinewoods along the route to start falling. It was awesome riding through the winding roads while getting showered all over by the pinewood leaves. It was like getting a flowery welcome and this was triggered by nature which made it even more special. It was an amazing 5 minutes. Shyam and I thoroughly enjoyed it, Akhilesh was sadly left behind. Since it started pouring down heavily in the next 5 minutes some of the members decided to wait but Shyam and I decided to move on. Where else would we get a chance to ride our cycles in rain amidst an amazing surrounding? We continued cycling. The rain followed us right up till Phagurpul. We taught we had lost our way but we kept asking for directions from the locals and finally reached Phagurpul. Parmarji was the first one to reach who was waiting for the rest at the bridge followed by Sid.

Second sighting @ Phagurpul 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Local kids @ Phagurpul 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

We reached the camp site and parked our bikes. Since it had just rained the tent was also wet. And obviously we were totally drenched and thus had no option but to leave our wet clothes out in the hope that they might get dried. We had an amazing surprise at Phagurpul. We were welcomed with pakodas and hot tea. It could not get any better, a rainy atmosphere coupled with tea and pakodas. By now most of the members had arrived but there was no sign of Akhilesh. We started getting worried and as expected Akhilesh had a fall while his bike skid on the rough wet roads. By God’s grace he didn't slip and fall on the valley side of the road or there was no vehicle coming in any  direction. Luckily he was not injured but the bike was damaged and not in a condition to ride. The gear changing set up was broken and so was the rear brakes (a crucial component for down hill journey) not working. Moreover the rear wheel was out of shape. He called up Bindu and Rinku who helped load the bike and Akhilesh into a pickup going towards Bali. Here, we got another instance of the sweet nature of the locals. The driver of the pickup refused to take any money from Akhilesh even when insisted by Rinku. In our daily lives we come across such breakdowns but always end up paying a hefty amount for any kind of help rendered from locals and here we see these lovely people with beautiful hearts helping out complete strangers with no expectations or demands. Now at Bali bus stand as the bus to Phagurpul was very late Akhilesh got on the motorbike with Rinku while Bindu did the impossible task of riding the broken bike down hill without the rear brakes and only using the front brake. Kudos to Rinku & Bindu

Rinku, Akhilesh & Bindu

After he reached the camp site we went down to the river Thirtan again for having bath. The water had become chillier now post the rains. We got fresh and returned back to the camp site. We kept the clothes to dry but were sure it was not dry up looking at the climate outside. We then decided to play cards. The teams were the same from yesterday and we spent the rest of the evening playing cards. We then had dinner and decided to sleep early considering that we had a tiring day.   

  

Day 7 – 7^th June 2013: Phagurpul - Banjar to Base Camp Aut - Banala

It was an early morning start. Shyam and I decided to go to the river side to answer natures call. We marked off our territory to ensure that there are no surprise visitors J. We returned back to the camp site and it was time for breakfast.  Taking inspiration from Bindu the previous day, Akhilesh was still eager on riding his bike with a broken rear wheel as a replacement was not possible. Everyone advised against it and finally he managed to speak to Mr. Mitra who suggested that he takes a bus till Larji and from there they will provide him a bike to ride till the base camp at Aut. We had breakfast and packed our bags. Our clothes were still wet and thus we decided to pack them as it is and dry them after we reach the base camp. Akhilesh left ahead for the bus and then we started the last stretch of our mountain biking expedition. A 500 meter downhill till the bridge which was followed by an uphill of 500 meters. It was a wakeup call that even of it is the last day we still have to cover 22 km.

River Thirtan 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Long road 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Long road 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Shyam resting

Since it was the last day of biking expedition we decided to enjoy it as much as we can. We purposely rode very slowly and tried to soak in all the fun that we could. We did some photography on the way and as we were told on the first day that on the downhill there is very less time for anything else apart from the ride unless you decide to take breaks. We finally reached Larji and found Akhilesh waiting there. We ordered tea and waited for the other group members to join us. The last group of the program going uphill also joined us at Larji. We were joined in by Mr. Mahant and the current MLA from Kullu since it was time for the Lok Sabha bye polls in Himachal Pradesh. They congratulated our group for successfully completing the program and wished the last group all the best for their expedition. Some of the members in the last group exchanged their bikes with our group members. The last group was special because of one gentleman who was 75 years young. The group finally left for the higher camp and then had some group photographs with everyone.

Early Celebration !! 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Early Celebration

My Bike - No 22 : The Ominous Double Nelson 

Tea break @ Larji

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Mr. Das, Mr. Mitra, 75 YO from MB22, Mr. Mahender Thakur (Local MLA) 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

L to R: Akhilesh, Mr. Das, Bindu, Me, Mr. Das, Rinku, Mr. Mahant's daughters, Siddharth, Mr. Dimple  

[Courtesy: A Local]

We left from Larji and the next stop was the Aut tunnel. We were warned in advance that the lights in the tunnel are not functioning today and we had to be more cautious. We cycled our way till the entrance of the tunnel passing through the dam and waited at the entrance. I, Shyam, Akhilesh and Sid entered the tunnel together and we were extra cautious this time in crossing the tunnel. Lights or no lights, the vehicles crossing the tunnel just don’t care. They just kept zipping past us and it was a miracle that all of us crossed the tunnel safely. Once we crossed the tunnel we decided to take it easy and strolled the rest of the route till the base camp. We finally reached the base camp and there was a sense of achievement for everyone. We returned the bikes and the other equipments in the registration office. We also collected the check out form and returned to our tents. We removed all the wet clothes and kept it to dry. We decided to get fresh and thus went down to the river. We had a refreshing bath in the river and came back to the camp. We filled up the check out form and submitted the same with Mr. Das and collected the extra luggage that we had deposited. We came back to the tents and packed our luggage. By now it was lunch time. We skipped the YHAI lunch and instead had lunch at the Café Adventure. We then went back to Mr. Das and collected our certificates. Post lunch we bid farewell to everyone and left for Manali.

MB 20 and MB 22 @ Larji

[Courtesy: Riaz]

Hip Hip Hip Hurray - Time for Celebration - MB 20

[Courtesy: Riaz]

MB 20 - An awesome bunch of people

[Courtesy: Riaz]

Towards Aut Tunnel 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Towards the Base Camp @ Banala 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Day 7 – 7^th June 2013: Base Camp Aut – Banala to Manali Via Kullu

We crossed the road and waited near the base camp for bus going towards Manali. After about 5 minutes we got a bus with a sign board for Manali but we were in for a surprise when it turned out that it was only till Kullu. We reached Kullu in about an hour and just as we got down we found that the bus to Manali was leaving in minutes. RIaz and Binoy got down at Kullu and moved towards Amritsar to visit the Golden temple; something we were disappointed about not being able to do. We rushed towards the bus and loaded our luggage on top of the bus. The entire road going towards Manali is really picturesque with a river running alongside all through the route. We finally reached Manali at around 6 PM. The traffic and chaos was maddening. It was like standing outside Dadar station during peak hours. You can easily call Mall road in Manali; the Dadar station of Himachal Pradesh J   

Akhilesh helping load the luggage on the bus towards Manali @ Kullu depot 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

On the way towards Manali

We met an agent at the Manali depot who took us to a hotel just opposite the depot. Since our requirement was only about getting fresh and spending half a night in the hotel we decided to follow. We checked into the Hotel Highway Inn which initially looked a good option. But it turned out to be a letdown. We also booked the taxi for the next morning to go towards Rohtang Pass. We got fresh and then decided to go down at the Mall Road to eat something. We had chaat at one of the stalls which was awesome. On the way while coming towards Mall Road, Akhilesh and Shyam had seen Andhra Bhavan and were really keen on having south Indian thali from there. We reached the restaurant and ordered for 3 thalis. The food was a total letdown and disappointing. I could not even finish half of my thali. We came back to Mall road and then I has a delicious malai kulfi…it was indeed a saving grace.

Temple @ Mall Road - Manali

Manali Depot

We then decided to do some shopping for souvenirs. Just as we were looking for options to buy as souvenirs, we bumped into hand painted mementos. We decided to customize our designs and took couple souvenirs for the SAMBHA gang members who were hooked by now J. Akhilesh and Shyam also took hand painted key chains for their friends and office colleagues. I picked up a masterpiece memento for my personal collection. I also picked up authentic Kullu shawls from the Mall road market. While buying the souvenirs; we met the second of the Karthik’s. He was the person drawing the amazing paintings along with Manish selling them. We got along really well with them and we were really impressed with their take on life. Karthik told us the secret behind his amazing skill. He went to a monastery in Ladakh to learn this art and spend around 6 months to master the art. By the time we finished it was already 11 PM. We collected all the souvenirs and went back to the hotel and packed our bags since we had to leave early tomorrow morning to Rohtang Pass. We went off to sleep at midnight and managed to get sleep only for about 3 hours.   

SAS with Karthik & Manish 

[Courtesy: Shyam]

Day 8 – 8^th June 2013: Manali to Rohtang Pass

We woke at 3 AM and got ready to leave for Rohtang Pass. Got a call from reception at around 4 am informing us about that the car was ready. We deposited the luggage in the cloak room of the hotel and decided to take the souvenirs with us to Rohtang Pass. We met the taxi driver Mr. Lagan. We called him Laganji during the entire trip. We started the trip at around 4:30 am from close to the Manali depot. Laganji stopped at a shop some 1 km from Manali to rent warm clothing to wear while at Rohtang Pass. We also hired a skiing instructor to enjoy skiing. The skiing instructor was a young filmy guy named Anup. He shared a lot of trivia and facts with us during the trip, showing us shooting locations for Bollywood films like Jab We Met and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, etc. Anup was a native of the village named Nehru Kund after the late Prime Minister of India Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who would have water only from this kund (pond) while he stayed at Manali. The roads leading up to Rohtang Pass were winding through some lush green forests till the last village named Mothi. Beyond this village there is no human habitat as it gets really cold during winter with this region having snow nearly 10 months of the year and with no vegetation the place resembles a white desert. We could see a long queue from a distant as all the tourist vehicles lined up to go towards Rohtang. A very distinct fact that I noticed during the trip was that all the cars were white in color. It was a rarity to see a non white car. On the way we saw a lot of nomadic tribes with their flock of sheep, mules, horses, dogs, etc. walking through their way. Laganji told they belong to a community called "Giddh". It was amazing to witness nomadic life on the move in today's age of information technology, space and nuclear technology one really wonders what change will schemes like UID (Adhaar card) or NREGSS or mid-day meal programme  etc. bring about in their lives. Theirs is a small and contented life with all their materialistic belongings packed and on the move along with them.

Towards Rohtang Pass

Sunrise @ Rohtang Pass

Sun kissed Himalayas @ Rohtang Pass

After close to 3 hours we finally reached Rohtang Pass. It was the first time that I was seeing snow in my life. The view was awesome. The sun was up but it had no effect on the temperature. It was extremely chilly on the roads and freezing once we stepped on the snow. There were already a lot of people who had reached the place and enjoying in the ice. We got ready with the gear to start skiing. We entered the ice and Shyam was the first one to start skiing. He had a tough time trying to balance on ice and had a couple of falls. He finally decided to stop and Akhilesh was next to try. He also had a similar start but after a couple of falls picked up the tricks really well and started skiing at least with the help of the instructor. After about 15-20 minutes it was my turn to try out skiing. I had a similar fate as Akhilesh but had a smooth time skiing with Anup’s help. After about an hour of skiing we decided to eat something since we had not had a breakfast also. We stopped at one of the local makeshift shops on ice which were selling maggi and omelets. We had maggi and tea. Akhilesh then had a second round of skiing while I got busy with photography.

Shyam ready to Ski

Akhilesh ready to Ski

Ready to Ski

SAS - Pro Skiers !!

Maggi & Tea Break

Strike a Pose :)

Anuo with Akhilesh

After all the heavy duty skiing, we decided to do something childish now. What else could be more childish than snow fights and sliding on snow? We went up to the top of the ice covered hill and slide all the way down on our butt & back. It felt really amazing. By now it was 10:30 AM and we taught it would be better if we leave early and avoid the traffic. So, we called in Laganji and packed all the skiing gear in the car hood. We started our journey back at 11 AM and on the way did loads of photography on the snow capped mountains. Unfortunately we were stuck in a huge traffic jam which lasted for over 2 hours. It was really frustrating to sit in the car empty stomach for 2 hours. We finally moved out of the traffic and reached the point from there paragliding is conducted. We got a glimpse of the tourist's paragliding in the vast expanse of the sky with only the mountains for company. Paragliding along with river rafting is something that we really missed doing due to lack of time. If we had waited too long over here we would have been delayed and considering that we had to leave for Chandigarh in the evening was another reason to leave early. We earlier had plans to go to Amritsar to visit the Golden temple but had to drop the plan as the last bus to Amritsar from Manali was at 3 PM which we would not be able to catch on time.

Snow clad Himalayas

Tourists reveling @ Rohtang Pass

Yaks @ Rohtang Pass

Traffic @ Rohtang Pass

We dropped off Anup at the shop and took his contact details. Laganji dropped us at the Manali market near the Mall Road. We decided to book the tickets to Chandigarh and have lunch before we went back to the hotel. We went to the Manali depot and booked the AC bus to Chandigarh for 7:30 PM through HRTC. We then moved towards Mall road and had lunch at a local restaurant. We ordered Punjabi thali and unlike yesterday night at the dinner the lunch was good. Lesson learnt, always try local food when at a new place do not try a delicacy that they are not known for. When in Rome be like the Romans. Post lunch we had juice at Mall road and then kept the souvenirs at Manish’s shop. We then went back to the hotel to collect our luggage. We made the balance payment and got fresh in the restroom attached to the cloakroom. Since we had another couple of hours to go till our bus departure time, we waited in the hotel lobby for an hour. We left the hotel an hour before our bus timing, collected the souvenirs from Manish and bid them farewell. We had the famous aloo chaat at Mall road and then rounded up with juice again and then waited at the bus depot for the bus.

Shyam, Laganji, Anup, Me, Akhilesh

Ready to leave :)

Stuck in Traffic

Snow clad Himalayas under cloud cover

The bus was delayed and we were in for a surprise when we saw the 5 PM bus coming in at 7:30 PM; all thanks to the Manali traffic. Here, is when we met the last of the Karthik’s at the Manali depot. He was also going towards Chandigarh and was going to board a flight to Hyderabad from there the next day. He was accompanied by his mother whom he had got for a trip. Shyam really got along with him. There is something about two Andhralites meeting anywhere in the world J Our 7:30 PM bus finally arrived a hour late. We boarded the bus which had a large group from Chennai. One of our seats was behind which we managed to exchange with one of the members Chennai group. We were really tired from the day long activities. We immediately fell asleep and thus also skipped dinner. We surely had a bad luck with AC during this trip. The AC in this bus too was pathetic. We were really suffocated in the bus.

Shooting location of "Jab We Met"

Snow clad Himalayas under cloud cover

Snow clad Himalayas under cloud cover

Paragliding @ Rohtang Pass

Day 9 – 9^th June 2013: Manali to Chandigarh & Chandigarh City Tour

At the break of dawn we were nearing Chandigarh. Though the bus AC did not work as well as expected we still managed to sleep considering that we were really tired from the activities all day yesterday. We reached the ISBT Chandigarh at around 7:30 AM. We collected our luggage from the bus and then met an agent suggesting a hotel to spend the day. Since we were in no mood to look around for hotels we decided to go with him. He took us to Sector 53 which was close to ISBT and showed us 3-4 hotels. We finally decided to check in to Hotel City Inn 3 and booked an AC room. We finally got lucky with AC as the same worked really worked well here. We got fresh and were happy to see the geyser working considering the kind of awful experience we had in the Manali hotel. It was already 10:30 AM by the time we were ready and thus we decided to leave the room and get out for some breakfast. We were really hungry considering that we had skipped dinner last night.

Chandigarh roads 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

At first sight, Chandigarh appeared to be a really well planned city. There were dedicated lanes for cycles and cycle rickshaws, well placed sign boards and maps for directions, wide roads with dividers and good public transport. We went to the Food Court at ISBT and had a really pleasing hearty breakfast. Everybody there was ordering "masala dosa" so we too decided to taste one but again we were made to accept the fact “When in Rome be like the Romans”. We also worked on how to spend the day in Chandigarh. We prepared the itinerary trying to visit the must see places in Chandigarh and at the same time ensure that all the destinations are covered without having to do a lot of to and fro around the city.

Dedicated lane for cyclists & cycle rickshaws 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

Towards the museum 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

The museum campus 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

This PCO probably belongs inside the museum :) 

[Courtesy: Akhilesh]

With one of the rock sculptures

[Courtesy: Shyam]

First on the list was the Government Museum and Art Gallery. We took the AC bus from ISBT to PGI which dropped us at the road just opposite the museum. We crossed the road and entered the museum. The museum had a small entrance fee and charge for carrying the camera inside the museum. The museum had a wide range of designs, carpets, shawls, paintings, pottery, cutlery, coins, ancient weapons, swords and metal statues. We met some members of the MB19 group also in the museum. They also had a similar plan as us except that they also had plans to visit Agra. We spent around couple of hours in the museum and clicked a lot of photographs. We left the museum and then went to the Rose Garden which was just opposite the museum. The Rose Garden is famous for around 800 plus varieties of roses. We decided to take a nap under the trees and rest. We took a power nap for half an hour and then left the rose garden to go towards Capital Complex. It was very hot in the open and all along we were heavily doped with goti soda, sugarcane juice, etc to keep the throats wet.

Some of the paintings inside the museum 

Ancient swords and choppers

 We took an auto rickshaw which dropped us at the entrance of capital complex. The guard stopped us at the entrance inquiring about our whereabouts and then let us in. There was not much to see around. We walked into the woods and on the way back were fortunate to see a peacock in its entire nature habitat. Since the Capital Complex was a bit inside from the main road we walked back and then took a auto to Rock Garden. 

@ Rose Garden

Busy Squirrel @ Rose Garden 

A sculpture at Rose Garden

A peacock sighted @ Capital Complex

The Rock Garden is a creation of sculptures and model made out of waste material. It is the vision of Mr. Nek Chand who is the creator of the garden. We took the entrance ticket and went inside the garden. Being a Sunday there was a lot of crowd at the garden. There was a beautiful artificial waterfall inside where many people were having a shower in spite of the fact it was not allowed. We moved ahead and got a glimpse of the creativity exhibited by Mr. Nek Chand in building something so beautiful out of waste material. There was work going on the next phase of the garden which also had a waterfall. Fortunately here they had taken precautions by putting up proper fences to ensure people do not get into the water. We then decided to leave and on our way back had lime juice at the cafeteria.

At Rock Garden

Artificial waterfall @ Rock Garden

We came out from Rock Garden and found the same bus which dropped us at the museum in the morning waiting outside. We recognized the driver and the conductor. We asked for Sukhna Lake and then they concurred. We got into the bus which dropped us at Sukhna lake in about 5 minutes. We had plans to go for boating but looking at the queue we changed our mind. We instead had some snacks in the restaurant near the lake and then sat near the water bank and decided to enjoy the evening. There were many people of different ages at the lake. The lake had a large flock of ducks pedaling on the water surface and their sounds filled the whole atmosphere. It was a like a fair considering it was a Sunday evening. People were boating in the lakes in the pedal boats and with the kind of cycling we had done in the last week we were surely not in the shape for any further pedaling J

Boating @ Sukhna Lake

Crowd @ Sukhna Lake

AKhilesh & Shyam on the lake

Ducks @ Sukhna Lake

We decided to leave from Sukhna Lake a bit early to avoid the rush. We had plans to go to Sector 17 which is well known for its posh locality and shopping malls. For a change we decided to hire a cycle rickshaw. We don’t get to experience such things in Mumbai so we thought lets go for it. We were really impressed by the rickshaw pullers cycling skills considering that we had a struggle in the last week to reach Jalori Pass. We finally reached Sector 17 and Shyam being the sweetheart that he is decided to tip the rickshaw puller. We moved around and found almost all the branded shops that we would otherwise find in the malls in Mumbai. We were actually looking out for a sweet shop but surprisingly not many people could give us directions. We spend a lot of time roaming around the area and finally got directions to reach a sweet shop named “Gopal’s”. The shop was really awesome with countless varieties of sweets. We took the anguri pethas, chenna murki and walnuts. Since Gopals also had a restaurant on the top floor we decided to have dinner. Must say that the dinner was really good and to round it off we had matka kuifi with falooda …… yummy…..

On the cycle rickshaw @ a traffic signal

We came out from Gopals and while coming towards the main road we met a street urchin who was asking for some alms. Shyam being the soft hearted being that he is took him to Gopals again and bought him some food. We left there and after a long debate with 2 auto rickshaws finally came back to our hotel. We got fresh and then packed our luggage. We watched TV and saw the final stages of the Sri Lanka vs New Zealand Champions Trophy match and after the match we decided to call it quit and dozed off to sleep.

Day 10 – 10^th June 2013: Chandigarh to Mumbai

It was the final day of our trip. We had to board the flight from Chandigarh airport. We finished our routine activities, packed our luggage and checked out of the hotel. We tried to take an auto to the airport but they quoted pretty high fares thus we decided to take the AC bus from the ISBT depot. We reached ISBT and just the bus was leaving bought some samosas from breakfast and boarded the bus. One thing I must say the AC bus fares are very cheap. There are only 2 ticket denominations; Rs. 10 and Rs. 15. We could not believe we managed to reach the airport in just Rs. 15 per head in an AC bus. We got off at the entrance of the airport and bid good bye to Chandigarh by shaking hands with the driver and conductor of the bus. We then another round of breakfast outside at the airport canteen and then entered the airport. We did the security check for our luggage and checked in our bag packs and collected the boarding passes.

Just was we queued up to enter the boarding area we met Ridhima from the MB20 batch. She was going to Bangalore and we were heading towards Mumbai. Finally after half an hour the flight had arrived and we boarded the flight. I selected the window seat actually reserved from Akhilesh who entered late and I took advantage of the same. We purposely created a scene as if we did not know each other and he insisted on having the window seat. Taking us too seriously the air hostess decided to intervene. She actually taught there was some argument which we clarified and got settled. The flight took off on time and we were anxious about the landing considering that monsoon had arrived in Mumbai. It had rained continuously for the previous day in Mumbai and we were hoping not to have any delays. Luckily we did not face any delays and landed on time. We collected our luggage and moved out of the airport right into a rainy Mumbai.

Shyam & Me @ Mumbai Airport

[Courtesy: Akhilesh

Special thanks to all the members of MB 20 and YHAI members (Mr. Das, Mr. Mitra, Mr. Dimple, Rinku, Bindu Jr, Bindu Sr & all the other support staff at all the camp sites) for the amazing week we shared with each other. Thanks for becoming a lovely chapter in the story of my life !!

Lastly, thanks to Akhilesh and Shyam for making this a memorable trip.

This bought the curtains down on an amazing trip. Himachal Pradesh has surely won my heart. Will definitely come back to this part of the world sometime someday J 

Many more memoirs to share ……. Sachin