BACK THRO DELHI ........ 28/10/06

26th October, 2006.

Pack up, load up and leave @ 9 am after breakfast. Bid adios to Nainital and take the road to Jeolikoat, nice roads till Kothagodam and till Rudrapur; then the UP chaos starts, pot holes, railway cross, unruly driving, NH being build and what have you; the only saving grace being Moradabad bye pass for 20 Kms. 402 Km from Nainital to Ghaziabad, we reach Vaishali @ 4 pm and we shacked up at Kumar’s place.

27th and 28th October, 2006.

Days of rest, catching up with Parents and family. Seeing old family videos and watching movies together, going out to endless malls and a day out to Appu Ghar for the Kids. Phew…. 2 days just flew by.

29th October, 2006.

Start off @ 9 am, through Jaipur, Nazirabad and reach Bhilwara, 545 Kms around 0420 PM. Late lunch at Sisters place and rest for 2 hours and star towards Ahmedabad. Reach by 8 PM.

In retrospect ( today is November, 29thth) exactly 30 days; everything seems like a bygone dream. Everything is back to normal, the photographs digitalized and we’re all charged and grooved into our routines. The trials and tabulations are a pleasant pain as if in a dream.

NAINITAL ZOO @ LAKE .... 25/10/06

25th October, 2006.

Get up 8 am, have a leisurely breakfast, sun worship in the garden for 30 mts; we have entire day to kill. Options are to go to the high altitude zoo, mall road, the cable car up the snow view point or drive to lakes in and around Nainital. I am keen to drive to Bhimtal, the opposition is mounting, Anu and kids vote me out for a quieter day, the decision is the Zoo and boating in the lake. I bow down to this pressure tactic thinking I could try driving to Bhimtal later in the day ( little do I realize the ability of a wife and kids to mount counter-strategies and play the psycho game equally well ). 10 am we drive up the steep and narrow zoo road; one need to be careful of the taxi drivers and DL registration cars doing crazy antics. There was this guy with a jazzy Tucson trying to squeeze by a parked Quails on his way up, gave him way and kept a safe 15 feet away from him, sure enough he scrapped the sides of the Qualis and there was this unholy uproar. Took about 20 mts and lots of us getting into the act to clear the mess and disengage them !!!!!

The Zoo was great; kept nice and clean and animals looked healthy. We spent till 1 pm inside, we al have a field day out, looking next to a walk in the mall and some boating. We descent, park the car on the mall road, haggle with a boatman and settle for Rs.250/- for 2 hours, full round of the lake. We spend a quiet 2 hours floating round lake and get back to Naini Retreat for a late lunch around 4 PM. My plans to go to Bhimtal goes out the window, it will get dark in 2 hours, driving after that makes no sense. Get back to room, watch some TV and 7 PM again to the gardens, the music is already on, people with glad-rags around camp fire, it’s a cold day. Pick up our dinner and join the crowd around the fire and listen to live music for some time. Around 9 pm we get back to room and its voting time again.

As per original plan, we need to go to Jim Cobert and then get back to Delhi; opposition of 3 votes go for Delhi straight and give Jim Cobert a pass; again I had to comply or face mutiny!!! The logic given by the 3 voters are; Jim Cobert is fully not open, we hear reports from others in the hotel there aren’t many animals to see and you need to stay there for at least 2 nights to get a flavor of the place !!!!!!! What can you say……. we decide to pack off to Delhi next day !!!

KASAUNI + NAINITAL .. 24/10/06

24th October, 2006.

Up @ 7 am, breakfast and go up to the terrace; crowded with people for the snow view. It’s a clear day, lo and behold, we could see the snow-caps clearly in the distance, one could look on and on and on to and make a million screen savers. I mount the Sony CS H1 on the tripod and start clicking away, what a photo opportunity of a life time !!!! We see the Trishul and Nanda Devi peaks clearly and many other smaller peaks. Most tourists there are Gujaratis on their vacations post Diwali, which they normally do. Most city folks take off for 10 days + during this time, state celebrates long holidays; you could find foot-loose Gujratis all over the world this time of the year. We meet many families on the terrace and exchange addresses and cards for whatever it’s worth.

The kids and Anu play TT on the garden, have fun scooting around. 1030 we start towards Nainital, 120 kms away. We pass Someshwr, Koshy Bazaar and tank up at Almora bye pass entry. Almora is as beautiful as Chamoli, with lesser hues. In the background you could see the Himalayan range clearly, it’s a nice staying option, but we need to move on. We pass Garam Pani and hook up with friend Kumar who’s on his way from Nainital to Badari on his Scorpio. We look out for his MH registration car, it’s a meet we both have been looking forward to, he’s a road warrior, constantly on the move and a real petro-head. Around 130 we cross after Bhavali and spend time catching up with our log books and sharing info. He’s keen to know the road condition up around Badari and is planning to go around Tehri, Danaulti, Dheradhun and back to Delhi. He’s an encyclopedia on Indian roads and very helpful with what he has. We say adios and head our ways. Reach Naini Retreat around 0300 PM and rest for the day.

Naini Retreat is up on the hills, looking down into the mall road and lake, a tastefully done up property. The very well kept garden, service, the food and the ambience is class; the room we got was a duplex, 2 beds on the top for the kids and 2 on the ground with the room heaters humming away. It’s a huge property and the evenings are abuzz with live music, campfire and lots of holidaying families milling around. We sit in the restaurant overlooking the lake and spend 2 hours on the dinner just watching and listening to the human drama unfolding around us. We hit the bed around 10 PM and watch TV for some time.

AULI, JOSHIMATH @ KASAUNI.... 23/10/06

22nd October, 2006.

Get up leisurely, yesterday night was the coldest @ Joshimath this season, 3 degrees, the night was difficult even with the hot water bottles and extra blankets. This day is reserved for rest, one of the few buffer days in our plan. Everyone is raring to get out into the sun; at 10 we drive to the GMVN ropeway which goes up to Auli and beyond. Today there’s no crowd and we have to wait for the timed departure of the lift @ 12 noon. We sit on the sun, look at all the photos in the nearby shop and try on some CD’s they’re wanting to sell. I put the H1 to good use on the tripod, there are lots of mountains to shoot and time to experiment with the shutter. There’s nobody else, only us, the lift takes us up 4000 + feet to the top. Strong cold winds and sub 4 degrees temp, we’re keeping close to each other for warmth. We walk down the stairs and walk around the top for 30 minutes, there’s a couple of guys, care takers of the cable car station on top, with an open fire going; we converge and warm ourselves near fire, we drink hot tea and look around the snow caps. Visibility is poor today; most of the mountains are cloudy and hazy, what a let down!!!!! We’re glad its not raining or snowing again; thankfully huddle around the fire and sing songs.
On the way down, weather clears up, we could see the Auli ski slopes clearly and the army hospital all in green. The car operator tells us, Joshimath is full of Nepali Regiment personnel, retired and some working, during the pilgrim season, they have the city full with travelers and seasonal businessmen; now it’s almost deserted.
We reach back to camp @ 3 pm, have lunch and take a local guy from camp to show us around Sankaracharya Math. They have many warring factions of the Math now with 2 separate establishments with many heads now. What a shame the Saints and Sanyasis who are supposed to be seeking spiritual salvation stoop down to dirty politicking for material things !!!!!! That’s reality check for us. Reach back camp around 5 and settle down for the day.

23rd October, 2006.

730 am, load up, pack lunch and off on the return leg of the journey. Today’s target is Kasauni, through Karnaprayag, Baidyanath, 190 kms away. The decent is quicker and it gets warmer on the way. Pass Chamoli @ 9 am, stop after we pass Lamgasu for the b’kfst. Stop on the extreme right shoulder with a view to the river and a hanging bridge; sun is shining bright, feels like heaven to get warmed up. Spread a blanket and b’fast on a big boulder, the roti sibji tasted like manna from heaven with lime juice to gulp it down with. We spend a leisurely 45 mts till it becomes really hot and start off our decent through Kakrnaprayag, left turn, cross river and towards Gwaldam. The road takes a new meaning and shape and attitude; river on one side, unspoilt, virgin forests, thin fog sticking to tree tops, local jeep drivers doing Shumi stunts on turns, turns are steering-wrenching, tight and sharp; you need to be fully awake and alert to avoid a head-on from mad on rushing jeeps and small local buses. Nobody uses the horn, nobody cares a hang; one nudge and you can careen headlong into the river, bye-bye world !!!!!!! I thank my senses for fitting the strong, extra-loud, bosch horn which can make anyone jump out of their skin, guess we got our money’s worth between Karnaprayag and Tharali. Many jeep / bus drivers were shocked to hear the horn on turns and respectfully gave way; they were probably shocked more by the fact that someone is using the horn, alien to this part of the country, some glared at me as if at a Martian !!!!!! Anyway, we roll past Narayanbagger, than a 10 KMs stretch of bad roads, Gwaldam, Sirkot and stop at Baidyanath temple. The twists and turns are too much for Nidish, we had to make vomit stops and feed him only Lime juice to stop dehydration. The decent is steep and the brake drums heat up; so the vomit stops are useful to cool them off. The 15 inch rubbers and predictable brakes of the Fusion are reassuring, never had a skid till now and hugs the roads pretty tight too.

Stop @ Baidyanath temple, the man sized fishes on the river are a sight to see and the 1000 years + Shiva temple is a wonderful piece of architecture. Stretch our legs, do the Darshan and sit in the temple bench for 20 minutes. The kids get their needed break; they’re getting edgy being cooped up the car for long stretches now. They help out with the maps and log book, when that’s over sitting inside seeing23/10 mountains and mountains roll by does take its toll. Anu is hanging in there too, though weary, tired and a little whooshy from the twisties. We start off again 3 pm and reach Kasauni, Sun n snow hotel around 4 pm. There’s no Sun or Snow to view from there in the evening, lots of clouds and fog bolts out everything in sight beyond 500 meters. After the tents and camps the hotel is a welcome change with the room heater going full clip; its like homecoming, we feel like staying indoors and watch TV to catch up with news. Order all meals inside and have a very late night with the telly on.

DIWALI @ BADARINATH.... 21/10/06

20th October, 2006.

Wake up at around 7 am, breakfast and ready to go up and tend to the car. Meet a group of Japanese tourists planning to go up today, last day for the temple to be open, met their Delhi based Indian guide. Met another couple from Mumbai who owns a travel company; they also finished the Kedar trip yesterday and are on the return leg.

The morning is crystal clear, cold n the mountains topped with thick snow; it has snowed pretty heavily yesterday night. Hire a jeep go up to Gaurikund and start the car with a spare battery, turns on first click and no problems thereafter. Drive back to camp, pack up, tank up and are on our way by 12 noon. We’re past the steel bridge, turn left towards Chopta, Ukimath, Dugalbatta and Gopeshwar. Pure mountains and electric cold air; Ukimath to Gopeshwar you see of the most beautiful valleys and ridges, mountains and virgin forests. Practically no living soul for long stretches; better to stock up food and a thermos if you’re on this road. No driving after 5 PM, the check posts close up after 7 PM. We reach Chamoli, 125 Km away, around 4 pm, 3100 fts alt, take left turn towards Badari and are climbing the ghats of Pipalkoti in no time. I come to a straight stretch of 2 km roads, the only straight one where I could use overdrive in about 900 Kms. No words can describe the beauty of Chamoli valleys, river on one side, all shades of green on the hills, sound of the river down the gorge, up ahead the winding roads going towards snow-capped mountains. This could compete to be one of the most beautiful places in the world !!!!!!

Roads are god here on, we make good time towards Joshimath camp site, cross Helag at 5 and reach 4 Dham camp, Joshimath, 174 kms from Guptkashi, at 530 PM, alt. 6150 fts. We get inside the tents, is colder here as the snowing is now continuous up in the mountains. We have the most difficult stretch of 75 Kms tomorrow to drive and if it snows, it could be tricky. Hope for the best and take a tour of the camp. The camp manager is very helpful again and gives us contacts for the temple and draws us a map to travel with timings and complete road information. These guys are pretty organized, they have good contacts and care for their guests very well indeed.

21st October, 2006.

Nidishi’s B’day and Diwali day, the day we were slogging to do the Darshan at Badari. Wake up at 5 AM , wish Nidi happy B’day and much a 5 star bar each to celebrate and start towards the ghat roads. This section has gates from Joshimath, the roads are one way and narrow and the next gate is at Pandukeshwar 23 Kms away where traffic from Badari is stopped and is allowed to cross single file. The roads are too narrow and dangerous for two way traffic and hence this system. Reach the first stop at Pandukeshar in 1 hour and wait 30 mts for the gate to open for going up. The road up from here to Badari is more difficult, narrow, roads carved out of huge overhanging rock sections and prone to landslides. Road work is going on too, some sections are pure hell for the rubber. We had heavy rains and small snow all the way up; the wheels were spinning at place, four 15 inchers are biting for purchase with flying mud and roacks all around. Wonder how the non-SUV guys manage to drive up this section; cruel to the underbelly, tires and the engines!!!! Reach, Vishnuprayag, Hanuman Chatti Ghats and then Badarinath. The temple town is more or less deserted, though they will close only 20 days from now, winter traffic is low here, only someone as crazy as we are or the most devoted pilgrims venture up this far in snow time. We warm up at the hot water spring and today its Brijo’s turn to fall sick, he’s miserable with the cold and has a banging headache. Find the local contact, fix the special pooja for Diwali and Nidish’s B’day and also Lakshmy pooja and go inside the temple. Thin crowd, we take off shoes and the cold cobble stones are murder to the feet. The socks get wet compounding the problem, we are do a jig trying to keep one feet at a time on the ground; there’s this tearing pain at first, followed with pricking pain and then everything is comfortably numb !!!!! 10 minutes, you don’t feel anything on your soles to ankles, God’s anesthesia is powerful too!!!!

The priests inside the main temple are decent, but the ones at Lakshmy temple are repulsively greedy !!!! We go down to Sankaracharya’s abode where the southern priest from Kerala lives, from Trichur, meet him and take his blessings. We go into the shop of our contact and have life giving tea and soup. We have time to kill till 2 when the gates to go down open up. We drive to Mana village, the last village in India this side towards Tibet. Stop at the car park and pick up a local guide (guy turned out to be a drunk, our children knew more about Mahabaratha and the Ganapathy Gufa than him !!!!!) and he showed us Saraswati river, Bhim Phool and Ganesh Gufa. Since it was getting near gate time, we hurry back in time for the gate to open at 2 pm. Reliance signals are strong and we take time to speak to relatives and friends to wish them Happy Diwali. There’s snow all around the mountains, the local say it has started snowing early and the nights are cutting cold. By now the continuous cold and wind is taking a toll on all of us, we’re from warm south and anything below 10 degrees is winter for us!!!! Around 4 degrees, its painful and agony every hour, we’re hanging on hoping this wind would stop.

The drive down is better, sun is up whisking the mist away and wonderfully warm. Reach HanumanChatti @ 230, visit the temple and off again. Gate stop at Pandukeshwar for 20 mts and reach back to camp @ 400 PM. Fill up gas and look around for Vicks inhaler for Anu; tried all the medical shops and manage to get it at a Provision shop!!!!! Back to Camp to rest for the day. The kids are busy playing games on the lap top and game boy and we catch up with reading newspapers and magazines.

TREK KEDAR DHAM ... 19/10,2006.

19th October, 2006.

Wake up at 5 am, its deathly quiet and freezing outside, wake up kids and the guide for the day Dinesh guides us on the road through Sonprayag to Gaurikund, 31 Kms away. We park the car, Dinesh goes hunting for the Dhols; it’s end of the season, most of the Nepali porters are already gone home, the temple will close tomorrow for the season and everyone is in a winding down mode. With great difficulty and lots of haggling, Dinesh gets 4 Dhols and we’re off @ 7 am to Badarinath, what we dreamt for a long time. What we didn’t plan for was the rain, snow and cold; soon its drizzling and a cutting wind plays tune through the trees, few people and horses going up. We were surprised to see old people and a few children walking up on foot, 14 kms up hill in this weather, that’s some demo of faith in action. The porters walk in rhythm, climb gamely on and take a break every 30 minutes for a smoke or a chai. We reach Rambada @ 11 am, alt 9000 feet, 7 km away from where we started. The rain picks up stronger, and the temp drops to around 6; we’re numb and cover everything except our noses, still no respite. Nidish vomits all his break fast on the hill side and is sick and cold, the porters pick him up on the Dhol and chug up faster, our porters follow through. 12 noon, we see the temple, 2 km away shimmering and the snow capped mountains all around, dare not take out the camera as the drizzle turns into snow, we’re coated with powder sown and the temp drops to 4; I hum Pink Floyd’s “comfortably numb’, we’re beyond thought, the cold has frozen everything, we’re on auto pilot, the posters happy with the exercise to keep them warm and uncaring, they only to want to finish what they started off. By 1 pm we reach Badarinath, Nidish is pretty sick by now and starts shivering, we take him up to Panjab and Sindh hotel and order some hot water and empty plastic bottles to warm him up. Dinesh heaps blankets on him and heat him with hot bottles, he’s stopped shivering and starts breathing easy and normal; we take turns at visiting the temple; hardly any pilgrims and have a nice Darshan. We’re all keen to run back and get away from this cold soon as we can; one of the porters lends his camel hair coat to Nidish and they get some plastic sheets to cover him from falling snow. We’re on our way back, exhausted from cold, altitude and the wicked wind, its snowing hard now, every exposed part is wet, the gloves, shoes and the jeans. We get down from the Dhols and try walking to generate heat, that helped us some, we reach Rambada around 3 pm and have hot tea. Most shops are pulled down, few of them operating, tomorrow the temple will close down, everyone will go down to Gaurikund and sit out the winter for 3-4 months. All the iron railings on the walkway to the temple are also being pulled down, say even iron can’t take the weight of the snow in the winter and buckle down. To preserve the railing they are put down flat on the ground; all the roofings rails, tarpaulin covers taken off till Rambada, lest they will crash with the weight of the snow in winter.

We reach Gaurikund around 0500 PM and pay off the porters and take rest for 30 mts with chai. Its pitch dark already with an icy wind drifting down, reach the car and have a surprise waiting for us. Car wouldn’t start; driver of a jeep nearly says the alarm was going on throught day and the battery has gone dead. Find a cop, explain the situation to him; he says not to worry, leave the car there and attend to it 2morrow morning and wish us good night!!!!! Catch a local jeep and reach back to camp by 730 PM. Wow…. What a day !!!!! Nidish is by now OK, the porters say he might have had altitude sickness and its self-limiting if you move him down quickly. That and the camel hair coat helped him, we paid the guy extra for an exellent job done. Dinesh has been a life-saver throughout the day, he came up and down with us on foot, helped out with Nidish and the hotel up there and again with the police and car etc. God does work in mysterious ways !!!!! We ask for extra blanket for the night and are soon snoring away.

GUPTKASHI ... 18/10/06

18th October, 2006.

Get up @ 7 am, pack some food and off we go towards Guptkashi camp, 150 KMs, about 6 hours away. Misty morning, damp windshields, soon sun wipes it away; nice drive up the road, winding up and up hugging the river; we take it easy till Deoprayag, the Sangam where Bhagirathi and Alaknanada rivers meet to form Ganges. Shoot some pictures of the sangam and sit on the road side just soaking up the picture. People say there’s little traffic now-days, the 4 Dhams ( Gangori, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badarinath) will soon close for the winter, the pilgrims will avoid the cold; the season opens up again around April once the snow up the mountains clear, till July when rains bring in land-slides and slush, the river turns coffee-brown with rainwater and will roar down in spate.

We reach Srinagar 67 km and 3 hrs later around 10 am, stop to catch up with a friend. Only network working here is BSNL, caught him on the mobile; tough luck, he’s off to Delhi!!!! We’re once again on our way past the Khakra Bridge and reach this serene spot; one side huge mountain, winding roads going up and the river flowing down a deep gorge. Needed to stop for the photo chance and to stretch our legs. Spend 10 minutes strolling around, catching some sun; there’s a chilly wind blowing down-hill following the river, looks like its icing up at the top. Reach Rudraprayag and take left turn to Guptkashi; the wind has turned real cold and we catch raindrops on the windshield; sun is bolted out and by the time we reach Agastyamuni around 12 noon its like a dark evening. Rain pitches in, it turns cold and the heater is blowing away warming the cabin. Thankfully rain clears in 30 minutes and we reach Guptkashi 4 Dham camp around 2 PM, alt around 6000 feet.

The camp is on the hill-side, we get outside the car, the cold hits us, must be around 11/12 degrees with the wind chill kicking in. We’re soon into our tents, its cold everywhere; the bed, the chairs, the towels, thankfully there’s running hot water. We dig out the warm cloths and are on wollies up to the gills and still feeling cold, it must be the wind !!!! We have a nice lunch; these guys cook some great food and hot too. We bed down to take rest for some time and are asleep soon. The kids are in another tent and have a field day running round the camp, they have the entire camp staked out and we know what is where. Its 5 pm; we hear the bells ringing and chanting going on, there’s a Majaraj doing pooja on the camp temple, we attend the aarti, today its early as its dark already with clouds, raining on and off. Maharaj takes us to the Vishwanath Temple; its dark already, we drive up the dirt road, more like a rally route, boulders and rocks and broken roads and sharp turns, Fusion negotiates it beautifully though we burned rubber with the wheel spin on 1st gear. Down the steps to the temple and in time for the Aarti. Amazing thing about 2 streams of water gushing into the compound sink there; they taste very different one is very sweet and another normal soft water; reportedly, they are Ganga and Saraswati rivers. We perform the famous Gupt Dhan Pooja and finish Shivji’s darshan, drive back up to the camp carefully, have an early dinner and sit outside the tent talking. It’s uncomfortably cold, it must have dropped a couple of degrees more now and night temp would be 7 ish. The camp guys give us hot water bags for the night, small respite for the night.

During dinner we plan the next day with Mr.Pathak, the camp manager. If we have to make it to Kedarnath and back in one day, we need to start early and get back around 6/7 PM. It’s a trek 14 km up, from Gaurikund (6500 fts), its 4900 feet climb, Kedarnath is 11924 fts. You can use the horses ( pretty tough on the groin and hamstrings; many people do it in 2 days to avoid the pain and agony) , the Dhol (4 porters carry one person, costs around Rs.2400/- faster, les strenuous, so we thought). Anyway you look at it, its going to be one hall of a day for us and the kids.