The drudgeries of life
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sincere apologies!
Hi readers!
Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in publishing the posts.
Unexpected work cropped up, and the placement season is on :)
I'll be back with the next post soon enough, please hang in there!
The Dream Trip: Day 8 - Conquering the Mighty Zanskar!
Probably the most adventurous day of the entire dream trip... etched in our memories as Day 8.
Everyone was up and ready to go by 8 AM.
Had omelettes and paranthas at Bon Appetit, our last meal in Leh :'(
Wrapped up the packing bit, thanked our landlady (her husband, Mr. Lobzing was not around) for all her help and hospitality, and checked out of our Guest House.
Last meal at Bon Appetit :'(
As decided, we followed the rafting organizing party's jeep to Chilling, the point by the Zanskar from where the rafting commenced.
While driving along the hilly roads with the Zanskar river flowing in the opposite direction by the roads, the view was spectacular. That said, 3 of us, Randy, Sid, and I, scoffed at the steady flow and lack of rapids in the river... we started comparing it with the sexy rafting experience in the Ganges at Hrishikesh!
What an experience that had been... clean water, strong currents and lots of rapids. The Zanskar in contrast seemed to have muddy water, weak currents and just a couple of rapids!
Zanskar!!
A seemingly innocuous rapid in the Zanskar
We witnessed a raft with lots of occupants navigating a turn in the river so efficiently that we were convinced that this rafting experience was going to merely a formality :(
It'll be child's play, we assured the others! What a let down!
Ahem! Little did we know what awaited us!
We had heard that these little guys would oversee the security issues...
For us, none of them remained :P
Once we reached Chilling, it took the organizers a lot of time to get the rafts ready. There were two rafts: we were supposed to occupy one of them, and the other one was for a group of foreigners.
Now that we were standing on the banks of the Zanskar, the feeling of confidence that arose after seeing not many rapids quickly dissipated on witnessing the river up close! The Zanskar looked menacing, and it's current strength was increasing by the minute (due to the melting snow up in the mountains, one organizer confidently asserted)!
Holy smokes! This is so not going to be easy!!
Six warriors, all set to take the plunge :P
The foreigners pumping air into their raft
While we rested, our guides took care of our raft :P
B1 Bros. :)
Our grey beauty! 
Rafters Ahoy!Turn by turn, we helped pump air into the rafts, got into the rafting gear (life jackets, helmets et al) and had a photography session!
It wasn't until 12:40 PM that we set off on our rafts! Rafters ahoy!!
Let me make it clear at this point that the water was icccy colddd... you can't dip your feet for more than 20-30 seconds, that cold!
The seating arrangement of us rowers in the raft was as follows:
____________
| | __________ | |
Me ----------Chandu
| |___________| |
| | __________ | |
Zulfi ------------ Sid
| | __________ | |
Randy ---------- Rusti
|__________|
Guide
Chandu and I being seated up front, on the right and left sides of the raft respectively, the onus of taking the waves head on (literally!) and matching our rowing rhythms under all circumstances was on us!
After a little trial run in a calm portion of the river, we were ready to go... well, not really but that's what our guide told us :P
For the next 90 minutes, Zanskar punished us like hell for underestimating her prowess! Oh, there were crazy rapids alright... just that you have to be there amidst them to realize that!
Till 2:15 PM, we braved rapids, rowed like madmen (and it would be the understatement of the decade to state that it was tiring!), heard and obeyed the commands from our guide like "all forward", "left back, right front", "right back, left front", "stop", "relax" (our favorite command :P), "row faster" et al!
When I say it was tough, really really tough, you've got to trust me :)
Initially there was no synchronization at all, everyone was irritated, and the our guide kept praising the foreigners in the adjacent raft who actually seemed to be professionals!
It was then that we started counting... and rowing with the count was like singing with a sexy background music! Sure enough we discovered the missing synchronization! We started rowing pretty well, and soon, it was the turn of the guide in the adjacent raft to compliment us B)
My back was paining like hell, as were the shoulders... others surely must've experienced similar pain! But we kept rowing like champs!
After a grueling 1.5 hours, we got a 30 minutes long break! Ahhhh I couldn't feel my feet once I stepped off the raft onto land! Everyone was wet and shivering in the cold breeze! Brrrr
I unabashedly had a few puffs of a cigarette, the only thing available to provide respite from the cold! Took off the wet shirt that had till now been adding to the shivering, and sat in the sun! Also clicked a few pics there...
Ever ready to go... even during a break!
Chandu, Sid, Randy and I with the guides during the mid-break
All set to take off for round 2!!
Thanks to the splashes of salty water on my face, I couldn't pronounce words properly... it was totally funny! LoL! The guys had a ball pulling my leg!
In the second leg of the journey, I initially switched places with Randy so that he managed the right front now, while Chandu handled the left front. Even the back portion, I figured, was tough... the rowing after plunging the oar deep into the river before pushing it back was very tiring.
At a silent stretch on the river, our guide said that we could jump into the water! So Chandu and I took the plunge! Woohoo! For a second, nothing, and then it hits you! Thousands of pointed needles pricking into all parts of the body! Freezing cold water it was! But after a minute or two, it felt awesome!
Soon after we got pulled back up, Chandu and I switched places. Randy and Sid jumped into the water too... should've seen the shock these guys got! Pulling them up in a hurry as a rapid approached was one helluva experience!
We had trusted our guide a lot, but somethings did go wrong despite his guidance! The raft hit a rock full force, and then got caught in a whirlpool! Gasp!!
Soon enough in a slow stretch of the river, our guide made a video of us rowing the raft, and clicked a few pictures of us :)
Our foreigner friends aboard their raft
After 3 long hours, we emerged from the Zanskar, fatigued but victorious! B)
After a few group photos, we threw on our clothes, applied lots of sunscreen (a little too late though! The damage had already been done :'( ). A part of the rafting combo was a complimentary lunch, so we headed for Hotel Wimbledon Continental at Nimoo.
The Zanskar Tamers B)
Given that everyone was dead tired and starving, the rice, dal, cauliflower and tea quickly vanished off the table!
Hunger didn't let us observe the beauty that time... oh well! Better late than never!
By 5:15 PM, we were on our way to Kargil. The road was pretty good for a while, but then it became bad. While the others drowsed and slept, I sat up front with Guru and kept him talking, lest he falls asleep :p
Damn! After a tiring day, this journey was uncalled for.
The road less traveled
Us, riding into the sun :)
Like a nightmare taking over from a bad dream, we were down with a flat trye 15 kms outside Kargil at 10:45 PM. The place was in the middle of a jungle, and that nagging feeling of being watched was terrible!
The place where we got stranded :D
We reached Kargil at 11:15 PM, and the town seemed to be asleep. We had searched on blogs about Hotel Siachen and PC Palace, but they turned out to be very expensive.
We bargained at Hotel Greenland and after lots of hassles (room rent related issues, room shifting) we got 2 good rooms for 900 bucks in all for the night.
Luckily for us, a Sardarji had kept his restaurant open at midnight, so Rajma, Rice and Eggs felt like a sumptuous meal.
Nothing else for the day! Jumped into bed, and blanked out the world :)
Tomorrow, we have to cross through Drass, while being observed by the enemy; witness Tiger Hill and a lot of places actually related to the Kargil War. Wow!!
Next up (Some time, next week):
The Dream Trip: Day 9 - A tryst with History at Kargil!
P.S.: An earnest Request - If you liked this post, please share it on
any of your social media networks using the following button which
appears at the end of the post:
Labels: Dream Trip, Kargil, Leh, Nimoo, Rafting, Whirlpool, Zanskar
The Dream Trip: Days 6 and 7 - Enchanting Nubraaaa - Part 2
Before I begin, I'd like to apologize for the delay... getting a bit caught up in life ;)
This post is all about the Second Part of our visit to Nubra... August 16, 2009, or Day 7 as we know it!
Ever had such an experience of waking up in the morning:
When as soon as your eyes open, your mind's blank and you feel totally fresh, not a bother in the world; and then before you can even start worrying about worldly problems, the scene outside the room window keeps you mesmerized for a while; then you go into the bathroom wondering about how beautiful the sight was and you feel so cheerful; there are no newspapers to inform you about the sad happenings around the world (let's face it more often then not, news is depressing... be it murders, theft, inflation, pollution, global warming, scandals et al); the breakfast is so damn good that the start of your day couldn't have been on a better note!
Well getting up that day in Sumur village was ditto like this :)
I got up at 5:30 AM, brushed, had a wash and got dressed quickly... tea felt awesome in the early morning cold! Brrr
Walking outside the room, I was filled with sheer pleasure at seeing the surroundings: beautiful gardens with colorful flowers; apple trees with loads of apples hanging on; and the nearby mountains.
Felt obliged to click lots of pics ;)
Try and count the number of colors you see in this pic!
Yonder the woods lie the hills...
Us with the apples in the bageecha!
Pinky!
And they were all yellow.... ♥
Fool khile hain gulshan gulshan :P
After settling our bill, we left for Deskit. The view along the way kept us hypnotized... and I kept clicking :) Best fun was hanging out of the car's window and taking some photographs!
The sand dunes looked awesome in the morning light.
Sand dunes!
The camel rides which was the main attraction didn't start till 9 AM, so we killed time till then... not a difficult task given everyone's obsession with getting their photographs taken :D
Deserted :D
Oh well! So what if no camels? Board ke saath photo :P
At 9 AM sharp, the camels, steered by their masters, emerged out of the trees. Randy opted out of the camel ride, but the remaining were totally keen on it... kids, I tell you!
The ride per se was one helluva experience!
Sid's camel led the way, followed by Mine, Chandu's, Zulfi's and finally the eternal follower Rusti's camel :P
Total fun interspersed with scary moments. For instance, Zulfi's camel going time and again for Chandu's foot, probably thinking of it as fodder :P Chandu looked up only once or twice during the entire ride... his attention was focused on where Zulfi's camel's mouth was :P
In addition to that, our guide kept adding masala by warning us about the camels going wild if someone makes lots of noise or distracting movements!
Well it wasn't a very smooth ride, but it did seem as if we glided through the desert... no wonder the camels are called "The ships of the desert".
All in all, this was an awesome and thrilling experience!
All aboard the ships of the deserts!
Chandu keeping an eye, rather both his eyes on Zulfi's hungry camel :P
Had dosas at a place which claimed to be the best food joint on the highway. Either it was the only canteen on the highway or it was unaware about competition, because it's food sucked bad. Anyway we had dosas and coffee... kept a stock of biscuits and chocolates for the drive.
It was 10 AM, and almost everyone was keen on heading back to Leh. Zulfi was more than keen to return as it was his birthday, and undoubtedly he was expecting calls from his loved ones :P But somehow we ended up at Deskit's centuries old monastery!
The place was nice, a must visit for serious tourists. A monk accompanied us as a guide and he gave us lots of information about the place! Won't spoil the fun by typing out the history here... go figure it out for yourself ;)
All 6 of us at Deskit Monastery
A top view... breathtaking!
What a backdrop!
While purchasing some souvenirs outside the monastery, found a couple of cute Tibetan kids (a girl aged 2 years, and her elder brother, aged 7)... Sid and I pampered the kids with chocolates, and also got a few pictures taken with them :)
Awww cho chuweet :)
A tanned me with the cute kiddies :)Next part of the journey was like the breeze! We raced back to Leh.
Noticed the crazy clouds that seemed ready to burst open any minute, and the fresh snow all around! No wonder it was so cold in Sumur! Also witnessed a cyclone!
The sky was falling... or so I thought!
The road leads into that hill, just like in Ali Baba's tale...
No, I'm just kidding you :P
Despite that being an accident-prone zone, we were shocked to see 2 massive road clearing machines that had fallen off the cliff :o
Witnessed snowfall for the second time in my life (first was earlier in the year at Solang, Manali). It was snowing when we passed Khardung La.
Riders on the storm
Raced home singing songs, doing bakar, and pulling each others' legs! :P
Most memorable parts of the journey were the raging bulls, and those huge army trucks on the hilly roads looking like tiny ants climbing up an ant hill!
Watching this bull go berserk was a treat!
Ants on an anthill?
Army trucks on a hill
By 3:45 PM, we had reached Leh. Checked out the fort in broad daylight this time :)
Us at the fort with Leh in the background :)
Everyone was starving, so had our heaviest lunch at Bon Appetit... nothing was wasted out of the 16 rotis, 9 naans, 2 plates of butter chicken, chicken chilly, dum aloo, mixed veg, rice, tea! And surprisingly the bill came to only Rs. 750 for six people! Did I hear you say "Nominal"? :)
Got our "We got Leh'd tees"! Yippee!!
This says it all... the journey till now :D
Returned to our guest house, bathed, and talked to the landlady who was brimming with questions on Nubra Valley :)
Too much distance from technology wasn't good so, to get back on track, we watched the movie "The Shooter".
Guru talked to us about reducing our expenses on the vehicle rent and all... right from the onset we knew he was a crooked character, but now he wants to take us into deeper shit. We had a long talk with him.
Back on familiar terrain, we were at Penguin's Bakery soon enough :D
Surfed the net for 2 whole hours and uploaded some pics on facebook... from the comments that started pouring in, sure looked like people's expectations from this trip were high!
That was End of Day!
Tomorrow is probably the biggest day of the trip... rafting on the crazy Zanskar river, and, if we survive (:P), move on to Kargil!! Adventure pe adventure, if you please...
50% of the trip is over! Let the remaining half be loads of fun too. Amen.
Next up (on Sunday, Jan 17):
The Dream Trip: Day 8 - Conquering the Mighty Zanskar!
P.S.: An earnest Request - If you liked this post, please share it on
any of your social media networks using the following button which
appears at the end of the post:
Labels: Bon Appetit, camel ride, Deskit, Dream Trip, Leh, Leh Fort, Monastery, Nubra, sand dune, Vacation, Zanskar
