Few days close to Heaven: The Dzongri Trek

[rjstyles69]

Determination and Spirit are the only words Samurai. Amazing one. Hats off to you and your better half.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by iraghava

Had a wonderful time reading it but thought can I do it if I wanted to go on a trek? Then remembered that I've been going through virtually no physical exercise for the past two years so maybe it's not such a good idea!

One month training ought do it, walk uphill or on treadmill in elevated position for few Kms a day.

Originally Posted by Steeroid

What a trip and a half!

What half?

Originally Posted by shazikon

It must have taken you quite some time to recollect your thoughts and pour it out in this article..

I was off from work for a week and nowhere to go. So I figured let me write it down before it fades from my memory. I wrote for many hours every day for a week.

[Samurai]

Talking about great food... I spoke to the wife and she concurs.

It was thought of freshly made hot food that kept us going. While we were walking/climbing those neverending mountain trails, our only serious thought was on what menu will Suman Subba (the genius cook) conjure up for the next meal. If that needed an extra porter, so be it.

That was it folks, it was the literal carrot in front of us. If we were facing the prospect of apple/bun/banana for the next meal, we would have just let ourselves collapse and slide from the mountain.

[tsk1979]

Hey samurai, thats one helluva trip!
I am also planning a remote trip(Ladakh maybe) but it will be more of driving and less of walking.
Amazing pics!
And johy, I will definately bug you when we plan a sikkim trip, but thats going to be in the summers

[prabuddhadg]

Great write up, nice snaps and a great adventure, Samurai! You took me back to a trip I did a few years back to North Bengal (Sandak Phu and Phalut).
Because you people were basically fit, you were up to the challenge. The locale is so breath taking, the people are so different, the food and the drinks are so different that you have no real frame of reference for your daily humdrum life. And when you see the kind of strain the locals can take, it gives you added energy to try harder. The first few days you go on on adrenaline, and then your conditioning starts improving.
But I am sure, every morning, when you would look out your tent or hotel window and see the sights, physical conditioning and aches and pains lost much of their meaning.
And in the end, I am sure you wanted to extend the trip by just one more day.
Really, thanks Samurai, you have made my day. Wonderful write up, I actually felt like I was there.

[NIP]

samurai...great effort and simply superb writeup !! the effort gone into details in the writeup is commendable. absolutely fun to read as well...free flowing and well written. there is no point in doing such a trek and not documenting it this way. please point me to any more photo galleries you might have online. thanks for sharing the experience !

[Samurai]

Thanks for the kind comments.

Preparation on the physical fitness is really a must. We suffered so much because we ignored the endurance requirement. But we came back in one piece on our own legs because we did have some minimum fitness level.

Originally Posted by NIP

please point me to any more photo galleries you might have online.

I am slowly post-processing 300+ photos so that only the good ones are online. I'll provide the link once I have more photos.

[zenx]

W.O.W! Hmmm, this just might inspire lazy me to get up and trek rather than just ride. I tasted a wee bit walking 900mup (5kms) upto Taksang monastery in Bhutan, but this is so much more the stuff of dreams.

[sivadas]

Team-BHP is lucky to have your travelogue.
Samurai, actually your article and photos deserve a place in the FrontLine magazine.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by sivadas

Team-BHP is lucky to have your travelogue.

Ok. Now this is too much, please don't get carried way. Team-BHP has hundreds of great articles, better ones too.

[khaadu75]

Samurai, WOW -- my only question is , how long did it take you to write that ?? Wud have taken me close to 5 yrs ,,, ad that too if I wasnt tired by teh end . I wont say more as I will probably be repeating what the others have allready written ...

NICE ....

[NRKUMAR]

Great Pics & an inspiring vacation Samurai

[johy]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

And johy, I will definately bug you when we plan a sikkim trip, but thats going to be in the summers

Thou art welcome sire - this is beautiful country, I am sure you will love every bit of it.

[Jay]

Awesome write-up Samurai... enjoyed reading every bit of it... nice pics too...

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by khaadu75

Samurai, WOW -- my only question is , how long did it take you to write that ?? Wud have taken me close to 5 yrs ,,, ad that too if I wasnt tired by teh end .

Thanks. Took me about 30-35 hours to write this over one week duration. I was too tired by the time I added the photos and did the proof-reading. This is the longest article I have ever written, I wonder how novelists manage.