The Spiti Loop > done differently - 7900kms

[jaysmokesleaves]

Special thanks:
A.M. Mathur, Adc, Tsk1979, hvk for route details and motivational support through their photographs and other information posted by various members on T-bhp. While I was contemplating the various options of different trip plans, this trip came up while browsing through the travelogue section.

The trip:
This trip was originally planned to be Mumbai Delhi Himachal(SPITI LOOP) & back. But my caretaker backed out at the last minute and there was no one to look after my dogs. So the whole trip was replanned to go via Hyderabad where I was to meet a buddy and then proceed to Orissa where I would leave my dogs at a friends farm and then proceed for the trip via Jharkhand, Bihar, UP to Fatehpur & Kanpur to meet a few more friends and then proceed via Delhi, Shimla, Narkanda, Sarahan, RecongPeo, Kalpa, Pooh, Rampur, Kaza, Nako , Tabo, Kibber, Ki, Gramphoo, Manali, Delhi, Jaipur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Ahmedabad, Mumbai. Trip lasted total 3 weeks. So I left from Mumbai with my dad and my dogs. I wanted to take the dogs along for the whole trip but a friend told me that they might no acclimatize well enough in the mountains, so I decided not to take any chances although the boys(dogs black dog & red label) are extremely fit and healthy.

The trip was eventful.
Did the whole trip without a stepney(that story is coming along shortly).
Got shunted in Ambala by a truck(that¿s for later too).
Got shunted by a bus again in Ambala on the return trip(that¿s for later too)

I have divided the trip into 2 sections:
1st section is Mumbai to Orissa via Hyderabad.
2nd section is Orissa-Delhi-Himachal-Delhi-Ahmedabad-Mumbai.


Section 1 : Mumbai Hyderabad Cuttack.

Blackdog & Redlabel were all excited in the evening looking at a few bags being packed and tucked away in the Safari. They sure knew what was coming up and were all excited about it.
The dogs just love being on the road Road-Dawgs I should add. They were up as usual at 4am for their morninig walk and soon after the morning deeds they ran up and sat next to the Safari waiting to be let in. So an hour and a half and a fat breakfast later we set off towards Hyderabad on the Pune expressway. There was intermittent rain that accompanied us until Vijaywada, after which it was completely dry.
Surprisingly, Orissa was completely dry too.

Pics 1-2 were shot outside a fort near Bijnor enroute to Hyderabad.




. Some rain enroute to Hyderabad followed by clear dry roads.



Short Piss stop for the boys early next morning.




Hanuman statue & Swami Vivekananda enroute to Vizag.





Excellent 4 lane highways all the way from Vizag and another Piss-stop.

This is the place where we suspected a slow puncture on the left rear... the events unfolded in a way that i did the whole remaining trip without a stepney... story follows..





Furthur at a tea stop the pressure furthur reduced confirming our doubts. So we decided to replace with the stepney and get the puncture repaired at a competent tyrewala in Berhampur.
We took out the stepney and discovered that the NEW stepney that has been there since the vehicle was purchased had a huge bubble on the inside of the tyre. This was the first time that the stepney was taken off since the vehicle was purchased so there was no was to know this beforehand.

Thats when we decided to use this on the punctured tyre to enable us to go the distance.
Trust me guys ¿ these products DO NOT work. This one surely didn¿t(I cant find the product pic, though I will post it shortly).
So I used my portable compressor to pressurize the punctured tyre so I could drive to Berhampur and get it repaired.
The idea was to take the new stepney tyre back to the tyre dealership to get it replaced under warranty since it was new & unused.

So the puncture was repaired in Behrampur & we proceeded to Cuttack to leave my dogs with a friend.

Next day we take go to the bridgestone office and they inspect the tyre and say it is cut from the inside and it cannot be replaced. I was left wondering how a trye that was unused since the time I got the vehicle can have a cut on the inside. The tyre dealer told me it is possible that the dealer might have driven the vehicle pre delivery and it is possible that the damage might be since then, so I should refer it to the dealer I purchased the vehicle from.

Buying a new tyre would leave me with an extra tyre after I got a replacement from the dealer.Then I decided to purchase a tubeless puncture kit to fix any puncture henceforth.
So basically I was destined to do the rest of the trip without a stepney. The Bridgestone dealer told me that the stepney would blowout if I drove on it. So i decided as usual to stretch my luck and proceed on the trip and fix the tyre issue once i reached Mumbai.


Then we dropped the dogs off in Cuttack... where they had a great time with all the space available to them. Then I spent one more day driving to the Narayani temple heading backwards towards Berhampur, also to see a few fighting cocks of grand lineage.(sorry, no pics of the cocks - Aseel's)

[jaysmokesleaves]

I had done a trip to Orissa earlier intending to go to Daringbadi, but unfortunately at the time the route to Daringbadi was closed off by paramilitary personnel due to combing operations following the necently occoured naxalite violence and bombblasts... so this was another trip to Orissa but I did no do Daringbadi since I wanted to devote all my time to the Spiti loop.



The following pictures are more like a pictorial documentary of Orissa to me.. though many may not see the point of the pics.... I hope you enjoy them nevertheless...


driving through the NH passing through Bhubaneswar.



A local seemingly preoccupied....wondering and pondering




Roadside parliament session



Ohh.. its actually an accident




Dont miss.. the Relax & Comfort service sign on the bus



There seem to be some passengers still onboard




And what is the meaning of EMERGENCY MILK DUTY



Fresh vegetables being transported from a closeby village

[jaysmokesleaves]

village toy vendor


At the tea stall





Animal traffic on the NH



Disfunctional light at the railroad crossing




The goodluck & happy journey salesman at almost every railroad crossing.

Young cycle rickshaw wallah


The innocence just amazes me... no wonder politicians are enjoying a great career in this country.


I am floored by the honesty of that smile.


Banana vendor at Balugaon


Local veg market at Balugaon

[harjeev]

man thats a really long trip you did there. I think that you have covered almost all of India by road.
and the pics are amazing.

Cant wait to read the rest of it. Keep it coming...

[Steeroid]

Is it cool in Orissa? Most people seem to be wearing some sort of protective clothing - shawls, hoods, scarves, sweaters.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Originally Posted by harjeev

man thats a really long trip you did there. I think that you have covered almost all of India by road.
and the pics are amazing.

Cant wait to read the rest of it. Keep it coming...

Thanks...

Originally Posted by Steeroid

Is it cool in Orissa? Most people seem to be wearing some sort of protective clothing - shawls, hoods, scarves, sweaters.

It was monsoon in Sept but had just about stopped raining a few days ago. There were very strong winds due so some kind of depression in the Bay of Bengal. I was told it is a common feature there. Yes it was cool & extremely windy.
Mst locals almost always have some cloth(its called gumcha) wrapped around their heads or hanging across their shoulders.

[Rudra Sen]

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

It was monsoon in Sept but had just about stopped raining a few days ago. There were very strong winds due so some kind of depression in the Bay of Bengal. I was told it is a common feature there. Yes it was cool & extremely windy.

Can't be more than 18-19 degree. Wind blow due to depression makes it feel more cooler. There's no concept of WINTER in Orrisa.

Looks like another great travelogue coming up. Will follow closely.

[jaysmokesleaves]

Railway crossing attendant


Except for the visible lungi, the man resembled an ostritch of some kind when we saw from a distance.


Crows at the dhaba



Goodluck limboo at the dhaba




Looked like a roadside village gathering to me


An amazing product mix


Some villagers walking across a bridge



One side of the NH was under construction and the road was used as a local mandi with lots of people with different produce and other stuff virtually spilling onto the used portion of the road almost causing a jam.





Approach to Narayani temple

[HappyWheels]

That was one hell of a trip you had there!

Nice photographs of the people that you came across.

Please do continue...

[jaysmokesleaves]

The sales pandit(Priest+salesman) selling religious consumables




This man was unfortunately left behind by the Star-Trek crew.



View from the back of the temple from where a small trail leads to somewhere into the lush green mountains. A very tempting trail that I was tempted to take but did not.


This woman in her mid/late 40s was busy tying a bundle of dry wood(i was wondering where she found it in the monsoon). It was large enough to easily weigh approx 20kgs. She scooped it up with some effort and quietly proceeded up the trail into the mountains. I was sitting there for over 5 minutes watching the woman who was completely oblivious to her surroundings and all the loud chattering going on by the local tourists. Her focus in her task was so complete that not once did she look up to look around her. There was so much silence.




There's God everywhere.
I wonder what version this one is.. though one looks like a Ganpati idol & the other resembles a snake. Devotees have tied red thread and bangles around in. Supposedly as an offering to the Gods for bringing them peace & prosperity in return. Makes for an extremely colorfull pic.


This man was busy smoking. So i spoke to him about what his ingredient was. He fell so proud of himself that he could share info about his smoke that he went overboard in taking a few very deep puffs. Next minute he was choking and coughing so badly that his lungs would come out. He even wasnt in a position to drink water that I offered.



A batch of school kids on a religious excursion.


A couple probably exchanging religious vows and discussing what their future holds.


A beautiful tree in the mountains .. I could not capture its real effect in the pic.


The Temple entrance. I wonder what symbolic meaning it has. But the temple is extremely nice & simple. 1Rs. entry fee for its upkeep. There is a stream cming from somewhere uphill where one can wash hands n feet before entering. Camera wasnt allowed inside.



Sugarcane juice stall nearby




The entrance to Narayani is on the NH and the temple is 5kms inside. The 5km drive inside is like driving thru a forest. It was extremely scenic and the monsoon had added furthur splendour to it. No pics of that though since i was driving....

to be continued.

[Rahulk76]

A journey called India.....Keep them coming in Jay...

[Lukeskywalker]

Good pictures, very different from a normal travelogue, it is indeed Bharat Darshan.

[shazikon]

Amazing pictures...and i am floored by your patience.. firstly to take all those pics and taking time to share it with us.. Appreciate it a lot...

[Jay]

Nice trip and Nice pics there. Keep posting.

[sudev]

Just one word WOW.
Truly amazing diversity and trip is perhaps only 20% complete. This is heavenly manna for arm chair traveler.