Team-BHP > Travelogues


Reply
  Search this Thread
33,074 views
Old 9th August 2010, 20:55   #16
Senior - BHPian
 
MileCruncher's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MH01
Posts: 4,230
Thanked: 580 Times

@reply2ab: Bring it on! Can't wait !

BTW you sure are using your Bolero to the fullest like the automated message every morning
MileCruncher is offline  
Old 9th August 2010, 21:11   #17
Senior - BHPian
 
fine69's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: New Delhi
Posts: 1,591
Thanked: 1,467 Times

Pic #4 & #5 are my favourite!

By the way who calls these roads?? And if you do these have got to be the most difficult ones up north. Oh, just in case I forget, with a baby on board! Its got to be one of the craziest travelogues (with a baby) I've seen so far.

I'm sure you must've enjoyed every bit of it!
fine69 is offline  
Old 9th August 2010, 22:14   #18
Joy
BHPian
 
Joy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 305
Thanked: 25 Times

Please continue, eagerly waiting for more.

Checking since morning, no updates. F5..F5..F5 only.
Joy is offline  
Old 10th August 2010, 08:09   #19
BHPian
 
noidea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 146
Thanked: 89 Times

Note from the Team-BHP Support Staff : Post Deleted. Typing a message which is not a value-addition to the topic being discussed, or is just entirely irrelevant is considered as “Spam” on this community. Spamming is STRICTLY prohibited on Team-BHP.

We advise you to read the Announcements and Board Rules section before proceeding any further, and to prevent your account from being permanently disabled.

Last edited by .anshuman : 30th September 2010 at 08:43. Reason: Please take a look at the mod note that has been added to the post.
noidea is offline   Received Infraction
Old 10th August 2010, 11:18   #20
BHPian
 
lordofgondor's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: UP 16
Posts: 936
Thanked: 159 Times

Come on reply2ab, please continue the log. The tribal circuit's now 1st on my "really need to drive to & checkout" places list, and if I get the required leaves, I'll be heading there sometime in September this year. Since I'll be doing the journey in my Maruti Esteem, I'll be on the lookout for the trouble spots mentioned/depicted in your log.

Drove to Narkanda this weekend, and it seems that the rains have taken a big time toll on the roads, beyond Shimla, this year. Please update about the condition of NH-22 beyond Narkanda?
lordofgondor is offline  
Old 10th August 2010, 15:37   #21
BHPian
 
hridayjyoti's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 139
Thanked: 171 Times

what a teaser... Another thread to hook up with!! reply2ab where are you? come with the story, can't wait anymore.
terrain looks perfect for off roading. I doubt, it will be nightmare for a sedan to make it through. though I love my fiesta, desperately feeling the essence of a 4x4.
hridayjyoti is offline  
Old 11th August 2010, 15:36   #22
Senior - BHPian
 
wanderernomad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Chandigarh
Posts: 2,534
Thanked: 1,273 Times

Hit a rough patch mate? Dont linger on for so long. Keep them coming now since you ahve got all of us hooked.
wanderernomad is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 11:46   #23
BHPian
 
reply2ab's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Noida
Posts: 29
Thanked: 2 Times
Thrill-a-minute ride !!! (Apologies)

Friends, Sincere Apologies for having not continued the Travelogue. No excuses will do justice to it. Day 1 - Day 4 will be posted tonight. Regret the Delay.
reply2ab is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 13:59   #24
BHPian
 
sami316's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 484
Thanked: 45 Times

No issues AB,

We will wait. I am sure the wait would be worth it. Cheers!
sami316 is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 16:46   #25
Senior - BHPian
 
wanderernomad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Chandigarh
Posts: 2,534
Thanked: 1,273 Times

tonight means? For travellogues the night falls at 1800 hrs, lolz.
wanderernomad is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 19:33   #26
Senior - BHPian
 
MileCruncher's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: MH01
Posts: 4,230
Thanked: 580 Times

Please stop the torture and give the next phase.

Else ...
MileCruncher is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 21:10   #27
BHPian
 
San Phrangmung's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Guwahati
Posts: 599
Thanked: 139 Times

Does small cars make it to Leh or is it all big SUV's only.
Did you see family's travelling on this route in Alto's, Santro, Matiz or even M800.
Is it ok to travel in small cars on such altitude and road conditions or better avoid it.
San Phrangmung is offline  
Old 12th August 2010, 23:04   #28
MX6
Senior - BHPian
 
MX6's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: City of seven islands.
Posts: 2,877
Thanked: 231 Times

Nice. reminds me of the way I travel off late. Ofcourse, I'm yet to find shelter in an abandoned temple with family. Roll out the rest of the story dude.
MX6 is offline  
Old 13th August 2010, 11:22   #29
BHPian
 
reply2ab's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Noida
Posts: 29
Thanked: 2 Times
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Destination - Manali)

Day 1: Delhi to Manali...well, no, Bilaspur...well, no, maybe we should settle for Nalagarh...or maybe for a temple in the middle of nowhere!

We've been planning and replanning this trip for a long time now, so maybe it's not surprising that so many things went wrong on Day 1. After all, you know what they say of the best-laid plans of mice and men...


Rations for the stay at Lossar and our trek
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-001.jpg

So to start with, we planned to leave Delhi right after church around noon on Sunday, and gave ourselves the somewhat ambitious target of making it to Manali by the night. (Ha ha)

Of course, it didn't quite work out that way. Instead, we left home around 3:30, with a hired Innova carrying a driver, and two couples with three kids between them, and our Bolero with four people.

It was a fairly uneventful ride through Haryana and Punjab, punctuated by a beautiful sunset...


Just out of delhi
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-003.jpg

too much football
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-017.jpg

just after karnal
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00336.jpg

looks like a beach, but its actually flooded fields
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00340.jpg

nearing ropar
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-021.jpg

...until after dark when the drama first started. By the time we were nearing Ropar around 9 pm, it was fairly obvious we weren't going to make it to Manali for the night. But huddling over the maps at the dinner table, we thought Bilaspur was a reasonable target.

dinner time & discussion of our night halt
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00347.jpg

About half an hour after we started out from the dinner halt, we had a diversion. There was some work being done on a bridge and the police were directing all traffic towards Nalagarh. Everyone was tired, kids getting cranky, and we wondered whether maybe we should just settle for a night stay in Nalagarh. Even as we were checking out hotel options there, the Innova had its first puncture -- a back wheel.

Innova's first puncture
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00357.jpg

The driver changed the tyre with the assistance of our brand new headlamp (which truly came in handy!). Then we moved barely ten km, before...

The second puncture
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00359.jpg

It was the same wheel, the stepney, which gave way.

!@#$%^& !!!
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00363.jpg

After some hurried consultations, the driver and I took the tyres in the Bolero and went off to try finding a repair shop. That was around 11:00 pm. Meanwhile, the others tried making themselves comfy in (or on!) the Innova. Since the driver had taken the keys, no A/C available, and it was a hot, breezeless, but thankfully moonlit night.

the following picture say it all
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00371.jpg
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00375.jpg

time passes by
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00380.jpg

the kids have had enough
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00384.jpg

It was a nerve-wracking wait, stretched till 3 pm, with no contact with the Bolero. Had they sprung a puncture as well? How long would we have to wait here? When the kids started crying with frustration, one of the dads headed out determined to find some shelter or the night, even if he had to sweet talk his way into someone else's house! Finally he came back with the news that there was a temple nearby, they had an open, pillared space which had working fans (thank God!) So here's our first "hotel" for the night...

the temple courts turn into our shelter
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00398.jpg

Meanwhile, I had driven 40 km in the Bolero, hunting through the hills for a repair shop. Actually, there were a whole lot of shops, but either they were shut, or didn't have what we needed. At one place, we managed to open the tyre, only to discover that the tube itself had split into two. So now came the search for a new tube. With a cement factory nearby, there were many trucks on the route, and accordingly many truck tyres available, but nothing for the Innova. At one point , we even considered using the Bolero tyres on the Innova! Anyway, after 3.5 hours of traversing the foothills along with a whole bunch of trucks, buses and jeeps also trying to find their way after the diversion, we ran into a huge traffic jam after Swarghat and finally gave up.

Thankfully, on our way back to the stranded Innova, we spotted a small board: "Riverview Hotel - 4kms". We took out some of the luggage, asked the driver to stay with his car, and piled everyone else into the Bolero...oh what a squeeze!

Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00403.jpg
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00405.jpg
Thrill-a-minute ride!!! (Delhi to Spiti Valley)-dsc00406.jpg

It still took a lot of driving around, (evidently, the locals think 10 km = 4 km) but finally we managed to find the hotel. No one was up, and no one responded to our desperate banging on the door, but thankfully woke up for our phone call. There was absolutely no sign, of a river, or any sort of view, but by then we were just grateful for a bed!

Day 2: Finally to Manali...(coming up! And yes, we hope there won't be such a big gap in posting next time
reply2ab is offline  
Old 13th August 2010, 12:59   #30
v&v
Senior - BHPian
 
v&v's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delhi
Posts: 1,545
Thanked: 1,205 Times

My god what an event full night. With kids and family , these are the worst things to happen for a vacation. Nice narration. Bring it on fast now.
v&v is offline  
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks