[laluks]

Day 05
16th August 2011
Pooh - Kaaza

We moved ahead only to stop in a few minutes Rains stopped for a while.






Amazing roads!!






The team was together always! The uncertainties always binds us together.



continued...

[laluks]

Day 05
16th August 2011
Pooh - Kaaza

It was foggy


Clouds clearing




A chorten enroute


We reach Nako by 08:00AM


The famous Nako Lake


Baby Alto checking a pile of stones


The stones had some inscriptions and carvings on it




TS Clicking Nako, while DB looks on


Samdo is only 30 kilometers away


continued...

[laluks]

Day 05
16th August 2011
Pooh - Kaaza


HVK decides to give the team a tea break at Nako. We drove in to the tiny town of Nako.

The entrance to Nako


A beautiful house


What is this??



There was no sign of anyone awake at this time and we decided to move on towards Samdo. Chai cancelled!!

Beautiful roads below Nako town


Nako is at an altitude of 12000 feet


continued...

[laluks]

Day 05
16th August 2011
Pooh - Kaaza


By 08:45AM we reached Malling Nulla


The team rushing to see Malling Nulla


I checked out the landslide due to the snow melt


HVK Scorpio going across Malling Nulla






The team waiting to cross Malling Nulla. Most of team members crossed to the other side walking through ice cold water in the Nalla to make the vehicles lighter.


Baby Alto crossed Malling Nulla easily






After the Nulla, team carefully crossing the pile of rubble due to landslide. The lady seen in the picture helped us in clearing loose rocks and was duly given a lift to her village by akaush.


A chorten near Malling Nulla


I found this picture of Guru Padmasambhava inside the chorten.



continued...
PS: I'll post by tomorrow evening the continuation.

[BolBolero]

@ laluks, brilliant photographs as usual. Chief's Scorpio on the edge really looks scary! I have many snaps taken last year, of most of the places that you'll drove through, and even they though they are of the same place, they look so different. Maybe its the shutterbugs vision!

@HVK, those three days in Kaza, must have been quite strenuous on everyone, considering that no one knew or could predict what was going to happen in the future! Of course due to the unscheduled delay, all of you got to visit some wonderful places as seen in the pics! Sad that so many of the group, infact nearly 50% had to leave! How did it feel to have lost half of the group, so early into the expedition? How were the other two senior members SS and DB coping with the drive, the altitude, etc.?

@JeepCaptain, journeying back to Kochi from Kaza, via Rampur, Delhi and that too by public transport, hats off to you Sir!

@KSM-Vtec and The Mumbai Roadster, that was one heck of a drive from Mumbai to Kaza!

Sad that the Bolero Stinger, AP Swift, Innova decided to head back. I was so looking forward to meet up with all the cars and all the members of the expedition at Kargil!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by BolBolero

@HVK, those three days in Kaza, must have been quite strenuous on everyone, considering that no one knew or could predict what was going to happen in the future! Of course due to the unscheduled delay, all of you got to visit some wonderful places as seen in the pics! Sad that so many of the group, infact nearly 50% had to leave! How did it feel to have lost half of the group, so early into the expedition? How were the other two senior members SS and DB coping with the drive, the altitude, etc.?

Yes, it was not easy facing uncertainty. Look at my own plight - as the leader of the team, I have shot my mouth off and took the bet on the road reopening in 2-3 days when the overall news was that it may be much longer. Had the road not reopened, our entire itinerary would have in tatters and that would meant more people walking off. I can understand what was in the mind of those who decided to turn back from Kaza - the journey to Ladakh has hardly begun and the tough terrain is up ahead, if it is this bad here, how much dislocation will one face on the road from Kaza? Most of the team - except me, Lalu, Jeep Captain & VB - were first-timers to Ladakh and their perspective was that it is a strange, hostile and dangerous region, quite rightly so. Therefore, I think they were right in their own way to reconsider their plans.

The senior most members in the expedition SS and DB were in my car and they had total confidence in our collective decisions. They were quite enjoying the lull amidst the storm - you must remember that at ages of 81 and 64 years, it must have been quite an ordeal to have driven over 2,000 kms in the first 2 days and then get onto those twisty mountain roads for the next 2 days! I cannot express any words to describe their temperament and fortitude, I can only applaud them heartily for enjoying the journey, they did not take a single day off (to "rest") and were with us at all the sightseeing places.

[Thar4x4]

Originally Posted by laluks

[b]Day 05
16th August 2011
Pooh - Kaaza

Spot HVK Scorpio contest - anyone?

Here it is



Very nice pictures @laluks sir.

Thanks,
Vishal

[laluks]

Originally Posted by Hurrycane12

Lalu: You were so close to Pune we could have met if I had know you were planning to be in MH.

It was quite a sudden decision on Friday evening to drive out. By 23:00hrs we left Bangalore and reached Kaas by 08:00AM, spent 2 hours and drove via Tapola to reach Mahabaleshwar by late evening. Rest of the days in MH was quite unplanned and we were driving through out. Even BolBolero is upset that I never told him about my plans. If there was a plan I would have surely let you guys knew.

Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani idea was indeed crazy, thanks to KSM-Vtecs ideas on a Friday afternoon. All I wanted was to take my Sr. PPG to Hampi so that she could do her History Holiday Homework!

Originally Posted by no_enthu_da

This plan and some added muscle power (read LALUKS!) do the trick this time!

Ahem! Ahem!

Originally Posted by doctorque

With all the network available on AP’s BSNL we profusely tried calling 8 BSNL no.s that belonged to different members of HVK and team but not one was being answered or was reachable.

Almost 10 missed calls and some messages on my phone, and my phone was kept in the scorpio. This made YP strongly believe that I'm some @#$%^& guy. He and KP told me on the face that when we met, and hopefully I turned out to be different

Originally Posted by Dhar's

@Laluks, your travelogues had always inspired me. (I wanted to do Gavi this Onam but couldn't make it). Hope to hear more from you.

Thank you Dhar's. Please contact Mr. Varghese at Gavi whenever you plan to go. He'll take care of you wonderfully. I spoke to him a few weeks back and he's happy about many people contacting him.

Originally Posted by gostel

but at least you looked younger than the rest; even younger than the no-enthu-da

I still can't figure this out!!




@Thar4x4 - Absolutely correct!!

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Kaza was a turning point of sorts.

Oh man, what a turning point it was, team turned upside down.

That is why I always say that ii requires a lot of patience to complete such difficult trip. And if time is constraint, better target for a small part of it

[deky]

Max Speed 1011 kh in the GPS picture??? Whats is that all about? Did the car get wings or something like that? I am thoroughly intrigued !!!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by deky

Max Speed 1011 kh in the GPS picture??? Whats is that all about? Did the car get wings or something like that? I am thoroughly intrigued !!!

That is because I have not reset the GPS after an international flight when I used the GPS to record the flight path - that is the speed of the plane somewhere between Bombay and Uganda earlier this year!!!

[laluks]

Originally Posted by deky

Max Speed 1011 kh in the GPS picture??? Whats is that all about? Did the car get wings or something like that? I am thoroughly intrigued !!!

HVK took his GPS device on a flight , and that was recorded as the max speed


EDIT : I see that HVK already clarified this.

[SILVERWOOD]

A great Travelogue indeed.

Kudos to the entire team and their team leader-HVK Sir.Take a bow.

[BolBolero]

GPS Track

Day 3: Amritsar to Wagah and Back



3 Amritsar to Wagah and back.kmz

[JeepCaptain]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Kaza was a turning point of sorts.

The road ahead was closed. NO one was prepared to bet when it would open, it was already down last one week. Every day, we hear of somebody or the other reaching Kaza after being stranded en route for 2-3 days, etc.

Jeep Captain was in a peculiar situation - having committed himself to the full circuit, he received an emergency summons for some work back in Kerala - that too for a couple of hours on Aug 20 - and he had to go back.........but with a promise to rejoin us in Ladakh before Aug 22! So the bright sunny morning of Aug 18 saw him hiring a taxi cab to Recong Peo back on the same road we had come. He made good progress that day, reached Recong Peo just as the only night bus to Delhi was pulling out, went standing (or so I think!) and reached Delhi sometime the morning of Aug 19 - and hopped into 2 flights reaching him in Kochi the same evening! PD has also decided that he had enough - he also was apparently suffering some stomach upsets the past couple of days - and also bailed out, getting to Delhi along with Jeep Captain and taking a flight back home to Ahmedabad.

(of course, the population grew later to 16!!!).

Yes HVK sir, For me that was an Expedition within an Expedition.

Thanks for HVK sir, KSM_VTec and Jamaica for hunting for a taxi for a night and then until almost noon next day and arranging it. Without your contacts and persistence I dont think I would have made it.

It was indeed a mad run.. racing against the clock... first in a taxi from Kaza to Reckong Peo ( took 8 hours), Then Reckong Peo to Shimla by the last bus standing for hours and then a third bus from Shimla to Delhi. By the time I reached Delhi, I had spend 26 hours and 30 minutes on road.


While I was in Delhi, I thought let me call BolBolero and check his status.


My orginal return plan for me was to fly back to Delhi from Cochin and from Delhi I was suppose to fly to Leh and join the IPHE team. But bcos of the delay in Kaza. The plans changed and with the new plan, If I take a flight to Leh I will have to wait there three days for IPHE team to come back to Leh after covering Kargil & Zanskar valley. So as per HVK's suggestion I decide to fly to Srinagar from Delhi and join either RB's vehicle or GB's Bolero. When I called up and GB (BolBolero) and asked him can you wait for me in Srinagar and pick me up. He was shocked. since he had no clue about my cross country Expedition. After few minutes explaining things GB was more than happy to pick me up.

Story continues.....

Took last flight from Delhi to Cochin, reached Cochin by almost mid night.

Next day I was done with my work by 3:00 PM.From there straight to Cochin Airport for a flight to Delhi via Hyderabad. Reached Delhi before midnight and camped at my dear friend Puskhin's house.

Next day morning I had booked myself on a flight to Srinagar. And on the way to Delhi airport we got stuck in traffic and I almost missed my Flight. Thanks to the friendly KF crew and ground staff. I managed to get into the flight. Landed Srinagar by 2:00 PM and there in Srinagar I joined BolBolero and team who was waiting to pick me up and we headed to Kargil to join the rest of the IPHE team.

I just made a Map of my this Trip for everyone's reference.

Distance Travelled in my Expedition within IPHE Expedition. 6940 kms Thats Almost 7000 km



Map of my personal Cross country Expedition within IPHE Expedition.





Over to Lalu for the remaining TL. ( Sorry for Jumping the gun)