[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We drove on






The Bulldozer and the other heavy duty vehicles are still stationed here


We drove on










The board mentions Bani, so Bani must be nearby!


continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

There are passenger sheds available - Kathua Bani Bus service you already know now!


We drove on


We can see the Dam from a height now




We have miles to go






See the winding roads




continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We see a settlement nearby






We were reaching Bani




Note the shops for some emergency junk foods


We move on






continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We reached Bani












Madam Safari is closely behind us


We drove on






continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We were climbing again




We saw these kids


They were so amused at seeing a car out of nowhere


Corn is every where, I have seen no rice at any place! Blame it on the rain patterns and weather change?


By the time we exited Bani it was 18:30 hours, This meant we have another one more hour of sunlight. We must find a place to stay, probably in the next village.

Roads began to deteriorate








We reached a stream - no water at all!


continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We crossed the stream


No signs of Madam Safari


Saw a board about Trout Rearing here, some other day I would have loved to explore barbecuing a fish near the stream and enjoying some nice time


We drove on


See the bridge we crossed and the innumerable hairpins we took, all muddy roads!


we reached the next village by 19:30 hours. I stationed at the entry to the village to signal Agent Vinod.

HVK goes into the village in search of some food and accommodation.


We have to find some place here, else we have to cross Chatergala pass and go further in the darkness. It was raining too. On slushy roads, in the darkness, a high pass... all those meant


continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

Madam Safari is in view now


Madam Safari takes the road below and goes into the village


Poor me had to walk all the way into the village. It was raining and it was cold too.. I walk into the village and find no signs of the vehicles. They had gone into the interiors somewhere.

I was slowly walking when I saw HVK Scorpio coming towards me. HVK says he had made some arrangements. I followed the Scorpio slowly.

By now Agent Vinod also came towards me.

continued...

[laluks]

Day 3
25 - July - 2012

We got our stay arranged here


This is the new tourist complex. Only issue is there is no water in the toilets. But hey, there is a stream running behind the place!!


The village was Sarthal. Looked like a charmingly calm place. I felt the same feeling when I landed up in Chitkul here. Asked HVK, can we start late tomorrow, so that we could have a look at this place. HVK readily agreed. He too seems to have liked the place.

I was checking out the place when the caretaker came towards me.

caretaker : Aap log kahan se ho? [Where are you guys from?]
laluks : hum Mumbai, pune or bangalore se hein. [We are from Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore]
caretaker : Aap log yehaan pehele aaye ho kabhi? [Have you guys come here before?]
laluks : nahin to. Kyun? [No, why?]
caretaker : woh black scorpio chalane wala aadmi ko yehaan ka sab kuch malum hai lagta hai. Unhon ne mere ko naam se pooch raha tha. Usko kaisa yeh sab kuch pata hai? [That person who was driving Black Scorpio seems to know about everything here. He was looking out for me. He knew my name. How does he know all this?]
laluks : (giggling - I wanted to say that was HVK for you, but controlled) Woh aisa hi hai. Usko Sab jagah mein pechchaan hai. [He is like that. He has contacts everywhere]
caretaker : bilkul... [very true]



After we settled between ourselves the rooms, we went to have dinner at one of the shops in the village.


The shop owner was very happy to host us, and was even ready to cut a chicken for us. But we were not in the mood to have heavy dinner. So we stayed with veg food that day.

Agent Vinod and me listening keenly to the stories from the owner (photo from Romin)


Little did I know that Sarthal was the hot bed of militancy and almost all the youths were killed. It is peaceful now, but once in a while still some tensions arise.

I was now literally scared. I reached the room and tried to sleep. Some disturbing thoughts were coming in my mind.


I did not even wanted to get outside to pee in the dark , what if ...


Amidst all the disturbing thoughts sleep took me over sometime.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This was hilarious! Who would have expected a goat run over by a Scorpio to actually get up and run away?! For a moment I thought you guys had a good feast of mutton that evening, but alas...

Even though initially it was a tense scenario, later when we think about it - it is just plain hilarious

How can goat survive the weight of a Scorpio and all those 4 guys plus luggage? Easily on its ribs a 2.5ton of weight would have gone over.


Thank God nothing happened!

But we missed the mutton and the wazwaan we could have made from it. By looking at the size of the goat it would have served all four of us for a whole week

[kaushik_s]

Wow guys, this is one of a kind adventure that you people had and now we are enjoying it as if it's happening infront of our eyes. Those Tyari-Sansari videos are just amazing and scary. I watched them on my TV and it was an experience
BTW, I'm using the travelog as a puzzle to find these places in Google maps/Wikimapia and trying to trace the route that you guys followed. So many of these places are not in google maps. Although Wikimapia seems to have tagged many of them(or you guys did that?).
Now eagerly waiting for the next parts. Please share them soon.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

This was hilarious! Who would have expected a goat run over by a Scorpio to actually get up and run away?! For a moment I thought you guys had a good feast of mutton that evening, but alas...

I was thinking the same - the shepherd wanted compensation, I wanted to verify the subject-matter of damage, and the goatie himself was absconding - so no mutton soup for the soul that night.....

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

BTW, I'm using the travelog as a puzzle to find these places in Google maps/Wikimapia and trying to trace the route that you guys followed. So many of these places are not in google maps. Although Wikimapia seems to have tagged many of them(or you guys did that?)

No, most of these roads & places are not on G Maps or any other map. Please await our GPS track info when we will clearly illustrate the route.

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I wanted to verify the subject-matter of damage, and the goatie himself was absconding...

@Lalu: you wouldn't have captured a pic or video of the goat in question under the car, just so we can verify how tough the fellow was, to survive a Scorpio runover? (But then the shepherd might use the pic as evidence to claim compensation from HVK in the future!)

By the way, I think someone needs to do some serious research on the quality of grass growing in the area, and what produces such tough domestic goats.

[laluks]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

@Lalu: you wouldn't have captured a pic or video of the goat in question under the car, just so we can verify how tough the fellow was, to survive a Scorpio runover? (But then the shepherd might use the pic as evidence to claim compensation from HVK in the future!)

By the way, I think someone needs to do some serious research on the quality of grass growing in the area, and what produces such tough domestic goats.

I was strictly gestured by HVK not to get out of the Scorpio. So I have not seen how it was under the Scorpio. But the goat was built heavily and it was huge compared to the puny domesticated goats that we see in the cities.

Probably a return is required for the research of why and how they are so strongly built, but of course no more run over tests

[harjeev]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

BTW, I'm using the travelog as a puzzle to find these places in Google maps/Wikimapia and trying to trace the route that you guys followed. So many of these places are not in google maps. Although Wikimapia seems to have tagged many of them(or you guys did that?).
Now eagerly waiting for the next parts. Please share them soon.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

No, most of these roads & places are not on G Maps or any other map. Please await our GPS track info when we will clearly illustrate the route.

Some of the maps are there on Openstreet Maps, but just... They are not routeable and though some people have downloaded them onto their handheld devices, but I am not able to understand that.
Anyways, Like the Killar -- Teesa Sach Pass section shows up as a path, but its there. Also the road to Langeera is there, but Langerra is not marked.
Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!

[hvkumar]

My supplemented version of the "tough" goat episode

Originally Posted by laluks

A little later in one of the hairpin bends


laluks : HVK stop! Take right else...
hvkumar : What! I cannot stop on the incline, Its very steep....
laluks : If you take it straight you'll run over a goat, it's lying bang in your left tyre trajectory
hvkumar: WHAT! @##$

Scorpio jumps over like it had jumped over a hump !! HVK jams the brakes.

SILENCE in the cabin

Romin gets out.

Romin : HVK you have a huge goat under your scorpio

shephered running towards us from somewhere...

Romin : HVK, move your Scorpio a little behind
hvkumar : Is this ok?
Romin :OK

hvkumar: Is this OK?
Romin: No, No, you will go over the goat, poor thing!
hvkumar" Poor thing@#$&^%@#?????
hvkumar: OK?
Goat: bleatinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng, bleeeeeeeatinnnng
Romin: ummmm, OK?
Goat: bleatinnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng, bleeeeeeeatinnnng
hvkumar: Romin, Get back in, Get back in......

Shepherd comes running to my side....OH OH Oh OH...
hvkumar: Stop that singing, go get the goat out.......
hvkumar: Suna nahin kya...(don't you hear what I said?)

By now the shepherd pulls the goat out. Goat is scared! So are we.

Shepherd: Gaadi ruko (that is for the Scorpio on a steep 45 Degree hairpin bend!)
Shepherd: I will throw a stone & break your windscreen......

Shepherd: Mere nuksaan hua..

By now Romin gets inside the Scorpio and the goat runs away to the other goats in the herd. I was watching the goat running away. I had a sigh of relief, nothing happened, the goat is safe.

^^^^$$$##@@@*******!!!!!????


Shepherd: Don't you see where you are going?
hvkumar: You graze your goats on the road....
Shepherd: How can you run over my goats?
hvkumar: Am I God, can I see round a sharp curve...?
Shepherd: You should have stopped....
hvkumar: Come, sit in my seat, and show me how you will see goats across a blind curve & stop the car on a steep slope...
Shepherd: No, you should have seen & stopped....
hvkumar: Show me how
Shepherd: I want compensation...
hvkumar: Shall I call the Police......(and start dialling my mobile...)?
Shepherd: You can call the IG or DSP for all I care
hvkumar: OK then, I will compensate you if your goat is really injured, although it is not my fault, you should have been more careful..
Shepherd: No, I want compensation....
hvkumar: Let us see what injury your goat has suffered...

hvkumar : Dikao, tera nuksan wala Bakri ...

Shepherd runs around to find the goat. The entire herd by now was scared of the black Scorpio. They had already ran away. Sheperd could not find the goat.

hvkumar : dikao, dikao tera nuksaan wala bakri..

Shepherd was speechless. Inside the Scorpio cabin, it was pin drop silence.

By now Madam Safari too arrived.

Shepherd had no arguments, he sulks. Finally lets HVK go, muttering some local words...

We move on.