1st July 2009, 01:41
| #241 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chennai
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1st July 2009, 03:08
| #242 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Noida
Posts: 315
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1st July 2009, 08:56
| #243 | |||
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
 Quote:
 . On a serious note, I know what you mean - maybe another day, another time. On this journey, the priority was to more of getting from A to B through the More Plains rather than exploring the More Plains. Also, if we crossed Sarchu early enough, we may have pushed on to Jispa which is why we didn't want to waste time. Of course, that Plan didn't happen eventually but.........Quote:
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1st July 2009, 10:02
| #244 |
| Senior - BHPian | Day Eleven continued: Pang & more (no pun intended)..... About 25 minutes & 8-10kms before Pang, we encountered our first snowstorm - moderate severity. The landscape was gloomy & the road surface was lousy but we enjoyed the experience nevertheless       In a while, the weather cleared & we were then approaching Pang     It takes a while for you to get used to the fact that most of the stuff around you in this part of the world is in the "highest" category!  It was time to take a break for lunch so we stopped at a Dhaba down the road. Light snowflakes kept falling but the storm was over. Maggi, Wai-wai and Omlettes with Chapati were ordered & we munched in the comfort of the tent    We restarted 40 minutes later, crossed the police checkpost & continued on our way. These were priceless sights - waterfalls frozen in time & a gateway through the rocks!    25 minutes from Pang, we approached this unfamiliar name - wasn't on the map & hadn't heard anyone mentioning it!   Turned out to be a seemingly innocuous & innocent looking patch but one needed to negotiate it with care. Our friends had tried to rush through & were stuck  The Qualis was pushed out with sheer manpower. Yours truly coming back after surveying the crossover point to see what the fuss was all about!  The Scorpio wanted me to tow him out but insisted that I use his tow rope. I did warn him that it wouldn't work because it was too flimsy but he told me "Sirji, Army rope hain, bahut majboot hain. Aap chinta mat karo". Well, it was attached (don't miss the thickness!!)  I got in, engaged 4L, put The Beast into reverse & let go the clutch. Sure enough, one tug & it went bust! He was eventually pushed out (like the Qualis) I guess. Anyway, it was time for us to cross over. No fuss - 4L, stick to the right & you're through   Great views punctuated by bad roads as we neared the next milestone......        Last edited by suman : 1st July 2009 at 10:07. |
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1st July 2009, 11:01
| #245 |
| Senior - BHPian | Day Eleven continued: The Dash to Sarchu! The noteworthy items on the day's agenda were 3 Passes, the More Plains & the wonderful Gata Loops (21 of them, LOL). We'd covered one Pass & the More Plains and were now at Pass No 2 - Lachulung La!   We moved on towards the next item on our list    Hats off to these Force Travellers, we saw them making mincemeat of bad roads everywhere, Baralacha La included  ! Look mumma, the river runs through it!  Another milestone ticked off the list, Pass No 3 - Nakeela  The Beast thundered on towards the next marvel of engineering on our agenda, the Gata Loops! (Strictly IMHO), another bit of work that left us confused because we couldn't really figure out which loop was part of the 21 loops & which wasn't (in case you're wondering what I'm talking about, we did count the road looping more than 21 times from start to finish  ). Why can't they be as simple to decipher as (for example) the Batasia Loop going up to Darjeeling!!!    I think we enjoyed the wonderful view of the river way down below more than we enjoyed the Loops!   Finally on plain ground though still way above sea level  I loved these architectural forms - remnants of erosion, don't they look handcrafted?   Look at that blue sky & the contrast with the dirty road, we were getting closer to Sarchu!   Finally!  We crossed the river, registered ourselves at the check post & went down the road to our campsite. How often had I seen these pics in someone else's travelogues & dreamt of the day when we'd see them with our own eyes!   A short while & a nasty water crossing later, we reached Himalayan Saga, the first campsite as you approached from Leh. The time was around 5.15pm & it was too late in the day to push to Jispa. Besides, we wanted to see Baralacha La in the nice light of day. So we decided to stick with the Sarchu nightstay plan.    It appeared that we were the only guests at the Camp that evening. To be honest, this didn't overly excite us - the only ones (apart from the staff) in the middle of nowhere. But the advantage was that we had the choice of all the tents available. So we selected two of them keeping in mind their proximity to the Dining Tent & the quality of the zips & the minimum gaps - Tent nos 1 & 2!  We were greeted with hot Tea & Biscuits in the Dining Tent - nice! We were covered in umpteen layers but despite that, even at that hour, we were feeling bloody cold! LOL! It wasn't even sundown - what would happen later!! Total Distance Travelled - 269.7 kms; Total Driving Time - 8hrs 50 mins  |
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1st July 2009, 11:15
| #246 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 5,968
Thanked: 4,642 Times
| Awesomes. My eyes are still hurting with all that snow!! btw, you do need to tell us total damages, excl hotel costs! |
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1st July 2009, 11:32
| #247 |
| Senior - BHPian  | Phew!!!! This is one hell of a travelogue  . I can never imagine myself having enough patience to compile each and every detail.Hats off to you Suman, for compiling such a wonderful & comprehensive travelogue. Now, definitely I want to visit the wonderful locations that you have shown, but don't know when I will be able to.  |
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1st July 2009, 11:40
| #248 |
| Senior - BHPian | Day Eleven, Final Part: Sleepless in Sarchu!!! No pics on this one, just facts! Sarchu!!! What can I write? Suffice it to say that it was the coldest night of our lives  . But, that came later.As I mentioned, despite all the layers, we were freezing! We huddled together in one tent, trying to keep our minds off the next twelve hours or so - playing "guess the movie", chatting etc. And then, we heard the noise of a vehicle outside & the sound of voices. My wife peeped out - a Scorpio, three guys & a lady. The presence of the lady reassured us - the last thing you'd want in a lonely place like this is a group of four unknown guys who may or may not be decent. Turned out our fears were unfounded...... The Camp Manager called from outside the tent - Sir, aapka dost aayen hain Dost? Kaunsi dost? Sir, bahar aa keh dekh lo.... Unzipped the tent entrance & walked out - surprise, surprise, fellow Tbhpian Roshun along with Anil & Subhashish of the Scorpiofans group & Anil's wife (Subhashish had helped me during my DSLR & Tyre purchases, yes, he is a man of numerous talents). They were stopping over at Sarchu & had seen the Safari & realized that we were around. We were relieved that we wouldn't be the only ones there at night. Some small talk, a round of introductions & then we moved back to our respective tents as the wind was getting noticeably chillier! Subhashish boosted our spirits further by casually mentioning that the temperature kept going down by a degree every hour at Sarchu! LOL!!! The hands of our watches moved way slower than normal. The lights came on (generator that they ran from sundown till guests went to sleep). I needed to charge the video camera but the only extension cord & power point were in the Kitchen tent. A short walk so off I went & came back pretty much frozen! Finally, it was 8.30 pm & dinner was announced. Very very basic & simple meal but tasty & there was fruit salad with custard for dessert  By the time we finished dinner, it was even colder. Another cheerful tip from Subhashish - "make sure that you shake your partner sometime during the night - just to make sure that he/she hasn't frozen over!!". Holy moly, how reassuring!! Even though I'd never seen so many stars in the night sky & the adjoining peaks were looking super in the moonlight, I just couldn't find the motivation to set up the tripod so gave it a miss. Sorry guys, its my life! Walked as briskly as possible to the Kitchen Tent, picked up the Video Camera & managed to get back to our Tent without freezing to death! We tucked in for the night in our respective tents with ALL our layers on, plus two or three thick quilts & a hotwater bag. But no matter what - the exposed portions of the anatomy (as in the tip of the nose, for example) were freezing. The wind howled outside for quite some time & despite the flaps being secure, there were some miniscule openings through which it made its presence felt! Although there were no symptoms of AMS as such, slight breathlessness was experienced. After a while, we gave up & resigned ourselves to our fate.......did drift on & off but were mostly awake, awaiting the end of that cold, cold night. Heard the next morning that it had been Minus Four!!!! We were pretty sure that it had actually been lower. Sleepless in Sarchu - a simply unforgettable experience! |
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1st July 2009, 12:00
| #249 | |
| Senior - BHPian  | Quote:
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1st July 2009, 12:14
| #250 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Quote:
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1st July 2009, 14:50
| #251 |
| BHPian Join Date: May 2009 Location: New Delhi
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1st July 2009, 15:04
| #252 |
| BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hamburg, Germany
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1st July 2009, 16:42
| #253 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Gurgaon
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1st July 2009, 16:50
| #254 | |
| Senior - BHPian | Thanks all, you guys are excellent motivation for any writer  Quote:
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1st July 2009, 16:53
| #255 |
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