June 19, 2011
Sachin reached Kullu this morning at 08:00 hrs.
I had a short meeting here with respect to some official work, Sachin, Raju and I went to one site. I messaged MSK about the situation here. Had lunch and again only the three of us left for Manikaran. The short distance of about 35 to 45 kms one way took over 3 hrs on account of the rush of vehicles on this very narrow and rough road resulting in traffic jams at many places. This is the time when Sikhs take the pilgrimage to the holy place of Manikaran where there is a Gurudwara.
We managed to reach Kullu at about 21:00 hrs. The clothes we had given for laundry were back. We packed our bags and then went for dinner.
I had booked Raka’s ticket for Delhi to Mumbai for 21st evening.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day. Bye for now and see you here again tomorrow!
Cheers.
June 20, 2011
Hi!
Today is Prada’s birthday. I wished him at midnight itself and sent him a message as well. Happy Birth Day Prada! Love you and miss you!
Today is also Raju’s silver wedding anniversary. We all wished him a many happy returns of the day. I guess his wife is mighty upset with him for not being with him on this important day. But I am sure things will be fine between them. We joked with him and asked him if it was his 25th wedding’s anniversary or the 25th anniversary of his one wedding!?
We left Hotel Sandhya Palace at 07:30 hrs. and reached Manali Bus Stand at 09:10 hrs. with the odometer reading 11222 kms from base. Raka had already spoken to one of his friends at Manali to meet him there. We bid farewell to Raka at the Bus Stand and proceeded on our way to Leh by the Manali – Leh ‘highway’.
The first few kilometers of the road was good and I was wondering where all of the thousands of vehicles travelling to Rohtang pass every day I was told about were?! In about 20 minutes we passed Palchan and the nightmare began! There was a big traffic jam here and we were stranded at one place for quite some time. It appeared that traffic jam here was a common thing by the fact that there were several vendors selling things like ‘Shilajeet and Keshar’, ‘pahadi jadi booti’ to control weight and diabetes. There were also hawkers selling ‘bhel-puri’ which was not such a good ‘avtaar’ of the bhel we have in Mumbai. Raju, Sachin and Phadke had some bhel.
The traffic was moving slowly in short bursts. We were gradually gaining height. As we proceeded, the road got worse and narrower. We saw many vehicles returning without reaching Rohtang Pass on account of the traffic jam. We were told that there was a huge land slide few kilometers prior to the Rohtang pass which had resulted in a big jam there. We were also advised by some of the drivers and tourists returning from mid way that we won’t be able to reach Rohtang and that we should return to Manali.
It is worth noting here that this time of the year is the peak tourist season. There is a huge rush of tourist to Rohtang Pass to see the snow there, do some skiing, paragliding etc. Hence the rush is only up to Rohtang. Practically there are a few thousand tourist vehicles ferrying passengers on this road every day. Sadly, the road is bad and is not capable of dealing with this kind of traffic smoothly. Also the systems put in place by the authorities are completely, absolutely, and totally inadequate to deal with this kind of rush. Vehicles are parked on this narrow road with mountain on one side and deep valley on the other side with no protection what so ever and which in any case would just about allow two vehicles to cross each other. There is no one to monitor the traffic movement. All this put together results in big traffic jams. Many of the tourists who come here on a tight time schedule are unable to reach the Rohtang pass and have to make do with stopping short of the destination, be happy with seeing the snow there and return. I am sure this must be the situation every year. This is not something that cannot be properly controlled! I wonder why the authorities do not put proper systems in place and provide adequate manpower to monitor and manage the situation? I think its complete apathy and lack of will on the part of those in position of power to manage things. Any ways!
Thus we proceeded slowly towards the pass. As we progressed the traffic thinned a little since many of the tourists had opted to turn back midway and only those who were to proceed to Leh and those who were hell bent on reaching Rohtang come what may had proceeded. At one point just before the land slide we were stranded in one place for several hours! One truck driver we spoke to was stranded here for THREE DAYS! There was a military Gypsy in a hurry and the driver of this vehicle was trying to get ahead of other vehicles standing in a line. There was altercation between one of the jawans in this vehicle and another driver who was trying to clear the traffic. We now had started to cross the land slide which really was a few kilometers long! There was one Scorpio which had got stuck in the mud and land slide debris. The road workers pushed and helped this vehicle to move ahead. There was another van ahead of our vehicle and which almost got stuck in the mud & slush. I think the driver was not able to handle the vehicle properly in these conditions. One cannot stop the vehicle while crossing slush. If you stop then there is all the likelihood that your vehicle would get stuck. I found a relatively firm patch and stopped our car there. I was cursing under my breath! I waited till this van crossed the worst patch and moved to the side of the road. With my prior experience, I was quite apt at clearing such road conditions and I knew exactly what I should be doing, but every situation is different. Here there was deep valley on one side. If the vehicle suddenly takes off from some spot or wheers towards the valley there is very little that one can do. I engaged the vehicle in first gear, attained the required RPM and released the clutch completely (without riding it) generally trying to maintain the mountain side direction. This is one mistake which many drivers commit; they ride the clutch and press it or release the clutch partially. This results in issues with the clutch plate as also the wheels do not get the full power. Thus we cleared the worst part in a few minutes. This, in driver’s parlance, is called ‘gaadi ragade me nikalna’ (Hindi)! After this there was very little traffic and we reached Rohtang Pass at an altitude of 12921 ft as per our GPS reading, at 18:00 hrs with the odometer reading 11275.8 kms. It had taken us 9 hrs to cover a distance of 52 kms from Manali bus stand to Rohtang pass!
We took a break for tea here. This is the place where the river Bias originates. There is small temple here called Bias Kund.
After crossing the Rohtang Pass we started travelling downwards to a lower altitude. The road conditions were bad almost up to Koksar which is at a distance of about 25 kms from Rohtang. Here on we started travelling along the river Chandra. The road was excellent in patches. There was day light almost up to 19:45 hrs. At 20:05 we crossed Sisu which is at an altitude of 10170 feet and the odometer reading was 11312 kms. All along the road we were accompanied by the majestic mountains covered with snow. There was hardly anything by way of vegetation but this did not in any way reduce the beauty all around us. At a similar altitude we had experienced greenery all around us just a few days ago when we were in the north east!
We reached Keylong at an altitude of 9956 ft at about 21:00 hrs and checked in at a hotel called Tashi Ghatsal which is on the high-way. Ghatsal, I think, means a guest house. This place had opened for the season only three four days ago and hence was not really well stocked in terms of provisions.
This entire region is completely cutoff from the rest of the country during winters – Oct./Nov to March/April - since Rohtang Pass is closed and the approach from Leh is also closed on account of snow. Nothing is produced here and everything here comes from the planes that too by road. Hence people have to stock up to see through this period of six to seven months. The river Chandra and other streams are completely frozen. Almost all hotels and other such establishments are closed. So that’s the situation in this part of our country!
Tomorrow we head out and try and reach Leh. Let us see how things go!
Good night!
June 21, 2011
We left our hotel at Keylong after breakfast at 0920hrs. odometer reading 11344 kms. The first thing that needed to be done was refueling since for the next 365 kms there is no petrol pump. There is a board which tells you this. The nearest petrol pump was at Tandi, about 5 kms towards Manali from the place where we were staying and it opens only at 0700hrs.
We took fuel here and set course towards Leh. About 16 kms from Keylong is Jespa where there is Hotel Ibex. So if one is able to reach here in reasonable time, it’s a a good property to stay at since it may not be prudent to attempt to reach Leh directly from Manali. There are no proper facilities to stay at beyond this point. Only tent accommodation is available till one reaches Leh.
We now were travelling along the river Bhaga. The road condition was just about ok in patches. The rest of it was narrow, rough, very dusty and all through hills. The road climbs almost continuously and one has to drive mostly in gear 1 to 3.
We stopped at Darcha at 1145 hrs for tea. We had covered only 44 kms in matter of 2hrs and 30 minutes including the time required for refueling. This would give an idea about the road conditions. At 1245 hrs we reached a lake called Deepak Taal. We stopped here for a while to take some photographs. Here we met a south African gentleman who had camped there for the night. He had travelled 76000 kms in a period of about just under two years in a Toyota Fortuner! My next dream journey!?!? I have taken a photograph of him and done a small video as well. We ascended to an altitude of about 12300 ft.
On the way we met many bikers travelling from Delhi, Manali, even Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. Some had come riding on bikes from point of origin and some had hired bikes at Delhi or Manali.
The climb from here on was steeper. There was snow along the road and streams flowing across. At some places there were walls of snow on both sides of the road! Sachin got out of the car and rushed to the other side of this pass to video shoot our car pass through. At 1410hrs we reached Barlacha at an altitude of 16133 ft above msl. with the odometer reading 11438 kms from base. Just around here we came across a lake. It was so beautiful that I am getting goose pimples just remembering the sight. It is just impossible to describe that beauty. One only can experience it. I can imagine the state of mind when one goes in deep Samadhi and is in unison with the creator himself. People describe places by the phrase God’s own country but I will describe this place as God’s own abode! All I can say is we saw Him, we felt Him, we experienced Him!!
Just as we were crossing this region, Sachin started getting symptoms of altitude sickness. He started feeling drowsy and a little sick. Sachin fell asleep. I was extremely concerned, actually scared, seeing his condition. There is a typical Marathi slang phrase which would accurately describe my mental state, but it is quite unparliamentary and I can’t pen it here. Gradually we started climbing down and reached a place (I forget the name) where I decided to take a halt. I got Sachin out of the car and made him lie-down on a mattress in a tent. The rest of us had some tea and gave some fruit juice to Sachin but he was unable to consume it. There was no much improvement in his condition though we had climbed down by about 1500 feet. I tried to feed him some chocolate but he refused to have this too. I was getting more and more worried. Quickly we moved from here and moved further down to Sarchu, another 1000 feet or so down from this place.
I saw an army camp here which had a medical unit. We rushed Sachin to this camp. As soon as we put him in the medical unit here I was a bit relieved. The gentleman there took charge of the situation immediately. It turnedout that he was Maharashtrian, Mr. Rajguru, from Buldhana. He immediately checked Sachin’s oxygen level which was about 47 and which ought to be minimum 70! Sachin was put on oxygen and started improving almost immediately. We got the oxygen checked for all the rest of us as well. Raju’s O2 was at 82, Phadke 78 and I was at 90.
Dr. Shyam saw Sachin and said that there was nothing to worry and that Sachin should be fine to take the further journey in a short while. I gave the reference of Col. Kadam to Dr. Shym. Actually I was given the reference of Col. Kadam by Abhjeet Deshmukh. Abhijit had also spoken to Col Kadam about us. Dr. Shym said that he would speak to the OC and see if he could accommodate us in the guest house here. In about half an hour Dr. Shyam confirmed that we could stay on the army camp for the night. Thank you very much Col. Kadam, though I have not met you yet and which I shall definitely try to do on way to Pangong Tso, and thank you very much Abhijeet for giving me this reference of Col. Kadam.
There were many such cases of altitude sickness which kept coming to this army medical unit. Many went back to Mnali and a few proceed towards Leh since one had to clear two more passes of much higher altitude, one before Pang and the next Tangla La which happens to be the second highest pass in the world!
Sachin was kept under observation in the medical unit for the night and we stayed at the guest house. The guest house had bunk beds with mattresses and great razai. It was very comfortable. There was a separate dining area where we were served dinner at 2000 hrs.
With Sachin in safe hands the rest of us medically ok, we go to bed. None of us changed in to our night dress tonight. We shall proceed to Leh tomorrow.
See you again tomorrow at the same place.
June 22, 2011
Namaskaar,
We were served bed tea in the morning and breakfast of Puree & Bhajee was ready in the tea room at 0730 hrs. Sachin came to the guest room from the Hospital and all of us had breakfast together. Sachin said that there was a almost constant flow of patients with altitude sickness coming in to the Indian Army’s medical unit throughout the night.
We checked the oxygen concentration – Phadke Ajoba : 86, Sachin : 76, Raju : 70 +, and mine was 92.
We left the camp at 0800 hrs after thanking Dr. Shyam and with gratitude for the Indian Army in our hearts for the service they were providing which is beyond their line of duty.
Raju did not seem to be ok this morning. He was wearing his monkey cap, hand gloves, a pullover, which he wears in any case weather it’s really cold or not whenever he can and at night. But he was very quiet and constantly dozing off. Actually he was showing symptoms of altitude sickness though not severe.
The setting all around us was of mountains with little or no vegetation. The mountains had very little rock and were like huge piles of sand having varying patterns. They showed various colours like gray, red, yellow, greenish and garnet. Small streams flowing down from great heights of the mountains and there was snow covered with sand / dust even though the sun was beating down. There were formations which looked like the temples of southern India created by erosion by wind, the hand of the greatest sculptor, Him!
At 1015 hrs we crossed Lachulang La at an altitude of 16632 ft above msl. then climbed down to reach Pang at 1130 hrs at 14800 ft. Again we stated climbing up and crossed Tanglang La at an altitude of 17582 ft and then climbed down to reach Rumtse at 1515 hrs – altitude about 14000 ft. We took a tea break here.
My experience is that one does not feel hungry or thirsty at such high altitudes but it is very important to constantly drink fluids and eat. Also very consciously keep breathing very deep. The sun is very harsh here and burns the skin. It is a good idea to wear good quality glares. As long as the sun is up its very warm but the moment sun goes down the temperatures drop rapidly.
The roads are narrow, rough, and very bad in patches and of course winding with sharp hairpin bends.
We now entered the Leh valley and just before Upsi had the first glimpse of the river Sindhu, a river which has been flowing for thousands of years, a witness to rise and fall of many a civilizations.
We reached Leh at about 1900 hrs. Getting accommodation here was a big problem and after a long search we checked in to Hotel Grand Dragon.
We were very tired. I had caught a cold. Had dinner and now off to bed.
Bye and Cheers!
June 23, 2011
We were now in the crown of the country – Ladakh. Ladakh is a part of today’s political Jammu & Kasmir state / region. I really wonder why it is termed as Leh – Ladakh in spoken parlance. Leh is a city in Ladakh so why Leh- Ladkh? Any way.
This region is complete cutoff from the rest of the country for almost six to eight months of the year on account of snow and poor / nonexistent approach routes. There are two approaches – one is from Manali via the Rohtang Pass and the other is from Srinagar via the Jozilla Pass. Both are closed during the long winters these regions experience. The temperatures go to as low as -20 deg. C in winters and in summers the temperatures are reach as high as about +30 deg. C. The sun is scorching and the UV radiation is high. It is absolutely essential to use a good sun block for the uninitiated. The altitude is about 12000 ft above MSL (altitude of Hotel Granf Dragon 11325 ft above MSL) and oxygen content is low. So it is important that at least a couple of days are spent in acclimatization. It is possible that one can face altitude sickness here particularly if someone has come by air directly from the planes where the blood oxygen concentration is high. The key is to breath deep, not undertake any heavy or moderate physical activity and rest for at least a couple of days and then start on the adventure called Ladakh! Keeping oneself well hydrated is also very important. So eat well and drink plenty of fluids, avoid alcohol and smoking. The Leh airport is known as KBR airport – Kushok Bakwa Ringposhe airport.
Ladakh is located on the banks of the river Sindhu or Indus. It was the region of people who kept Yaks. Buddhist monks who travelled the route from India to Manas Sarovar in Tibet spread the Buddhist religion here prior to which the Brokpa tribe of this region followed the Boni religion. From the 9th to 14 century onwards Buddhist kings grew their kingdom from Tibet to Kashmir and set up several Buddhist Monasteries. In the 14th century a Tibetan monk Tsong Khapa spread the Golkapa philosophy / religion / sect which is practiced even today. In the 16th century Singe Namgyal made Leh the capital of Ladakh. In 1846 the region went in to the hands of Dogra kings and since then it has been an integral part of Jammu & Kashmir.
In Ladakh one finds very little greenery. The lack of Oxygen makes any kind of agriculture almost impossible. This region is completely dependent on the other part of the country for all the supplies like food, fuel and other consumables. The only form of commercial activity and source of income for the local population is tourism or a government job or a job in the defence forces. Fuels like LDO, HSD, Petrol, ATF, and kerosene are transported by tankers from the planes. We saw one LPG filling facility. Food and living is quite to very expensive. The language is Ladkhi and the script is Tibetan.
We had checked in to Hotel Grand Dragon which was probably one of the more expensive hotels in Leh. We were told that this is the peak tourist season and as we experienced almost all hotels were running at 100% occupancy.
On account of paucity of oxygen vehicles have a problem of poor pick-up and considerably reduced torque. The dust clogs the air filter. The fuel quality is very poor which further compounds the problems while driving. Sachin and I went to National Garage, a Tata Motors service centre. This was just pathetic. It lacked even the basic facilities. It was like some roadside mechanic’s garage – is anybody from Tata Motors listening? We decided to get our car checked and serviced may be at Jammu or Amritsar and just got the air filter replaced.
Having come to Leh once before and since I am so much interested in seeing the monasteries and palaces, I decided to stay back at the hotel and rest while Raju, Sachin and Phadke Ajoba went for half a day’s tour of local city site seeng. Raju and Phadke Ajoba made room bookings at Hotel Yak Tail – a more reasonably priced hotel for the nights of tomorrow and the day after.
Bye for now and see you here again tomorrow.
Cheers!
June 24, 2011
Hello!
Checked out of Hotel Grand Dragon (2 nights at here – 22nd and 23rd night) and off on a day excursion to Pangong Tso.
Tso means lake, La means pass. The road to Pangong Tso is narrow, almost continuously ascending; quite a high gradient at some points but the road surface is fairly good. It passes through the lap of tall imposing and majestic mountains which are almost completely devoid of any greenery. We passed through the area which was completely washed off because of the cloud burst last year but now it is almost completely rebuilt.
72 kms from Leh we passed Zingral and then ascended further to reach Chang La, a pass at an altitude of 17622 feet above MSL.
I really don’t know how to say this but I must – the majestic and serene mountains makes one feel humble, insignificant. Is this Him? I feel we worry and think too much about the issues and problems we face in our life span. What is one human life in this entire setting of universe. I feel we think too much about others than about ourselves – what will some one else say, how will he perceive me, what will he think of me and so on. Do we really live our own lives or do we live a life which in our perception will be found acceptable and fitting in everybody else’s perception. So we really are looking more at perceptions and less about reality. We live more by the metaphor and less by the essence. In our life span we hate people, we love people, we are judgmental about others and their actions, but is it worth it? Do we at any point look at ourselves consciously? Do we live our lives or do we live as others in our perception will find will find acceptable / fitting in their perception! Isnt this just some illusion of perceptions? Where is the truth? Where is the reality? Where is the absolute conscious? I don’t know if I am able to convey what I want to say or may be I am confused or just that I am able to understand what I am feeling / thinking but just unable to verbalize it. Any ways!
At one place we saw an animal which lives in boroughs and appeared to of the family of Mongoose. I have taken a few pictures of this as also some video. We were told by a taxi driver that locally it is called a ‘Phiya’.
Close to about 3pm we reached Pangong Tso. 30% of this lake is within Indian territory and 70% is in Tibet (China?!). The sight was simply brilliant! This huge lake in the middle of these dry and arid mountains! Simply brilliant! One can see many colours in this water – green, blue, violet! I am unable to describe the beauty here. I think one has to and can only experience it. If one is able to put beauty in words then one puts limits on it and this was just unlimited, unbound!
We had some tea at the military canteen and were off back on our way to Leh. On our way we went to the military camp where Col. Kadam is placed but we were told by the sentry that the colonel was out on training. I wanted to meet him and thank him but I was sorry I could not meet him. So I left my visiting card and left. Col. Kadam, if it is destined that we should meet, we surely will!
Another EXTREME of the Mission Extreme done!
We checked in at hotel Yak Tail.
Good night and see you tomorrow!
June 25, 2011
This morning we were off to Nubra valley. Another extreme of this Mission Extreme!
62 kms from Leh, we reached Khrdung La at an altitude of 18380 ft above MSL. The road ascending to this Highest Motorable Road in the world is just about ok - very steep gradients at times, very narrow, the surface rough. Many people just visit this pass and go back to Leh but we crossed this snow bound pass and descended in to the Nubra valley. The road downwards was very bad.
We were now in the cold desert. In fact Ladakh is one of cold deserts in India the others being parts of Lahaul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Bharmour. Pockets of Northern Utaranchal and Sikkim. Cold deserts in India are formed on account of the rain shadow effect of the Himalayas which runs in an arcuate shape from Indus Gap in the North West to the Brahmaputra Gap in the North East. These mountains cause the SW monsoon system to bring wide spread rain in the Indian subcontinent, but their towering height causes a rain shadow zone devoid of any precipitation. The winters sets in around October and extends up to May. A thick layer of snow and ice covers the ground for a long period in upper reaches while the snow melts towards May in the lower reaches.
It was quite overwhelming to note that we had travelled the entire region along the foothills of Himalayas and at times right through the ranges of Himalayas from North East to North West!
We reached Hundar. The region is entirely sand, some snow and dry arid imposing mountains. We saw sand dunes and the double humped camel which is found only in two regions in the world – Egypt and this part of India. Raju took a ride on the camel. We deciding not to visit Panamik since it has only some hot water springs which none of us was interested in seeing. Generally people stay in this part overnight and return to Leh the next day but we decided to travel back to Leh the same evening. This journey from Leh to Hundar is about 130 kms but it takes over five hours to travel!
Reached hotel, had dinner and now off to bed. Tomorrow’s plan is to try and reach Drass.
Good night and see you again tomorrow at this place – or shall I say at another place!?
Cheers and Bye!
June 26, 2011
Hi!
There was a lot of misinformation floating around about today’s travel plan. Some people said that vehicles were allowed to pass from Drass from 0100 hrs to 0600 hrs only. Some said this restriction was only for heavy vehicles and taxies. Some said that the timing was 0600 hrs till 1200 hrs etc. So we decided to simply start and take things as they come here on. A lesson to learn – set your goal, may be you take time over this, listen to others, but just take your decision and start moving towards your goal with whatever means you have. Face and overcome the difficulties and problems as and when they come and don’t think about them too much even before embarking on your journey towards your goal!
I did some shopping this morning – bought a brass idol of Taradevi at quite a steep price; hope I am not cheated on this, but its ok, as my son Pradyumna would say. I am really missing him. There is a lot to learn from a journey like this if one is conscious of everything and sensitive to things. I think young people could learn several management lessons through this process and really internalize these lessons rather than attending some MBA school! Many of my beliefs and convictions based on which I have lived and conducted myself through the journey of my life have been completely reinforced by and through this journey that I have taken!
We left Leh at about 1200 hrs. The road up to Saspol, was good but there after it was very bad.
We visited the 11th Century Buddhist monastery at Lamauru and proceeded to cross the Phowula pass at an altitude of 13480 ft, which is the highest point on the Leh-srinagar highway. We crossed Heniskot and reached Mulbek where we saw the 1st century carving of Maitreya, carved in a monolithic stone.
From here on the Islamic influence increased noticeably. We reached Kargil at 2030 hrs. Kargil has changed dramatically since my last visit here in 2005. This has now become a big town. Back then and before 2005, this place was small sleepy hamlet / village. There was no accommodation available. So we had some bread and tea at a bakery and proceeded on our way to Dras.
The road to Dras was very very bad! Between Dras and Kargil, about 5km from Dras is the war memorial of the 1999 Kargil conflict. It was close to 1200 hrs when we reached here. We stopped and just as were trying to look around and see if we could park our car some place, a soldier appeared. He was quite friendly. We got talking to him and asked him about the 1999 conflict.
As per the Shimla agreement, it was agreed that the militaries of both the countries will move back to lower regions in the winters. Accordingly our army moved back. Some shepherds came and informed our army personnel that there is some unusual activity on the mountains. So a party of six personnel was sent to verify the report. This party did not come back alive but their mutilated bodies were found thrown from mountains. Their eyes were removed, noses and ears cut off, and nails pulled out. Such was the torcher these men underwent. Our government and army woke up to the realty. Pakistani soldiers had taken position on the top of the Tololing range completely armed with antiaircraft guns etc. in the winter. They were targeting the road leading to Leh. Now look at the geography - if this road is cutoff then the entire Ladakh region is cut off from the rest of the country! In this case, on one side of Ladakh is aksai Chin and on the other side is Pak occupied Kashmir including Siachin. So India would have lost entire Kashmir! That was the plan! We were told that a 27 km long road – just adequate for army vehicles to pass - was created in just one night by the army’s appropriate wing so that the army with all its supplies could be mobilized! What followed is history.
The officer advised us that we should proceed to Dras, try and find accommodation, stay there and return early in the morning to see the memorial. The timings for traffic to move from Dras to Shrinagar are 0000hrs to 1000hrs.
It was well past midnight by the time we reached Dras. There was no accommodation available. Phadke Ajoba requested a restaurant owner to allow two people to sleep in the restaurant to which he agreed. Phadke & Raju went and slept inside on chairs lined up and Sachin and I slept in the car.
It was a tiring day without any suitable place to unwind. Tomorrow’s plan is to try and reach Jammu.
Bye for now and see you in Jammu tomorrow!
June 27, 2011
Good morning!
Early this morning we travelled back 5 kms to Visit the 1999 war memorial. This is a very well made and extremely well maintained place. On 26th July, Vijay Diwas is going to be celebrated here.
We saw the Tololong Range, Tiger Hill, Rhino Horn Peak and one must see it to believe it that how close India was to losing Ladakh and large part of Kashmir!
We left the war memorial and proceeded towards Kashmir Valley. The roads were very very bad. Almost seventy years after independence all roads leading to all our borders that we saw were hopeless. We still have th Jozilla Pass, the most critical and important pass to reach Ladakh in one horrible and almost unmotorable condition. The population of the country has grown from some 40 crores at independence to over 125 crores as per the latest census, the annual budget size has grown from some 200 crores at independence to over hundred thousand crores but the prorate infrastructure seems to have diminished by equal measure! Cant we have decent roads at least going up to the borders of the country where our soldiers are doing their best living in some of the most challenging conditions and keeping a watch and securing the borders of this country? Till Kargill war we did not have a high altitude combat training school. Our soldiers went and fought this war at this high altitude without suitable training or adequate acclimatization. After this war we suddenly realize the importance of high altitude combat and we set up the HAWS at Sonmarg. Nothing in this country happens proactively and by design as a part of any carefully drafted and well thought out process. Everything is a knee jerk response to situations and circumstance which come up from time to time. Don’t the people in the places of power have any vision? Forget the politicians but what about the burocrats who are said to have passed some exam and several sets of interviews and are supposed to be the backbone of policy making? Any way…those are my feelings….and surely I need to examine if I am proud to be an Indian.
We reached Sonamarg at 0900 hrs, had some breakfast and reached Shrinagar at about1330hrs.. Paid a visit to Hazratbal. The Dal Lake was as dirty and horrible as ever, all the so called gardens were in contrast to their reputation. As you travel in Kasmir Valley you see children asking for money. If you want to take a photograph they want a Baksheesh. If this is heaven I don’t want to be here.
Now there are no restrictions to travel from Shrinagar to Jammu as there were in 2005. There is traffic on this highway throughout day and night. We crossed the Jawahar Tunnel – 2.531kms long and proceeded towards Jammu, passing Banihal, Ramban, Chandrakot, and Batot on the way. The road here was quite good and I was covering distance at a fair pace though the road was entirely through hilly region.
It was very dark by the time we crossed Patn Top. As we approached Jammu it started raining heavily with a big storm. It was very difficult to drive under these conditions.
We reached Jammu at 0100 hrs and checked in to Hotel Ashoka Jammu. This is a well located, big, reasonably priced, ill maintained and badly managed place. Good to stay here.
We had not had anything to eat since the breakfast we had had at Sonamarg. But we were very and actually nobody was in a mood for food.
Bye for now and see you at Amritsar tomorrow.
June 28, 2011
After having a heavy breakfast at Ashoka hotel in Jammu we set course for Amritsar.
The scene around us changed drastically as we moved on. So far we were passing through sparsely populated regions and now we were seeing small towns and villages teeming with activity, markets and filled with goods; the air was generally of prosperity. We had covered over 13000 kms since we embarked on Mission Extreme from Mumbai.
About 10 / 15 kms before Amritsar we took a turn from the highway to go to Wagha border, about 30 kms from Amritsar. Thousands of people come here on both sides every day to see the ceremony of the border gates closing and opening and the flags of both the countries being brought down. The approach to this place, Attari, is double carriage way, beautiful road, may be so because a Priminister and senior politicians and dignitaries of the country have visited the enemy country through this border! People shout slogans – if only all of us could show our patriotism more constructively than just by visiting places like this and just shouting Jai Hind and / or Bharat Mata Ki Jai and / or Wande Mataram! Actually I really don’t know what this ceremony is about and at least now I really don’t even want to know!
We checked in at Hotel MK in Amritsar, a very good place to stay at. Tomorrow Sachin would be leaving for Mumbai by the morning flight.
We had dinner and are off to a night’s good sleep or a good night’s sleep – any which way you want to say it!
We shall soon be entering the last leg of mission extreme.
Bye for now and see you at the same place tomorrow.
June 29, 2011
Hello!
Sachin left for Mumbai this morning. The rest of us went to Arneja Automobiles, a Tata Motors dealer and gave our Safari for servicing, check-up and repairs if any. Sachin’s friend from Tata Motors had recommended this place and had spoken to Mr. Vikas Sharma here. We were given excellent treatment and our vehicle was taken for servicing immediately. They also ordered a radio taxi to take us around the city.
We first visited the Jalianwala Baug. Jalianwala is a misnomer for a cast called Jalian. This is a place which tells us the heart wrenching story of how a gathering of about 20 thousand people who were peacefully demonstrating agaist the Rowlet act were fired upon ruthlessly by General Dyer on April 13, 1919 when 400 people died and 1500 were injured. In today’s India these numbers seem normal!? There is only one exit to this ground which is so narrow that if I spread both my hands, each hand will touch the wall of the exit! People tried to save their lives by jumping in to a well at this ground and many of whom died.
From here we walked up to the Golden Temple which is just next door. This imposing and impressive structure sits in the middle of a lake, the Amrit Sarovar from which the name of the city Amritsar is derived, and is bound by beautiful marble structures. The temple is one of the Holiest shrines of Sikhs and thousands visit this shrine every day. The shrine is adorned with 750 kgs of gold. The dome of the shrine is in the shape of a fully bloomed inverted lotus. The Guru Granth Sahib is kept inside this shrine and four Granthies or Sikh Priests continuously chant from the Granth Sahib. One has to cover his / her head before entering the shrine. This is a huge huge complex and is absolutely clean. Even the water in the lake is very clean. Bhindrawala was hiding in this shrine during the Sikh unrest demanding separate Khalistan. He was killed in operation Blue Star in the year 1984. There was some damage to some parts of the complex which was completely repaired and the entire complex was restored to its previous status by the government. The Shiromani Akali Takht, the highest religious body is located here.
The city of Amritsar was built by the 4th Guru of Sikhs, Guru Ramdas, in the year 1577. Mughal King Akbar gave the land for building the city. Ahmedshah Dutani completely destroyed the city in 1761 was rebuilt in 1764. In 1802, Maharaja Ranjit Sing built the golden dome of the shrine.
From the Golden temple we went for lunch to the most famous Kesar Dhaba. This is a very simple place but serves excellent food. I could not finish the two Lachcha Paranthas I had ordered. But the highlight was the Lassi! It was the best that I have ever had so far and I don’t think I will get one like that again! Simply superb!
From here we went to pick up our car. The service centre had done an excellent job. Thank you very much!
Tomorrow we leave for our onward journey. Bye and see you again tomorrow, I don’t know where!
June 30, 2011
Hello!
Yesterday we were told by the service advisor at Arneja Motors that we should go and see the birth place of Noorjehan at a place called Noormehel some distance away from Jalandhar. Hence, though Jlandhar was not on our road map we took this diversion.
The road was excellent. On the way we had lunch. Raju, who is a great fan of non vegetarian food, had tandoori chicken and Phadke & I had some chees sandwich. I must say here that Raju is such a great fan of Non Veg food that had he been in one of these underworld gangs he would have been called ‘Raju Murgi’!
We reached this place called Noormehel. Nobody, not even the local people on the same street know anything about this place. It is just one complex at the entrance of which there is a wall / gate structure. Inside there is a mosque, and some chambers and ruins. Even the gate keeper / security personnel know absolutely nothing about this place!!!!!
We proceeded on our way towards Rajasthan. The roads were very good an we were moving quite rapidly. On the way we saw food grain stored out in the open by the concerned government department / authority / company / corporation, covered just with a flimsy plastic cloth. Many a bags of grain had fallen on the ground and was rotting! We have thousands of tones of grain stored out in the open, and rotting on account a complete lack of responsibility on the part of concerned authorities and one hand we have people of this country dying of hunger. Am I proud to be an Indian?!
Generally when we think Punjab we think wheat, but we saw huge paddy and rice cultivation along the road. It is said that the water table in Punjab has gone down but our interaction with farmers did not so indicate. Is this another scam and falsehood in the making?! Am I proud to be an Indian?!
Another point which I would like to make here is that throughout our journey so far, of course with some exceptions in certain part of the country, if one asks a question in Hindi the reply is typically in the local language! Are the people of Maharashtra listening? So sometimes I would put the question in Hindi and when I got the answer in local language which I seldom understood, I would start talking in Marathi!
One more interesting fact….in Hariyana we were passing through a place called Shirsa and there is a Parshuram Chauk here. In this square or at this junction there is an idol of Parshuram which was quite similar to that we had seen at Parshuram Kund in Arunachal Pradesh. So now we have the reference of Parshuram from Konkan to Arunachal and now in Hariyana.
At about 2200 hrs we reached the border town of Nohar in Rajastan. We located a small but clean hotel with air conditioned rooms at astonishingly cheap price and broke journey for the night here.
While the luggage was being unloaded I sat around and got talking to some young boys who had come there for a short nightly walk. One of them said that there were a lot of educated but unemployed youth who have the skills but do not have the opportunities in terms of having a suitable job or having adequate capital to be self employed. The boys I was talking to said that they would give all possible support if I were to start some venture in this region. One of these chaps was a property broker. He said that he would recommend investment in land here and that a big Bollywood star had invested huge amounts in land in Rajasthan. These guys spoke about either Bollywood personalities or politics and political personalities. Just some facts coming from local people to ponder upon!
The hotel served us a reasonable meal of roties, vegetable and some dal khichadi even at this hour!
So friends bye for now and see you tomorrow at Jaisalmer.
July 01, 2011
We left Nohar quite early in the morning. The owner of the place served us tea which he made at his home since the Hotel kitchen had not opened.
We noticed a distinct change in the natural environment and culture. We saw women with their faces covered with the Pallu of their sarees. The lush green of Punjab and Hariyana had given way to desert like flat land with sand and not soil. The trees were sparse and that too those which grow in desert. We were now entering the desert (hot desert!) of Rajasthan. The society here is still largely caught up in the web of cast and creed though they realize that it is essential that they break away from it. I wonder what the political class and the social leaders are doing to do away with these bondages of cast and religion. Or is it that this bondage is to their benefit?!
The cost of farming is low here. Farmers take both the Kharif and the Rubbi crops. There is no problem of drinking water but there is a problem of irrigation for farm land. The crops are mostly rain fed.
Some how I was feeling tired and sleepy this morning. Am I getting tired and fatigued with all this travelling? My typical 20 minutes power nap was not helping me this time around. Yet I pushed on.
We passed Churu, Harsawa, and reached Salasar via Laxman Garh. Today was new moon day and also there was an eclips (amawasya & graham). Hence there was practically no rush at the holy shrine of Lord Hanuman at Salasar. Though this shrine is of lord Hanuman it is also called as Salasar Balaji, no one knows why. It appears that the Hanuman is associated more with wealth than strength.
We left Salasar after having a snack. The sun was beating down. It was quite warm. Breez was blowing continuously though this too was warm. I was tired and fatigued. We parked our car under a tree at a place called Rajaldesar and slept or shall I say stretched out under the tree and tried to sleep for almost an hour. This rest freshened me up. Shortly after this we joined the highway. We had some tea here. Now the conditions were ideal for some quick driving – excellent road and very little traffic. This time I can say I was driving very fast. At about 1730 hrs we reached Bikaner and immediately proceeded towards Jaisalmer passing Pokaran, the place of the two nuclear tests.
It is worth noting and one finds many peacocks and deer in this region. As Raju would want to say, one finds peacocks here like hen in a village. I almost hit one peacock when it was taking a flight across the highway since peacocks cannot fly high. Deer suddenly run across highway.
On the highway just after Pokaran and a few kilometers before Jaisalmer we took a tea break and spoke to the owner of the dhaba. He said that testing of explosive devises was very common here. He said, and this is his version, that at the time of the nuclear test the pit was 300 feet deep and was filled with onions and not sand before the test!
We reached Jaisalmer at about 2130 / 2200 hrs and checked in to Hotel Golbandh Palace. This is beautiful place to stay at. Phadke Ajoba negotiated a good deal for us at this Hotel.
I was very very tired and extremely fatigued. My brain was switching off with fatigue.I had covered over 700 kms today. We had dinner and now straight to bed.
Bye and see you tomorrow.
July 02, 2011
Hi,
When I checked time after opening my eyes it was, can you imagin, 1447hrs! I had slept for almost over 12 hrs!
I had tea and did nothing. Raju and Phadke had gone for a tour of the city. I did not even come out of my room till dinner time. I met them both just before dinner.
I too want to take a tour of the city and visit the market. Not planned anything yet. Lets see how things evolve tomorrow.
Bye and see you again tomorrow at the same place.
