I’m pretty sure you’re wondering why I called this “a Non-Adventurer’s Tale”. For people who have read my other blogs, you must be wondering if scuba-diving in the Andamans, sky-diving in Dubai and river rafting in Kullu are not adventures. They are, of course. But going on a 3000 kilometers bike trip on a bike that you’ve never sat on and taking, what is considered, one of the toughest routes in the world, is something different altogether. And as for the “Part One” – I really wanted to fit everything into one post but then it wouldn’t do justice to the places I visited. So, I’m keeping it to Two parts this time – one for the onward journey and one for the return.
Continue reading How to get Leh’d: A Non-Adventurer’s Tale (Part One)Tag Archives: snow
Down the Beas to the City with a Plan!
We wake up early the next day. The hangover of the snow experience is still there and it is something which I will never be able to forget.
This day was to be spent exploring Manali with its temples and monasteries and of course the “Maaaal Road” (read Shimla to understand what Maaaal Road is 😛 ). We first go to Vashishta Muni temple. The temple is a wooden structure with a slate roof.
There is a hot spring gushing out near the temple which has been converted to a public bath. 
The water was pretty hot indeed. However I was hoping to see more of an open hot water spring. But there is no “pool” as such. There are pipes which carry the water out of the mountain. Not entirely “natural”! 😛
Snow! Snow! Snow!
Having covered Shimla, we leave for Manali the next morning after breakfast. We take a different road that winds its way around the mountains and towards Manali. It’s a 250km drive and will take an entire day of driving to reach there. Continue reading Snow! Snow! Snow!
The Summer Capital of British India
The best thing about the road to Shimla is that the climb is not a painful experience. Travelling to the hills in India may not always be pleasant – going from Kozhikode to Wayanad in Kerala can be the most nauseous drive, thanks to the myriad hairpin bends and the crazy buses. Given that Shimla was more than 3 times higher in altitude than Wayanad, at 2400m, I kept my poly-bags ready. Our driver, Kalyan Singh was a Himachali through and through and the most talkative person I’ve seen. That’s what keeps him going without getting bored or sleepy – alertness is something which is really required in such treacherous terrain or the vehicle may casually slip down the slope (we saw quite a few such vehicles during the trip). This guy was a good planner and had packed these polybags before we left Delhi, as Himachal was a plastic free state. He knew the roads and mountains really well – something I relate to – remembering routes and places.
So let’s come back to the present. Continue reading The Summer Capital of British India
Fridge Magnet Tales 