The Himalayas and Desert
Hallo !
October passed by in india & nepal, here's an account of the trip:
3-9oct
Shimla - Jalori Cycling
It was an organisational disaster this year.. nuff said. The whole spore contingent of 12 ppl pulled out on day 6/9. The last straw was Rina's crash and knee injury. HASPA didnt seem to even feel much apologetic or repentant about the whole turnout of events, unfortunately.
Despite all this, there were wonderful moments too, it is impossible not to be touched by the fresh sunlight, apple orchards and mountains. What i enjoyed most :
* Visit and blessings at the Bimakali temple.
* Gorgeous views of the kuulu valley
Adventures :
* The raging bull which pawed and charged at the riders. (apparently a competitor from the army had hurled his bike at the bull and broken his horn. The bull became aggressive towards the next cyclists.) When i got to the bull, he had already calmed down, and looked so sad, i almost gave him a pat!
* Sightings of leopards by one jeep
* Dogs ! Ling/Becks got threatened, Adam was bitten and had to go for rabies injections. Ouch!
* Drunks ! Village drunks who jumped on a competitor's bike and took off for 400m (downhill) !
* Protector ! A dog from jalori pass accompanied Ruth & I on a 8km forest trek. Along the way, i had to 'rescue' him from other territorial sherpard mutts!
* Crashes : 1x head cut(sticthes), 1 concussion, 1 fell of drop & hung on to 1storey high tree while shouting for help(hehe, in Chi's camera), 1 took hands off handle and whacked into tree, falling 20ft at edge, a couple of crashes on the downhills. Thats all that i know, some more cases which i probably missed. As for me, my speed was too slow, no chance for any spectacular crash :)
* Remotest meadow camp! We were jeeped though some of mentionably very rocky rough terrain, followed by a 2km hike on a wet drizzly dark trail to the campsite where dinner was finally ready at 11pm. The sun revealed the most gorgeous views the next morning.
* Bike damages ! Nik's record no. of flats, Smokinbabe's massive chainsuck and 2pairs damaged pedals, Steve's broken rear-d hanger..
* Mystery! Marking which were changed & pointed the 'wrong' direction, which led to the best cyclist getting lost in the forest, and missing out on a podium finish.
* 3 Tonner ! It was amazing how the army truck navigated the narrow and windy roads, first time i experienced sitting in one such vehicle too.
* Bear sighting! At Bijli mahadev (last day, which quite a few cyclists saw)
On Day7 (10oct), the rest of the spore group left for Manali. I stayed 2nites at a quiet guesthouse near Jalori pass before rejoining the group at Manali. The rest of the Spore group left manali on 12Oct night.
10-12Oct, Guesthouse near Jalori.
12-17Oct Manali (Rest time at this bustling highland town)
Here was the closing and 'prize' ceremony for the cycling event, and I also got a bit of time to catch up with friends. There was a plan to ride by motorbike up rohtang but was cancelled due to the rain. Eventually, a few of us(DJ, Adam, Norbert, Aayush & I) went on a daytrip by jeep to rohtang and beyond. It was a place of much snow and rugged landscape, and at some parts, lots of tourists.
We (Chirag, Aayush & I) also made a trip to old manali which is the old part of town. Marijuana bushes grow in profusion by the roadside. However, we were more interested in dodging cow dung, buying colorful sew-on patches, the korean food!
One of the sunny days, I visited Raju's home(traditional century old house in a nearby village), and got to ruffle a1mth old calf and puppy.
Irvinder from Snowland was a great help during my stay in manali, providing information and wonderful hospitality.
17Oct night, Adam, Norbert and I took the nite coach to Delhi.
>> More on travels in next update..
18Oct
Delhi
19-21
Jaipur
21-23Oct
Delhi
23-26Oct
Nepal
27Oct
Spore
