Kasol & Tosh: Untouched beauty of Himachal Pradesh

Double rainbow at a waterfall in Tosh, Himachal Pradesh

Most people when first hear of Kasol, confuse it with Kasoli. This is because, Kasol is an offbeat Himalayan town situated very close to the Sikh shrine of Manikaran. Manikaran is famous for two reasons or the combination of the two reasons – one, it hosts a famous Sikh temple (gurudwara) and two, it has hot water springs. Kasol has some feathers to its hat as well. It is famous amongst the Israelis and Italian tourists and it is famous for hash and marijuana.

Driving to Kasol

Neha and I had traveled to Rishikesh with our new couple friends – Sonal and Amitoz the week earlier and since then, we all were pretty worked up about another trip. Initially, Neha and I had planned for Kanha Tiger Reserve but that was sold out completely; thus, our plan shifted from tiger spotting to cooling ourselves off in the hills. Sonal was quite keen on going to Kasol and its surrounding areas as she had been hearing travel stories from her office colleagues and wanted to explore and experience this part of the country. The dates decided for the trip were 12-16 June 2014. As we inched closer to the departure dates, each one of us started researching on the different aspects of the trip. Amitoz bought camping gear after I ranted and yapped about how cool and exciting experience camping is.

Reaching Kasol

This opened an option of camping- either at Kasol or Tosh. While Neha and Sonal looked up hotels and their reviews, I checked out the route plan, road condition and overall review of these places from HV Kumar. At the same time, I wrote to Dheeraj Sharma of Devil on Wheels for his inputs. Gurgaon to Kasol: Thursday 12 June 2014 1 am to 3.30 pm Thanks to the inputs from HVK Facebook forum, we were aware that the road up to Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh has heavy traffic and one must start early to munch as many miles as possible.  Thus, we started at 1 am from Gurgaon and by 1.15 am we had picked up Sonal & Amitoz from their home and we embarked on our journey. We found traffic right from NH8 and this forced us to take the internal roads of Delhi to reach the Burari turn to NH1. We stopped over at Gulshan Dhabba for food and bought some folk Punjabi music CDs from one the shops near by. Our next stopover was for fuel near Ambala and then we

Crossing bridge across the river..

took the Shambhu – Roopnagar road towards Bilaspur. Our plan was to cross Bilaspur before 7 am but we entered Swarghat by only 7. We were running behind schedule but it was not that a big deal. Neha and I were alternating the driving after every hour or so and our next halt was after Bilaspur for food. By this time, Dheeraj Sharma responded to my query and connected me to Doulos Jose (who happens to work in the same building that I do- small world). Doulos had been to Kasol a week before and he gave us valuable tips about the place. Through Doulos we got in touch with Om Negi who runs a camping site just outside Kasol.  So, while we ordered Maggi and some paranthas, I called up Om Negi and told him about our arrival plans and fixed up a meeting. The journey from Bilaspur to Bhunter was smoother than earlier and much faster. We reached Bhunter around half past one and bought some beers and breezers. At Kasol we met up one of the camp organizers Hemu Negi (cousin of Om) who helped us finding a secure parking spot and started the 25 minutes walk to the camp.

Our first halt for the night at Kasol

To reach the camp, we had to walk across a narrow suspension bridge over the raging Parvati river. What followed then, was a beautiful nature trail. We did get a bit impatient and kept bothering Hemu with the repeated questions “are we there yet”? The camping site was towards the right of the nature trail and we came across a cemented house overlooking a vast stretch of leveled land with several tents pitched on it.

Camping next to Parvati river

We scouted for a place closest to the river and pitched our tents. While we were close to the river, we were at a safe distance and at an elevation of about 5 feet. We settled and ordered some pakodas and then climbed down the rocks and tried the water. It was at 10C and we could not bring ourselves to taking a dip in the river. The water was perfect for chilling the drinks that we brought along. We took some photographs and spent nearly an hour at the rocks. We returned to our camp and played a game of cards and also couple of games of badminton and then as the night approached, fatigue started to creep in.

Moments next to the river

We were awake since the day before, slogged off our asses as corporate slaves and then embarked on this road trip practically without rest.

Dinner came in- chicken gravy, chapatis and vegetarian food for Sonal. Along with the food, came some unwanted guests- dogs. There were several of them around. I would presume these stayed on the property to guard against the wild animals on the prowl in the neighboring forests. The chicken didn’t taste like chicken and the it had been cut into way too small pieces. We didn’t fancy it as much but then when you go camping, this was like elixir from gods and refusing it would have been crazy. As the food settled down, my eyes began to feel heavy and I had to call it a day. I crawled into my tent and zipped up my sleeping bag. Neha too joined me soon and then I heard Amitoz and Sonal saying good night as I was going into a deep slumber.

Day 2

Breakfast at German Bakery

All packed next morning

I had slept in the same position for hours and many bones of body nearly crushed under my own weight. At the break of dawn , I unzipped the tent window to see the surroundings outside. It was a beautiful day, a day I had not seen in many months. Soon, we all woke up and we ordered for some tea from the camp organizers. We also decided to go up till Tosh today and probably spent the night there. Here again, Om Negi helped us with some hotels in Tosh and gave us the bad news. Tosh had no places to camp. Doulos had too shared the same piece of information. The toilets at the camp were quite decent and we comfortably freshened up, packed our belongings, paid Om Negi. He charged us only for the food and not for the space. At some places, where Neha and

Fun moments while heading to Tosh!

I had camped earlier, people took a nominal space rentals to pitch our tents and we were quite surprised that he allowed us to stay for free. We bid good bye and as nomads started walking back to Kasol. We had breakfast at Moon dance cafe aka German bakery. The food was great and so was the music. We decided to visit the place again for food on our way back home. The car was found in the same condition as we left and it was a relief. We had parked our car at the parking space of Kasol Camps.

Israeli Breakfast at German Bakery

We did inquire from their tariffs and they are as of June 2014 1. Rs 500 to pitch your own tent 2. If you want to use their tents then the tariff ranges from Rs 1500 to Rs 3500. Food and beverages extra. From Kasol, now we headed towards Tosh which is about a 90 minute drive from Kasol. The first town and one of major attractions is the town of Manikarn about 5 km ahead of Kasol. At Manikarn, a road forks up on the right hand side and this is the road that goes up to Bansheri. The road ahead was mostly rough, with loose gravel, water puddles and potholes. Though it is very much doable (easily) in a 2wheel drive, we engaged 4 H just to gain speed and stability at certain points. We stopped for a photography session and then headed to the town of Bansheri.

 

Clicks on our way to tosh!

Here, we could see the construction of a dam and it seemed as if this place is waiting to be commercialised. From Bhansheri, Tosh is about 3 km steep ascent with extremely rough roads. Doulos had warned me of this and had advised to take a taxi in case it was raining. He did not know back then, that we were in a 4wd Scorpio. We did most of the ascent in two wheel drive but then we halted at a steep angle for photographs. Momentum was lost and now we needed traction to continue our journey. 4H was useless, and no way, I wanted to exert stress on the clutch. So, this time 4 L was engaged to climb.

Amitoz & Sonal enjoying the waterfall

The car just glided over the rough terrain. Should the readers of this post wish to take their vehicle up till Tosh, my recommendation is, keep the momentum stable and any vehicle can do this ascent. At Tosh, we had to park our vehicle just outside the village because there is no motorable road inside. A weak and narrow pedestrian bridge is the only entrance to the village. We called up Mr. Tari (Om Negi’s contact)

A very beautiful waterfall in Tosh!

owner of the Pink Floyd hotel and asked him to get directions to his hotel. He asked us to walk into the village and ask anyone for directions. We decided to first check out the place and then assess what all would be required for a night’s stay and then bring in our luggage. The lanes of the village became quite narrow at certain stretches. The hotel is good 15 minutes walk from the parking spot. On the way to Pink Floyd we checked out another place which was just in the beginning of the village and the tariffs were around INR 200 a night, no attached bathrooms. The only advantage was that from its balcony we were able to see our car in the distance. We reached Pink Floyd, drained out of energies but did not really fancy the place. It was good, no doubt but we found the views from Hotel Sunset better. So we took two rooms at Hotel Sunset at INR 300 each. There was hot water, attached bathrooms and electricity for charging our camera batteries. There is a small tuck shop in the premises and a kitchen which can serve Italian, Israeli and Indian food. Wow! I am being greedy here, nevertheless, it is worth a mention- the downside are the bed sheets. They have dark colored bed sheets and pillow covers which means that they are not washed for quite sometime. It is advised to carry your own bedsheet and pillow covers. We ordered lunch and then Amitoz and I left the girls at the hotel and went to fetch our belongings for the night.

Morning tea with Parle-G

We were back in about 40 minutes and the girls were nowhere to be seen from a distance. While we had gone lugging bags, Neha and Sonal had gone on a short trek. They came back just in time of our arrival. From the hotel, we could see in the distance two waterfalls and two bridges. One of these waterfalls was a man-made cemented slide, yet the sheer force of the water was so magnificent that one could perceive it from the hotel. We enquired about the KheerGanga trek for next day but dropped the idea as we were short on time. While the locals said that one can do the round trip in a day, we urban corporate slaves were not the lot to walk so much in one day. We definitely needed two days. The village was quite deserted and from the hotel operators we learnt that most of the tourist have gone to the village of Pulga for a two day “rave” party. This part of the Himalayas is famous for rave parties. Weed is commonly called olive as it is sold in small black balls which resemble black olives. The hotel also told us about another waterfall which was 15 minutes away and we decided to check it out as there was still couple of hours of daylight available. We misunderstood the directions and started

Sitting on hotel terrace!

Natural rock slide…!

 

walking on a different path. The 15 minutes trek took us nowhere closer to water. A few locals, we spotted on the way told us

Chicken at special request

that we had come the wrong way. We returned and found the correct trail. While walking, photographing, we met some fellow tourists and made another mistake of asking them for directions. These blokes were dressed in clothes one would wear to an office on a Friday. Totally out of place. They misguided us and put us on a different trail. Two of our group members tripped after different locations and it was kind of disheartening. Fortunately, no one got hurt. Around quarter to seven, we gave up the idea of the waterfall and headed back and decided to conquer it next day. An interesting thing happened here, we saw a man with a child playing on a natural rock slide. The crazy ones Amitoz and Neha were the first ones to burn their butts and Sonal and I needed some persuasion. As the last light approached, it was time to reach the hotel. We

ordered chicken and snacks and also got hold of olives ;). It was a full moon night and we stayed on the terrace munching, drinking, smoking and laughing till the temperature dropped to a moderate chill of 13 C. At this time (around 10 pm) the tuck shop and the kitchen also shut down and we retired to our rooms.

Beautiful walk midst greenery

Complete surrender…

Amitoz & Sonal

Euphoria beyond containment…

Day 3

I was the first one to get up and get ready. Woke up rest of the party with some tea and Parle-G. Once everyone was ready, we headed towards the first waterfall which everyone at Tosh was talking about. The hotel staff advised us against the waterfalls visible from the hotel. They said that the water is so fierce and rogue that one wrong move and you will end up in a watery grave. Who listens to such things- not us! Anyway, this time we reached the 15 minutes away waterfall in about 15 minutes. Spent about an hour there and now headed for the falls which mesmerized us since our arrival in Tosh. Here is the route which we followed in June 2014. On the way to the “famous” waterfall there is a rock on which someone had painted waterfall 100 m ahead. At this rock a small water stream trickles down and it also seems to be a dumping ground. A narrow and rough trail goes along with water stream. Now keep following the only trail and keep descending for about 30 minutes. The entire route is quite beautiful except for a 20m garbage dump in the beginning. I have seen Doodhsagar from up close and trust me when I say this, this particular one is comparable to Doodhsagar and is just one day drive from Delhi. We reached back hotel around half past one and told them that we would be checking out. At 3 pm we were in our car and headed to the German bakery at Kasol for lunch. Kasol was crowded. We tried hard for a parking space but could not find it. We tried parking at the taxi parking area but the locals became too aggressive and thus we left. We stopped at The Himalayan Retreat at Jari and enjoyed some really good food. Tried the local dishes – Dham, Kachori and Siddu Momo. Here on, we drove nearly non-stop till Gurgaon stopping twice on the way, once for tea and another time for graveyard shift food at NH1. It took us nearly 9 hours to reach Kiratpur Sahib and another 6 hours to reach Gurgaon. Around 6.30 am, on Sunday we reached Gurgaon. It was a trip successfully completed and the experience was too good. Special thanks to Sonal for picking up the destination, Dheeraj Sharma for connecting to Doulos and to Doulos Jose for helping us connect to Om Negi. Now it was time to sort out the 1800 photographs clicked by us during the three days. By the way, we all tried our hands on our new photography gear. Sonal and Amitoz brought their new Nikon D3100, Neha and I got our new Nikon D5300 and a Nikon AW120. IPhone 5s also proved to be an amazing photography device with its fast f/2 lens. The trip not only helped us rejuvenate but also strengthened the bond amongst the “Chaar Log” (four people -term coined by the Bhandari brothers during our Rishikesh camping and rafting trip) Watch this space for more adventure and travel stories. Ciao!

Road Trip to a ‘Happy Land’ – Bhutan!

This post attempts to express joy, adventure and happiness experienced during the road trip undertaken by Neha and I in December 2012 to the land where they quantify happiness in terms of GNH (Gross National Happiness). This Neverland is not far from where we reside. A 1600 km drive east of Gurgaon takes you to this place. Not only the place is beautiful, everything about this is peaceful, serene and happy. This place is called the Royal Kingdom of Bhutan. [Alongside, we will try to give as much info as possible to future travellers on the route, hotels, formalities etc.]

A road trip to Bhutan was not in the cards till a month before the trip. We were planning a trip from the time we brought home a 4WD Scorpio in November 2012. We wanted to go to Rajasthan or Lahaul Spiti valley. But as the year 2012 came closer to its last days, we made an impromptu shift in plan to Bhutan. Leaves from office are hard to get by and once they were approved (special thanks to our bosses), the first hurdle was crossed.

Euphoric bohemians at Happy Land

Day 1: Saturday, December 22, 2012. Gurgaon, Haryana (India) to Gopalganj, Bihar (India) [950 km]

All road trips begin with getting up early and this one was no exception  The idea is start early, crunch most miles before the hustle bustle of life slows you down. December mornings are a wee bit different. The cosiness of the warm blanket is so comforting that it is not uncommon to oversleep. Nothing of that sort happened with us. We did get up on time, and made one final round of packing for the trip. The week before the trip was something. Usually, we do get time for leisure after a gruelling day at office, however, the preceding week was an outlier. Looking back, this reminds me of college days when we used to prepare the night before the exam. We started our packing for the trip, the night before as well.

Mustard fields of Uttar Pradhesh, India

People often express surprise to the frequent road trips that we undertake; therefore, packing a night before was not disastrous after all. We prepared food for one day, collected as much drinking water as we could and embarked on our journey. Fifteen minutes on the road, Neha suddenly recollected that we left our lunch on the kitchen counter. Damn! We came back home, picked up the food and restarted the journey. In about an hour, we reached the Yamuna Expressway. We figured out in our previous road trips, that Yamuna Expressway is the fastest route to Kanpur even from Gurgaon, though a bit longer distance wise. At the entrance of Yamuna Expressway, a signage welcomed us, which said “Heavy Fog Ahead, Drive Slow”. For the first few kilometres, the road was clear and then the inevitable was staring us in our face. Visibility dropped to less than 100 m at certain sections. Most people follow cars in front while maintaining sufficient distance between them. I get paranoid when it comes to such driving it is not uncommon to see accidents where such cars have crashed into each others like falling dominoes.

Fog gave us company till Kanpur and then the weather cleared up. We took a bypass for Lucknow and travelled through MohanLalganj and joined the National Highway at Barabanki. I am sure we would have saved a lot of time by avoiding afternoon rush of Lucknow. In fact, Google Maps took us through some of the villages of Uttar Pradesh and we made the best out of this opportunity by taking some photographs and stopping for a while.

Entering Bihar

By evening (6pm), we were at the outskirts of Gorakpur. Here we had the option either to enter Gorakpur city and halt for the night or take the bypass and enter Bihar. We chose the latter. By 7.30pm we had entered Bihar. We had been warned by HV Kumar and Neeloy Sarkar about the bad roads for 40-50 km after entering Bihar. However, we did not expect the road to end suddenly in pitch darkness. Had our vehicle been without ABS, the chances that we would have safely manoeuvred the diversion would have been bleak. The first city of Bihar we came across was Gopalganj and we decided to look for a hotel and not continue ahead. If only the roads were as decent as they were from Gurgaon to Bihar border, we might have continued ahead.

Gopalganj is a very small town is  not a tourist place. Finding clean and safe hotels was an adventure in itself. A quick internet search gave us a list of few hotels and Hotel Bhaibhaw with the best reviews of all. We set Google Navigation to the hotel and learnt that it was sold out. Sold Out! Just our luck. Then we found another hotel and took the most expensive room at INR 600 a night. The most expensive room was way below our hygiene standards and we opted to sleep in our sleeping bags. Next morning, we felt more clean that the bathroom and decided to checkout and continue our journey.

Day2: Sunday, December 23, 2012: Gopalganj, Bihar to Phuentsholing, Bhutan [500 km]

APRS track- Gurgaon to Gopalganj

The night before, the hotel caretaker advised us to start our journey after 7 am due to foggy conditions prevailing over the last few days. By 6.30 am we were back on the road and targeted to reach Bhutan by nightfall. The road condition improved after few scores of miles and soon we were cruising on the East West Corridor. This stretch of road continues till West Bengal and is a very fast road. However, caution must be exercised as locals do not adhere to basic traffic laws and drive in the wrong direction and can be seen using the road to dry wheat, clothes etc. At places, especially where the road merges into a bridge, the condition is not as good and at times, one has to take sudden diversions. All in all, our two cents for East West Corridor is drive fast yet be very alert, specially when overtaking and if you see the vehicle in front of you suddenly changing lanes, which would 9 out of 10 times would mean someone is coming from the opposite direction in the wrong lane.

After Forbesganj, Google Navigation asked us to exit the East-West Highway

Entering horrible stretch of road (Entering West Bengal)

and take the state highway to West Bengal. We halted and calculated that the route would be 100 km shorter than the East West highway and even if roads are not too great, we would have not lost much time. Travelling is all about exploring. Following a fixed route and plan is more of commuting. And, we were driving for fun, for exploration and for adventure, so why not. Initially, it did not seem like a bad decision, roads were good and once again we passed through the villages of Bihar. At Bihar West-Bengal border, things changed and not for good.

We were preparing lunch in the car when we crossed the border and we felt as if we have entered a really backward place. Car kettle which is a boon to have become a hazard due to the craters on the surface of the road. Somehow we managed to reach smooth surface without burning us and stopped to have Kadi Chawal (Kadi is a yellow curry made in curd and gram flour and chawal is Hindi for rice). Ready to eat food comes really handy on such stretches of the country where good eateries are hard to find.

The road took us through tea gardens, our first on this trip. We hopped out for a quick photograph and then continued the journey once again. We snaked our way through the interiors of West Bengal. At that moment, the decision to take a detour from Forbesganj seemed not so great. The path once again brought us at crossroads – one road went to Siliguri and another towards New Jalpaiguri. The locals are mixed opinions about both the routes. New Jalpaiguri one seemed shorter and our guesstimate was that, we might get stuck in the evening traffic of Siliguri so we went ahead with the New Jalpaiguri route. This route had its own demons. Two kilometers down the road, we halted at a railway crossing where a huge traffic jam welcomed us. To make things worse, the crossing was undergoing repairs and even after the train passed, the gates remained closed for a while. After 20 minutes or so, traffic from the opposite side was allowed. I requested the traffic cop to allow us through as we had a long journey ahead – he complied. Even though we crossed the railway gates, our speed remained slow as the roads were horrible. While crossing the town of New Jalpaiguri, we passed a road that was 4 km from the Ind0-Bangladesh border. Few hundred meters ahead on our path, we were flagged down by cop who was not in uniform. We did not stop. The cop got into his Bolero and as he started to chase us, we decided to stop and find out what was the problem

Neha was at the driving seat, so he walked towards my window. The first thing I blurted out – we did not realise you are a cop as you were not in uniform. I saw his expression changing to a defensive mode. He asked where we were heading and if Neha has a valid driver’s license. He took our car registration certificate and went to his vehicle and talked to someone in the vehicle for 5-10 minutes. He came back and returned the car registration and said we were free to go.

Inching closer…

By night fall, the road surface had worsen and it felt we are riding a camel and not a car. Anyway, at Talipara, West Bengal, we intersected the road coming in from Binnaguri and now we were on the real track we should have taken. This did not mean end to bad road woes. I have already used the adverb worsen in the beginning of this paragraph and the path ahead was degrees higher that what we came through. At one bridge crossing, the bridge had a hole big enough to swallow one tire. The condition of the road gave us jitters. Just when we needed guidance, Kumar HV who was tracking us on APRS sent a  text message came at 7.48 pm which read

Kumar HV: (7:48 pm) “Go for it, border gate closes at 10. Stay in Phuentsholing.”

Puneit Thukral: (7:52 pm) “24 km (still) left… horrible roads”

Kumar HV: (7:53pm) “Yes, road will be super from just before Hasimara”

This information from Kumar was great news and we proceeded on the crater laden road. As expected just before Hasimara, road surface changed and in no time we were at Jaigaon – the last town on the Indian side. A huge gate welcomed us into Bhutan and we entered Phuentsholing at 8:31 pm Indian Standard Time or 9:01 Bhutan Standard Time. We looked for a hotel for about 20 minutes before we found a good one for INR 1,300 a night. The hotel was called ‘Hotel Pelri’.

We had done it – we had self-driven to a different country. Wow, what a feeling it was. Indian mobile services have network coverage in few pockets of Phuentsholing. It was thus time to announce it to our family and friends of our arrival in Bhutan before the network coverage dwindled.

Phuentsholing is nothing like Jaigaon. Even though both the cities are separated by a wall, the is a remarkable difference in architecture and culture. It really gives you a feeler of a different country altogether.

Day 3: Monday, December 24, 2012: Phuentsholing, Bhutan to Paro, Bhutan

Majestic entrance of Bhutan

After sleeping like a baby in this beautiful and happy country, we woke up fresh and charged up. Post a quick breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, we proceeded to the Immigration office to get our permits. Immigration permits are required to go beyond Phuentsholing and the Phuentsholing office gives permits till Paro and Thimpu for a maximum of 7 days. We were up early, as the sun rose early (we were in the east). By 8 am Bhutan time (from now on time will be in BST unless mentioned otherwise or when we enter back into India) we were at the office. This office is located on the right hand side after the petrol pump if you are coming from India into Bhutan. The office opens at 9 am and we were early. So we decided to take a stroll into India. The huge gate through which we passed into Bhutan is only meant for vehicular traffic. Pedestrians can cross the border but through a different gate. We entered our homeland once again and just like that the clocks went back 30 minutes 😉 In Jaigaon, there are street vendors selling the basic necessities of life while in Phuentsholing, street vendors can not be found. A wall can change a lot!

Welcome signage

Jaigaon is the last place where one can find ATMs of Indian banks and thus, we withdrew some cash. A lot of websites on Bhutan travel mention that Bhutanese merchants do not accept Rs. 500 currency note but it is not the case. As of December 2012, Rs. 500 notes were readily acceptable. However, it is good to carry INR 100 currency notes. Also, Indian currency is readily accepted in Bhutan at the rate of 1 Indian rupee equals 1 Bhutanese ngultrum at all merchants.

Enroute to Paro

After a stroll in India, we walked back to Phuentsholing and headed towards the immigration office (it is on the first floor). We filled up the forms for permit (available at the staircase with the guard). Along with the forms, we submitted one copy each of our identity documents (voter’s id, passport, drivers license are accepted). They took our photographs and asked us to come back in an hour. While we were waiting for the permits to be issued, we washed our car in the campus of the immigration office itself. After an hour, we got our individual permits (they are given free of cost). Next, we headed towards the Road Safety and Transport office (called us the RST office) near Phuentsholing bus stand to get the permit for our vehicle.

Bhutanese meal

The permit is issued from the first floor. However, photocopies are required of the immigration permit along with an application to apply for vehicle permit. The RST officer approves the application and directs to go and pay the permit fee. (Permit fee for SUV in December 2012 was INR 210.00) While depositing the fee, photocopies of vehicle registration, insurance and driver’s licence is also required. After making the payment, one needs to go back to the RST officer to get his signature on the Road Permit issued by the staff. Finally, a photocopy of the signed permit is required to be submitted at the fee deposit counter before the job is completed.

The whole process – right from immigration to vehicle permit took us about 3.5 hours and from here we proceeded to Paro.

Enjoying scenic beauty on the hills

Paro is the airport city of Bhutan and thus important. The drive for Phuentsholing to Paro took us around 4.5 hours. There are couple of immigration check posts where it is required to halt and get the documents stamped. Unlike India, it is required that the driver halts on his own and get the documents stamped. What will happen if one misses – I don’t really know. The bottomline is lookout for checkposts and ask them if a stamp is required. They are friendly people and won’t fleece for money.

We took a small break for lunch en-route and stopped at the local Bhutanese restaurant.

Warming ourselves with Kerosene Stove while awaiting food at restaurant in Paro

Initially there was a hesitation in the tone of the lady as she was sceptical being Indians if we would eat pork and beef. However, we were there to relish the local cuisines of the place. A delicious pork dish followed and we resumed our journey afterwards. The roads are very narrow for most of the route. The excellent road sense of the drivers in Bhutan shows on such narrow paths. Everyone willingly gives way to the faster vehicle even at the cost of bringing their own vehicle to a halt. We entered Paro around 5 pm and it was beginning to get dark and cold. Before we went scouting for a place to crash for the night, we decided to eat first. With our tummies filled with food, we began checking out hotels. We had a few names with us but they were either sold out or did not match our requirements.

‘Hotel Phunsum’ entrance

It took us awhile before we finalised Hotel Phunsum. Around 9 pm we decided to go for dinner in the same market where we had our evening snacks. There was not a soul on the road other than us, not even dogs. It was quite cold but then not cold enough to close everything at 9. We saw a light on the first floor of a building and it looked like a restaurant. Upon entering the place, we realised it was a residence cum restaurant and a group of people were watching television while huddling close to a kerosene heater. They were as surprised to see us as we were to find one ray of light which could provide us mortals some food. The usual reaction was presented before us -“No Indian food; It will take a lot of time to cook; Why don’t you walk across to the road and check out if something is available!” Don’t Bhutanese need to earn? Before leaving we forewarned them that we may come back in case nothing else is available.

Disappointed we headed to the road only to find the directed shop closing down. We once again went back to the same place and ordered some chicken, pork and rice. Piping hot food came after 25 minutes and we filled our hollow bellies with the delicious Bhutanese cuisine.

Old museum building…

When we finally came out, the temperature had hit the floor. No wonder the people closed their shops to return to the comforts of their warm homes and to the warmth of their loved ones. In the next half an hour we were ready to call it a day at ‘Hotel Phunsum’.

The first rays of the morning sun bathed our room when we woke up at 6 am. From the window of our room on the second floor we could see fields (paddy) towards the east which had a white reflective layer covering them. Neha and I speculated that is this frost or something else.
Over the night, the temperature fell several degrees below zero and the pipes had frozen leaving the taps were dry and cold. What a start of the day. The next hour was spent looking for the hotel manager and arranging few buckets of warm water. Finally by 8 am we checked out of the hotel and proceeded

Enroute to Chele-La….

for sight seeing. We went to the National Museum in Paro which is situated on a hill top. There are two buildings but the older building which can be seen from Paro town had been shut down after an earthquake made it weak. The entry fee for citizens of SAARC countries in December 2012 was Nu 25 per person. Photography is not allowed inside the museum and we were made to deposit our cellphones and cameras. The museum has artefacts depicting the history, culture, flora and fauna of Bhutan.

After our visit to the museum, it was time for brunch. We were back at the same market where we came for dinner the night before. At time of placing the order we were told that the food will be ready in 45 minutes, and this gave us time to check out the local shops of Paro. We picked up some few memoranda and clicked photographs. And then, we bade farewell to Paro and proceeded for the highest road in Bhutan – Chele La (pass).

Chele-La at 0km

To go to Chele La, from main market of Paro head towards Phuentsholing and a few miles after crossing the runway comes a bridge on the right hand side. After crossing the bridge take a left turn and one comes across few shops on the left. These shops are the last one can find until Ha valley. Also, there are no fuel pumps on the way, so it is a good idea to get a refill in Paro itself before starting. The roads wind up as the elevation increases and so does the cold. We came across frost and ice at noon a few scores of kilometres on this pass. Roads are quite safe and traffic was sparse when we travelled. A few miles before the Chele top, one can witness the magnificent Himalayan snow covered peaks. One of these peaks is the highest mountain in Bhutan. At Chele top, day time temperature was below zero and harsh winds forced us to wear an extra layer of clothing. Soon, we were descending the Chele La towards Ha valley and all the way to Thimpu. The other option was to track our path back to the bridge I talked about above and then go to Thimpu on the Thimpu Paro highway.

At Ha valley we passed by establishments which looked like military training grounds. We did not enter the Ha town. By dusk, we were close to Thimpu. Thimpu is the capital city of Bhutan and the most commercialised. There is speed limit of 50 kmph on major roads of Thimpu. This is not only well marked but also real time speed checks are installed at every few kilometres. It makes sense to adhere to the speed limits, especially if you are a foreigner.

Enjoying sub zero temp at Chele-La pass

Finally we entered the main market area of Thimpu which is like the retail and hospitality hub.  When there are scores of options of staying, it makes finding the right place at the right cost a difficult task. It took us some 45 minutes of searching and going hotel to hotel, we zeroed upon Hotel Druk Sherig to stay the night. The room at Druk Sherig was awesome and we would like to believe that we got the best room in the entire hotel.

Before I close the day, I would like to share that car parking is paid at the rate of 30 bucks an hour. And then, there are subtle negotiations. Slip in 10 bucks for a 15-20 minutes car parking. Most hotels do not have their own parking space, however, the managers are quite helpful to have the rates reduced to a fixed amount per day and multiple entries.

Day 5: Wednesday. December 26, 2012: Thimpu, Bhutan

Entry gate of Thimphu, Bhutan

It gets very cold in Thimpu during December and the night was no different. In the morning, we saw frost on each and every vehicle. Change in altitude translates to change in air pressure which means leaking jerry cans. This was not unexpected but a frozen jacket was. This is what would have happened – during our ascend and descend at Chele La, the change in air pressure would have forced some water from the jerry can to a fleece jacket in the car. Over night the water drenched jacket froze into a inflexible solid cloth rock. After a quick breakfast, we rushed to the Immigration office to get the permits extended for Punkaha and Bhumtang. The process was  pretty easy, but locating the office was not. The office is located in a small building which can easily be missed if you look for it with a perception of being something big.

‘Buddha Point’, Thimpu, Bhutan

We applied for the extension and were asked to come back in a few hours to collect our documents. It was time to see Thimpu.

The statue of Buddha is located on top of a hill and it can be seen from almost anywhere in the valley. The Buddha point gives beautiful panoramic views of the valley and the statue is magnificent in itself. We spent some time here and we headed to the National Zoological Park of Bhutan. It was a bit tough for us to find the park and it was not really worth the time and effort spent. There were just three species of animals and those were just grazers.  After the not so entertaining park visit, we drove to the top of the mountain on which the park is situated. From here, one can get a glimpse of the palace in which the royal family resides.

Back into the valley, we collected our permits and then we went to the post office and bought some stamps and from there we went to the Crafts and Art Market which was a makeshift marketplace opposite to the Indian Embassy. The crafts market provided excellent fodder for us shutterbugs. By evening, we were done with the crafts market and decided to check out other market places of Thimpu. We dined at Musk and the food was horribly bad, even though the eatry looked quite good otherwise.

Bird’s eye view of “Thimpu’ city..

Day 6: Thursday, December 27, 2012: Thimpu, Bhutan – Punakha, Bhutan – Thimpu, Bhutan

While checking out of the hotel, we were made to realise that we were also supposed to get our road permits extended to take the car into Punakha. It came as an unplesant surprise and it looked as if we were going to lose half a way waiting for the documentation to be completed. The road permit is given by the Department of RST located near the bridge. There is ample parking facility and the officer who issues the permit sits in the first room on the left. Government offices in Bhutan requires everyone to be dressed in formal Bhutanese clothes but this rule does not apply to foreigners. The young officer gave us the permit to drive to Punakha and Bhumtang within minutes and no time was lost. We started our journey for Punakha  and the route was quite busy and we were to find out only upon reaching why. 30 km towards Punakha from Thimpu, we reached the famous DochuLa. 108 stupas are built on the peak of the Dochula to honor the Bhutanese soldiers killed fighting Indian rebels in 2003. and is one of the main attractions of Bhutan.

Dochula Pass-108 stupas (a piece of marvel in itself)!!

Closer to Punakha, a caravan of cars approached us from the opposite side. From the beacon lights it was quite clear  that the cars were carrying some high profile officer of the Bhutanese government. To our pleasant surprise we saw the Queen sitting in the front seat of one of the cars. Since the road was narrow, the convoy slowed down and we had eye contact with everyone in  the convoy including the Queen. One may wonder how on earth we recognised the queen. Every establishment in Bhutan, be it a small run down place has a framed photograph of the king and queen. And this way, one recognises them any where they can be seen

Punakha Dzong

We reached Punakha around 2 pm and found that the approach road to the Punakha Dzong was packed with people. A cop told us that a festival is under progress and people from all over Bhutan have come to take the blessings of the monks and the queen left few hours ago. The crowd was quite disheartening and we decided to give Punakaha a pass. There was no decent rooms available in Punakaha or nearby towns. We decided to drop Punakaha and Bhumtang and spend the night back at Thimpu. Now, the challenge at hand was to locate a payphone to call up the hotel in Thimpu to book a room for us.

About to enjoy a meal at the hotel in Thimpu

No payphones existed anywhere and there was no subscription in our cellphones. Two boys at a shop offered to help. They went to get cash loaded in their phone only to allow us to make a phone call – it is quite touching to experience the hospitality Bhutanese extend to complete strangers. Back home, no one gives a damn even if someone is critically injured in a road accident. And here in Bhutan, everyone was so nice and helpful.

We started back for Thimpu around 4 pm. The sunset at Dochula was so beautiful that it was worth coming back to this place. We reached the hotel around 8 pm and called it a day.

Day 7: Friday, December 28, 2012: Thimpu, Bhutan to Mirik, West Bengal, India

Glistening lights of nearby towns enroute to Mirik

The day we returned  to homeland. Though we still had time on hand, we decided to go back to India and see parts of  West Bengal and Bihar. We started early and reached India around noon. Once again we had to cross the dreaded stretch of road from Hasimara till Binnaguri. Even though we were on the road, we did not have a destination in mind. We toyed with the idea of going to Nathu La, Sikkim or staying a night at the famous  Asiatic one-horned rhinoceros sanctuary at Jaldapara, West Bengal. Sikkim was out as we learnt a permit is required to drive beyond Gangtok  and we did not want to rush the place.

While we were contemplating where to go next, Jaldapara sanctuary passed on our left. We stopped by and tried to book a ride into the sanctuary. To our disappointment, we were told by the officials, that they were booked for the new year weekend and there was no way we could be accommodated. We made several attempts with various officials explaining that we had come from New Delhi just to see West Bengal but all efforts were in vain. Disappointed, we continued our journey ahead and decided to go to Mirik.

A house at Mirik

We reached Mirik after sunset. From Siliguri to Mirik the drive was quite surreal. We were driving on a winding road with tea plantations on both sides of the road. In the distance we could see several hill towns and they looked like pieces of diamond jewellery. The sparkling lights in the distance coupled with a cold winter evening breeze was quite refreshing. Finding a bed to crash for the night was not difficult at all.  Just at the entrance of the town is Jagmeet hotel – a decent place to get refreshed for next day.  Around 8 pm, the town was completely deserted and it felt as if we have stepped out after midnight for a stroll.

The night in Mirik was quite cold and next morning we woke up to find frost on the roof of our car.

Day 8: Saturday, December 29, 2012: Mirik, West Bengal, India to Rajgir, Bihar, India

Amidst the mountains & tea gardens

Mirik is famous for its tea gardens and its orchid plantations. And after breakfast we went to see orchids. Orchids from Mirik are flown to New Delhi and are put up for sale. We followed directions given by locals and few signages on road and came upon a farmhouse. The place looked like a private residence and we sought permission to enter from the first person we spotted. We told the gentleman that we wanted to visit the orchid plantation which should be in the neighbourhood. The owner invited us in and showed us his farm. We saw turmeric being harvested along with various fruits which we had never seen before. He shared that the orchid farm belonged to his wife’s brother and he called for his daughter to guide us to the place. From the daughter we learnt that the uncle’s farm was less than 200 meters away. She took us to a house and asked us only to converse in Hindi with the residents.

Orchids at Mirik

The orchid plantation was beautiful. The owner was kind enough to allow us to use his garden for photography. Also, he explained us the life cycle of the orchid plants. We thanked him and headed for the tea plantations which were on the same road through which we had come the previous day. At the plantation we bought some local tea and headed for the plains. We estimated that we could reach Nalanda or Rajgir by nightfall.

The sun was about to set when we were crossing the Ganga bridge near Bhagalpur. We came across bad traffic and narrow lanes in Bhagalpur. At dusk we managed to crossed the town and now we were passing through villages of Bihar. Anxiety was building up as the stars started showing up in the sky with more than 150 km to reach the destination. If I remember correctly, we approached a four lane toll road after Sultanganj. This was a sigh of relief. Around 7 pm on this road we experienced dense fog which killed our speed. And, then it was Bihar we were driving through – one can never be sure if someone

Monastery at Mirik

would not be driving in the wrong lane coming head on towards you.

At Lakhisarai, we saw a signboard which asked us to turn left for Ragjir. So did the Google Navigation system running on our phone.  What happened next was the most scariest part of the journey.

Google asked us to turn right towards a narrow lane and the map displayed that it will take us out of Lakhisarai. We were a wee bit skeptical to ask locals about directions as we did not want to give away the impression that we are tourists and lost after dark. Bad childhood perceptions about Bihar were overshadowing the rational thinking. This road led us out of the town but on a broken road with no street light and not a single vehicle. We did cross a couple of men carrying guns.

Tea Gardens of Mirik

This totally freaked us out. We both had read about cases where people have lost their lives blindly following GPS navigation systems which are perfect. We were better off letting people know in Lakhisarai that we were lost than to continue ahead on this broken deserted stretch of road.  We took a U turn and headed back for the town.

There we asked the locals on the route. We learnt that the road we had taken had now been deserted as a better road was built few years back and we were asked to take this road.

Roads snaking through tea gardens

This road took us through Sheikpura, Barbhiga, Bihar Sharif. Closer to Nalanda we read online that Rajgir was a better place to stay than Nalanda. And so we headed for Rajgir. We found a okay place to stay for  the night and decided not to act pricey accept what is available.

Day 9: Sunday, December 30, 2012: Rajgir, Bihar-Nalanda Bihar-BodhGaya, Bihar- Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

Ruins of Nalanda

Next morning we realised that unlike Rajgir, Nalanda town is a bit off the main highway. Nalanda is  as an ancient centre of advanced learning. It has a marked influence of Buddhism and at the early hours of Sunday morning on the lawns we saw Buddhists offering prayers together. From the ruins of this ancient university we headed to the museum and finally to the temple of Black Budhha.

We decided to stay the night at Neha’s parents house in Kanpur. On the way to Kanpur, we crossed Bodh-gaya and halted for lunch. We took a drive in this holy town and felt that a short 1-2 hour investment will not do justice to this place.  And Bodh-Gaya entered in the list of places we would visit and spend quality time.  We reached Kanpur around midnight.

Day 10: Monday: December 31, 2012: Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh to Gurgaon, Haryana

Last sunset of 2012!

The last leg of the journey on the last day of the year 2012. The time to go back home had come. We started from Kanpur 11:30 in the morning and took the regular route via Yamuna Expressway towards Delhi. However, we took a detour towards SH22A to bypass Delhi and took the Palwal, Sohna Gurgaon route. We were home by 7:30 in the evening, just in time for the new year bash.

Bhutan is a beautiful place. The beauty is just not scenic but also in its culture and people. People are happy in this landlocked Himlayan kingdom. I sometimes wonder, if it is a viable model for countries to operate in this global era. My spouse did not experience one incidence of letching  in this country. No one tried to take us for a ride because we were tourists. We were treated with respect and patience every time we asked for information and directions. We Indians boast to follow the code of conduct of the Hindu culture of “Atithi Devo Bhav” (which means Guest is God), but do we really treat our tourists as God? We have lots to learn from our neighbourhood kingdom of Bhutan. They know how to be happy and they have quantified happiness. Is it not happiness that is being pursued by each one of us?

Special thanks to HV Kumar, Neeloy Sarkar & Kaustav Saha for route guidance before and during the trip.  

Do pictures really speak a thousand words?

No wonder in the Lord of the Rings dwarfs were cave people. Being tall or fat or both is a big disadvantage once you are inside a cave. The cave is cold, humid, and ruthless yet very beautiful. A first time caving (spelunking) expedition at Sahiya, near Chakrata, Uttranchal 

The question came to my mind when I looked at the photographs of the recent spelunking aka caving expedition undertaken on June 24, 2012. To us, yes they spoke a thousand words, but were the pictures shared with our friends online, doing what they were supposed to? Were the pictures reflecting our excitement, our fears, our paranoia about that cave in Sahiya? Since I

En route to Chakrata

doubted that, I decided to write this post. Before I begin our first spelunking experience, I must tell my readers how we ended up in Chakrata that weekend.

Our initial plan was to go to Billing, Himachal Pradesh for Paragliding, but it got cancelled as our  SUV started giving ECU related errors a day before the trip. We were aware of the ECU recall that the car manufacturer had rolled out. We decided to get the car throughly checked on Friday morning before we embarked on our journey. At the workshop, things got delayed and our whole day got wasted. Later that evening when we were re-planning our journey, Neha came across cave expedition in Chakrata few weeks ago .

Camping at Chakrata

We decided to start on Saturday early morning for Chakrata. The heat and exhaustion of the previous day at the workshop took its toll on us and we could not get up for our usual 3 am drive. Instead by the time we left home it was nearly 7.30 am. The journey of 380 km took close to 11 hours. We camped ahead of Chakrata for the night and headed for Tiger fall next morning which was about 12-14km away from our camping site.After returning from Tiger falls, we headed towards Sahiya and met up with the Vxplor group along with whom we were supposed to go for a caving expedition.

Tiger Falls near Chakrata

It took us some time and a couple of turn around before we found our way to the cave near Sahiya. The cave is at the following coördinates  30°36’37.03″N,  77°53’39.01″E.

Ready to begin the Cave Expedition

Before heading for the caves, we got all geared up with the knee, elbow guards, hard hat and gloves. Back then it all seemed like an overkill, especially when we were strongly advised not to carry our cameras inside the cave for they would get dirty, scratched and wet. Were we to listen to such advise, of course not! Who would have thought what lay ahead.Ok, till the time someone points the cave out, you can’t really see it. Unless maybe, you are an experienced spelunker (is that even a word?) After a small yet steep climb we were at the mouth of the cave. What follows the mouth; the food pipe. After stepping a few feet into the cave, we saw a crevice with walls about 50 feet long and 15 feet high. At the base of the crevice was a narrow trench which could not hold an adult human being beyond couple meters. Thus, we were forced to squeeze our bodies into the crevice. The walls were near

Neha Traversing the crevice.

vertical and the only way to get to the other side (oh yes, there is an other side) was to drag your body in such a way that your knees and elbows support your weight while you lift and slide your torso to the right not more than a foot or two at a time. The gear was already put into use. The elbow and knee guards prevented our joints from injuries while the hard hat protected the head whenever you took the liberty of lifting yourself just a bit more so that you would get to the promised side quicker. Once inside the cave, you move at the pace the cave wants you to move. Did I mention before that the only source of light is the torch you carry. Unfortunately we did not have helmet torches so this made traversing into the cave a wee bit tougher.After dragging ourselves for about 15min we finally made it to an area.where we could stand on our two legs. After a Kodak (Canon & Nikon, actually) moment we headed towards the first in-cave waterfall. Having completed this leg of the expedition, there was a sense of achievement and pride in the air. We were finally inside the cave and we were going deeper.

We at the First Waterfall inside the Cave

I was also carrying car keys and two cellphones (which for obvious reasons did not work inside).  The path that lay ahead only allowed us to crawl on our all fours and that too in a stream of running water which was being fed by the waterfall.

It was time to wet our clothes. The challenge for Neha and I was to keep our cameras dry. After another few minutes of crawling and duck walk, we once again managed to stand on our two feet. The sound of the water fall was increasing with every step and finally we were there. It was not a big water fall yet it was so magnificent. The water was dropping off a 8 -9 feet high rock. There was some sitting space and Neha and I quickly climbed up for another Canon moment. In my view, what Neha did next was gravely wrong. She jumped off the boulder into the shallow pool of water below.  Fortunately, she just got few bruises and scratches, but till date, I dread how badly things could have turned had she injured herself. The cave is dark and ruthless and one does not really know how deep the water actually is or what kind of boulders lay in the pool of water.

Neha at the Second Waterfall inside the Cave

The cave being nearly endless, an exit has not been discovered yet, and thus, most people turn back after visiting this waterfall. Our guide told us about another waterfall few scores of meters ahead and we were all up for it.

On moving ahead we were welcomed by the smell of bat excreta. The path ahead was dry and loose. Since our clothes were all wet from the waterfall, grit, sand and bat excreta clung to our clothes like iron filings being attracted to a bar magnet. The tunnel leading to the second cave was even more narrow and pointed rocks would poke into our flesh every now and then. Every few minutes a bat would fly past us, close enough to make us feel its presence, yet far enough to stay away from us. The reason this path was dry unlike the previous one was that the water from the fall took a different course altogether. In  the beams of our flash light we would often see smoke rising in various corners of the cave. This was not smoke but condensed pockets of water vapour freely floating inside.

Finally we are out of the Crazy Expedition

For  the next water fall we had to climb down 6 or 7 feet. Everyone managed to come down and while I was descending, the piece of the cave which borne my weight gave away and I nearly slipped. The next thought that ran across in my mind was, what if the cave collapses? Aren’t caves like a stack of dominoes, you disturb one them and the whole system simply crumbles. However, nothing of that sort happened. How else, I would be writing this.

After the descend we saw a broader waterfall but the tunnel from which water was flowing down was not very high. In fact, to me it seemed as if the tunnel from which the water was coming and the tunnel which we took to reach there were connected in the past and there was no water fall. Of course, the rocks would have given away by means of erosion or disturbed by some other agent resulting in that water fall.

Since we were aware that we have to drag our way out the same way we dragged ourselves in, a decision was made to head back to the open sky. We were low on energy by now but we were experienced and were aware of the obstacles that lay in our path. We were dreading the crevice which was at the mouth of the cave and the toughest of all. Now, that we were wet and tired, it made crossing it quite risky. One wrong move and the risk of serious injury increased.

In retrospection, I feel had it been just the two of us, we would not have gathered the courage to come this far too. To sum the whole experience up, it was more like squeezing your body through cracks and crevices, crawling in trenches with spikes projecting from all sides waiting for you to make one mistake, so that you can be instantly punished. Crawling through water filled trenches with bats all over narrowly missing you.. Yet close enough that you dont miss their presence. And icing on the cake (literally icing) was that we were forced to crawl on all fours in bat manure, with our face inches away from tasting the gooey icing. The best part was when we made out alive from there. Never loved the open sky this much.Had something gone wrong, a bad sprain or worse a broken limb, I am sure there is no way to come out without being perhaps dragged like a rag doll. In short, you are not allowed mistakes in there and you are absolutely not allowed to panic or give in to fear or tiredness.

No wonder in the Lord of the Rings dwarfs were cave people. Being tall or fat or both is a big disadvantage once you are inside a cave. The cave is cold, humid, and ruthless yet very beautiful.