Himalayan Trek.

I went on a 10-day trekking expedition to the Himalayas; chanderkhani range to be specific. Here's what i wrote in my journal at the end of each of the ten superbly spent days.

Day Zero: Delhi
We got down from our train to Delhi from Hyderabad and after a little argument we checked into a hotel near the station to take bath. After a couple of hours we headed back to the station from where the trekking organizers were to pick us up for our next stop. After lunch, at ridiculous prices in a little restaurant, we boarded the bus which was to take us to the base camp. Saw the excited faces of all my fellow trekkers in the bus. For dinner, the bus stopped at a posh-looking resto and we hogged at the free buffet.

Day One: Camp Chhaki
It's 10:15 in the night and I'm trying hard to sleep in this strange sleeping bag that has been provided while the people in the other tents are fighting over antakshari. For once in my life I'm cursing myself for not being deaf.

The day had started when i woke up in my seat in the vintage bus. The scenes outside were breathtaking, the river flowing at full sped, high-rising mountains, apricot trees, snow-capped mountains and the faces of my sleep-deprived friends. We got down for a small break - some had to empty their bladders while others had to have their morning round of caffeine. The view that greeted us at the back of the coffee shop was one to savor; the river flowing in between the huge mountains gave us a glimpse of what this place would offer us in the coming few days.

We finally reached the base camp after an arduous journey of 19 hours. It was tiresome to say the least. As soon we entered the base camp multi-colored tents greeted us. I was excited, only till they pointed out the loo - a tent as well. As soon as i occupied my tent i rushed to the loo, wearing my bunny slippers and a towel, to relieve myself of the immense pressure that had been building up. It was muddy and my white woolly bunny slippers immediately changed color to brown. Laughing to myself i ventured into one of the three little tents. It was slippery, swear to lord it was but i somehow managed to enter unscathed. Finished my job and stepped outside. THUD! No points for guessing what happened. A little scan revealed nobody was watching me. Encouraged, i got up as fast as i could, ran away only to find there was mud all over my slippers, towel and me. My first tantrum of the tour - 'I miss my bloody hostel, i miss the bloody bathrooms in it, i want to go BACK!'. Oh almighty, if i had ever complained about the bathrooms being smelly, i take back, will not complain ever again, EVER. Home. After a while i regained my senses and ate my breakfast. Shared my tragic experience with G causing her to shed tears - out of laughter. So much for humanity. The paranthas being served at breakfast cheered me up. I forgot my little fiasco and gulped down four of them...with butter.

We were taken to the site of repelling reaching which was tiring in itself. Repelling was fun though i got scared for my life during the starting few minutes. The walk back, down hill, was casual and easy. I was walking down with extra energy. THUD! Tsshhh..Tsshhh..Tsshhh! Yayy, i fell down again. Curse my luck, my dad's Ray-Ban was happily rotating on a rock and finally rested after god knows how many scratches. This time i couldn't escape from anyone's gaze. Learned my first moral - 'Fate is never without a sense of irony'.

Person 1: you fine?
Me: me fine, thank you.
Person 2: fine?
Me: yes buddy.
.
.
.
Person n: you okay?
Me: Holy *%$&, Mother of all &@**(&^, Thundering %##$@!
Person n+1: fine?
Me: Oh great, you saw me too?

Returned to base camp and had a great lunch, hogged on paranthas again. Slept for a while and again started for our next adventure hoping this time i wouldn't add any adventure to it from my own side. God must have listened. We went to the river, a place where the current was fast. We were supposed to cross the river using the monkey crawling technique. The river looked exotic - white water. The guide gave us instructions on how to pull ourselves over the rope using the pulley. Everybody was doing it swiftly but G warned me that it would be tough for fat people. The warning, as always in my case, fell on deaf ears. My turn came; i was tied to the rope and i started pulling myself. An advice - all fat people, monkey crawling ain't made for us. Dear readers, i wouldn't expand more on that subject. After the eye-opening experience G, S & me removed our shoes and entered the water. The cold gushing water felt great. Spent a lot of time there and started back to our camp. On the way G pointed out to some of the fruits growing on road side and said they would taste great. Ate them skeptically only to agree with her. Back at the camp dinner was served and i had the best gulab jamun i ever ate in my life. Had a nice conversation with G, one of the wonderful many i have these days with her.

Finally the singing has stopped and I'm slipping into my sleeping bag. Hope there are no surprises waiting in it for me. I feel something slimy inside!

Day Two: Camp Rumzu
11:35 AM: Reached Camp one, situated in a village called Rumzu, at a height of 6000ft. The trek was long and hard; waled on mud, gravel, slippery rocks, pointed rocks, dried up streams, fresh flowers and mule shit. We were advised not to disturb the local people much and not to enter their temples. Banned for us.

Last night, i kept on getting images about me falling from hills, mountains, valleys, rocks. Guess, I'm developing a phobia for heights especially after i realized the grip underneath my shoes is coming off in layers. Prayed to almighty, "Oh dear lord, i want to survive till my first honeymoon at least." Not an atheist anymore! Chilly winds had woken me up at 4am. Cursed myself for not wearing a sweater as the sleeping bag was open at the neck and my chest was taking the brunt of the chill. The genius in me tried to put both hands inside the bag. It failed and how. I suddenly found myself stuck hopelessly inside. After a few minutes of struggle and aching arms i freed myself. The houdini act! Slept again.

Had woken up at 7am. Cold water, 'Why the #$%@ didn't i bring toilet paper!' With great difficulty i put my hand under the pipe, brushing my teeth now. No bath for 10 days, at least had to wash my face properly. Oh to hell with it, i got my deo. A splash of water, a micro ounce of soap and i finished my morning ablutions. 'Breakfast, here i come.' Put on my best dress, my Ray-Ban and flaunted it all in front of G & S. Excited, we started for our first trek uphill.

10:15 PM: My pen is refusing to write and the singers at the diminishing bonfire are refusing to sleep. People enjoyed singing around the fire while i was observing them from a distance. Taking warmth from the fire in the cold weather felt great. Amused myself by trying to guess the nature and personality of each and every member of the group - rich kid, bored wife, pampered brat etc etc. Stupid, me.

Today was less adventurous and more romantic compared to yesterday. The scenery, G, S & me discovered, a little away from the camp-site was out of this world. Watching it from under an umbrella in the rain made it look even more beautiful. Thought to myself i could spend the entire day here itself.

In the evening, we went out to collect firewood from the village, the walk led us to more beautiful valleys and flowing water. There at a distance we saw a majestic mountain covered with snow, wished it was our ultimate destination. When the guide confirmed this my joy new no bounds, imagined myself walking and playing in the snow. Smiled. We were greeted back with tomato soup. G, S & me sat with the soup cups in our hands at the place we discovered in the morning. Watching the huge mountains brought up my senses like no other scene would. It was the best soup i ever tasted.

Day Three: Camp 2, Middle of a Jungle
Had a nice sleep yesterday night though i had slept with a headache attributed to altitude sickness. Woke up fresh to hot coffee, tasty vadas and half-cooked idlis. Dad would be bewildered to see me waking up so early each day. Started on our trek for camp 2, hoping it would be as simple as yesterday's but when have outcomes ever met expectations. It was the most difficult physical task i had ever done; the climb was steep, long and gruesome.

The first few minutes of the trek was indicative of what was going to come. As the trek progressed, so did the the slope. Every calories of the breakfast got burnt and each step seemed to be the last of my life. The only motivation was the fact that I'm burning some fat. We entered a jungle and the sight of lush green everywhere pushed me on. Tall trees, weird flowers and strange insects. Just when i thought i wouldn't be able to move any longer a nice surprise greeted us; nowhere in the middle of the jungle a chinki put shop selling cold drinks, chocolates, gum, omelet, noodles etc etc. We couldn't ask for more. hogged on a couple of drinks and a couple of kit-kats. Refreshed, we resumed our strenuous task. After exactly four hours of the exasperating trek we reached camp2, located on a beautiful grassland, full of mule shit but surrounded by mountains on one side and tall beautiful trees on the other with a stream flowing in the middle of it.

After lunch, everybody headed back to their tents and for the first time S & me shared a tent with the rest of the hyderabadi gang. There was laughter every moment and my already aching stomach muscles had a tough time moving in and out. We played cards. After a while we three snobs ventured into the forest. We used S's compass to check out the direction of the camp-site so that we wouldn't get lost if go deep into the forest. Forest was full of strange shrubs and insects. It felt serene. Took some great shots for my standards. The jungle was full of strange calls and the worst crow caw i had ever heard. As soon as i had thought in my mind i heard tup sound on back. Me: 'Hey G i heard a sound behind my back, check out my jacket if something fell on it'. G: 'He he he he heeee, bird shit!'. Me: '#$%#$%#$$% birds'

All the guys started playing volleyball while i sat at the fireplace. Till today i thought my ultimate destination was the snow point but today i realized this journey is more than enough for my senses to be satisfied. Dinner was served early. Watching vapour coming out of our mouths excited me and reminded me how cold it would get in the night. Right now i'm in my tent, rain pouring heavily outside and me shivering inside. Gloves, socks, sweater, jacket, monkey cap - life's amazing here.

Day Four: Camp 3, In the Clouds
After four days and three nights i finally decided it's time to change my inners. No, I'm not disgusting, i at least changed; camp leader at the base camp suggested not to take any spare inners at all so that our luggage would be light and trekking wouldn't be hard as a result. Decided not to near him again or any other camp leader for that matter. Still no bath. Himalayas.

Washed my hair with soap, felt fresh. Had pav-bhaji for breakfast, wasn't impressed. We were informed that today's trek would be much more arduous. Crying, i started on the trek. The initial half-hour is always hard as the blood flow has to pick up pace in that period, once the blood is in full flow it wouldn't be that hard. Intermittent breaks helped and i found a nice staff to help me climb better. Started walking as if i was Gandalf the wizard minus the charisma of course.

Panting and tired we reached camp 3. It was cold and the Himalayan range looked closer than ever. Clouds were just hovering above us. The entire setting looked out of this world. Suddenly, the clouds which were at a distance started towards us and before we realized we were in the clouds. My first in-the-clouds experience.It started raining and we ran into our tents. Again the laughter and cards. Lunch wasn't great but coffee was. Took rest for a while and then we went to collect firewood; Some collected huge logs and others lots of figs while some just swung their hands (no points for guessing who).

While everybody was trying to light up the damp firewood G & me, on my insistence, went to explore the surroundings, especially the stream that was flowing near the camp. It was clear but suddenly the clouds were there wetting us. It couldn't be any better...flowing water, blooming flowers, colorful lichens, shapely rocks. It started raining and G went back to the camp while i stayed back observing things from under my umbrella. Again became a nature photographer. Solitude seldom brings peace to the mind, but this solitude was different. I was at peace with everything, i wasn't worrying about anything in this world. I just kept admiring nature, in its best form.

Hot mushroom was being served in the drizzle when i returned to the camp, had at least five servings of it. Hot soup, in the clouds, at 10000 ft, in front of bonfire. Bliss. It started raining heavily and G shouted, "Look it's a hail storm!". It was indeed raining hail - again a first for me. Tried standing in the middle for a while but the wind and rain got too much for me and i ran into my tent. I declared to my lazing friends inside that it's a hail storm.

Dinner was served early at 6:45 PM and sun hadn't even set by then. Had a very light dinner, paranthas are no longer are exciting. Tomorrow we trek to chanderkhani range - snow point - Himalayas here i come.

Day Five: Snow Time

It was a beautiful clear morning, complete contrast with the previous day. Chanderkhani pass was visible from the camp site. The clouds which had covered the magnificent mountain had disappeared giving us the perfect view of what we are going to scale in a couple of hours. We were warned that if the weather isn't good on the mountain then we wouldn't be able to spend any time there much like what the previous batch of trekkers underwent. The clear morning gave us hope.

We left our bags at the camp and started as we would be coming back to the same camp after we finish our tryst with snow. The path was beautiful and risky, the last half hour of which was on rocks covered with melting snow mixed with mud.

It was breathtaking to see so much snow for the first time in my life. Slipping, sliding and falling i kept moving to the top at my own pace. Mid way i realized reaching the top would exhaust me completely and hence settled down to play in the snow there itself. Did the usual snow-ball fight but the best part was sliding down from top to bottom. We put polythene covers under our asses and slid; there was ice in shoes, socks, gloves and undie. Fun. Serious fun. Kept on sliding till there was energy to climb again.

Tired, we started on our trek down hill. This time the journey was boring and tiresome. Spent some solitary time at a stream. Hearing the sound of splashing water, cold and crystal clear, was soothing. We filled up our bottles from the stream - this has been the norm of the trip, no filters or coolers, water from the stream for washing or drinking. Shivudu was saying he saw TATA mineral water tankers coming and filling water from the streams. Sitting there, i started thinking about everything. Couldn't help but think about the reality that's waiting for me back home. Nobody can escape from their life. "This is just a vacation, vishy", i thought. My epiphany made me sad. My second tantrum of the trip - "I don't want to go home, i want to stay in the Himalayas, forever!".

After reaching the camp, my legs started aching badly. Started complaining with everyone about it. Babji, the saint he is, offered to give me and the other whiner in the tent, Shivudu, a foot massage. My legs got the perfect foot massage for about 30 minutes - 30 minutes of sheer pleasure. Thought of naming one of my kids after Babji but recanted after he stopped massaging. Night was dark and foggy. We were joined by a big group of hyderabadi children. Trekking is catching up with people, i thought.

Day Six: First Trek Down
Had a nice sleep yesterday night as usual. Slept wearing every wollen piece of clothing i had and i tried to fit every inch of my body inside the sleeping bag; the sleeping bags being bigger than those provided in the base camp helped my cause. I was surprised to find the mobiles of all my friends within network's reach. Cursed myself for leaving my mobile at the base camp thinking vodafone's 'wherever you go we follow' was just gibberish. Got impatient to fin out who won the previous night's champion's league final; asked Raja, with a postpaid mobile, to call any of his friends to find out. My joy new no bounds when i heard Manchester United won, albeit on penalties.

Trekking down was very harsh on our toes. Balancing myself at every step countering gravity was a pain. The chances of slipping were also greater than it is while trekking uphill. By the time i reached camp 4 my thighs, calf and toes were all aching badly. Camp 4 was situated on a plateau in the middle of a forest. The camp leader introduced himself and announced that we could play cricket in the evening. The announcement was followed by loud cheers from all of us. Cricket at 6000 ft.

Drank a lot of rasna, ate a lot of food and had lots of sleep in the afternoon. Woke up to the camp leader's call to get ready for spider netting. Saw a couple of my friends attempting and succeeding at scaling the net by balancing themselves on their toes. I gave a glance at my own aching toes and thought to myself, "i love my toes". No netting for me. Waited patiently for everyone to finish their adventure while i thought about the impending cricket match. We all had a nice cup of tea and walked towards the pitch; it was ridiculous - a nice flat pitch made on the slope of a hill. A little nudge on the leg slide would keep fielders like me busy the entire day as the ball would keep rolling down and so i announced, "me, wicketkeeper!". The match was fun; I batted while G bowled, nice! There were few 10-min breaks as expected - to find lost balls. Pity, we had to stop the match in the middle as a heavy rain lashed out. We ran into our tents and started playing cards, laughter followed as usual.

It was pitch black in the night; fog invaded the camp. The entire setting was right out of a horror movie, or so i thought. At dinner everybody was out with their torches beaming. The loo was far and my bladder was full. '@#%$ it' i though and headed for the nearby trees. Minerals, they need it. And so i ventured into the woods with crazy thoughts in my mind - every horror movie has a juvenile who goes separately from the group to either pee or kiss his girl; he inevitably gets killed by a freak accident or a psychopathic killer. Suddenly my survival instincts overshadowed the urge to relieve myself. Gathering my courage, i went ahead and completed what i had set out for. President's medal for bravery - i deserve it.

Day Seven: Back to Base Camp
Not an eventful day going by the standards set by the previous six days. Getting to the base camp was a pain - a really long walk for 5 hours. Nothing new about the journey, beautiful valleys, giant mountains, wild fruits, waterfalls, rocks, mud etc. Everybody, tired, slept as soon as they reached the tents. I quickly went and got my cell phone, called up my mom after a long time and told her about all my advetures. For lunch everybody had to drag themselves from sleep, i ate very little and slept back. My hyderabadi gang went to the river to take bath, i opted to stay back and sleep thinking a few more days of dirt would do no harm, who needs a bath anyway! In the evening, G, S & me went to the river and spent a lot of time there. S wanted to explore upstream but i saw too many people have downloaded on the rocks, couldn't stand it and so i stayed back while he went ahead with his exploration. He returned with some great shots of the river. It rained heavily in the night and water seeped into the tents, realised that only in the morning - so sound was my sleep.

Day Eight: Manali
Dirty unwashed unruffled hair, muddy clothes, full grown beard, sun-burnt skin - i couldn't have been more goon-like. I was still yet to see myself in a mirror, got the input from others, mostly G. Looks ain't important, i justified. Today our itinerary included a trip to manali, where we were free to do what we wanted to till 5pm by which we were supposed board the bus to Delhi. After few parting photographs we started for manali in a local bus.

We were dropped at the main Manali market, a very busy place, mostly honeymooners with fresh mehndi and maathe pe huge sindur proud of the recent event in their life, huge families with little kids pleading for an ice-cream, local youngsters checking out pretty girls, confused hippie foreigners carrying huge rucksacks, poor street vendors selling fruits, dry fruits, toys etc, bored husbands accompanying their middle-aged wifes busy buying wollens. Every group went on their own way and we three started exploring one segment of the market, the food one. I searched for the Gujju restaurant in which me and my father ate 14 years back when we visited Manali then. I succeeded in finding it and i dragged both of them bragging about how good the food will be there. Like i already have mentioned, when have outcomes ever met expectations; I labored to eat while S gave up in the middle.
Refreshed, or so we thought, we headed towards the main shopping complexes. Bought anjeer, almonds, kafal, strawberries and two boxes of cherries to carry back home. We shopped for some wollens and i bought a button knife for my dad, nice murderous family ours. G suddenly set her sights on a flute vendor, i bought one as well. We finally joined with the rest of the group when it was time for the bus. So after eight days we finally prepared ourselves to bid goodbye to the mountains and valleys. It was sad but i guess people already had started longing for their homes by then. Home is still home. It was the same vintage bus which took us to Manali from Delhi, now it would take us to Delhi. Some of the people bought shawls at Trishala, kulu for their mothers and aunts. Dinner, again rotis, was getting really monotonous, i longed for rice, avakaya, sambar and curd. Mmmmm.

Day Nine: Delhi, Back to Civilised life
Took bath. Thanks to kushal, one of my fellow trekkers, who took the 11 of us hyderabadis to his dad's office where we could freshen up. Told my friends that i would return in just five minutes as i would just wash my face and not take a bath. Seeing a proper bathroom after so many days made me change my decision, 'I'm taking a BATH!'. Poor bathroom; I saw dirty water flowing in gallons off my body, 15 minutes into the bath and still no sign of the dirt reducing. Never did i feel so good after a bath in my life, must have offloaded god knows how many kgs of dirt. One by one all my friends took a bath and made the conference room of his dad's office the dressing room.

Fresh, we went to connaught place for shopping and food. We all went to saravana bhavan on my suggestion, put on our bags and readied ourselves to eat and how. Everybody ordered thali, south Indian. After my plate was brought i didn't talk or lift my head till i finished eating the last grain of rice. "Hey G, this is food", i announced with glee. She said she never saw a more contended face. After the pet pooja we set out to do some shopping but alas it was a sunday, most of the shops were closed but a few were open. I took out my flute and started my best tunes - not many people woul agree with that, in fact some would say i was irritating them but all these people need a class in music appreciation. The best part was when Babji and me did a mock begging act on the streets of Delhi, we stopped at the request of my other friends once the Delhi shoppers started giving us serious attention. I bought a different kind of flute this time along with Shivudu, i'll be the next big flutist of India, yayy! Accompanied G for her shopping while my bored friends started whining and so we went to the station, a full 2 hours before the train was to arrive at the station. The station was full of people, only a little space was left for standing. Bored, i ventured out and explored Delhi, especially one place. The train journey was long; read magazines, read my book, played scrabble & cards, played flute, drank gallons of water, ate little and slept little. Back Hyderabad, Home.

Here's the link to the complete album: Trekking Pics