Sauvik Biswas

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Day 10–11: Kibber and Key Jonas—after his ten-day stint at Tabo—finally decided to leave for Kaza. I was also headed that way. Yesterdy, we took the 9:30 am bus to Kaza. He had kept his big bag at Lhasa homestay in Kaza. Although his bag was intact, his speaker was missing. He suspected a worker who had already left for his hometown and had met him in Tabo as the culprit. Jonas has always been fascinated by India. India has not always been good to him—there have been a lot of incidents where people have tried to deliberately cheat him. Yet, it’s the most fascinating place for him. His earliest memory of India was some Amma (I it Amritanandamayi Devi?) hugging him in Germany when he was a child. He fondly remembers the smell of sandalwood paste. The love-hate relationship is what has repeatedly brought him back to India. Day 9: Dhankar lake and monastery View of Tabo monastery from my room. The stupas have monks buried inside them. They say that those who have attained samadhi (eternal meditation) have already had theirs souls liberated. There’s no soul left that can be liberated by cremation. Day 8: Giu and a hike near Tabo caves Giu monastery is known for the remains of a lama who has been mummified because of unknown reasons. It is about eight kilometres of the National Haighway, just ahead of Hurling while travelling towards Kinnaur. Sai had gone to visit the old monastery, the caves and hike the ridges with a group of guys from Delhi and Akshat. He wanted to move to Dhankar after that. I left a thank-you note for Sai and headed off to Tabo bus stand. Norbu had mentioned that the bus comes at 9:00 am. On the other hand a German traveller in the monastery—Jonas Eckert—said that bus arrived at 9:30 am everyday. In the end, German time was more accurate. (I believe Norbu did not want me to miss the bus.) Day 7: Lari monastery The new monastery building in Tabo. Yesterday I slept with a massive headache. It was due to exhaustion and the relentless journey. Barring one of the days where I had explored Kalpa and Rohgi on foot, I have travelled long distances on the bus. I slept for over ten hours. Only a cup of tea from the monastery’s restaurant was able to relive me of that. Day 6: Nako and Tabo I woke up at 4:30 am so that I could pack all my stuff and leave at 5:00 am. In hills, hotel caretakers usually do not get up that early. I remembered my missed bus to Harsil during an earlier trip and ensured that I had enough time to awaken the caretaker if the need arises. Kunal and I quietly opened the door and sneaked out. We rushed to the bus stop, with Kunal almost pushing his trolley downhill. Day 4–5: To Chitkul and back The bus to Chitkul departs from Peo at 9:30 am. I was at the bus stand chatting up with Shravan when I met a fellow backpacker—Kunal Bindra. He was headed towards Chitkul. Unlike me, he was travelling through the Spiti–Kinnaur circuit in the other direction and was nearing the end of the trip. Kunal works in Singapore as a consultant and is in India for his vacations. He has hiked and backpacked through quite a few places in India (as well as through South-East Asia owing to his work). He carried a hardshell trolley, which in itself was a strange choice for a backpacker. He knew that well and had a justification. He had a wedding to attend prior to the trip and had to carry some “proper” clothes. That had influenced his choice of the trolley. Day 3: Kalpa, Rohgi and Peo Shravan—the hotel caretaker—walked me off to the Post Office opposite to Reckong Peo bus stand. Kalpa is about six kilometres uphill from Peo. I was waiting for a maxi van to Kalpa when a local person gave me a lift to Kalpa bus stand. When I offered him money, he refused. I had forgotten how people in the hills do not take money from hitchhikers. I am not used to such generosity in the cities. I should have asked for his name and clicked a photograph but I forgot. I made a mental note to do so from next time onward. Day 1–2: To Reckong Peo It took me thirty-three hours to reach Reckong Peo! I left my house at 7:00 AM yesterday in a cab to catch an AirAsia flight at 11:00 AM to Delhi. The flight landed at 1:00 PM or so. I picked up my luggage and made my way towards ISBT Kashmeri Gate. Delhi Metro is laid out pretty well. I was able to travel all the way in less than an hour—and for eighty rupees. My medical kit for travel Top row: stomach ailment, skin care, sprain and wound care. Bottom row: antibiotics, fever and pain management, and speciality medicine. The medical kit that I carry around has six distinct components—stomach ailment, antibiotics, fever and pain management, skin care, sprain and wound care, and speciality medicine. Stomach ailment # Aluminum-Magnesium Hydroxide (Gelusil / Digene): Good for mild acidity and indigestion. I usually carry an entire strip. Ranitidine 150 mg (Aciloc / Rantac): Decreases acid production in stomach. Good for severe acidity and heartburn. I usually carry an entire strip. Norfloxacin 400 mg + Tinidazole 600 mg (Norflox TZ): Antibiotic and antiparasitic. It is usually recommended that one complete the three day course of one tablet per day. I usually carry three tablets. Loperamide 2mg (Imodium / Eldoper): This stops diarrhoea. I usually carry an entire strip. Antibiotics # Amoxicillin 500mg (Amoxil / Mox ) + Metronidazole 400mg (Metrogyl / Flagyl): Together they cover a broad-spectrum that can take care of most common infections. The usual course is three tablets a day for five days for each medicine. I carry fifteen tablets / capsules of each. Fever and pain management # Diclofenac 100mg (Voveran SR): Good for muscle pain, cramps and other inflammation related pain. I usually carry an entire strip. Ibuprofen 200mg (Combiflam—has Paracetamol, too): Generic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSID). Diclofenac takes care of most cases, so I don’t carry too much—maybe, four or five tablets. Aspirin (Dispirin) : Good for headaches but is not recommended at high altitudes as it can mask any signs of AMS (acute mountain sickness). I have been carrying a strip for quite some time as it has not expired, yet. I will not be replacing it. Paracetamol 650mg (Dolo / Calpol): Antipyretic (anti-fever) and analgesic (anti-pain). I usually carry five tablets. Skin care # Poviodone-Iodine cream (Betadine): Topical antibacterial and antifungal cream. Usually good for cleaning most generic wounds and cuts. Clotrimazole cream (Candid): Topical antifungal cream. Mostly for exposed rashes. I have rarely used it. Neomycin-Bacitracin-Polymyxin powder (Neosporin): Topical antibacterial and antifungal powder that is good for sweaty parts like armpits and groin. Boroline: This is the only thing that works as a lip balm in high-altitude, dry climate. Sprain and wound care # Diclofenac gel (Volini / Voveran): Topical application in case of sprain. The oral version works better but the cooling sensation has a psychosomatic effect. Crepe bandage: Compression bandage in case of sprain or muscle pull. Cotton + Gauge + Medical adhesive tape: For dressing cuts and wounds. The adhesive tape can be used for other purposes as well—say, to fix a hole in the backpack. Speciality medicine # Promethazine 25mg (Avomine): For motion sickness. I am not prone to motion sickness but my sister is. I carry four or five tablets. Often I end up offering a tablet to someone else. Cetrizine 10mg (Okacet / Avil): Anti-histamine for allergic reactions. I carry four or five tablets and usually take half-tablet as it causes severe drowsiness. Acetazolamide 250mg (Diamox): This is a common medication used by many high-altitude trekkers and travellers. Many experienced trek leaders recommend taking half a tablet twice a day well before an ascent and stop only when the descent has been completed. I have not used it on myself yet. I decided to write this blog post so that I have a comprehensive list for myself. I hope it is useful for the reader, too. Two Songs for June In June, I have produced and engineered two songs—for two completely different projects. Sweet Poison with Vapour Sea # Vapour Sea is a collaboration project between me and Sudipto. While we waited for the guys in Dark Project to finish recording (and I wonder if it would ever be finished), Shounak pitched in a seed idea for a song. One thing led to another and in no time we had Korak—Dark Project’s earlier drummer—and Karran—an exchange student in IISc—on board.