Himachal-Trip-2019 on Sauvik Biswas

Day 14–16: Kaza and exit

Sun, 11 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

My roommates in the dorm at Komic were Sunil from Ahmedabad and Pamposh from Punjab. The former was on a spiritual journey—literally and metaphorically. He was on his first backpacking trip. The latter was a seasoned mountaineer. They were headed back to Kaza on a rented Enfield.

Pamposh Kaushik and Sunil

I hiked back to Hikkim and took the Hikkim–Kaza road. A steep descent through gravel trails led me straight to Kaza. As I kept descending for about an hour, I realised how important it was for me to get a tighter pair of shoes.

Day 12–13: Langza, Hikkim, Komic

Thu, 08 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I bid goodbye to the Bengali group and headed down the fields to Chicham bypass road to catch the 8:30 am bus to Kaza. The road through Kibber was being re-laid and there was no way that a bus could go through.

I needed to get back to Kaza. I needed cash. I barely had any left after paying Chhering at Norling Homestay. I needed to top-up my BSNL sim with some talktime. I needed some more cough drops. Once I was back, I did all those and headed back to Lhasa Homestay in Kaza. This time, I wanted to drop my big backpack and carry my smaller bag. I also found my jacket. I had left it in a small restaurant nearby where I had my lunch with Jonas.

Day 10–11: Kibber and Key

Tue, 06 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Sun, 04 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Sat, 03 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Fri, 02 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Thu, 01 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Wed, 31 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Mon, 29 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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

Sun, 28 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

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.