Travel Diaries – Delhi to Manali

                The funny thing about a plan is the most obvious fact – they never succeed. So, if for a second, you feel that the plan lined up by our planner was 100% success, well then I bet the planner would give you a big treat for sure….I am still waiting for mine btw J

So, all was set. Tickets, receipts, clothes, phone numbers, meds, lots of good luck & advice – we collected just about everything! The only thing which we missed out was some good fortune. Anyways, let me tell you another fun fact – the way you begin a trip sets the tone for the rest, so what I will now do is lay down the facts in terms of how we began the trip!

Friday evening 16:40 was the time when our Mumbai Rajdhani departed. As we were advised, we knew that the train kicks off at precisely that time so we knew what time to reach. As usual, typical IT attitude led us to work for half a day – atleast I did. By the time, I winded up, it was – OMG – 1 pm! Just as Rajnikanth’s Robot, I was quick to finish bath, food, packing, hiring taxi and then finally stuffing 2 big bags and 2 backpacks in it! The time was 245 pm! As luck would have it, traffic jam allowed us to reach the station precisely at the time when the train docked. After settling down,  we noticed one simple fact – the planner himself isn’t in the train.

Now the planner is a delhi guy whose claim to fame is the fact that he knows delhi in and out. But we cant say the same about Mumbai. Poor dude had to carry a hefty bag along with him in a taxi which he ditched at Mahalaxmi and took a local all the way to BCT! He stepped into the train just 5 mins before it departed!

Mumbai Rajdhani is one of the elite train services in the country. They treat you like loyalty. The servers actually smile while serving! Unreal aint it? I was thoroughly enjoying the experience. There wasn’t a moment during that entire journey (while I was awake) where they weren’t bringing something to eat. Welcome drink, tea, biscuits, sandwich, soup, meal, sweet, you name it and they gave it – only once!

True to time, the train pulled up at the grand New Delhi terminus. Nothing grand about it, apart from the fact that it was the train station located at the heart of our capital. After the usual train station taxi negotiations, we left for our planner’s house.

Going to a typical Delhi house is always a treat. Big houses with terrance, no big high rise buildings, peaceful surroundings, the works! To top it all off, the food and the welcome gestures, those small aspects which really make a difference. The hospitality shown by the planner’s relatives was supreme and really set the tone for the day. Felt kinda nice and warm about being in Delhi and enjoying company of nice friends and family. In the words of the planner – it was Jannat!

Then came the evening – time to board the bus to Manali! We quickly but reluctantly bid our farewells to the planner’s relatives and hopped onto a concept which for a Delhite, is a point of show off – the delhi metro!

An expansive setup running through the heart of delhi, the metro has been modeled onto 

the London tube system. The start atleast seems nice with the condition of the trains being fine and the trains being on time. However, in my opinion, the concept fails at the most common issue in India – human traffic!

Reaching the bus stop, it came to light that due to 15^th August preparations, Janpath road is closed and the buses would leave from another location. So in the words of Delhi belly, we grooved to the song “Bhag bhag D K Bose” and did what D K Bose would have done – we ran to the departure spot. The bus company, Swagatam Travels, was one of the buses in the entire bus cartel that operates the Delhi Manali bus route. Their motto – take the money, care less about the customer. The bus departed at the right time – around 530 pm with a scheduled arrival time of 8 am in Manali. Just before we reached the bus, we came to know that there was a cloud burst in Manali resulting in heavy rains for 24 straight hours which further caused our route to Leh being blocked. That news was like cat amongst the pigeon stuff!

Anyways, the bus ride could have been interesting if it wasn’t for the Delhi traffic and the bus operator putting on Tees Maar Khan. After having a ok dinner, we slept only partially through the night. At around 4 am in the morning, the bus stopped approx 150 KMs from Manali, conveniently in front of a Dhaba citing the fact that the main bridge connecting Delhi and Manali has caved. So now, the Volvo bus cant go. There was a route through the village (Sundernagar) which could be taken but Volvo buses cant go through that route. While the operator was explaining this situation, we could see the State Transport buses wizzing past us. It was clear that the operator – who slept the night sleeping in the bus luggage compartment – was not going to inch ahead to Manali. So, we took matters into our own hand. With a lot of negotiations which went on, we finally got the bus operator to drop us approx 6 kms near a state transport bus station where we can hope of finding a bus or a taxi. The taxi rates touched the skies but we still managed to hook up a cab for approx 5K for 9 people. Dumping all our luggage, 9 of us sat in a Tavera and left for Manali – through the village.

The cool thing about the village is that it is not made for cars and trucks. So you can imagine what would happen when you stuff a whole bunch of vehicles travelling in both directions. I know what happened – a road block for 5 hours and a word which is very much common in India – Chaos! Finally, we had to step out and regulate the traffic and get our car and our asses out of there.

Finally, we could now enjoy the beauty that is the route to Manali. However, that didn’t last long. Another 2 hour halt – this time due to a landslide. To be honest, we were saved by 5 mins! The landslide helped us take in the beautiful place that is the route to Manali (didn’t I say that already?). A super fast river, greenery everywhere, water fall just a few meters away from our car, the fear of landslide happening again – you cant put a price on all this!

Finally the landslide cleared and fortunately, we were the ones who were the 1^st to move! Yey!!

The journey then on was a treat to watch! Awesome river views, dams, driving alongside a valley and moving under a mountain. One of the highlights was – driving through a tunnel in a mountain for approx 3.6 KMs! The drive towards Manali is normal weather is a real treat and for us, specially in the weather we went in was extra special to experience!

After discussing with the tour operator, we shifted our pitstop – from Keylong to Manali for the night! Finally after nearly 25 hours in a car, we reached our hotel, nice little place on top of a hill! Never really saw apples growing on a tree – this was my moment and I was loving every bit of it! After a quick stroll through the market, we came back, had food, some liquid courage and then off to bed, not quite knowing what nature had instore for us the next day – and boy! Nature was all in the mood for surprises!

Travel Diaries – The Leh PrepWork

                There are times when you look back and wonder, “Hell this should have been done that way”. Its always the retrospect which really helps you in enjoying what you have achieved or in other words, what you went through. The retrospect really helps you appreciate and value the experience like how a new born appreciates the world around.

My Leh-Ladakh trip was such an experience. If you prepare a ‘To-Do’ checklist of things which you should have covered in a trip spanning 10 days, then I would come out with a score of 30/100 i.e., I can say that I got 30% worth fun put into the entire trip. In reality, that is not the case. The trip was an exhilarating experience which I would remember for the rest of my life – not becoz of the negative things that did happen..but simply becoz of all the positive things that did happen.

So the trip was a brain child of a single individual. That person actually wanted to do this trip on a bike. The thought of cruising around the country/mountain side on a bullet or Harley sounded unreal. But the support of family members beckoned and the trip became a road trip instead wherein we would hire some cars, buy some train/bus tickets, book some decent hotels and embark on a thrill ride!

The travel planning took only 10 days. After identifying the longest weekend possible, we did booking of train tickets – Mumbai Rajdhani – approx 2 months in advance. To our luck, we were put on waiting list. To complicate matters, bookings were randomly done (2-3 tickets at once). So, the final ticket was at waiting list number 34 – a number which we thought would clear – it did but not without its own sense of twists and turns.

Now comes the difficult part. For starters, there were 14 of us – including a couple who had joined us after chucking their own plan. 14 people, 14 brains, 14 panic buttons, 14 ideas – 1 planner. The planner actually did a lot of research for this trip. Signed up on multiple forums, talked to god knows how many travel companies and finally was able to deliver a perfect package – all thanks to the Intersight Holidays Pvt Ltd.

Originally, we had decided to go from Delhi towards Leh Ladakh via Manali and back. However, due to some really awesome suggestions, we decided to circle the valley and come back via Srinagar. Everyone agreed and the planner started attacking the flight operators for the best available fares. Finally, we got it – Kingfisher Airlines, 4 Star Hotels in the sky – group booking carried at an appreciable cost. Immediately, day dreaming of some folks started - “I will enjoy the road trip and while coming back, will enjoy the inflight hospitalities” – something which wasn’t disappointing at all.

The travel agency managed to give us some really good deals in terms of accommodations and car hires. It turns out that all this planning, we forgot to take in 1 important factor into account – The Cost – The big ‘C’. The cost inflated to around 25K of only travel and living – no personal expenses included. Further to add to the woes was the fact that if anyone pulls out, the cost goes up and it so happens, we have 5 pull outs increasing the cost further!

After a lot of adjustments, we were able to maintain our costs at 27K (give and take 2K here and there). The plan was set – 9 men and women out to conquer the most gruesome journey undertaken – Leh Ladakh, Kargil & Srinagar.

So, we were all fine in the 2 months leading upto the trip, where suddenly panic set in – Waiting list tickets are now only RAC. Further to add to the complications, someone brought in news that RACs aren’t confirmed tickets as far as Rajdhani is concerned! Turmoil struck. Everyone started looking at flight options – the cost barometer was heading due north! Giving him company was sheer frustration! Finally, time took over and calmed us all down and slowly but surely, the tickets trickled over the confirmation line!

A travel like this always is demanding on the body. God knows how many people would have given me advice of what to do and what not to do. Some even went as far as getting me numbers of hospitals and police officials rather than contact numbers of some fancy tourist place! For a moment, it was as if we were heading into a war zone. On top of that, were the numerous advices – don’t talk to army men, don’t use your mobile phone, don’t say holla to the monks! The advices just kept on coming! What you have to do is clear your head – you know your body more than anyone else. Take all the usual meds that you normally need. In addition to that, take Diamox (after proper consultation with your doctor) along with Avomine. In addition, if you have a case of the vertigo, take appropriate meds to suit your needs.

In terms of clothing, buy a good thick jacket, you wont be needing it in Leh Ladakh, but you would need it in your journey between Manali and Leh. Carry warm long sleeve clothes – lots of it.

By now, you must be thinking “Is this guy going to make a documentary out of this trip? Where is the fun!!” Well prepwork is always the boring stuff which no one wants to do but everyone wants to know. Trust me guys and gals, the fun stuff is almost there – right from the beginning of the trip. But that’s for another time.