Driving holiday

Paradise on Earth-Jammu and Kashmir (Part 2)

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These floating pieces of land are used by the landowners to do some kitchen gardening and are bound to the floor of the lake through a long pole. The boatman informed us that often these floating pieces of land are stolen in the stealth of the night and the police are left with no alternative but to register a case of ‘stolen land’!

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In the last & the highest village of the Baspa Valley – Chitkul…..

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Look closely and you can see the trails of the stars that form the Orion Constellation. No, Just look above the snow capped peak, a bit on the right from the center of the pic and you will see the trails of the three stars that are in the middle of the Orion Constellation. And you can also see a pink colored streak just a little bit on the right of the peak. That is Orion’s Nebula. Didn’t i tell you, i also spotted as much as 9 shooting stars and 1 satellite while capturing the star trails.

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To the last & the highest village in the Baspa Valley – Chitkul…..

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The condition of the road was getting worse by each passing kilometer. The tar road made way to the grainy, rocky road covered by dust. At some of the stretches the water tankers were moving on the road to keep down the dust. Suddenly the roads became never ending and driving getting difficult especially for a lone bike rider all along the way. I kept on driving slowly and crossed Wangtoo, Chooling and reached the Karcham Dam. A right from here would take me off the NH – 22 and put me on the Sangla- Chitkul road. The winds were also picking up and it was getting difficult to stand near the dam. So, i started the bike again to cover the final stretch of the day. The road condition was bad and the way to Sangla was steep and narrow. One slip here and i would have to pay for it with my life. So, with all the concentration on the road and a speed of 10-15 kmph i began the ascent on the hair raising Sangla – Chitkul road.

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5. Naggar (HP) and road back home via Chandigarh-Rothak-Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai

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Had it not been for the book, Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP), Naggar would not have happened. Books are still much much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an “occasional tip” and that too happens cause people speak about the content which is quite recent. Books need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008 and two years down the line nothing much had changed….

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