Day 5

Day 5 (Sep 17): The Kinnauri Marriage

A new day brings a new hope, I had this strong feeling in my mind that no matter what, I am going to Spiti. I knew the odds were against me, but I decided to take a plunge. I even prepared my mind to take the Manali route if the Pangi Nallah road doesnt open. Our plan was to reach the Pangi Nallah by 9am, but we left the hotel around that time. We had to take care of a lot of things before leaving for Pangi, fill our tummies, our bikes tummies, inflate the tyres, get engine oil changed. Ate yummy paranthas at a dhaba in Rekong Peo. Carried 7 litres extra fuel as suggested by some people as the chances of getting fuel in Kaza were slim. When we reached Pangi nallah, a cop warned us to go back as the road will stay closed and its too dangerous out there but we went ahead. Then found this huge traffic jam of army trucks, buses, cars and what not. We squeezed through the traffic and reached quite far with just few vehicles ahead of us.


The Deadly Pangi Nallah

And then the wait started, I was checking the time every five to ten minutes, it was hard to be patient, those were some of the most tense moments of my life. I asked Deepak and Anupam, out of anxiousness, what would you do if the road doesn't open today. To which they replied, "as bad as we want to see Spiti, we will not have any option but to head back home since we only have a few days in hand". And then it happened, call it sheer luck or fate, after waiting for nearly two hours, the rocks stopped falling for few minutes and the army allowed the traffic to pass. At that moment I was overjoyed to see the movement of vehicles ahead of us, felt like I was the luckiest person in the world and now nobody can stop me from seeing the beautiful Spiti valley.

The moment I crossed the deadly Pangi nallah, I was already in Spiti(atleast in my head), riding to the highest motorable village in the world... visiting Dhankar, Tabo, Key Gompas... sitting on a chair outside some dhaba sipping tea while enjoying mesmerizing views of Pin valley... eating maggie on the shores of Chandrataal... an encounter with the snow leopard or the Himalayan wolf... chit-chatting with local people... not bathing for a good number of days and a lot more was going in my tiny head. I looked up in the sky and thanked god for always being there, for always helping me when in trouble, for giving me the courage, for always showing the right path, I thanked god for everything.

Soon after crossing the Pangi Nallah, we were welcomed by this water stream. First time drank water from a stream and felt like a thousand watt electric current flew through my body that woke up all the dying cells back to life. I filled my bottle with this energy drink, was fully charged and pumped up for the journey ahead. 

Drank the purest form of water right from this tiny water stream

Time for some pics



Anupam(left) and Deepaak(right)


Bad roads, they will continue till Puh.

Somewhere near Spello, I was left behind as the Wheel lock got loose, it rammed into the spokes and scratched wheel hub. I decided to remove the wheel lock as fixing it would have wasted a lot of time.

So, Dr. Mandeep took out his tiny little tool and started operating on the wheel lock. The bolt was jammed, I could only use two fingers to rotate the tool. I used all my strength, this little thing took the life out of me, after many uuhhhhs.... aahhhhs.... and ouccchhhhs.... the bolt came out. Operation successful.



Yours Truly


Met Deepak and Anupam near Puh, they waited for me, Thank you, good fellas :)

Reached Puh, had maggie there, then headed for Nako.


@ Khab...Khab sangam is the confluence of Spiti river and Sutlej river. The Spiti river flowing through the spiti valley here meets the Sutlej, which originates from Mansarovar Lake in Tibet.



Vistas En-route to Nako


Finally, reached Nako around 6pm, found room in Lovon Hotel, a very good hotel with clean rooms and they serve delicious food. Its run by 3 people (2 ladies and their brother), very humble and polite people. They invited us to a Kinnauri Marriage, which took place on the same night.


Nako Gompa


Lovon Hotel @Nako


My first ever Thukpa, it was Yummy indeed :)


8pm, time to attend Kinnauri marriage. Some foreign guests were also invited. Kinnauri marriage - pehle kachi shadi(first temporary marriage), fir pakki shadi(then permanent marriage). As per the tradition, the boy/girl chooses his/her partner from another village, the boy makes her run with him to his village, thats Kachi shadi. Then, after 3-4 years, when the boy has enough money for marriage, pakki shadi happens. Pakki shadi involves two days function at boy's and two days function at girl's village. The function consisted of Kinnauri pop songs, ladies were sitting on the ground forming a circle while drunk kinnauri men danced around them, some foreigners also showcased their dancing skills. All-in-all, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Day 4

Day 4 (Sep 16): Fear and Hope...

Woke up @8am, weather was nice with clear clouds and sun shining with full glory, a perfect day to ride the bike. Packed the luggage, now comes the worst part, tying luggage to the bike, its quite a task. Went out to visit the temple and found it to be closed, just lke the last time. I guess, I'll have to plan another visit then. Today was going to be a relaxed day, as the destination - Kalpa was not far. So, kick started The Dark Knight(my sexy bike) and left for Kalpa.

Temple @Chitkul


The big big dogs of Chitkul

Had breakfast @ Himalayan Dhaba in Sangla, met a sikh couple in their sixties, they came all the way from Mohali via public transport. They asked me about my route ahead, they seemed interested in getting all the details, like places I'll be covering, total cost, stuff that I have carried with me, etc. They wished me all the best for my journey, even gave me their number and asked me to visit their home in Mohali. 


Approaching Kapla

Reached Kalpa around 3pm, was surprised to see Deepak and Anupam there, they were supposed to be go to Nako today. They told me that the army sent them back from the Pangi Nallah as big rocks were falling from above. A tunnel was being constructed under the hill, that shook the entire hill which led to the falling of rocks, they have been falling for almost two months. The chances of that road getting open anytime soon were very slim. That news was very discouraging and saddening. I was cursing myself for taking this route after being warned by the truck driver and dhaba owner @ Theog. So, we decided to stay in the same Hotel, try again tomorrow or look for an alternate route. Found a room in this nice Hotel, Apple Pie in Kalpa, its run by a Delhiite - Aman, now a good friend of mine. After leaving our luggage in the rooms, we went for a bike stroll to Kalpa. Kalpa is a small beautiful town, there is nothing much to see except some temples, apple orchards, suicide point and awe-inspiring views of Kinner Kailash.


Kalpa


My first wild Kinnauri Apple, the yummiest I ever had...


Kinner Kailash


Hotel Apple Pie, highly recommended

Returned to the hotel around 6pm, when it started to get dark and then called The One and Only - SAURABH SABIKHI... Dude has tons of knowledge about Spiti, some hidden places which are not known to many including the locals. Told him about the road status near Pangi Nallah and asked if there is any alternate route to Nako. He gave information about the old indo-tibetan trade route. Inquired some locals about this route and they suggested not to go there as it would be sucidal as nobody has taken that route for years/decades and they doubted if the road still exists and some said that the rocks are falling from just above that road. They suggested to leave early in the morning when traffic would be less and take the Pangi Nallah road as there are chances that the army may allow few vehicles to pass if the rocks stop falling for some time.

A cute french couple was staying in the same hotel from last few days. My room happened to be just above their's. They used to play flute in mornings and evenings. Their hymns and tunes were so refreshing, so soothing to the soul, I wish I could've recorded them. When they were done for the day, I went back to my room, hopped on the bed, covered myself from all the available blankets and started reviewing my activities of the day. I was disturbed by this loud noise and beats, so came out and saw a large group of men marching with torch. Went down to take pictures but was stopped by Aman, the hotel manager. He told me that its a local ritual where in one person's body gets occupied by their local deity, all men follow his orders and roam the entire village. They all seemed under the influence of heavy alcohol. If they see you taking pictures, they might get offended by it and can cause harm to you. That sounded scary, so I went back to my room and collapsed on the bed.