Word Beats

Getting wet with Alexander Frater chasing Indian Monsoon- a book review.

2026-09-06T11:30:30.905+04:00

Alexander Frater's Chasing the Monsoon is one of those travelogues that stays with you long after you've closed the book. It follows the author as he chases the onset of the Indian monsoon up the length of the country — Trivandrum, Goa, Mumbai, Rajasthan, Delhi, Shillong and finally Cherrapunji — trying to outrun, or perhaps just keep pace with, the rains. Through his descriptions and candid asides, the book becomes as much about the cultural, historical and spiritual weight the monsoon carries for Indians as it is about weather itself.

The story behind the story is worth telling too. In 1986 Frater had been travelling along the newly built Karakoram Highway when he picked up a virus in China and was sent back to London for treatment. It was during that convalescence, not yet fully recovered, that he first properly learned about the Indian monsoon and began planning what would become this book — "monsoon chasing." There's something fitting about a journey built around water beginning with an illness that laid him low.

And there is his father's painting — torrential rain lashing down with temples in the background — a fixture of Frater's childhood that becomes a kind of touchstone he returns to throughout the book. It resurfaces in an unexpected way partway through his travels: he befriends a young engineer, Tom Richmond, after missing a flight, and Tom mentions, almost in passing, that it was his own father who had painted that very picture. Small world, big monsoon.

A Book You Can Almost Hear

What struck me most is how musical the book is — just like the rain itself. The heavy scent of earth that signals the first rains, the sudden coolness of the breeze before a storm, the rhythmic drumming of drops on rooftops — Frater layers these sensations the way a good monsoon song does. Reading him, I kept humming Rim Jhim Gire Sawan in my head, and once, absurdly, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head." Both songs, in their own idioms, are chasing the same feeling he is chasing on the page.

He even reaches back two thousand years for company, quoting Kalidasa's Meghaduta — the cloud-messenger poem from the Sanskrit court of Vikramaditya — where the monsoon clouds are likened to the deep blue of lotus petals.

The sky on every side is shrouded by rain-clouds

Which wear the beauty of deep blue lotus petals.

And here look like heaps of made-up eye-salve, and

There Possess the charm of breasts of women with child.

It's a reminder that Indians have been writing love letters to the rains for a very long time before Frater arrived with his notebook.

An Eye for the Odd and Wonderful

One of the real pleasures of the book is simply how much Frater notices. He has a magpie's instinct for the strange, specific detail — a two-million-pound nuclear magnetic imaging machine, the forerunner of the MRI, turns up in his pages, as does a small lecture on the radiosonde, the battery-powered instrument package that weather balloons carry aloft to radio back atmospheric data. He also has fun with the meteorology of turbulence itself, explaining how cumulonimbus clouds and gusting crosswinds make monsoon flying such a bumpy business.

That last detail landed close to home for me. Frater flew into Sikkim on a Fokker Friendship turboprop, and by coincidence I was flying the very same aircraft, on sales calls between Calcutta and Guwahati, in that very year — 1987. I remember the terrific bangs and bumps of those flights all too well; they frightened me at the time, and reading his account of the same turbulence, decades later, brought it all back. He, meanwhile, had the good fortune of a friendly pilot who let him sit in the cockpit and actually steer the plane for a good twenty minutes as they approached Meghalaya — which tells you something about how resourceful and likeable a traveller he was. Trains, taxis, flights, he always seemed to conjure a seat at the last minute, tickets and all.

Following the Rains North and East

As Frater trails the monsoon's path, each region responds to it in its own way. In Tamil Nadu, parched land turns green almost overnight. In Karnataka, the rains breathe new life into the coffee plantations, the aroma of coffee mingling with wet earth. Moving into central India, Madhya Pradesh and the historic forts of Rajasthan show a stark before-and-after: rivers swelling to capacity, arid tracts suddenly teeming with flora and fauna. And in Assam, the monsoon reveals its double face — the Brahmaputra swells with fertility-giving silt even as it threatens catastrophic floods, while the tea gardens, wrapped in mist, quietly draw their lifeblood from the same rains.

Frater doesn't stop at the poetry of it, either. He digs into the science — how the Indian subcontinent heats up faster than the surrounding ocean in the summer months, how that differential heating pulls in moist air from the Indian Ocean, and how that inflow becomes the southwest monsoon winds we all wait for every June.

Kerala, Festivals, Matriarchs and Curfews

The cultural dimension is where the book really opens up. He wanders into Onam Sadya and the pookkalam of Kerala, where he spends quite some time and interacts with men of diverse professions.

He learns that Romans first 'discovered' the monsoon. Once they realized its winds would blow their galleys out and then blow themhome again, and that the remarkable monsoon mudbanks guaranteed them safe anchorages, they became regular visitors. The quantities of Roman coins found on this part of the Malabar Coast testify to the Roman craze for Indian luxury goods. Ancient records note shipments of pepper, pearls, ivory, fine silks, betel, diamonds, jacinths, tortoiseshell, rice, ghee, honey, cotton, muslins, 'sashes', cinnamon-leaf, ginger grass, bactrian and indigo.

Later towards the end, in the Khasi Hills around Shillong, he meets a policeman named Bill whose wife Enid had just completed a PhD thesis on the matrilineal aspects of Khasi society — where land and property pass from mother to daughter, and the oldest sister is traditionally the head of the family. I found this section oddly resonant: I had recently been discussing with visiting cousins how the Khasis are said to be the last community in the world still practising this matrilineal system, and how Kerala, too, once had its own matriarchal tradition, where women held real social, political and familial authority. As I grew up in an ancestral house (നാലുകെട്ട്) matriarchal joint family, the Khasi system appears all too familiar to me. Kerala's traditional matrilineal system, known as Marumakkathayam, was legally dismantled in 1975.

In Sikkim, his hotel manager tells him about an 8 p.m. curfew, rigorously enforced for a week, brought on by anti-foreigner riots — anger directed largely at Bangladeshi and Nepali migrants accused of taking local land and jobs. Frater knew how fortunate he was to be allowed to travel at all amid that unrest. Reading it forty years later, with Kerala and Bengal now grappling with their own concerns over illegal migration, the passage carries an unexpected, uncomfortable relevance.

Where the Book Falls Short

For all its pleasures, the book isn't flawless. Frater occasionally gets lost in his own thoughts, spending far more pages than necessary on a minor incident or memory — the detour to Paama Island, for instance, could easily have been left out. Some readers may also wince at a lingering colonial-era condescension in his remarks on India's poverty and bureaucracy. And every so often a comment lands badly by today's standards — at one point he estimates the age of a street woman by her breast size, a moment that reads as casually misogynistic rather than merely of-its-time.

The book is also unflinching about the darker side of the monsoon's duality. He notes that a 1970 cyclone killed half a million people, and another in 1985 claimed 15,000 lives — grim reminders that the same rains celebrated in song and festival can also be instruments of devastation.

How Wet Is Wet, Really

Frater, writing in the 1980s, quotes past records putting the highest annual rainfall at around 600 inches. Current data tells a somewhat different story:

Rank	Location	Average Annual Rainfall (inches)	Average Annual Rainfall (mm)
1	Mile 50, Papua, Indonesia	~478 in	12,143 mm
2	Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India	~467 in	11,872 mm
3	Cherrapunji, Meghalaya, India	~463 in	11,777 mm
4	Tutunendo, Chocó, Colombia	~463 in	11,770 mm
5	Cropp River, West Coast, New Zealand	~453 in	11,516 mm

Trivandrum/Kerala coast — 2 June

Goa — ~5 June

Bombay — 8 June

Rajasthan — no rain during his visit (still in drought)

Delhi — forecast for 29 June (not explicitly confirmed as arrived)

Shillong — passed through in July (no exact date)

Cherrapunji — reached in July (no exact date)

Behind every one of those dates lay a scramble most of us never see — booking transport and hotels at short notice, negotiating with government offices for permissions, and staying close enough to the monsoon's path to catch it, all while working around the gaps between what the Met Office predicted and what actually happened. Our respect for Frater only deepens when we remember the conditions under which he pulled this off: no internet, no mobile, no Uber, no Google, no Swiggy — none of the apps we now take for granted. Add to that the everyday hazards of the journey itself — unreliable traffic and transport, safety equipment that didn't always work, and the constant gamble of food safety on the road — and the scale of what he achieved comes into sharper focus.

Closing Thoughts

By the time Frater reaches the end of his journey, his romantic notions about the monsoon have been tempered by the harsher realities of those who live entirely at its mercy. He recognises the duality at the heart of it all — a force as capable of regeneration as it is of destruction — and comes away with a quieter respect for adaptation, resilience, and the fragile balance between people and nature.

Reading the book decades after it was written, and decades after my own small brush with its world — those rattling Fokker Friendship flights out of Calcutta in 1987 — I found myself nodding along more often than I expected to. The monsoon hasn't changed much. Perhaps neither have we.

I would strongly recommend this book — it's like a brief narration of everything you may want to know about the Indian monsoon.

Before closing, I wish to thank Cochin Book Club for introducing the book to me. Our discussion on the book on 26 th July 26 - it was the time Monsoon peaked in Kerala- was quite lively when it was pouring heavily outside the glass walls, “Rim Gim Gire Sawan ......” just like Fraters musical prose !!!

Eleven Days Across Vietnam and Cambodia-Where History Bleeds and Hope Rises

2025-11-26T23:24:00.208+04:00

My recent travel through six cities of Vietnam and Cambodia was a mix of tranquil nature, painful history, rich culture, tasty food and my first International Marathon. From the lively streets of Hanoi to the peaceful sunrise at Angkor Wat and aptly ending with the Skulls of Phnom Penh, the itinerary was full of activity and unforgettable moments with a group of runners and non-runners. Our team gelled well with the ever cool Varun, twins-like Sreekumar and Sekhar, Mukundanunny , Boban, Sutham and Suma contributing to fun, sports and management aspects. It was good to enjoy the presence of Lizon and Paul first few days.

There was a bit of drama and uncertainty prior to start as Typhoon Kalmaeigi destroyed part of central Philipines and made land fall south of Danang on the eve of our departure, killing more than 300 people ! Luckily we were spared as we first arrived in Hanoi, northern Vietnam.

Day 1: Arrival in Hanoi / 08 Nov 2025

Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, was named Thăng Long (Ascending Dragon) in 1010 after King Lý Thái Tổ reportedly saw a golden dragon rise from the fog after moving his capital to the city. This was considered a good omen, and the name reflects the hope for the new capital to be as powerful as the dragon. Incidentally the country hopes to rebuild and regain its lost position in world economy and politics due to series of wars by hard work and determination. Nightmares of war have been replaced by dreams of a new ascend and new unified nation. The dragon is a powerful symbol of power, nobility, and prosperity in Vietnamese culture.

Landing at Noi Bai Airport brought instant excitement. After transferring to the hotel and settling in, the first task was picking up the race bib from Quan Ngua Stadium in the evening. The pleasant, cloudy weather, the marathon vibes at bib collection venue and the growing energy among runners set the tone for the trip. The night in Hanoi felt calm and refreshing. Slept early to wake up at midnight as the run would flag off at 2am next day !

Day 2: Hanoi Marathon and Ninh Binh tour/ 09 Nov2025

A very early start. A couple of taxi pickups took us to Quan Ngua Stadium. As we lined up at start point the rains poured heavily and we ran part of the race in rain. The route was fantastic winding through pagodas, war memorials and two major lakes, West lake and Truc Beach. During Vietnam war, US Navy pilot was shot by Viet Cong fighters and parachuted in to Truc Beach lake, south west of the large West Lake. Collected the medal, had Kung Pho noodle for breakfast and returned to hotel with fellow runners.

Had a quick shower and hopped in to bus to Ninh Binh. This 1.5 hr ride gave us time to relax and recover after a tough 5+ hr marathon. Hoa Lư the capital of Vietnam from 968 to 1009 was in Ninh Binh. We visited its relic site and a temple prior to a mesmerizing boat ride in Trang An river. Visited few temples during the ride as well.

Enjoyed street food near our hotel. The joy of cooking our own food on the stove along with scores on the street was quite an unique experience !

Day 3: Halong Bay Adventure /10 Nov 2025

After breakfast, we started for Halong Bay at 7.30 in the morning by bus and visited a pearl museum on the way. Boarded the luxury cruise at 11.30. The views from the deck were incredible. The ride included a delicious lunch on the cruise, relaxing views of limestone peaks, Kayaking under the caves, Walk through the caves, visit to pearl museum and beach experience too.

The roof top sunset session with music was awesome surrounded by beautiful night view of lake and hills. By the time we reached back to Hanoi at 8 in the night, it felt like a day well spent in nature.

Myth of creation: Ha Long Bay was created by the "Descending Dragon"

In ancient times, when Vietnam was invaded by naval forces. To protect the people, the Jade Emperor sent a Mother Dragon and her children to fight the invaders. As the dragons descended, they spat out jewels and jade that transformed into a wall of karst limestone islets, causing the enemy ships to crash and shatter.: The area where the Mother Dragon landed became known as Ha Long Bay, which translates to "Descending Dragon"

Day 4: Hanoi City Tour and Transfer to Da Nang /11 Nov 2025

After breakfast we began a city tour covering some iconic sites • Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum • One Pillar Pagoda • Hoan Kiem Lake • Old Quarter • Train Street • St. Joseph's Cathedral • Shopping street.

It was a thrilling sight to see a daily train moving past, nearly brushing the onlookers on either side

Hanoi is a mix of history, culture, and local life that blends wonderfully. After the tour, our group split. While Lizon and Paul stayed back, the rest of us transferred to the airport to fly to Da Nang. We landed in Da Nang at 22:30 and checked into the hotel for a peaceful night.

Day 5: Ba Na Hills and Golden Bridge /12 Nov 2025

The morning was bright and sunny. went for a run on nearby beach with Varun. It was nice to see Vietnamese people engaged in work out and games so early morning. Taught mini surya namaskar to a senior curious local veteran and gave up after he kept going.

The day began with a hearty breakfast. The highlight was the full day Ba Na Hills tour. The cable car ride up the mountain and the famous Golden Bridge held by giant stone hands were simply spectacular.

The cabaret was a bonus and beer festival icing on the cake ! We returned to the hotel by evening, tired but happy with the experience.

Day 6: Ho Chi Minh City Date: 13 Nov 2025

After breakfast and checkout, we flew to Ho Chi Minh City. We started Hochi Minh city tour after lunch at Indian restaurant.. We visited Independence Palace, The beautiful Saigon Central Post Office and shopped at Ben Thanh Market. After exploring the bustling city, we checked into the hotel by late evening.

Day 7: Mekong Delta Day Trip / 14 Nov 2025

This was a full day exploration of the Mekong Delta. A peaceful boat ride, coconut candy workshops, Snake Wine tasting, village visits, and the slow rhythm of local life made it one of the most relaxing days of the trip. We returned to Ho Chi Minh City by 5 in the evening and enjoyed the night at leisure.

The pilots who bombed royal Palace in Saigon that end the war in 1975.

Day 8: Cambodia-Siem Reap / 15 Nov 2025

After breakfast and some final shopping, the group divided again. • Varun family flew to Phu Quoc and others to Siem Reap. Landing in Cambodia instantly felt like stepping into a different world with ancient energy all around.

Day 9: Sunrise and day-long walk at Angkor Wat /16 Nov 2025

At 5.15 in the morning, we collected pre-arranged packed break fast box and left for the iconic Angkor Wat sunrise experience. Built in 1152 CE by Suryavarman, Angkor Wat was destroyed by the Chams, but later rebuilt by Jayavarman VII, it became a Buddhist center. Spread over 400 acres, Angkor Wat is the largest religious complex in the world. The asuras and devas churning " palazhi" to get nector was depicted by many statutes at the entrance and inside.

Watching the sun appear behind the ancient temple towers was breathtaking. After breakfast, we continued to explore Angkor Wat and surrounding temples until evening. It was a full day of history, architecture, and wonder.

The fine cut carvings of various stories of Hindu mythology are still intact on the walls of Ankhor Wat.

Day 10: Bus to Phnom Penh, City tour in Tuk-Tuk and Cruise on Mekong river / 17 Nov 2025

After breakfast, we checked out and took cab to the bus station. It was a 5.5 hr long luxury bus with just one stop midway. After reaching Phnom Penh, we took two Tuk-Tuks for going to hotel and subsequent city tour. We had booked a cruise trip on Mekong river with free food and drinks. The pick driver couldnt rech the hotel by 7 pm and so we hired a TukTuk which got stuck in traffic same as the pick up. As if to use our running skills, we sprinted to the cruise boat and managed to get in to the same just in time ! The night view was awesome and the unlimited food and drinks exceeded our expectation.

TUK TUK and Cyclo ( left in green )

Phnom Penh river side

Day 11:Killing Fields and Departure / 18 Nov 2025

We hired a car and visited the Killing fields an hour and a half drive from city.

The Killing Fields are sites in Cambodia where collectively more than 1.3 million people were killed and buried by the Communist Party of Kampuchea during Khmer Rouge rule from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–75). The mass killings were part of the broad, state-sponsored Cambodian genocide. The Cambodian journalist Dith Pran coined the term "killing fields" after his escape from the regime. In 1979, Vietnam invaded Democratic Kampuchea and toppled the Khmer Rouge regime, ending the genocide.

The tree used by Khmer rouge to smash heads of children to save bullets !

By noon, we left Phnom Penh to the new Techo Airport funded by China. Landed at Kochi by 10:30pm. With this, our memorable journey through Vietnam and Cambodia came to an end.

PS: By the way, Techo refers to the Khmer commanders who found against Siamese ( Thai ) invaders. I found a statue of them on Mekong river side. Interestingly there was no statue or recognition for the brave fighters of Vietnam who toppled Pol Pot and put in end to his Genocide.

There is an ongoing fight between Thailand and Cambodia over disputed territories…especially the ownership of Siva temple called Preah Vihear check this link for more info …. https://youtu.be/1Hp-W2bpPrw?si=JmykTnJ2JKEgcAWj

Cambodia was previously a part of Thailand, but the French seized it from Thailand (then Siam) in a war. The French and Thais signed a treaty saying that the boundary was supposed to run along a geographical feature - the watershed of a mountain range. But the French when mapping the border deviated from that geographical position in a few places - generally ancient Khmer Empire Hindu temple sites. Thailand did not discover this until the 1930s, and has repeatedly gone to international courts to claim that it should be Thai based on the treaty. Courts ruled in favour of Cambodia but Thailand keep their claim alive with the border fights as happening now. Cambodia is using war to divert attention from their internal issues.

Let’s hope Lord Siva & other Hindu gods won’t appear before ICJ claiming IPR over the use and misuse of their name and temples !!! :-) Interestingly, while Indian culture has profoundly shaped the history of Cambodia and Thailand, the modern state of India did not occupy them politically.

Final Thoughts

Eleven days across Vietnam and Cambodia gave us a beautiful mix of city life, nature, history, and culture. The cruise at Halong Bay, the charm of Hanoi, the modern vibe of Ho Chi Minh City, the stunning Ba Na Hills, and the ancient magic of Angkor Wat made this trip unforgettable. No one had any health issues we all enjoyed the trip well.

Perhaps because I read Bao Ninh's true story 𝐒𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐚𝐫 during my trip to Vietnam, it seemed as if the bitter, indelible memories of the Vietnam War were still firmly rooted in the people despite their attempts to forget and forgive. This is a story written by Kien, the last remaining soldier in his battalion, in memory of his love, his relatives and friends he lost due to the war.

US Meddling in Vietnam

The involvement of the United States in the Vietnam War began in the 1950s and escalated in 1965 until its withdrawal in 1973. The U.S. military presence in Vietnam peaked in April 1969, with 543,000 military personnel stationed in the country. By the end of the U.S. involvement, more than 3.1 million Americans had been stationed in Vietnam and 58,279 had been killed. The Americans used all kind of destructive war tools like Napalm bombs, Agent Orange ( chemical defoliant), Popeye (a military cloud-seeding project carried out by the U.S. Air Force ). etc. The image of naked girl caught in Napalm attack became very famous.

In the US, anti-war demonstrations were stepped up and by 1967, an increasing number of Americans considered military involvement in Vietnam was a mistake. Opposition to the war arose during a time of unprecedented student activism, which included the free speech movement and the civil rights movement. Protest of American participation in the Vietnam War was a movement in which many popular musicians participated, a stark contrast to the pro-war compositions of artists during World War II.

A key historical figure of the antiwar movement was Bob Dylan. Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times they are A-Changin' were just few examples. Jimmy Cliff who passed away on 24th Nov 2025 became famous for his anti-war song Vietnam. ( click below to play this song ). John Lennon and Yoko Ono also contributed with songs like Imagine and Give Peace a Chance.

Vietnam-Jimmy Cliff

Give peace a chance-Lennon

My trip to Vietnam and Cambodia was inspired by Vinod Krishnan who lived there for a research work on ethnic community called Chams who practiced Hinduism and Buddhism, and over time, many converted to Islam. They came from Indianized Champa Kingdom of 2d-17th CE.

Another influencer for my trip to Killing Fields was the movie They First Killed My Father directed by half-Cambodian Angelina Jolie. The story of the survival of five-year-old Loung Ung, who was forced into brutal child labor by Khmer Rouge soldiers during the capture of Phnom Penh, has many similarities to Bao Ninh's story of Kien. It took another communist power (Vietnam attack in 1979 with Russian help) to defeat Pol Pot, a Chinese puppet who had taken the madness of extreme communism to his head and exterminated his own people.

The fact that communist Vietnam defeated Pol Pot's communist regime is not a simple contradiction of ideology, but rather a reflection of geopolitical conflicts, national interests, border disputes, and ideological schisms that existed within the international communist movement, particularly the Sino-Soviet split. In Vietnam, low-profile anniversaries of the fierce fight against the Chinese invasion are organised each year in local cemeteries in the Northern border provinces while small-scale demonstrations take place in other parts of the country including Hanoi. The wounds left by the 1979 war still haunt the Vietnamese people.

63 KM run from Thrissur to Palakkad on 27th July 2025

2025-08-29T22:57:00.037+04:00

One year ago, during one of our routine training runs, my running mate Mary Joshi said why not let us just run from Thrissur to Palakkad ....I took it as a joke as I had no previous experience of running this long distance. The longest ever i ran was 42Km few times and few Ultra hill runs.

As my birthday got nearer she reminded me again and inspired me to give it a serious try.

Paulettan, Keralas runnjng legend at 70, suggested to use the opportunity to spread an useful message to public and we picked Road Safety. We promoted the slogan " Safe Roads Save Lives" to govt and " Drive Safe to Stay Alive" to public.

Well that was the beginning of a running event that happened on 27th July 2025 , just 3 days after by birthday. Thanks to support from Endurance Athletes Thrissur, Fort Runners Palakkad, district authorities, Kerala Police and Jt.RTO & Mathrubhoomi Sr.GM Mr.Bhasi, who honored the closing ceremony with his presence, the run was a huge success. More than 30 elite runners from Kerala participated and we completed the event with zero injury. Eveready Ultima and Cosmopolitan Club Palakkad were kind enough to sponsor our run. The souvenirs ( coffee cups with run map and picture of runner printed ) will be etched in our memory for a long time, thanks to Sujit who part sponsored the same. The medals were made of Coconut shell , another unique feature of the run.

As a golfer and runner, Manmadhan chettan, who worked hard to promote the road safety message was falicitated along with me by Cochin Golf Clrun

Annapurna Base Camp Trek -2017

2025-08-29T22:36:00.003+04:00

Team : Murali, Herve and me.

We arrived at Katmandu airport from Bahrain and moved to Pokhara for stay.

Started trek next day and got back on 10th day. Unlike my previous Himalayan treks, this blog is only picture partly due to long time of idling post trek and partly due to the picture are so stunning that these speak for themselves !!

Day 1 Pokhara to Ulleri

Day 2 Ulleri to Gorepani

Day 3 : Gorepani to Poonhill and to Tadepani

We started 3AM from tea house to reach Poonhill top to watch sunrise. It was amazing sight to see many reputed peaks bathed in golden glow of rising sun.

Day 4 Tadepani to Chomrong

Day 5 Chomrong to Doban

Day 6 Dovan to MBC

Day 7 MBC to ABC and to Dovan

Day 8 Dovan to Chomrong

Day 9 Chomrong to Pokhara

Day 10 Pokhara and back to Kathmandu

Click this for more photos

Mount Kilimanjaro: My Journey to the Roof of Africa-29th Sep to 6th Oct 24

2024-10-16T09:39:00.034+04:00

Kilimanjaro: A Journey to the Roof of Africa

Few experiences in life are as life-changing as climbing Kilimanjaro. My recent trek to the summit was an adventure that pushed my physical limits, tested my mental resilience, and gave me a deep sense of accomplishment. Here’s a day-by-day account of my journey to the roof of Africa via the Machame Route, one of the most popular routes for its beauty and challenge. We selected Machame route as it allows better acclimatization.

Kilimanjaro was formed from volcanic activity over 2 million years ago. It has three cones : Kobe ( dormant ), Mawenzi and Shira dead. The last eruption was 200,000 yrs ago. At the current rate of global warming, most of the ice on Kilimanjaro will disappear by 2040. The 3D image below shows ice cap of Kobe cone.

Day 0 Arrival Sat 28th Sep and briefing sun 29th Sep.

I arrived at Arusha hotel after long connecting flights Kochi-Chennai-Mumbai-Dar Es Salam-Arusha.

The Mum-DAR-Arusha sector was by Tanzanian Airlines. Met Akarshit who came from New Yorkv ia Nairobi and we proceeded to Karatu. We stayed at Farm of Dreams on 28th and started for Ngorongoro safari the next day after breakfast. The resort was excellent and we enjoyed the safari too.

For $ 360 pp, it sounds high, but we enjoyed every bit of the tour. The bulk of the money goes to govt park fee.

Sighted many animals and the bonus was the long standoff between three lions and a herd of buffaloes. See video

Reached SG Premium hotel by eve and got introduced to the group. We were 15 members.

Srikanth in the seventies came for the second attempt. Akarshit, Parth, Chitra, Harishma, Cebin, Sandeep and two Raos were experienced trekkers whereas myself and Sajeeve had done few treks on Himalayas.

Others viz Shaju, Jaipradeep, Joseph and Mohinder were trekking for the first time.

Hats off to Srikanthji who would eventually complete the trek successfully with his determination and perseverance. We had doctor ( Parth ) and Pharmacist 🙂 ( Sandeep ) among us who generously helped those in need when ever required. Cebin, an IT professional, would entertain us with his subtle humour and bachelor stories. Who ever stayed close to Srikanthji had a good dose of science and theory of lasers of all kind🙂. The Raos were like Dasan and Vijayan of Lal- Srinivasan duo of Malayalam movies, always sticking together and focussed on business at hand🙂. Harishma (she got a new name Dolly), Sajeeve, Mo-Joe, Shaju and JP made our long walks feel lighter with their jokes and anecdotes. Akarshit from US would always tag along the slowest member and was seen to assist all in a very proactive manner.

Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp (1,800m to 3,000m)

Distance: 11 km
Elevation Gain: 1,200m
Time Hiking: 6 hours

We started by 8:30 and covered 85 Km in 3 hrs by mini bus.The excitement was palpable as we arrived at Machame Gate, where our adventure officially began. After a quick briefing and meeting our guides and porters, we started the trek through the lush, dense rainforest.

The trail was mostly a gradual ascent, and the warm, humid air was thick with the sounds of wildlife.

Monkeys swung from branches above us, and vibrant birds darted between the trees.

By the time we reached Machame Camp, the landscape had begun to change.

The trees thinned out, and the cooler air reminded us that we were climbing higher.

We spent our first night in tents, surrounded by towering trees, ready to take on the challenges ahead.

Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp (3,000m to 3,850m)

Distance: 5 km
Elevation Gain: 850m
Time Hiking: 5 hours

Day two took us out of the rainforest and into the moorlands.

The vegetation changed dramatically—tall trees were replaced by shrubs and wild flowers, and we saw our first glimpses of Kubo peak of Kilimanjaro in the distance. The terrain became rockier, and the path steeper, but the views were breathtaking.

It started drizzling and rain covers, ponchos and umbrellas were out. The guides were very helpful as you can see in this video where Aseno and Konfi helped Harishma cross a difficult rocky terrain in the rain.

The massive crows of the mountain are called white necked Ravens…..they would wake up every day along with us and clean the camp area after we left the place.

We reached Shira Camp in the early afternoon, situated on a plateau with stunning panoramic views of the mountain and the surrounding plains below. The night was cold nearly zero deg c and we were officially above the clouds, giving us a sense of how high we had climbed.

Day 3: Shira Camp to Barranco Camp via Lava Tower (3,850m to 3,900m)

Distance: 10 km
Elevation Gain: 750m (to Lava Tower)
Time Hiking: 6-8 hours

This day was all about acclimatisation, and it was one of the most challenging days of the trek. We set out for Lava Tower, a volcanic rock formation standing at 4,600 meters, which would be the highest point we had reached so far.

The hike to Lava Tower was slow and steady, with the air becoming noticeably thinner. One of our group members showed me the barranco wall from Shira camp…..it felt like a huge wall standing in our way to the summit.

After lunch at Lava Tower, we descended into the Barranco Valley, a steep drop that led us to Barranco Camp.This descent was crucial for acclimatization, helping our bodies adjust to the high altitude. Barranco Camp, set beneath the imposing Barranco Wall, was one of the most picturesque campsites on the trek, surrounded by towering cliffs and strange-looking giant groundsels aka Senecio. Giant groundsels are part of the sunflower family, and are related to and evolved from the common groundsel a million years ago. We could see giant groundsels on Mount Kilimanjaro, particularly near the summit. All parts of the Senecio plant are toxic, even when dried. A toxic dose can cause severe, irreversible liver disease.

Giant groundsels have a single unbranched stem, large lobed leaves, and a cluster of yellow flowers at the top. They can grow to be over 10 feet tall, and sometimes even 20 feet or more. Giant groundsels have evolved several ways to survive in their environment. They store water in the pith of their stems, their leaves close when temperatures drop too far, have a natural anti-freeze and they insulate themselves with withered and dead foliage. Picture below shows me with two Rao garus and a giant groundsel.

Day 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp (3,900m to 3,995m)

Distance: 6 km
Elevation Gain: 95m
Time Hiking: 4-5 hours

Day four began with the daunting Barranco Wall, a nearly vertical climb that looked intimidating but turned out to be one of the highlights of the trek.We started at 7:30am and reached Karanga about 12:40 pm. Though elevation gain was not much, there were many steep ascents and descents. The “Kissing Rock” section, where we had to hug the wall to pass a narrow ledge, added a bit of excitement. Despite the challenge, the climb was interesting and the views from the top were incredible. Crossing the wall was quite a challenge but our guides were very helpful in making sure we put every step on a safe place and gave us a hand whenever needed.

After conquering the wall, we trekked through the Karanga Valley, a stark, barren landscape dotted with boulders.

Though the distance was short, the high altitude made every step feel more difficult.

We arrived at Karanga Camp early in the afternoon, giving us time to rest and prepare for the next day.

Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp (3,995m to 4,673m)

Distance: 4 km
Elevation Gain: 678m
Time Hiking: 3-4 hours

Our trek to Barafu Camp was a gradual climb, but the altitude made it one of the tougher days.

Baraf(u) means “ice” in Sanskrit (and surprisingly in Swahili too), and the camp lived up to its name. Perched on a narrow ridge with little vegetation, the camp was cold and exposed. Barafu Camp is the base camp for the summit attempt, and there was tension in the air.

There was an excellent briefing by our trek lead Baraka, answering every question we had on summit trek. There was clear guidance on protection layers ( five layers of clothes from thermals to outer jacket ), what to do and what not to do during the difficult stretch that lay ahead. The wind whipped through the tents, and we layered up to keep warm. It rained around midnight and strong winds threatened to blow away our tents.

After an early dinner at 6 :30 pm, we settled into our tents for a few hours of rest, knowing that the summit push would begin at 10:00 pm for the slower group including me ( and 11pm for the faster group ).

Day 6: Barafu Camp to Summit and downhill to Millennium Camp (4,673m to 5,895m, then down to 3,068m)

Distance: 17 km (7 km ascent, 10 km descent)
Elevation Gain: 1,222m
Time Hiking: 12-15 hours

Summit night / day ! We were woken at 9:30 pm, groggy but filled with excitement and anticipation. After drinking soup, we set off in the dark around 10 pm , our headlamps lighting the way as we trudged uphill.The air was thin, the cold biting, and the altitude making every step a challenge.
It was a mental game as much as a physical one.
I started off with the slow group comprising Sajeeve, Shaju, Harishma, Srikanth etc. I could trek strong and steady with good energy for almost 3-4 hrs. Pole Pole ( slow walk ) was the only mantra for the night !

By the time we had spent 6-7 hrs of walking uphill, making steady progress of gaining height, the air became increasingly thinner with less oxygen, making ever step forward a difficult task. Weather became extremely cold probably dropping to minus 10 or 15 Deg C.

The faster group over took us and I gave my Indian flag to Akarshit to be unfurled on top of Uhuru peak as planned. After some time, a guide probably Konfi asked me to go forward and join the fast group as he had watched my pace in previous days. I marched forward and joined Akarshit, Parth, Joe and Sandeep leaving Shaju, Sandeep and Harishma behind. How ever this depleted my energy at the time when energy saving was the need of the hour ! I could hear repeated words of Joe and Akarshit " toes and fingers "...meaning I should keep moving my toes and fingers to keep them warm.

Their voices, however, slowly faded away and I became alone with an unknown guide. I struggled to move forward, not sure it was AMS ( lacked symptoms like nausea, head ache etc) , lack of motivation ( the guide was not quite communicative ), energy depletion or no Diamox ( the tablet to counter AMS) , what ever be the reason, I had to take a tough decision of going back lest I would be a victim of frost bite and hypothermia due to prolonged exposure to snow and wind.

It was at this point that I realized how mental strength and resilience are as important as physical capacity to summit.

As safety and larger risks of evacuation stared at my face, I reluctantly decided to return to base camp. I never regretted my decision as safety comes first and summit next.
My guide accompanied me all the way to the base camp where I took rest for few hrs before starting another 4 hrs of walk downhill to Millenium camp along with JP and Baraka.

I heard from others and read my Garmin watch that my point of return ( red line) was very close to - only two hundred metres below - Stella and Uhuru peak. Here is my Strava link

The photos of those who reached the peak showed the crimson hues of sunrise above the volcanic rim which make the summit all the more attractive.

The descent was long and grueling. We made our way back down to Barafu Camp for a quick rest, then continued o Millenium Camp, where we spent our final night on the mountain, exhausted but relaxed that the ordeal was over !

Day 7: Millenium Camp to Mweka Gate (3,068m to 1,640m)

Distance: 10 km
Elevation Loss: 1,428m
Time Hiking: 3-4 hours

The final day of the trek was a descent through the rainforest, where we retraced our steps from earlier in the week. The air grew warmer, and the vegetation thicker as we descended.
The relaxed walk down the forest trail with plenty of oxygen pumped energy in to our veins.
It was an honour to pose with "Ed Murphy" and "Brian Lara", two unrelated celebrities during the descent🙂 !!

We could spot Hornbil, a common and state bird in Kerala forests and villages. Our bird is Great Indian Hornbil with huge beak and piercing sound.

It was a long trek from Millenium camp to the place where we were picked up by a vehicle. Soon we reached Mweka Gate, where we celebrated the end of our trek with a packed lunch and beer with our team.

It was the perfect way to end a week of hard work, determination and awe-inspiring moments.

The group reached Parkview inn, the hotel in Moshi and shopped at a nearby mall. The items ranged from teeny-weeny curios to expensive souvenir like Tanzanite, a precious stone found only in Tanzania. As I would gather from my copassenger ( geophysicist involved in mining gold and amethyst in Tanzania ) during my return fight, the cost is about 1.2X of diamond and 1000 times rarer as the reserves depleted and no where else it is mined.

We spent the night at the hotel in Moshi. The post dinner celebrations stretched beyond midnight with each team member narrating his or her story of encounters with the mountain.

CELEBRATION !

I left for Arusha airport around 11AM but the flight was delayed by an hour leaving only a 50 min layover at DAR airport for baggage clearance and check in. I had to literally make a 100m sprint with my luggage trolley from domestic terminal to international terminals at DAR airport. I was lucky to catch the flight and reached home by the next morning.

Final Thoughts

Climbing Kilimanjaro was a life-changing experience, not just because I could reach very close to the summit but because of everything in between—the people I met, the physical and mental challenges I overcame, several weeks of preparation and the stunning landscapes I trekked through. The mountain teaches you patience, humility, and the strength to push beyond your perceived limits. One gets humbled by the mighty mountain, always reminding us that man is just a tiny speck in the huge canvas of nature. Kilimanjaro will always hold a special place in my heart, and the memories of this journey will stay with me forever.

Photos and Videos of trek ( click to watch )

Please click home and read blogs on ny past treks as well.

References and additional info :

Kilimanjaro to the Roof of Africa

Giant Groundsels

An enchanting tour to Spiti valley- " a world within a world" * !

2022-10-03T11:20:00.076+04:00

In the mountains, there you feel free ! T.S.Eliot

After 2 years of suffocation and misery due to the pandemic, finally got a chance to revisit the mountains when I saw an ad by Mountain Academics in my runners group in social media. Having made few preliminary queries, I decided this is what I wanted to do and connected few people in my community TRITVAM and Sobha City. Gradually the team of 12 was formed and we boarded flights and trains to arrive in Chandigarh on 21st Sep 2022.

The route :

There is one more map that shows various valleys we encountered on the way.....

Arrival : Sep 20th

Kochi-Chandigarh flight was comfortable. So was the stay at Holiday Inn Chandigarh. Got introduced to the team and party started at hotel room straightaway ! Narayanan Kutty from Sobha, Pady & Ambika from Tritvam joined me and my wife Suma from Kochi, Shaju joined from Abudhabi, George and Shirley from Wayanad.

Day 1 Sep 21: Chandigarh to Narkanda

We started around 11 and passed Solan, Shimla and Kufri enroute to Narkhanda. Stayed at hotel AAA Temp was 18°C.

We were total 12 people in Tempo Traveler including tour guide Arjun and his friends Gokul, Sanal and his wife Swathy.

Day 1 Photos

Day 2 Sep 22 Narkhanda to Sangla

Started by 9 am, temp 12° C. Lunch at Badhal 2.00pm. Crossed Karcham Wangtoo hydel power plant 1100MW and 300MW Baspa project on the way to Sangla valley, reached 5.30pm. Managed to see the Kamakhya temple and Kamru fort while others explored the apple orchards near the hotel ( Negi's).The Kamru Fort has a graceful wooden balcony and at the top of the building is an idol of Kamakhya Devi (Kamakshi Devi), which is worth seeing. The idol is believed to have been brought from Guwahati and is of great importance for the people of Sangla village. There is also a Badrinath Temple in the Kamru Fort, which dates back to the 15th century and serves as the venue of a fair, held once every three years in the honor of the deity. In the procession that takes place at the time of fair, the idol of the deity is taken to Gangotri, the origin of the River Ganges

Day 2 Photos

Day 3 Sep 23 Sangla to Kalpa via Chitkul

Took a stroll into Negi's Apple orchard. Started by 9.00 am. Reached Chitkul by10.30. Temp was14 deg C. Chitkul is at a height of 3450 Meter. This is the last village of India to the side of Tibet border and this beautiful village is also by the side of Baspa river.

Trekked uphill 150M in to Indo Tibetan border and returned by 12.40. Late lunch at Reckong Peo. Reached Kalpa by 5.45. Went to see suicide point. Sheer deep gorge. Back to room by 7. pm. Temp 13. Happy hours with mutton arranged by Arjun. Prem Singh, the local coordinator arranged Kinnaur apples as samples. These tasted heavenly and sizes were huge !

Day 3 Photos

Day 4 Sep 24 Kalpa to Tabo via Nako Kwab

Watched the majestic Shivlinga peak in the Kinnaur Kailash range. Started by 9 to Tabo. Passed Kwab sangam (confluence of Sutlej and Spiti) around noon. Sutlej from Tibet and Spiti join at Kwab. The Alpine lake in Hangram was mesmerizingly beautiful ! Felt as if in Switzerland !

Passed Hangram monastery. It was interesting to see the Gue mummy in Nako. Carbon 14 dating by US researchers proved it was Buddhist monk mummy of 1430 AD discovered during 1975 earth quake. Stayed at Kezang homestay in Tabo village . Nice host and room.

Day 4 Photos

Day 5 Sep 25 Tabo to Mudh village via Dhankar

Visited Tabo monastery of 995 AD. Fantastic wall paintings of Buddha and other monks. Walked up to natural caves. Visited Dhankhar monastery on a cliff. Dhankar was once the HQ of Spiti. Wonderful sight from top. Spiti is joined by two rivers. The whole route is painted with natural rock formation like anthill. We entered Pin Valley National Park by early evening. The beauty and serenity of this village is beyond ones imagination. Reached Mudh village by 4.45. Biting cold due to previous day rain. Beautiful sights from hotel Ibex and nearby places we walked in the morning.

There was no electricity in Mudh and we managed with torch light and cold water ! According to the guy who manages the hotel, flash floods caused silting in the water used by the Hydroelectric Plants which are shut down to prevent damage to the machinery from silt, cutting power to the villages fed by the same.

Day 5 Photos

Day 6 Sep 26 Mudh to Kaza via Pin valley, Hikkim, Langcha and Komic

Enjoyed fantastic scenes in the morning. Went for trekking down to river 2.6 km. Started to Kaza by 9.15. went to fossil village, Langcha. Took pictures of the majestic golden Buddha statue.

Then to Komic, claimed to be the world's highest village with motorable road and highest restaurant. Posted cards from the worlds highest post office at Hikkim.

Reached Kaza by 4pm. Stayed at Lhasa Norling hotel. Went for shopping at the Kaza market. Got my trekking shoes repaired..The cobbler, a Punjabi, was living in such a remote place as Kaza for past 13 years. He moved from Manali as he hates cities ! His philosophy of life amazed me......He earns just enough to meet each day's expenses and is a very contended person !

Nigh temp was 6 Deg C and then fell to -2 Deg C in the dawn. The sky was crystal clear with most constellations visible to naked eye. Incidentally, Jupiter was very clear being the closest to earth since several decades ago. We lay on our back on open terrace despite chilling temperatures and enjoyed the star-studded clear sky.

Gokul captured Milkyway using his camera and it was awesome !

Day 6 Photos

Day 7 Sep 27 Kaza to Losar via Kibber, Kee Monastery, Chichum & Kumzum

Went down to riverside. Start by 10.30. Reached Kee Monastery. Kye Gompa is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of 4,166 metres. Perched on volcanic-shaped hillock, the monastery has many faintly lit rooms with windows opening in to beautiful view outside. Meditation rooms offered calm, cool and sacred place to spend some time away from mundane material world. We were offered different varieties of tea and coffee by the monk.

Reached Kibber at 4328m and 8°c. Lunch was refreshing. Crossed Chicham bridge, said to be highest hanging bridge. 125 m long. Built across 150 m deep gorge. This bridge cuts down the distance between Kibber and Losar villages by 40kms. The gorge is called Samba Lamba Nalla by the natives.

Since Chandrataal campsite lacked facilities, we decided to stay at Losar.

Reached Losar by 4.45. 4100 m high. Very cold. Photo session near river with tent. Enjoyed campfire in the night. Captain Kutty was at his best ! Samsong guest house and hostess were exemplary given the scant resources available.

Day 7 Photos

Day 8 Sep 28 Losar-Chandra Taal- Manali

Started early to Chandra Taal. Went past Kunzum La pass at 4564 m ( highest point of our tour ) on the way. Chandra Taal lake was so beautiful that people got engaged in meditative moments, non-stop photo sessions, push ups and planking. Chandra Taal, meaning "Lake of Moon', is a deep blue crystal clear water body in a crescent shaped valley. The surreal beauty of the Chandra Taal looks as if heavens have meticulously hand-painted this Kohinoor of nature with their own palette.

The Chandra Taal lake flamboyantly nestles under the azure blue skies. The lake glitters like a turquoise pendant against the cold-barren mountains of Spiti valley. The divinely beautiful lake reflects myriad hues ranging from reddish-orange to turquoise blue to shiny emerald as the day progresses. The changing colors add an element of mystery to the magical ambiance of the lake.

On the way to Manali, we stopped by Chachi Chacha restaurant in Batal and had lunch. The old couple had been manning the place for past 50 years !!

Batal to Spiti cut road was very tough and is said to be the most treacherous roads in the world. Reached Atal tunnel by 6.30...it was 9 KM long ! Stayed at Naina hotel in Vasisht in Manali. Good hotel with view of the mountains from balcony. Hats off to Shanu the driver, who brought us safe to Manali, driving on the most dangerous road I have ever seen. At many places, we were sitting on the edge of our seats as the vehicle zipped past off-road tracks and often on wet river crossings and huge pebbles.

Day 8 Photos

Day 9 Sep 29 Manali sight seeing and trek to Jogini falls

Second night at Naina hotel. Visited Vasisht temple on the way to Jogini waterfall It was tough but awesome trek ! Went close to the waterfall and felt out of the world !

Did Zip line on the way back along with Captain Kutty. Great experience !

Sumptuous lunch at Freedom cafe. Went for shopping at Mall road, truly a shoppers paradise !

Day 9 Photos

Day 10 Sep 30 Manali to Delhi

Started by 7.30. Bought apples on the way but it was no where near the Kinnaur quality or size ! Crossed Aut tunnel 2.6 km long. HPs first tunnel. Lunch at Shivam dhaba. Bid farewell to some of the team members at Chandigarh by 7 pm. Delhi bound car started by 7.20 and reached room by 1.00 am. It was quite tedious journey all the way from Manali and took more than 17 hrs ! The National Highway Authority of India is building 14 tunnels between Manali and Chandigarh. It will reduce the travel time between Chandigarh and Manali from 9-10 hours ( probably with no traffic ! ) to nearly 7 hours.

Slept well at RedFox hotel near Delhi airport and reached Kochi on 1st afternoon !

Tail piece

Thanks to Mountain Academics and a great team for making this tour such a wonderful experience that would stick to our memory for a long time !

Special thanks to Subin of MA for explaining the tour details ahead of his trek in Uttarakand ( glad we got him back after his weather aborted attempt ), Arjun who managed the whole tour very well in his absence and Jayakrishnan for remote support.

Food

We enjoyed excellent food in all places we stayed and small eateries on the way. Mostly Parathas, Dal, Sabji Achar and Butter dominated the menu. The local food items that one should not miss include Momos, Thukpa ( noodle soup) , Butter tea etc The smaller hotels or home stays at high altitudes are run by ladies who work hard by maintaining the property as well as cooking food for guests. Govt banned liquor in some places to prevent men folk from getting drunk and ignoring family duties ! Everywhere we got hot tea or coffee early morning followed by Bread Omlette, Poha or Aloo Paratha in the morning to kick start our day

Weather and Altitude sickness

Most places we stayed had quite comfortable weather. The temperature dipped to minus 2 deg c at Kaza but I felt Mudh was colder due to rain in the previous eve.

Kaza has been rated as Highest inhabited village in the world at an altitude of 4587 M (14,830 ft). As the oxygen level was below normal, few of us felt some heavy breathing but in general we didn't face any major issue due to altitude.

Brief History of the Spiti Valley

The history of Spiti can be traced to Mesozoic Era. Around 150 million years ago, the landmass on earth was split into two continents – Laurasia and Gondwana. Tethys Sea, the only ocean, used to be between these continents. These two continents started drifting towards each other resulting in a collision and formation of the Himalayas. Tethys Sea disappeared and the once-living creatures of the sea died and turned into fossils. Spiti Valley is the part of the trans-Himalayan range where the Tethys Sea used to exist and the fossilized creatures can still be found in few areas of the valley. Fossil imprints on stone are easy to find and we came across local people selling them in Spiti Valley.

Social and environmental aspects

In the past, the tribal villagers of Lahaul and Spiti have organised several campaigns to oppose new hydel projects in their region. Himachal Pradesh has a total identified potential of 27,400 MW, of which only 10,519 MW has been generated so far. A majority of the projects are proposed in Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts. All these dam projects require blasting and drilling of hills, and constructing tunnels in the mountains. “We have seen what happened in our Kinnaur district, where a large number of such projects are under construction. All the debris is dumped along the rivers, which flows into them. Rivers are being killed,” said a local NGO. To mitigate power shortage, HP govt is mulling a World Bank-funded solar project in the idyllic Himachal region which poses a threat to local tribals and rare animals. Residents of Tashigang, Gete, Kibber and Chicham villagers who graze their livestock in the proposed site are worried. The 800MW project by the Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd is set to come up on 3,104 hectares of land, spread across six villages. Read here for more details.

Courtesy :

* A world within a world- Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling had described Spiti valley as 'a world within a world' in his celebrated novel Kim. Over a century has passed, but not much has changed in this world, as it continues to remain relatively unknown, hidden between multiple folds of valleys and mountains, a world within another world. The name 'Spiti' means 'The Middle Land', i.e. the land between Tibet and India. Bordered by Ladakh in the north, Tibet to the east, Kinnaur to the south east, and the Kullu Valley to the south, this peculiar cold desert spans an area of almost 8000 sq km.

Pictures : From team members especially the stunning post card magic by Gokul Bro !

Travel notes : George and Shirley

How to reach Mountain academics ?

https://mountainacademics.in/

+91 98695 34241
+91 99466 61234
info@mountainacademics.in

RANDOM PICTURES :

RANDOM PICS and CLIPS ( click to watch )

My previous treks :

Pearling Trail Bahrain

Gosaikundu Trek Nepal

Lord Curzon Trek Uttarakand

ABC Trek ( only pics)

Home

Pearling Trail trek on Bahrain National day 16-12-2020

2020-12-17T19:31:00.019+04:00

This was my first time to witness the joyful and vibrant celebrations of Bahrain national day. Moreover COVID19 forced us to be within the country whole year and trekking on the mountains was not possible. So I decided to make use of the opportunity and explore Bahrain during national day holidays.

I had read about the Pearling Trail last year but my plans to visit the trail were aborted due to the pandemic and the holidays for National day made the perfect setting to this exploration.

Bahrain has rich tradition and culture not much known outside the kingdom. The history and importance of pearl probably made the creators of the trail choose the name.

Origin of Name and a bit of history of Bahrain :

Bahrayn is the dual form of Arabic bahr ("sea"), so al-Bahrayn originally means "the two seas",It remains disputed which "two seas" the name Bahrayn originally refers to. Today, Bahrain's "two seas" are generally taken to be the bay east and west of the island.

An alternate theory with regard to Bahrain's toponomy is offered by the al-Ahsa region, which suggests that the two seas were the Great Green Ocean (the Persian Gulf) and a peaceful lake on the Arabian mainland. Until the late Middle Ages, "Bahrain" referred to the region of Eastern Arabia that included Southern Iraq, Kuwait, Al-Hasa, Qatif, and Bahrain. The region stretched from Basra in Iraq to the Strait of Hormuz in Oman. This was Iqlīm al-Bahrayn's "Bahrayn Province". The exact date at which the term "Bahrain" began to refer solely to the Awal archipelago is unknown. The entire coastal strip of Eastern Arabia was known as "Bahrain" for a millennium.

Bahrain was home to Dilmun, an important Bronze Age trade centre linking Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley. During the classical era, Bahrain was referred to by the ancient Greeks as Tylos, the centre of pearl trading, when the Greek admiral Nearchus serving under Alexander the Great landed on Bahrain.
Some place names in Bahrain go back to the Tylos era; for instance the name of Arad, a residential suburb of Muharraq, is believed to originate from "Arados", the ancient Greek name for Muharraq !! Bahrain was also the site of worship of an ox deity called Awal. For many centuries after Tylos, Bahrain was known as Awal

The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, in the year 2013 set out to preserve and revive the spirit of this historical area, highlighting its social and economic importance. Visitors to the area can follow "The Pearl Route", a pathway extending 3.5 kilometers from Pearl Herat to the heart of Muharraq. This includes various buildings, oyster beds, and parts of the seashore which were involved in the pearling economy, especially in the 19th century. The route also includes a modern-built visitor centre and two public squares. The buildings listed by UNESCO were the residences and majlises of rich pearl merchants, along with shopping establishments, storage houses. The golden age of pearling was between the 1850s to 1930. There were around 30,000 pearl divers by the end of 1930, as pearling was the principal industry in Bahrain prior to the discovery of oil in 1932

For centuries, the oyster beds located off the northern shores of Bahrain were famous for the quality of their pearls, the density of their oysters, and the high ratio of pearl discoveries made during the pearl collecting season. The reputation of Bahrain’s oyster beds as the richest in the Arabian Gulf meant that in the season, pearling dhows from Qatar, Kuwait and the South Persian coast sailed to join pearling fleets from Muharraq and the main island of Bahrain in the quest for the prized natural treasures. They were able to do so because the waters of the Arabian Gulf were considered the common property of all its coastal dwellers.

Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy” has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in June 2012, which granted a global recognition to the significance of the site

The Pearling Trail

There are many maps in the public domain to visit places in the trail, but I found below map more useful and simple. Moved from point to point starting from the visitor center opposite Muharraq bus station.

(A) Saffron Café / Suq Al Qaysariya
(B) Mohammad Bin Faris Music Hall (and the house/museum next to it)
(C) Buzaboon House + Vertical Garden
(D) Abdullah Al Zayed House for Bahraini Press Heritage
(E) Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammed Center for Culture & Research (and surrounding projects)
(F) Isa bin Ali House
(G) Busaad Art Gallery
(H) Siyadi House & Mosque
(I) Al Oraifi Museum
(K) Maison Jamsheer

I started the trail at visitor center. However, as the center would only open at noon, I planned to return to same after finishing other spots.

I collected nice info booklets from the person manning Abdullah Al Zayed House. The entry pass costs BD1. The ticket has QR codes for each location that you can scan and use Google maps to reach he sites !! One can get details of most key locations from the reviews or "about" tab of the Google search page. Wish the QR codes were printed

with some description and spaced apart for ease of use.

It appeared that the staff lacked training in tourism and heritage though the whole concept of connecting each site was well conceived with the larger picture of educating the public about Bahrain's tradition and culture. Some of them were quite friendly and helped in guiding from one place to other. It was not always easy to locate the sites though the pearl topped lamp-posts were quite useful. Word of the mouth played the trick most of the time.

I would request the authorities to keep well trained staff at the start and end points with the info packages so that visitors can plan the trek and understand importance of each site before reaching there.

The coffee shop, Children's library, water garden, Art House, Press Heritage centre and vertical garden etc are impressive even to those not quite interested in heritage or history. Some of the buildings displayed subtle blend of modern architecture without damaging the delicate fabric of traditional design.

The captain's (nukhida) house was historically a very important place for the pearling industry. Visitors and divers who came to Bahrain were hosted here, and ship crews met up ahead of the pearl diving season

The music hall located Near Mohamed bin Faris House is still used to host musical evenings and folklore troupes to revive the music of the Gulf. I believe there are music events every Thursday 8 PM ( stopped temporarily due to the pandemic ).

Enjoyed the walk from the music hall towards Vertical garden and Buzaboon house as I had the opportunity to stop at small shops on the way and feel the pulse of traders of different nationalities. For example it was amazing to know that Satish, the elderly person from Kerala India running the wooden handicrafts shop has been doing the same job for more than 20 years ! An artist of wood work, he now supervises apprentices in same trade. The sweet shops , pet shops where talking parrots entertain the visitors and tiny textile shops on narrow streets full of glittering red and white dresses for national day were all excellent treat to the eyes, ears and mind !

The intricate designs of the wood carving displayed in front of Satish's handicraft shop were amazing work of high quality art !

Opening Hours

The following houses and sites on the path are open to the public:

Pearling Path Visitor and Experience Centre

open daily from 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm except on Sundays

Al Nukhidhah House

open daily from 8:00 am – 1:00 pm, 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm except on Fridays

Over all, I enjoyed visiting the Pearling Trail and recommend every citizen and resident of Bahrain interested in Bahrain's heritage to visit these sites. I have shared the images and videos shot during the trek which can accessed by clicking this link

The Culture Pass allows a visit to Manamat Al Gosaibi a memorial house in honour of Saudi's beloved public figure Dr Gazi Abdul Rahman Al Gosaibi in the heart of Manama. He was a renowned poet, outspoken liberal, reformist, minister and ambassador to Bahrain.

The "green stairway to heaven" in side the Manamat al Gosaibi. This quiet memorial house very close to the hustle and bustle of Manama souq was a pleasant surprise !

The National day celebration ended with a visit to the Bahrain Bay where I watched a fantastic fireworks display. Captured it live and shared in this link. The huge crowd gathered on all sides of the bay was enthralled by dazzling pyrotechnics that lit up Bahrain sky.

Trek to Gosaikund- the 8 days we blended with nature

2018-10-19T18:18:00.002+04:00

Great things are done when men and mountains meet-William Blake

Having done few treks in India and Nepal, I was looking forward to another one this year when Murali suggested Gosaikund. I didn’t have to think twice after making few checks on the Google about the place and weather. When the Himalayas beckon, you just succumb !

The route :

The Nepal map below shows the location of Langtang region ( box 8) we trekked with respect to other regions and peaks.

While trekking, our plan was to stay at following locations :

Start- Katmandu -1200m

Day-1 Thulo Barkhu-1860m

Day-2 Thulo Syabru-2230m

Day-3 Sing Gompa-3327m

Day-4 Gosaikunda-4425m

Day-5 Gopte-3457m

Day-6 Kutumsangu-2567m

Day-7 Chisapani-2150m

End-Katmandu -1200m

Langtang region is directly accessible by road from Kathmandu. The serenity of the place and kindness of the people we met were the key attractions of the route.

Our team :

The team we formed was perfect size and of similar age group ( from 54 to 58).

Pierre, Jean-Luc, Murali, Sajeev and myself. All except Jean-Luc are colleagues at Yokogawa and Jean-Luc is from Indonesia.

Our guide: Prithuman aka PM

Porters : Pema, Langdon,Parbe, Babu, Ram

PM is highly skilled guide with training obtained in Nepal and Japan. Speaks good English, knows all one needs to know as guide for an international group.

Destination-Gosaikundu

Gosai Kunda is an alpine freshwater lake in Nepal's Langtang National Park, located at an altitude of 4,380 m (14,370 ft) in the Rasuwa District with a surface of 13.8 ha (34 acres).Together with associated lakes, the Gosaikunda Lake complex is 1,030 ha (4.0 sq mi) in size. There are 108 lakes in this area, small to medium in size. We also crossed the challenging Lauribina pass at an altitude of 4,610 m (15,120 ft) just above Gosaikund.

The lake melts and flows down to form the Trishuli River and remains frozen for six months in winter October to June.

According to Hindu mythology, Gosaikunda was formed when Lord Shiva struck his Trident ( Trishul ) in to the ground to extract water so that he could cool his stinging throat after he had swallowed poison produced from samudra manthana.

The samudra manthana ( churning of the ocean) is one of the best-known episodes in the Hindu mythology narrated in the Bhagavata Purana, in the Mahabharata and in the Vishnu Purana. The samudra manthana explains the origin of amrita, the nectar of immortality. Siva drank the lethal poison which escaped from the snake king during the churning process to protect the world. To know more about the story, click the link above.

As a matter of coincidence, my earlier trek in Uttarakand started at Haridwar, one of the 4 places where the nectar ( amruth ) fell on earth ( others being Prayaga (Allahabad), Trimbak (Nashik) and Ujjain). It is also an entry point to the Char Dham (the four main centers of pilgrimage in Uttarakhand viz, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri),

27^th Sep Thursday

We arrived at Kathmandu airport and were received by PM and his team and garlanded by his sweet daughter. Stayed at Hotel Mudita a comfy place away from the city noise and neons.

28^th Sep Friday

Katmandu to Thulo Bharku – 8 hours drive 110km -1200m to 1900m

After breakfast we started off in two TATA Sumo jeeps.

The road to Thulo Barkhu was picturesque, winding through the country sides steadily gaining height via Thrisuli and Dunche. How ever many places the road was severely damaged in 2015 earth quake and we felt as if we were sailing a yacht on rough seas !

We stopped at Trishuli for lunch .....obvious choice was Dal Bhat the common food comprising rice, millet soup / curry with a vegetarian dish typically radish/ potato / beans plus corn papads and pickles.

It was a big relief when we reached our first place of stay after a long and tiring ride-Krishi Rainbow Trout Fish farm and Lodge.

Just above the farm, there was a water wheel to turn the religious Ohm Mane Padamane drum.

They were farming Trout fish on several concrete tanks of water built on natural steps

on the mountain slope. We had some fresh fish fried for dinner- quite delicious indeed !

Day 1 –Saturday 29^th Sep

Thulo Barkhu to Thulo Syabru -6h 11KM from 1900m to 2250m

Our trek was through the beautiful Langtang National Park which was the first among many on Himalayas and designated in 1970. It is close to Kathmandu and stretches all the way to Tibetan border. The landscape, vegetation and lifestyle already changed as we drove and trekked.

Legend : Thulo means “ big” and Bensi means “ lower”.

The oak and maple trees give way to pine and fir trees as we go up. The Langtang Lirung peak is at 7234m

Culturally the park is home to many ethnic groups mostly Tamangs. (derived from Tibetan Ta-mang =horse trader.

We visited a traditional village of stone and wood houses with children playing and older women gossip and spin the woollen thread while husbands lazily split bamboo for mats and baskets. The open weave mats are used for fencing and close-weave mat is used for roof and floor covering.

We went for a walk through the village downhill. Suddenly Murali called for help as he was bitten by leach ! PM could deftly pluck the devil out of Murali's leg and threw it away.....before the damage was done.

The leech landed on a tree trunk with its tail flung up with disappointment !

We stayed at lodge Hotel Evening View & Restaurant

We found there are way too many lodges constructed after earth quake to attract few trekkers on this route at this season.

The time we spent with the woman with spinning wheel and the enterprising lady with two girls was quite an investment in learning the Sabru life better and closer.

We walked further down and met with a woman weaving woolen bands . Sajeev bought quite a few. There was a drunkard man on the way who tried to impress us with an “ unique “ herb of strong pungent taste which turned out to be Thyme.

The lady with girls served us quite refreshing mint green tea on our way back. The smaller of the girls was adopted from a poor mother who lost her husband in the earth quake. The lady sold us a book titled “ easy trek” in lower Langtang part of an UNDP project to help local community. We were impressed by her positive attitude to life and flaw less English.

We visited the lodge owned by a music lower for beer and enjoyed some exquisite pieces of musical instruments and antique collection in the hall.

Collection of traditional musical instruments of the shop owner

Day 2 –Sunday 30^th Sep

Thulo Syabru to Sing Gompa -7 h 10KM from 2250m to 3327m

This was quite a steep climb. Though most part was through forest we found this very tough as there were several highs and lows to cover.

We could see some very thick forestation in this route.......

The forest was just as magical and heavenly as it looks in the photos. Huge trees framed winding stone paths upwards, and you would wonder why the “Lord of the Rings” director went to New Zealand instead of shooting the entire forest scenes here.

The Tarzans of our groups –Jean-Luc and Sajeev – dared the hidden dangers inside a hollow tree and climbed in to the tree just in time to pose for a perfect picture as we reached the spot !

As we climbed further, we could see wider and wider views of the surrounding snow peaks of Langtang range, Ganesh Himal etc....

The stunning views of these mountain ranges and vast meadows were the elixir that we needed to keep pushing and motivated to drag ourselves up despite the enormous strain and pain on the legs and whole body at least for some of us.

We stayed at Hotel Yak & Nak.

We visited the cheese factory at Sing Gompa where Yak- oops Nak is the right word as Yak is male J-cheese is produced for local consumption and export to Kathmandu..

The owner, a smart and young entrepreneur said he sells 3000 kgs of Nak cheese a month and owns hundreds of Yak and Nak in his farm. Though I am not a cheese lover, I bought some Nak cheese and it really tasted nice........

We visited the Gompa nearby. A Gompa is a Tibetan meditation room where people meditate and listen to teachings.

Sing Gompa has the statue of thousand armed Avalokiteshvara which means bodhisattva who appears in different forms and genders in different cultures. From Sanskrit, his name means "the lord who looks down." He represents the compassion of all Buddhas.

Day 3 –Monday 1st Oct

Sing Gompa – Gosaikunda 8 hrs 20 mt 11.9KM from 3327m to 4426m

We climbed total 1205m and descended 85m through forests and later on some tough rocky terrain. It was one of the toughest days for us. We were concerned about AMS ( Acute Mountain Sickness) due to lack of acclimatization but all went well and no one had any major health problems.

Emerging from the forests of moss and fern, there were lovely views of Langtang Lirung (7,225m) and Ganesh Himal (7,429m). This area marks the transition from the moist mountain forests to the north and the dry scrub of the southern slopes.

The tough terrain and long walk of 12 km were challenging to some of us ....

No more tall trees which meant we were missing all the oxygen rich air while walking through thick forest the previous day. Also there was less oxygen in the air due to higher altitude. It was double whammy to the trekkers struggling to execute the long and steep climb and the only relief was the beautiful snow peaks slicing through the mist and clouds once in a while.

As we progressed, we were rewarded with bright blue skies, and a view of the mountain range was crystal clear ! Magnificent.

We stopped at Laurebina (3900m) for lunch.

Climbing to over 4,000m, we started having good view of the lakes. Gosainkund is the third lake (4,380m) where there is a shrine housing a revered lingam symbolizing Shiva. According to legend, Shiva released the waters of the holy lakes with his trident, and the black rock in the center of the lake is said to be his head.

Janai Purnima, a sacred festival of hindus, especially performed by the Brahmins and Chettris, falls on August; Shrawan according to Nepalese calendar. The trekkers from all around the world can experience the huge amount of visit of nepalese people during the trek of Gosaikunda.

Nepalese celebrate the day of Janai Purnima by trekking to Gosaikunda lake, the sacred place of Hindu god Shiva. More than thousand people are said to trek every year on this day. So if you want to be part of the intense crowd, trek during this festival or as we did, pick peaceful and calm months succeeding August.

The hotel amenities were quite “ basic” as our guide PM would alert us. After a long trek usual, we had refreshing shower but this time it was under the sky with a bucketful of lukewarm water. As the water fell on the shivering body, all the pain and exhaustion disappeared and I got super charged and got ready for the “happy hours”. After dinner and drinks we set out to watch the starry night sky.

Pierre was an enthusiastic star gazer.....I thought we saw Venus, Mars and many known constellations like Orion, Ursa Major/ minor, Virgo Herdsman etc......

He wouldn’t mind climbing few meters higher at midnight to keep away from light pollution and catch a perfect view of the sky !

I forgot to mention we played cards for some time and that was quite obnoxious in the otherwise silent lodge !

In the evening, we had stepped out to see the magnificent lakes nearby including Gosaikund our destination spot.

When every one else had retired to relax after a tiring day, Jean-Luc did a “ parikrama” ( to go around ) of the holy lake like any devout Hindu would do ! Bundle of energy indeed......Nestle should feel proud !

This night was studded with more stars than we found in Sing Gompa.

We did star gazing again......with the vicinity of the serene lakes, many of us would become poets .......

The milky way was perfectly visible and glittered like a white Pashmina shawl draped over the shoulder of a lady wearing numerous diamond jewels on her naked dark blue body !! .........no wonder Wordsworth wrote :

CLOUDS, lingering yet, extend in solid bars

Through the grey west; and lo! these waters, steeled

By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield

A vivid repetition of the stars;

Jove, Venus, and the ruddy crest of Mars

Amid his fellows beauteously revealed

At happy distance from earth's groaning field,

Where ruthless mortals wage incessant wars.

Is it a mirror?--or the nether Sphere

Opening to view the abyss in which she feeds

Her own calm fires?--But list! a voice is near;

Great Pan himself low-whispering through the reeds,

'Be thankful, thou; for, if unholy deeds

Ravage the world, tranquility is here!'

We did find tranquility all over the mountains....and in plenty !

Jove=Jupitar

The surface of Gosaikund was indeed " steeled by breezeless air to smootheset finish " !!

Day 4 Tuesday 2^nd Oct

Gosaikunda-Gopte 8 hrs 20 mt 15.1KM from 4426m to 3452m

We left early morning as we had a long way to cover. The water was freezing in the tap as the temperature in the night and dawn was sub-zero !

We came across more lakes as we walked like Ganesh Kunda, Surya Kunda etc....

The view of the lakes in the morning was breathtaking !

Legend says there is a revered lingam stone symbolizing Shiva submerged in the Gosaikund lake. We tried hard but couldn’t spot the lingham.

The view of the lakes illuminated by bright sunny rays was magical, mystical and magnificent!

There is steady inflows and outflows of water that keep the lake water constantly moving beneath the calm and still outer surface just like a someone in distress suppressing his emotions with a calm and composed face.

There was certain heaviness in the air due to the apparent stillness of the lake and absolute silence draping the valley.......

As sun got brighter and brighter, the lake started sparkling like a fresh cut diamond !!

Once we left Gosaikunda, for an hour or so, the trail offered abundant views of multi coloured rocks and boulders, huge gorges and waterfalls. We crossed the point where, so says the legend, Shiva stuck his Trident and water has been gushing out from the mountain for thousands of years!

After 200 m of stiff climb, we reached Laurebina Pass (4,610m) the highest point of our trek. We took photos to mark our successful summiting the pass. The view of far away snow peaks from the pass was beautiful.

Nature has splashed multiple colours on the Gosai canvas as an invisible artist ......most of them looked like very carefully painted bathic art work......see the video below

The descent was quite long and monotonous. After some time thick mist engulfed entire trail and visibility was poor.

For several hours, we saw only steps of stones and no change in the topology.

On the way down, we stopped for lunch at Phedi near a place where a Thai airline had crash landed few years ago. The tea house show cased one of the parts of the plane as hunters would hang stuffed-tiger head as prime catch !

The lunch tasted one of the best we ever had as we were totally exhausted and any food was nectar to us.

We kept climbing down hill and had tea at upper Gopte. We crossed several rivers on the way......every river meant a long descent and steep climb immediately afterwards!

The good news was that the terrain changed in colour and texture. The colourful flora and fauna greeted us when we got down.

We reached Gupte quite late evening and stayed at a lodge which also had “ basic “ amenities. But it was quite refreshing as we enjoyed hot shower from LPG fired heater. It was a delicate temperature control system only the experienced knew how to tune to get continuous flow of hot water.

Day 5 Wednesday 3^rd Oct

Gopte- Kutumsanga 8 hrs 40 mt 17.5KM from 3452m-2567m

This was a hard trek as we descended 1563m and climbed 689m.
The view from the lodge was amazing as the sun was painting the sky with crimson as it rose like a bindi on the forehead of eastern horizon !

We started the day with steep climb and had tea at Tadepati ( aptly translates to Shelter on Top ) and lunch at Mogankut.

The trail had a lot of scar marks of earth quake and some rocks appeared to be dangling dangerously !

Only the brave ones stopped and posed for a photo ☺!

Many times we would be confused which way to choose as the trail would fork in to two. Our porters marked the correct direction by scratching an arrow on the soil.

Day 6 Thursday 4^th Oct

Kutumsanga-Chisopani 8 hrs 55 mt 19.5KM from 2567m-2150m

This was the hardest route of the whole trek. Total climb was 810m and descent was 1200m.

Started the day with a visit to a golden coloured beautiful stupa on the way.

Here we walked through green forests full of oxygen. There was a beautiful meadow that gave us a plenty of photo opportunity.

The long walk winding through the hills, numerous ups and downs across streams and gorges was interesting and we enjoyed it. There were many places with rocks and rubbles scattered from earth quake and trail was rebuilt by local people.

For the first time after 6 days we could hear honking of trucks as we approached a village connected by motorable road.

Some of us were stretched to the brink and blisters developed on toes due to long walk and constant compression by the shoes as we kept moving down steep slopes.

It rained for few minutes as we crossed the military check post and about half an hour from the hotel in Chisopani.

As we were following arrow marks, we stopped at an arrow that asked us to go back on a road parallel to the one we used..... we retraced our path for some time and reached a spot where the arrow directed us towards Chisopani. Confused, we called our base and two porters came to our rescue and explained that the arrow in reverse direction was drawn by others. Since this incident we were careful not to blindly follow the arrows.

The loooong walk, rain and detour sapped all our energy and finally when we reached the lodge we realized the value of a shelter ! After quick shower and some very good black tea we regained our strength. This was was severely hit by the earth quake as we could see from adjacent dilapidated building leaning like pisa tower !

Day 7 Friday 5^th Oct

Chisopani-Sundarijal 5 hrs 9.6 KM from 2150m-1399m

Total climb was 360m and we descended 1077m.

We had nice lemon tea at a tea house.

While going downhill on dirt road, Sajeev shouted “ leaches beware” !

There were millions of these tiny dancing creatures all over the trail. Both Sajeev and I darted on the dirt road and stopped only when these disappeared.

Pierre also walked fast with us but never suspected these to be leaches as PM would confirm later.

Sundarijal was a beautiful place where we could see a water fall and mini dam.

The walk through the forest was very pleasant and helped us develop appetite ahead of sumptuous lunch in the capital hotel Muditha.

PM arranged a mini bus for all of us and we reached Muditha hotel in Kathmandu within an hour.

After lunch we all went to nearby Pasupathnath temple except Murali.

We could see a huge Nandi ( bull ) in front of sanctum sanctorum

As he is the assistant of the main god of Shiva - he can also grant many boons. In South India - there is a tradition of talking one's wish to Nandi's ears that is then believed to be granted. I would say Nandi is like a personal secretary to CEO in business world ☺

The shore of the rivulet was busy with people performing the rituals of cremating dead bodies. It was quite a sight for Pierre and Jean-Luc to watch the final rituals ahead of cremation and cremation itself live !

As Sajeev and I went inside the temple ( only Hindus are allowed inside ) Pierre and J-L captured the cremation rituals on camera. They even noticed that people gathered downs tream of the river fought to retrieve the gold piece thrust in to dead person’s mouth by the deceased 's relatives.

The Pasupathinath temple was devastated during earth quake. Rebuilding efforts were seen in full swing. We could see swarm of monkeys jostling all over the place.

On the way back we crossed a play ground where found many " kite runners " ....
No wonder Khaled Hosseini chose this title for his famous novel as it dealt with contrasting colours of a typical kite battle .........

I remembered the days when I used to make Manja thread to cut other kites in fierce kite wars .....my gurus were my cousins in Chennai.....

Manja is a cocktail of fine powdered glass from smashed tube lights, industrial adhesives called vajram, flour plus some abrasive chemicals.

After we returned to hotel, we did shopping around the Boudhnath area.

It was time for PM to say “thank you “to us and he did in style !

He took us to his sisters tea shop where ample homemade food and drinks were served with love and affection.

There was so much laugh and noise when kids got closer and started playing with Jean-Luc. It was this subtle thread of Nepalese culture that was binding the God given mountain beauty with the people of the land visible to us and helped us enjoy the trek throughout our time in Nepal.

Namaste Nepal ! Namaste Himalayas....we will come again !

References : Hand notes by Pierre and guide book "Easy Trek the lower Langtang ". Also Google search used. As the details are used with the good intention of promoting Nepal tourism, no attempt to seek permission was made. In case of any objection, material will be removed from the blog.

A memorable trek through the gateway to God and nature

2014-09-23T17:15:00.002+04:00

A memorable trek through the gateway to God and nature

When Praveen’s daughter Gopika read about the Lord Curzon trek route in the heart of Himalayas, she wouldn’t have thought these pages would ignite the fire in the belly of a group of 6 middle aged persons including her dad with no trekking experience to attempt this trek!

The desire to trek on Himalayas started growing day by day and after few chats Praveen had with Sasi and Anand during the routine evening walk. The plan was finally hatched with the help of Google Guru in the month of May 2014. After careful study of several options, a 4 day trek by GIO Adventure was chosen. GIO conducts several adventure activities like trekking, rafting etc. on the Himalayas. The package we selected was quite cost effective as they offered 6 days of fun for just Rs 11,350 including two way transport between start point of trek and Hardwar.

Having decided on the trek route and organizer of the trek, the next task was to pick the members and suitable time. The initial group comprised of Sasi, Anand, Praveen, Sajeeve, Girish, Nanda and Narayanan Kutty. Anand and Girish opted out leaving rest of the five to go forward. Nanda added his friend living in Hardwar, raising the group strength to six.

Since the best time for trek is between Sep and Nov, the group selected Sep 13 to 18^thwhich suited all members.

Most of us spent the vacation during July-August outside Dubai and this left with us just about a month to prepare! A tough challenge indeed considering the warning by GIO that our soft muscles needed to be toughened prior to the trek as it is called “ Moderate+” as per trek-terminology !

Once we returned from vacation towards end Aug/early Sep, we started collecting trekking gear as per list provided by GIO. Finally we were ready with all stuff required just a day or two before we boarded the flight on 12^th Sep!

We flew to Dehradun via Delhi on 12^th Sep and stayed at SRS Lakhya hotel in Hardwar which is about 1.5 hr drive from Dehradun ( rent Rs 3500 for double ).The driver of the taxi was a strange person who kept driving all the way from Dehradun to Hardwar when the hungry group wanted to stop for a bite, having missed breakfast during flights.

Hardwar

According to Hindu mythology, Haridwar is one among the four sites (others being Ujjain, Nasik and Allahabad)where drops of the elixir of immortality, Amrita, accidentally spilled over from Kumbha, in which it was being carried away by the celestial bird Garuda.

The spot where the Amrita (nectar) fell is considered to be the Brahma Kund at Har-ki-Pauri (literally, "footsteps of the Lord," and symbolically the footprints of the Amrita)

Sasi and Captain near Hari-ki-Pauri

It is also an entry point to the Char Dham (the four main centers of pilgrimage in Uttarakhand viz, Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri), hence, Shaivism (followers of Lord Shiva) and Vaishnavism (followers of Lord Vishnu) call this place Hardwar and Haridwar respectively, corresponding to Har being Shiv and Hari being Vishnu

On 12^th eve, we visited Hariki Podi on the banks of Ganges.

The Shiva temple is famous for pilgrims swarming in thousands from all over India to have a dip in the holy river to wash off their sins to attain Moksha. We all did the same though the “dip” was a ceremonious sprinkling of the muddy water followed by sermons by messengers of Shiva offering their “service “ for a hefty sum.

The service included “ Aarti” which was to offer flowers and lamp to Ganga devi kept on a small plate and floating on the water. As the the Brahmins chanted the slogas with sincerity on our behalf, we all watched our sins getting washed off in to the flowing river and got back relieved and light hearted !

The forces of faith and devotion could be felt all over the place and manifested in the form of prohibitive gestures from few local devotees as some of us tried to wash our feet in the water…..

When we left the ghat, the burning question in our mind was whether Ganga washed us clean or we made the holy river dirtier……

The sixth member of our group joined us for dinner at the hotel and we planned our activities for the next 4 days.

Hardwar to Auli by Temp Travellor – 8 hours drive on 13^th Sep Saturday

After we finished breakfast we were picked up by GIO in aTempo Traveller at 8:30 AM .

The journey to the start point of the trek in Auli would take about 8 hours.

The road to Auli was picturesque, winding along side river Alagananda most of the time.

On the way, we could see two major confluences viz Devaprayag which joins Alagananda and Bhageerathi and Rudraprayag which is the meeting point of Alagananda and Mandagini. Alagananda originates from Badrinath and Bhageerathi starts from Gangothri. Its main tributaries of Alagananda are Mandakini, Nandakini, and Pindar rivers.

The group near Devaprayag

We were woken up when the vehicle stopped and there was a long traffic bock ahead of us. We then saw the shocking accident just few cars ahead of us where a bus had smashed the rails of a bridge and toppled in the river…….we were later told 16 out of 32 people in that bus lost their lives.

We reached Auli at 7 PM and stayed at the beautiful GIO lodge over looking the mighty mountains.

Auli is a beautiful place at 2450m and the temperature was already cool 10 Deg.

In Auli there is a small Hanuman temple having some connection to Ramayana. The belief of people is when Laxman, younger brother of Lord Rama got injured fighting the Rakshas in Lanka (Sri Lanka). A medic ordered that only the herb name 'Sanjivani' found on Sanjivani mountain in Himalayas can save Laxman. Lord Rama ordered Hanuman the task. Hanuman flew from Lanka and during his way to Sanjivani mountain he took some rest in Auli before continuing his journey.

Our guides were Jai Chand and Bhuvan aka Gopal who were very helpful with their proactive and prompt service through out the next 5 five days.

The dinner tasted heavenly after a long drive and we hit the bed early dreaming what we would do in the next days to come.

The first day of trek –Saturday 14^th Sep Auli to Thali / Bankarbad 7 KM

Our group was taken to the nearest start point 5Km away in the car and then started our long journey in the mountains and forests for four days. We started trekking at 09:45 from Auli and reached Tali camp at 16:50 hrs…..total of 7 hrs !!

Our kit consisted of Trek-shoes, Stick, backpack with water, glucose and electrolyte, apart from jacket, cap etc As we would learn later, the stick was the most valuable possession that never let us down in the toughest conditions how ever trecherous the terrain be ! Our essential stuff was loaded on the 4 mules that would always accompany us throughout the 4 days . I can’t praise enough Gokul, Narayanan kutty’s son, who requested his dad to offer some eatables to the loyal animal for carrying our weight ! These mules ( cross of horse and donkey ) can carry a Quintal ( 100 KG ) on their back ! Kutty paid for Jaggery ( വെല്ലം ) and Chana for the mules that none of us could think of !

The first day we trekked about 7-8 hours crossing meadows and slopes, streams and forests embracing nature through pristine valleys of the Garwal range !

We could see the peaks Hathi-Godi ( in the form of Elephant and horse ), Dronagiri and Neelkand as we kept walking……..

Dronagiri peak

Just after we started, we saw the Auli rope way ( Gondola ) running from the area we walked to the steep valley down hill. Our friend from Hardwar explained it is the longest ropeway in Asia ( 4 KM ) using a 11KM single rope imported from Swiss.

We could also see the world's highest man-made lake. The government has developed this in view of creating artificial snow on the new ski slopes in the event of low snow fall. The water from this lake will be used to feed the snow guns stationed along the ski slopes and thus provide

World's highest man-made lake

a good skiing surface and extend the ski season.

The trek was a huge challenge for all of us as no one had prior experience and there was little practice though warned by the organizer. We had to stop for every 50 meters or so and very soon started puffing and panting …….drinking water and shooting pictures were the break times we eagerly awaited to rest the aching feet and body…..

How ever our interest to continue the mission over took the resistance of the body and soon we got adjusted to the demanding commands of our guides to keep walking…….the victory of mind over body was celebrated with the final dash to our camp site after 7 hrs…..

The first camp was pitched at Thali which was at 3225 m. There were three tents for six of us and a dining tent, kitchen tent and a tent that served as mobile toilet. Tent pitching was easy with modern light weight material and experienced staff. The location of the camp site was chosen next to a stream with flowing water.

It was great to relax in the dining tent enjoy the hot soup served by the guides.

The sky was crystal clear with stars, constellations and milky way visible like a photograph.

At night we had a fabulous dinner before squeezing ourselves in the thermal sleeping bags

The GIO team included two persons who looked after the mules. At night the mules would wander away and these guys used to search and bring them in the mornings.
We got up early and enjoyed the sun rise painting the peaks with golden colour ....what a sight !
Shaving was luxury during any trek, but we managed with one mirror .....:-)

The second day of trek –Sunday 14^th Sep Thali to Base camp ( Kauripass )

We started trekking at 07:40 hrs and reached GAIL GARH at 11:10 AM. The place is also called Bankarbad. The route was different from the one we trekked on first day. There were meadows and plains……glittered with black and white sheep grazing on the meadows, with occasional tents for sheperds……..

there was a treacherous patch winding up and own along the slope where we had to walk extremely careful not to slip and fall in to the steep valley

Buvan, our guide showed us a dangerous location where previously their mule had slipped and started falling towards the valley, but for the timely rescue by him and his colleagues.

Since Sajeeve, Sanjoy and I reached early, we had the option of going to Kauri pass.

After helping the guides pitch the tents, we had our lunch and started the trek.

The trek to Kauri pass took about 1:30 hrs from base camp and had paved stones most places. We reached the pass quickly and Wow, it was a breath taking view from the peak !

Suddenly the weather got worse and we started our return journey.

Before we could reach our camp, it started raining and we were hit by a nasty shower of hail stones !

Sasi counting the stones he collected !

It was falling so fast that my guide asked me to run like heck and I did ! It was quite a sight to see so much of hail stones covering the surface surrounding the tents……at the tent we were welcomed by our guides with hot soup……a soup never tasted so delicious in my life time !!

The third day of trek –Monday 15^th Sep Base Camp to Pangar Chulla

Sajeeve, my friend and I started for the summit around at 07:00 hrs and reached Pangharchullah mini peak at 09:50 AM.

This was the toughest part of the whole trek route. The climb was steep some places more than 45 Degree…..but the determination to reach the summit pushed us to keep moving and we did at last after 3 hrs of hard trek…….took photos of the beautiful view all around the peak………..it was 4300 m tall !!

With Sajeeve on top of Pangharchula mini peak with the main peak in the background

In fact we had planned to go straight to a lower part of Pangar Chula main peak ( 4700m ) but changed our mind in between and reached the mini peak. After seeing the main peak so close, we wanted to reach the nearest ridge of the peak……….our guide Bhuvan encouraged us to do it and so we started………….but after some time we realized we made a mistake as there was no track from mini peak to main peak………after crossing several huge boulders bigger than our size ….sweating and gasping for breath ………..we started to retreat …………..

After wading through the ocean of rocks and dangerous terrain for several hours, we at last reached the plains and started our journey to new base camp at Khulara…..since the slope was high, we did zig-zag decent to avoid stress on the toes constantly hitting the shoes…..

Rest of the group comprising Sasi, Captain Kutty and Praveen had gone to Kauri pass and returned. By the time we reached the valley, they all started towards the new base camp in Khulara.

Our trek to Khulara took almost 6 hours as we kept crossing meadows after meadows…….

When we reached the base Camp, we were greeted by the team and a sense of achievement filled our minds……the base camp was built close to a nice stream and full of beautiful flora and fauna…..

After dinner we had camp fire and music session…..when we finally crawled in to the sleeping bag, there was a big sigh of relief as there would be no more climbing !!

The fourth day of trek –Tuesday 16^th Sep Khulara Base Camp to Dhak

The next day we could get up relaxed and under no pressure, enjoyed the tea and break fast before starting our decent at 7:40 . The trek took about 5 hours …..we enjoyed the pristine beauty of nature scattered all over the valley when we trekked downhill……

The giggling streams, the golden rays of sun through the foliage were painting ever changing pictures like kaleidoscope……chirping birds and friendly dogs with thick furs…….

We were fortunate to see the amazing variety of Himalayan plants and trees …such as rhododendron flower and loudh plant whose root is used to cure fracture......

Cobra Flower

The Cobra plant had beautiful beads of red and green and when Captain Kutty plucked one to take home, but the village boy told him to throw it away immediately as it would hurt him…….

We spent some time with the villagers and their innocent children……

The valley had plenty of flowers, could easily be called another valley of flowers ( the original valley of lowers is situated up north ) ….the shutters kept clicking and our eyes never got tired……….

As engineers we were fascinated to see a real Water Mill in action ….a water mill runs with the force of water flowing from a height and rotating a turbine shaft which in turn turns a grain grinder kept in a small hut.

At last our long 4 days trek came to an end when we spotted our tempo traveler waiting for us !

Water Mill

Trip to Badrinath Tuesday 16th Sep

Though not originally included in the package, our friend from Hardwar suggested to visit Badrinath as it is only 53 KM from Dhak !

We stopped on the way to have lunch and bought dhotees etc for the temple visit….

We reached Badrinath in about 1:30 hrs, had a quick bath in the hot sulfur pond ( 55 Deg C ! ) and had darshan of Vishnu…..it was interesting to learn that the deity was collected from Narad Kund by Swami Sankaracharya of Kalady in Kerala who installed it in the present temple in 1300 !! So the right for pooja is restricted to Namboodiris from Kerala only ! It was the day we left Hardwar that the government decided to make the pooja at Badrinath an annual affair to benefit the devotees. Currently the deity is kept in Joshimath during peak of winter ( Oct to May). The road leading to the temple was full of squatting " boom shanker" sadhus.....as if preparing for Nirvana........the ultimate reunion with God !

Boom Shanker !

After Badri visit, we returned to Hardwar and Dehradun as two separate groups via Rishikesh.

ISKON Temple Rishikesh

The route was full of signs of massive land slide that happened few months ago due to heavy rains bringing huge mass of stone and mud along the slopes of the mountain and dumping in the river.

We also saw hundreds of devotees walking on the road to Badrinath to offer prayers to obtain moksha.

Many of them were quite old and bare chested too. Some were bare footed and most had just a plastic cover that served as protection to foot. We who trekked with high strength and water proof Trek shoes with jackets and stick saluted them in our mind……..our achievement was nothing compared to the power of faith and trust in God that propelled these devotees……..

Tailpiece

The Himalayan lodge of GIO at Auli was excellent with all amenities in top notch condition. The tents pitched during the trek were good too. When ever any member of the group struggled to walk, the GIO guides helped them by carrying their bag etc…

Having come so close, we could have planned our trek better to include Badrinath and Kedarnath or the entire char dham in our schedule. It was good some of our group could stay in Dehradun and visit Missouri.

I felt we should have studied puranas a bit more as we missed the opportunity to visit places of mythical importance like Daksheswara Mahadev Temple - Kankhal just 2 KM away from where we stayed. Kankhal was the winter capital of Lord Shiva, the summer capital being Kurukshetra. The mythological story about this place is that King Daksha Prajapati, the father of Sati, Lord Shiva 's first wife, performed yagya at this place. Daksha Prajapati did not invite Lord Shiva, and Sati felt insulted. Therefore she burnt herself in the yagya kund leading to Shiva's famous attack on Daksha and beheading him there after......

Overall, we enjoyed the trek very much and patted ourselves for doing something that could be easily considered beyond our age and fitness. The GIO Adventure did an exemplary job with professional and friendly guidance, timely meals, proactive support and assistance throughout the trek and the bus trips.

Katmandu Visit dec 2009

2009-12-08T22:26:00.366+04:00

The pleasant surprise of holidays to celebrate UAE national days was also a challenge to spend the time usefully away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai. In view of short time to arrange visa for elsewhere, Nepal became our obvious choice and we booked our tickets through Airarabia.

Day 1-2nd Dec

Despite protest, vatchmate Salim got up early morning took us to Sharjah airport. It was him who enlightened us about the indifferent Sharjah not celebrating "UAE" national day for several years. Contrasting to the festive scenes in Dubai, Sharjah roads gave a deserted look with no national colours or flags.......................

It was a perfect touch down on Nepali land with no bumps and right on time.Our hotel representative Dhruba was at the airport. How aptly he is called Dhruba meaning direction I didn't ask him whether he changed his name to suit his profession ! He had hired a dumb Nepali boy who was holding a placard with our name printed which to our joy popped up suddenly among scores of signboard by other travel agents. The 7 KM ride in the battered Toyota Corolla through the winding, dusty roads of the capital city gave us the first impression of Katmandu. The place appeared extremely crowded and wore the look of a pale and weak orphan on the street. The buildings, mostly incomplete and unplastered finish, stuck out like thorny cacti in the desert.

The unusually long queues of motorcycles and cars at petrol stations looked like twisted snakes. Petrol is very expensive and there is huge shortage of same in Nepal.

We reached Hotel Thamel quickly and completed the check in formalities.Dhruba then offered us a tailor made tour package which was agreed upon with minor changes. For $ 840, two days of sightseeing in Katmandu and one each night at the wildlife sanctuary Chitwan and mountain city Pokhara was a good deal. When he added river rafting, elephant ride and mountain flight to the basics, it became an instant sale to me.

We set out for city tour and first saw Buddha park where three huge statues of Khara cheri, Amitava Buddha and Padama Sambhava plated with gold stood majestically on its top.

The interior had a hall with hundreds of lamps burning wick and ghee, a ritual of the devotees.We also saw the huge rotating copper drum with inscriptions of the famous mantra " Ohm Maane Padme Ho" which would later be seen in all temples and stupas we visited in Nepal. The atmosphere was filled with the reverberations of this mantra.Listen to the mantra by clicking the link below this post.Here is the interpretation of mantra by Dalailama :

"It is very good to recite the mantra Om mani padme hum, but while you are doing it, you should be thinking on its meaning, for the meaning of the six syllables is great and vast... The first, Om symbolizes the practitioner's impure body, speech, and mind; it also symbolizes the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha"

"The path is indicated by the next four syllables. Mani, meaning jewel, symbolizes the factors of method: (the) altruistic intention to become enlightened, compassion, and love."

"The two syllables, padme, meaning lotus, symbolize wisdom"

"Purity must be achieved by an indivisible unity of method and wisdom, symbolized by the final syllable hum, which indicates indivisibility"

"Thus the six syllables, om mani padme hum, mean that in dependence on the practice of a path which is an indivisible union of method and wisdom, you can transform your impure body, speech, and mind into the pure exalted body, speech, and mind of a Buddha"

The next stop was at Swayambunath temple located on a hill top.The temple is colloquially known as the 'monkey temple' because of the large tribe of roving monkeys who guard the temple.

According to legend, the entire Kathmandu valley was once filled with an enormous lake, out of which grew a mystical Lotus. The valley came to be known as Swayambhu, meaning 'Self-Created' or 'Self-Existent'. The Bodhistava Manjushri had a vision of the lotus at Swayambhu and travelled there to worship it. In order to make the site more accessible to human pilgrims, Manjushri cut a gorge through the mountains surrounding the valley. The water drained out of the lake, leaving the valley in which Kathmandu now lies. The lotus was transformed into a hill and the flower become the Swayambhunath stupa.

The numerous shops selling handicraft were irrestible.I ended up buying 8 pictures of various views of Himalayas captured on canvas by the artist who ran the shop as well. Had to start the bargaining from half the initial price offered most of the time !

Our driver Suresh was a good guide too and showed around the Durbar Sqaure.

Got back to hotel and had a quiet dinner at the local McDonalds.

Our sleep was disrupted till midnight by the disturbing music from nearby dance bar. What an irony the bar was inaptly named Buddha Bar ! Buddha who was born in Nepal must be turning in his grave !!

Day 2-3rd Dec

We checked out and started early to be picked up by Dhruba's chauffer Vinod for a rafting expedition at Thrishuli river. The rafting spot is on the way to Chitwan which is 156kms from Katmamndu. The drive took 2-3 hours . We wore the saftey gear and carried the paddle and positioned ourself in the raft as instructed by "Captain" Mohan who sat at the tail end.The rafting took 3 long hours and ended with a hearty lunch brought on the raft in packets.The food packets and valuables were kept in a plastic drum secured in plastic bags. I was amazed by the enthusiasm of my wife Suma as she managed to row despite both hands crippled by perennial muscle pain aka tennis elbow. Sandeep sat in the middle and offered a hand once in a while.

At times, the river behaved rude and we rode on rough waves almost hitting our chest ! It was a challenge to maintain balance and keep rowing following captain's commands. The views of the valley and river were stunning..... we were served tasty and balanced lunch on the sand...it was a great experience to share few friendly moments with strangers. We returned in our car and reached the wildlife area Chitwan after 2 hrs drive. There was a lady from Cumbria UK who rowed with us and we gave her a free ride up to Chitwan.

It was an amazing story of the trained caretaker of mentally challenged children trekking on remote mountain slopes alone and eating the local food and using "Indian toilets".. She had trekked for 2 weeks and was planning to hit Everest base camp next year and Sagar matha itself next year ! It is hard to believe how the mountain attracts people of all walks of life to make hige sacrifices and achieves milestones here.

Chitwan turned out to be a perfect place to unwind and the hotel wildlife camp was quite convenient and clean. We very much enjoyed the place and the food served there. We met Henry the Singaporean with his two daughters at dinner. They had trekked up to base camp and introduced their sherpa Dorjee who had climbed Everest in 1986. The dad and kids were with us on the raft earlier.We had dinner with them and then walked to the nearby theatre to watch a cultural program organised by the local tribe "Tharu".

Men danced to the beats of drums and folk songs and some dances had stick dance.It was a fantastic performance of physical endurance and artistic talent, pleasing to the eyes and ears ! The peacok dance was superb !

Day 3-4th Dec

We started our elephant ride around 8.30AM and it lasted about 1 hour.We saw Samba deer, spotted deer, peacocks, rhinos and crocodiles in the river we crossed while on the elephant. After returning to the camp, we were taken for a trip to National Museum and near by tribal house. Started off to Pokhara in car. The drive took around 4 hrs to cover 146kms.

Panorama hotel was again a good place to stay.We had dinner at a Punjabi restaurant and enjoyed the walk back to the hotel. Pokhara is full of trekkers who climb the Annapurna range of mountains. We could find every kind of hotel, bar and restaurant to different nationalities, exchange houses, shops selling souvenirs and trekking equipments. It was potpourri of culture from across the world.

Day 4-5th Dec

We got up early morning and went to Sarangkot by car to see the sunrise.The sunrise at this mountain top is included in every tour package as a must-see item. In good weather conditions, one could see the Annapurna range including famous peaks like Machhapuchare ( in English it is Fish Tail), Daulagiri AP1,2,3 etc. glittering in the background of golden sun. How ever, we were disppointed to see only a reddish bit of lazy sun reluctantly emerging out of stubborn clouds.

We had a city sight seeing tour in the same car and saw few temples and Gupteswor Mahadev Cave. The "Devi's fall" and "Seti river Gorge" were nothing but day light robbery of the tourists to make money out of a slender water stream calling it fancy names.We took the flight from Pokhara to Katmandu at 12.30 PM and arrived at the capital city within an hour.

We checked in at Hotel Thamel again but made sure we got a room not facing the bar !

The city tour in the afternoon included Pasupathinath temple and Buddha Stupa. We could see the Pasupathinath aka Shiva's temple before they closed it by 3.30PM. It was quite a sight to see the grand Buddha temple with the famous Buddha eyes on the tower. Extremely committed devotees were falling repeatedly on specially made wooden planks by sliding the whole body on to it using some protective gloves for hands.

The numeours water cups with flowers was a treat for the eyes ! The whole place was filled with chanting of mantras and devotees praying in some form or other. There were huge prayer wheels/drums that devotees turned while chanting mantras. Sandeep was fascinated by the revolving drums. We bought one of those small wheels for $ 5. Since it was a Saturday, the museums are closed and we could not see few ones in the city.

Dhruba met us in the hotel and discussed about the strategy for doing the mountain flight next day morning 6:30 AM. Since the Maoists had declared "bundh" or strike, alll shops would be closed and transport will be off the road. The former ruler Prachanta who had overthrown the King is now in opposition and three men of his party were killed in a clash with police whcih prompted the strike. Dhruba suggested leaving early morning and going straight to airport by some means and catch our flight back home after the mountain flight.

Had dinner at Mandap, a nice western restaurant few minutes walk from our hotel. Once again Dhruba's recommendation was good.

Day 5-6th Dec

We checked out and got our break fast packed and ready for the adventure. Dhruba arrived and loaded the luggage in the richshaw he came in and we all walked to the nearest junction in search of a taxi. To much of our relief, we found just one and Dhruba paid some good amount to take us to the airport. He also paid us the amount for taxi fare from the domestic to international airport - a truly professional service indeed !

At the airport, we had to wait until 9:30 for the dense fog to clear and Guna, the mountain flight to take off.

It was quite an experience to witness the sight of the entire range and peaks of Himalaya unfolding in front of us ! Wow..we could fly close to the everest and take picture through the cockpit windscreen. It was a great opportunity to see the top most point of the world at such close proximity.

The view of "death zone " and Hillary Step sent chills through my spine as I recalled "Into thin air", true story of Jon Krakauer who climbed everest in 1996 and narrated the disaster that struck his team and claimed 5 lives during a deadly storm while descending the summit. I saw CD of the movie by same name in almost all book shops in Nepal and bought a copy for myself.

We were given a picture of all these peaks so we could compare the shapes and identify which one we saw while crossing them.

The flight returned at a convenient time for us to take a leisurely paced walk to the international terminal and we took the flight back at 1:30PM.

Back in Sharjah, ever reliable Salim was waiting for us and we had the honour of sharing our travel details over a nice cup of chai made by Saji.

*********************************************************************************

Some useful contacts /rates for those who would like to visit KTM
Cost of the package $750 for two adults and kid 9 yrs.See below for indvdl costs.
Chitwan tour INR 2500X3=$165 incld elephant ride, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Rafting $30X3=$90
Car with driver KTM -rafting-Chitwan-Pokhara=$140
Pokhara-KTM flight Guna airlines $38X3=$114
Mountain flight Guna airlines $91X2=$182
KTM city tour $33
Pokhara hotel inl BB&taxes $25
Pokhara tour $32
Rec tour operator : Dhruba Lamsal 97714422504 at Hotel Thamel http://www.marveltreks.com/
They are good for trekking tours http://www.marveltreks.com/trekking.php
Suggested hotel in Pokhara : Panorama or Barahi ( http://www.barahi.com/)

Om Mani Padme Hum

2009-12-08T22:00:00.003+04:00

Om Mani Padme Hum

2007-06-15T18:08:00.000+04:00

Today I posted the picture of the interior of BURJ-AL-ARAB hotel-tallest in the world- in Dubai as the title picture for the site.............water droplets flowing from one nozzle to another .......look like trapeze artists dancing in tune with the heavenly music and changing colours..! what a captivating sight ! The droplets form "water tubes" in the shape of a perfect arch and the reflection from lights below make them appear like pieces of coloured tubes !!

Fantastic fusion of art and technology !

Dubai revisited March 2006

2006-03-04T22:30:00.000+04:00

Photos

2005-12-26T11:48:00.001+04:00