Rest & Recreation day: eating, sleeping, chilling out. Vashisht is one of the few places in India that I define as a chill out place with everything going for it: great food, cheap acco, superb views, and interesting company. The view from the veranda is beautiful, a great moon shining on the Beas flowing below, the wooded valley across, Sagittarius and Scorpio and the Great Bear hanging upside down. The only sound is the roar of the river and the rustle of the wind.
22nd June
I get up at 8 am and after one last dip at the hot spring, breakfast of masala dosa and filter coffee, we all leave aboard a totally jam packed bus for Keylong. We labour up to the Rohtang Pass for three hours - 49 kms! The pass is a veritable Mela abuzz with Sumos and Marutis and Indian tourists getting their induction to snow in the measly patches. We clear the prayer flags at the crest of the pass - great views - and drop down to Koksar on the other side, where we have a tea-break.
drop down to Koksar on the other side, where we have a tea-break.
The view keeps getting better, snow capped mountains, tiny waterfalls from the melting glaciers, green valley of the Chandra River and some very picturesque villages en route. We cross Paagal Nala - appropriately named, the crazy stream has washed away half the road and we teeter dangerously on the other half!
At Tandi, the Chandra meets the Baga river, coming in from Baralacha - they flow in sync as Chandrabhaga, but soon lose their respective identities and are known as Chenab. We cross the bridge and pull into Keylong to capture a golden sunset and halt for the night. Keylong is the mandatory overnight stop on the Leh-Manali road, so the place has several guest houses and dhabas catering to transit passengers. Somebody offers me a room - attached bath 150, common bath 100 bucks - I negotiate an attached bath for 100 bucks! There are no foreigners arriving here, courtesy the US and British embassies warning citizens to leave - so supply far exceeds demand! An absolutely adequate room - clean double bed, fresh sheets and tiled bath with an immersion heater for hot water. Departure next day is at 3:30 a.m.
drop down to Koksar on the other side, where we have a tea-break.
The view keeps getting better, snow capped mountains, tiny waterfalls from the melting glaciers, green valley of the Chandra River and some very picturesque villages en route. We cross Paagal Nala - appropriately named, the crazy stream has washed away half the road and we teeter dangerously on the other half!
At Tandi, the Chandra meets the Baga river, coming in from Baralacha - they flow in sync as Chandrabhaga, but soon lose their respective identities and are known as Chenab. We cross the bridge and pull into Keylong to capture a golden sunset and halt for the night. Keylong is the mandatory overnight stop on the Leh-Manali road, so the place has several guest houses and dhabas catering to transit passengers. Somebody offers me a room - attached bath 150, common bath 100 bucks - I negotiate an attached bath for 100 bucks! There are no foreigners arriving here, courtesy the US and British embassies warning citizens to leave - so supply far exceeds demand! An absolutely adequate room - clean double bed, fresh sheets and tiled bath with an immersion heater for hot water. Departure next day is at 3:30 a.m.
go for breakfast - tea, alu parantha and two-egg bhurji costs twenty bucks! Feel good with a full tummy - I hike up to Shashur gompa, 3 kms away on top of a hill. It is 6:40 am and the views get better with every tired step, my internal combustion engine is warming up from the climb and the cold wind is stinging my eyes and singing in my ears. I like early morning hikes. At 8:10, I reach the gompa - sit sprawled on the steps, and watch the 180 degree views - the gompa is locked and I can't see anybody around.
