We stopped for pee breaks and dal bhatt, obviously but that was all. The road was bumpy and the bus old and battered the music was Hindi rave, techno - boom boom boom...! Yep bus journeys are great! We eventually reached to our first destination where the kit, kayaks and personal belongings were unloaded from the bus.
We had a few hours in a hotel here to wait for Libby's boyfriend both GRG volunteers from the states. Eventually he arrived and we got on a smaller private bus to take us up to the top of the mountain. This journey was slightly better as it was just us on the bus but the windy road was long and we just kept getting higher and higher. The views were beautiful though and converstatjon between napping was good getting to know the others on the trip who were all British lads.
We reached to the top of the mountain and we were staying at the yak hotel - a basic hotel but it was a lot cooler up here than it was further down the mountain. By now it was my birthday and we had spent all the day travelling so it was nice to be at our destination for the evening so that we could relax.
We had some tumba - some home brewed alchohol with these seeds in - you add hot water, add some strange container and a straw and drink. It's got for up the mountain and your health apparently - just don't stir it otherwise it's going to give you headaches.
After a few beers and the tumba it went straight to your head - the altitude didn't help at all but it was all fun and not a bad way to celebrate my birthday at the end of the day really.
The next day we all loaded up into a land rover - all about 14 of us - it was well packed to say the least - and embarked upon our journey even further up the mountain. This journey was to be one of the most epic rides I have ever been on the road was crazy - I say road - more like a track with deep ruts, big rocks and massive drops to the side in places. However our driver was skilled and successfully managed to get us to the top of the mountain without any issues.
We were at approx 3000ft above sea level - and the small walk up to where we pitched the tents left me short of breath. The view however took my breath away. The view of the lake and the mountains was amazing and one that I'm glad I got to experience. The tumba was welcomed that evening the warmth filling my insides, and the food was good giving us much needed energy before the trek that was to follow the next day. It was cold, the sleep was cold even with the body heat of two of us in the tent. It was only for one night though and it was worth it.
The sunrise - like the sunset was magical the colors, the cold, the mountains, the view & the company. After a delicious breakfast we left for the trek. From working at Himalayan Outward Bound I had already experienced trekking in this environment so it wasn't too much of a shock to me. However most of us were walking in paddling shoes which were not necessarily the right footwear for the trek - but the trek must go on and after some uphill, some downhill followed. Shortly more uphill followed and some more downhill. The altitude at first again didn't help but we were not the ones carrying the weight - the porters were so it was a case of one foot in front of the other and keep going.
Most other trips do the trek in two days - we did it in one and we reached in the darkness. It was a beautiful trek through and it was worth it when we finally reached camp. The sore feet, blister and hurt knee were soon forgotten after more delicious food and some beer. After this sleep we would be rafting and kayaking - excited much?!
No comments:
Post a Comment