Spiti Here I come!!!!

vinayverma

Leaving tomorrow for Manali and then onto Spiti.

I Want to thank everyone, especially Dhananjay and AlanD for all the help.


No concrete plans till now, I know I'll be in Manali for few days and then to kaza..after that..I'll leave it to the winds to take me with them.

See you all after few weeks.
Keep smiling and be happy.

Cheers
Vinay

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If Life is a journey....travel on...and on..on..on.....

lonelyaztec

Vinay,

I wish u have a great time at Spiti.
Best of luck to u.

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Aztec

My photoblog

ddutta

Best of luck vinay & happy journey too. Please dont miss the "Tabo".
If possible, visit Pin Valley National Park . Njoy the road between Gramphoo & Tabo .

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wandering_kat

Lucky you - wish i was still there! Much prettier and cooler than delhi!
Whatever you do, don't miss Dankhar, btwn Kaza and Tabo, and walk up to the lake above the gompa: the views walking down again are stunning.

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freemanx

lucking forward to your reports Vinay. wish you all the luck and that everything goes well

martin

vistet

Happy trails ,vv - looking forward to hearing more of your trip. I`ll be hitting some of the same trails (?)in a couple of weeks.

vinayverma

Thanks everyone.
yes Tabo, Dhankar are in my rough list. In the first leg I plan to base myself at Kaza and trek/travel around and then Move to Dhankar, Tabo doing the some treks and relax. Then one the way out, Chandratal trek and camping.
Not sure if I'll be able to do Pin Valley.

Well few more hours to go....IMHO these last few hours are the most difficult part of any trip. isn't it?
have I packed eveyting?????
Did I pack in too much?????
Hey!!! Where is my sun block cream...and my socks....

beach

goodluck

...photos & reports please

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Hampi info

Alan D

Hi vinay!

You'll need to be up early to catch the bus from Manali to Kaza. It leaves before daybreak.

The jeep drivers will also be hanging around outside the bus station trying to make up numbers, so you can make your choice - jeep or bus.

Have a great time!

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What a long strange trip it's been!

vinayverma

Hi
Just wanted to share my last few days traveling from Delhi and in Manali.
Day1: Start from behind the Chanderalok Building, Janpath at 7PM. Bus was non AC but deluxe with push-back seats. Reached Karnal at 10.30PM for dinner at Nathu Sweets. Good food with fast service but not like any dhaba. It had a AC dinning hall.
Stopped at Swarghat at 3AM for change of driver. It was a 10min stop but ended up into 35mins as all the drivers and staff wanted to have a tea and for that they had to wake up the tea shop guy.
Day2: next stop was at Mandi at 7AM for breakfast. We stopped at Hotel Mandav run by HPTDC. For first 10mis no staff in sight, then one person serving almost 30. It was a mayhem to start with but all well handled at the end. No much choice (not even parantha!!!). so had omelet and bread.
Reached Manali at 11AM and straight headed to a nice café for some food. Found Moc Cafe behind the shops on the main road. It is on the alley right opposite the bus stand leading inside. Its on the first floor above few kashmiri shops. Had one of the best freshly cooked veg & cheese momos..yummm with mint tea.
The owner (Timu) was nice to agree to keep my rucksack while I wandered around.
Went to my friend’s place on the left bank to stay ending the day with party with the local friends at his place.
Day 3: Went to Old Manali for a walk. Interesting contrast to the main Manali which was flooded with the long weekend tourists from Punjab and Delhi. Old Manali was relaxed with life going on at its own pace, as I walked down the road, I heard Doors, Trance, Bollywood and some old English al time hits being played at various shops. Day went on well and finished again at a party with the locals and some tourists at one of the friends place in Old Manali.
Day 4: Started late, with breakfast at 12noon (!!!!!). Went towards Vashishth to meet some more friends. On the way stopped at Shankar Dhaba for some tea and aloo parantha, it was yummy. The place is run by husband & wife team they also rent out motorcycles.
Climbing up toward Vashisth, I reached Anu Automobiles who is the best place in Manali for motorcycle repairs and renting. It has 4-5 main mechanics and loads of spares. They charge RS.400/day for 350cc Enfield. The rates are better for weekly/ monthly rents.
Reached vashisth only find that one my old local friend’s brother is in hospital, so one trip to hospital to meet everyone. Back in vashisth, met Joy who runs a one-room cinema hall (called Inside Arc, its near Blue Heaven café). He has a good collection of DVDs and plays one movie/documentary every eveing for public at 7.15PM. We watched ‘The last hippie standing’. Interesting doc on 60s hippie movement, what happened to few hippies (I know some landed on IM ), and why Goa still attracts many self proclaimed or wannabe hippies to Goa. Quote from the doc: ‘ Goa is not a place, it’s a state of mind. When you leave Goa, you take a piece of it with you and it remains with you for ever’. It also features Goa Gill.
One can also book the room for private viewing from 10PM. You can also select your own movie. Joy can also serve snacks and food.
Rushed back to Manali before the autos stop coming to Vashist. Straight to the bazaar for shopping for the dinner at our place (My friend’s place but I was appointed the chef for the evening !!!).
The party went on till wee hours of the night by the grace of Lord Shiva J.
Another quote from the party: ‘ Shiva power, no food no shower’

Today looks relaxed and it has been raining on & off since last evening. I leave for Chatru tomorrow to start my 4 day horse trek/trail till La Darcha and then trek down to Kibber (night halt) then to Kaza.
Does anyone know if there is an internet café in Kaza???? Anyway I’ll figure it out.

More reports later whenever I can get online….
Signing off till the next time…..

Cheers
Vinay
Manali

freemanx

looks like you´r having a good time Vinay except for the rain. hope it´ll stop soon. wish you bright clear skys for the horse trek. enjoy!

martin

vinayverma

Thanks Martin, Yes, it feels good to be far from office, phone calls, meetings, wearing suits, emails.....Rains have stopped for the time being but its still bit cloudy.

Thanks AlanD, We've booked a shared jeep (front seats) till Chatru(thats where all the horses are camping). After that few days on the back of the best horses in manali, Ladakh and Spiti region.
From Kaza I would like to use local buses, but I'll not be too strict on this (one cannot afford to be strict while traveling in this region).
I'll post Photos after I'm back in Delhi.

vinayverma

Hello from Kaza.
I had an eventful trip to Kaza from Manali.
First the road was washed away due landslide just after grampho, but got cleared after 5 hours thanks to the minister and head of police, who also got stuck with us and had to reach Kaza urgently...
Spent one night in Chhatru at Chandra Dhaba with Lal singh preparing mouth watering dishes for us. It was beautiful to spend night among the stars, mountains, and roaring chandra river. Chhatru also has a good camp site, lot of clean water and food from the dhaba.
The ride from Chhatru to Chota Dharra and then onto Takse was smooth. Walked up to the manali-kaza road and took a shared taxi (Tata Sumo) which had an empty seat. Paid Rs. 200 for the trip to Kaza.
I heard that road till batal was really bad (but it has been bad ever since isn't it?)
Road, scenry, and weather was great after Losar.
Kaza is hot during the day (if you are in sun) dusty and got dirtier. maybe due to recently concluded La Darcha Festival.
Anyway I'll write more in detail later as the internet speed is slow and its costly Rs. 80/hour.
Tomorrow, I'm off to Key, and kibber...after that no plans till now.
Lots of pics waiting to be uploaded.

Cheers
Vinay
Kaza

ddutta

So enjoying the trip "Vinay" ? Best of luck for the rest of your journey. Eagerly waiting for the pics.

freemanx

aah Vinay, that sounds beautiful!
glad to hear you´re having a good time and made it to kaza.
and the luck also seems to be with you for having the minister and head of police with you
have the best of times and also good luck for the trip to Key and kibber!