Monday, May 15, 2000
Journey To Ladakh- Part 3
Rasik Shah
Rasik Shah was born in the Indian diaspora in the colonial apartheid type society of Kenya in the early forties. Having grown up in a multi-ligual, multi-racial society, he studied law in the London of the early sixties and went back to Kenya, practising as a criminal lawyer. He migrated with his young family to Canada in 1974 and practised law in Vancouver till 1995. He has been conducting trekking tours to the Garwhal region of India in the last few years and is now retired from law, writing full time. He has short stories at the following sites:
1. "The Ngong Hills" at www.dorsai.org/~tjhubsc/ngong.htm
2. "At the Dentist's" at www.es.co.nz/~treeves/rasik.htm
3. "The Discreet Charm of Nairobbers" at: www.litnet.mweb.co.za
(double click "write again").
Currently he is working on a novel set in Kenya. He plans to lead a trekking group to Gaumukh, the source of the Ganges in September, 2000. (See his articles on the Gangotri-Tapovan trek in the previous issues of Sawf), and a jeep safari to Leh, Ladakh overland from Shimla via Lahaul and Spiti in the summer of 2001.
Please address any queries to him at: rshah132@home.com
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We had all to assemble in hot, humid, Monsoon-whipped Delhi in early August, to start our overland journey to Ladakh. Our party was well prepared for the trip. Although we were going to be traveling by bus or jeep, the group had to be ready for any contingencies, including any forced hikes or treks that became necessary because of land slides and so forth. The area we were going to travel through had a fragile ecology, mountain regions subject to a lot of volatility in the monsoon weather. As it happened we had to trek for two days over difficult terrain, after we had to abandon our bus at a point where the road was blocked by some heavy rock fall and a land slide and walk about twenty kilometers for two days to get to the other side of the landslide area.
 Anyway, to begin at the beginning. We had all assembled in New Delhi at our usual quarters, the YWCA Blue Triangle Family Hostel on Ashoka Road. Our invaluable travel agent operated from a shack in the compound of that hostel and all travel arrangements for the different groupings of the party, including further itineraries after the trip to Ladakh was completed, were conveniently made through them. We had two or three days to do some sightseeing around Delhi. Many a member of the group had come to India for the first time. Here is a photograph of the whole party at the Tag-Lang-La pass at 17,500 feet as we crossed into Ladakh. There are Nancye and Harvey Friesen, myself and Melinda Huntley, Barbara Kappeli and Brian Detrich (seated); and in the back row on the right: Chris Friesen, Anand Vaidya, an ayurvedic doctor and amateur mountaineer and mountain -rescuer whose services to the group were to become invaluable; standing in the second row: an unknown Ladakhi woman who had hitched a ride from us, Susan and Paul Sprachman, their 13 year old son, Isaac, our indefatigable cook and head of staff, Chilli and in the bottom row: Roberto Tolfo(half-seated) and Manuela Friesen (seated).
While relaxing and absorbing the sites of Delhi, our group got escorted into the bustling bazaars of Old Delhi, walked through the Red Fort, enjoying it all and charged by the sheer energy of the crowds in the markets and quaint shops of Chandni Chowk.
We also visit the National Museum of India on Sansad Marg, the beautiful park at Raj Ghat, the site of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation, Qutub Minar and other touristy sites. I had been reading that great book about Delhi called "The City of Djinns" by William Dalrymple. I have now started rereading Helena Norberge-Hodge's book on Ladakh, called "Ancient Futures". It is an inspiring book, and remains inspiring to this day, after I visited both Ladakh and her! More about her and her activities in due course. For the moment our energies are focused on getting there. Our route to Leh in Ladakh was carefully planned, to include a circuitous section skirting the regions along the Tibetan border, avoiding the straight route north in a direct line from Manali, called the Leh-Manali route. Indeed the road that goes through high mountain passes is open only in the summer months. July and August were the best months to go in. Hence our arrival in Delhi in this hot, moist month of August.
Our plan is to take an overnight train to Kalka, where our bus and the supply jeep will be waiting to pick us up, just a couple of hours south of Shimla. From Shimla, our road journey will begin, first in the Kinnaur area going north east, till we almost hit the Tibetan border near Nako, and then left towards Spiti, going through Kyi and climbing up to the Kunzang Pass near Chandra tal north of Manali, and then through Lahaul to Kyilong, the last big town at the beginning of the straight stretch to Leh. Everyone is well-equipped and has good hiking boots, a sleeping bag and a backpack. We have all been training to keep fit for months now, doing a lot of daily walking and other aerobic exercises for several weeks. Our group gelled well for the coming travails and adventures and all in all, it was one of the best groups I have ever put together.
As we poured over the maps and other literature in our possession, excitement ran high. Neelu Badoni had already arrived in Delhi. Soon we were joined by Dr. Anand Vaidya, a tall young man who would play a crucial role in the journey ahead. I have reproduced the map of Himachal Pradesh hereunder to show the trajectory of our trip.
From Shimla our bus would drive northeast to Rampur, then to Sarahan, where we would stay overnight in a resthouse, then on to Nako, camping by a lovely wooded lake, drive into Spiti proper, camping at Tabo, then drive up to Kibber at 13,200 feet, from there to Losar, and then a long drive to Kyelong in Lahaul.
We would be in high mountain regions from about the Nako region, very close to the Tibetan border. From Kyelong we would head straight north, crossing Baralach La Pass at 16,500 feet and drive along the wind-swept Indus valley to Sarchu. From Sarchu we would cross another high pass at Lachung la, and then drive along the Rupshu plains. Then we would cross Taglang la at 17,500 feet, reputed to be the second highest motorable road in the world. After this it would be plain sailing along the Indus Valley all the way to Leh.
Anyway, our journey began in the overnight train to Kalka on August 8, 1995. We were comfortably settled in the two tier AC II "cabins" and had an exciting evening. It was the start of an eventful journey. Emotions were mixed; there was excitement, apprehension, fear, thrill, joy, expectation of adventure. Nobody slept well. Early morning we were at Kalka station. Our comfortable twenty-seater bus was parked right outside and we soon huddled into it to do the run to Shimla. The road in the high altitude forest often ran along the elevated rail line on which the single car, narrow gauge train ran all the way to Shimla, winding its way through the mountains. It takes six hours to reach Shimla from Kalka by that mini-train. Our bus was approaching the city of Shimla within a couple of hours and we were going round on a circular road winding its way through to the hill station in several rings. The traffic on this narrow, winding road is heavy, trucks spuming diesel fumes, honking their way through blind corners. This was an example of what modernization and "improved" communications are doing to modern India, a far cry from the days when the capital of the British Raj moved every summer to the hill station with the memsahibs in all their fine gear and servants in tow.
We have rooms booked in Chail Palace Hotel just outside the main city. We settle down in very comfortable rooms. Outside, slow drizzling rain will continue all the time for the whole day. We soon discover a walking short cut through a valley just below the hotel and up a steep hill to the main bazaar. The weather improved the next day and I explored the bazaar in the bright lovely sun against a perfect blue sky. It is a pleasant town, crowds of Indian holiday makers still thronging the streets.
Neelu has arranged for me to meet the Swiss swami whom I talked about in my Gangotri trek articles. He is a lovely, simple man. I met him at an apartment of one of his devotees and had a pleasant chat. In retrospect, I always found the meetings with sadhus and swamis more fruitful, full of humour and story-telling in meetings when we saw the person as a group. One-on-one meetings tend to remain heavy, neither side relaxed enough to allow the conversation to flow.
We hear the adventure of the day when we meet for drinks in the hotel lounge in the evening. Harvey, Nancye and their son Chris and daughter-in-law Manuela had promenaded along the Mall and gone to see Jakhu Temple, dedicated to Hanuman. On the parapet outside the temple several langoors, no doubt modern day descendents of the monkey god, accosted them hoping to get some prasad, or consecrated food from the tourists. As they were fooling around enjoying the play-acting and shenanigans of the monkeys, one swift langoor took off Harvey's glasses and ran off towards a deep ravine further down the road. Harvey and other family members gave chase trying to retrieve the glasses but the monkey had gone up a tree, dangling the glasses from his mouth. In the end, they requested one of the young boys who was hanging around watching the fun for help and eventually the pair of glasses was recovered with his help, costing Harvey only a small tip for his rescuer. These were prescription glasses and Harvey would have been at a loss for the long journey ahead without them.
It is a lesson we would bear in mind for all future trips. Never leave home without your eyes-prescription for new glasses. In India, a pair of new glasses get made in less than a day for a fraction of the cost in any Western city - so much for India's "underdeveloped" status! Gales of laughter greet Harvey's story as people wanted to know how the local boy got the glasses back from the monkey: there was speculation as to whether this was a scam against the tourists. I said it was Hanuman revisiting the country to help out a few deprived youngsters earn a few rupees, after all they had wandered into a temple dedicated to Hanuman!
The next day we are going to make our way on the soggy mountain road to Rampur and Saharan, getting a taste of the wet weather that will dog our way for days to come, the only relief the beauty and the warmth of the people we will come across.
Rasik Shah is leading a trek to the source of the Ganges and Tapovan this year in September. There will also be an overland jeep safari of Ladakh in the summer of 2001, going via Lahaul and Spiti. See future issues of Sawf Magazine for Rasik Shah's articles on Ladakh and past issues for the articles on Ganges and Tapovan trek.
For further details or inquiries please e-mail him at: rshah132@home.com
In India his trek and tour organizer is:
Neelamber Badoni
Trek Himalaya Tours Pvt. Ltd.
The Upper Mall, Jhulaghar
MUSSOORIE (UP) INDIA
Ph. 011-91-0135-630491
Telefax: 011-91-0135-631302
E-mail: trekhimalaya@vsnl.com
Or:
neelubadoni@rediffmail.com
Credits
- Photographs taken by Chris Friesen.
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