Mission Spiti 2015 - Day 02

Sangla – Chitkul – Sangla – Powari – Recong Peo – Kalpa

Mr Om Prakash, the Father of Owner of 2 Prakash hotels
And whom we gave a hitch-hike from Karchham to Sangla

Over the Roof at Prakash Regency

Dining Hall at Prakash Regency Sangla

Hindustan Ka Aakhri Dhaba

Shimla - 250km from Chitkul

HPPWD Rest House at Chitkul

Mr Sachin Goel showing the trail to Tibet, China

On way from Kuppa to Karchham

At the Dining table last night, I had confided in my brother that to be able to reach Pooh by 10:00 on Day 3, we should reach Kalpa by end of Day 2 (looking at the NH conditions after Wangtu). The morning seemed early but refreshing – getting ready early was not only important for us to be able to reach Kalpa after visiting Chitkul but also for us to be able to visit Banjara Camps on the way and then get the puncture repaired properly at Sangla. That is a different story that we skipped Sangla puncture shop and decided to get it checked at Recong Peo. Read on to know why! Our trip was about to undergo a drastic change.

As we headed east on Sangla Chitkul road, we encountered steep ascent but what changed our trip was not the steep ascent but a domesticated herd of sheep walking the main road. Afraid of not wounding any animal or our car, we moved very slowly amidst the herd when we could smell something burning in our bonnet. The smell was not of the engine or of a normal smoke – it smelt of rubber or leather. As we opened the bonnet to check, a couple of cars closed in and stopping – their drivers advising us to give some rest to the car before continuing. The temperature was 16°C as the clock struck 08:30. Proceeding towards Chitkul after the disappearance of the sheep, the bonnet kept giving out burning rubber’s smell constantly. Just before Chitkul, we had our trip’s first water crossing which I shot and decided to fill water to cool the bonnet down. Struggling with my frozen numb fingers, we poured a couple of liters water all over the bonnet. And then, another HP registered Bolero crossed us and on asking for advise, he drove home the point in an instant. I can still hear those words aloud – “Clutch Plate ghis gayi hai. Aap half clutch pe gaadi chala rahe ho. Badalni padegi nahi to kahin bhi khade ho jayoge”. My brother affirmed immediately and then we understood the problem without saying – just looking into each other’s eyes. During the sheep encounter, as my brother had tried to hold the car on the ascent, he had to keep the clutch pressed and in the process, had to drive even on the half-pressed clutch. This must have happened a lot on the Urni Link Road as well. The point now was that the clutch plate needed inspection and consoling me, he announced “There is a Maruti Service Station at Recong Peo. We’ll drive in there today evening.”

After that startling discovery, my brother treaded very carefully trying hard not to step on the clutch while climbing. We could reach Chitkul, clicked pictures of “Hindustan ka Aakhri Dhaba” & the view from Panchali Hotel (which was closed due to a court case, as I got to know later). Panchali Hotel was the only one that we seemed to develop a liking for. Shahenshah gave out an overwhelming fish smell and so did the other half-a-dozen accommodations on the way. Apart from the Panchali Hotel, PWD Rest House, sitting on the citadel, had a different charm of its own (have to stay there whenever I return).

The arduous first day journey combined with a one-day-ascent from Delhi to Sangla had already taken its toll on me as I had woken up with a severe headache this morning. While my brother was busy visiting the Banjara Camps on the way back, I decided to pop in a Diamox, thinking to myself at why I had not done it the evening before or in the morning itself. Due to the clutch plate problem, we decided to skip the Sangla Puncture shop and continue to Peo. On the way at 11:00, quite a few annoyed DL-PB family men stopped us to enquire if that was indeed the road to Sangla to which we replied in affirmative and smilingly advised them to drive slow and steady. An irritating incident for us, on the way, was to face an oncoming Kinnauri Baraat. Pretty women dressed up in their own way with men doing nothing but dancing in the car with a beer bottle in hand outside the car window. One of the buses made us experience what a tedious traffic crossing is on such a narrow hill road. The terrain kept changing as we closed into Powari but the huge tunnels on the way to Shongthong looked, well, HUGE and soon we were delighted to see the BRO 68 RCC HQ and OC Residence on the main road itself.

Calling the OC 68 RCC was in vain because as told later, he was visiting OC 108 RCC that day in Sumdo. We climbed towards Peo trying to call Krish Auto but the number was picked up by an annoyed lady who must be getting calls from every Maruti customer in the area. Shortly thereafter we pulled into the Indian Oil Fuel Pump where the attendant said “Its for Government vehicles only. Private Fuel Pump is that way”. After filling it up, we arrived at Krish Auto. Sunday was supposed to be an off for Krish Auto but due to a car being worked on, our good fortune brought us face to face with Mr Shiv Bhagat (the Owner) and Mr Ansari (Chief Supervisor relocated from Saharanpur at the behest of the Owner). On explaining the problem, they sniffed around the open bonnet and declared that our clutch plate was no good and it needed replacement especially when we were headed to Kaza and Kunzum La. Since it was out of stock, it had to be ordered from Chandigarh Stockholder. On giving a nod, Mr Bhagat promptly made a Call to Chandigarh and ordered for a SX4-2010-MT-Petrol Clutch Plate to be delivered by the overnight Deluxe Bus Service. The process seemed too simple to us and we wondered whether such a simple order statement would be carried out with perfection without delay. As we decided to stay at Kalpa rather than Peo, we reminded him to call again their Vendor to re-confirm the order and to re-affirm the urgency of the order – but he was absolutely relaxed.

With heavy heads, we drove up Kalpa to check our fate at PWD Rest House & Circuit House but Mr Bhagat had told us that both of them are occupied due to a minister’s arrival. Momentously, Good sense prevailed and my brother asked me to just grab a room as soon as possible at the HPTDC Kinner Kailash – an order that I obeyed to our relief because after our check-in, the flurry of tourists and travelers occupied the entire hotel as the sunlight vanished from the Kinner Kailash range. Our day ended with a rainbow and Rajma-Kadhai Paneer followed by phone calls to families and BRO officers in Delhi, Pooh & Sumdo post-poning our BRO stays and ShipkiLa-Kaurik trips by one day definitely and infinite indefinitely. Of course the clutch plate news was officially withheld from family due to the fear of dire consequences.

Sunset at Kinner Kailash, Kalpa

I would like to mention here the excellent hospitality I received from Mr Negi (at the front desk of HPTDC Hotel). On requesting for a hot water rubber bottle to comfort my back, he sent a boy to his residence up the hill to grab one for me. Although the boy delivered the filled bottle quite late after I had already fallen asleep, I can not forget how comfortable and special Mr Negi made me feel.