Mission Australia 2013 - Day 07

Cairns – Ayer’s Rock 

Uluru – Kata Tjuta National Park 

Our families were quite concerned about Uluru since in the pictures it seemed to be a very deserted place and although even when I always am very comfortable without mobile phones, I am sane enough to know their use when I am in trouble. This was the reason that we were actually carrying 2 mobiles – one with me & other with Neha because while discussing with my elder brother we could foresee that at many instances I would need to leave Neha alone with Ayana while I go for grocery or for hotel hunting or to stand in the queue, etc. Uluru was one place where I suspected that our mobile phones might not work.

View of the Barren Red Center from the Plan
Nobody for Miles, oops Kilometers!

First View of the Ayer's Rock
Crew unable to control Crowd taking pictures

View of the Ayer's Rock from Air-Strip

All through the flight to AYQ from CNS, I was really very excited on watching the barren desert down below. Now this was a Qantas Link flight (full-service) and to our pleasant surprise we were soon offered Arhar Dal & Chana with Rice apart from nice yogurt & pickle. Only somebody who has craved for Indian food on foreign land can understand how good that flight would have become for us. As soon as we prepared to land, we could see the Ayer’s Rock and people started shifting seats to get a better picture restlessly in the face of the flight attendant trying to maintain order in a descending flight. It was a tough time for the Ground Crew preventing tourists from clicking pictures on the runway. This Airport looked more like a boutique Bus-Stop with a single air-strip meant for a total of 4 flights in & 4 out during the entire day.

Alighting from Qantas Link

Entire Air-strip can be visualized from the above 2 shots

Ayana's Playfield - Air-Conditioned i.e.

Entire Airport can be visualized from the above 2 shots

The Kind Lady at Thrifty gives Pen & Paper to Ayana

Shhh! Neha shouldn't see this or else I'll have to check out!
This is the Lizard I first saw on TV 20 yrs back on National Geographic.
This Lizard is able to walk on hot soil by keeping 2 feet in the air at a time.

Shared Kitchen at Outback Pioneer Lodge

While doing the research, at the last moment, I had fortunately decided against the AAT Kings tour & rather decided to rent a Car. As per telephone discussion the previous day from Cairns, I took a black Nissan Pulsar from Thrifty and the old lady was kind enough to keep aside a baby-seat with a GPS (which I later regretted to spend AUD 150 on because the directions were quite simple in the area – I couldn’t have got lost there unless I wanted to). Checking-in the Outdoor Pioneer was smooth due to the booking and on top of that, we got an upgrade to a Private Bathroom Room – the kitchen was still shared – a concept we really enjoyed together.

Entry of the Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park 

Two Ways - We took the Right turn

Selfie with a Scottish Hiker

Walpa Gorge

With French Couple

Neha at the Wheel 

From Kata Tjuta to Uluru

As soon as I could, I pushed my family out for cooking our Lunch & packed up with lots of water for our half day ahead. We decided to visit the Kata Tjuta first where upon parking in the lot, I decided that Neha & Ayana stay inside the car with the A/C on while I go about trotting through the Valley of the Winds. While returning towards Parking, I was accompanied by a French Couple (from Bordeaux) who were road-tripping down under. What attracted Neha to them was the Caravan they were traveling in. We clicked pictures with them never knowing we would bump into them in Melbourne right at the end of our trip. At the end when we proceeded towards the Ayer’s Rock, I decided to give the wheel to Neha for sometime – the road was really empty & the chance was really rare that a cop could pull us over. Of course she enjoyed the drive & I captured her on video so she could boast it later.

Complete Family (with the Stroller) at the Uluru

Uluru Dining (as advertised) has a million more flies than Delhi parks

Finally, the Uluru Sunset Shot

Absolutely Red Soil - Blood Red!

Classic Sunset Shot in my Cam! 

I'd never know how such a small baby could cope up with this trip!

Ayana sleeps after going through the Uluru Day Tours Brochure

Ayana enjoys the after dinner Outdoor Rock Show

Driving & Clicking around the Ayer’s Rock was fun & really exhilarating for me because deep down that the reason for an AUS trip was my childhood fantasy with the Uluru. My dream had come true. Nobody could understand my feelings – not even Neha. We visited the Information Center & read about how the aboriginal people. All the time, all the places, I was always left wondering – how adventurous are Caucasians! They can be found at all the places. As we parked into the Sunset Viewing Area, Neha kept asking me how the rock could change colors to which I kept replying – it was to see not talk. As the sun dropped, it surely changed colors and everybody jostled in the crowd to find a clean picture frame without anybody else.

Our mobile phones were, of course, working & as decided earlier, we left well before dark due to safety. The evening ended at the common kitchen where we cooked our veggie curry and enjoyed the outdoor rock show before retiring to our room to rest for another “flight-ful” day. Tomorrow we fly into Sydney!

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 06

Cairns – Green Island & Great Barrier Reef in SW Pacific Ocean

Today was going to be one of the milestone days on which I had targeted to add another adventure sport to my career check list – Scuba Diving! As planned, all of us got ready in time for breaky, got picked up by the Bus & joined the queue for check-in to the huge Boat. We had this kind of experience at Bali already and so I knew I would struggle with the smelly lunch offered soon after. As soon as we reached Green Island, I was hunted down by the Dive Instructor & given a briefing with my dive partner. Even after my insistence, Neha had refused to dive, because she would have to do it without me while I took care of Ayana. Once aboard the boat after snorkeling for sometime on Green Island, I was once again hunted down – this time – by the co-Pilot of GBR Helicopter. 

Green Island

SW Pacific

Cheers to a Fabulous Dive

As soon as the time to dive in came closer, I struggled hard to keep my nervousness in check. I came very close to giving up when my Guide offered me a full refund if I did not go inside the water. But I decided I had waited too long to do it – I was not going to give up. And once I went inside with my Guide & Dive Partner also named ‘Ankit’; it all came naturally to me. I felt very comfortable touching the giant soft fishes as they swam by. The coral reef was more beautiful than I had seen so often in the movies & documentaries. I wish I had more time so that I could spend a week diving in more far-off areas.

Aboard the Glass Bottom Boat

Next destination - Uluru - Ayer's Rock

Launchpad for the GBR Helicopter

Kind of those Islands they show on Australia Tourism ads

Ayana's wail stopped only on Landing 

Post Lunch, we had just enough time to squeeze in the Glass Bottom Boat ride which was a second grade experience to diving but I wanted Neha & Ayana to take a look underwater nonetheless. One thing found my interest on the upper deck – a bunch of boards with the distances to various destinations around the world. We had just been asked to put on the noise-reducer headphones inside the Helicopter when Ayana started to wail. Her wailing only eased when we landed at Cairns Helipad on the other side of the Lagoon.

Daily Aerobics at Dusk

The Lagoon

Ayana found her own PC

Since I wanted to get pictures of my dive, I asked Neha to wait for me at the Lagoon where a large number of general public was practicing water-aerobics. An eventful day came to end as we strolled towards Ibis getting mentally ready for the desert that we were about to go to the next day.

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 05

Perth – Cairns 

Cairns – Kuranda Rainforest 

The overnight flight was the least comfortable flight for us on the entire trip, simply because Ayana could not come to terms with the tight space on the low cost carrier. Fortunately, I & Neha could keep our temper in control and it was only for 2 hours that we could assuage our baby’s troubles into sleep. The arrival, though, was on time and our aircraft pulled into CNS Airport at 0410 hours sharp. Adjusting to the 2 hour time zone difference was not so easy and as I thought about relaxing a bit while Neha took bath at the excellent shower room at the Terminal, the sun shone very quickly and very brightly. It suddenly seemed that we were late but relaxed myself when I looked at the watch. I stretched my back a little more before Neha could give me a go ahead after bathing Ayana. I always felt glad when Ayana felt comfortable playing in the open Airport spaces. Reluctantly, so I got up and had a wonderful experience shaving & bathing at the Airport, for the first time in my life (In the US, after red-eye coast-to-coast flights, I had always just changed clothes – never really shaved or bathed).

Relaxing while my Family freshens up 

Ayana playing in the Airport open space while I yawn

Finally, set to go, a van was waiting for its turn & as it turned out to be – was being driven by an Indian. It was a very quick ride & checking in at Ibis was very smooth. It took me some energy to explain why we would have our today’s breakfast complimentary rather than the last day since we would leave early that morning. With the “breaky” done, we got the room and after freshening up; we waited for the pickup for Kuranda Rainforest. A Canadian couple thanked me profusely when I advised them that the Train was off today due to maintenance so would have to use the Coach whereas the return via Skyrail would be a good experience.

All of us slept through our ascent of Kuranda and frankly, we found it to be a waste of time & money when we reached the Kuranda Village. What a shame in front of our local Indian or Himalayan villages – Alas! Anyway, we drudged somehow through the entire village with Ayana on her Stroller and kept looking at the watch so that we could go to the Skyrail sooner. We thought it would be better to go back to the bed early today and rest well for the active next day at the Reef.

Ayana playing at Kuranda Centre

Skyrail from Kuranda to Cairns

The experience of the Skyrail was quite better than any other we had travelled in India. It was quite long and quite high above the forest. On reaching back, we rested while Neha suggested go see the town. We wandered through the dark streets, getting haggled by the aboriginals and reached a convenience store not far from the lagoon and quickly made our way back juggling through the chairs of outdoor cafes. The beds at Ibis were very comfortable helping us end a pretty much uneventful day (apart from the native-hassles).

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 04

Perth – Kings Park, UWA & CBD 

Perth – Cairns 

Shilpa had proposed to take us to Kings Park – the place to visit if we wanted to see the Perth downtown. Also, Neha had expressed her desire to shop to which Shilpa had proposed a store in the downtown area. We had our late brunch at Kings Park café where I found time to make final bookings for Cairns sightseeing. Watching some sort of Flag Salutation ceremony going on, I realized that the trumpet music was the same as that played at New Delhi’s India Gate – and then I wondered – of course British legacy (Queen of Great Britain is still the head of state of Australia even though just a ceremonial one).

Kings Park, Perth CBD

We had a great time there watching and clicking the Perth skyline and the beautiful clean highway system from the high Kings Park before moving on our own to the nearby park. The terrible heat soon brought us down to our knees and we decided to head-off to home via the downtown. GPS is always a great help while driving in a foreign land and when the downtown supermarket failed to impress us, we decided to head home to beat the heat. Our hosts couldn’t stop laughing at our heat experience and I couldn’t stop at my inability to tolerate the extreme heat despite being a citizen of North India plains where the heat is much more. Later, we attributed the probable reason to the location of sun and Perth’s proximity to the Equator.

Perth Downtown from Kings Park

I decided not to have Lunch and requested Shilpa to pack us a wholesome tiffin of Rajma-Rice for Airport. From my past experience I knew that I (& probably Neha too) would feel hungry after we would have checked-in and reached the Boarding Lounge. Soon after packing our car with our luggage, our hosts decided to give us another glimpse of their city by taking us to their University – the UWA. It was Neha’s first time in an international university and seemed pretty impressed – although having visited quite a few in US, I was not. Vineet shared my feeling and exclaimed – “Yaar, Glamour nahi hai Harvard-Stanford ki tarah” (Lacks glamour like that of Harvard-Stanford). We loitered around a bit before proceeding towards the Swan River area. By the time I pulled into the Lookout parking area, I was just getting accustomed to the parking rules of downtown with help from Vineet, of course. The breeze was turning cold and the skyline of Perth was getting dramatic with the skyscraper lights getting turned on one-by-one.

Cricket at Univ of WA

(looks similar to Roshanara Club)

Trying to put Glamour in the Photoshoot

Perth Skyline across Swan River 

As my concern grew over our departure and I announced our intention to depart for Airport, NOT to my surprise, Neha broke into helpless tears while I tried hard not to show my tears to our hosts. The fact was that both of us were taken aback by the superb hospitability of Vineet-Shilpa so much so that our thought of staying in Australia did not seem beyond their simple cozy home. Shilpa consoled Neha & I gathered up courage to pull out our car from the comfort and finally come to terms with traveling on our own with a baby. We drove towards Airport in the dark silently – our thoughts still pinned over our emotional breakdown just a while ago. We smiled at each other and soon were outside the Airport when the thought of filling the gas up came to my mind. I turned around and followed the GPS for the closest Petrol Station and filled it up. After reaching Airport for the second time, I noticed that the Gas Indicator still indicated 7/8 at which I panicked and took a u-turn for the Petrol. I pulled in and refilled again & was recognized by the Attendant inside when he calmed me by saying “Some Cars do not indicate the correct until 15 minutes of driving” – I said “WTH” and drove into the Airport. Since the Rental Bays were not close to the Gate, to save on the parking charges & the effort of pulling Ayana with luggage, we had decided that I would park right in front of the Gate for free 15 minutes while Neha would unload the car and I would get the Baggage Trolley for her. I was panicked when I looked for the trolley and returned at max speed to find her. I also kept my bag with me (handing over just the tickets and passports to Neha) and sped off to the rental area. Thankfully, I could find the Budget bays in time and ran off to the Counter after clicking pictures of the Car as proof. Later, I found that in spite of reading many stories about fraud damage charges; in developed countries such as USA & Australia; there is not much to worry about fraud charges with these reputed companies.

Neha could just enter the Terminal Gate when I found her and literally started running with the trolley while Neha followed me with Ayana in her Stroller. Upon reaching the Jetstar Counter, I realized we were not in India and there was no reason for me to worry about any probable delay due to poor crowd management. As it turned out, even after having our delicious packed dinner, our flight got delayed by 90 minutes which proved to be very tiring for us.

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 03

Perth – Wave Rock 

Given the comfort we were getting from Vineet & Shilpa, getting up in time was really getting difficult. We struggled through the heat outside and it was well past 10 AM that we could depart for our 5 hour journey to Wave Rock via Tin-Horse Highway. The first hour went on smoothly but then Ayana started getting really cranky and was not ready to sit in the tight harnesses of the baby seat. Already Neha was there on the back seat by her side to comfort her but no, she wanted to get out. Despite making a late start, I wanted to relax and so on Neha’s insistence of getting Ayana out of the baby seat – with reluctance I decided to halt amidst nowhere. 10 minutes passed by with complete silence – I could only restart when Neha conceded & promised to keep Ayana in the baby seat.

Ayana at peace after a cranky session

The Tin-Horse Highway was quite lonesome (unlike similar state highways in NY – due to the much lower population in WA) and looking at the time & the road condition, I decided to skip detours for any more landscapes & reached Wave Rock just after 3 PM. Despite the terrible heat; we made the most of our once-in-a-lifetime visit to Wave Rock and clicked many pictures of us together. We also met the A-Line Clothing Manufacturers who were there for an ad photo-shoot. They were quite kind to offer us a bottle of mineral water which Neha reluctantly took.

Climbing the Wave Rock

The parking-cum-entry ticket was a $10 affair but a smart oriental girl traveling with friends offered to give us hers for $5. I was apprehensive of this earlier but later agreed to it and found myself saving $5. I also tried to play the same game upon my return and I had succeeded but just before leaving, my customers came back with a true claim of being exempted from the ticket because they were camping in the campervan park. I, gleefully & promptly, returned their money (later explaining Neha that I did this with happiness because I always want to portray an honest image of India).

Entrance to Wave Rock

While returning towards home in the sunset, I recalled that Budget Rental required me to be within the Perth Metropolitan Area between sunset & sunrise and got really concerned about our schedule ahead. Also, main cause for the worry was that our phones did not have any signal since we left the urban area. When we stopped at Stumpy’s Roadhouse for filling up the Gas, it was perfect sunset & my worries touched the twilight sky. I recalled the stories of kangaroo crashing into the car at twilight & after dark – and with Ayana howling all the way, I was really concerned of what could happen. Neha grew really tired & sympathetic with Ayana and decided to take Ayana in her arms at which I immediately flared up in anger and blasted her off. Obviously I had to regret instantly but at that point my anger seemed the only way to over come Neha’s motherly emotions that risked us in the view of the Police.

Neha enjoying the Cleaning at Stumpy's

With Neha's childhood friend Abhishek

at Chatter's Restaraunt Midland 

Anyway, minutes after my scolding, we drove past the forest area and Perth city lights appeared in view. Checking our phones got us a clear signal & we could talk to Vineet. On the other hand, Neha’s old school friend Abhishek was waiting for us at Dinner at Midland & when we confirmed our plan to arrive soon; we fell into deep regret for not joining our hosts for dinner – albeit we had planned so.

Vineet took our decision in stride – telling us that we’ll have to eat the Rajma next day anyway – which we gladly accepted. We joined Abhishek at Chatters where our new hosts were surprised to know that we were veggies sitting in a Seafood place. Anyway, he arranged mock-chicken (tofu) dishes for us which Neha ate reluctantly after much insistance from me. Overall, we had a good time with the soft drink thrown in. After picture session, when it was time to leave, I fell into horror when I realized I had dropped my car keys. Fortunately, an attendant appeared from the cafe nearby and handed over my keys. Oh My God! Abhishek & I thought to ourselves and I resolved that I would never ever give my keys to Neha again!

We reached safely to the comfort of our Perth home where we shared our horror stories of the day with Vineet & Shilpa before making the bed apart from plans for the next day.

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 02

Perth – Caversham Wildlife Park & City Beach 

Jet lag was not so apparent for the 150 minutes but I recall now how it was difficult to wake up before 8 AM at Perth on all the days. Vineet had already left for the day and after a relaxed breakfast, we finally decided to head to the Whiteman Park & Caversham Wildlife Park where you could not only see but also touch the native wildlife. We reached quite late into the day but still had the time to visit all the animals and watch all the shows.

Ayana touching Koalas with the back hand

Ayana touching the "Lizard"

Ayana with the "Python"

Ayana touching the "Rat"

And Finally the Kangaroo

After a lot of photography with kangaroos (both red & white), wombats, koalas, when I decided it was time to go, Neha requested that we visit the neighboring Whiteman park so that Ayana could enjoy some time in the water. I let her do that and I called up back home to pass my time.

Ayana enjoying at Whiteman Park

Soon departing from the park, we headed off to the City Beach (I had to catch the sunset over the Indian Ocean and today seemed feasible for this). We were really hungry by the time we reached via a section of the Great Indian Ocean Road and directly checked into the Clancy’s Fish Bar. It had an interesting structure jutting over the beach sands and made for a good view of the dropping sun. After a round of fries & cranberry juice, we headed to the beach although it was turning cooler. We strolled around the beach and when I decided it was time to leave – again on Neha’s insistence, we found a spot on grass where we spread out a picnic sheet. We enjoyed idling there however it was not long when I vehemently forced Neha out of her inertia and headed straight for home.

Sunset at Clancy's Fish Bar

Idling at City Beach

At home, Vineet & Shilpa were waiting for us at dinner to which we refused owing to recent snacks but later we shamelessly accompanied them for their quick in-kitchen dinner. Neha & I had decided in our minds that the next day’s dinner would have to be with our Hosts. After a quick discussion on the next day’s plan, I decided not to head off to Albany but to the mysterious Wave Rock for which I had planned the Perth trip in the first place. I also felt this 8 hour drive would test our capability as a family to travel with the safety of coming back to a “home” rather than to a “hotel”.

Mission Australia 2013 - Day 01

Delhi – Singapore – Perth 

The morning started quite early at 2 AM with travel bugs biting my stomach and one by one, all three of us got ready and were ready to leave at 5.30 AM. As usual I felt hungry and after a quick breakfast of aloo-parantha (which we’ll be craving for the next 18 days) with yogurt and family blessings, we reached the Airport before our target time 7 AM. Check-in was smooth at the comfortable T3 and so was the following immigration followed by the security check. We traveled the Jet Airways 9W 18 to Singapore and were pleasantly treated to care & courtesy – thanks to our baby. On feeling sleepy, she was even provided a bassinet which was a first for us. The food was really good, as is with 9W usually. On arrival, my primary concern, of course was to reach the Departure Gate as soon as possible. It took us 2 round trips of the connecting train to figure that we had to get out once and re-board another train to reach our terminal. This, in my opinion, was cumbersome and I recalled US Airports where a single train connects all the terminals/concourses in a loop of sorts.

Ayana with her "pose" aboard 9W 18 (DEL-SIN)

Anyhow, after security check, we were getting really concerned & elated about our food and drinks which had not been thrown by any security team yet. However, at the thought that it would be disposed at Perth Airport and the food in the connecting Qantas would not be Indian, we reluctantly decided to just stuff our tummies with home food and finish off most of it (offering another Indian couple also).

Once aboard Qantas, again on the front seat, we were offered Indian food (on enquiry) which had been specially reserved for us and we had a gala time wiping off the dishes in our tray. Neha, of course, kept aside some fruit & desserts for later. After a quick dinner, everybody slept and soon we saw the first glimpses of Perth city lights in the dark. Arrival Immigration was a breeze & DAFF, according to our declaration, got our bags opened to which we enthusiastically responded by showing our “veggie” meals (with list of ingredients) and they let us off really soon without keeping any of our stuff for quarantine.

Perth Airport was an excellent example of “ended right after it started” and I was surprised to see Vineet & Shilpa in the arrivals lounge. I was guided, thence, to the Budget Counter and with the formalities done, we found our way to our Hyundai i45 outside where it was surprisingly quite cold (First sign of our un-preparedness for any cold weather). Struggling much with the baby seat, we started following Vineet with his address fed into the GPS Navigator. Upon reaching home, we chatted for a long while – we ate (even after having eaten a lot all the day) – and after much argument with the hosts, we were guided towards the only master bed by them – much to our comfort yet chagrin.

Ayana elated at her separate Seat

Perth Airport - Budget Pickup

Mission Australia 2013 - Day ZERO

Jul 08, 2013 – Nov 06, 2013

Planning – Planning & More Planning!

Having been to USA & Indonesia, I had the confidence of travelling international but the catch was our 2 year old daughter about whose health and travel capability I was really concerned. However, assured by my better half and partner in crime ‘Neha’; I went ahead with the planning of my old time favorite Aussie Trip.

Vineet, my friend from Allahabad, had already invited me over and he came about to the start point of my research & planning. Soon I realized that if I wanted to do justice to Australia, visiting New Zealand in the same trip would be a big challenge and would not be doable within a 15 day holiday that I could get.

Thus, I went ahead and formulated a rough itinerary of including Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, Gold Coast & my favorite – Uluru (thereby eliminating Adelaide & Brisbane). Also, due to the fact that Uluru had direct flights just from Cairns or Sydney and given the fact that I could fly out to Delhi from either Melbourne or Sydney only; the most optimized route came about to be Perth -> Cairns -> Uluru -> Sydney -> Gold Coast -> Melbourne.

Following the fixing of itinerary, I had to now look upon the budget allocation (airfares & accommodation) as well as the visa procedures, which I did, in due course of time and after 1500 email exchanges, 400 minutes on international calling; I finally applied for the Australian Visa and got it within 2 days.

When it was time to proceed with the booking of air tickets, the deal price touched the skies due to exchange rate still I had to do it. Following week, I booked the accommodation at most places leaving just Melbourne open & flexible. Soon, my inviter friend Vineet explained to me about his exam just after our visit and its implications to which I decided to extend my Perth stay by one day (thereby advancing my departure) and renting a car right outside the Airport. Also, I had decided to rent the car at Uluru when I read really negative reviews about the monopoly of AAT Kings tours there. Melbourne obviously had to be by rental car for the Great Ocean Road.

Following weeks, we got totally busy preparing the Check-list or as we call it the “Pack-List” and shopping for the essentials that we didn’t have. I assigned Neha as the in-charge of packing and after so much planning and brainstorming, 2 days before the travel date, our bags were up and ready for check-in (hats-off to Neha).

Mission Ladakh Zanskar Siachen 2007 - Day 15

Kiratpur – Ambala – Sonepat – Delhi

Last evening, 3 things were enough to irritate me with HRTC – Unauthorized Luggage handler asking for 5 rupees a piece AGAIN; 60 minute halt at Kullu and the final dinner halt at HP Tourism Pandoh Café where there was no other option and the Dinner, a pathetic one, was on buffet at 60/- per head. We had opted to go hungry and eat some dry-fruits instead.

I woke up in broad daylight around 7, switched on my cell phone and fell asleep again. Soon I was woken up by a call from home. When I hung up, people were coming out of the slumber as the Bus prepared to stop over at a Dhaba. According to my estimates, we were an hour or so away from Delhi. It was apparent that the Driver is loitering time in order not to reach ISBT before time. We touched ISBT at 8.30 sharp – hired an auto and when we reached home – I could only hug my father and say “You have to go there, Papa”.

And Papa could merely take leave of a narration of my experiences!

Mission Ladakh Zanskar Siachen 2007 - Day 14

Patseo – Manali – Mandi – Kiratpur

The morning started early with Bed Tea and Rest Room Management meanwhile Hari and I stepped out for some photography.

Patseo - a small Station covered by Cliffs all around

Hari with his Tea Mug outside our Barrack

Pahaadon ke beech mein Vaadi aur Vaadi mein Main

Once again, the bridge at Darcha banged loudly with us crossing over. The yellow BRO board at Baralacha La had been replaced by a new Light Green HP Tourism Board and we got to know the name of that beautiful lake – Suraj/Vishal Tal because of a new HP Tourism board.

First Sight of a full-grown tree in 14 days!

Waterfall that was not there before!

We were enjoying our way down from there. Our eyes were feasting on the beautiful newly created waterfalls and recently sprouted shrubs and lush green grasslands – especially those around Sissu, Koksar and Keylong. I must have been fast asleep when we crossed Gramphoo because I couldn’t see the bifurcation to Kaza again.

Argh! Almost unanimously, we nodded our heads in frustrated negation and sneered our noses as we approached Rohtang La. Drivers became crazy and were on an overtaking spree – our poor “mature” Ladakhi Driver was abusing the Himachali’s :-) Now I understood why he wanted us to change the car again after Darcha – The condition of the traffic is a reason simple enough for anybody to be afraid of.

We had crossed Rohtang Top at 11.20 AM and touched Manali Bus Stand at 1.40 PM. By the time, we confirmed the departure point for our Bus and subsequently, cleared the accounts with Rigzim, it was well past 2. We decided to head straight for a restaurant, expecting that we could keep our luggage there only, for the post-lunch couple of hours. We were trying to buy more time but as expected, the surd restaurant-owner turned drastically hostile immediately after our lunch and asked to keep our luggage at the Cloak Room rather. We decided to spend our time in the Park. Leaving Hari and Bikiran there, I and Farhan decided to go and check out the conveyance options for Leh near Hotel Himadri and yes, there were a flurry of JK-10 vehicles waiting for the day. To our amazement, we met Rigzim again with other senior drivers from Leh and discussed all the issues involved in taking the passengers back.
On getting back, I didn’t have the energy to explain the entire details (with the issues) to others and hence, Hari went out with his discontent over the cost of the conveyance. His logic was we could have booked a direct bus from Delhi to Leh or Manali to Leh because for him “Destination was important – How we get there, Does not Matter”. I replied “For this trip, Journey was more important than the Destination itself” – to which nobody could reply anything. I also felt low for a moment at recalling how much I had toiled for this trip to be successful and immaculate. To my content, all my team mates soon consoled me and convinced me that there is absolutely no problem with this trip and this is one of the best trips they could have ever had :-)