Day 7: April 9, 2013
Day @ Manali
Comes a day in everyone’s life when it turns out to be the
most action packed day of your life and many of your dreams come true. The Day
7th of our great Indian road trip turned out to be one such day.
We had planned to go to Rohtang pass. But we came to know at
Shimla that Rohtang pass usually opens in mid May. But the road was open up to
Gulaba point which is about 30 kms before Rohtang pass. The Army had opened the
roads up to that point. We decided to go to Gulaba point. We got ready early
and had our breakfast in the resort.
The drive to Gulaba point was very beautiful. The higher we
climbed, the more breath taking the scenary became. We saw large orchards of
Apple with the flowers in full bloom. The fresh fragrance of tall pine trees
was all around us and the roads were laden with tall Christmas trees as well. Small
rivulets appered out of nowhere at regular intervals and joined the mighty
Beas. The Beas River was flowing fuller than it was lower down, having been fed
by freshly melted snow and rains in the previous couple of days. We saw many sure
footed and hardy Nepali workers climbing slowly but surely with heavy loads on their
backs at the various construction sites and road work sites.
The roads are very steep and some stretches are god and some
stretches are not very good. The tarring is not yet complete due to which the
road is full of pot holes in those stretches that are not good. It takes a lot skill,
patience, courage and guts to negotiate the curves and the steep climb
efficiently. The signs are missing at many key points and so we have to keep asking
the way all the time. There are many sharp and steep hair pin bends throughout
the way. We lost our way at one point when we took a wrong turn and soon
realised when we asked the way at the next point and took a turn back and
resumed our journey forward.
After we had passed a certain point we suddenly saw snow
very close to the road. We stopped and jumped out of the car like small
children and went to play with the snow. During the drive throughout the route
we found shops advertising skiing suits, gum boots, snow goggles, gloves and
many such gear that you would require to wear to save yourself from the snow
and the cold. We ignored all the shops and the signs and proceed further having
decided to hire something right on top. But later we realised that it would
have been a good idea to hire at the beginning itself because rates are cheaper
at the bottom and very exorbitant at the top.
When we reached Gulaba point we were greeted by hordes of
vendors trying to sell their wares or services. We hired fur coats for all the
four of us. Ashok at first refused because he never feels cold and felt that he
could handle it. But it was freezing and 4⁰ C and so he decided to take a coat.
We also took gum boots as it is difficult to walk on the snow with regular
shoes. There is also the possibility that the shoes and the socks might become
wet and cold due to the snow and so it might be difficult to walk with wet
shoes and socks later.
The snow and the beauty of the place is breath taking. The
snow seemed to be very old as it was covered by twigs of the trees and there
was brown and black dust on the snow that had fallen from the trees. A lot of
tea and coffee vendors were moving up and down selling hot beverages to people
and enticing people to buy their wares to fight the cold. But we had been
warned at the resort not to buy any eatable or drinks here as they use the
dirty water of the melted snow to prepare and we might end up falling sick.
There were many carts selling hot boiled or burnt corn. Many
vendors were also selling hot Maggi and Parle G biscuits with hot Chai and hot
coffee. We resisted the temptation to buy any of those. We hired two motorised
battery operated off-road bikes and had a very scary and jolly ride up the
mountains. Once we reached the top we were again hounded by vendors. We succumbed
to a few. We took a horse ride. The horses are mountain horses and look very
strong and are very sure footed. Its very difficult to walk on the snow as the
snow is soft and our foot goes in many places. It happens to the horses also. Whenever
their foot goes in, we tilt to a side. For people who are used to walking on
flat ground knowing what is up ahead and being sure of where we are placing our
feet, it is a bit of a scary experience. But if you are the kind who revels in
the unexpected and enjoys a little bit of a thrill in life, all these
experiences can be very enjoyable.
We wore the traditional Himachali dress and took photos.
Amrita refused to wear those dresses and went away to try some skiing. We
forced Ashok to wear those clothes and he posed for a few pictures very
grudgingly. We also got tricked into
hiring a photographer when he approached us. He took some 42 pictures of ours
and charged us Rs.50 per picture. After much haggling and bargaining he settled
for Rs.30 per picture. Since we were busy posing for photographs, we could not
try out skiing as we had to do some more sight-seeing and wanted to get back to
the resort early and sleep early as we had a tough drive back to Delhi the next
day.
The drive back was completely downhill and the steep inclines
had to be negotiated skilfully. We visited the Hidimba temple. This temple is
in a cave and has the feet of Hidimba, the Rakshashi princess who married the
second Pandav Bheem and gave birth to the brave warrior Rakshash Gatodgach who
fought valiantly against the Kauravas in the great war of Mahabharata. The feet
are carved in the rock and there is a large iron lamp burning continuously. The
cave temple has a massive wooden structure that has been built on top with a beautiful
doorway and windows that have very intricate carvings on them. It is supposed
to be a 400 year old temple and the cave temple is supposed to be more than
4000 years old. There are some skulls of animals that have been put up on the
walls just like how we would find carvings of mythological stories or
mythological Gods in the temples of the South.
We went to the Gatodgach tree temple
which is close by. The Gatotgach tree temple is nothing but a massive Christmas
tree with some skulls of animals pinned up to it. There is a large board
explaining the significance and the story. We returned to the resort and began
packing and getting ready to leave the next day and drive back to Delhi.
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