THE DRIVE !!!!

It was a long long trip.. and actually capturing it in words is going to be difficult...
i drove and drove and drove.. and drove a li'il more... and finally reached home...

and during this time.. i met rains.. i met winds.. i met clouds... i met trees... i met a few humans... a few bridges... some rivers.. some temples... and all the time.. Dear God was with me to ensure that me and the people with me were safe... after driving at 2300 hrs on a road which was inside a deep jungle and the nearest village was about 20 kms away,it needed some blessings from dear God...

Day 0: Wednesday 14-Sep...

i reach home early so that i could catch up with some sleep before my long drive begins... this drive was going to be a minimum of 14 hours... and the max i had done so far was 12 hours.. which was a trip to uttranchal again.. and i had driven from Chamba to Delhi via Dhanaulti and Massourie...

even though i tried hard i could only manage to sleep around 2000 hours.. and that too after a long discussion about the time we should be leaving delhi... rajesh who was one of the ppl going with us was not at all comfortable in leaving around 2300 as planned earlier... he was kinda concerned about the safety of all of us in the stretch around moradabad... well.. i did not want to have any further discussions on this.. afterall his reservations were genuine as well....

it was not raining when i left home around 0000 hrs... but it started drizzling when i picked up ankur from his place in Mayur Vihar and then went to Pandav Nagar to pick up the rest of the passengers... Abhineet ( Ankur's childhood friend) and Rajesh ( Ankur's office collegue)...

Day 1: Thursday 15-Sep...

The calender day started at my place only.. when i left... and at exact 0106 hours we four left for a journey which was planned yet, there was a lot that we had to still figure out... had lots of stuff to carry along withus.. which meant that the two people in the rear seat had to adjust with a huge blanket ( which God knows why Ankur wanted Abhineet to carry) and the two bags that they got.. Ankur who was on the next seat to me.. also had to sit with one bag on the floor.. so all in all.. a car which was packed...

with bags
with people
with music
with food
and with loads of spirit !!!

and by now the drizzle had graduated to a rain.. and we had to shut the windows and switch on the AC... normally in Delhi i have to keep it on blower speed 3 ( max is 4) to keep the passengers cool.. but this time.. after about 10 minutes of AC running.. we had to move it to blower level 1... some cold wave inside the car it was.... and rear seat guys.. made themselves comfortable with the blanket now...

passed 4 toll plazas... and some real real bad roads with some decent roads to see the light of the day around 0500 hours near Haldwani.. the average speed could not be more then 50 kmph.. thanks to the traffic that we came across on the entire highway.. someone in UP govt. needs to look at their definition of a National Highway !!! seriously... the moment we entered Uttranchal.. the difference was phenomenol in terms of the road quality... about 50 odds kms before Hldwani we reached a road on which the car was more or less only gliding !!! not a single pothole on the road.. it was just too good to beleive... no rain meant that we could all roll down the windows and let the cold (not cool) breeze hit our faces... could see the rickshaws moving... the smalls kids going to school... and could feel the sun rising behind the clouds...

From Haldwani we reached Kathgodam... and we were now thinking of taking a break.. and stopping by for a cuppa tea or something... but then looked at the dash and the milestones and figured out that Bhimtal was just about 1 hour away.. and decided to continue moving instead of stopping anywhere...

but then i just could not resist the feeling of stopping by at the roadside and just breathe the fresh air that i was feeling here.. and i stopped... and we just looked around.. i feel that there is something magical about the mountains... the skies.. and whatever comes in front of my eyes at that point... it gives me a high... and i was happy that i was not at all feeling tired or anything.. i was not sure how long i still had to drive, still i was just ready to go.. watever distance we could...

Abhi wondering about the colour of the car

a true off-roader :)

our second stop happened to be not Bhimtal, rather Naukuchiyatal !!!!

This is where we had our morning tea... it was i guess around 0700 hours that we reached there.. even the restaurant owner was sleepy when he welcomed us... beautiful weather.. nice silent huge lake... we could not resist having a boat ride in that.. so we asked the dhaba-wala to arrange for a shikara !!! fortunately he owned one.. and we just jumped at the opportunity to take a ride... about 45 minutes of boating.. and 140 bucks... did not look like a bad idea at all...

Abhi, was not at all keen on a self driven boat... and was sleepy.. so i guess he enjoyed the ride in the boat too... and rajesh... who looked scared of snakes.. had a tough time sitting in the boat when he was told that there are water snakes in there.. and can jump up to bite him !!! dunno he was kidding or not.. but then even the fake looked genuine and it was fun...

naukuchiyatal in the morning...ours was the first and the only boat there

we finally decided to move from there around 0930 hrs... and had to change our route thanks to the information we got from the boat-walah !!!

We had planned to go to DunaGiri and Dwarhat via Ranikhet and then move to Kausani from there. but with the estimates he gave.. we would not have made it in time.. so we decided to not go to Dunagiri.. and move to Kausani straight via Bhowali and Almora...

we also stopped at a place called Garampani.. no no .. do not go by the name.. the water was very cold there.. but then i was able to put my feet inside the small stream of cold water there.. and enjoy the feel.. it was really relaxing.. Rajesh and Ankur here wanted to do a small dare and they did.. folded their trousers to look like shorts.. and walked to the middle of this small but strong water stream !!! it was really funny when both of them were just about to fall.. it would have been great to see them fall and get soaked in water.. but then this did not happen.. so much for getting entertained i tell you.. nevertheless.. they came out with trousers which were completly wet... hehehe.. it was funny there.. i still am smiling while thinking about the scene they created there...

garampani.. though the water was cold...

and then we moved to almora... this was around 1000 hours that we started from Garampaani

just after we cross almora

then from Almora we moved towards Kosi from where we would have to move towards Kausani.. which is where i had initially planned to go.. well this was a good trip so far.. and i was enjoying it a lot... and a few turns later.. i had to stop again.. the view was so damn beautiful that i just could not move ahead... it was almost like getting hypnotised by the nature... Thank you God for giving us so much beauty...

our second brief stop after Almora

And then we moved to Kausani.. and to our surprise on our way we found a road that was coming from Dwarhat and Dunagiri and reaching Kausani through Someshwar. would actually could have gone to Dunagiri via Ranikhet and then go to Kausani... never mind... there was nothing that we could do right now.. so we decided to keep moving.. and we managed to reach Kausani around 1700 hours...

finally a long drive came to an end for the day... something that started at 0106 hours with 14745 kms on the dash reached its day end at 1700 hours with 15167 kms on the dash. 422 kms of road comvers in about 16 hours... with some stops in between...

i was not really feeling tired... so i decided to the next best thing other then driving.. and pulled out the camera :) helped myself with the view first with the eyes.. and then through the view-finder...

a view of Baijnath from Kausani, if it was not clouds in the front.. it would have been the Himalayas

i am not really sure as to where did we eat food that day.. i do not think we had lunch anywhere.. or for that matter a formal dinner too.. we just ate whatever had in the car.. and then in the evening while abhi was fast asleep... the rest of us went out to click some fotos and had some light food... oh i remember.. we had some quick snacks in the evening around 1800 hours in a shop there...

the night was approaching.. and i was not really keen to waste any time sleeping... so again.. me and my camera.. and this time.. joined by a third friend as well... the TRIPOD !!! thank you Gaurav to lend me the tripod.. it really helped me take some good fotos... kept taking fotos and looking around till like 2200 hrs.. before i went off to sleep...

the moon...

the same baijnath... this time in the night

Day 2: Friday 16-Sep...

The day started a li'il late.. and we found out that it was raining heavily... we asked the hotel guy for some hot water.. and got ready with ease.. and finally managed to move out at 1030 hours....

the plan was to move from Kausani to Baijnath to Bageshwar and then to Patal Bhuvneshwar via Chakori... the route was long.. and the roads unknown.. but then we had ample time with us guys.. so we just moved ahead.. some small snacks in the car itself.. and about an hours drive took us to baijnath !!!

baijnath dham

baijnath dham

some children coming back from their school...

after driving for almost the entire day, and figuring out the route using the road maps we had and with the help of the locals.. we managed to reach Patal Bhuvneshwar at 1640 hours... phew.. wasn't that a long drive... well it was... but the views on the way.. made it look all so simple.. and magical....

on our way towards Patal Bhuvneshwar

somewhere in between..

dunno where we are....

but to our surprise, the cave was already closed for the day.. we had no other option but to stay there till next morning 0800 hours to see the cave we had driven so much for.. i was not really keen to do that.. coz that would have killed a lot of our time.. but then on second thoughts.. i made up my mind to just stay back...

but then an idea struck.. one local guy there said that why don't you talk to the panditji and see if something can be done.. and we decided to send Ankur as our representative to take care of this.. he is one person who can really get things done.. can be after your life to do something.. and will let you go only when his wish has been taken care of...

dunno we were lucky or Ankur was really good with his words.. the guys there agreed to open the locks and take us inside the cave... but the condition was that we could not stay there in the night.. we had to leave the small town as soon as we were out of the cave.. first i thought it has something to do with some superstition.. but then realised that the area was under the ASI ( Archeological Survey of India) and their reps might make a big issue if we stayed back even after getting to see the place...

no issues.. we thought we would go to Almora in the night.. which was a good 100 kms away from there... and decided to get in...

phew.. it was tough to get inside that cave... walking straight down about 40 metre with approx 60 steps... and through a hole which could only manage one person at a time... was tough.. really really tough.. had to keep holding on to the chains for support.. also the entire area was very very slippery thanks to the continuous rain...

and as soon as we reached the bottom... a huuuuuuuuge cave welcomed us.. it was dark.. the area lighted thanks to a generator outside the cave... and cold and we were barefeet...

the guy who helped us in also was the guide and helped us look around... this is where whatever i have heard from my dad and my grandparents about god and the stories related to them looked true...

i saw the Sheshnag, i saw the hundreds of legs of the Eravat, the elephant that belonged to Indra, i came face to face with Kal Bhairav, I saw the skull of Lord Bhrahma, and also the body of Ganesha which was being taken care of by the Amrit, coming from the KamDhenu. This headless body of Ganesha is also known as the Aadi-Ganesha, and is the reprsentation of the time when Lord Shiva had cut his head off because he did not allow Shiva to enter Mata Parvati's Palace because he was ordered not to let anyone enter...

We also came across the Jatas of Lord Shiva, which had the River Ganga in them... this was the representatoin of the time when Ma Ganga wanted to detroy everyone on the earth and Lord Shiva had to interefere and he had to stop the river with his Long Hair called the Shiv Jatas.... also representing the millions of Hindu Devtas and Devis were small small stones....

Then the shivlings of Amarnath, Panch Badri ( from Badrinath )and the Kedarnath.. exactly the same way they are in their respective places... i was reminded of the time when i could not reach Badrinath.. not a long while back.. and then compare it to that day when i was there standing in front of all the three of them together... there was something magical and scary about that entire cave... i cannot really express it in words.. i am sorry.. but then my faith in God and the super powers was getting strenghened there...

and then we moved to the actual Patal Bhuvneshwar... this is where Adi Shankaracharya had worshipped the lord Shiva, and the pindi there had Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva together... we then moved to another small cave there, which is supposed to be there place where the pandavas played the game of Chausar with Lord Shiva and Parvati.. this is where Yudhishthir moved to heaved with a human body too...

finally after spending a good hour inside the cave another tough exercise of getting out began... it was really really tough this time to pull up our bodies using the chains with li'il help from our legs and hands which were now wet and slippery too...

anyway we moved out and i was still amazed to see whatever i had seen... i still cannot beleive it... but then I know that God is there... for me and for everyone around me !!!

there were a good 100 kms to be covered and it was 1815 hours.. which meant that we could be able to reach Almora which was our next stop only around 2200 hours... a long way to go... we finally managed to move around 1830 hours... and the dash right now had 15294 kms on it...

we realised that we did not stop anywhere in the entire day for food.. and it was kinda troubling us.. to make things worse it started raining heavily... and the because the air was messing up with the view on the windscreen... we had to keep the AC on for most of the time in the drive towards Almora....

we finally managed to reach a place called Nukkad Dhaba and have food there.. was not the best of the food, but then we had li'il options.... it was small place with some night lamps.. and no electricity.. the best part was we guys sitting on the wooden takhats and eating our food... our journey from there began at 2130 hours.. and it was 15350 kms on the dash at that time...

Now the question that we had in mind was whether to go to Almora and then come back to Jageshwar the next morning.. or to go to Jageshwar and then try to look for a place there to stay... we took the chance.. and at the deciding turn.. turned towards Jageshwar... reached Jageshwar @ 2341 hours... with a heavy drizzle still around.. and were welcomed by a small town which was as dark as black can be... the only light there were the headlights of the car... THATS IT !!! luckily we saw a few boards of some cheap hotels and knew that we might just some space to sleep in the night.. however we were also mentally prepared to spend the night in the CAR itself...

that situation did not come though.. and we found our way towards teh Kumaon Mandal's guest house... intersting conversation we had there with the keeper after it took us 10 minutes of banging on the door to wake him up.. he had three things to offer... a double bed room for 500 bucks; a room with two double-beds for 900 bucks.. and the best of the lot.. 100 bucks per bed for a dorm.. i asked him if there were any more ppl in the dorm.. and the answer was very encouraging.. there were none.. which meant the entire hall for us... hehehe...
so we four.. in as and where is positions hopped into the dorm... there were 12 beds with blankets on all of them.. and we took all the blankets.. and put them on our beds.. and slept in peace till morning...

Day 3: Saturday 17 - Sep...

got up around around 0700 hours...

the last two days were really good.. and we had two more to go... looking forward to everything that had to come my way.. i got up.. and got ready.. which included getting fresh and brushing my teeth.. no taking a bath in that cold weather today :) though that weather and the cold breeze did not stop me for taking a few fotos...

the guest house in Jageshwar where we stayed

our first stop.. was the Jyotirling Jageshwar... one of the 12 Jyotirlings in India... we spent a good two hours around that place and took a lot of fotos...

Jageshwar Temple

fresh flowers...

then we moved to the Kuber Temple and took some more fotos...

Jageshwar Temple from the Kuber Temple

more about Kuber Temple

finally moved out of Jageshwar at 1000 hours and moved to Almora.. excellent roads welcomed us.. and our first stop was at the Chitai Temple near Almora... this is a temple dedicated to a God called Golu Devta and i could literally see thousands of bells tied around there.. with ppl leaving their requests and prayers behind written on paper along with the bells... even stamp papers signed were used to write things there... phew.. some faith.. and that too with legal papers...

Chitai Temple

The bells at the Chitai Temple

we had our lunch at Almora... good food and soup.. and the we decided to move to mukhteshwar and then to nainital via bhowali...

Almora Again

next stop should have been mukteshwar... but we had to turn back about 20 kms from there thanks to low fuel.. we were not able to get the right estimate of the distance we had to cover from anyone.. and that is why decided to move to bhowali.. which was the nearest place with a petrol pump...

Somewhere in between...

we took some petrol from the HP petrol pump in bhowali and i realised that the car wipers had conked off... this was not a good sign at all... as it was raining heavily and driving in the hills without a wiper working is really reallly dangerous.. tried looking for an electrician but could not find one.. probably everyone of them was on a leave that day... we stopped next to a small spares shop.. and did not RnD on the issue ourself.. figured out that the fuse had blown and replaced the fuse.. it still did not solve the issue... and we decided to move towards nainital and see if we could find a guy to repair the wipers there...

so heavy rain.. no wipers... and we moved to nainital.. the roads were thankfully wide and excellent.. though it was scary to drive with such low visibility... anyway.. we reached nainital.. and realised that it was raining more heavily there as compared to the rest of the places around... we lost all hope of finding an electrician.. and then thought of looking for a hotel to stay there...

nainital was deserted... no humans nothing... heavy rains.. and we were not sure where to look for a place to stay... went on the mall road.. and then came back a li'il and parked the car at a safe place.. while me and abhi stayed.. Ankur and Rajesh went out to look for a place to stay.. and about 30 minutes later.. came back with the news that we had a place to stay. and it had star one as well... STAR ONE was important as we had missed the great indian laughter champions on friday and we really really wanted to see it someone... probably a repeat or something...

so finally parked the car near the hotel...

Car parked on the Mall Road, Nainital

and checked in... went out to have dinner... and then came back... and took some good fotos....

The room in Nainital

:)

though the room at two rooms and two beds.. we decided not the use the room inside.. and sleep on the room on the outer side only... moved the sofa set... and the chairs so that to accomodate four ppl.. and slept in peace for the night... while it was raining cats and dogs outside...

Final DAY Day 4: Sunday 18 - Sep...

I got up early and was delighted to see that it was not raining outside.. infact he sun was shining.. and wanted us to just out and chill !!!!

Good Morning in Nainital

so i had to come out.. and then see what was there in store for us... and everything looked just good... there was not need of an electrician as of now.. and we could just hang around there...

The same place like above.. the foto taken in the morning...

we just walked around on the mall road.. took a couple of pics and then went to the Naini Temple.. before we had a heavy breakfast near the temple itself.. and then drove up towards the China Peak... did some sight seeing.. and back to Nainital !!!

Some view point near nainital.. i liked this view the most :)

nainital... and the boats in it...

this is where a guide caught our attention and we decided to give the local sightseeing another shot !!! tiffin top, suicide point, tiger hill, and a few more things suddenly were added to the agenda !!! and we took the van to a place called Bara Paththar.. and then waited around at the Suicide point for the horses, which were to take us to the top.. or we had to take them to the top..

suicide point...hmmm

30 odd minutes laters.. we have the horses.. and trust me they looked the best horses that ppl around could sit on... a good 6 ft high all of them.. i had rustam take me around.. who was a 3 year old, white and brown horse..... and i was given some basis instructions on how to handle the movement... we moved around the entire place.. and i managed to almost fall from the horse twice... and then learn with my mistake and manage to ride it better...

what i saw is better to seen then read... so here are a few fotos...

nainital... from another hill

i don't remember the name of this place

we finally managed to move from nainital around 1715 hours... and after stopping for some petrol for the car.. and then some fuel for ourself at the reliance petrol pump and the reliance dhaba respectively... and then managing to drive through some really really bad roads... managed to reach Abhi's place at 0130 hours... and my dashboard told me that i had driven for a good 1150 kms in the entire trip !!!

@ the Reliance managed A1 Dhaba

WE 4 at the dhaba after a good dinner...

so friends... this was my road trip.. and some of the moments i could capture in the camera...
if you want to have a look at a few more fotos.. this is where you have to go => ROAD TRIP TO UTTRANCHAL

a few essentials if u are travelling on that route in this area:

rain gear...
atleast one waterproof lower...
ur car checked before the drive...
affection to rain...
love with mountains...
loads and loads of patience... coz the roads on the mountain just do not seem to end...
and khooooooob saara spirit !!!!

my total expense on this trip was 2500 bucks excluding the films rolls and getting them developed... surprised... do not be.. i think with some exp. i have learnt how to travel cheap and still be in luxury all the time :)

one thing that deserves be mentioned has not been talked about so far in the post is the way my car handled the entire trip.... i have still managed to keep it a single hand drive.. and drove the entire way myself... and i hope the rest of them had a good and a safe time too...
my love my palio has increased many fold after this trip.. not a single squeaking noise from the car.. even after going through the worst potholes on the highways in UP and the twists and turns on the hills of uttranchal.. i was driving on an average of 12 hours per day.. and still i was less tired then the rest of the gang.. while they wanted to get into bed and sleep.. i felt as if i could still cover a long way !!!

thank you Fiat for making such a wonderful machine.. thank you Radha for being my best companion for one year.... and thank you God for looking after me the entire time...