Day 5: August 12, 2010, Thursday

Stayed in Chhitkul today. And stayed mostly on foot. We started late and took it easy. We enjoyed the chilly morning air and I even felt the cold floor with my bare feet for the lack of slippers! For breakfast, I finally decided to adapt and had an omlette with the parathas- just to keep warm. To prevent mishaps, I took a swig of pudinhara- you know, just in case- especially since I haven't been having eggs directly for ages.

Freezing in my summer wear!

View from our rooms

Everyone was ready for the trek and looking at the weather, most put on their warm gear- some even wore their biking gloves! I made a mix of gatorade in my alum bottle for the  climb up. We felt rather stupid when we saw that there was a bridge over the stream to walk across- while last night we had been trying to jump over it or walk through it- in the dark! Anyway, we walked through the village, clicked a gazzilion pictures and yet again, it proved tough to take Dev away from little girls- these kids wanted pens in return for permission to photograph them! 

We even chatted with some Kinnauri menfolk who told us that ther are all taught Hindi in school and thats why they all know the language. We met an old man who offered us some freshly harvested turnips- that we washed and ate at the spot- was way better than what we had last night. The village seemed to be quite developed- it had solar panels in spots, there were water channels everywhere and water even powered the sole wheat-mill that we saw there- Apparently, people had to just give a share of their wheat in return to be allowed to grind their wheat- that's all! This was a village of a claimed 600 people- but they seemed to be doing rather well. I really like the atmosphere around here, natural or cultural- and generally I am someone who doesn't like people so much!

Beni starts his funny poses with his Japanese hat!

Temple temple everywhere

They take this to heart-learned it last night!

Paparazzi

Contemplation + break

Dev treks up valiantly- all by himself!

The village becomes a speck

The flag-top- lower than our point! ;)

Rock-land!

Beni gets up, close ad personal!

Kjo, Alok and Suku went on some trail that went up to a hiltop that had some flags. Bijoor san had disappeared in the horizon somewhere. Dev, who was walking ahead managed to find some route (or so he thought) that seemed shorter to the same flag-top. Me and Beni took it easy on the climb but kept on the trek route that we were all on from before. And in the middle of green mountains we came upon a whole rocky section and from that point you couldn't even see the village or anyone else. It felt like we were finally really away from home. Bijoor san was at the end of the route and we stopped for a mini photo session and just to contemplate. We saw Dev still climbing hard to the top on his supposed short route and soon they were all on the top. Beni was showing signs of AMS but it probably was just the lack of oxygen and we were all tired without a doubt.

As we (me, Beni and Bijoor san) made our way down, Suku and Dev were making their way up from where we came from. We three did not see the other two so we proceeded to look for food in the village- we saw the SUVs and taxis we had seen the day earlier. We finally found food and service in the more expensive guest house- the food was pricey at 200 a head! We met our Israeli neighbors from our guest house and a Israeli couple who were riding on one bike- a beat up enfield with a bent front end and busted meters! They were almost on the same schedule as us so perhaps, we would see more of them.

The drizzle had returned on our way down and was getting a little heavier while the clouds engulfed the mountains we had trekked earlier today. We three walked back to the rooms where the rest of them joined up soon. The rest had lunch here and everyone fell asleep after that! I was bored to death and the Airtel recharges were not working at all and I was not getting any signal on signal point in front of the guest house!

We had a brief chuckle when we saw these group of bikers making a big deal out of the little crossing in front of our guest house! One guy got stuck in the middle of the water, one got stuck before the water and everyone was terrified on seeing this water body! I guess they got back their courage when a guy on an avenger on the other side just plowed through the water effortlessly! What surprised us was the presence of a Splendor and a Samurai in their midst!

Stuck guy on his pulsar while Avenger guy is about to show how its done!

Beni woke up soon and with Bijoor san in tow, we headed back for photographs on yesterday's roads. I took him pillion on my bike and at points, one realized how tricky it would be to have a pillion in the mountains, esp on slush and ditches at bends. The sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds but we did not get much of good light and darkness was creeping up fast. Calling up Airtel customer care was a pain and futile for calling needs. Bijoor san's BSNL worked perfectly fine. As Bijoor san felt his bike would be slow so he headed back before us and we followed soon. 

Signal point- in front of our guesthouse- everyone comes to call!

Floating clouds meet us again

Dinner was again at the hotel but not before the owner met us with the local alcohol that beni had asked for. After looking at our photos, he proceeded to show the potency of his land's alcohol by inserting his finger into the alcohol directly in the bottle and burning the bits of alcohol that he could manage to put on his finger. It was sort of freaky to see him do that but more gross because everyone else had to have that alcohol afterwards! Everyone says alcohol at high altitudes is inadvisable- and I just hoped that we wouldn't have to find out the hard way-esp since it's hard to keep Pegus away from alcohol!

Arvind demonstrates fire catching abilities of Kinnauri alcohol

It was a good day with hardly any riding- good rest for the bodies but I was itching to be back on the roads again.  I think the road had been harder on the rest much more than on me, so we do need these recharge stops- plus, I really like this village a lot. Tomorrow, we head to Nako via Rekongpeo.

Total distance covered= 0kms

Total cost= Rs. 1120

[ Lunch=  200 + Recharge= 200 + Stay(dinner,water,breakfast)=720 ]

Day 6: August 13, 2010, Friday

Chiitjul to Kalpa

Friday the 13th haunts us in small doses.

The morning started beautifully and it seemed like it would be a great day. It was. My head did run into the small miniature door we had for our bathroom and that left me dazed for a few seconds! We even washed our bikes in the stream in front of the guest house. While others were being a bit slow in prepping their bikes, I, Beni and Suku left went on ahead to take pictures of the road that we missed when we were coming down to Chhitkul. Bijoor san caught up with us and we four went on to Sangla without the others. We  crossed the same water crossing- it wasn't as wild and difficult because it was morning time (these streams get wilder as the day progresses and glaciers melt) and the roads were mostly going downhill, so our pace was good.

Ready to go

Yaaaaaaaahhh!

Wham!

Priorities

While we waited, I got bathroom slippers while Bijoor san and Suku got gum-boots and we stocked up on water. I dont think anyone was taking it seriously to stock up on water and on a normal day I drink about 3 litres of water! We even had breakfast- went to a Tibetan place hoping to find some Tibetan food but had to make do with aloo paranthas! We, the dutiful selves that we are, even managed to make calls to home and to the US and Singapore too. The others were taking a lot of time to catch up and as we were wondering what was up, the Israeli couple rode up (after our two Israeli riders) and told us that one of them had fallen down! We all bet that it was Alok. It was!

Dont mind the pain-cakes- we had parathas!

Alok had apparently locked his brakes hard on a bend on seeing gravel and slid off on it. Since the karizma did not have a crash guard, his leg took the weight of the bike but his knee and elbow guards saved him more injuries. His gloves tore in some areas and his sneakers (bad choice for the ride btw) also got damaged- his right leg seemed to be in pain. We found a local doctor and he said that there was no fracture giving all of us some relief. While these guys stayed back for breakfast, we four decided to carry on forward to Rekongpeo to find a proper mech for Bijoor san's bike which was showing signs of AMS, Suku's doubts about his bike's brakes and for Beni's bike who felt that there was something loose somewhere.

Crossing that bad stretch wasn't so bad because it wasn't all of it - we came back to the same fork at Karcham where we had taken a right off the main highway. The highway had a lot of slushy and slippery areas but we made it through the entire construction area without incident and were on good roads once more. The road to Rekongpeo was remarkably better, especially because we were crossing an army settlement. We soon saw a bike mech just before we went off the highway to go to Rekongpeo- we stopped there and get those three bikes checked. For a more thorough check and to get parts, the mech suggested we get to the town and hunt down the only garage there. We now got news that Kjo had got a massive flat and was stalled with Dev for company. Alok was coming our way by himself and his celphone was not working in this area so we could not really contact him!

Some hydel power action!

On our climb up, we saw a petrol pump and we did not lose any time in filling up the tanks- my bike had still more than half tank but I also followed suit. When we got to the town, we went and checked out the mech while Bijoor san waited at the circle for Alok. Suku gave his bike for repairs- some chain and brake job I reckon. The bike had been kept in really bad condition but atleast the engine was going on rock solid. He rode pillion with Beni and we decided to grab some lunch, taking Bijoor san with us from his post. On the way towards Kalpa uphill, we stopped at a small restaurant- Shivling view- and parked the bikes outside so that Alok wouldn't miss it.

Our lunch was slow to come but Alok was even slower to come by our way- so much so that Beni and Suku fell asleep. They have been complaining of sore backs and stressed shoulders- started with Suku but Beni's been catching up too it seems. AMS? Hopefully not but muscle fatigue is surely a part of it so one never knows. I didn't want any ore Friday the 13th disastrous news today. We saw Alok passing us by and had to yell out to him to stop- he had totally missed our bikes obviously. He was heading to the hospital to get himself checked further. Bijoor san went after him to check on him. We waited for the others to catch up with us at the restaurant.

Pegus who were riddled with muscle aches and exhaustion

Bijoor san called from the hospital with more bad news- the xrays revealed a very small fracture in one of Alok's toes and the doctor was advising bed rest to reduce the swelling before it could be cast in plaster. The news a bummer and discussions went underway about what to do next. Alok would have to transferred to Tapri, 40 kms on the road that we had left behind to get any kind of care but Alok insisted on going back to Delhi instead. Ultimately, we made arrangements for him to get to Delhi on a cab (a Scorpio suv) and he would be there in under 24 hours! Fitting his bike in the cab was tricky and the front wheel had to be taken off! 

Saying goodbye to our fellow adventurer

It was already pretty late when we bid him goodbye- nearly 6:30 pm so we had no choice but to halt our progress to Nako. Yesterday, an over enthusiastic Dev had actually thought that we would be able to make it past Nako and to Chhango today! We decided to take quarters in a hotel in Kalpa. We thought that we had seen the end of this day. But we were wrong!

As we were climbing uphill, Beni had grabbed some snacks, for what was becoming their daily drinks, and I was right behind him and Suku was behind me. Dev and Kjo went to the mech to get some stuff fixed by the mech while Bijoor san had moved on ahead. Anyway, one oft he snacks fell from behind Beni's bike, I stopped to pick it up and Suku crossed me. Suku was still climbing as he turned his head to look back at what I was picking up and before he knew it, his bike started to roll back as he had let off his throttle in his distracted state. He just let go off the bike, rolled on his back onto his feet while the bike fell on its left side. He was all laughs when he got up but that all disappeared when he saw the bike when I and Beni lifted it up. the left side footpeg had broken off the assembly and this would mean that Suku would not be able to change gears or rest his foot anywhere. The town was quite far down and we would never get to the mech in time. Dejected, he came around the bend to where we were staying. After Dev and Kjo joined us, we just wanted this day to end.

As a reminder of this eventful day, Suku got his head shaved by Bijoor san. Beni changed his mind about doing the same after seeing the results! After which they proceeded to drown this day with drinks with water sourced from somewhere we did not know. There was only one guy making the food and there were some loud Bengali people in the hotel who could be heard all the way upstairs. Finally, after a simple dinner of dal, rice, aloo matar etc, we all called it a day and went to bed.

Suku gets his head shaved as Beni decides to not follow suit!

I wondered what silver lining today's incidents would bring and if it was a warning of future dangers? However,I was sure we had all learned certain lessons and would be more careful as we tread forward from tomorrow onwards.

Total distance covered= 77 kms approx.

Total cost= Rs. 516.50

[Breakfast= 47.5 + Lunch= 189 + Water= 60 + Phone recharge = 100 + Slippers= 60 + Fuel=500 ]

Day 7: August 14, 2010, Saturday

Kalpa to Nako

The morning started very early for me, Beni and Suku- since we decided to get to the mech as early as possible. Aiming to reach the mech by 7:30/8, we started off with Suku on 1st gear and his left feet resting on the crash guard. This descent was slow and I & Beni found ourselves fighting gravity with our brakes. We finally reached the mech and had to wait till he came to the shop. The fix that he devised for Suku's bike was awesome- since he would obviously not have the footrest assembly of the new Pulsars, he instead installed the gearshift lever of an old Bajaj-Kawasaki bike and had a welder weld a fabricated iron rod onto the bike's frame, finishing it off with a rubber grip from a Enfield! It seemed rather strong and Suku was ready to go.

The broken footrest

After letting others know that we were ready, we made our way up and decided to have breakfast somewhere. Parathas with omlettes and achar- again! I have started drinking tea and eating eggs in order to put off this boredom of the same food everyday but this is also getting repetitive! We saw the Israeli couple ride by while we sat in the restaurant- they really seemed to be on the same track as us!

The trip felt very surreal when I called up my girlfriend- while I was in the middle of tranquil Himalayas with very few people around and lovely hills in the backdrop, she was, quite uncharacteristically, at a TGIF in Queens amidst what sounded a roaring crowd! This dichotomy was stark and at that moment I was glad to be where I was and even thought that I could live here! Being a city dweller all my life, however, I knew that this was a far stretch!

We all started off soon enough despite a short threat of drizzle. As we made our way down, Suku and Dev had an incident where Dev's bike ran over the boot that fell off from Suku's bike- thankfully, nothing else happened. We were accompanied by army trucks on our way and that sort of slowed us down but very soon we broke away from them when we came across his bridge over the river. Bijoor san and Suku were caught behind a army truck, so we waited for them. After the bridge, we saw one of the most amazing roads we had seen in the whole trip. Wide, smooth roads cut on the side of the mountain sweeping for as far as the eyes could see. I was the last to leave the waiting point but I couldn't help but rip on my little bike and rip it did! I felt that the Enfields were huffing at the hint of a bit of speeding as I was passing them. 

The first bridge we came across

High above...

Very soon the good roads mixed with those under construction and filled with rocks and rubble. However, since I had already a good pace, I was about 10 minutes ahead of the rest which meant I could just stop, have a nice bit of rest and rehydrate myself in the dry heat till the others showed up. Soon after, we all were again placed close to each other, stopping intermittently for taking photographs. The landscape had dramatically changed to an arid rocky desert right next to the Sutlej. This was followed by miles of barren mountains with the occasional patch of green. 

We got some good news at Jangi checkpost that the roads were open after Nako and Sumdoh and that the Malinga nullah was calm for the moment. Dev was excited enough to want to try and do it today but I guess, the pace of our trip was much slower so we would do that crossing tomorrow. Today, there has been a increase in the number of kids we wave on the road and that also helped bring in a somewhat indescribable feeling of being in the middle of something exciting in our lives. This is it!

We started to look for lunch at around Puh where the roads became miraculously smooth- it was right around where the BRO (Border Road Organization) has its station, hence! We were directed a little ahead on the roads- enroute we saw the same bikers we had seen in Chitkul. They were waiting for fuel apparently as two of their members had passed us earlier on near Jangi. We saw the same Splendor and Samurai in their midst but hunger took over and we continued ahead. We had some "Tibetan" food finally- mutton momos and chowmein. The food was okay, nothing to write home about. A whole troop of army personnel had come over too for making calls or fixing some flat- not sure. The other bikers passed us while we were midway through our lunch- they seemed like they were in a rush!


We passed a loopy road cut on the same side of a mountain that were referred to as the "Kazigs" - seemed like the Himachal equivalent of the famous Gata loops of Ladakh. After that, we all paused together at a place called Kah at a height of 3600 metres- what was remarkable that it was a very small village in the middle of rocky barren mountains and there was one apple orchard rolling down a mountain slope, fed by one of the mountain streams through channels! The view was breath taking and it only kept getting better as we approached Nako. The roads were also nothing much to complain about except for the occasional broken patches. by 6:15-20 pm, we were in Nako. The first sight that we saw was of the other bikers and many other foreigners- mostly Israelis as we learned. Our Israeli duo (brother and sister as we had found out earlier from the mech at Reckongpeo) from Chitkul were also there.

Kazigs!

Everyone contemplates at Kah!

We wondered if that could be rain!

View from the balcony! ;)

Photo session begins

As long as the light lasts...

Trying to stick to the motto (of "The point is to travel, not to blow money") gifted to us by Mr Singh, we tried to find the cheapest good place to stay in- we did. It was 300 for each room and each of us had a great view. A little photo session from our balcony, we went for dinner of vegetarian "Tibetan" stuff-mostly noodley stuff. Finding a working phone was futile and we were officially out in a "remote area"! The loos made me feel like Shaquille o Neal- the doors were so small and the toilet was a mix of western and Indian- basically one squatted and hovered over the "bowl" while they did their business! Bumped my head on the door obviously and got a huge bump too!

This town was busy- there were many trucks which had come to pick up the local produce of famous Nako peas (priced at Rs 45/kg!) and there were many foreigners milling around too. We spoke with a few of the Israelis to find about conditions on the other side of the Malinga. A few of us even saw the little famous Lake Nako but were terribly disappointed so the rest of us just turned in for the night. The other Pegu boys had just bought a stick of 'stuff' but were too tired to even roll one and retired nearly immediately- backache, muscleache et al. It's amazing how much they seemed to be suffering while the rest of us were doing much better!

Anyway, tomorrow is the big day of crossing the much feared Malinga nullah and crossing the Sumdoh area- once we go through that, we should be in good state- that's what we have been told. So, there's a lot of anxiety and excitement.

Total distance covered= 113 kms approx.

Total cost= Rs. 450

[Breakfast= 80 + Lunch= 60 + Water= 60  + Dinner=100 + Stay=150 ]

Day 8 August 15, 2010, Sunday

Nako to Kaza

The day of the big test- the Independence day ride.

We were a bit delayed in getting out of Nako as everyone took some time getting ready. We had to cross the Malinga nullah as early as possible before it got too violent. The Israeli bro-sis duo left the earliest while the other group (apparently from Mumbai and also 6 in number) left soon after them. As we slowly climbed up steep mountain roads, paused at beautiful valleys and as the fearsome Malinga stream was in sight just around the bend, we ran into a problem. Bijoor san, who had attempted to move on with the other enfield riders in the group got stuck while riding up the climb to the stream! His bike would just refuse to move up the steep incline!

Everyone tried their best to push the bike up but in vain. We unloaded all his luggage from the bike and then took turns pushing- that seemed to help but in short bursts only. I felt that not only was the air-fuel mix completely wrong, the engine oil that he had put must have worn out the clutch because he was asked to use a oil meant for cars and not bikes! Somehow, he made it across the gushing stream while we waited. A couple of cabs decided to cross the stream just as we were about to and we let them pass- on of the drivers urged us to move fast before it got worse here- sounded like he was warning of us some impending doom! Beni went across first. Suku decided to carry Bijoor san's saddlebags on top of his own bags and made it. I went in the last and nearly got caught by one wave and had to put my foot in the shin-deep icy cold water- but I also made it to the other side very quickly. No 8 inche waterproof boots could stop water from going inside- so I dealt with soaking shoes again!

The Malinga Nullah

On the other side, we tried to figure out the problem with Bijoor's san's enfield- we got some assistance and advice from another biker who had crossed right after us. He had a whole Jamaican look going on (and apparently called himself Jamaica as we found out later) and said that the spark plug was dirty and the clutch cable had some issues and thats all! It was an optimistic estimate but it would do.

As we hit metalled road again, Dev's Enfield started to give some problems- the kick lever was kicking by itself!!! And the clutch was definitely sounding worn out. While Beni assisted him, I, Bijoor san and Suku took a break drying my socks and shoes. Beni stopped by to take some pictures after he sort of suggest some fix for Dev's bike. Suddenly, we were swarmed with a herd of sheep and a shepherd with a very burnt face- no one could blame him. The sun was so harsh up here and the air so dry- I dont think he would have ever heard of sunscreen in these parts. He told us that the roads were good and that there were no more water crossings ahead. Getting this piece of good news, we moved on.

The goats and the shepherd around the bend from the Malinga

Beni  contemplates

The road offered great views in good comfort- the tarmac was really well laid. We Pegu boys caught up with the others at Chango where they were resting and talking to Jamaica & co. Asked to proceed ahead, we found ourselves leading the way through some interesting narrow loops on the side oft he mountain- just like the kazigs. We saw even more little kids who were really eager to wave at us! There was even some patches of wet mud but nothing too bothersome- but for the first time I saw Beni's Avenger fishtail a bit. We soon came upon a big area in the road (almost like a lookout point) right next to the river where we saw cabs, bikes , trucks, people and a crane- there was a landslide ahead of us which had blocked the road and the crane was going to clean it up. Curious, we took our bikes ahead to very close to where the landslide had occured. Parking our bikes behind the other bikers from Mumbai (yes, the very same from Chitkul and Nako), when we walked to the spot, it was a nasty site. It was a 12-15 feet of debris of big and small rocks on the road and a part of the road had sunk into the river right next to it! The small crane looked insufficient for the job but we were told by the authorities that it would take about 4 hours for bikes to be able to pass.  We could see people stuck on the other side too. After an hour we saw the army people walk to a truck on the other side and go away while some of them waited on our side with their trucks.

We mingled with the people while we waited. Suku was quick to take his nap, using his jacket to protect himself from the burning sun. It was getting hot- almost 40 degrees C if not more. The Israeli bro-sis duo also came up from behind- they had actually reached here much earlier- around 9/9:30, an hour before us and had gone back to eat something. We did the same- we rode back to Chango to get some lunch and wait it out there in some shade and get rehydrated- Beni and Bijoor san had earlier lost a bottle each to the Malinga so we were running short of water too! Lunch took some time to be made and eaten- it was a simple affair of dal, rice, aloo matar (yes, it true!). Bijoor san shopped for some spares, sandpaper and pliers- he was getting very worried about his bike. Actually, we all were.

Landslide!

The crowd waits for the landslide to be cleared

Since we thought we had waited enough, we went back to the landslide site. Apparently, the crane operators had also gone for lunch and had started working again only when we arrived! There was talk that the crane was working today only because a army truck was stuck on the road- because today is a national holiday- Independence day! Were we glad to know that! Every time the crane would throw off a huge piece of rock, there would be cheers from our side of the road- mostly from Suku, Bijoor san, Dev and Kjo! The debris was cleared by around 3:15pm and everyone was too eager to go- causing a traffic jam there!

Trivia: the crane supposedly belonged to this short man who we had seen earlier at the same place where we had lunch. He was at the landslide spot too overseeing operations later on and I think he and Kjo had a special moment of bonding because we spotted those two walking hand in hand once the road was cleared off! 

KJo's brokeback mountain moment

It was supposed to be bikes first but taxi and bus drivers (and even two rally-wannabe drivers) were all rude and tried to push first only causing a snarl. We broke free along with the other bikers and made a run for it but the road ahead looked like landslides had been happening there all year long because we saw the same jagged rocks all over and many portions of the highway missing right next to the river! The inconsiderate wannabe rally drivers in their modified gypsies etc overtook us at very wrong stretches and I wouldn't be sorry at all if they fell off a cliff in front of me or I heard of their death in the news. For all their rush, they all got stuck at Sumdoh checkpoint but thankfully went their way before we did- the less idiots we are around, the better. I guess that this was also one of the points of coming to the mountains- to not deal with a-holes on the roads. The national highway had ended at Sumdoh and now began the state highways and we did not have very high expectations.

The roads were a mix of high rocky surfaces on cliffs, slowly descending back next to the Spiti river on more gravelly-metalled road and then suddenly ending into these wide plateaus that started to show a bit of green all around. We had a few incidents - on small but steep incline,  Bijoor san had a minor spill in front of us where I think his bike again had problems pulling up and Suku, me and Beni had to push him on his way. The Israeli duo also had problems at exactly the same spot and we gave them a hand there- though I dont think that they realized that two people were pushing their bikes as they were trying to climb up that incline. On a rather small water crossing (compared to what we have already seen before), two members from the other group stop and froze in terror. They wouldnt step in even though we wee right there telling them that it's fine- they even threw rocks in the water to see how deep it was!!! I do not know how they had survived for so long and how they would survive the next few days either- they were just too scared. Almost makes me think that we have been very gutsy in our approach to water crossings and everything else- but I dont think we have been stupid at all. On one of our photo stops, Dev's bike had refused to start again- after a long enough time, everyone realized that his engine kill switch was still on! But one could clearly hear that his clutch/gear box was having problems. That was another worrying factor as well.

We did not even stop at Tabo because we were aiming to get to Kaza before nightfall. The Israeli duo did the same- we did stop for water though as we were parched! I was also enjoying the flat plateaus where the river disappeared on the other side of the mountains and one could see only one dusty road in the middle- brought back to my head, scenes from Long Way Down.  This time around, Dev, Bijoor san and Suku had gone ahead to Kaza while me, Beni and Kjo were the last to get there. Finding the guys made us go through the town through narrow streets and everything. 

The mini water crossing

The road in the middle of the mountains

Finding no other alternative, we decided to stay in the Old Circuit House for 200 a night per room. Apparently electricity had returned to the town only a few days back and the voltage was low. Plus, our place did not have working taps and the man-in-charge said that he would fetch us hot and cold water in buckets! I guess, the point is to travel- and we adjusted.

The town was a really busy place and we saw more foreigners than Indian tourists. We made our phone calls- the phones kept dying after 30 seconds though! And there was internet too- even if slow. We caught a slight drizzle at night but nothing bad. We had dinner at a place that looked very seedy but then again, everything else looked just like that! To celebrate the back-breaking roads, the other Pegu boys, Bijoor san and Dev decided to have beer but they didnt figure that it would be warm- considering there was no power all day! They proceeded to have it nonetheless while we had a mix of noodles, pasta etc for dinner- just  for a change. The sky was clearing up and we saw a amazing cluster of stars in the dark sky- we could even see the milky way!!!

Today was a turning point because we made it through a point which Mr Singh and other had warned us against crossing but I guess, the weather gods have been good on us so far and we have been open to the conditions too. The only way is forward now.

Total distance covered= 110 kms approx.

Total cost= Rs. 395

[Breakfast= 60 + Lunch= 100 +  Dinner=135 + Stay=100 ]