The Great Driving Challenge

...through tinted windscreen

162

370

11:15 PM

29 July 2009

like it

Comment(s)

(3) Comment(s) (19) like it

[kaleido-INDIA] TIMES : ISSUE 3

Posted By Amit Singh

QUOTE FROM THE ROAD

BHOLUNATH and CHATURNAAR

Part 3 sip-date in GOA

Yipeee....finally Bholu & Chatur reached Goa....and they found it much more beautiful than the pictures I had sent (well i take no offence, as Goa’s true beauty can only be captured by one’s eyes). Bholu & Chatur are both in love with Goa and they relished the day at Baga beach. At first a little amused at how people around were, they laughed the day off, as they found a lot of people funny. Chatur being a woman had her set of complexes, but Goa has a way of making people feel at home....finally they were happy being themselves.
Today was the day of discoveries....while the duo were discovering Goa, we discovered the romantic side of Chatur, clever indeed. She called up Jace to know what could be done to make that evening special, and was suggested to dine by the beach. Little did we knew that we'd get pictures to treasure the occasion. We were surprised to get a mail from them, with a picture of theirs....and Bholu described how they savored the sea-food and wine looking at the moonlit waves.
I've just messaged Bholu "friends you just have had your first sip-date"....many more shall follow

TRAVEL FROM THE PAST

Nako Village - 'the wHITEHOUSE(s)'

We left Rekong peo & headed for Nako, a high altitude village with a serene lake. Knowing that there is no petrol pump until Kaza, we carried 5 ltrs of extra fuel on each bike. We soon came across a bridge that was being repaired, which meant a long desperate wait on one side....the river gurgled so untamely below. After a long wait of 3 hours we thumped again on the road meandering its way through threatening mountains....and then a series of hairpin bends followed taking us to dizzying heights and we could see Spiti river flowing some hundred feet below.

16 Swiss bikers riding on the same route

'nAKO in sIGHT'

The little Nako village (12,010 ft) has houses of white mud bricks, all stacked in rows around a small Nako lake and appears like a white singleblock with small connecting lanes. A place known for its little legends, The Nako Gompa is almost 1000 years old and has beautiful stucco images & murals and rests on the other side of the lake.

'wHITEHOUSE in nAKO'

'dONK's the kONG'

We were to stay at the Lake View camping site, but the tents were taken by the 16 swiss bikers who made made it before us. We came across another camping site next to the lake, Natural Lake View, and luckily got taken in by the host. We were clearly told later that he prefered foriegners over Indians as guests. Considering he was the only guy managing the place; which meant cooking, cleaning, getting supplies etc, it gets tough for him when his guests get demanding....the foriegners are little more adjusting when it comes to food....as even a not-so-good tasting food is relished without complain under an illusion of a local recipe.

Tents at Natural Lake View....facing the Nako Lake

....inside the tent

ginger-lemon-honey by the lake

We decided to change the notion and cook for ourselves, as well as the host. While cooking the meal almost in dark (it was a windy night with no light) we became friends with our host, Mr. Devinder Singh Negi & he told us his survival stories. He grew his own vegetables, and depended upon the local supplies to be bought from Tabo, which required atleast a monthly errand. He himself had been a keen traveller and trekked most part of himalayas, had worked in big cities like Delhi, visited Bombay but knew Nako is his ultimate abode.

Negiji in his Tent Kitchen

We also met a Swedish lady biker, who had been travelling for over a year and had spent last six months in Pakistan. Riding all the way from Sweden, she was exploring Spiti and it was her thirteenth trip to India. Speechless, we were!!

....Honda that covered half the world

The relegious beliefs about the place were evident from the buddhist flags that adorned almost every house of the village. Nako was the most eco-friendly village we went to, the dustbins read 'Keep Nako Green', polybags were banned and also we saw our host seperating the garbage as wet and dry; the wet one was used to feed the cows as the vegetation was scanty.

....leaving Nako

Time and again we remember & miss Nako and often the the memories have voices of the Nako kids ringing in the background, "Namaste - Julley, Nako kabhi na bhuley"

FEATURED FOLLOWER (read: companion)

Name: Rajesh & Anirban (RA)
Rajesh and Anirban are maverick designers who just quit their jobs one day to follow their dreams. Here's a little article on them;
http://www.zeenews.com/zeeexclusive/2009-04-13/522346news.html

P.S.This column will feature work of one companion everyday. Please send your pic. and links at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) to be featured here.

Page 1 of 1 pages

Latest SMS Feeds

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:59:02 PM

Beautiful drive from Nashik to Bombay, one of THE best roads we have driven on!

From : TWaC

Sent : 17th Aug 09 12:40:00 PM

Had fallen in love with Cedia. Now, it s time for detachment.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 16th Aug 09 03:20:55 PM

Bright, blue sky.. Cotton candy clouds.. We head to Nasik

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 01:30:31 PM

Heavy rains in Konkan. Near zero visibility.

From : TWaC

Sent : 16th Aug 09 11:58:04 AM

Back to Maharashtra

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 16th Aug 09 08:27:16 AM

on the road again, heading from udaipur to baroda

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 04:28:50 PM

Rain welcomes us at Goa

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:54:33 PM

In pot-hole territory. Thank god we are on empty stomachs!

From : TWaC

Sent : 15th Aug 09 03:36:16 PM

Now on the fringes of Western Ghats

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:05:56 PM

Touched Kerala once more. At Bekal Fort

From : TWaC

Sent : 14th Aug 09 04:02:45 PM

Morning drive through misty Coorg

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:31:24 PM

just reached jaipur... Its super warm here

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 01:17:21 PM

300km from home! :) :) racing to indore!

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:18:33 PM

Still pouring, hoping its also raining in MP where the soyabean farmers are looking up hopefully at the sky

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 14th Aug 09 12:08:08 PM

2361 Shivpuri

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 11:51:43 AM

Pouring all the way from Agra into Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 14th Aug 09 07:54:28 AM

On our way to Jaipur

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 11:12:33 PM

Blogging! The bed beckons..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 07:46:54 PM

Just out after seeing the taj mahal!

From : TWaC

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:51:36 PM

Madikkeri - Ghats, rains and pot-holed roads

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 04:10:44 PM

10km from Gwalior, pulled over by the police to be asked Kya yeh sports gaadi hai? ;D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 13th Aug 09 03:43:28 PM

Had breakfast AND lunch today! Niiiice! :D

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 12:38:26 PM

Still on the road to Agra...

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 13th Aug 09 08:04:32 AM

Heading to Agra. Its going to be a long drive..

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 06:31:31 PM

On our way back to Mysore

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 05:35:06 PM

In Wayanad. Western Ghats Kerala episode

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 02:42:18 PM

Tan! Tandan!! .. Aaja aaja dilli chhodein! .. Delhi dropped from plans. We head straight to Agra!

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 01:46:03 PM

It s hot at the Hawa Mahal! :|

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 12th Aug 09 12:59:33 PM

In Varanasi, walking along the ghats and looking at the Ganga

From : TWaC

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:48:58 AM

Through Nagarhole National Park

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 11:41:21 AM

At Akad Cars, the Mitsu showroom. Mr. Abhinav, the MD, is tellim us the best way around Jaipur.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 12th Aug 09 09:13:27 AM

Good morning world! We are in Jaipur! Today s objective: getting Joe a pink shirt/kurta ;)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:20:04 PM

In Varanasi, just got back to the room after the ganga aarti. Stunning.

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 09:03:36 PM

Swine flue alert in Hassan. We cancelled our stay and hit Mysore.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 07:55:47 PM

On NH8, long day comin to an end.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:51:56 PM

Dust storm outside, but IIM Outdoors is snugly cocooned in the Blackhawk :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 04:06:41 PM

30kms from Varanasi and its pouring..

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:51:31 PM

Leaving Jodhpur ... On our way to Ajmer.. Hoping to visit the dargah today .. Jodhpur was beautiful! *sigh*

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 01:40:47 PM

Cedia Sports turns its SUV mode on. Climbs Kemmana Gundi peak.

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:28:05 PM

Superbly bad roads on route to Varanasi. Soaking in the last sights of Madhya Pradesh.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:07 PM

Just had a long conversation with Mr.Brijraj Singh - great-grandson of HRH Ratan Singh .. Visit to Mehrangarh Fort delayed

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 12:20:02 PM

Driving through coffee estates to Kemmana Gundi peak

From : TWaC

Sent : 11th Aug 09 10:23:44 AM

Bhadra dam & WLS. Touch & go.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:52:51 AM

Just got up, not a single post been uploaded so far, gotta hurry.. ttyl :)

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:31:52 AM

Passing through the Panna Forest Reserve..stopped on a bridge..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 11th Aug 09 08:01:54 AM

Heading from Khajuraho to Varanasi..

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 08:43:24 PM

Sitting at Raja Cafe having a European thali.. :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:56:44 PM

In Jodhpur old markets - SHOPPING!

From : TWaC

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:50:45 PM

At Shimoga after a rainy day in rain forests

From : One Foot Wild

Sent : 10th Aug 09 07:40:11 PM

Back at the hotel after seeing the absolutely stunning temples of Khajuraho.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 06:47:10 PM

As the sun sets, we enter Jodhpur, today s travel - 396km, but not feeling blue at all :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 10th Aug 09 04:50:05 PM

100 km away frm jodhpur, horrible truckyktraffic on the way. Had lunch for the second time in four days! :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 02:27:22 PM

Just had tea with Mr.Dhanraj Mallik, Rann veteran & advisor to the BBC. Right now, on our way to discover some salt pans, thts how we spend our Sunday! ;)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 9th Aug 09 12:05:24 PM

On state highway 07. Namrata s driving while I m writing and Enrique s crooning.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 8th Aug 09 07:30:34 PM

At the Vintage Villa of classic cars, droolin over the sports tourers. Got here after blastin the 88km NE1 Expressway in 42mins! Cedia, take a bow!

From : TWaC

Sent : 8th Aug 09 12:01:23 AM

Sagareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary A manmade forest spread over 84 sq km A haven for deers peacocks an many birds

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 10:25:40 PM

Ab hum bhi poore punjabi! ... Current track: Kangana .. For Gaurav from Chandigarh :)

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 09:56:45 PM

Just discovered d USB connector for the blackhawk s music sys... one of d best moments of d day! :D

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 05:28:25 PM

Reached our first destination Daman, it even has its own airport! :)

From : TWaC

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:38:22 PM

We haven't heard the 'Suprabhatham' chant for many many years. While we were in Chennai and Kerala we used to hear that quite often. First day morning. And as we walk into this nice restaurant at Vashi for breakfast, the 'Suprabhatham' chant welcomes us. Perhaps a good omen on the first stop on first day.

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 04:19:19 PM

Just drove 21 km in our cedia, for the very first time! This vehicle is just so smooth!! :) 50 km from Daman. Joe s taken over coz we have to reach by 12

From : IIM Outdoor

Sent : 7th Aug 09 03:09:15 PM

Good morning! :) on our way frm thane to vapi. Jus done upma n rawa dosa at Kamat Vithals. Catch the pic on our flickr n twitter!

About us

Amit Singh ( read: the tranquility of the Himalayas) Jasleen Chopra (read: the effervescence of the Ganges) In the little journey of knowing us better that we are about to take you through, we hope to give you a reason to hook on to us.

This Dehradun guy has a keen interest in photography & observations he always seems to have a new muse. Travel albeit has remained a constant. Jasleen, a chatterbox, is happy with whatever comes her way.

[kaleido-INDIA] TIMES : ISSUE 3

QUOTE FROM THE ROAD

BHOLUNATH and CHATURNAAR

Part 3 sip-date in GOA

TRAVEL FROM THE PAST

Nako Village - 'the wHITEHOUSE(s)'

FEATURED FOLLOWER (read: companion)

About us

Followers

Other Teams

Recent Posts

[kaleido-INDIA] TIMES : ISSUE 3

QUOTE FROM THE ROAD

BHOLUNATH and CHATURNAAR

Part 3 *sip-date in GOA *

TRAVEL FROM THE PAST

Nako Village - 'the wHITEHOUSE(s)'

FEATURED FOLLOWER (read: companion)

About us

Followers

Other Teams

Recent Posts

Part 3 sip-date in GOA