QUOTE FROM THE ROAD

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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

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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"

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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.