QUOTE FROM THE ROAD

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BHOLUNATH and CHATURNAAR

Part 4 *Breezed away!!!*

Bholu & Chatru gobbled enough drinks since their stay in Goa and have proclaimed breezer to be their favourite. They intend to figure a way of making it available to their village folks.....
I guess they are on their way back, 'cos their phones aren't available. Last we got from them was this picture.....wonder whats the full story.........we 'll wait till we know the complete story, so do you.
Patience pays.

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TRAVEL FROM THE PAST

Kibber Village - 'rIDING on a wHITE bLANKET'

shot while moving out of Kibber Village after 3 days of snowfall

Kibber village, at 4205m, claims to be the highest village in the world with a motorable road and electricity. A small village with population less than that of my office, Kibber is like a few-man’s land in no-man’s valley. Snowfall in 3rd week of September is a little early for this place...but then, we had backpacked ‘luck’ along with us.

Kibber village - Before snowfall


....and After (aLMOST hEAVEN)

We opened our eyes to flaky-falls the next morning and it never ceased, soon changing the shades of brown into surrel-white. A thick layer of fog engulfed surrounding mountain. The worlds’s highest vilage was no longer with electricity and motorable road, and was completely cut-off from rest of the world for 3days. We enjoyed our days of solititude....snow-trekked to Kibber Gompa...hunted for fossils....befriended 2 French trekkers & a 53 old cyclist from Austrian (they were castaways like us). The Austrian man was cycling Spiti Valley....and had cycled almost half the globe....Whoa!!!!!

....our crib at Kibber


'cOLORS of Life - all wHITE'


'cAMOUFLAGED' (2nd day of snowfall)


'unLEASHED'


'pLAYING with Life'


'Life through cOLORS of fAITH'

After 3 days of continuous snowfall we finally moved out of our crib. Everything around us was white...and the mountains as if engulfed by cotton...we felt like angels (or devils, if u please) in heaven. We spiraled down 21 kms to Kaza, the main town of Spiti valley. The journey downward was nowhere being easy...right at the start my bike slipped on the snow. We had to ride on the tread marks, thankfully left by a rescue van that morning; making parts of the road visible through snow and muck.

....finally moving out of Kibber on the 4th day


thank gOD !! they didn't follow the signboard...


....long way down!!


'eNGULFED by cOTTON'


'sNOWsCAPE'


Kee Gompa - Before snowfall


Kee Gompa - After snowfall


road to Kibber along River Spiti - Before snowfall


road to Kibber along River Spiti - After snowfall


....a page from the 'motorcycle diary'


'hELLS aNGELS'

And, the craziest was our rendezvous with a landslide that completely blocked our way, and it was a good exercise, both mental and physical, to figure our way out of it (the fag end of the video).


Spiti Valley is also known as the 'fossil park of the world'. The three villages Kibber, Kaza and Kye fall on the route faovourite among those looking for fossils. Here's a video of our fossil hunt that ended at the doorstep of a small kid 'Tashi Dorje'...from whom we bought few of them...

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FEATURED FOLLOWER (read: companion)

Name: Akshay-Deepti
Check out some gr8 blogs and pics by Akshay & Deepti at;
http://methehiker.blogspot.com/
http://picasaweb.google.com/akshmet

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.