stuck in snow in land of gods: kinnaur..

this post is about a trip which started as a leisurely drive to Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, intended to end with a new year celebration in the shadow of Kinner Kailash at Kalpa. but which finally turned into a journey for survival. which showed me that in the remotest corner of india where there is no food, water or electricity, there is still humanity. which proved that you might be cut off from the world but your friends and family will still get to you..

the travelers: Manik and me..
the vehicle: my awesome looking Honda Jazz..

the plan was to go till Kaza, via Sarahan & Nako (which would be frozen at this time of the year) and then come back to Kalpa, were Manik and me would be joined by Salil, Dixit, Shamik and Nadya. but in an hour the landscape changed from



to



so for a trip to Spiti i end up writing a triplog for Kinnaur.. but details on how that happened later..

before that, here are Sparsh Arun's tips for traveling to a remote area in off season.
ARE YOU CRAZY!! WHY THE HELL WOULD YOU WANT TO GO TO A REMOTE AREA IN OFF SEASON???

Well if misplace your sanity like we did, here are some tips:
- make sure your car has a 4x4. these puny hatchbacks are of no use when it comes to climbing over snow or rocks..
- carry enough water to drink, in winters the water also freezes and hence no water ever for drinking..
- carry lots of toilet paper as water in the toilets also freezes..
- all hotels and guest houses in smaller towns will probably be shut due to off season. government guest houses might be open. so find out in advance before going..
- if it snows, there will not be electricity. so don't rely too much on your electronic devices..

Well you got a sense of the type of problems we faced, here are the details of how we managed to get out..

Day 1: Delhi-Sarahan
Day 2: Sarahan-Pooh
Day 3: Pooh-Nako-Kaza
Day 4: Departure from Kaza: rendezvous with snow...
Day 5: Stuck in Chango: Day 1
Day 6: Stuck in Chango: Day 2
Day 7: Stuck in Chango: Day 3
Day 8: Chango-Pooh
Day 9: Stuck on Pooh
Day 10: Pooh-Delhi

NOTE: photos posted in the blog also contain those taken by Manik.. Infact more pics have been clicked by Manik than by me...