Have you ever thought that you will take pictures and it will be used for Laptop Wallpaper/Postcard/Home screen etc..? As a kid I had always admired the tulips in Windows XP (Which was taken in Skagit Valley, Washington, United States) and wondered to see those with my eyes one day. Yes one day I will be there too, But for now Let’s go back to my Spiti days.
It was our last day in Kaza, Previous night everyone was complaining that they’re not getting hot water after I take shower. I told them to have have shower first and I will take shower last and went to the common room. Our host had put on Tibetan Mantras. We talked about Tibetan music and shared playlists each other, He asked about Kerala and was trying to know if Kerala was near to Hubli, Karnataka. We packed our breakfast and said adieu to our hosts and left Kaza.
When we reached Key Monastery it was packed with people as there was religious function taking place at the monastery. We started to explore the monastery and started to search for the famous Key monastery photo spot. Some of us went in one direction and Myself, Krishan and Kirti went to another. We found a good spot of monastery and spend some time there. After some time the other group reached the hill above us. Myself and Krishnan climbed towards them and there was a alpha dog on our way. We tried to spend some time with the dog, but the dog was not interested.
After the photoshoots we went back to the monastery, On the way we found some wild berries which was very delicious. We left to Chicham bridge which is the highest bridge in Asia. When we reached Chicham bridge I had started to feel down as the trip was coming to an end. Some of us were shooting reels and I decided to spend some lone time there and started to walk alone, But Jyothi aunty tagged along and we talked about various things and then I saw one person flying his drone a hill and I also joined. It had a good view of Chicham bridge and I sat along the edges and enjoyed the view.
We stopped at a random village for lunch, the restaurant was packed with people and we had to wait, There were farms and some of us went to explore the farm. There was a calf and Krishnan started to pet it and it started to suck on his thumb. The calf was very hungry and started to sniff all of us thinking us as his mother. During lunch we met with two amazing ladies and there team who were doing Spiti expedition on electric scooter which was going to be a record.
On the way to Chandratal we stopped at Kunzum Pass, I was haunted by my past. I stepped down from the traveler and started to walk alone without waiting for anyone, I needed my lone time. The cold wind was giving me shivers throughout my body, I was feeling numb, Then I thought “Why am I holding down to my past, When I’m surrounded with good people at 14,931ft with the most amazing views and the wind that make me feel each part of my body alive. I was lad and thankful to where I have reached and moreover to the people who has left and stayed in my life.
We left to Chandratal and the road was empty mostly with landscapes changing every minute. When we reached Chandratal it was drizzling, We took our jackets, umbrella and jumped out of the traveler. As small groups we started to descend to the lake. There were many groups who were climbing up and they assured it won’t rain heavily. Jyothi aunty was taking her time to walk, I walked a few steps ahead of her making sure she is with me and encouraging her to walk.
We spend some time and started to climb back, some of them have already left and were walking slowly as the rain and wind decided to show it’s glory. I was switching umbrella from one hand to another in a minute as I didn’t had any gloves (I had frostbite due to this) . Wear proper layers if you’re going to a place like this and don’t be a idiot like me. As I climbed back to the traveler I was shivering and was mostly wet. We reached our camps and it was pitch dark and we couldn’t find a person who knew our camp.
After sometime roaming around we found our camps and got settled in. the first thing I did was to change the wet clothes and opened the Sula white wine gulped it down to stop the shivering, it was not working. We asked our host to put all the beds in one tent(We got two) and helped the host with moving of beds. Shivering was increasing and we decided to go to the common area where there was camp fire. We sat down the near the fire and calmed down.
After dinner we spend some time with other campers sharing old monk, local stories, playing games. It was very fun, there was a game in which who ever loses had to drink one peg and everyone was losing the game conciously to have a drink. We came back to our tent and started to plan the next trip everyone wanted to visit Kashmir. When I woke up the next day some of our room mates had already went to have breakfast. After breakfast, We took some camp photos and roamed around the camp.
It was a long day ahead we started our journey towards our last destination which was Manali. We reached Manali around 4pm via Atal Tunnel and was so tired and settled into the room. By 6:30 we went out and started to explore the nearby places in Naggarville. When we reached the market it was already closed and we cam back to our hostel. There was a cafe near to our hostel myself, Juhi and Sonali went to check if they had cheesecake. We sat at there rooftop restaurant having cheesecake and talking about our trips. I went to sleep early that day as I was waking up early for continous days.
The next day I woke up early and went for a morning walk, there were dogs accompanying me at each turn. The dogs made me feel like home and I had started to miss my tiger(my dog name) now. I walked around 5 km one way without knowing I had reached this much area. On the way back I fed the dogs which accompanied me. Juhi had already visited the Naggarville palace and she showed me and Jyothi aunty around the palace.
We checked out by 11 and went to Manali for shopping. I tried Paper roast from one of the restaurant in Manali it was not good. We got to bus station by 3pm there were many local apple vendors trying to sell apples. We got ourselves apples from one vendor and she was so happy and even shared her number to buy apples from her on our next visit to Manali. By 4pm we started our journey back to Delhi.
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