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June 23, 2003, Sangla, India
I was just getting used to staying put in our nice place at the YWCA and getting quite familiar with the waiters at our restaurant Ten, when the folks decided to move on again. �Our last attempt to see the snow-capped mountain range of the Himalayas� they said. Well, - since this meant we would be getting into cooler climates of the hill stations - I decided to go along and not put up too much of a fight. We stored 3 packs of our luggage including our two new Tibetan carpets, (and I personally made sure there were no little eats there to feed any of Mickey�s friends). Our destination was the Sangla valley in the northwestern part of India, near the border with Tibet, (the one mummy had heard about while in Darjeeling): �a supposedly picturesque valley with a luxurious camping experience�, and so on a high recommendation, a phone contact, and the fact that my folks are suckers or punishment and outdoors experience, Papa booked us space at the Banjara Camps Resort.
A few days after our arrival in New Delhi, we boarded the Chandigarh Express for an easy 3-hour journey. Our air-conditioned seats inside were just the ticket while we chugged along in the sweltering heat of 45 degrees plus on the outside. The views slowly changed from deserted and arid areas to somewhat cooler climates (read 38 C!) and greener fields as we headed north. We arrived in Chandigarh and took a tuk-tuk to a nice hotel just opposite the bus station. This was done for a reason, as we had a very early bus-ride to Narkanda (halfway to Sangla) the next morning. The route going there was some of the most scenic we hadseen so far. A long trip by |
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bus..., but soon we entered the mountains and cooler temperatures. We often rode along high ridges and even passed the famous hill station of Shimla. The valleys in this area were quite different from the ones we had seen around Darjeeling. Like in Sikkim, they were much steeper, thus making them even more dramatic. Narkanda is located on a ridge and had its fair share of panoramic views. We took a room in a simple hotel that had a nice relaxing terrace. There wasn�t much happening in this village so the following morning we caught another bus all the way downhill to Rampur on the mighty Sutlej River. It was a tough 2-hour journey for Mommy and myself, so we started a mini rebellion. Poor papa, he was outnumbered and had no choice but to negotiate a price for a |
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private taxi. I think though, that he would probably agree that the rest of the afternoon drive in comfort was well worth it. Especially given the spectacular sights of the Sutlej canyon. Sometimes the road was simply cut out of the sheer rock face -hundreds of meters high - and at other times we would cross the brown roaring river on narrow bridges. We all got a bit nervous on the steep upward road leading from the Sutlej valley to the Sangla Valley. Not only was the road much narrower but there was no barrier, so falling off into the ravine became a real risk (Papa decided not to mention the old car wreck he saw down there along the route). At one point workers had blocked the road by blasting big chunks of the rock wall and pushing them over the cliff by hand! This was done to widen the road from the barely 1 car to the 1 1/2car width! |
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We arrived at the Banjara Camps and the taxi dropped us off at the entrance parking lot. From there we had to lug all our bags towards the large sultan type tents we saw in the distance. We crossed a small field that was being ploughed by ox and hand, setting our mood for an earthy adventure. But what we found instead was quite the setup: 12 large family-size tents arranged in a circle around a couple of even larger ones, including a mess, a games and an open-air tea tent. We were assigned tent #7 and to our surprise it was very nicely equipped with a kingsize bed, some fold up chairs, and unique wood tree trunk table. We also had electricity and an attached, clean bathroom, complete with --- yes you guessed it running water and flushing toilets! It |
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was truly an amazing setup. Beautiful mountains besides the Baspa River surrounded the camp: a very picturesque setting with some nice walks around the area to visit small villages. But best of all, we saw the snow-capped peaks: especially the nearby 6000m. high Kinner Kailash was very spectacular. Our resort was all-inclusive with buffet breakfast, lunches and dinners along with morning and afternoon tea served under the huge open-air canopy. Even though the food was typically Indian, there was usually something there to tempt my pallet...deserts! Besides us there were a few families from New Delhi staying there, so I got to play with the many children. It certainly is nice that most of the locals in India speak English; so communicating |
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with the kids was a �piece of cake�. A couple of the older boys were playing the national sport cricket. And I got to join in - quite similar in some ways to baseball. I got to try my hand at bat and also pitching (or bowling as it is called). Other sports and games I got to experience were soccer and karem. Karem is played on a square wooden board and has similarities to billiards, with the exception that instead of a cue you use fingers to slide the flat pieces into 4 corner pockets. While I was busy playing and running around the grounds, my folks spent the time reading and relaxing, or chatting with the kids� parents about life in India. Downside to all this? ONLY the constant interruption by the many serving men asking if we needed anything, or telling us that our meals or tea were ready!! We even got wakeup calls at our tent door each morning informing us that �morning tea� was served. And they brought us buckets of hot water to bathe with each day as well. Utterly spoilt we were! - I think our wilderness camping trips on Georgian Bay (Canada) will never be the same! |
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