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26th to 30th June, 2005 : Trip to Keylong and beyond |
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Once I crossed Rohtang, the scenario changed. The traffic trickled down to 1 or 2 Mahindras or Sumos with tourists heading perhaps for Ladakh. The air was much cleaner and not a soul in sight except for the occasional tourist vehicle. You can see some of the most beautiful places on earth here. |
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But the road conditions were very bad. Being covered in snow for almost half the year doesn't do the roads any good. The snow melt was at its peak and there were waterfalls right into the roads and rivulets flowing every few meters. It was tough and challenging, but I enjoyed it all. |
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The roads improved as I went down further. I felt immensely thankful to the BRO (Border Roads Organization) for making such wonderful places accessible to us. The first village after Rohtang was Koksar, 18 Kms from Rohtang. It had a HPPWD rest house. Next came Sisu, 14 Kms from Koksar and had another HPPWD rest house. I stopped here for tea, and found this cute little puppy in the tea shop. |
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The ride to Keylong was mostly along the Chandra river and snow capped mountains were in view on both sides of the road along with numerous waterfalls that form the source of the river, all making up a treat for the eyes of the city dweller. |
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Keylong |
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I reached Keylong at about 7:30. Keylong is a small town with a few hotels and dhabas by the main road. There are some more down the hill. I did a round to check out the hotels along the main road and checked into the first hotel that I had seen, while entering Keylong. I got a corner room with two windows on 2 sides of the room.
The view from these windows were simply mind-blowing. Down the mountain slope, atop which the hotel was located, there were potato farms. Further down, there was the Chandra river with a very strong current audible all the way up in my hotel room. Across the river was another mountain, with lush green slopes rising up to a snow capped mountain peak. Just perfect! I could have sat watching this for hours on end, soaking in the beauty of the whole thing. But it was getting dark now, and I had butterflies in my stomach. So I went up to the hotel restaurant for dinner, came back and went to bed with the curtains open, waiting for the first light of the morning to bring back the beauty of the place back into my eyes. |
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Distance covered - 244 Kms
Expenses - Food and accomodation Rs 380
Fuel - Rs 500
Razor - Rs 15
Total : Rs 895 |
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28th June, Page1 |
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29th June, Page1 |
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