High Himalayan Heavens :D

Day 1 and 2 -

Overly enthusiastic about my firstexpedition, I was awake and ready by 3:00 am. I was greatly impatientfor the cab to arrive ,it finally did by 3:30 am. Chandrakanth(a.ka.Bairy), Poops and I were at the airport by 4:30sharp,precisely one and half hours before the flight. I was on a different flight(Thanks to my late booking) . The other flight with the rest got delayed,so their estimated time of departure was 6:30am,half an hour before mine took off. We were greeted at Delhi by the soaring temperature at 9 am. Srikanth (a.k.a PV) decided to let us enjoy the Delhi heat by making us wait for a very pleasant half an hour for him(he had landed earlier in the morning from Dubai).BharathJB(a.ka. Pobu) and Bairy hailed a taxi and took all our luggage to Karol Bagh,thanks to Bharath Ashoka's (a.ka. Tarle) cogency while the rest of us took the DELHI METRO.The Airport link was DELIGHTFUL! But at a comparatively higher price of 80Rs. After Switching trains at New Delhi station we got off at Karol Bagh, the city metro links were a little more crowded,but nonetheless,all of us were convinced that DELHI METRO is a huge ACHIEVEMENT for INDIA. We spent the next couple of hours loitering Karol Bagh in the sweltering heat,all of us were getting groggy and irritable. We aimlessly went into all the air-conditioned shops, with no intention of buying anything. We unanimously decided that we need to go somewhere and get some sleep,some of the guys went to the UPSC guy's apartment(a small 2 bedroom,cramped place which had our luggage). Not convinced by the idea of nine of us having to sharespace in the cramped room, Poops, Vidya and I found a scarcely shady park nearby,and fell asleep on the benches. Later, at 5pm, we took a bus to Manali, Mukul Travels,an air-conditioned Volvo. Quite a pleasant journey, apart from a little nauseousness, I took an aveomine, and slept peacefully for the rest of the journey. Reached Mandi at 7 am, the road to Manali was closed in the morning. We had to take two buses , to Kullu and then Kalath (our destination).We were stuck on the way ,wasting two complete hours for the road to be cleared due to a landslide. Finally reached Kullu, and a quick loo relief! We reached Kalath at 12 noon. Our guide/travel agent/friend Hemanth (a.ka.Shabu) greeted us and treated us to Sidu (something like a momo butwith a chutney as a filling) at his house. Delicious. Following the meal, was the HOT SPRINGS. There are many public bath areas with natural hot springs in Kalath. That was an experience for many reasons, some best left unsaid. The water was boiling hot and therapeutic, it left us pampered and drowsy after the bath. We had a sumptuous dinner along with gold house apple wine. Our staff ,consisted of Hari bhai,shabu bhai ,Negi,guide for Spiti trek, and two strikingly good looking cooks,AmitRana and Neelu . Tarle, Pobu,Bairy and Poops slept on a high note! :)