Today was a very relaxed morning. Not that it
needed to be or that we had loads of time, but I felt that it would be good
idea to take some rest time to give the body time to recover after the long
drive yesterday. Everyone woke up lazily and by the time we packed and loaded
up it was nearly noon. At least two hours too late, even by relaxed standards.
I was up in the mountains and enjoy every
moment. The taste and smell of the air takes on a whole new flavour when I am
up in the hills, fumes, dust, grime, soot, smoke notwithstanding. Being in the
centre with looming hills all around me, brings on a deep sense of romanticism
in me. I must have spent quite a few past lives in the mountains ... and happy
ones at that.
The ride started and the next destination was
less than a hundred kilometres away. But there were things to shoot en route.
One of them being the Hanogi Mata temple, short of Aut. I have crossed it every
time I have travelled down this route and never ever stopped. Today I did. A
small temple, but there is always a crowded bunch of devotees thronging it.
From car owners to taxi drivers, buses and truckers, motorbikers and
adventurers such as me. We stopped there for over an hour taking pictures and
grabbing some tea. Somehow when he saw us shooting, the priest did not want to
talk to us to tell us the story of Hanogi Mata. But I guess, like any other god
or goddess of worship, she too is a benevolent one, granting wishes and
ensuring the flock stays disciplined.
The next stop was through the Aut tunnel.
More than three kilometres long, it is a very well maintained tunnel ... well
lit, no potholes, wide roads. I wanted some good videos of the Gypuzu but for
some reason the cameraman did not quite fathom the kind of stuff I wanted.
Maybe I could not explain it properly. I got decent point of view shots of the
drive with the car mounted camera though.
Soon enough we hit the bustling and crowded
town of Kullu. Earlier I had wanted to stay in Kullu, but because we were
running late, decided to head on right through town. There’s isn’t much to see
or do in Kullu, Manali is more “touristy”. But Manali too would have to wait
till tomorrow. We headed down to Naggar and then on to the Roerich Art Museum.
The gradient is steep, the roads narrow and even the turning radius of the
Gypuzu leaves much to be desired, it climbed up pretty easily. Drove past the
Naggar Castle and parked in front of the beautiful Roerich House which is today
a Museum and Art Gallery. It is calm, serene place and when one hears the
stories of Nicholas Roerich, one cannot but help wonder how one person, in one
lifetime, could have achieved so much. The sun was setting behind the Banner of
Peace that was fluttering proudly in the breeze and there was not much else we
would be doing tonight in terms of shooting. Tomorrow will be another long day.
We checked into a hotel next to the Naggar Castle
(I had stayed here before). Got talking to another local and he remembered me
from an earlier YouTube video where I was covering the Castle. Well, my 30
seconds of celebrity value. Major shaking of hands happened. Now don’t ideas,
there were no requests for autographs and all that.
Anyway, tomorrow we will have to shoot the
Roerich Museum, the Naggar Castle, the Hadimba Temple, Vashisth Hot Water
Springs, buy sundry items in Manali and then reach Keylong by nightfall. So I
better head to bed and hope I sleep well. The weather is gorgeous, just a
little nippy to make things cosy and comfortable.
So here I go. You take care and sleep tight.
Wait for the next update when I head into high altitude – Rohtang, which at
13,050 feet was once the highest road in the world.
So long. Adios. Hasta manana.
Follow my journey on http://traveltrendztv.com/traveltrendztrilogy.php and http://www.facebook.com/traveltrendztv.
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