In silent anticipation of unfelt happiness – Chapter II ???
When we dream in our sleep, sometimes the dream tends to get stuck at a point. It just refuses to move ahead and loops over and over again like a broken record. It’s a Herculean effort to get over that unknown obstacle and complete the dream. And more often than not, we just can’t. I tried my hardest to get the raft off the banks of Zanskar River but I just could-f***in-not. In fact, the more I tried, the slower my movements became and my life-long dream to river raft in The Zanskar was slowly becoming just that – a dream. A quick shake of the body, a little scratching of the head, and I was awake. Dehydrated, I realized, from the excessive amount of beer I’d had four hours ago at La Casa with Sumanth, Dumpy, Rahul and Amogh. Going back to sleep after that wasn’t easy because my thoughts kept going back to the banks of the Zanskar.
14 days to go before the quest to Ladakh begins, and I can’t wait. None of us can. We still haven’t taken a stock check of what we will be carrying with us. A lot depends on the weather there. And a lot of blogs tell me planning the clothes to carry is best left a week before the trip because the weather in Ladakh can be a can of surprises.
Latest weather reports on CNN.com inform me that it’s raining right now in Ladakh, with the temperature hovering between 16°C (60°F) and 4°C (39°F). And maybe even as low as 3°C in Leh. Now, that’s a worry factor because about three weeks ago, heavy rains caused the rivers to flood there and a lot of population had to be evacuated by the Indian Army. We’re just hoping we don’t land in a situation in which we’ll have to swim up 500kms from Manali to Leh. I just posted a thread on IndiaMike.com asking for more information about the weather.
On a brighter note, from what I’ve gathered from people who’ve traveled to Ladakh, September is usually a merciful period to visit. I’m waiting to get my eyes on the palaces of Leh and Stok. In the east of Leh lies the Hemis Monastery and some of it’s pictures that I’ve managed to see are absolute syrup!!!! Spending a day at the Rumtek Monastery near Gangtok, last year, was an indescribable experience, especially during the time the head priest and the monks began their daily “puja” and I can’t wait for my next “Monastery Affair”.
I’m hoping we’ll manage to catch a local festival during the two weeks we spend there. The sad part is that the best of festivals are already over. The Hemis festival happens in June-July and we’ve missed the “Ladakh” Festival by about two weeks.
But hell ….. if there’s one thing I’m itching for, it’s the rafting. I can almost smell the rapids. As I’ll struggle to steer the raft over a devilish and menacing Grade IV rapid with my team and I’ll feel the ice cold water of the Indus or Zanskar piercing through my numb skin like little splinters of metal, I’ll know that THAT’S IT. The Climax. The ORGASM!!!!!!!
Cheers!!
When we dream in our sleep, sometimes the dream tends to get stuck at a point. It just refuses to move ahead and loops over and over again like a broken record. It’s a Herculean effort to get over that unknown obstacle and complete the dream. And more often than not, we just can’t. I tried my hardest to get the raft off the banks of Zanskar River but I just could-f***in-not. In fact, the more I tried, the slower my movements became and my life-long dream to river raft in The Zanskar was slowly becoming just that – a dream. A quick shake of the body, a little scratching of the head, and I was awake. Dehydrated, I realized, from the excessive amount of beer I’d had four hours ago at La Casa with Sumanth, Dumpy, Rahul and Amogh. Going back to sleep after that wasn’t easy because my thoughts kept going back to the banks of the Zanskar.
14 days to go before the quest to Ladakh begins, and I can’t wait. None of us can. We still haven’t taken a stock check of what we will be carrying with us. A lot depends on the weather there. And a lot of blogs tell me planning the clothes to carry is best left a week before the trip because the weather in Ladakh can be a can of surprises.
Latest weather reports on CNN.com inform me that it’s raining right now in Ladakh, with the temperature hovering between 16°C (60°F) and 4°C (39°F). And maybe even as low as 3°C in Leh. Now, that’s a worry factor because about three weeks ago, heavy rains caused the rivers to flood there and a lot of population had to be evacuated by the Indian Army. We’re just hoping we don’t land in a situation in which we’ll have to swim up 500kms from Manali to Leh. I just posted a thread on IndiaMike.com asking for more information about the weather.
On a brighter note, from what I’ve gathered from people who’ve traveled to Ladakh, September is usually a merciful period to visit. I’m waiting to get my eyes on the palaces of Leh and Stok. In the east of Leh lies the Hemis Monastery and some of it’s pictures that I’ve managed to see are absolute syrup!!!! Spending a day at the Rumtek Monastery near Gangtok, last year, was an indescribable experience, especially during the time the head priest and the monks began their daily “puja” and I can’t wait for my next “Monastery Affair”.
I’m hoping we’ll manage to catch a local festival during the two weeks we spend there. The sad part is that the best of festivals are already over. The Hemis festival happens in June-July and we’ve missed the “Ladakh” Festival by about two weeks.
But hell ….. if there’s one thing I’m itching for, it’s the rafting. I can almost smell the rapids. As I’ll struggle to steer the raft over a devilish and menacing Grade IV rapid with my team and I’ll feel the ice cold water of the Indus or Zanskar piercing through my numb skin like little splinters of metal, I’ll know that THAT’S IT. The Climax. The ORGASM!!!!!!!
Cheers!!
posted by Varun at Saturday, September 02, 2006
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home