The Highway
(Part 1)
Route: Chandigarh to Leh (via Manali)
Distance: Approx 795 kms
Travel Time: 22 hrs
I bought a calendar on Ladakh for my work desk, hoping that the law of attraction would come into play and I would find myself there next summer. One year later, there I was, in the lap of heavenly bliss and wonder. The journey there was nothing short of extraordinary.
After all these years of travel, the highway has certainly become one of my favourite parts of a journey. The Indian Highway is a world of its own. There is so much going on. From the car full of overenthusiastic guys speeding away, blasting music like they own the road to the overstuffed Innova's (SUVs) carrying two entire family generations for a holiday, their luggage tied on top, dancing to the tune of every pothole, daring bikers and finally, the cosy newlyweds off on their honeymoon. Of course, there's the occasional lone traveler, deluxe/ Volvo buses and the king of Indian roads - our very own mustached trucks!
My friend and I took one of the frequent Volvo buses at night from Chandigarh to Manali. We slept for most of the journey, waking up only for an early morning loo/ tea break at a dhaba. If you're traveling in North India, it is hard to miss the frequent road side dhabas. You can smell chai, dal makhani and tandoori rotis from a distance. Of course, half asleep, at 5 am, one could only smell the masala chai and hear the sound of the gushing Beas river. Back on the bus, I took the window seat to enjoy the mesmerizing view of dawn breaking through the mighty Himalayas. The journey from Kullu to Manali is breathtaking; fruit orchards full of litchis, apples and peaches on one side and the flowing river on the other side.
8 hours and 305 kms later, we had arrived in Manali. This is where we were breaking our journey, on the way to Leh. We enquired around to get the best rates for a shared minibus from Manali to Leh and booked it, for later that night. As we had the whole day in Manali, we decided to rest for a bit and do some sightseeing. We headed to Old Manali and unwinded at a river side cafe there. Brushed our teeth, freshened up and started the trip on a healthy note with juice and a fresh fruit bowl. The cafe owner was very friendly and offered us some local rice brew. One sip was enough to give me a giddy feeling and funnily enough, made me very contemplative. We lazed around there for some time and later with the help of some locals, found cheap accommodation for the night.
It was a quaint little guest house called Apple View, on top of a hill with its own orchard and a panoramic view of the deodar covered mountains. We were the only Indians here - only Indian backpacking girls to be precise. With our rucksacks in tow, we made our way up to the large, airy room with a view on the first floor. After a power nap, we headed to La Plage - a French cuisine restaurant amidst apple orchards. We decided to indulge ourselves here; and kick back with beers and delicious food. My slow cooked lamb with red wine jus was to die for! No more extravagance after this, we decided. After all, it was a thoroughly budgeted trip.
We were so happy that the weather was clear, after all the recent, unexpected pre monsoon showers, due to which our travel plans were almost shelved. It was a gorgeous, sunny day perfect for our onward journey to Leh. After slogging away at the desk job for what it seemed like an eternity, this was bliss. I felt so free, uninhibited and jolly.
A couple of hours later, however, it started to rain unexpectedly. We were really worried about landslides en route which would leads to delays or worse - abandoning our travel plans. There are only 2 routes to Leh - one via Manali and the other one via Srinagar. With heavy rain, there is a high chance of the national highway getting blocked, and help is hard to come by.
Thankfully, the rain didn't last long. We called it a night, pretty early as we had to wake up in a few hours for the next leg of the journey. The part we were most excited about!
“The journey not the arrival matters.”
― T.S. Eliot
