Soliloquy of a Wandering Pilgrim

After getting stranded again on Rohtang Pass road, finally reached Kaza last evening. A gruelling 11 hours on the road and a well earned rest at the Himachal Tourism Hotel Spiti. It was good to see the young cook from Kullu is still there and he almost made us feel at home with a fantastic meal.   We seem to be lucky weather wise this time, though the September wind is already biting cold. Its going to be some cold nights up ahead at Parang La I am sure. Arranging transport to Kibber and permits is on top of my agenda today. Shopping for 12 days for 13 people is also happening right now. Off to Kibber tomorrow. The highest village (4250m) connected with a motorable road and electricity.   Some of us have gone to visit the nearby Dankhar Gompa, while the not so lucky ones are happily roaming in the streets of Kaza.   Since we were lucky enough not to get stranded in Kunzumla due to untimely snow fall ( read in the newspaper at Losar Police post that this snowfall broke 54 year...

Kolkata to Delhi.The train journey was a nice surprise. Actually. Rajdhani Experess, haven't been on it for long time. And now I must admit that the experience is better. It has improved, the whole experience. Remarkable food especially, when this is included in your train ticket price; matters. But what matters most is panctuality of the train. And this time it was a ten on ten.   Whenever I am taking a train ride, all these comparisons come into my mind. The European trains ( especially the Swiss, French and German) are great. They are meticulously perfect on time, they are clean and look modern. The one long distance Russian train I was on was a train from Moscow to MIn Vody. It was great and different experiemce altogether. It lacked the look may be, but there was no shortage of quality of service on board. I was particularly impressed by the one lady conductor who was literraly taking care of everything in one coach. From checking our tickets to cleaning the floor. The look...

http://picasaweb.google.com/anindya.adventuremania/ElbrusRace?feat=directlink Here is the link to the images from Elbrus Race 2008. I have added some new pics to this album from the Speed Climb organizers website. Here you can see the almost photo-finish between me and Martin on top of Elbrus. -- Adventure Mania official website: www.adventuremania.com Upcoming Trips blog: http://adventuremania-india.blogspot.com Raja's personal blog: http://himalaya-raja.blogspot.com Real Adventure Journeys Across Himalaya Call Raja:  +91 97487 61139 Optional Number :+91 92305 11139