Somewhere in the Western Sector

[laluks]

I normally don't give lifts. Strangely, I did that morning - the man who I asked for directions to the next town asked, Can I? And I agreed.

Lot of changes Chief. The chief I knew used to sulk and speed away if some one just shows up. Times are changing

[HVKumar]

Hardly any snow !! That place looks like a snow bomb just exploded. Then what would it be really their kind of winter ?

It was warm - mercury was above Zero!

Road was open - instead of being choppered across in an emergency!

Sumo taxi services were running - and no chains either in their tyres!

In fact, in some places, they had already started sowing crops!

[mjvbhaskar1000]

Great videos and description chief. Should have been great fun..

[mjvbhaskar1000]

Great videos and description Kumar. Should have been great fun.. Waiting for more details of ur trip.

[HVKumar]

Feb 7, 2016, 549 pm

10,000 feet Pass ahead.
Sun setting behind.
A deadline to beat - no cars allowed beyond 6 pm. A phone call assured us of an easy passage.

The rivulets of melted snow running down the road, churning up the soil beneath.
We had been stuck for almost 30 minutes a few minutes ago - the suspension of a Bolero pick up had got stuck in one of treacherous pits in the slope, blocking all traffic.

We were probably the last car up to the Pass that day....

Videographer - Shibu Varghese
Driver - HVK
Car - Scorpio

Click this LINK for next post in this travelogue

[NAGA]

Wow! Nice videos & Interesting thread. Eagerly waiting for more -

[Sagian]

Thank you Chief :-)

Waiting !!

[laluks]

The last video wow. Amazing snow drive. Phone call? to /from whom assures you an easy passage there?

[HVKumar]

The last video wow. Amazing snow drive. Phone call? to /from whom assures you an easy passage there?

We were running late & apprehensive that the Army Check Post atop the 10,000 feet Pass may not let us through (although I am bemused where else we could go!).
Hence, our kind host used his "connections" to sound out the Check Post that we were nice guys & should be let through - although we did reach the Check Post at least 5 minutes before 6 pm.

[HVKumar]

February 7, 2016, 123 pm

Once we came down the snows in the heights down to a sun-bathed valley with citrus fruits hanging down from the trees & terraced fields green with growing grain, it was time to drive the last 15 miles to the border.

This time, it was in our local host's Mahindra Thar, along some cliffhanger winding roads with the river flowing fast & furious down below & the neighbouring country just 5-10 metres across.

Not a little envious to see the Prados, LCs & Pajeros whizzing by on the roads that were much better than ours. No jawans & guns visible, we were told that they took pot shots at each other from behind their lofty perches up in the mountains that plunged down to the water's edge.

The locals themselves were very friendly. When we decided to come here - we had never heard of the place before - all we had for reference were 4 pages of Google search results that talked about encounters with terrorists, massacres & insurgency. But the laid-back expressions we saw belied these stories of dastardly attacks & the army itself was conspicuous by its absence....

The winding road took us to the last BOP where a lazy jawan gave us one look & went back to his cabin, with a look of sheer boredom on his face. The water was clear, a lovely blue-green & as usual, I dipped in to take some water and soil samples for my collection of Soils & Waters of India...

Click this LINK for next post in this travelogue

[kaiserketkar]

Woah awesome, Kumar!
really keep 'em coming. Always inspiring to read your travellogues!

[tush.desai]

Awesome details Kumar Bhai! If possible, & if you maintained, please share Excel File with point-to-point distance & time details.
I have one found from your Travelogues on a different website. Your son updated that file that time.
If you are still following that practice, pls share it.

[laluks]

along some cliffhanger winding roads with the river flowing fast & furious down below & the neighbouring country just 5-10 metres across.

Not a little envious to see the Prados, LCs & Pajeros whizzing by on the roads that were much better than ours.

I was a little intrigued the way you kept me guessing with our chats, and finally coming up with the place itself. By the way you never asked how I got it correct, now a little guess work back to you

[HVKumar]

Someone asked me, What is this "SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN SECTOR"?

Sounds like an Army despatch from the border.....

Reminds you of the famous saying, All Quiet on the Western Front, from WW2

Where could be the location of this drive spread across several days (you may have noted from the dates & times of the various videos that they are not from one single location)?

Could this be HP? UK? JK?
Could it be WB? SK? AR?

Is it Nepal? Is it really India?

Next Post

[KPR]

Someone asked me, What is this "SOMEWHERE IN THE WESTERN SECTOR"?

Sounds like an Army despatch from the border.....

Reminds you of the famous saying, All Quiet on the Western Front, from WW2

Where could be the location of this drive spread across several days (you may have noted from the dates & times of the various videos that they are not from one single location)?

Could this be HP? UK? JK?
Could it be WB? SK? AR?

Is it Nepal? Is it really India?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n5291[/ATTACH]

Interesting. Is it from Mughal Road?