Sangla to Rakcham (10/05/11)

Sangla to Rakcham (10/05/11)
As if to display some amount of variation, I woke up at 5:24 A.M today, cursed whatever was causing me to wake up at such ungodly hours, and immediately went back to sleep. I woke up later at 7:30 A.M and worked out for an hour. After that I went to the market square to stock up on rations that I needed for my walk to Rakcham. I drank some tea, ate a cream scone (Yes, I am a creature of habit, sue me), and also tried an omelet. My opinion was that he should just stick to making tea. I was still ravenous so I went to Anoopam bar and restaurant and ordered an egg parantha. It was absolutely delicious and I had him make two more to take on the walk with me. I bought a couple of liters of water, two small packets of chips, and a packet of biscuits. I also bought sunscreen with SPF 50+++ because I realized in the morning that I had suffered severe sun burn the previous day. The problem with cold weather is you don’t realize just how damaging the bright sun is to your skin. With all my supplies in hand I went back to clean out the room and vacate.

I came downstairs to turn in my key and was given a nice little bill to pay up. I was shocked to see that the guy had charged me Rs. 165 for ONE meal of Dal, Jeera Rice, and an Omelet that I had ordered the night before. I was very irritated by this and I spent 5 minutes vehemently expressing my displeasure at this act of greed. In the end I paid him Rs. 150 and stormed out; thank god I hadn’t ordered more. The name of the hotel is Paradise Guest House so if you stay there, be warned, don’t order anything to eat. You’re much better off at Anoopam’s which, though expensive, serves quality food. In a foul mood, I hoisted the 20 Kg+ backpack on and started walking out of Sangla at about 11 A.M.

I saw the Cafe 42 establishment once more and quickly took a picture before the dour faced man showed up again. The walk to Rakcham was 12 kilometers away according to the map and I gave myself three hours to reach it; including all photo-op, meal and water stops. Remembering the walk yesterday, I mentally made notes to stop and rest at pre-determined destinations. I set out at a brisk pace and despite the heavy bag I covered a good amount of ground and was at the Banjara Camps archway at 12:30 P.M. I chose to stop here to eat a light lunch and rest a while before I set off on the road to Rakcham. During this time a bus to Chitkul via Rakcham showed up and I deliberately ignored the driver’s glances so as to not be tempted to take the bus.

After the pit stop I set off on the main road once more and immediately started feeling the pinch. The road was curving upward steeply and it was getting to be a struggle to walk with the heavy bag. I came to a marker on the road which said that Rakcham was 10 KM away. My mind was blank for only a second before I started walking in a determined fashion. Along the way I met a chap who was returning from a trip to Shimla. He told me that he was walking to Chitkul and this gave me some heart. If he could walk to Chitkul, I could surely make it to Rakcham. After a while the conversation fizzled out and also I couldn’t keep up with him; all he had to carry was a small plastic bag. So he trudged on forward while I followed in his wake eventually stopping to take pictures or to drink water.

Around the 7 KM to Rakcham mark, I started to feel the fatigue in a very intense manner and I was very critically reassessing my decision to walk. I had to take frequent breaks to slow down my heart rate and catch my breath. The sun was shining away in its resplendent glory and this didn’t make life any easier for me. I passed a bridge over a stream and I stopped there under the pretext of taking pictures when all I wanted to do really was to get my engine recharged a little bit. At the 5 KM to Rakcham mark, I started feeling really bogged down and my resolve was breaking. I seriously doubted if I’d make it to Rakcham in one piece and was tempted to flag down a jeep and pay the driver to take me to Rakcham. And then I remembered an incident from my childhood.

When I was 14 years old, a friend and I used to go swimming. There used to be a diving board 10 feet high over the pool and I never had the courage to try it. One day he finally talked me into it and I fearfully climbed the ladder and walked the plank, so to speak. At the edge, however, fear got the better of me and I told him I didn’t want to go through with it. He tried coaxing me into it and I tried telling him that my decision was final. At the end of it, he got frustrated and told me that he’d let me go down but if I gave in to the fear and walked away, I’d lose a bit of self-respect and that I’d never get it back regardless of however many times I made the dive later on in life. I jumped 5 seconds later.

Those words literally echoed in my ears and I grit my teeth and decided that I would see this walk through regardless of how long it would take me. I walked for what seemed like ages and then came up on a distance marker that said, “Rakcham – 1 KM”. I was elated and I made it into the village at 4:30 P.M, exhausted and hurting, but proud of myself. I stopped at the first hotel and asked if there were any rooms available. The owner was an extremely nice guy who told me that today was the first day they were opening up the hotel after the cold season and that they had no running water supply due to the pipes bursting as a result of the cold. He offered to put me up at the Silver Crown Guest house but when he called them he found out that they had the same problem too. He told me there was one other option, the Rupin Riverview but it would be an expensive affair. I told him that I couldn’t afford it and he thought for a minute and asked me if I would mind doing a homestay.

Homestays are a concept developed by the HPTDC to promote the culture and heritage of inner Himachal villages in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti. You pay the owner of a house a fixed amount per night so that you live with them in a room and experience the culture first hand. Authentic meals are also part of the package and you get to have the complete experience of staying in a village. The owner’s uncle owned the homestay (registered with the HPTDC) and was sympathetic to my predicament. He cut down his usual price and said he’d let me stay there for a couple of nights. I was extremely gratified and I started walking with him to go to his house. He turned out to be a very knowledgeable person and I asked him all the questions that I could think of and got answers in a very patient and elaborate manner. We passed the Baspa River on the way and I couldn’t wait for the next day to go and visit it.

I eventually entered their home and it was a delightful wooden house with lovely decorations and set in a typical village environment. He said that since my arrival was abrupt, the room wasn’t ready and that I could rest in the main guest area. He then brought me up very tasty tea and also a local delicacy which, according to him, promoted good health and digestive regularity. It was a little bland and the texture was odd, but I found myself enjoying it and I finished it all up. After I finished eating, he left me alone and I rested.

Later in the evening I stepped out for while and walked to the entrace of the village and stood awhile gazing at the Baspa river. The weather was extremely chilly but also pleasant in a way. I watched the little village shut down slowly and walked back to the home. I was served dinner and I was glad to eat a home cooked meal after days of eating out. The meal comprised of Rotis, Spinach, and Aloo ki sabzi. It was simple and yet utterly delicious. I was then shown my room which really did look very quaint and homely. I'm going to enjoy my sleep tonight. Tomorrow I'll go out exploring. Until then, cheers!