Reminiscences Of an Adventure

A year ago , three friends set out on a trip from bangalore. It was a mix of emotions as one of their friend was moving away from them. But the ardent joy of going on a trip and spending time with her supplanted the sorrow. They knew it is going to be a crazy trip , but little did they know that they are going to embark on a wild adventure. And the cherry on the top was they were about to be joined by their other friend , who is equally crazy enough to get onboard with any impulsive plans. Altogether they were a unique group of friends.

The first day in Delhi , a crazy summer afternoon . They were pretty anxious of how the bus ride up the hills would be .They went to a lounge to while away the time till they board their bus in the evening . They spent their time at Connaught Place and Palika bazaar literally walking around. And after a lot of fun and frolic whilst on their way to the boarding point they boarded the bus . After an overnight journey they reached Manali . The journey was quite comforting .

That was the first ever time few of them had seen the snow covered peaks up close . They were all excited . Even better was their three bedroom house where they had chosen to stay . Although it was tucked in the narrow lanes of the most popular tourist spot it was quaint .One might easily mistake it for cramped place . But it opened up to the view of the valley with beas river running through it . A view to die for .The sound of river reverberated through their souls .The first day in Manali they spent having tea in khullad and making plans to visit Rohtang . After a lot of considerations , they decided to rent bikes to visit Rohtang. Not just Rohtang they even decided to visit Keylong further away from Rohtang . Both people who were the designated riders , didn’t have enough experience riding through the Himalayan terrains as it entails a bit of off road driving. But still they decided on taking a chance . Although one of them was frightened to death on the inside , he didn’t show it to his friends . But one of them was pretty shaken as she knows him up close and she sensed that his confidence was a little shaky. Regardless of all this , they were all set for the next day. They decided to chill the previous night .

The next morning , they left on time . Thanks to the constant nudge of the most punctual person in the group . The fact they forgot to take their permit to cross the pass and had to come back to get it is altogether a different story. It was one of the most adventurous ride up to the pass . Needless to mention the not so inconspicuous peaks covered with snow on their ride up .

enjoy scenic beauty, because they had to safeguard the life of two scared souls sitting behind them.

To their consternation , the roads were barely there on few of the stretches .

There were a lot of obstacles on their way , in the form of rough terrains and serpentine queue of vehicles . After a long journey they finally reached Rohtang pass , the most spectacular sight they had ever seen . They parked their bikes to capture some pictures , although they wanted to spend more time there , all they had in their mind was the treacherous road ahead until Keylong .The landslides led to diversions which made the ride even bumpier . There were many stretches , where they had to wait for long to let the vehicles coming in the opposite side of the road to pass , because half of the roads were washed away by landslides.

The journey further ahead from Rohtang to Keylong was even terrifying . They went ahead with anxiety , the mountains were so intimidating with just the majestic Himalayas and the beas river . They held on to their nerves and finally reached keylong. It was a sigh of relief to see a town amidst the majestic Himalayas . A sleepy little town , yet quaint .

They were exhausted .They rested , it was so cold that they all ended up curling up inside the blanket .The old monk which they took came as a saviour.The place was incredible .

The next day they set out on their return journey to Manali . The ride back was a little better , as they were familiar with the route . They did face many hardships on their way back in the rough terrain. At places they had to make their pillion riders walk so as to cross the tiny patches of road amongst the puddles .They managed to reach Rohtang pass back . The very feeling they had when they reached Rohtang was a sense of achievement. A feeling like they had conquered their fears of life . A feeling which can never be summarised by words . They started their descent from Rohtang. Finally when they had crossed all the toughest starches of the road , they halted for the lunch . And am sure it was by far their most sumptuous food they had ever had in their whole trip , although it was simple , the very feeling of making an adventurous trip made the food taste even better . That evening they chilled at their cozy vacation home . That night they relived their ordeals of their greatest adventure .

The next day they lived like a local , they chose to explore the places around where they stayed . They were dejected that their trip was almost over . They still managed to enjoy. And then came the final day in Manali , where they dragged themselves to pack their bags and set out out on their return to delhi .

The final day of their trip was the most devastating for them . As their friend whom they had been with all these years were leaving them choosing a different path. A tearful farewell which everyone knew was on the cards. Until then they never realised that it was going to be so hard on them . Especially for two of them who had to go back to bangalore alone , leaving their effervescent bubble of joy .

It was one amazing trip they had ever had. Until this day they always reminisce the adventures of their crazy trip . A year after that trip still feels as if they had been there last month . One thing what is to be learnt is we are always on the run throughout our lives , seldom we forget to cherish the tiny moments which sums up a greater meaning . Another important takeaway from this is no matter where ever the place , it’s the company which makes a trip memorable.