The old Hindustan-Tibet Highway, built by the British as a potential invasion route into Tibet runs NE from Shimla through the Kinnaur valley’s apple orchids, temples and villages that have not changed over the millennia.
Our plan is to travel along the Sutlej river towards the greener Kinnaur valley (part 1 & 2) and then onto the high altitude mountain deserts of the Spiti valley(part 3 and however more posts it may take) , close to the India/Tibet border.
To do this requires a special permit as this is a restricted military area and a detour off ‘highway 22’. Why it is even called a highway defies logic.
A permit is obtainable in Shimla (for more on Shimla see Linda’s previous post)
We arrive at the ‘additional’ district magistrates office in Shimla full of hope only to spend a fruitless day going from pillar to post , to be told at 4.oo pm that this is NOT possible, with a smile. Too dangerous for 2 people seems to be the general excuse.
When seeking permits on previous trips, encounters with bureaucracy often left some hope- maybe our requests were lost in translation. Mish mumkin in Sudan, Nyet on the Silk road often ( with persistence) garnered the result we hoped for, once translation barriers were overcome.
In Shimla however our request is denied, in perfect English.
A friendly local suggested we try Rhekong Peo as the local magistrate there maybe more amenable.
This is the first part of our trip there.
How this fellow can smile after sitting the whole day at the additional magistrates office in Shimla…..
We leave behind Shimla’s Royal Enfield fire tender
and its chicken protein
National highway 22 lures us
with apple orchids
& glimpses of the Himalayas-if we only can get a permit
National highway 22 quickly narrows
At the expense of flogging a dead horse, the rules of the road, or lack thereof , still require an adjustment on our part. The mind-set seems to be if you are bigger you own the road. Here is a short video of what blind corners present, even on a small back roads This video was shot with a Sena Prism helmet cam which has a relatively wide angle lens. The gap is actually a lot smaller than what it appears.
Along the way we see road workers who live on the road
Men & woman work under VERY difficult conditions-here tar is melted in drums over a fire
…
It seems to make no sense trying to fight nature with small patches of tar
or manually breaking rocks into smaller pieces to fill potholes
when water & snow
and constant rock falls will always have the upper hand
…
…
the last bit of tar-not that there was ever much. Its a far way down to the bottom on these narrow roads if one goes left wayward…
More protein although it probably has more rights than we do
We start to see many sheared wheel stubs
Which is little wonder as the road morphs into a mixture of hidden rocks, rim denting potholes and slippery mush
…
I’m still fixated on what’s around every bend….
Or how we can slip by when traffic is held up due to landslides and rock falls
That truck in the distance has broken down but the military on foot are on their way
We climb from the Sutlej river valley
with its heavy military presence
and its Hydro Electric power plant that at a glance could double as an Egyptian antiquity
to a somewhat greener environment. That’s our track snaking on the left side
Somewhere around one of these bends is Sangla, our stop for the night
…
Sangla!!!!
It’s my birthday & we book into the Deb Buhmi Regency
With its welcoming committee
And undercover parking
A geyser in name only with no water pressure and exposed wiring. Thankfully there was no power and the Regency’s cold water bucket shower system kicked in (also used to flush the non- squat toilet reached via a short skate over the wet floor). That little tap near floor level is in lieu of non existent toilet rolls…
No electricity but hey strong, warm beer at black-market prices. At 9% we soon forget the price
Birthday heartburn
at the local eatery
We choose to be in India and are actually quite happy, despite an overdose of chilly vegan, curry vegan, spicy vegan and all its derivatives that keep us awake at night….
the local silversmith
has skills that must have been passed on down
creates these masterpieces
Sangla …
I’ve been chuckling away at all your divinely descriptive accounts of your adventure from being rejected in English to the Egyptian lookalike antiquity. You guys have a way of writing that make me grin from beginning to end. I then nearly choked on my coffee when I saw a photo of your Deb Buhmi Regency with undercover parking. The tears are streaming down my face! Thanks for an awesome start to my day. So funny!!!!
The local Silversmith is a master piece..
I am sure his skill has been handed down generation after generation.
Ashwin
Hi Guys
Curry for breakfast lunch and supper….
I will eat the meat so long for both of you.
Ashwin
Again so amazing to follow your blog! Just wanna say HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Gimme more of those mind-blowing pictures and stories :-)
Very nice. We loved India, want to go back!!!
Sjoe — would have to check my rods for skid marks after every corner!!! — Amazing so far Harry & Linda — Missing u guys! — Enjoy
Have you got ‘nay’ Rennies? – Jan
Hi Jan
Need something stronger than Rennies!!!
Sorry, forget to do my identification sum, so my earlie comment did not go! However long ,long ago reading interesting oddsand ends at the Library of Glasgow University, I read a book how a British General with the curious name of Younghusband entered Tibet with an expedition to occupy Lhasa and thus Tibet. He erected a telegrapg line all the way, which the Tibetans never cut because they thought the British would not be able to find their way back if they destroyed the line, when the British would leave. The British Army even had a Lhasa Post Office withe a Lhasa stamp! Wisely in the end Britain decided to leave. I wonder whether your ‘Highway’ was in part their invasion and retreat route! After all there are not so many passes into Tibet I think.
Gail says what a road the palms sweat just looking. This is another hairy scary post great to read after it is all over. Your guts really amaze me. Anniversary party for 2 was a good sight! lots of love G
Hi you two, just got this notice now! ! Wonderful, going to read it all now! Lots of love and keep looking round the corner!
Nice to track the tour and trouble shooting, if any .
Linda, did that silversmith cast you a pair of silver b-lls??? You guts sure earns them…. Keep going cause you gotta get Harry out!!
Hi Gail. Thanks to that silversmith I may become redundant…..
Phew——–glad you finally reached Sangla———the roads ahead can surely only get better——keep up the miraculous driving !
Hello Jim & Muriel. Hope all is well down under!. The roads actually get a lot worse but with Linda’s new silver b-lls things are looking up
Spicy foods = yummy for my tummy. Those roads and riding conditions look treacherous, not much knee scraping ala Rossi that can be done on those roads! The scenery looks awesome and the experience is one of a lifetime.