It is not just a trip (Leh Ladakh)- Part1

I m not a writer, but I desperately wanted to pen this down as it was the most amazing trip till date. And now I am sure there is no beautiful place more than Himalayas. Here comes the story of my trip to Leh Ladakh with 5 of my friends from the office.

My First friend in the office

Being a under privileged Graduate Engineer Trainee and Junior most officer that to in a Head office which have less sitting place for all the people, I was sent to an another floor (4^th floor) to sit with different people other than my department. In the beginning I was a bit hesitant when I was sent to the other floor. But as someone rightly said “Anything happens, it happens for good reason”. As I was having a very few work to do, It was utter boredom to look in to that stupid desktop which my company has provided or surfing the office internet without most of the valuable sites like ‘facebook’ etc. So sitting away from the seniors made my wings free to do something else other than sitting in front of the desktop. Soon I made some friends near my cubicle to chat with.

I saw an old man who seems to be in his sixties sitting just behind me. His time to come to office was 10.30 everyday. Once when I was feeling bore I thought better to talk to someone rather than wasting time in the internet.

I went to him and asked hello Sir!

It is been 5-6 days you are sitting just behind me but sorry to say I have never talked to you. How are you by the way?

I am fine he said.

From the conversation that day I came to know that he is a retired man from Mahindra and now he is in contract basis working as an adviser to the transmission design team.

Well I got a companion and I listen to a lot of story from him about the company, its system, growth etc. One fine day I came to know that he is an amateur photographer and a traveller by hobby. He said he is a kind of person who keeps his hobby prior to his wife. Before coming to Mumbai I have heard that ‘In Mumbai everyone has a story’. So I wanted to hear his part of the story. I talked and talked everyday and listened a lot of stories of his travel, how he walked for 40 kms, how he camped in a forest, where he has gone, what is his regret till now etc. He was the only person in the office who brings a spark to my gloomy days and ignites me to go and see the world, to enjoy. “There are just endless places to see and you have got a very small span of life” he says always!

The fifth floor

There was one good thing about the upper floor where my boss sits. The coffee! I used to go there twice a day just to have coffee. Meet the seniors at the same time, no actual intension though. It was the month of June and the beautiful monsoon had already soaked the Mumbai’s concrete over coat quite a few times and once I was enjoying a cup of coffee with 2 of my friends ‘Ronaan’ and ‘Heneet’ who were of my age.

Why don’t we go for some escape to some hill stations nearby Mumbai, like Matheran?

Why Matheran, let’s go to some other hill station, told Ronaan.

I said, I have heard that it is beautiful in Monsoon.

Actually both the guys Heneet and Ronaan have spent quite a significant time of their life at Bombay and they have seen all the places nearby before. So they did not seem interested to the place I suggested.

I said then tell a place where to go Heneet!

Heneet is a Gujarati guy and as usual the inherited tendency of travelling of a ‘Guju’ was also in his blood.

He told what about ‘Leh Ladakh’. Today only there was a mailer from Club Mahindra holidays about Leh Ladakh.

Ronaan got excited and nodded yeah. That would be quite a fun to travel along with friends, what you say Chandan? He asked

I was also excited and told yes all of a sudden. Yeah man Common.

Ronaan told, we can ask Samyak also to come. He then asked Samyak going to his place. He said he needs one day to think.

The next day Coffee time it was Samyak came and told that He wants to join us for the Leh Ladakh trip along with his younger brother.

Oh wow! So we became 5 now, said Ronaan.

We will have less cost of travelling also, said Heneet. There are 3 continuous holidays in August and If we apply for 4 leaves then we can get 10 days leave including Sunday and Saturday he said.

What are we waiting for let’s apply for the leave then, said Ronaan.

Who will do the planning by the way? I am least experienced I told.

Samyak and Heneet agreed to do the planning for the trip.

All our leaves were accepted by our bosses.

After few days one itenary mail came from Samyak saying the expenditure would be around 30K per person. I was willing to pay the amount for a place like Leh Ladakh. But still I was afraid because I was not having any savings. I told that to Ronaan and he agreed to give me the money if have any shortage.

You do not face any problem in planning if there is Gujus in your group. And there were not one but two Gujus in my group. So all the ticket booking, route planning, vehicle booking and all happened and done by both Heneet and Samyak. And we all eagerly waited for the date 11^th August, 2011.

During this period all the fifth floor people have came to know that we 4 guys are going to Leh Ladakh and I became nobody to somebody due to this trip news. Nobody wants to be an underdog. It always feels good when people know you and recognise you. We all did the internet surfing for the journey precautionary things to be done before going to Leh Ladakh.

Every day I come to home and watch TV, there would be something about the Leh Ladakh trip stories. The ‘Royal Enfield Odyssey’, ‘Mahindra Great Escape- Raid the Himalayas’ blah blah...I was getting more and more excited about the places.

I told the news to my new elderly friend near my cubicle. He encouraged me and felt happy about that.

Finally the day 10^th August came and we left early from the office for our preparation for the tour. Everyone wished us best of luck for the tour.

Our flight was on next day morning 7 O’clock. I took an auto rickshaw to Ronaan’s home to pick him up for the airport. At the airport I saw Samyak sitting with a thin guy with long hair seems a trying to rock star who has not cut his hair for last 1-2 years for the typical rock star look. We reached to Samyak place, and he introduced to us to his younger brother Atman.

Hi Atman I said.

Hello, Atman said.

What happened to your hair?

Ah, everyone does ask this. Well this is my style. Like that we talked for few time. Heneet came a bit late and Ronaan was waiting for him outside. We met one of our senior managers in the airport also. She was also flying somewhere with her beautiful daughter.

After half an hour we all board to the flight. It was only my second air travel and my first flight was not at all a good experience for me. I was having ear pain in that journey due to excess pressure. I told to one of my colleague about that and he told me to use wet cottons in the ear during the flight that would prevent the air pressure and the ear pain also.

I asked to the air hostess “ kya aap mereko eke gila rui de sakte hai”

Sorry she said, with raised eye brow thinking where from these village people come to board a flight.

I repeated my sentence “ kya aap mereko eke gila rui de sakte hai”, It is like the air hostess training school never teach them to behave a local language speaking man.

As she pretended not to understand again, I asked, can you please give me wet cottons to put in my ears.

He told not wet cottons but dry cottons we can definitely give you sir.

Thank you I said. I never used those cottons though.

We all slept and 1.5 hours we reached to Delhi Airport.