3rd September 2023, 20:24
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| BHPian  Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Chasing the Snow | Winter in Kashmir Well, after the THAR came home we had only a few trips to North Bengal and Sikkim. So to have a THAR-like trip, my brother and I planned for a winter trip to Manang ( Nepal ) and we were very excited to experience the performance of the beast. Ohh, are you already confused with the title of the blog and our plan? I was even more dazed till the day of starting the journey. Everything was set for the Manang trip and on a Saturday morning I got a call from my brother that he had an accident with a THAR. As he was new to driving, he started in the early morning to go to our native place from Kolkata, and on Belghoria Expressway he had an accident with an MG Hector. THAR was in operating condition but the front bumper and wheel arch were broken. So we claimed insurance on the same day and expected the car to be ready in 7 days and we can go with the plan as we still have 12 days in hand to jump. However, after much effort and escalations, Mahindra could not set up parts in 12 days and I had no other choice than to take the Lazy Turtle for another long-distance trip. My brother was a little upset as he wanted to be onboarded and experience driving on mountain roads as much as possible. As the Lazy Turtle is a very crude vehicle without ABS, EBD, Airbag, etc., I do not suggest he drive the Lazy Turtle on a trip. So he knew that he had very little chance of driving on the trip. Glimpse:  Relying on Lazy Turtle is living unrestricted  We both desire mountains will be our home someday  Raw and Wild = Pure  Why is my head so heavy?  Sometimes Lazy Turtle wants to pose  Winning against the snow Itinerary: DAY 01: Kolkata - Varanasi, UP DAY 02: Varanasi - Panipat, HR DAY 03: Panipat - Patnitop, J&K DAY 04: Patnitop - Pahalgam - Chandanwari - Pahalgam, J&K DAY 05: Pahalgam - Betab Valley - Pahalgram - Aru Valley - Lal Chowk - Srinagar, J&K Day 06: Srinagar - Gulmarg, J&K Day 07: Gulmarg - Srinagar, J&K Day 08: Srinagar - Jalandhar, Punjab Day 09: Punjab - Agra, UP Day 10: Agra - Dehri, BH Day 11: Dehri - Medinipur, WB Preparation Nowadays Lazy Turtle is always packed with a hard box with cooking essentials, a camping stove, camping stool, shovel, ropes, sleeping bags, some blankets, utility and wrench-box, and big plastic to cover the car. So we did not have to spend much time packing. We just took some dry foods and soft drinks with us for emergency purposes. To be continued ... Last edited by Aditya : 12th September 2023 at 20:08. Reason: As requested |
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3rd September 2023, 20:33
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow - Winter Kashmir The Journey DAY 01: Kolkata - Varanasi, UP With almost no plan we started towards the North considering Himachal or Kashmir could be our destination. When we changed the plan from Nepal to North India, one of my cousin's sisters wanted to join us as she had some leaves simultaneously. So we three started from Kolkata in the early morning and had yet to finalize the place. While I intended to visit Kashmir, my brother (Tanmoy) and cousin sister (Antara) were more interested in Himachal or Uttarakhand. They were a little worried about the leave period as we had only 9 days of leave officially and it was almost unthinkable to make a Kashmir trip in such a short period. Rather a trip to Kumaon could be a better idea to utilize the 9-day trip. And in the discussion, we found that if we want to visit Kashmir, we need at least 11 days if I drive alone. So, before anything else, we need to manage the additional 2 days leave which was tough for Antara as she works in the Reporting / Media industry. However, with many phone calls and many excuses, she was able to manipulate the additional two days of leave and we finally decided to visit Kashmir.   Pathetic Traffic at NH2 connector from Kolkata  Somewhere at Jharkhand  Somewhere near Varanasi For day one we kept our journey short and checked into a known hotel at Varanasi to start early for the next day. DAY 02: Varanasi - Panipat, HR As per the plan, we started early from Varanasi and we were planning to take minimum breaks and cover as much distance possible for the day. A few kilometres before Kanpur I was feeling something wrong in the rear suspension. Well, I found out very easily that 2 leaf springs have been broken on the left side. As the plan was to go with the THAR and I was too busy for the last couple of weeks I didn't even get time to service the vehicle properly and do a mechanical checkup. So something like this can be expected and I was not very surprised. We called a few service centers nearby, but none of them were in operating mode as it was Christmas Day and Sunday. We found one of the service centers in operating mode at Kanpur. The manager was a complete idiot. We described what we required, and also told him that we were on a long-distance trip and could not wait much. After hearing everything he suggested visiting his workshop. We visit his workshop with the assurance that it will be done quickly. When we reached there we faced an entirely different scenario. He kept us waiting for a long time, then inspected the vehicle, and finally informed us that they do not have any mechanic to do the leaf spring work, and neither do they have the required parts now.  The only picture for the day  We kept on moving and searching for any local shop to get the leaf spring replacement done. Near Bekewar, we found a shop that assured us that he could do it quickly. They took around 2 hours and even after that, they could not assemble the leaf spring. I noticed that they are very naive in their particular work. Finally,y I had to make my hand dirty to get it assembled and fitted in the car. Finally, after almost wasting 2.5 hours it was time to proceed with the journey. With the blessings of the Lucknow-Agra Expressway, Yamuna Expressway & Eastern Peripheral Expressway we could make it to Patnitop for the day. Because of the unnecessary waiting period in the Mahindra Service Center and the unavailability of proper tools and setup, we became exhausted for the day and went to bed early. DAY 03: Panipat - Patnitop, J&K Last evening we were worried about the foggy road in the morning. And yes it was truly difficult to start in the early morning and drive through such dense fog. We started the journey in the morning but till 11:00 AM the journey was extremely slow, Finally when we reached the J & K border it was already afternoon. With not much delay we moved forward to Patnitop. After three continuous days of driving, we reached a place where we were really happy with the chilling weather and the wonderful setup of our stay.   Early Morning at Hariyana  Somewhere before Entering J&K    Patnitop Though it was a festive season, we did not face much crowd in Patnitop and enjoyed the chilling evening (Temperature -1 degree C) |
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3rd September 2023, 20:50
| #3 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow - Winter Kashmir DAY 04: Patnitop - Pahalgam - Chandanwari - Pahalgam, J&K So it was the day to enjoy Kashmir. From Patnitop we went directly to Chandanwari and on the way we just took a break in Pahalgam to have some food.  Morning at Patni Top      Some Snaps on the way to Pahalgam Reaching there we found that many people came to Cahndanwari expecting some panoramic scenes to come up. I don't know why but I felt a little upset seeing so many tourists even in December last week. Without much delay, we returned a couple of KM from the Chandanwari and there we found a quiet place. The place was nice beside a flowing stream and no other cars or people. We just spent the afternoon there and while the daylight was about to finish, we returned to Pahalgam.              Chandanwari While driving towards Chandanwari, we noticed that there was a huge crowd in the Betaab Valley, and we decided to visit the place in the early morning before anyone reached there. In Pahalgam, it was already showing a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius in the evening. So to start the car early in the morning we need to take good care of the vehicle. I found some ice between battery terminals and older's arms. To avoid any risk of spark or discharge of the battery, I disconnected the terminal and covered it properly. Also covered the vehicle appropriately.           Some street side food at evening After taking care of the vehicle we had a nice walk into the dark for a few hours and slept early for the day. To be continued ... |
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3rd September 2023, 21:12
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| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow - Winter Kashmir DAY 05: Pahalgam - Betab Valley - Pahalgram - Aru Valley - Lal Chowk - Srinagar, J&K That day I started a little before. Earlier my sister and brother woke up. I went for a stroll nearby and I came back to the hotel. As per the plan, on the last day, we first went to Betab Valley and there we enjoyed the first glow of the sun in the chilling weather. Once we found that the other tourist had started visiting the place, we started driving towards Aru Valley.      Early Morning at Pahalgam             Some random snaps at Betab Valley and near by It was a good decision to visit Betab Valley and then leave for Aru Valley. It was the most scenic landscape on the other side of the Aru Valley road. And the most significant thing is that there you could hardly see any tourist vehicles and it was an indication of peace. The snow-covered peaks and pines were greeting the sunlight and we were overwhelmed with the scenic beauty of the valley and the roads. The only thing for which I was a little worried was that there was a forecast of rainfall on that day and I did not have any tire chains with me. Also what I learnt till then is that nobody is proactive to clean the Aru Valley road if there is any snowfall. So we may get stuck there for a day or two if snowfall starts. However, the later part of the day was rather more clear and sunny weather. While returning from Aru Valley we found that there is a 100% chance of snowfall in Gulmarg on the next day and we had a plan to visit Gulmarg on the next day. To be continued ... |
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3rd September 2023, 21:22
| #5 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow - Winter Kashmir Day 5 continued ... Initially, we had no plan to visit Srinagar on that day. However, I felt that I should arrange a pair of tire chains for the next few days in Kashmir if the weather forecast is going to be true. On searching for the tyre chains we reached Anantnag, but we were unfortunate to get it in Anantnag. So finally, I decided to drive to Lal Chowk with a big hope that I would get something there. When we reached Lal Chowk it was already evening and many stores were already closed. We parked our vehicle in a safe location and started searching for a shop where we could get it. After many searches we found one shop which was about to close and the shopkeeper was just stacking the chains to close the shutter. It was probably the last chance, but I got many options there and finally bought a pair of good-quality chains for Lazy Turtle.  Somewhere at Srinagar highway Starting from the morning it was a tiring day all together but I was expecting something extraordinary on the trip and just keeping myself charged for anything or everything.   Dal Lake  Winter and Fries Day 06: Srinagar - Gulmarg, J&K I am still confused about whether I will call the day a day of Happiness or a day of Sorrow. While it was a very thrilling driving experience for me, it was a painful day for many. The weather forecast shows that there will be heavy snowfall at Gulmarg from 11:00 AM. So we started early and the plan was that we would return early to avoid unnecessary traffic. While we reached there we did not find it suitable for travelers like us. It is an extremely commercial place and the many tour guides were continuously poking for jeep-ride, horse-ride, etc. They were not allowing us to enter the Gulmarg area in our car. As my sister works in TV media, the press card did the favor and finally, we were able to make entry inside. Whatever it is, the entire forte was not very smooth and I will always avoid Gulmarg in the future. I am not going to portray anything about Gulmarg as it is a very famous tourist spot. It was exactly 11:00 AM and the forecast rolled out into reality. While everyone was busy returning from the area we found it as an opportunity to enjoy the snowfall and drive on the snowfall. Till 2:00 PM we enjoyed a lot in the snowfall and then it was time to return to Srinagar.                 Gulmarg and Snowfall To be continued ... |
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3rd September 2023, 21:33
| #6 |
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow - Winter Kashmir Day 6 continued ... Everything was pleasant till then. However, when we returned to the Gulmarg entry gate, we found a huge traffic jam and we had no other option of going back because of the huge queue on both the front and rear sides. Most of the vehicles were unprepared and many of them were very naive in snow driving which led to many casualties one after another. It took around 2 and a half hours to reach Gulmarg from Srinagar, whereas it took 14 hours to return.  The downhill drive from Gulmarg to Babareshi took 12 hours and these 12 hours of driving were the most dangerous driving experience in my life. The road was full of idiots and whenever I was trying to keep some safe distance at the front, the other vehicle surpassed me and filled the gap. Not only private vehicles, public vehicles, and army vehicles all became absurd in the situation. I found around 50+ casualties in front of my eyes in these 12 KM drives and all were mainly because of braking on the ice. Whenever a vehicle was getting out of track it was causing another 10-15 minutes delay to side the vehicle so other vehicles could move ahead. I found a Toyota Etios in front of me and the driver was a gem. Though he does not have any tire chains, he just deflated the tire and I did not find a single instance where it became out of control. I found this one after 2-3 KM drives between some crazy vehicles and decided to follow him for the entire downhill drive. The next day I found many posts on Facebook that the Army and J&K Police had made many recoveries for the night. However, I did not find any such activities other than running three snow cutters for these 12 hours. Our conveyance was full of foods like cake, juice, chocolate and dry fruits. Even we had a stove and noodles for survival. We were running out of water after 4-5 hours of driving in the stretch and we had no idea whether we had to spend the whole night on the road or not.    Traffic during downhill drive While we were encountering this for the first time in life, on the one hand, I was tense because of the other vehicle’s action. Many people who hired open hood Gypsy visited Gulmarg and then they covered themselves in plastic just to save their life in such continuous snowfall and some of the vehicles were full of kids. I was very much sure that everyone was running out of water and food and everyone was uncertain about the night, but I was helpless for the situation. There were thousands of cars on the road which was full of tourists suffering from hunger and I had food that could be shared between 5-10 people max. At the start, I shared some water, and juice with some nearby vehicles but in the later part of the night we had no water to share and we were also uncertain about the night. In the 12 hours of tense full driving, my only target was to keep my vehicle safe knowing that any single mistake can lead us to a fatal situation.  Chain Removed Once we reached Babareshi, the snowfall increased heavily but I removed the tire chain after driving a couple of kilometers and it could damage the wheel bearing and the downhill roads were ended. So driving on a plain road was painless and it took another 2 hours to reach Srinagar. It was still snowing when we were driving beside the dal lake till we reached the hotel. At 4:00 AM we reached the hotel and felt relieved and safe. My brother and sister made some Maggie and fed ourselves before going to sleep.  At hotel Parking ... Day 07: Gulmarg - Srinagar, J&K We spent the first part of the day on the road while returning from Gulmarg. Let's start at noon. It was obvious that we needed a good sleep. Though I woke up around 9:30 AM, my brother and sister woke up just before Lunch. I was planning for a visit to Sonamarg for the day but they were more interested in Shikara rides and shopping as they were for the first time in Kashmir. As the majority wanted, we spent the entire afternoon on Shikara rides and my brother did a bunch of carpet and blanket shopping for home. Nothing much for the day, we just took it on a rest day and had some good food to prepare ourselves for another 3-4 days of continuous drive home.   Dal Lake Day 08: Srinagar - Jalandhar, Punjab Day 09: Punjab - Agra, UP Day 10: Agra - Dehri, BH Day 10: Dehri - Medinipur, WB The next 4 days were particularly travel from Srinagar to Kolkata. Nothing significant to highlight other than our decision to stay in Agra. For 09, 10, and 11 we found a dense mist each morning. So we could not begin early and as we found it would be a 4-day journey from Srinagarh to Kolkata instead of three because of the weather, we decided to spend some time in Agra in this weather. Instead of going back to Kolkata early, we returned to our native home ( Khirpai, Medinipur) on the 10th day before lunch to have some good fish and rice for the tummy’s bliss. The next day we started early from our native home and directly joined our offices in Kolkata. Thanks for reading - Point Zero  Last edited by PointZero : 3rd September 2023 at 21:35. |
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4th September 2023, 05:14
| #7 |
| Team-BHP Support  | |
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11th September 2023, 13:26
| #8 |
| BHPian  | Re: Chasing the Snow | Winter in Kashmir I have seen people go on impromptu tours mostly nearby, but this is for the first time seeing an impromptu visit to Kashmir. Crisp writing with beautiful photos and dashcam captures of those snow drives are asset of this TL, and kudos to your snow driving skills. Wish you many more miles on this highly capable Bolero of yours. Your trip reminded me of our Kashmir drive back in 2021, where the same snow had spoiled our Pahalgam trip and we had to return abandoning it, someday hope to make up for that. I saw from your videos that Ramban roads are still not great, a bypassing tunnel was heard being constructed not sure if its operational yet. We faced a great deal of pain covering the Ramban - Ramsu stretch both during onward and return journeys. Sharing a few photos from our kashmir trip of 2021    |
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12th September 2023, 18:47
| #9 |
| BHPian Join Date: Feb 2020 Location: Trichy/KMU
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| Re: Chasing the Snow | Winter in Kashmir Nice thread and breathtaking pictures @PointZero. Good to see another nicely maintained Bolero. Lazy Turtle - Yeah that name would be suitable for a Bolero  Can you share the total kms run and model year of your Bolero please? Last edited by Shan_Kmu : 12th September 2023 at 18:48. |
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12th September 2023, 19:29
| #10 | ||
| BHPian Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Kolkata
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| Re: Chasing the Snow | Winter in Kashmir Quote:
BTW I have done another Kashmir trip in June 2023. Trying to bring the travelogue ASAP. Quote:
It has just crossed 150,000 KM last month, May be I should share a ODO snap. | ||
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