Preparation of Trekking:
It all began on the evening of Jan 11, 2022. After a good walk with my cousin’s wife Veena, she asked me if I would be interested in a trek. It was exciting to hear that word and watch people do it, but I was not confident that I could even attempt it. A month passed by. During another evening’s visit to her house, she shared with me the trek leader’s number. On my return back home, I was mulling over things I have heard about trek from many others but still messaged the trek leader with many questions and also spoke to him that night of February 16, 2022. All my questions were patiently answered by none other than Dhruv, Himalayan Passion’s trek leader and founder. Some of my questions were even silly. Still, he answered them very patiently and honestly.
I browsed their web page and all of that added confidence that I am going to sign up with one of the best teams. Still, the apprehension ran all over my head not just because of the fact I have not done one before but also from the fitness stand point. I had not done brisk walking although I walk 6 kilometers easily 2 or 3 times a week.
One week later, I mustered all the courage and bought my ticket to Bagdogra and thus to the world of trekking. And so the countdown began. Veena helped me with a spare Trekking pole. Happily brought that home and kept it safely. But, the rest I had to buy. Right from shoes to jacket to backpack (rucksack) etc. With less than one month to go, the first thing I bought was the trekking shoes from Decathlon. One thing Veena insisted on was to buy the shoes first and break into it so that it does not trouble you with blisters.
I hardly had time to use it for walking or to the office (I was a bit embarrassed to wear it). So, was negotiating with the shoes (obviously to not have blisters :P) for a few days wearing it to terrace and coming back - One stone, 2 mangoes - Exercise climbing and acquainting with the shoes too :D)
As I was checking out other gears and layers to wear, my friend Vidhya offered me her WindBreaker, and woolen head cap. I was almost set. My rucksack ordered from Amazon came 4 days before the D-day and my packing happened the previous night. I must have prepared a check list at least 3 times and in spite of it missed out a few items like a Sun cap which is very very important.
As I was inching closer to the travel date, fear, pressure, bhayanak, and however you may call it, was trickling in. Will I do it? Or will I return half way? Will I faint? Will I get AMS? Will I get HAPE and HACE? - Too much Googling makes you ponder like this only :D.
I decided to keep the best foot forward and embarked on my journey to land in Bagdogra Airport. After reaching Bagdogra airport, my SIL, her daughter and I went on a cab to the hotel where we stayed overnight. Thanks to her, we got into a cozy, beautiful hotel. After all the check in formalities got over, we got ourselves refreshed and I went for a small walk on the main road. After that we assembled for a beautiful dinner at 8 pm.
An over night rest with packing | repacking done. The next morning was when we would be meeting up with the trekking team and our journey to Phokteydara Singalila Phalut was about to begin. We traveled on an auto to NJP bus stand where we were welcomed by none other than the trek leader Dhruv himself. The journey begins.
Trekking with Himalayan Passion:
John Muir said “Mountains are calling. I must go”. I do not know why he said that. It so happened that it was Mountain's call and I signed up with them. Until I landed in Siliguri and in NJP, I was pinching myself to see if it was true. Is it not a beauty to soak yourself in to the pristine mountainous charm and be in the midst of natural ambience which otherwise we don’t get to be in. The trekking team consisted of 8 lovely ladies and a guy and 2 trek leaders assisted by 2 other guys. All of us traveled in two different 7 seater vehicles for about 5 hours to reach a beautiful village called Uttarey. Traveled via the Teesta river and crossed the Coronation Bridge that connects Darjeeling and Kalimpong. As we ascended towards the beautiful state of Sikkim (the only organic state in India) from West Bengal, it was an amazing sight to see that almost all the houses had a tiny garden full of different flowers. Watching those flowers gives happiness to the eyes and mind. We stopped mid way for lunch and for people who wanted to withdraw cash.
Picture:- Coronation Bridge, connects Sikkim and Bengal
Throughout the car journey, Lalitha, our co-trekker, was entertaining by sharing lots of trekking experiences. Sigh I missed the beautiful Vadilal Icecream offered by her. I was on a note that I will not take sweets till I ascend and descend.
Traveling is a joy. Out of my 5 other co-passengers, 3 of them were completely strangers who became friends towards the end of the trek.
We reached Uttarey, a village in West Sikkim by around 4 pm. It is close to the Nepal border and a serene village. Uttarey is situated at about 6600 feet altitude from the sea level. The place where we stayed had different varieties of flowers on both sides. Colorful flowers are something you may be seeing in the entire Sikkim.
I was first introduced to Black tea. (I had not tasted it before). The homestay people served us a beautiful and tasty tea. Hospitality thy name is Sikkim. An elderly gentleman came up to me and said, “ please go to the temple nearby and pray that your trip must go without any issues' '. His face brightened up when he saw all of us and he insisted that we visit for all good things. There was so much genuinity and care in his words.
After initial stretches and customary calls to our people, the leader said, chalo - go for a walk. All of us followed the trek co-leader, Dr. Uddipan. He took us through a beautiful walk for about a kilometer or two as a warmup and acclimatization walk. The temperature then was around 18 degrees or so. Not so cold, not so warm either. The co-leader took us for a walk and some of us were busy clicking pictures, some enjoyed walking and we all went to the temple (supposed to be Kagyu Gumpha monastery). There was pindrop silence. After praying and clicking a few pictures, we went to a place called Yuma Sam temple | Limboo temple (Yuma Manghim Thegu Maneybong). It was around 530 pm As the sun was setting, so we walked back to our homestay.
Picture:- Homestay of Uttarey,Sikkim, the starting point of the Trek
After another round of TEA and hot pakoras, we were asked by our trek leader to share copies of our documents that were required for trekking. The leader needed to show our documents and seek permission from officials as it has forest and borders that we would be crossing over the next 4 days. A place to introduce and know each other, the Do’s and Don’ts of trekking all were discussed. There were quite a few first-timers (I was not the only one).
I am taking a minute to introduce our co-trekkers:
Beena Singh has a splendid voice and she sang most of the old songs during our musical game!
Deepanjana - a silent, but strong and smiling person. She speaks Bengali at a speed where even Rawalpindi Express’s ball is considered slow. Yet another vibrant motivating person.
Dipashree - This girl requires special mention. She was full of zeal and enthusiasm and although it was her maiden trip, she carried herself and her bag in her trek and was quite positive throughout.
Lalitha - another trekker who has done a few treks and a continuous speaker. An amazing personality.
Shubhankar - The only male trekker. Silent though Oh.. he is full of information. An amazing creative artist.
Veena - Eldest in the group and an inspiration. She had some leg injury and still she managed the ascend and descend so well.
Vibha - Bubbly, tall, enthusiastic trekker who always sported a ready smile.
Dhruv -Trek Leader/Founder - A motivator, brilliant singer, leader, a caring person. When I had my headache, he and his friend constantly checked on me if I drank sufficient water, how I was feeling, allowed us to be who we are and allowed us to walk at our pace.
Dr Uddipan co Trek Leader - If you ever hear me, “No problem” musically, then I must have taken it from him. Such a patient and a confident co-leader. He walked along with me throughout and helped me immensely. Aaram se.. Bus thoda aur”. Chalega.. very good..
Ameet - Part of Dhruv’s team, he knows so much on the history of Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling and shared lots of information. Sweet voice. His Nepali songs are so nice to listen to.
Mingma Bhai - a big brother like figure to Ameet and Dhruv, he was our trek guide. Mostly silent, again full of information on flowers, route, history.
The first day was almost coming to an end after a long journey and a refreshing walk. We had dinner in the form of Rice, Chawal, Potato curry,Rai Saak curry and Papad. The food I must say was so delicious. All of us hit the sack early so that we could get up the next day. As it was pitch dark, with the help of a head light, the 4 of us chose to go for a very small walk (yes it was a really small walk.). A peaceful night sleep as we took turns to charge our batteries.
The REAL adventure:
Day 2 arose beautifully and all of us were excited. We were getting ready to embark on our trekking journey and take the 3rd leg’s assistance - the trekking pole. Our trek leader was so busy sorting all the documents and organizing them to be given to officials as and when required.
A sumptuous and a heavy breakfast. Poori and sabzi. While most of us decided to offload our rucksacks, a few chose to carry their rucksacks. Hats off and Best wishes to them for their endurance.
We began our REAL journey. As we walked by in the hot sun with temperature hovering around 21 degrees during the day, we hiked for about one and half hours where we stopped at Tenzing Norgay Memorial Park for a few minutes. I was thinking how could the great legends climb the tallest peak in the world.
Bwah….. The first sight of the mountain K at a far off location at about 1030 AM. A note - Albeit, there are roads where vehicles can pass, the air is clean, pollution free and you can enjoy the serene surroundings. It is something to be really felt and experienced.
As we progressed, in about 10 minutes, a sign board welcomed us - Welcome to the Uttarey Phoktey Dara Hiking and Camping Trail, a project that was completed in 2018. We started walking towards Phoktey Dara Hiking and Camping Trail for about 2 hours, then we again stopped at mid way for a brief time. It was more to gather momentum by taking 10 minutes rest. Our rucksacks were by then finding their way through horses to our first camp site, Achalley. This trek’s camp site was roughly about 8 kilometers and at an altitude of 9800 feet and completely ascended.
Picture:- Beautiful Jungle trails to Achalley
We reached our first camp site at about 3 pm. We were welcomed with our tents already constructed and a super hot tea!. It was so refreshing. Our rucksacks arrived before us. Himalayan Passion requires a special commendation for ensuring not just the safety of us but for the constant encouragement to tread at a steady pace. Both the leaders were constantly checking on us as we were elevating to an altitude of 9800 feet. I developed a slight headache post lunch because I was dehydrated. (The lack of doing the timed exercises to stay fit and not drinking adequate water showed up.). So, the leader constantly asked me to hydrate myself with water and Electral / ORS. After reaching the camp site, it was a big relief for all of us as we started to get inside the tent.
A happy note - you will be severed out of the telecommunication world. It is definitely a blissful feeling that your dependency on mobile is gone.. You LIVE with the NATURE surrounded by lush greens and mighty mountains.
Full thanks to the leaders for the motivation in the form of Hema ji doing good… just little more…. Sabash sabash… (I don’t know, it sounded to me like the captain MS Dhoni genuinely praising his bowlers).
It was a New Moon Day and it was Holi. The moon was all in her fully bloomed best. Another trekking support staff crew, Ameet got introduced. I bet you, people from these areas have an amazing voice and are gifted singers. If only these people competed in Indian Idol, all the top 3 spots would be retained by them. After another delicious dinner, we went to bed with our sleeping bags. Another new thing for me!.. This trek was the first of many!. :D.
An overnight stay in the tent shifts you out of your comfort zone of king/queen size bed and being in sync with nature, enjoying the silence in the night, birds chirping in the morning through evening. The next morning, the leader came up to me and checked on my headache. The team made me feel at home away from home.
Picture:- The Team
Day 3:
As the Hol(i)y Moon gave us the required light for the night in the tent site (camp), the next day’s bright sun gave us the required light for the 3rd day. (second day of our trekking). Mount Pandim and Mount Kanchendzonga were all rising to their glory. There was a disturbance in the weather. We had to wait for the weather to clear to get a better view. Perhaps they blessed us by saying “push your limits”, “come to the top of Phoktey Dara to see us!”. We will wave back to you and follow you as a wisher!.
We started our Day 3 around 9 am after another good breakfast, delicious Pasta was served with a lot of affection, and we were on our way to Kalijhar. En route we stopped by at Thulo Daap for a brief period where our lunch was getting ready. It was a good relaxing time for all of us. We got to see the leaders jump and a vibrant young trekker doing the yoga poses with elan. I must say, she helped me a LOT. I mean to say here. A LOT. Oh yeah, as our lunch was getting ready, our horses also took a good rest. They also need it, right!.
Thulo Daap - daap in Nepali means valley. As we relaxed, we were seeing the changing weather from sunny to cloudy and back to sunny.
We trekked through the Varsey Rhododendron Sanctuary. Rhododendrons are the state flowers of Sikkim and Nepal. You can spot them in multiple colors. Trekking through the different ranges such as conifer forests, meadows, wild growth of Ferns, mosses, shrubs and spotting a lot of Primulas (an interesting observation - most of the primula flowers were as a bouquet in odd numbers. Interesting ain’t it. Either 3 or 5 or 7). There were some other toxic flowers such as Daphne | February Daphne.
Picture:- A Beautiful Rhododendron
A note: Varsey Rhododendron sanctuary is one of the large forests that covers around 10 odd square kilometers in the Singalila Forest range. It is known for its biodiversity. Rich with flora and fauna, you get to see the various pine trees, bamboo and oak trees. If luck sides your way, you can spot the most beautiful Red Panda which is a threatened and endangered species. We were unlucky this time. Maybe next time!
A rich part of the trek cuts across dense forests and the pathway had dried leaves and some tree trunks covered with moss. I stopped on and off, to take a breath of clean and fresh mountain air.
After we all had our lunch, a tasty Maggi, we resumed our trek, we started spotting more Rhododendrons. Here, our co-guide, Ameet joined me in the same pace and was sharing a lot about Sikkim, and about our trek, the pathway. While we were making our way, tada… I saw some snow at around 2:30 PM on our trekking route. It was a joy seeing snow. Living in a hot city like Chennai, seeing snow / ice was a refreshing experience for me. The child in me had to come out instantly and did a quick play with the snow 😃 and continued our trek.
Picture:- Sudden welcomed by snow deposit
Our trek leader was patient enough and ensured all of us were on track. Ameet was curious to know how we say Namaste, sister, brother in Tamil. I taught him a few small words in Tamil which he remembers. As the weather was getting bad, we had to do some quick walks and head to the second camp, Kalijhar. From Kalijhar, we were supposed to see the mind blowing pan-view of Mt Kanchendzonga. It seemed to be remote sighting the 3rd largest peak as the cloud covered all over the places. Kalijhar is situated at about 11000 feet altitude.
Interestingly we were welcomed, with some good err. Heavy breeze. Onion Cabbage Pakoras and Tea were served as soon as we arrived and as it was getting dark early, all of us went inside our tents early and wore layers to protect head, chest, legs and hands. My headache briefly paused for sometime but again followed me like my shadow. The doctor and the co-trek leader plunged into action and gave me some medicine along with Ginger water. I want to share one thing - I hope if you remember the age old advertisement, Hamdard ka tonic Cinkara where Javed Jaffrey gets new energy after drinking. The remedy was like that. Instead of being inside the tent, I decided to join the band inside the kitchen tent as it was also warm.
It was around 7 pm. As the weather was literally bad with extreme wind and temperature may have been around 3 - 4 degrees or even minus 3, my team went for an early dinner. Yet another delicious dinner with Paneer and Veg Fried Rice. They were busy listening to Ameet ji singing while savoring their dinner. Ameet has a wonderful voice. I joined the fag end though. He sang some Nepali songs followed by “Naya Naya Sajau Hai Sansara” sung by our team’s Udit Narayan - Dhruv ji and joined by a few others.
We went inside the sleeping bag early as it was extremely cold. Good Night!.
Day 4:
We were supposed to wake up at around 4 am and walk a few kilometers to Phoktey Dara top to sight the beautiful Sunrise on the highest peaks in the world and return to Kalijhar. Luck was not on our side and we could not see the sun rise as it was full of mist and cloudy. The Trek Leader, Dhruv decided not to waste energy and give rest to the team since it's of no use to climb to the Phokteydara Top, since the other side was very cloudy and full of mist. A disappointment for me as I was hoping to do a video. The thick clouds and mist obscured our views but even then, clouds are also beautiful, ain’t it?
Our breakfast got ready by around 9 am and we were heading our way to Phalut. That day, the cooking team took “alvida” from us as we packed our lunch for that day. I went and personally thanked them for all their help. This day was the longest. We had to trek to Phalut to Singalila top crossing the Singalila Ridge. It was such an amazing day, albeit being the longest and slightly difficult. We were walking on the borders of India Nepal. Is it not proud to walk on the borders? It was a time to thank all our jawans on the BSF who guard us all through. Since India and Nepal share a friendly relation, it was quite a nice experience. I would really love to do this once more.
As we were trekking through the way, 2 people I don’t know if they were forest officers or not, kind of demotivated me saying it is steep. My confidence went down like Mercury level and always the cheerleaders were there to motivate me. We watched the mighty mountains on all the sides and the white and dark clouds and a sudden changing temperature were all nature's play. We reached the Singalila peak by 12 Noon. Witnessing the India Nepal border and the milestone bearing Hindi on one side and Nepali on the other was a goosebump experience to me. Just before I hit the top, there was a Yak staring at me and when I tried to click, it ran away.
Picture:- The Singalila Top, 13500ft
After spending about 20 minutes there clicking pictures, we continued our journey and in half an hour or so, our leader announced that now you are back to your home land, India. Jai Hind.
As we continued, a black dog appeared from nowhere and seemed to be like it was showing us the way to Phalut. It escorted us for a long way as an obedient sentinel. It must have been in the Army Officers’ camp I guess.
At one point,named Toriphuley, we sat down for half an hour for lunch and then we resumed our walking. We were getting late. Our leader was concerned because of the sudden change in the weather. At around 2 10 PM, our leader, co-leader, guide and Ameet went to meet the officers in SSB (Shasastra Seema Bal), a guarding force of India for borders who are deployed on the borders of Nepal and Bhutan. Our leader shared all the details about us and sought formal permission to trek and reach Phalut. Once an Okay from them, we continued our path. At around 3 pm, it started becoming cold and people were barely visible to us in the front because of the deepening mist. There is beauty in mist too, I guess. The mist on the way and on the trees gave a different experience. Perhaps to avoid this, the leader asked us to walk fast. It was becoming very cold and this part seemed a bit difficult as visibility was becoming poor.
Picture:- Me on the way to Phalut
Finally, all of us reached Phalut, one of the highest peak ranges in Singalila ridge. Sigh…. What a relief. All of us stayed in a hut!.I believe it is maintained by GTA (Gorkha Territorial Administration) and there are 2 huts which are booked well in advance. Since the hut has electricity in the form of solar panels, the light is conserved only for cooking and dining. While our dinner was getting ready, the entire team played antakshari. Language has no barrier. Each one of us sang a song in a language that we were comfy with. Beena entertained us with some lovely old Hindi songs. Veena also sang some old songs. There was another set of travelers who came from Sandakphu stayed with us in the same hut in different rooms and our music must have been an entertainment for them at free of cost 😉. We finished our dinner and went to bed as it was getting too cold.
Picture:- The Beautiful Phalut Trekkers Hut
The temperature may have been 10 degrees during the day and may have hit -7 in the night. The gusty winds added eerie to the darkness and it never stopped following us. Sleeping next to the window, I was not able to sleep for long due to the constant yet fierceful sound of the wind. Not sure if it rained a bit.
Day 5:
I woke up at around 5:30 AM to watch the sunrise and the sun came out bright and beautiful by around 5:45 AM. The leader asked all of us to assemble by around 6:00 AM and we all walked (ascend) all the way about one and half kilometers to Phalut top to witness one of the most beautiful scenes in the world. I was spellbound and completely bowled over the beautiful view of Mount Kanchendzonga, the 3rd largest mountain peak in the world which lies between India and Nepal. It lies in the mountain ranges of Himalayas, sacred to Hinduism and Buddhism.
Picture:- The Gigantic, Majestic, Spell Bounding KhanchenDzonga
In Bhagavad Gita, chapter 10 which talks about the Opulence of the Absolute, in verse 25, Lord Krishna says, “sthavaranam himalayah” - among the immovables, I am the Himalayas”.
Himalayas are considered to be more sacred than any other ranges of the world. Seeing many of the peaks that lie in the Himalayan range was an exhilarating experience for me. It can not be described with words as we also got to see Mount Everest (tallest peak in the world). The happiness, the joy one gets to see the mountains and the nature, is something one must experience rather than hear from others. A lifetime memory for me. I was celebrating by looking at them. I thanked God for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to see them, stay there for some time!. We witnessed the peaks such as Kumbhakarna, Kanchendzonga, Pandim, Rathong and Goecha on one side and at a far distance, we saw Mount Everest, Makalu,Lhotse, Chamlang, Chomolanzo. And the view as the sun kissed them around 7 am looked like a person sleeping. It is known as Sleeping Buddha as it resembles a person sleeping. With a half heart, I descended back to the hut by around 8 am.
Picture:- With the Two Leaders, Dhruv on the Left Dr. Uddipan on the Right, me in the middle
Roti, Sabji made their way to our tummy for breakfast and we were getting ready to leave for another village, Gorkhey which was majorly a descending trek. We started from Phalut around 10 am and walked through the trek, some flat, some descending and ascending, interspersed by Pine trees and lush greens. The Red Rhododendrons were blooming with joy. We could spot Pink and White as well. On both sides of the trek, were the Bamboo trees (they are patla, meaning they are lean and tall). They are not to be confused with the bamboo tree we see as thick, fat ones. En route, we stopped by around 11:30 am for a refreshing tea served by our Trek Guide Mingma bhai’s friend’s family. He is full of information and when Ameet ji and I were walking to Kalijhar, he also gave us some information about the pathway, Red Pandas (my love will not stop for RP). Tada.. Descend,.. Descend.. Descend. This path to Gorkhey was a bit slippery owing to the previous night’s rain. After a long trek of about 14 kilometers, we reached Gorkhey. The moment we saw beds, charging points, we were all thrilled. 😀
Picture:- The Beautiful Picturesque Village, Gorkhey
As I came down to Gorkhey, I saw lot of lettuce like plant saplings. Not sure if they were Lettuce or Mustard Greens.. Gorkhey is such a lovely village with 30 odd families and it is surrounded by thick pine forests. A virgin village that lies between the borders of Sikkim and Darjeeling and is primarily dependent on agriculture and homestays.
Picture:- A Cute puppy biting my pant
Oh did I say, we got our telecom signals back.. Yes, here is when our mobile picked up signals from where it left and all of us did the customary “way back home” message to our near and dear ones. The 2 tiny tots - a pup and a cat entertained us so much.
Picture:- Tasty Delicious Aloo Paratha
A late lunch though at 3:30 PM. Oh the Paratha was simply out of the world. With 2 parathas my tummy got full. We walked to a waterfall nearby (I think it is called Gorkhey Khola). When you start spending time with nature, you can not come out of it. The gentle waterfall washes off all the worries.
Picture:- Beautiful Serene relaxing Gorkhey Khola River
The clock struck 6:30 PM - For a round of hot pakoras and Tea. For dinner, we were served with Rice, Dal, Potato fry and a cabbage fry (out of the world, I must say). A huge Thanks to the leader once again for arranging such a sumptuous meal (all the day). It was so well organized.
Day 6:
Woah!. All good things must come to an end. As we were getting ready for a small trek to Bhareng, and with a heavy heart that we are leaving the Pahads, and flora fauna, camp experience, and above all good friends…
Picture:- The Last gathering with happy smile, but sad inside to leave the mountains
From Left(Me, Vibha, Veena, Lalitha, Subhankar, Dipashree, Bina, Deepanjana)
After an early breakfast, we started another 4 kilometer descent trek with some places being slippery because of the previous night's rains (yes once again). Just before leaving Gorkhey, I went up to the homestay people, thanked them for the food. After all that is important, right!. By around 9: 50 AM, we reached Bhareng where our car waited for us to take us down to NJP. When I got into the cab, the driver with a smiling face said “sollunga madam” - Woah Tamil. No, he is not from TN, a Sikkimese who knows many languages. And all the way through he played lots of songs which our friends also kept singing.
After lunch in a hotel in West Bengal, Kalimpong(Suntaleykhola), a vegetarian Thali, we continued our travel and reached NJP Railway station at 5 PM. We had to say bye and safe journey to our fellow trekkers. It was such a nice time spent with all of them. Although 6 of them were Bengalis, we never felt the difference as Hindi was a common medium for all of us. A reason to learn Hindi 😊
From there the 4 of us took our way to Siliguri hotel where we stayed before the beginning of our trek. A solid one hour drive on an auto to our way back to the hotel. A relaxing evening and night. While Lalitha and I stayed in one room, Veena and Vibha stayed in another. After a complimentary breakfast the next morning, Lalitha left as her flight was around noon and ours in the evening. After repacking and arranging, we vacated the hotel to leave for the airport. A small fiasco with my boarding pass left me nail biting if I will catch the flight. Ha ha. All is well. As a last passenger, I boarded the flight… During the flight, people seated next to me looked at my photos that I was glancing at and was inquisitive to know more.
My eyes brightened up and I explained more about the experiences et al. They were discussing what they also wanted to do. When I disembarked, I left with a positive note that I have influenced one more person to trek. Just a small move.
To sum, it was an amazing experience to have trekked with these guys. So wonderfully organized, every detail taken care of. The food was so satiating that I could only say, “Thank you, Himalayan Passion”.
They are simply wonderful!. Trek with them once, you will enjoy and savor the experience. What matters is not what pace you walked. How your own self reached the destination!.
A soul stirring experience!. Joom Joom, La la..! were a couple of Nepali words we picked up!. - which meant ok.(like the theek hai in Hindi)
Hunza!Until we meet next time, Namaste and Dhanyawad!
S Hemamalini