A JOURNEY TO THE LESS TRAVELLED ROAD

by Pooja Gohil (India)

A leap into the unknown India

Spiti Valley a place I heard about from various people, everyone having their own sets of memories and stories to tell. Listening to their stories I always thought to myself that I will visit that place one day. But to my surprise I never thought I would get the opportunity so soon. So as we started packing our bags for this beautiful trip, My cousin who had already been there once before kept warning me to take things seriously as this journey wouldn’t be that easy as I thought would be. But my excitement got the best of me so I got ignorant back at the time. I never really imagined how extremely difficult the journey to Spiti valley could be until I experienced it myself. As we were on our way to Spiti, witnessing the beautiful landscapes all around us, I pretty much got lost in the surreal beauty that Spiti is and as we were travelling and passing various elevations of around 3978m to 4590m I started realizing the effects inside my body of being at such a high altitude. Though I kept mind clear and didn’t really let the altitude sickness affect me but I saw my two sisters going through the worst altitude sickness possible. A headache that wouldn’t go away, and which would manipulate one’s mind to think negative. Believe it or not, this journey is supposed to be travelled with a fierce mind and a strong body. This journey will not only test you physically but also mentally. A 12 hours of a dirt road to Kaza and passing through the various elevations, and might I tell you these roads is considered to be one of the deadliest roads of the world making the journey very difficult for the travelers so that’s why it is really important to have a really good physical and mental health. This unforgettable terrain has so much to offer to us. It’s just not about beautiful landscapes all around but it’s about how different the lifestyle, the morals, the values, the culture of the community that is over there. Only selective network works there which makes us be present in the moment than being on our smart phones. One of the most important lesson I learned being there on this trip was that we’ve become so materialistic in this world today that more than experiencing life, we are much more engrossed into the technology world. We immediately look at our phones when it notifies us of something, so basically our smartphones tell us what to do and what not. But when I was on this trip, in a no network zone where my phone could not notify me of anything so all I would do in phone was click pictures. And after being there for more than three days I literally even forgot that I have a phone. And being around those breathtaking mountains and my people made me realized this important lesson that my smartphone will not tell me when to look at it instead i will choose when to look at it. I will control my actions and not my phon Life in Spiti is very different than the life we have in big cities and other places. Life is much more simpler in terms of relations, culture and traditions, but it’s much more difficult when it comes to weather conditions, roads and means of transport. But having a life surrounded by such heavenly views is indeed a blessing. And although I was blessed to be there for only a few days I still think I can write a whole other article on just how breathtakingly beautiful Spiti is. And I don’t think I can ever forget the overwhelming feeling I felt on the entire trip, it’s a feeling I will always wish to feel again. Note : While it’s all glamorous to click pictures and post pictures of such adventurous places, very few people will tell you that the dangerous roads, the tough terrain and lack of oxygen can turn the Spiti experience into an extreme experience. It is a once in a lifetime experience which can check one’s physical and mental endurance and this is why I feel that places like Spiti, Leh- Ladakh cannot be experienced without any struggle and trust me the struggle is real there but oh so worth it.