It was a tale of two days, where we saw the worst in people and the best in people!
The previous post in this series is here.
After a night at the hotel in Harshil village near the Gangothri Helipad, we were. waiting to get the call on day 4 to be picked up and ride to Phata first and then on to Kedarnath. The ride to Phata is 45 minutes. Then we were to wait for a government Helicopter to take us to Kedarnath. That is a 4 minute Heli-shuttle ride but it is common to all tour operators. We saw no pickup call sign and were worried. We were ready at 6AM but till 8 AM they kept stalling. Finally we told our driver we will go to the Helipad and he did get the call.
When we went there we realized that they were stalling us because the two other people who were to join us in our helicopter were no shows. They missed seeing Gangothri the previous day due to bad weather (we had made a wise decision to go straight to the temple!) and against the instructions of the tour service had decided to go early morning on day 4. They had been told they will forfeit their ride but guess they had influence with some minister or other and took their chances. Finally they came after 6 hours! We waited in a helipad with no food and a porta potty where my in-laws had to just sit, walk around and bear it for all that time thanks to some really irresponsible people. They were feeling so guilty that they could not even make eye contact with us. We controlled ourselves and went on that 45 minute ride.
When we reached Phata, we were told by the Thumby travels folks that there was no way we were going to make it to Kedarnath. Again it wasn’t true. The two people with us didn’t want to go as their adult kids were still stuck in Badrinath. So we missed the last chopper to Kedarnath, even though we were willing to go stay overnight at Kedarnath, which had its own risks. All of us were tired and made peace with the fact that worse case we see 3/4 and miss Badrinath. It was already 5 and there was no more shuttles. We made it to the hotel we were supposed to stay in anyways (after visiting Kedarnath).
We met a wonderful family that had missed out on Kedarnath the previous day and were now staying in the same hotel as us. A husband and wife, both doctors, their two young cricket loving sons and his parents. We got to chat with them over dinner and they told us what it takes to get out of this situation. So my FIL called the travel operator and told him what had happened. We were promised that we will be on the first chopper out of Phata, no matter what.
Day 5, early morning we ended up in Phata helipad and this time two different people joined us as we made the 4 minute flight. “You have to be in and out in under 2 hours if you want to make it out same day!” was the instruction.
When we reached Kedarnath literally a few minutes later, MIL already had shortness of breath. So the decision was made 3 to 1 (and after a few minutes it was unanimous) that MIL be carried from helipad to the temple on a PIttu (basket). The three of us would walk alongside. We were not sure if FIL could walk it, but he did us proud. We walked as fast as we could with the guide, who then pushed us into a line and said “when you come out, meet me there” and disappeared. We were in a large pig pen with 200 other folks where there was room for only 150 people. There was a line 3 miles long where folks who walk the 30+ kilometers were waiting to get in. For every 20 people in the regular line, two people from this area would be inserted in. What we did not know was that there was a cutoff time when the inner shrine would be cordoned off for a few hours. So there was a mad rush in both lines. The regular line folks behaved much more decently than the people who joined the helicopter crowd. Not everyone in this pen was from the heli tours. There were folks who told me they knew someone who knew someone and had been pushed into the line. God works in mysterious ways and if he wants you to see him, you will. Otherwise…
It was really dangerous and there was a stampede where the crowd showed no mercy. My MIL almost got crushed and her specs were thrown out and she started crying. San and me got separated. I could not even see my FIL. There were really nasty people in the crowd as were genuinely nice folks who helped my in-laws to safety(they told us later). We all went where the crowd took us.
Eventually all of us got to see Kedareshwarar and when I walked up, a priest put a veshti on my shoulder, put some turmeric and ghee on my forehead and told me to go touch all four sides of the mountain deity. There were only 8-9 people inside the shrine at the time and 4 were priests. Had already seen San leave on my way in and she was happy and beaming. Later I learned that she was happy because the priest gave her a rudhrasha necklace. In spite of going through an ordeal to get there, there was peace inside that shrine. Walked out and met San. We then took pictures and found my FIL and MIL. We all looked haggard and exhausted to each other.
The pittu guy was found and we made it back to the helipad. We signed in for the return ride and after an hours wait, made it on a helicopter to Phata again. This time we wanted to go straight to Badrinath as it was supposed to be Badrinath day. The two people who were to come with us refused to join us, claiming their kids were still stuck in Kedarnath. At that point the tour opeartor told them that if they don’t get in the helicopter with us, they have to go by road for the next leg and they forfeit their ride.. There was this flight coordinator, Saravanan, who really managed to calm everyone and get everyone to where they were going. He told us “you will make it to Badrinath today! Do not worry. We are making arrangements for their family to join them in the next chopper. They will come!” All six of us boarded the helicopter and we landed in Badrinath. It was till early evening.
We told our driver to take us straight to the temple. No hotel. Just go. Told him the four of us had no other option. He obliged. Again we had a long walk from the closest place a car could go to the temple. PIttu to the rescue, again. MIL got on the pittu and we walked (you can see it in the video). We made it and saw Badrinath, up close for almost 5 mintues. Then it was time to walk back.
There was an option to go see the Mana village and further up to Ganesh cave, Vyas cave and on to the Saraswathi temple and the Pandava statues. That was as high as the local tourists go on day trips. It was a long hike. It was all possible if we had the full day at Badrinath. We had two hours before it got dark. Our guide told us it was not an easy hike to do in 2 hours. We told him we went up Yamunothri three days earlier and he said “you guys must be used to hiking. you look fit. we will see”.
MIL said she will stay back at the base in a restaurant. Then the three of us went up. FIL came up till Ganesh Cave and said that is as far as he goes. He decided to sit outside another small cafe near Ganesh Gufa. San and me ran up to Vyas Gufa and all the way to the other two sites. The fact that we kept leaving people behind suddenly stuck a chord in my head when I saw the Pandava statue with the dog where the dog and Yudhishtira leave everyone behind… Please don’t even ask if I am comparing myself to the great Yudhishtira.. I am just San’s pet dog who walks a few steps ahead at times..
Good thing is unlike the pandavas story, we came back and picked up everyone and walked back to the car. Then it was time to spend the night in a nice hotel in Badrinath.
We did not in our wildest dreams, imagine we would see both Kedareshwarar and Badrinath on the same day! Especially after the previous days events. It was meant to be !!
After picking and choosing, there are 50 photos. The first two are us at Kedarnath and Badrinath. The rest are grouped into landscape and portrait format galleries.
A video highlight for two days. It is long but captures the essence of what we went through..
It was great that we had met the other family with small kids and elderly parents. . We had made new friends.
It was a grueling but satisfying day and we really needed the rest.
Now I need a rest after writing this blog post. Time to ice my swollen knee some more before going to bed!
Will continue the travelog in a few days..
