5 day breathtaking trip to Sangla-Chitkul

The rain drops on my window panes awoke me from the beautiful dream I was having. Oh! What an amazing snow-capped mountain!! I, so wish I could go there. Coming to the reality, with my little eyes open, I appear to have fantasied the beautiful little world. That morning was amusing. Perhaps, the stalking of the Facebook page made sense that day. It was an invitation by my college friend for a trekking expedition. Sounds wow!! Isn't it? 14 members, unknown people, alluring nature, Breathtaking experience, It was no less than a hallucination. Planning for the trip was secondary; I needed to plan to convince my parents for this trek, as we all know our fearsome parents. Obliged to my charming luck, I got the permission and my journey began. Being an introvert, it was quite tough to interact with all the members at the beginning. Sitting quietly on the train seat, a plethora of questions were flooding my mind, was my decision right to come to this trip? Should I approach someone to have conversation? Is this trip worth coming? And so on.

Who knew that it would be an inspiration for life for me? Knock! Knock! Someone woke me up from my day-dreaming. It was the organiser, helping me out to break my silence and introduce everyone. Whoa! This group also includes a 43yr old lady, isn’t it difficult for her to take this trip with all unknown people in this country? Next, there were three 40yr old college buddies, surely friends for life. All others were in their 20s. So, in this way the journey of 3 days trip started. Okay, let's imagine a mini world of 14 members playing different roles in 3 days tenure. How interesting it could be, if your life gets scaled-down in 3 days. This is what happened in my journey which inspired me for life.

As we reached, we all were getting ready for our 1st day trek to a fort on hilltop, which was quite challenging for beginners. Still we managed to reach there. After grasping the calmness and serenity of the temple we all were in hurry to get back to our guest house as the night was prevailing. The organiser and the adventurer of our group were about to go further to explore the place, leaving rest of the group members to proceed back towards our guest house as others were not recommended for exploring the unknown path. There I got the opportunity to walk through a new path and take the road not taken. Aren’t we scared to get out of our comfort zone and do something crazy? We are surrounded by so many assumptions and become risk-averse without even realising that if we want to reach somewhere we have never been, then we have to do something we never did. Despite having stomach-ache and a little fear of time and people, I took the chance and decided to go with the organiser and we walked further. The path was narrow enough to easily let someone down with just a little shake of legs. And then, Yes! Finally there came a point where we turned off our torch light and could see the city-lights. The moment was inexplicable. You know, the best moments in our life are mostly felt than captured. Just like the happiness of a mother when she holds her child for the first time, like when the announcement of the winner consists of your name, like when the dream-guy of your life proposes you to marry. The struggle and time was worth my pain. And I learnt that even darkness can illuminate light just like the city lights.

Waking up with fresh memories of last night, I got ready to check out from hotel with everyone. As we started our 2nd day trek, we had our breakfast in mid-way. This day was the day of camping. We were carrying all the food items and camp equipment with us. While walking through dirt, we crossed few short cuts but the risky one. All were suggested to follow long route except few experienced ones. Though I was an amateur, I asked the organiser and took the risky path. Being scared, I was taking baby steps. It took time but I reached before others. It’s fun and adventurous to try something new every time. Similarly in life, try new restaurant, try new skill, try new places, and try to meet new people. Life is too short to experience everything. Do as much as you can. It’s amazing how small-small moments teach a lot in life. However, we reached the location in the afternoon. Helping each other, we were doing teamwork while making food, putting tents etc. Then, again in the evening, we began our trek to see a lake. The route was unknown but the eagerness to see something could be felt by everyone. We were walking the trail while enquiring about the routes from the locals in mid-way. It was getting dark and started raining. The destination was still far and unknown. We realised that the right step would be to get back to our tents. It’s true, ‘life is not about the destination it’s about the journey’. We made the choice and began to walk towards our tent. While getting back I slipped on the mud, which made me shiver like anything. I stood up and ran a bit to release heat from my body and managed to keep track with others. That chilling night I couldn't sleep. The temperature was -2 degree. My cold legs were struggling with blanket. I was just wishing this trek to end soon. I was so close to give up. Never knew that by the end of this journey, each suffering will be worth making memories.

It was the last day of the life in my mini world. We reached at night after full day trek. We all were sitting in one room, cherishing the memories and last night together. We all were playing, laughing, confessing our heart out without any fear of judgement; without any stress of past or future. I was living the moment, wishing to freeze that time but as we know, life must go on. No wonder these little experiences could be a charm for the entire life. Re-living these little memories, you know. How the journey has the talent to hold itself and the world so beautifully. Well, Originality is an inspiration, Letting one be in the original form. A traveller is one of them. Isn't it?