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Two bombay boys reach Delhi airport and head straight to Mac! No no, we're not so bad. We've just landed at noon, and head to the Inter State Bus Terminus (ISBT) to find that our bus leaves at 8pm. So we need an air conditioned place to camp at while we eat, and bland burgers are conducive to no upset tummies :) And meet Niki, the whacko maniac who's joined me on this escapade

We're like minded when it comes to roughing it out. After a really long lunch, we go back to ISBT, buy some newspapers, and slum it out

For those few quiet hours in and out of naping, i saw life thru the closed eyes of an urchin. These homeless people carry a mat, find a spot (in this picture, to the right of the last one), and snooze away the Delhi heat. Needless to say, while one of us slept, the other kept watch

Our first taste of the North's famous Chole-Bhature. We sat on plastic stools for our early dinner at ISBT, happily munching away

We were heading to Uttarkashi, which is a 14 hour overnight bus ride. The bus we travelled in was a little worse than Bombay's ST buses. Only a little worse

Finally at Uttarkashi. It's a small town 1352 meters up into the mountains. Colourful place, but an evening here is more than sufficient, as you use this town to get rides to further less accessible destinations

The next morning, we headed to this perennialy filled lake called Nachiketa Taal. We didn't complete the climb, coz we'd miss our last bus back to civilization, but the walk was a serene one

Back down from our climb, and while we waited for the 'last bus', we had some chai. The locals make their earthen stove in this fashion, where you feed in firewood at the bottom, and vents exist for the pots and pans on top. I loved it

The next morning, we headed to Harshil. On the way, we met an army convoy. Both Niki and I have a fascination for the army life (which is no reflection on out sexual preferences). Here, we chat with a member of the Indo-Tibetan Border Security. We were thinking of trekking up to Gaumukh, which at that time of the year, is closed to the public. We discovered that he'd be part of the team who takes care of wayward tourists like us. Bleah

Finally at Harshil. A shared Sumo dropped us to the side of the path and carried on. We went beserk, jumping around and getting high on how beautiful the place is

You climb down from the mountain side to get to Harshil, which is a combination of villagers who rear goats on the mountain side and an army base

This is what the bridge took us over

For Indians planning a trip to this region: this is the place to get to. Foreigners need to stop at Darali, 3km further down, due to Harshil having an army presence. Fresh flowing water, snow capped mountain peaks, lush green trees guaranteed

We got into trouble. Yup. Put two unshaven guys together with a professional camera, tripod and binoculars (i'm into wildlife), and any army is going to get the jitters. We were down by the banks photographing the place, being careful not to point it at their base, but we kept getting questioned. Finally, we got the knicker of a member of the army police in a twist, he took down our name and address, escorted us back to our lodge, and background checks in Bombay were done on us!

We don't give up easily. That night, we went up to one of the senior officers, said we're going to photograph the sunrise the next day, and could we get written permission. We didn't get it in writing, but were troubled less after that. Here, it's the next morning, a few minutes after sunrise

On our way back to the lodge, I almost missed this! It's a small stream made from melting snow, sneaking it's way to the river

Next, we went higher up to Gangotri, which is the source of the river Ganga. The area was closed, as we went before season, so the only place we could get a bed for the night was at Krishna Ashram. This is the pathway up to it

These are the wooden rooms we stayed at, sandwiched between a cherry blossom tree and the mountains. On the bottom right, you'll see a patch of ice which hadn't melted for more than a week!

Do NOT visit Gangotri...unless you're planning to do the Gaumukh trek (further up) or doing a religious pilgrimage. The place is a commercial mess, with haphazard and ugly planning. You'd need to go round a mountain to leave it behind. Here, I had to point my camera upwards to get anything scenic

That evening, Niki and I climbed down to the rocks where the river flows through, and started daring each other to climb over increasingly tricky patches (Be a Man!)

Here, I'm done being a man

Was I cribbing about how tough it was to shoot a good picture, given the scenery? Ok, I'll make the best of what I've got! Interestingly, this is a half second exposure at 6:30pm...

And this is at 7:00pm. Both pictures only have a contrast boost. For fans of long exposure pictures, note the difference in how the flowing water looks in the previous pic, as opposed to the foamy/dreamy look you get with 15 seconds in this one

Our meals at the ashram were simple: chapati, dal, one vegetable and rice. This is the small wooden shack where we sat cross-legged, eating supper

3042m high, clear skies and no electricity....it's time for star trails! We two were the only indian visitors, so after 1 Canadian, 1 Brit, 1 Norwegian, 1 Japanese and 2 Spaniards tucked into bed, we set up the tripod in the adjoining field. This was a short 5 minute exposure so that I'd know what the composition would look like...

And this is a 75 minute exposure. I used my new Tokina Ultra-wide, and thanks to the optional distortion perspective it offers, the star trails were not perfectly concentric. Wasn't expecting that, but not complaining!

The morning after, the Sadhu was ploughing his field. We city boys gave him a hand. Hmph, tourists

The two Spaniards actually came late in the night, after the Sadhu had gone to sleep. So we offered to share our rooms with them. This is in the morning, just before we parted ways