Say Hello to Spiti !!!

This wacky idea sprouted in Anuj's head one fine day. “Let’s go to Spiti.” he said and by showcasing around a hundred pictures enticed me into this. Although convinced, yet extremely nervous for this dangerous trip, I squeaked in front of a friend a week before the trip, “Will I die?” He pacified me saying,” If this is how you are supposed to die, you will atleast have the satisfaction of having lived your dream. Not many get that chance.” Those words reverberated in my head so powerfully that they gave me immense courage to get ready for yet another adventure; BOLD AS EVER.

I’ve heard that to reach the gates of heaven one has to pass through a million roadblocks; it is correct!! And I swear that you won’t find less than a million should you wish to reach the resplendent and heavenly valley. Pelted stones are spread onto the treacherous terrains, making it one of the most risky routes in the world. There are hardly any roads, and those which are there, are not just less traversed but also least constructed.  After a very long time I was travelling with a group of jubilant folks who had so much madness in their heads that they were ready to undertake any risk to cover the place in the entirety.

This is the longest trips I’ve ever taken and Udbhav Rai remained our guide and navigator for the trip. I am talking about 6 days and 7 nights of endless driving, skirting almost every state of Himachal Pradesh starting from Shimla, covering Fagu, Theog, Narkanda. Sarahan, Sangla, Chitkul, Kalpa, Nako, Tabo, Kaza, Kunzum Pass, Chandrataal, Batal, Rohtang and then exiting through Manali. Be ready to take some stopovers to break the journey into doable parts as you can’t reach there in a day.

Sangla valley from Rupin River resort

Chitkul Village 10 kms from Sangla valley

Starting from Delhi on a Friday afternoon, we boarded Kalka Shatabdi at 5:15 PM from New Delhi railway station and reached Chandigarh at 8:40 PM while a car was already waiting for us in the parking lot. ‘Shimla we are coming’. Just a bit of breaks before we caught Shimla in pitch dark at around 12:30 AM, tired and exhausted.  A 6 hours sleep was all we needed to be born again; fresh.

Day 1, we started for Sarahan at 7:00 AM. We were all pepped up with energy to kick start the journey that we had all been looking forward to in the last one month. Sarahan is a little farther from Rampur and is the best destination to take a halt.

Day 2, advancing further from Sarahan we left for Sangla Valley and Chitkul with the plan of stopping there for the night, but we reached sooner than expected, so we skipped our stay there and rather drove 50 Kms extra to pull over at Kalpa. Kalpa is just a few kms uphill from Rekong Peo, which is a major diversion for Spiti. We slept in Kalpa with the idea of starting Day 3 at 4:00 AM for our Mission Kaza. From Kalpa to Kaza was no road, but a long stretch of stones which had come down from the sky rocketing mountains. Occasional showers from the molten glaciers had created small ponds on the roads. Hurdles of rocks we had to pass every now and the driver sometimes asked us to get down the car to avoid the risk of falling backwards in the Satluj River. The plight of the roads actually choked me to the core. Vijayendra Nigam, alias Viju, started chanting a mantra which further made me conscious of the danger while Richa, who was the most composed out of the lot, showed no signs of worry.

The landscapes had started changing as we were moving closer to the destination; the real worth of the trip was now showing. The mountains which recently were covered with green plantations were now ripped-off of their green to expose the deserted rawness and brown colour. The dusty sky of the past few hundred miles had magically turned blue; a blue so clear that you would doubt your eyes. The endlessly curvaceous roads had abruptly turned into finely designed elevated stretches. The nature had turned its beauty mode ON.

On the way to Nako Village

On the way to Nako Village

Nako Lake

 Altitude was gradually rising, breathing was becoming a task and I realised that we take many blessings for granted in life. Peeping out of the car window I was trying to capture every small detail of the place when suddenly the driver informed of a flat tyre. The only option to get it fixed was to drive an hour back. Taking this as an advantage, we moved out to eat and hang around in the apple gardens which in the month of September are fuller than ever. The driver returned after an hour with mended tyres. The exorbitantly spread splendid landscapes were of supreme aesthetic value and caressed my soul with its beauty. The deep turquoise Spiti River that was running parallel to the road was flowing through finely scaled paths cutting through a constant breadth. The sun rays falling on the waters were bringing out its freshness, beautifully.  On the other side of the road were stupendous rock formations which transitioned from sandy terrains to sturdy spikes. The shadow of the sun was graciously falling on the mountains. It seemed that the mountains were displaying their different moods. I exchanged a few glances of amazement with my friends. Overwhelmed with the flood of unblemished sceneries, we all went speechless.

By the time we reached Kaza, it was already dark. Cold had become bitter. Oxygen had decreased further, resulting in heart palpitations and need for deeper and longer breaths. We had our dinner and decided to keep the next day a bit easy and relaxed so as to revive our energies. On the dinner table that night, we all made a little attempt to pull Viju’s leg for the panic he had created on the way.

AND THERE WE WERE - -- RIGHT THERE -- IN SPITI --- THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN..

Kaza, District Capital of Spiti

Lazang Komic

Next morning we couldn’t control but rush, although slowly to keep our lungs alive, to Langza Komic, our first destination in Spiti district, 1 hour uphill from Kaza at a whooping height of 13000 feet. The altitude was so high that every step required us to take 3 breathes to compensate for one. The sceneries were in such bounty that our lenses fell short of capturing them in totality. It was too much of beauty and probably that can explain the tears that kept bulging in my eyes. Deeply touched by the ecstatic beauty, I could have traded anything and everything to take and keep with me those picturesque delights. Whoever said that, “Anything that remains untouched and unbounded beholds supreme beauty.” I can vouch for its correctness.

On the way to Komic Monastery

We stopped at the Komic monastery, where the monks served us traditional food. Poori with a bowl of soupy Rajma served with an extra bit of red chilly on the platter. Wow!! That was a real delight and in lieu of their goodness we volunteered to wash the utensils. Next on the cards was Ki Monastery for which we traced the whole route back to reach the main road from Komic and then drove 18kms east. This monastery is very important in the history of Spiti as Dalai Lama spent a very long time here to give his preaching’s. After covering the monastery we drove some 23 kms in the opposite direction to search for the beautiful spiked landscapes which we could barely view in the night sky while coming to Kaza. The boys had left hope to find it, but Richa and I were adamant of finding the lost treasure. Desperately pleading the driver to keep driving a few kms more, we finally found the stretch with the ornamental mountains that beautified the Spiti valley.

The time to say goodbye to this heaven was approaching. We were about to leave this beautiful place to resume with our monotonous lives. Were we going to return without a celebration? HELL NO. Later in the evening we made a small bonfire, small, but big enough to celebrate the victory of having accomplished this expedition, although this wasn’t the end. The challenge was getting back to where we started because we were exhausted and fatigued out of the arduous 5 days of travelling and keeping the ribs straight up for fun.

Three people out the team of five voted to change the route of return. And only after a bit of friction, we all happily agreed to exit through Manali. The distance is a bit less, but somehow to our ‘drained out of energy’ selves, the idea then appeared - a lot less. Expectations, however, are not always met. Especially, when things are beyond your reach and are ruled by the mood of cosmos. The Manali route came as a blow. Things had started to turn out exactly the opposite of our very prudent and mature discussions. The 200 kms route came out as the most dangerous route ever; of course, equally adventurous. I’d heard a lot about off-roading from my friends, but I honestly had never thought, one day I suddenly would find myself in middle of it; the day I would be least interested in another adventure. The Manali route is so damn adventurous that the thrill can make one forget their fatigue.

Horifying routes to Manali

Routes on the way to Manali

 On reaching Kunzum Pass, we decided to take a detour to Chandrataal, the Lake of the Moon.  A total of 14.5 kms included 12.5 Kms of drive and a trek of 2 Kms at an altitude of 15000 feet. Trekking took a toll on us and only a thousand breathless moments later we reached the lake. What came next was a miracle of nature; a mirror like lake lying naked in front of our eyes.  As a clear instance of conscious and sub conscious mind, the lake reflected exactly what lay above. The water was so still that it took a pebble to prove its existence. We sat for a while and marvelled at the beauty. The quietness and inactivity of the water was somehow cushioning our restless souls. While trekking back, we were all quiet, as the place had filled us with a calm that cannot be put into words.

Chandratal Lake

We continued our journey to Manali an hour later. As alert as a fox, I don’t remember missing the slightest of details of each moment which passed when my heart had jumped in my gullet and I could feel it beat heavy and sometimes skip a beat. We were literally thrown into the wild with a challenge of finding our own path.The river that was flowing right across the road was haunting me, as if trying to engulf me into the unknown. The sight of a few cars that had fallen into the abyss created panic in my heart. It was a daunting task for the driver to jigsaw between rocks and rivers and my panic-stricken howls were distracting him. He requested me to sit on the opposite side to divert my mind and I submissively followed his orders.

Routes on the way to Manali

After some 10 hours of continuous driving we finally reached Rohtang Pass and called it a day to the deceptive roads. We all were feeling numb towards the hustle and bustle of the place as we had been uprooted from it in the past few days. We felt accomplished of having completed the trickiest journey's of our lifetime and were also deep in our heart missing Spiti, which was still commanding over our souls.

Rohtang Pass was filled with thick mist and the cold winds were piercing through our skin. We put on our caps and gloves and stopped for some quick photography and a Maggie delight. Manali was another hour downhill where our phones signals came back to life which had gone extinct in the past 3-4 days.  We took a stopover at Manali and exchanged some pleasant stories at dinner. As we had to leave for Chandigarh early next morning, so we all parted to sleep on time, though I always doubt if the boys did the same. It took us around 10-11 hours from Manali, to reach my home in Chandigarh from where my friends had to proceed to Delhi.

The only relief that came at the end of the day was home cooked food with a cup of tea. Early next morning my friends left for Delhi and I was left with a little grief in my heart to have left their amazing company. This trip had exposed me to the delight of travelling with a group of likeminded people. I am fairly short of such experiences and needless to say, I am looking forward to a lot of such experiences in the future.

Around Singapore in $330

Bidding adieu to Australia causes me heartache each time, but this time around it was different. I had something to ‘look forward’ to – A 3 DAY TRIP TO SINGAPORE during the transit. The arrangements for my stay were made well in advance courtesy a family friend pursuing her education there. I landed in Singapore quite early, around 7 o’clock in the morning and advanced through the immigration queue rather quickly. As I peeped out of the Exit Doors, I could feel a wind of numbness and uncertainty; proliferate through me, quite contrary to what I had imagined. I guess it was the feeling of being isolated in a completely new Country that had taken over. Coming out of the airport, I was puzzled and a little unsure of my next move. Nevertheless, I hailed a cab and it took me an hour and a half to reach my destination. My friend was rushing to her college by the time I reached. She greeted me and hurriedly scribbled down the name of an app ‘gothere.sg’ that would come in real handy in moving around. Drained out after an 8 hour long flight, I decided to sleep for a while.

After waking up, I captured quick screenshots of the places I had planned to visit using the handy App my friend had suggested, as there would not have been any internet access thenceforth. Ready to start my day, I stood at the apartment gates with a hazy idea of where to head. With a little guidance from the apartment guards, I managed to trace down a nice place to eat. I was beginning to realise that I was, in true sense, wandering in an unknown territory and it would be quite a challenge to explore this small but richly developed Country.

I reached Hawkers Centre, a place housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food, that you can’t understand and relate to a single dish listed on the menu card is a different story altogether. Nevertheless, you have got to place an order to keep up with the demons fighting for food in your tummy. The good news though is that the food is as cheap as $6 per meal. So, for the next three days, considering breakfasts, lunches and dinners, I spent as less as $54 for meals. Anyway, I finished my breakfast quickly and boarded a bus to Marina Bay Sands from a nearby bus stop. The best part of commuting via Singapore BRT is that one can drop coins and avoid the hassles of buying a travel card. To be precise, on an average, changing the bus 6 times in a day was priced at around $2 each time i.e. $36 for 3 days. Transportation through the bus network turned out quite pocket friendly and gave me a chance to glance through many wonderful attractions Singapore has to offer, thanks to the extended bus routes.

The bus dropped me at the Flyer where I bought a package deal for $89 after having a brief conversation with an agent. In the next half of the day, I completed the activities mentioned in the booklet which included Flyer, Duck Ride, Hop-On Buses, Cruise and much more. The Cruise dropped me to the Clarke Quay which is one of the most cosmopolitan destinations of Singapore. Resto Bars playing offbeat music, lined against the waterfront made the ambience real pleasant.

A happening and tiring day was coming to an end and I decided to go back to my residence, this time through the MRT. The process was quite convenient. I shelled out $6 to buy a travel card valid for 3 days. On the metro there were 3 Indian chaps who looked rather keen to strike a conversation with me. I had a quick chat with them regarding the places I had visited by far and where I plan to go in the next 2 days. I reached home and the next thing, I had to rush to the INSEAD party with my friend. That party turned out to be a treat in itself. A gathering of around 60 people – a blend of different nationalities, cultures and different languages; it was a unique experience altogether.

The next day I got up as early as 8 in the morning, as I had planned to visit Sentosa Island which is a must visit destination of Singapore. I again commuted though the BRT which directly dropped me to the Vivocity station. After a long walk of around 15 minutes I reached Sentosa and quickly bought the entry tickets for $24. There is a metro that runs through the island across 3 major stations. My sister had already booked the tickets for Universal studios online for $67. I got down at the Waterfront Station and entered the theme city of Hollywood, with famous characters of Despicable Me, Madagascar and Disney dancing on the roads. Being a single rider I was at an advantage for all the rides and skipped the long queues. Madagascar ride was a light boat ride in the water while Jurassic Park was a more ferocious one, but the ride that actually gave me an adrenalin rush was the “Transformers”. A 3-d ride in a fast moving car, running in an in-house setup, going back and forth over the track at a very high velocity, creating a mirage of an invincible catastrophe, sending chills down the spine, wow that was something! A ride to remember! The very fact that I could gather courage to get in to each and every ride all by myself was a great feeling. I felt accomplished. It was a new found courage which I didn’t know existed in me.

Next, I rushed to the Imbiah station to see the giant Merlion and a lookout. I spent a short while there and proceeded to the Beach station where I had a few more exciting things to do. My feet were aching after endlessly running around the whole day. I took premium tickets for the ‘Songs of the Sea’ show for $18 and the 2 hours that I had in between, I took a tram to visit the Dolphin Show ($24) and Twin Beaches i.e. Palwan Beach and Tanjong Beach. At dusk, I went back to watch the show. It was a musical role play performed by a group of young folks amidst the Siloso beach. The combined effects of light, water and fire were mesmerising and helped the show live upto its reputation backed by several awards. Sitting in front of the vast ocean all alone in the luxury seat, watching the world’s top rated show gave a true glimpse of the happiness that freedom brings to one’s soul.

After the show ended, I traced back the entire route to get back home where my friend was waiting for me, to take me to another house party with her friends. I was extremely drained out but still the idea of partying was a big temptation which puts weight on the theory that mind takes control when the body gives up.

On the last day of my trip, I only wanted to explore the city so that I can conveniently get back home for my flight in the evening. I covered Singapore Botanical Gardens first. Although, the idea of exploring gardens does not fascinate me much, but this one took me by surprise for the rare orchid plantations and rainforests. I went to China town, Little India and Mustafa Market to cover everything. From Mustafa Market I bought a souvenir of the Merlion as a token of memory.

Late evening, before my flight, I along with my friend went to a luxury restaurant to try out some Lebanese Cuisine. I paid $23 for my last meal in Singapore and was left with $56 out of which I spent $50 for the journey back to the airport and $6 to feast on a Dunkin Donut Croissant.

Refreshing Dubai

Dubai- the city of extravagance as I call it, is not just a city of malls and buildings but is a miracle of mankind. Its a city full of such grand architectures that your neck will get a steep pain, creativity put into these structures from the very foundation, water bodies created artificially in a desert, gold displayed into the markets showing a mark of richness.. Worlds most expensive cars, tallest buildings, biggest malls, highest fountains, filthy expensive hotels is a charismatic watch. All in all everything created in Dubai is with the idea that it should out-beat everything else in the world. Right from the moment I reached the airport, the place seemed like a chessboard. The men always dressed in a white attire called Kandoora and the women dressed in a black attire called Abaya walking side by side. 

In the first and the second day of my trip I covered the Gold Souk, Dubai Mall, Atlantis Hotel, Marina Walk, JBR walk and Barasti. Every place has a story to tell. All gold shops in the Gold Souk did not have a single security guard outside the shops coz of the strict law an order of that place. Dubai mall is the biggest mall in the world and the fantabulous light and water show on the riverside is the worlds highest. Atlantis Hotel located on the stem of an artificially created island- Palm. And JBR walk is the driveway for the most expensive cars.

Late evening on Saturday after running endlessly with my friends, I was on my own as they had offices on Sunday. Yeah !!! People work there from Sunday to Thursday unlike us. Sadly they had to depart and I decided to explore the city on my own. 

I as a single girl have carried the same fears as any other girl of being on my own in a different country. Fear of getting into some serious trouble, feeling of being unsafe in the night, doubtful of getting bored, fearing people might think I am insane or who would click my pictures :P etc etc. But this time while I was in Dubai visiting my angel hosts, I dropped my fears and set out alone to various expeditions in the unknown country. I thought to myself what will go wrong ? Its a safe country. Lets figure out how is it?

My first solo visit was Barasti Beach bar coz that's the only thing which comes to our mind on a Saturday night. Barasti is the most well known party places there. Beach side club with beds on the sand, what else can one ask for. Quickly I grabbed something to drink and sat on the beach for a while. Wow !!! Just cant define the feeling of sitting there for hours.

My second visit included the Burj Al Arab beach where I met a Malaysian family. It was wonderful listening to their experiences and they gave me a teaser for my third visit, which was  a Desert Safari. Well it turned out to be the most thrilling experience of my life. 4*4 SUV's running up and down over the sand dunes at fast speeds, sometimes turning right and sometimes turning left, almost diving through, sliding on its own due to excess slide. My heart was pumping twice as fast coz it was damn scary but a Must go !!!

For the fourth visit , I booked a tour cab for Abu Dhabi for the next day. I got ready by 9 but to my scare it did not turn up. I was left stranded but was in no mood to give up on visiting the place. I decided to take a taxi and go by bus. But damn !!! I missed the bus by 2 minutes. Luckily a group of youngsters working in Abu Dhabi invited me to come into a shared taxi. Had it been India I would have refused, but I did not feel scared there and said yes. 1 hour and I was in a new Islamic city which is a little more conservative than Dubai for the reason that its less open to tourism.

I treated myself with a delicious Biryani and took a walk on the Corniche street until my friend joined me. He took me around the city and to the Sheikh Zayed mosque which is like spread across an area of five football fields put together. Shining marbled floors, beautiful walls, huge chandeliers was indeed spectacular. I had to wear an Abaya to go inside which gave me feeling of melting into their community. Rushing back to the bus stand to catch the bus back to Dubai, I realised that Abu Dhabi was not a place to be missed. I boarded the bus and it was the worlds first bus to have an in-house pantry. I ate a lot and reached back tummy full.

On the last day, with the thought of having an evening flight back to India, I decided to give peace to my legs and just relaxed. All day I was being filled with sadness to bid adieu to the city , but also happy to have bundled such splendid experiences. Roaming on the streets of an unknown country has always been a refreshment and this trip came out to be an energizer which hopefully keep me going for sometime now.

Land-ending of the Hot Air Balloon

So during my visit to Australia, my pre itinerary list included a breathtaking ride gushing through the clouds, engulfed in the exceptionally clear morning sky of the Victorian state- Melbourne. 

On the previous day itself, an unfateful hot air balloon had crashed in the Carterton region of New Zealand killing 11 passengers after getting stuck in the electric wires. It sounded creepy while it was airing on the BBC news but we did not want to dampen our spirits.

Global ballooning, one of the most trusted names for this sport became our escort for the day. We had been asked to reach the starting point at the Hilton hotels reception at 5:00 a.m . We quickly signed forms to take the entire responsibility of any mishappenings that might happen during the adventure. Soon after that we were made to jump in a mini van and taken to Kakarook Park for the take off. The park in itself was a delight to watch. A beautiful lake amidst the curvaceous roads, wooden bridges and chairs placed over the pitch green finely chopped grass to watch the ducks floating in the crystal water .

Global Ballooning car

The setup of the balloon takes close to 1 hour, and the staff seeks volunteering from the passengers for the same. As girls shirk from moving their butts so I rather preferred to capture some pictures around. Meanwhile the volunteers pulled the balloon out of the cars with the help of attached cables , opened it slowly by rolling it outwards spreading it on the ground like a cheese slice on the bread and attempted to heat the air inside the balloon to create buoyancy partially by ignition of burners and partially by blowing cold air into it with the help of air coolers. After filling the belly of the balloon for around 30 minuets the flimsy looking balloon turned into a gigantic flying machine. As per the instructions we jumped into the Gandola (the basket to carry passengers). One hard push by the staff and the balloon took a flight to conquer the territory of the sky fighting through the clouds just like warriors in the battleground. We were soon flying over the lake and there were several other multicolored balloons flying sky-high.

Volunteers pulling out the balloon

Heating the air inside the balloon

Flames by burners

The flight

The flight that we booked was for the Melbourne skyline route ( Colossal buildings in the Yarra river area) ,but the pilot informed us that the destiny of the ride is decided by the wind, which gave me the first jitter that the pilot was probably not the right choice. Surprisingly the wind traced a path upon the residential area. To gain altitude the ignition was started and to drop the altitude the ignition was stopped. While dropping we almost touched the heads of the wooden houses (which gave me a second jitter of suspicion for the pilot) and people on the ground waved at us in excitement. On the contrary immense height blurred the view to the city due to blindness caused by the clouds below. The whole excitement of surrendering to the sky with open arms sent shivery thrill to electrify my body. I took an aerial view of the entire city which included box like structures , toy cars, green sketches, well at least they appeared to be like one from the naked eye. The brisk air was very cold but was being nullified, time and again by the heat of the balloon.  

View blurred by clouds

Residential area

The shadow of balloon fell on the clouds and my eyes sparkled at the view. This journey was special for everyone. An Aussie man had gifted this to his wife to celebrate the 35 year old bond that they shared. A daughter surprised her mother with the big ride on her 60th birthday and my Jiju had surrendered to my unruly desire to get on the monster as a gift to save his marriage. 

Shadow of the balloon on the clouds

So after an hour of the flight, it was coming to a close and the pilot had informed the staff about the landing in an open golf ground. We were all asked to hold the Gandola firmly, facing opposite to the landing and crouch a bit. We followed the instructions and turned our faces which luckily kept us from the witnessing the collision that was about to happen. As the balloon descended the pilot lost the estimate of the drop. The landing missed by seconds and almost reached the boundaries of the ground. It bumped into a huge tree and collapsed just before landing. The Gandola tilted some 2 meters above the ground and like a ring a ring a roses rhyme we all fell down. My free fall rested on my back and sent a steep pain down my butt. All of us got up quickly and took a look at what had happened. The balloon was stuck in the tree and the Gandola had detached from it. Stunned by the sudden jerk, everyone other than the 60 year old lady who was surprisingly clicking her own pictures while lying down, went furious. To pacify the situation the old lady laughed out loudly which made me think that the jerk had affected her head. The others followed her in the laughter exercise to bring peace but I could not even spare a smile as I had clearly hurt my back.

60 Year old lady

My Jiju, questioned about the careless landing to the pilot but no explanation could have helped. I got up and waited for the entire process of packing up the balloon to complete so that I could go back home and narrate the whole story to my sister. Back home, my sister in a winning tone expressed that how she was right to caution us for the silly ride. She expressed her remorse for my pain and applied me a balm. The pain was severe that lasted for 3-4 days and costed me 30$ for the doctors fee, a 2 day bed rest and an extension of my trip in Australia by a week.

Nightmarish New Year

As a child,  I would look up into my fathers eyes and ask him...Dad when will I get to experience the New Year's Eve of Sydney. This was amongst the many other wishes that as a child I felt should essentially come true, like becoming an astronaut and eating uncle chips on the top of the moon, getting into CBI and solving some complicated murder mysteries or becoming an actress and making some really horrible faces as a vamp. My dad taking all my wishes quite seriously( god knows how ) would say, definitely all your wishes will come true. I am not sure about the others but New year's eve in Sydney definitely came true some 20 years later during my visit to Australia in the much hyped Mayans cataclysmic year 2012.

It was 31st Dec 2012, 2:00 p.m in the afternoon. We were well in time to occupy the best spot on the circular quay wharf no 6 which was one of the listed places to view the Darling harbour bridge on the maps. Darling harbour is the bridge where the grand show happens every year and this year it was exactly 10 hours away. We had occupied a small place and marked out territory with the help of a bed sheet. People were flowing in from every corner and the entry was allowed till 6:00 pm. As time passed a group of 6-7 Chinese girls and guys came in. They placed themselves besides our spot and very smartly kept dragging inch by inch in our LOC. My sister frowned at them to scare them away but all that while we had to protect our space from them as they were constantly on a hunt to snatch it. 

So after waiting for 10 hours where each passing hour seemed like a day, we were close to the clock striking 12:00. We had been madly waiting for this one moment of spectacular fireworks and were surviving on a single Nando's burger and lots of caffeine. Now was the moment that I had once wished 20 years back to come true and I could not wait for it any longer. 

Suddenly amidst all excitement I heard some fearful noises of people that broke the chord between my eyes and the darling harbour bridge. I turned to see what had happened and saw some flames rising which were bleakly visible with my naked eye. My sister sounded frightened too and I realised within seconds that a fire,  a genuine fire that was getting uncontrollable had broken a little farther from where we standing. My jiju zoomed in from his handycam to catch a clear glimpse of it and to our utter shock the fire had already caught hold of a huge tree and was advancing hastily towards the boundaries. My blood froze in my body and my life force got stuck somewhere in my throat. I totally panicked of a stampede like I had heard in stories of crowded places. I realised that I will have to get out of it before its too late.The only thought running in my mind was that I did not want to die in a foreign land and I shall not let the Mayans win. I gathered courage and gave an invitation to my sister and jiju to save their lives. My jiju was too engrossed in capturing the end of the world with his tiny handycam and my sister was not by any chance agreeing to surrender the territory to the blood thirsty Chinese troops. After-all she had been protecting our 2 by 2 square feet of area from the Chinese scavengers from past 10 hours. So without wasting any time I started running alone to save my life whereas people were shooting pictures of the fire and standing unhindered by the flames. My brain started working like shakuntala Devi. I applied all permutations and combinations to save myself and came up with two brilliant ideas for disaster management i.e. either to jump in the water and get hold  of the armour in the ship or climb up the terrace of the coffee shop which had earned a lot of dollars from us today.

For implementation of the first idea I had to convince the police who stood guards to the huge closed gates. I ran up to the man and narrated him that I had come from India and that he will have to let me get out of the gate. I was strongly pushing the gate back and forth to open it. The police guard with a blank face told me that the fire brigade was on the way and there was nothing to panic but I did not care to listen. I wanted to make a last minute calI to india and speak to my parents for one last time but the battery of the phone had died down. I quickly ran off to implement my second idea and that was to climb the coffee shop terrace. The climb did not seem to be an easy one but I buckled up my shoes and started to climb by placing my foot over the window. The IPad in my hand was becoming a roadblock but it was too precious to be abandoned even in a pressure situation like that one. All this while whenever I saw some 70,000 odd people, I was surprised to see them standstill. Why were they not running? how come they were clicking pictures? We're they out of their mind? 

Anyways fearing the IPads life, my jiju came running to save its  life and asked me to return the poor thing. He convinced me hard to come down the window and I came down some seconds later because the flight was getting impossible. After failing in all my attempts to get out of the closed boundaries and nowhere to go, I started running in circles in the closed area where we were locked, in a hope to bring my anxiety to rest.

An English guy who had become our neighbour for the day and was a silent spectator to the whole situation checked with my sister twice if that was some kind of dance Indians like to do before the celebration starts. My sister bewildered herself just nodded her head in agreement as she had not much to say for my behaviour. 

A few minutes later, living through a nightmarish near death experience, I heard a fire brigade roaring across the road.  The melodious sound of the machine allayed my fear and lightened a hope that this was not the end, I will witness the charismatic new year and share some mind blowing stories with my friends back home. An announcement was made soon after that the fire has been put off.

The phenomenal fireworks started exactly at 12:00 a.m.  to welcome the new year 2013 and also put an end to a traumatised yet the most unforgettable New Year's Eve of my life in the vivacious Sydney. 

To watch the video of fire at new years please click on the link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Opfkg35GKbs