adventure is out there!!

I had recently left my job. So, before another desktop screen could make me its slave again, I needed a get away. The plan was chalked out, we were going to Jyotirmath, commonly known as Joshimath. 294 kilometres from where my parents live(Dehra Dun, Uttarakhand), Joshimath is located at a height of 6150 feet above see level. It was a long and boring drive away. Anyhow, we reached Joshimath by sun-down. But with the first whiff of that chilly breeze, I was happy again. The moon was at its brightest. The snow-clad peaks reflected the moonlight, which made the scene a bit dramatic. It's one of my favourite pictures I've ever clicked. We were going to spend a couple of days at a secluded guest house. Sip tea, have long chats, just breathe in the clean air. Well, Badrinath which is one of the four very important dhams in India, was about 46 km from Joshimath. We did not originally have it on our agenda because that region faced catastrophic floods last year, which had washed away most of the roads. It wouldn't be advisable to go on those roads just as yet. So, we thought we could go for a drive as far as we could, and return from where it wouldn't be a good idea to move on. 20 kilometres went by, after the 30th , with one turn on the road the scenery transformed. The view of the mountains loaded with snow went more elaborate, the hieghts were now dizzying, glaciers hurling down from the mountains, and then it started to snow. A mere five kilometres from Badrinath, we saw a massive glacier on the road. But, the army-men had carved a way through it. Our driver was concerned. But, none of us wanted to go back just yet, so we drove through it. We reached the town. Abandoned, cold and beautiful. We then searched for the Badrinath shrine which is the de facto identity of the town. But, finding the shrine was not important anymore. A town that sees 600,000 tourists every year. Visiting it when it's devoid of people, doors to all houses are locked, everything sitting still in time waiting to live again, was a remarkable feeling. That is when we realised, 'How did we end up here?' It was supposed to be a boring, short drive which ended up in one of the most memorable moments of our lives. No proper agenda, a derelict town, a possibility of getting stuck with no contact with the world, worth it! I think now I've understood what G K Chesterton meant when he said, “The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.”