I got LeH'd

August 5, 2010. 27th candle on the cake. Man, am i running out of space in the cake?? Its time for the birthday party, friends, birthday bums and what not. Aint that the same thing i do every birthday? Its time to make and exception.  

Take out the dusty leather jacket, fire up the thunder in good ol Royal Enfield and ride up the Himalayas. This birthday, I wanted to feel ALIVE. 

July 29th, I started from Dublin to Bangalore. Round up my pals and picked the next flight to Delhi. Flight to rickshaws to train to Innova and finally the Royal Enfield. Himalayas, here we come.

Exactly at 12 midnight, 5th Aug, my roommate, Jomy and friends came over with a makeshift Birthday cake. A stack of Bread with Butter, Jam and candles right in center. A birthday without cake on my face!!! I dont remember a birthday without cake on my face. By night, we had reached Leh, checked into a home stay in Leh. After days of riding all day, the whole team was tired and decided to hit the bed early. by 12, i was in deep slumber. 

half an hour passed by, i woke up to the huge noise my friends were making around me. i barely open my eyes to notice my friends standing on the bed. I stepped out of my bed and suddenly, the bed rose up and I am standing waist deep in water. Imagine waking up in a strange place, your bedroom is flooded with water and it is supposed to be a place where it never rains. 

The Flash Flood

It took some time for me to realize that I am in a flood. and the water level is rising by the minute. We jumped out of the room. in the meanwhile my friends in the other room had also gotten up. Six out of the nine people were in this cottage. While the other 3 was in a cottage on higher grounds. 

I tried to open the main door. But it simply wont move. Its stuck with debris from the flood accumulating on the other end. Push the door, break the door, do what ever possible, but we had to get out. And thats excatly what we did. As soon as the door gave away, the flood pushed more water into the room. All of us made our way to the higher grounds. Frightened, with no clue on what i happening around you, we stood there in the rain, drenched, covered in mud but relieved that all of us are safe and in high grounds. The house owner ran came running to us and told us to flee from there. All the building are made of clay and is not built to withstand water. With no buildings nor any trees or any structure to hold on to, my nightmare had just begun. 

Time to run. Run for your life.

We ran out to the Innova. thankfully the driver was already ready, and had the engines running. We left the bikes there and climbed into the Innova. The owner of the homestay helped us and some of us got into their Scorpio. And we hit the gas. The vehicle simply wont move. The water had got the wheels stuck mud, debris and what not. Was it fear or was it desperation, but out of nowhere, we had the strength to lift an Innova out of the dirt. 

With both the SUVs clinging to our very life, we hit the gas. In the dark, both the SUV went in different directions. We kept going for another 15 mins, pulling the SUV out, whenever we got stuck. And stoped at a rock where it felt a little safe. 

In a strange land, drenched in rain and covered in mud, wearing just a shorts and banyan, cold, scared, puzzled we sat in the car. Running the heater intermittently so that we dont run out of fuel. Where was the other SUV? Are they safe? I guess we were very tensed. It dint strike anyone of us to ring someone in the other SUV. Not until couple of hours passed. Once we heard from there, we were very relieved that all of us are safe. Till now. 

The locals were all puzzled on what is happening. Stories of missing people and death filled the air. We decided that on day break we will hike down to the room and will meet up with the whole gang.

The next day.

By early morning, some of us had to use the bathroom. Guys are sure lucky, nature provides a lot of places and aint have to hunt for a restroom. Then again, its not a all guys gang. A Monk invited us to his house and allowed us to use his restroom. It was then he told us that this was a flash flood and this part of the mountain had been wiped clean. I still had no clue what a flash flood meant. We continued on our journey to the rooms. 

I was walking barefoot as i did not have the time to grab anything  last night. The local people gave me slippers and insisted that i should take it. I have never seen this man before. And they very well knew that i may never see him again. but still, he gave me his best pair of slippers. I am so touched by him. I cant imagine someone in Bangalore doing this. Or will they?

We met our friends by the time i reached our room. The flash flood wiped clean the whole side of the mountain. Tears of joy ticked down as i hugged my friends. Last night, I was not sure I would see them again. I was not sure i would see anyone again. And here I am, feeling .... ALIVE. I guess, I got my birthday wish.