The two days of resilience, Nepal

Author – Priya Rajpal

What is it that every adventure seeker loves about adventure? It’s the thrill, adrenaline rush and the sweet taste of victory. But those are the answers that you will hear the most. There’s one underlining answer that makes adventure what it is, it’s the struggle itself. It is in those moments of struggles you know what you and your team are truly made of.

In August, my team and I were on an overland trip to St. Petersburg in Russia. We decided to go via Nepal and Tibet to reach our destination. From the visas to the time that it will take to reach different checkpoints along the route, every single detail of this trip was planned. For the first 10 days, things did go according to the plan and we entered Nepal. I told myself that if everything goes like the way it is, then we should be able to reach St. Petersburg without any hiccups. But destiny had other plans.

On the 11th day, at 6:45 am, we left Kathmandu and continued towards the Nepal-China border until we reached a place called Galcchi. Although some people did tell me that the road ahead is not good, yet I was not prepared for what I was about to encounter.

We had to go through hilly terrain to reach our next checkpoint called Rusawagadhe which was some 160 km away. However, that 160 km turned into an absolute nightmare when we discovered that what was supposed to be a road was now nothing but a slush of mud and rocks. Sitting at the driver’s seat I couldn’t believe what I was seeing in front of me. This was not a terrain meant for 2X4 cars like my two Tata Hexas One normally drives a 4X4 to get through this. Moreover, there was no other
route. Getting to St. Petersburg meant getting through this slush. So I clenched the steering wheel, pressed on the accelerator of my Dhanno and just went ahead. (I lovingly call my two Hexas as Sheru and Dhanno. I was driving Dhanno and Sharad, my teammate, was driving Sheru).

It was far from easy. There were steep inclines, loose rocks and water gushing out on to the roads from waterfalls and streams. All of this was making the tires drift, making it difficult for us to control the cars. If this were not enough, rain gods decided to join the party. Many times people in the car had to go out so I could get through a difficult patch. My team members were constantly giving me and Sharad directions to proceed ahead. However every time there was a sharp descent I had my heart in my mouth. One wrong move and things could have been fatal. We slogged through the muddy pool like a soldier slogs through a mud. By the end of the day, we had travelled 130 km in 11 hrs.

The next day we started early at 7 pm and were met by the same slush again and this time it was worse than yesterday. Some stretches needed me and Sharad to accelerate without losing momentum and control or else the car would have gotten stuck. At some stretches, the condition was so bad that my team members had to place rocks on the road before Sharad and I could drive on it.

We slowly edged on one bad bit after the other and finally reached Rasuwagadhi at 3 pm. The 30km journey on the 12th day took us 8 hours to complete.

Upon reaching Rasuwagadhi I first took the cars to a workshop. While the cars were being mended I pondered over the events of the last two days. Sure we struggled and were exhausted but we all were in this together and while we were struggling we all surprised ourselves and each other. I couldn’t believe that I managed to overcome a muddy slush, but I obviously couldn’t have done it without my team who gave me directions and even made the road for me to drive on. My friend Sharad drove the other car with the utmost skills.

Tmes like these make a true adventure because this is when you truly discover yourself and also you know if your team has your back. With the rest of the journey ahead of me, I knew I can face any challenge now because I found a whole new source of resilience in me and some of the most amazing people have my back.