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| The Rocket Bus - Pride of Neelum Velley |
Day 13: Saturday, August 30, 2014
Retreating Back to Keran and Kutton after Taobat and Arang Kel Adventures
We had spent 10 days in the remotest parts of the Neelum Valley; Taobat
and Arang Kel and were fully exhausted by then; our legs were worn out due to
the most extensive trekking and hiking of our life while the backbone was
complaining of the tumultuous jeep rides we had undertaken in the past two
weeks. The day before, I was assuring my better half – and myself also – that
the hard times were almost over. We had already abandoned the Shounter Valley
visit as we did not want to further test the endurance limits of the kids’ duo
– who had done reasonably well till then – shifted the gear to the relaxation mode. For the splurge, Keran and Kutton – located in the
relatively lower parts of the Neelum Valley provide enough with modern lodging facilities.
Rocket Bus to Keran
Last night we already completed our packing so that we could hit the
road with the first ‘Rocket Bus’ of the day. The plan was to make it to Keran,
where we wanted to stay for a few days, after having an enroute breakfast and
sightseeing stopover at Sharda. As opposed to the preceding evening, it was a
clear sky and the sun had started peeking when I was going to the booking
office to reserve seats for the next logistic adventure – the Rocket Bus.
That mammoth capsule looking structure, elaborated with the florescent
patterns from all sides, cannot be ignored while traveling around the
picturesque Neelum Valley. Don’t get confused with its amazingly obsolete outlook!
The way it runs on the difficult Neelum Valley road, where even the four-wheelers
find it difficult at times, is remarkable. Defying all the odds and doubts, it
provides the inhabitants with the cheapest yet reliable transportation option, connecting
innumerable towns and localities between Muzaffarabad and Kel. No surprise that
locals nicknamed it as the “Rocket Bus” and throng it to the full capacity, at
times not even sparing the roof.
Probably because it was the earliest departure of the day, the bus was not
fully packed so we all could seat comfortably. Although plying between the
remote parts of the country, it looked adequately furnished from the inside and
was less inconvenient than the public transport in Karachi! The journey started
with a lot of hue and cry from the coughing old engine which had to
eventually give up in front of the Ústaad
and woke up despite all its protests and emitting a lot of dense smoke. I had mounted the backpacks on
the luggage carrier located on the top of it. Soon the messy Kel became a
chapter of our travel book and we were once again in the middle of the green
landscape.
The Rooftop Adventure
Without riding it from the top it would have been an incomplete
experience for me. So I dared climbing on the steel ladder fixed on the rear,
while the heavy metallic chassis had been striding like a drunken monster.
Somehow I managed to summit it and squeezed myself in the luggage compartment
only to realize that it was not a child’s play! The ride was not steady as the bus was constantly wobbling and tilting; sometimes to the
right hand side towards the pointed rocks and other times to the left towards
the gorge! It was such a shear force that I feared being thrown down directly to
the river flowing alongside the bumpy trek. A couple of times, I had to save my
life by lying down upside down as the hanging rocks got too close to the
structure. Had I not shown the knee-jerk reaction then, it was enough to make a
mash out of me!
I was not even able to raise a voice as my vocal cords had already got
silent due to the allergy I was having from last couple of days. The aromatic
smoke of the bonfire wood was the main culprit which infected my ENT system so
much so that I was not able to speak! Even though, in between those life saving
maneuvers, I did not miss any opportunity to benefit from the surrounding
scenery; which was simply out of the world. The river gained more strength as
compared to the Taobat-Kel trek while the ravine got wider. Coming down every
so often, each gush of water from the side stream was more powerful than the
previous one, and noisier. I was like placed right in the middle of an action
filled thrilling drama. The bus eventually stopped after half an hour to
accommodate a waving lady, giving me the much needed chance to get down in one
piece. For the rest of the journey, I seated inside peacefully enjoying the
outside views and resolving to myself not to repeat the same mistake ever
again!
Running After a Criminal!
It took the Rocket Bus more than two hours to reach Sharda from Kel,
where we dislodged and settled at a roadside restaurant for the brunch. Back
home, our gatekeeper Ayyub who also belonged to the Neelum Valley especially
requested me to convey his greetings to his fellows in Sharda. I searched
around the bazaar for Mutiullah, Ayyub's supposed relative, who was out of town for his routine. Nobody
else recognized Ayyub but they directed me to Mutiullah’s son who was also not
in the know. Later on, one of the persons at the restaurant confided to me that
locals were afraid that Ayyub might have done some crime in Karachi and I was
after him – the reason why they were reluctant in recognizing him!
Pilgrimming to the Buddhist
Ruins
Out of courtesy, Mutiullah’s son guided me to the remains of the
Buddhist Monastery, the town of Sharda is famous for. Leaving behind the family at the
restaurant I accompanied him for the brisk walk to the ruins which were located
on the other side of the river adjacent to, or in fact inside, an army
deployment. I had to surrender my CNIC once again to enter into the camp before
ascending ~60 extra large size stairs. The ancient looking staircase ended up
at an elevated rectangular arena in the middle of which standing the tall
cubical structure dubbed as the Buddhist University in the tourist information
brochures. Overlooking the Sharda town, it was an impressive and authentic archeological
site, providing rare insights to the largely obscure history of the region. The
arches and the pillars of this heritage site must have witnessed the
transformation in the human civilization while surviving somehow to the
vagaries of war and weather. While paying homage to the genius, I was trying to
decipher the echoing breeze to listen any of the lessons delivered
then!
Before the trip, I also read about the Sharda Peeth, a Hindu pilgrimage
discontinued after the Partition but could not dig that out due to the time
factor. We had to reach to Keran in the
daylight so that we could find a suitable accommodation without losing the
bargaining power which usually goes down with the sun. So after exchanging
goodbye greetings with the guide, we boarded on the next Rocket Bus which looked
relatively fuller as opposed to the morning one. This time I silently opted to
sit inside for the whole two hours of the smooth journey rather than venturing
again to the roof of the bus.
The Treat Started
Amid the drizzling, the bus had a midway stopover at a roadside restaurant and then dropped us right in front of the Keran
Resort; one of the most lavish places to stay in the whole Neelum Valley. I
believe it must have been a unique instance, or maybe the first time, that the
guests had arrived at the Resort through a ‘Rocket Bus’! For the negotiation with
the hotel manager I used the ‘season ending’ excuse and our commitment to stay
for at-least three nights. The haggling went
successful consequently the attendant shifted our backpacks to the premium
ground floor ensuite which one could only dream about a couple of weeks back
because of the high demand.
Bitter End of a Yielding Day
While settling in, Urooba reported a missing pouch from one of the
backpacks containing her cosmetics. The zip was closed so it was definitely a
case of theft. Our first suspicion was about the staff at Sardar Sarhad Hotel,
as we left the bag in their custody while exploring Arang Kel. We were not
happy with the overall attitude of people both at Kel and Arang Kel so it was
not that surprising. But I still gave them the benefit of doubt and did not report
the Sarhad Hotel’s management mostly because the bag was also lying unprotected
on the roof during our Rocket Bus journey. Thankfully, that was the only bad
taste experience of the whole trip.
Continue Reading Part 7
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| First Rocket Bus of the Day Departing for Muzffarabad from Kel |
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| Selfie! |
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| Way to Go Up |
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| Luggage Compartment of the Rocket Bus - Almost the First Floor |
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| 'VIP' Seats! |
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| Interior Designing |
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| Sitting on the Rooftop was Difficult but Worth It! |
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| White as Milk |
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| Can You Spot the Waterfall? Hint - In the Center |
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| A Rooftop Shot |
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| Framing it through the Door of the Rocket Bus |
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| Stopover at Sharda |
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| A View of Sharda from Restaurant's Balcony - Buddhist Monastery Somewhere in Center Right |
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| Sharda is Largest Town on the Neelum Valley Road |
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| Keep Right for the Buddhist Monastery |
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| An 'Online' Bank on the Way to Sharda's Buddhist Monastery |
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| From There it was a 4x4 Walk! |
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| Sign Board to the Sharda's Buddhist Monastery and the Warning |
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| A Laundry Besides the Buddhist Monastery |
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| Warning Again; No Photography of the Millitary Installation |
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| The Equally Ancient Staircase of the Buddhist Monastery |
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| For History Buffs |
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| Centerpiece of the Monastery |
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| Inside the Cubical |
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| Carving on the Outer Wall of the Cubical |
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| Close up of the Arch |
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| The Buddhist Monastery was Located in this Rectangular Arena |
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| Boundary Wall of the Monastery |
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| A Roman Looking Pillar at the Entrance of Sharda's Buddhist Monastery |
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| A Guesthouse in Sharda |
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| Camping Site and the Under Construction Guesthouse in Sharda |
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| Sharda's Eidgah at the River Bank |
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| Sharda's Middle School |
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| Signs of Another Ruins! |
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| Tourist Village Sharda, Owned by the Tourism Ministry |
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| A View of Sharda from the Swing Bridge |
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| An 'Ideally' Located Hotel |
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| Back to the Main Road: Toyota Hiace Booking Office in Sharda |
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| Mutiullah's Hotel in Sharda |
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| A Room at Neelum Abshaar Hotel Sharda |
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| Mounting the Luggae Again on the Rocket Bus |
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| The ~1km Bad Patch Betwen Sharda and Keran |
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| Lunch Break Somewhere Between Sharda and Keran |
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| Misha on the 'Window' Seat! |
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| River Neelum Going Towards Muzaffarabad |
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| Looks Like a Mosque on the Roadside |
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| Oven Fresh |
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| Reached Keran Resort |
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| Another Hotel in Keran on the Main Road |
