As we were
about to reach the diversion point where we need to start the road to Pharping,
there were many TATA SUMO vehicles jumping all (at more than the recommended
speeds) around the small curves and it was obvious that these vehicles were
loaded with passengers (the front wheels were anytime going to miss the gravity
hold, what we could say a “wheeling”). I could certainly understand the power
of the TATA SUMOs, thanks to the taxi drivers in the Bangalore traffic who can
chop off your rear view mirrors if you don’t watch for them. But these drivers
in Nepal, were testing the toughness of the SUMO to a different extreme and
Amit mentioned that these vehicles carry passengers from and to Kathmandu on a
daily basis with atleast 10 passengers.
As I was
chasing one of the SUMOs and pushing the capabilities of the front wheel drive
Terrano, we crossed many small villages and some narrow roads with curves. As
we reached the check point to enter the registry with the vehicle permit and
the vehicle registration number, I could see that there was this young man just
climb on to the top of one of the SUMOs. First, I was wondering if this
energetic young man is going to lift some luggage to the top of the vehicle but
then he was going to travel sitting on the vehicle. Wow.. It is possible to
ride over the vehicle in a plain terrain wherein the vehicle has no chance of
bouncing left to right, when taking those corners. But I had to contradict my
thoughts and rewrite the memory that this is also possible. Don’t know how many
of my prejudices would get erased and rewritten before I reach Kathmandu.
As the
vehicle was swaying in the curves, the man on the top was solid stuck to the
roof. Was able to grasp a photo of the same (above). I was quite well able to
hold to the speeding SUMOs and was lucky to have the power in my vehicle.
Especially the quicker response from the vehicle maneuvering helped in
progressing the curves and the steeps much faster but then we reached a point
where our vehicle was challenged.
The roads
were tarred and was able to provide the necessary hold for the tires. Better
with no moist on the roads, which could have made the vehicle slip without the
necessary grip and given the lesser power of the 2-wheel drive, we would have
struggled, worst case could have ended with a mishap if the situations were not
favorable. Certainly, I was not expecting these steeper roads. Only that I was
enjoying the chase, the adrenaline has kept me going without noticing the hilly
steeps that we were conquering. Worst case, if there had been a slower traffic,
I would have struggled to keep up with the pace and would have got stuck on the
road. Thanks to the rushing SUMO ahead.
Coming back
to the road, as we were climbing the second hill, the SUMO got slower and
slower, in some places he had to get to the first gear to get the torque
required to pull the weight. His lowering of speeds, made us to lower our
speeds and subsequently there was a point where the momentum was not enough to
pull us up. Our 2 wheel drive started giving up. It was at this point that the
engine suddenly stopped. I pulled the hand brakes and released the clutch, the
vehicle had come to stand still now. There was a queue of atleast 3 vehicles
behind us, since we were between the SUMOs and as they were all bumper to
bumper and standing in a slope, there was no chance for the SUMOs behind to get
ahead. As I put my hands outside and asked them to pass us, I could witness the
torture in the eyes of the driver behind me. With my T-shirt sticking to the
seat, I could realize that moment that I was sweating even when the weather was
soothingly chilly. I turned to Amit and asked, “Do you want to drive?” (I have
been sticking to the driver seat from Bangalore for almost 2300+ kms and this
hill had to take me down), and Amit gave me an unusual reply “This is only a
warm up, we have to cover still”, then he delivered with a navigator’s support
of some step by step instruction to push the accelerator and then release the hand
brakes slowly. Finally, after couple of trials, the vehicle climbed with a
stutter. By then one of the vehicle from behind had managed to pass by and I
had enough space in case if the vehicle had slipped a few inches behind.
Now that we
crossed the second hill, we started climbing down the second hill and I
desperately needed a stop. We stopped at this beautiful greenery place after a
village. Click from the location below. Few more miles to reach Kathmandu, I
was already feeling the adventure in the drive.
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