The summer heat of Lucknow was getting unbearable. The mercury in the thermometer was pipping past 40 degree celsius and I was longing to get away briefly from 'the land of Nawabs' to 'the land of mystic lamas' - Ladakh. Last time, in November 2011, my cousin RoseMarie and her friend Cassandra had planned to go trekking in the Himalayas. But for some unforseeable difficulties (from my end), our plans didn't materialize. I was waiting for an opportunity to go on a 'Himalayan Odyssey' ever since. Looked around on web-forums for biker-groups going on Ladakh trip. Pedals and wheels was organizing a cycling expedition from Manali to Leh via the valley of flowers in August. My friend, Ansh was planning to go to Ladakh in July. But my schedule and budget didn't fit any of these. The cycling trip price was about 30 thousand rupees per head (including rent for the bike) which was a bit too expensive for me. Besides this, I had to work with Rocky on the 'seed money projects on sustainable operations' that ran from July to mid-October. So both these trips got ruled out of the equation. June was the month to go, if at all I was going this year. After September, Rohtang Pass is closed for motor vehicles due to heavy snowfall during the winter months. I had heard that Rohtang pass had just opened on May 26th for tourists. In addition to clearing of route, there was also some cause of joy due to progress on my thesis front (Yes! I'm doing a PhD). I had got some favourble results on the life cycle assessment tests that were part of my thesis work. My guide, Prof. Sushil Kumar was happy about it, and he gave me the green signal to take a break before moving on to the next stage of the thesis. So on June 2nd, I went to Shakeel bhai's Royal Enfield Center to get my motorcycle serviced. I had decided to go solo on June 15th through Chandigarh-Manali-Leh route. However, at the service center, a pleasant surprise awaited me. Shakeel bhai told me that a 5 member team of the 'Awadh Spirited Riders' (the Royal Enfield group of Lucknow) was going to Leh on June 6th and why not I join them. I was pleased to know this. Shakeel bhai got me in contact with Sanjiv Rastogi, 54, the seniormost member of the group. He asked me to come to his place in Gomti Nagar, where I could meet other members of the group and discuss about the tour.
So after servicing the bike, with an extra fitting of clutch wire, accelerator cable, spare sparkplug and headlamp, a heavy lunch at Tunday Kababi, and shopping for an army camouflage backpack, I headed to Rastogi ji's place. Rastogi ji, I found, is a touring enthusiast. As he says, "There is no road in India through which I have not traveled". And well, now, he is set up on his dream - to ride to Ladakh on his brand new Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Although my Thunderbird is not all that brand new (she is 3 years old) and I haven't seen most of the roads in India (let alone travel) , I too am set up on the same escapade, in that, we've something similar, but that I'm doing this at exactly half his age. As Rastogi ji was showing me the travel plans and the detailed list of items required for the trip, Somedra Banerjee walked into the study. Som, 38, has the typical look of a riding enthusiast - with tanned face and long sideburns, he is a 70's child who grew up on rock n' roll music and Yezdi. Som bhaiyya took me to Lalbhag where I met Austin Raj, 30, who supposedly would have been the juniormost member of the group had I not taken his place. We bought some essential gear like elbow and knee protection padding, summer gloves, bunjee ropes, blue night follow-on blinking lights, chain lock, chain lubricant etc. Som told me that we will meet again tomorrow to buy the rest of stuff. The next day, that is 3rd June, we met up at Rovers in the evening and went to Army Canteen to buy all that we needed. I got a pair of Army boots, a sleeping bag, 3 pairs of woolen socks, a water-resistant tarpaulin to cover my backpack, a pair of winter leather hand-gloves and a raincoat. There, I also met Mayank Tiwari - the 4th member in the group. Manki, 38, is a chemistry teacher at La Martiniere, Lucknow. He generously treated us to a few plates of chicken momos with spicy chutney. After the snack, we went to Royal Enfield showroom, talked to Piyush (manager) about the trip over few cups of colas for sometime and departed, agreeing to meet on 4th June for the final discussion at Rastogi ji's place. On the way back to campus, I bought a 40+ SPF (> 20+ is sufficient) sunscreen lotion from a medical shop as advised by Som bhaiyya. "The sunrays are intense and dangerous at higher altitudes and proper protection needs to be taken," he said.
On 4th June, we met for the final time at Rastogi ji's place. He handed us printed cards with details of ID and contact numbers of all the riders on the tour. We also discussed about things like minimum and maximum spacing between riders to be maintained, documents to be carried (driving licence, RC book, insurance, pollution certificate) etc. We dispersed agreeing to meet on 6th June at 6 am at Royal Enfield showroom, from where the riders would be flagged off.
From now on, the blog will be based on my log, which I maintained on a daily basis during the entire trip. Every entry can be tracked by date and time signature, plus the meter reading.
6th June, Thursday
5 AM - (7048 km)
I had packed my bags and fastened the bungee ropes onto the bike yesterday night itself. Slept by 10 PM last night but woke up at 2 AM. I was not getting enough sleep. It would probably be due to the excitement. I left campus by 5.05 AM and reached Royal Enfield showroom, Lucknow by 5.30 AM. I was the first person to arrive. In the meantime, I had some chai. Som arrived by 5.45 AM and brought an extra tyre tube for me. A few minutes later Manki arrived. Austin and Rastogi ji arrived a lil' past 6. Piyush treated us to chai and cookies. There were few other riders too who came to flag us off and wish us good luck. Snapped a few pictures and we were flagged off by 7 AM.
Filled petrol for Rs.500 - (7130 km) meter reading
10.45 AM - Shahjahanpur - (7246 km)
We stopped for brunch at Swagat Dhaba. Had aaloo (potato) paratha and left Shahjahanpur by 11.45 AM.
2.10 PM - Bareily - We stopped for some colas. I was feeling very tired due to the dust in the road. I hydrated over a bottle of maaza and put on Som's spare balaclava to protect myself from the dust.
3.30 PM - My speedometer cable snaps :-( (7294 km).
5 PM - Filled petrol for Rs. 500.
7 PM - Reached Najibabad - total distance covered till now - 480 km (from Austin's meter reading). Stayed in Hotel Waliya where we had dinner and a few pegs of Mcdowell's platinum whiskey. I was very tired and was sleeping over dinner. Crashed onto the bed as soon as I could.
7th June, Friday
7 AM - Rastogi ji is an early riser. He wakes up at 4.30 AM and is engaged in a constant and persistent endeavour to wake others up and to move on to the next destination. This did not go well with all, especially in the cold mornings when you'd like to catch just one more moment of blissful sleep. Nevertheless, the constant cacophony woke everybody up. We freshened up and went down to the parking lot to rev up the engine before today's ride. And here's what we saw! Rastogi ji's got a flat tyre. A 2-inch nail stuck smack at the center of the tyre. Austin and Rastogi ji went to a local mechanic's shop and got it fixed. It was 8.30 AM now. So much for getting up early at the cost of my sweet morn' nap. We had Aaloo paratha, omelette and chai for breakfast at Hotel Walia and left for Dehradun by 9.20 AM.
11 AM - Reached Haridwar
1.30 PM - Reached Dehradun. Waiting at Forest Research Institute (FRI) gate for Saurabh Rawal. Saurabh is the 6th member of the group. He is a member of the Doon Valley Riders. After almost an hour of waiting, Saurabh arrived. He bought me a new speedometer cable. In the meantime we helped ourselves to some sweet lychee. Total distance covered till now - (580 km).
5.40 PM - Reached Chakrata. Took a tea break and went on to stay at Hotel Snow View for the night. Later we went to the market, had delicious veg momo's from Prem's and had a full filling of roti and mutton before crashing onto the bed. Total distance covered till now - (650 km).
8th June, Saturday
5.30 AM - Woke up and went through the morning routine. The water was icy cold and it felt like a thousand knives cut through my body.
7.30 AM - Left chakrata for Narkanda.
10 AM - Had breakfast at a local restaurant on the way.
3.30 PM - Reached Rohru. Filled up petrol tank for 800 rupees. Fixed the speedometer. Total distance covered till now - (825 km). Current meter reading - (7294 km).
Note: Add 825 to (current meter reading - 7294) to get the total distance covered in km for this trip.
7.20 PM - Narkanda - (7357 km)
The road from Rohru to Narkanda is absolutely fucked up. Thank you very much. Average speed is 25 km per hour.
9th June, Sunday
Narkanda, 5.30 AM - Woke up, had a good night's sleep. We paid 2200 rupees for a room for 6 people. But the room was nice and comfy with wooden paneled interiors. We had aaloo paratha for breakfast as usual.
9.00 AM - Left Narkanda - (7358 km)
12.00 PM - Reached Haripur - (7411 km)
1.00 PM - 1.30 PM - Took bath in a shallow stream. Very refreshing to wet yourselves in pure liquid formed from the snow of the himalayas. (7425 km).
3.00 PM - (7450 km) - Reached Shastri Nagar, Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) enroute Jalori Pass. Stopped for chai and desi egg. The oil seals of my front shock absorbers got jinxed and the oil was leaking. It will stand the journey though. Made a mental note to change the oil seals when we get back home.
8 PM - Had reached 10 km before Manali. Rastogi ji didn't want to continue any longer. So he stayed in a hotel nearby. We had some chilled beer, ate aaloo paratha for dinner and slept by around 11 PM.
12 PM - We had brunch (snack) with chai and namkeen at a place called Gramphoo. There we met 2 russian girls who asked for a lift to the nearest town. But since our pillion seats were loaded with luggage, we could not extend our services to the damsels in distress; instead we had to extend our sincere apologies for not being helpful. We mourned over a cup of black tea when a SUV (sports utility vehicle) arrived which had some space for the stranded lasses. After bidding them goodbye we set ourselves to our next destination i.e. Keylong.
12th June, Wednesday
Had heard that one more accident had taken place. A young couple we had met at Keylong who were traveling on an Enfield to Leh slipped off the cliff. Severe injury on the leg, eye :-( The army had taken them to the hospital.
16th June, Sunday
Had a little difficulty in sleeping last night in the early hours of sleep but had a sound sleep in the morning hours.
7 AM - The sun is up, bright and shining. The lake is pure blue. The visit was worth the effort. Now, time to ride 7 km along the lake and click some photographs and head back. Gotta repair my motorbike too, remember?
7.30 Am - 9.30 AM - Took many photos. Saurabh was riding all along Pangong lake like Kareena in '3 idiots'. Except that, in this case, the driver is man instead of a woman. Dried the drenched clothes under the sun and the dry breeze of Pangong.
10 AM - Settled the bills and back on our way to Leh. Saw lot of wild animals on the way!
11 AM - Reached the village where my motorcycle was parked for the night. Had breakfast (maggi noodles, omelette and black tea) from one of the local restaurants. By that time, our friends from Dehradun arrived. We identified that the problem was with the spark plug. Due to the carbon deposit formed by running on choke, there was no ignition, and the engine was stalling. I had a spare spark plug and replaced the old one with the new. The engine roared to life!
2 PM - We reached Changla pass - (8330 km). It was snowing heavily and the bike was skidding.
Rules of riding on Snow:
Rule # 1 - Do not ride on snow.
Rule # 2 - Always remember rule # 1 unless you are crazy in which case, continue to Rule # 3.
Rule # 3 - Try to ride on rocky patches for better grip. Prefer riding on water instead of snow, even if it may wet your feet. Never use disc breaks. Use drum breaks. Maintain speed as low as possible or else in the blink of an eye you could slide off the cliff.
Ride down was pure fun. We took some off-road routes too, which was an awesome experience. Raced all the way to Leh. Saw Chemdey and Thiksey monasteries on the way back to Leh.
5 PM - Zarowar Homestay, Leh - (8410 km)
Happy to reunite with the whole team. They were worried because Changla Pass had closed just an hour after we snucked through. Sheer luck, I say. Or we could have been stuck there till God knows when! From the news we came to know that there was heavy calamity in Uttarkhand. We had narrowly escaped.
5.30 PM - Saurabh had not arrived yet - bit worried. We had been together till Karu (35 km from Leh), after which the plains start all the way to Leh. It'd be OK, for an adventurous and expert mountain rider like Saurabh, I hoped.
We started a party over the left over bottle of Old Monk rum, for the safe transit through Changla pass. Everybody joined in, even Rastogi ji. It had been years since he had taken a drink. Meanwhile, Saurabh had also arrived. During the party we talked about different types of cuisines, wild animals of Ladakh, preparation and nature of intoxicants, Kurt Cobain, efficiency of old machines (TV, motor vehicles etc.), servicing and repair of motorbikes et al.
9 PM - Had dinner. I had veg Tukpa, while everybody else had Thali. Som wanted to have Chicken sizzler, but since the restaurant was closing down, they were not taking non-veg orders. Som was forced to be content with Thali.
Note: Sunday is dry day in Ladakh. So no alcoholic beverages available on Sunday. Just saying ;-)
11 PM - Off to bed.
17th June, Monday
5.30 AM - Leh, Ladakh
Woke up to the blabbering cacophony of Rastogi ji - to get up and get going. Had tea, packed my bags and put on all my gear for the journey back home.
Today was the beginning of the return journey. We had planned to take the Kaza route along the eastern border initially, but Kaza road was still closed due to snow. So we decided to take the western route via Kargil-Srinagar-Jammu-Jalandhar-Ambala- Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Lucknow.
Following is our new route map: Lucknow, India -> Najibabad -> Dehra Dun-> Chakrata -> Narkanda -> Manali -> Keylong ->Sarchu -> Pang -> Leh, India -> Khardung La: World's Highest Motorable Pass -> Pangong Tso -> Sonamarg -> Srinagar -> Udhampur -> Jalandhar -> Ludhiana -> Ambala -> New Delhi -> Agra -> Kanpur -> Lucknow
6.00 AM - It was really a bad morning. Saurabh started cribbing about not staying up for him after Karu (when the plains to Leh begins). I had felt a lil' guilty for not waiting for him till now but no more. After all his adventurous tales of mountain riding and blah blah blah, this sort of whining leaves me with not knowing what to say. After surviving such extreme conditions past the Changla Pass, beyond Karu was a piece of cake where it was all plains. Any rider worth his salt would dig deeper for a bigger set of balls, not whine. Anyways, my mistake. I should not have assumed.
6.45 AM - Leh, Ladakh - (8413 km)
Packed up and left for Srinagar.
7 AM - (8415 km) - Filled petrol worth 600 rupees. Driving on National Highway, NH-1 to Srinagar. Terrific road. A zillion army trucks beelining the highway from Leh along NH-1.
8 AM - Reached the Magnetic Hills. Magnetic hills are famous for vehicles climbing uphill when parked at a certain position in neutral gear. It is actually an optical illusion. Saw an accident right in front of my eyes. An Omni van was overtaking an Army truck. While overtaking, it hit a rock, tumbled and fell onto one side of the road. Luckily, all the passengers survived with minor injuries.
10.30 AM - (8520 km) - Stopped for breakfast at a Punjabi Dhaba. Had Roti, बैंगन का सब्जी (brinjal), Dal and राजमा (long beans) for breakfast.
11.30 AM - Reached Moonland Mountains
1.50 PM - About 45 km to reach Kargil - (8591 km)
3.05 PM - (8633 km)
>> 6 km to Kargil
>> Had free coffee at the Army Cafe
3.30 PM - (8640 km) - Driving through Kargil City
5.30 PM - (8700 km) - Reached Drass - Pakistan LOC (line of control) border is about 20 km away - shelling area. Drass - Sonamarg roaside scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.
Zoji La (pass): On the way from Drass to Sonamarg. It is really a GODZILLA pass! Several miles of slush. My motorbike skidded once. Som's motorbike skidded twice.
Slush: Muddy clay mixed with water.
>> Tyres act like ski-blades on ice when in slush.
>> Ride the bike along the farthest end from the edge of the cliff.
>> If the vehicle skids away in the direction of the cliff, drop down the motorbike. Its better to fall on slush than fall off the cliff ;-)
8 PM - Sonamarg - (8767 km) - It was raining heavily and we were all drenched. Some heated exchange of words between Rastogi ji and Saurabh over issues as trivial as which hotel to stay in!? Had dinner and went to bed.
18th June, Tuesday
6.45 AM - Sonamarg - Woke up and got ready to move to Jammu via Srinagar. Everybody wants to get past Jammu by sundown.
7 AM - Manki मुझसे चिड़े हुए है । बोल रहा है , "बचके रहना ।" And I don't know what the fuck for?! Later I got to know from Som bhaiyya that I had a lil' karate fight with Manki in bed last night. Manki accused my subconscious mind of almost assaulting him and kicking him off the bed. Oh poor thing! I never knew my superego could be so ferocious :-/
So after servicing the bike, with an extra fitting of clutch wire, accelerator cable, spare sparkplug and headlamp, a heavy lunch at Tunday Kababi, and shopping for an army camouflage backpack, I headed to Rastogi ji's place. Rastogi ji, I found, is a touring enthusiast. As he says, "There is no road in India through which I have not traveled". And well, now, he is set up on his dream - to ride to Ladakh on his brand new Royal Enfield Thunderbird. Although my Thunderbird is not all that brand new (she is 3 years old) and I haven't seen most of the roads in India (let alone travel) , I too am set up on the same escapade, in that, we've something similar, but that I'm doing this at exactly half his age. As Rastogi ji was showing me the travel plans and the detailed list of items required for the trip, Somedra Banerjee walked into the study. Som, 38, has the typical look of a riding enthusiast - with tanned face and long sideburns, he is a 70's child who grew up on rock n' roll music and Yezdi. Som bhaiyya took me to Lalbhag where I met Austin Raj, 30, who supposedly would have been the juniormost member of the group had I not taken his place. We bought some essential gear like elbow and knee protection padding, summer gloves, bunjee ropes, blue night follow-on blinking lights, chain lock, chain lubricant etc. Som told me that we will meet again tomorrow to buy the rest of stuff. The next day, that is 3rd June, we met up at Rovers in the evening and went to Army Canteen to buy all that we needed. I got a pair of Army boots, a sleeping bag, 3 pairs of woolen socks, a water-resistant tarpaulin to cover my backpack, a pair of winter leather hand-gloves and a raincoat. There, I also met Mayank Tiwari - the 4th member in the group. Manki, 38, is a chemistry teacher at La Martiniere, Lucknow. He generously treated us to a few plates of chicken momos with spicy chutney. After the snack, we went to Royal Enfield showroom, talked to Piyush (manager) about the trip over few cups of colas for sometime and departed, agreeing to meet on 4th June for the final discussion at Rastogi ji's place. On the way back to campus, I bought a 40+ SPF (> 20+ is sufficient) sunscreen lotion from a medical shop as advised by Som bhaiyya. "The sunrays are intense and dangerous at higher altitudes and proper protection needs to be taken," he said.
On 4th June, we met for the final time at Rastogi ji's place. He handed us printed cards with details of ID and contact numbers of all the riders on the tour. We also discussed about things like minimum and maximum spacing between riders to be maintained, documents to be carried (driving licence, RC book, insurance, pollution certificate) etc. We dispersed agreeing to meet on 6th June at 6 am at Royal Enfield showroom, from where the riders would be flagged off.
From now on, the blog will be based on my log, which I maintained on a daily basis during the entire trip. Every entry can be tracked by date and time signature, plus the meter reading.
6th June, Thursday
5 AM - (7048 km)
I had packed my bags and fastened the bungee ropes onto the bike yesterday night itself. Slept by 10 PM last night but woke up at 2 AM. I was not getting enough sleep. It would probably be due to the excitement. I left campus by 5.05 AM and reached Royal Enfield showroom, Lucknow by 5.30 AM. I was the first person to arrive. In the meantime, I had some chai. Som arrived by 5.45 AM and brought an extra tyre tube for me. A few minutes later Manki arrived. Austin and Rastogi ji arrived a lil' past 6. Piyush treated us to chai and cookies. There were few other riders too who came to flag us off and wish us good luck. Snapped a few pictures and we were flagged off by 7 AM.
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| Flagging off at Royal Enfied Showroom - Lucknow |
10.45 AM - Shahjahanpur - (7246 km)
We stopped for brunch at Swagat Dhaba. Had aaloo (potato) paratha and left Shahjahanpur by 11.45 AM.
2.10 PM - Bareily - We stopped for some colas. I was feeling very tired due to the dust in the road. I hydrated over a bottle of maaza and put on Som's spare balaclava to protect myself from the dust.
3.30 PM - My speedometer cable snaps :-( (7294 km).
5 PM - Filled petrol for Rs. 500.
7 PM - Reached Najibabad - total distance covered till now - 480 km (from Austin's meter reading). Stayed in Hotel Waliya where we had dinner and a few pegs of Mcdowell's platinum whiskey. I was very tired and was sleeping over dinner. Crashed onto the bed as soon as I could.
7th June, Friday
7 AM - Rastogi ji is an early riser. He wakes up at 4.30 AM and is engaged in a constant and persistent endeavour to wake others up and to move on to the next destination. This did not go well with all, especially in the cold mornings when you'd like to catch just one more moment of blissful sleep. Nevertheless, the constant cacophony woke everybody up. We freshened up and went down to the parking lot to rev up the engine before today's ride. And here's what we saw! Rastogi ji's got a flat tyre. A 2-inch nail stuck smack at the center of the tyre. Austin and Rastogi ji went to a local mechanic's shop and got it fixed. It was 8.30 AM now. So much for getting up early at the cost of my sweet morn' nap. We had Aaloo paratha, omelette and chai for breakfast at Hotel Walia and left for Dehradun by 9.20 AM.
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| Fixing the rear tyre on Rastogi ji's Thunderbird |
1.30 PM - Reached Dehradun. Waiting at Forest Research Institute (FRI) gate for Saurabh Rawal. Saurabh is the 6th member of the group. He is a member of the Doon Valley Riders. After almost an hour of waiting, Saurabh arrived. He bought me a new speedometer cable. In the meantime we helped ourselves to some sweet lychee. Total distance covered till now - (580 km).
5.40 PM - Reached Chakrata. Took a tea break and went on to stay at Hotel Snow View for the night. Later we went to the market, had delicious veg momo's from Prem's and had a full filling of roti and mutton before crashing onto the bed. Total distance covered till now - (650 km).
8th June, Saturday
5.30 AM - Woke up and went through the morning routine. The water was icy cold and it felt like a thousand knives cut through my body.
7.30 AM - Left chakrata for Narkanda.
10 AM - Had breakfast at a local restaurant on the way.
3.30 PM - Reached Rohru. Filled up petrol tank for 800 rupees. Fixed the speedometer. Total distance covered till now - (825 km). Current meter reading - (7294 km).
Note: Add 825 to (current meter reading - 7294) to get the total distance covered in km for this trip.
7.20 PM - Narkanda - (7357 km)
The road from Rohru to Narkanda is absolutely fucked up. Thank you very much. Average speed is 25 km per hour.
9th June, Sunday
Narkanda, 5.30 AM - Woke up, had a good night's sleep. We paid 2200 rupees for a room for 6 people. But the room was nice and comfy with wooden paneled interiors. We had aaloo paratha for breakfast as usual.
9.00 AM - Left Narkanda - (7358 km)
12.00 PM - Reached Haripur - (7411 km)
1.00 PM - 1.30 PM - Took bath in a shallow stream. Very refreshing to wet yourselves in pure liquid formed from the snow of the himalayas. (7425 km).
3.00 PM - (7450 km) - Reached Shastri Nagar, Kullu (Himachal Pradesh) enroute Jalori Pass. Stopped for chai and desi egg. The oil seals of my front shock absorbers got jinxed and the oil was leaking. It will stand the journey though. Made a mental note to change the oil seals when we get back home.
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| Som (left) and Rastogi ji (right) tackling AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) in their own favourite ways. |
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| Stream on the way... |
Road from Kullu to Manali was excellent. We went through the Kullu-Manali Tunnel; it was awesome!
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| Kullu - Manali Tunnel (2.8 km) |
10th June, Monday
5 AM - Woke up and had a quick shower in warm water.
6 AM - Left Manali for Keylong - (7562 km) meter reading.
6.30 AM - We entered the city of Manali. Payed 100 rupees per vehicle for green tax charged by the state government of Himachal Pradesh to maintain the environment and boosting tourism.
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| Tourists rafting in Manali |
6.45 AM - Filled the petrol tank upto the brim for 550 rupees - (7577 km); we had covered 14 km since today morning.
7 AM - Did air pressure check. 35 psi for front tyres, 40 psi for rear tyres.
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| At Manali |
10 AM - Entered Rohtang pass. Visibility was very low due to dense fog and there was a beeline of tourist taxis to get to the other side. The Rohtang pass is open from 6 to 11 AM for tourist from Manali to Keylong (one-way). In the afternoon, the flow of vehicles is in the opposite direction.
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| Tourist vehicles at Rohtang Pass |
Video: Shot atop Rohtang Pass
12 PM - We had brunch (snack) with chai and namkeen at a place called Gramphoo. There we met 2 russian girls who asked for a lift to the nearest town. But since our pillion seats were loaded with luggage, we could not extend our services to the damsels in distress; instead we had to extend our sincere apologies for not being helpful. We mourned over a cup of black tea when a SUV (sports utility vehicle) arrived which had some space for the stranded lasses. After bidding them goodbye we set ourselves to our next destination i.e. Keylong.
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| The sun at Gramphoo |
1 PM - We had an omlette and aaloo parathas for lunch - (7652 km). At the restaurant we met two German lads who had been traveling for 18 months on a BMW model 2 motorcycle. They had started from France and had traveled all the way across Europe and Central Asia, and went to South East Asia (Vitetnam, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand) before coming to India. I thought that this was the end destination of their journey, when they explained that they were only half way through and that they intended to travel for another year and a half. Well, I dunno whether I was inspired or thought they were plain crazy, but I was glad to meet them. Again the road to Tandi-Keylong was totally fucked up. Rubbles and dust all the way. Border Road Organization (BRO) fixes these roads by late July. But then there is the other side of the argument, i.e. if you want to go the hard way, go in June, when the road is open for traffic but you can hardly call it a road. So it comes to adventure vs. comfort, and on a motorcycle, adventure takes precedence. Always!
3 PM - We reached Tandi petrol pump. This is the last petrol pump for the next 365 km. My motorcycle was giving an average of 40 kilometers per litre (which is pretty good) and the tank capacity is 15.5 litres. So, technically, I can travel 620 km without refuelling under ideal conditions. Nonetheless, I filled up 500 rupees worth of petrol in my motorcycle tank and 5 litre jerrycan. The meter reading at this point was (7689 km).
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| Tandi Petrol Pump |
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| Enfield Point at Tandi |
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| Stoned at Tandi |
4 PM - (7698 km) - Keylong - Reached Neelkand lodge, took 3 double bedrooms for 6 people, then we found out that there is no water :-( Water is a problem in most lodges in Keylong. I would advise tourists to stay at Himachal Pradesh tourist facilitiy - the rooms are good, the rates are reasonable and utility services are well maintained. Later, the owner of Neelkand lodge filled up water in the overhead tank. Took bath and I went to the market to see if I can get connected to the cyber world. It had been a long time. Then I found that most internet cafes were not open, and the few that were open did not offer any service (ISP problem). So I went back to the lodge.
6 PM - The whole team went to a local Enfield mechanic's shop to do a quick check of our motorcycles. We checked the brakes, clutch, chain, air-filters etc.
8 PM - Ate motton momos (dumplings) with mouthwatering spicy chutney! Had 1 peg of Mcdowell's platinum. After that got over, we bought half a bottle of Blender's Pride and helped ourselves to 2 pegs each with some roti and mutton curry. Slept by 10 PM.
11th June, Tuesday
5.30 AM - Woke up and freshened up. Changed into winter gear - leather-clad-fully-covered winter gloves. Put on the raincoat as it was drizzling. Packed up the luggage on the motorcycle.
6.30 AM - (7703 km) - Left for Sarchu.
7.30 AM - Crossed a stream.
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| Som crossing a stream on the way from Keylong to Sarchu |
7.35 - Small accident. Rastogi ji's motocycle hit a rock lying on the side of the road. He was trying to adjust his knee padding and did not see the rock coming. The motorcycle fell down and his speedometer got dislodged from its position. Som bhaiyya fixed it back in its position using a bungee net. (7705 km).
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| Rastogi ji's motorcycle hit the rock and skidded for about 2-3 meters |
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| The speedometer fastened to positon using bungee net |
9.15 AM - Reached Darcha - (7733 km). Entered motocycle and personal ID details at Himachal Pradesh police checkpoint. Met some french tourist there. People coming from the other direction said that there were three landslides in the next 25 km and few big streams.
10 AM - (7744 km) - Crossed a big stream. 4 motorcycles had to be pushed out of the stream to get to the other side. Our feet and jeans got all wet as water entered the boots.
Video: Crossing a Stream!
11 AM - Met an Englishman bicycling solo from Manali to Leh. I told him that the effort was commendable. He said that he was plain crazy and stupid to undertake such an ordeal :-/
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| The English bicyclist maneuvering across a stream |
1.15 PM - Bharatpur - (7787 km) - 22 km before Sarchu ~ 13000 feet altitude. Stopped for eating lots of chocolates for energy and chai. Had crossed at least a dozen streams on the way. Boots and lower part of jeans all drenched in water. Had some hot maggi noodles to keep the body warm.
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| At Ice Lake after Keylong. Arms Wide Open; Creed. |
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| Saurabh eating a full Dairy Milk Chocolate bar at Bharatpur |
Tip: Try to cross the streams early in the morning when the snow has not melted much. By noon the flow of water in the stream becomes more intense.
4 PM - Reached Sarchu - (7814 km). Stayed in a tent. The red mountains on the way to Sarchu were awesome. We had an afternoon nap that went on till supper.
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| Sarchu: Altitute = 13850 feet |
8 PM - Had dinner. Chicken soup + Omlette + Rice and Rajma (long beans). Rajma is very good for cold climate. Supplies lot of energy and keeps your body warm. We had 2 pegs of Blender's Pride and gave the remaining bottle to the restaurant owner at Sarchu. The chap was happy. Sarchu is really cold. Slept by 10 PM under 2 layers of rajai.
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| The place where we stayed at Sarchu |
6 AM - Woke up. Brushed using hot water, it was that cold!
7.15 AM - Had chai and biscuit.
7.45 AM - Left Sarchu for Leh - (7814 km).
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| Saurabh settling the bills at Sarchu |
Beginning of throat problem. Used Betadine gargle as a precautionary measure. Sarchu has low oxygen levels. Some people experience dizziness and nausea. Rastogi ji had some problems with his tummy yesterday after having omelette and had vomited. He took some medicines to get better.
9.00 AM - Reached Ghata Loops- between Sarchu and Pang - (7844 km). Ghata loops are famous for 21 hairpin curves. 45 kilometers to Pang.
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| Ghata Loops (21 hairpin curves) |
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| At Ghata Loops: From left to right - Saurabh, Austin and Josh |
10 AM - Reached Nakeela ~ 15500 feet - (7858 km)
Motorcycles face combustion problem due to low oxygen level at higher altitudes. Engine stalled couple of times. Saw an accident: One National Permit Oil Tanker Truck toppled over a mountain and fell off the cliff.
10.45 AM - Reached Lachulungla -16616 feet - (7871 km meter reading)
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| At Lachulungla Pass: Altitude = 16616 feet |
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| On the way to Pang |
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| Formations on mountains (due to wind) on the way to Pang |
12.00 PM - Pang - (7893 km) - Altitude = 15280 feet. Halted for breakfast. Had chai and aaloo paratha.
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| Pang; Altitute = 15280 feet |
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| Manki playing with a dawg at Pang |
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| The beauty of Ladakh |
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| Blazing away in Ladakh |
3.30 PM - Taglangla - 17582 feet altitude - (7960 km). Second highest pass of the world. As we reached Taglangla it started raining and snowing. Changed from summer to winter gloves. The roads were slippery and we had to take extreme caution lest we fall off the cliff. The sky was roaring with thunder and lightning. It was a hell of a ride!
5.00 PM - Rumtse - (7993 km) : Altitude = 14000 feet.
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| At Taglangla. Altitute = 17582 feet. |
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| At Rumtse |
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| Rainbow at Rumtse, Ladakh |
By the time we reached Rumtse, we were drenched completely (despite wearing rain jackets) and shivering. Had some hot tea and changed into dry clothes. Rastogi ji and I stayed back at Rumtse while the rest of the group moved onto Leh, Ladakh. I filled 5 litres of petrol from the jerrycan into the motorcycle tank.
8.00 PM - Had roti and aaloo sabji (potato and vegetables) for supper and after I was done, tucked myself into the sleeping bag.
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| Warm and comfy in my sleeping bag! |
13th June, Thursday
5 AM - Rumtse - (7993 km) - Woke up, had tea, settled the hotel bills and left for Leh (another 80 km to go) by 6.30 AM.
8.20 AM - Drizzling a little bit - 30 km yet to reach Leh - (8047 km meter reading).
Some interesting BRO quotes on the way to Leh...
1. Please be gentle on my curves.
2. Don't be a Gama in the land of Lamas.
3. After whiskey, driving risky.
4. Drive on horse power, not on rum power.
5. If you sleep, your family will weep.
6. Daring I like you, but not so fast.
7. Eager to last? then why fast?
8. Better Mr. Late that Late Mr. !
9.15 AM - Reached Leh - (8075 km).
Went to General Hospital (Army) accomodation (Tiger Den) to meet the rest of the group. Austin's friend is in the army and had arranged accomodation for them for the previous night. So while they were getting ready for finding a new common accomodation for all and going about the trip, I went to a local cybercafe to check my e-mails.Got to know that the 'sustainability seed project interview' is on 24th June. Confirmed date with Rocky.
Today's plan: Get permit to visit places near the border areas in Ladakh from the deputy comissioner's (DC) office. Get local accomodation. Do local sightseeing.
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| That's all I've got to say ... [at DC office] |
12 PM - Deputy Commissioner's Office - (8082 km). Filling up forms for the permit /entry pass to border areas. Have to submit a photocopy of a valid ID with the form.
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| In front of a monastery at Leh |
3 PM - Got accomodation, quickly dried all clothes under the Leh sun.
4 PM - Did some T-shirt shopping for friends and myself.
5 PM - Had momos, tukpa and chicken burger. It had been a long time since I used chopsticks (for Tukpa) . Last time was in the summer of 2010 at Korea. Nostalgia!
6 PM - Checked net , send advanced b'day wishes to my sister, walked around the market street. The streets were adorned with beautiful handicraft work, souvenirs and mementos.
7 PM - Watched Bundesliga highlights on Neosports. A lot of water had flown under the bridge since I'd watched some football. Ah! The joy of watching footie after such a long time.
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| Modified bullet parked in front of a cyber cafe |
8 PM - Watched 'Journey to the center of the Earth' (starring Brendan Fraser). Inspired by the adventure in the journey.
9 PM - Slept off in my sleeping bag :-)
14th June, Friday
5.30 AM - Leh - (8070 km) - Woke up, was lazying around a lil' bit due to the cold. Today is the trip to Khardung La, the world's highest motorable pass at an altitude of 18380 feet.
6.15 AM - All ready with 3 layers of thick woolen clothing to beat the cold. People say that the temperature at Khardung La goes subzero sometimes. Rastogi ji has pain in his ribs after the accident. He was put in a crepe bandange so that the ribs don't move and stay intact.
7 AM - (8090 km) - Left to Khardung La.
7.15 Am - Filled petrol for 380 rupees.
10 AM - Reached Khardung La Top. Altitude = 18380 feet. (8133 km meter reading). Took photgraphs. Had black tea from the highest cafeteria in the world.
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| At Khardung La Top! |
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| Highest Cafeteria in the World! |
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| Benefit of drinking black tea... |
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| From left to right: Rastogi ji, Manki and Som having black tea at the highest cafeteria in the world! |
10.30 AM - Returned back to Leh - (8133 km). The roads are very slippery due to the ice formation, snow is falling.
10.50 AM - Road block. A car accident had taken place. The families of 2 Inspector Generals (I.G.s) were traveling to Khardung La in a Toyota Innova, when the vehicle skidded and fell off the cliff. None of the passengers survived :-(
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| The Toyota Innova that met with the accident. |
A Tata-Hitachi excavator was broadening the road (blasting).
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| Blasting process taking place |
11.50 AM - Road cleared open for traffic - (8135 km).
12 PM - Road block again - (8136 km). Second blasting talking place on the road down to Leh.
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| Small snow particles falling on my bag... |
12.37 PM - (8136 km, 300 meters) - Road block cleared.
What is blasting?
The roads are widened by excavators using the rocks on the side of the road (which are part of the rocky hills/mountains).
2.30 PM - (8174 km) - Reached Zarowar Homestay, Leh.
3.30 PM - Went for lunch with Saurabh. Austin, Manki, Som and Rastogi ji went to a Punjabi dhaba to have roti and sabji. They promised to have dinner with us together. Saurabh and I went to a typical continental restaurant. We had some Greek salad, Indian khichdi, Thai Rice, Spicy Thai Lamb Curry and Kashmiri tea. The aroma of Kashmiri tea was awesome! Makes a note to have some Kashmiri cuisine (Wazwan) someday :-)
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| Me having some Kashmiri tea at Chopsticks restaurant, Leh |
Evening: 5 - 7 PM
Everybody are napping to get refreshed for a night stroll. For some reason, I don't even get a yawn. I sat by the terrace, with my legs stretched out watching the beautiful mountains of Ladakh. The shades are mesmerizing. Standing aloof majestically are the unspotted white snow-capped mountains. The snow melts and trickles down, giving way for newer colors of red, brown, blue and green - all the in the same horizon. No wonder - they call Ladakh the paradise on earth; virgin nature embossed in the charisma of the Himalayas. Sometimes you can see dark clouds hovering above some parts of the mountains exhibiting a contrast of bright sunshine and shade falling on the same foothills.
The Ride:
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| View from the terrace |
Words fail me. But if I would try to put it into the closest form of expression, here it is. Riding to Ladakh was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. The road tells you a story. Of people. Of plains. Of paths unchartered. It feels like small bits of life with meaning gets added to your soul, that connects you with nature, life and the cosmos.
Your Wingmates:
Your wingmates are your brothers. You learn from them. They learn from you. Its striking that after a couple of days of riding, even the most contrasting personalities blend; they've got to - for himself and for the unit. The strayer suffers unless he is the solo type, in which case, nothing really matters...
At this juncture, I would like to mention the advantages and disadvantages of solo vs. group riding.
Solo Ride (advantages): You are your own boss. There is no need to keep to any norms, no need to adhere to the group's average speed, no need to stick to a pre-planned path, you can stop, eat, drink, (smoke?), take photographs, whenever you want, you don't have to put up with anybody, you can chart your own path.
Solo Ride (disadvantages): You've got no help during emergencies, be it medical or machine related. Your costs cannot be shared. Generally, the per head cost of a group travelling together is much lesser than that of a solo rider. You can't use your teammates knowledge/experience about roads and places.
Group riders' merits pose as solo rider's demerits and vice-versa.
7.30 PM - Went out with Rastogi ji for some shopping. He bought a T-shirt for his grandson. I bought a T-shirt for Ansh.
8.00 PM - Dinner at Gezmos - BINGO MOMENT!!!
Rastogi ji who invariably sticks to roti, aalo, tamatar eats Thai noodles and Fala Fal (Israeli Dish) and treats me to it. मेरा जीवन धन्य हो गया है।
9 PM - 11 PM : Had a bucket session with Saurabh, Manki and Som over all range of possible topics under the sun, starting from bollywood and soaps to planning the next ride to Bangkok. Tried to sleep by midnight but couldn't sleep till 3 o'clock.
15th June, Saturday
6.30 AM - Woke up, bathed in warm water. Everybody were in a dilemma on whether to go to Pangong Tso (Lake) or not because the clouds were overcast and the weather didn't look very good. It looked like it could rain any moment. Austin shuddered at the thought of rain. Som had a servere backpain. Mayank, Saurabh, Rastogi ji and I were ready to go. A few minutes later, Rastogi ji changed his stance. He said, "My sixth sense tells me not to go. And I always listen to my sixth sense." So much for Manoj Night Shyamalan's crazy supernatural movies! Getting in the way of a beautiful adventure :-| Anyways, finally, all except Rastogi ji decided to go. Waise, Rastogi ji had already visited Pangong Tso before (in a chauffeur driven car). So he wasn't too keen to see it again. Som rode as Manki's pillion.
8.00 AM - Leh - (8180 km) : Left for Pangong Tso.
12 PM - Atop Changla Pass - Third highest motorable pass in the world - (8260 km meter reading). Major fuckup: Som, Manki and Austin had turned back to Leh halfway (8257 km) due to heavy snowfall and citing personal reasons. Saurabh and I continued the journey. But we forgot to pick up the border permit from Manki. So there was no point in continuing unless we got the permit. We talked to the Army personnel at Changla Camp and requested them to stop the Enfield Motorcycles going downhill at Zingral Army Camp (10 km downhill) and collect the permit from Manki who would be traveling by a UP32 registered bullet. The army men were very helpful. They contacted Zingral Camp and sent us the permit in the next army convoy uphill. Meanwhile they treated us to black tea and momos in the warm interiors of the camp.
12.15 PM - Waiting for the permit to arrive.
1.30 PM - The permit finally arrives. We move on. Layers of ice have crusted over my motorbike speedometer and rpm dials. Crushed them away. Choke started the engine.
#1 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site (Pangong Tso) - Forgot to turn off the choke.
2.40 PM - (8280 km)
Engine stalled. Fuel overflow due to open choke? Sparkplug burn out due to driving in first gear on open choke? Or my worst fear... Engine dead? Jeez! That would break my heart. Tried to do a couple of things: Tried to kick start the engine, let the excess fuel drain out. Tried to start the engine on a slope by changing from neutral to first/second gear. But all failed. With no village in th vicinity, we pushed the motorbike uphill and drove down on neutral gear downhill. This happened for 11 km during a time when it was raining and snowing.
#2 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site - Never push a heavy machine uphill at 14000 feet where oxygen is sparse. I was gasping for breath a couple of times.
#3 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site - Driving down on neutral gear downhill when it is raining and snowing is too risky - because the tyres could act like ski-blades on ice!
But I had to get to a village ASAP. It was already 4 o'clock and over risky driving and (breathlessness + hypothermia) at 14000 feet, I chose driving on neutral gear at a slow speed over (breathlessness + hypothermia).
4.45 PM - Reached Tangtse village - Warmed my body over a kerosene stove. Drank black tea. Parked my bike inside a house and left for Pangong Tso with Saurabh as his pillion ride. At the village, we met 3 other riders- Amit, Joshi and Rahul from Dehradun. They had signed a pact in 2001 that they would ride together to Leh one day, and on this day they were fulfilling their promise. They were all on Royal Enfield and had taken training for repairing the motorcycle in case of breakdown. They said they'll help to get my motorcycle repaired on the way back from Pangong Tso tomorrow.
Point to Note: It is advisable to take 2-3 days training provided by Royal Enfield at Chennai before embarking on long drives, lest you get trapped somewhere in no man's land and get fucked up if left with no help.
6.30 PM - Reached Pangong Tso - Entered Army Center to warm our bodies over kerosene stove. There we met 3 Jawans - 2 were from Teni, Tamil Nadu and 1 was from Dehradun, Uttarkhand. The guys from the south were delighted to see me at the Indo-China border up north. They helped us to some black tea and chocolate biscuits.
We found 2 rooms for accomodation, each costing 1500 rupees per night. All 5 of us - Saurabh, the 3 guys from Dehradun and I had a sumptuous dinner over Old Monk and tales of riding , trekking, mountaineering and skydiving (Joshi was a MARCOS [Marine Commandos] skydiver, who did skydiving over the seas, from where a chopper would pick him up; I had done plain tandem skydiving last month at Colorado).
11 PM - Lights out. Off to bed.
Observation - The ride to Pangong Tso was the toughest ride till now. There is a Ladakhi saying that goes like this. "The land is so barren and the passes so high that only your best friends and your worst enemies will ever come to visit you." I say this is pure euphemism and would like to rephrase it like this. It should have been : "The land is so very barren, the terrain so extreme, the weather so unforgivable (the passes are always high) - that even your best friends and your worst enemies may not come to visit you."
Pangong Tso - means "long, enchanted lake". Pangong Tso is 65 km from the Indo-Chinese border. Army boats are moored at the lake bay. The army men told us that they have frequent interactions with their chinese counterparts while on patrol. Two-thirds of the lake is controlled by the Chinese, while one-third of it is under Indian control. In popular culture, Pangong Tso is famous for the climax shots of the record breaking block buster movie "3 idiots" !
8.00 AM - Leh - (8180 km) : Left for Pangong Tso.
12 PM - Atop Changla Pass - Third highest motorable pass in the world - (8260 km meter reading). Major fuckup: Som, Manki and Austin had turned back to Leh halfway (8257 km) due to heavy snowfall and citing personal reasons. Saurabh and I continued the journey. But we forgot to pick up the border permit from Manki. So there was no point in continuing unless we got the permit. We talked to the Army personnel at Changla Camp and requested them to stop the Enfield Motorcycles going downhill at Zingral Army Camp (10 km downhill) and collect the permit from Manki who would be traveling by a UP32 registered bullet. The army men were very helpful. They contacted Zingral Camp and sent us the permit in the next army convoy uphill. Meanwhile they treated us to black tea and momos in the warm interiors of the camp.
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| At Chang La |
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| Helping ourselves to momo and black tea at Chang La |
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| The permit issued by Deputy Commissioner's Office |
1.30 PM - The permit finally arrives. We move on. Layers of ice have crusted over my motorbike speedometer and rpm dials. Crushed them away. Choke started the engine.
#1 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site (Pangong Tso) - Forgot to turn off the choke.
2.40 PM - (8280 km)
Engine stalled. Fuel overflow due to open choke? Sparkplug burn out due to driving in first gear on open choke? Or my worst fear... Engine dead? Jeez! That would break my heart. Tried to do a couple of things: Tried to kick start the engine, let the excess fuel drain out. Tried to start the engine on a slope by changing from neutral to first/second gear. But all failed. With no village in th vicinity, we pushed the motorbike uphill and drove down on neutral gear downhill. This happened for 11 km during a time when it was raining and snowing.
#2 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site - Never push a heavy machine uphill at 14000 feet where oxygen is sparse. I was gasping for breath a couple of times.
#3 Idiotic mistake on the way to 3 idiots site - Driving down on neutral gear downhill when it is raining and snowing is too risky - because the tyres could act like ski-blades on ice!
But I had to get to a village ASAP. It was already 4 o'clock and over risky driving and (breathlessness + hypothermia) at 14000 feet, I chose driving on neutral gear at a slow speed over (breathlessness + hypothermia).
4.45 PM - Reached Tangtse village - Warmed my body over a kerosene stove. Drank black tea. Parked my bike inside a house and left for Pangong Tso with Saurabh as his pillion ride. At the village, we met 3 other riders- Amit, Joshi and Rahul from Dehradun. They had signed a pact in 2001 that they would ride together to Leh one day, and on this day they were fulfilling their promise. They were all on Royal Enfield and had taken training for repairing the motorcycle in case of breakdown. They said they'll help to get my motorcycle repaired on the way back from Pangong Tso tomorrow.
Point to Note: It is advisable to take 2-3 days training provided by Royal Enfield at Chennai before embarking on long drives, lest you get trapped somewhere in no man's land and get fucked up if left with no help.
6.30 PM - Reached Pangong Tso - Entered Army Center to warm our bodies over kerosene stove. There we met 3 Jawans - 2 were from Teni, Tamil Nadu and 1 was from Dehradun, Uttarkhand. The guys from the south were delighted to see me at the Indo-China border up north. They helped us to some black tea and chocolate biscuits.
We found 2 rooms for accomodation, each costing 1500 rupees per night. All 5 of us - Saurabh, the 3 guys from Dehradun and I had a sumptuous dinner over Old Monk and tales of riding , trekking, mountaineering and skydiving (Joshi was a MARCOS [Marine Commandos] skydiver, who did skydiving over the seas, from where a chopper would pick him up; I had done plain tandem skydiving last month at Colorado).
11 PM - Lights out. Off to bed.
Observation - The ride to Pangong Tso was the toughest ride till now. There is a Ladakhi saying that goes like this. "The land is so barren and the passes so high that only your best friends and your worst enemies will ever come to visit you." I say this is pure euphemism and would like to rephrase it like this. It should have been : "The land is so very barren, the terrain so extreme, the weather so unforgivable (the passes are always high) - that even your best friends and your worst enemies may not come to visit you."
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| Ladakhi Saying... |
16th June, Sunday
Had a little difficulty in sleeping last night in the early hours of sleep but had a sound sleep in the morning hours.
7 AM - The sun is up, bright and shining. The lake is pure blue. The visit was worth the effort. Now, time to ride 7 km along the lake and click some photographs and head back. Gotta repair my motorbike too, remember?
7.30 Am - 9.30 AM - Took many photos. Saurabh was riding all along Pangong lake like Kareena in '3 idiots'. Except that, in this case, the driver is man instead of a woman. Dried the drenched clothes under the sun and the dry breeze of Pangong.
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| At Pangong Tso |
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| Saurabh riding helter skelter along Pangong Tso |
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| With friends from Dehradun... from left to right: Saurabh, Rahul, Joshi, Amit and me (Josh) |
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| Ladakhi wild ass |
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| Ladakhi white horse |
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| Ladakhi goat |
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| Ladakhi yak |
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| My bird parked in a house in Tangtse village |
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| My old spark plug with carbon deposited all over |
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| Joshi replacing the old spark plug with the new one |
Rules of riding on Snow:
Rule # 1 - Do not ride on snow.
Rule # 2 - Always remember rule # 1 unless you are crazy in which case, continue to Rule # 3.
Rule # 3 - Try to ride on rocky patches for better grip. Prefer riding on water instead of snow, even if it may wet your feet. Never use disc breaks. Use drum breaks. Maintain speed as low as possible or else in the blink of an eye you could slide off the cliff.
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| Saurabh riding on rubbles for better grip |
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| Chemdey Monastery |
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| Thiksey Monastery |
Happy to reunite with the whole team. They were worried because Changla Pass had closed just an hour after we snucked through. Sheer luck, I say. Or we could have been stuck there till God knows when! From the news we came to know that there was heavy calamity in Uttarkhand. We had narrowly escaped.
5.30 PM - Saurabh had not arrived yet - bit worried. We had been together till Karu (35 km from Leh), after which the plains start all the way to Leh. It'd be OK, for an adventurous and expert mountain rider like Saurabh, I hoped.
We started a party over the left over bottle of Old Monk rum, for the safe transit through Changla pass. Everybody joined in, even Rastogi ji. It had been years since he had taken a drink. Meanwhile, Saurabh had also arrived. During the party we talked about different types of cuisines, wild animals of Ladakh, preparation and nature of intoxicants, Kurt Cobain, efficiency of old machines (TV, motor vehicles etc.), servicing and repair of motorbikes et al.
9 PM - Had dinner. I had veg Tukpa, while everybody else had Thali. Som wanted to have Chicken sizzler, but since the restaurant was closing down, they were not taking non-veg orders. Som was forced to be content with Thali.
Note: Sunday is dry day in Ladakh. So no alcoholic beverages available on Sunday. Just saying ;-)
11 PM - Off to bed.
17th June, Monday
5.30 AM - Leh, Ladakh
Woke up to the blabbering cacophony of Rastogi ji - to get up and get going. Had tea, packed my bags and put on all my gear for the journey back home.
Today was the beginning of the return journey. We had planned to take the Kaza route along the eastern border initially, but Kaza road was still closed due to snow. So we decided to take the western route via Kargil-Srinagar-Jammu-Jalandhar-Ambala- Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Lucknow.
Following is our new route map: Lucknow, India -> Najibabad -> Dehra Dun-> Chakrata -> Narkanda -> Manali -> Keylong ->Sarchu -> Pang -> Leh, India -> Khardung La: World's Highest Motorable Pass -> Pangong Tso -> Sonamarg -> Srinagar -> Udhampur -> Jalandhar -> Ludhiana -> Ambala -> New Delhi -> Agra -> Kanpur -> Lucknow
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| Route Map: The Himalayan Odyssey |
6.45 AM - Leh, Ladakh - (8413 km)
Packed up and left for Srinagar.
7 AM - (8415 km) - Filled petrol worth 600 rupees. Driving on National Highway, NH-1 to Srinagar. Terrific road. A zillion army trucks beelining the highway from Leh along NH-1.
8 AM - Reached the Magnetic Hills. Magnetic hills are famous for vehicles climbing uphill when parked at a certain position in neutral gear. It is actually an optical illusion. Saw an accident right in front of my eyes. An Omni van was overtaking an Army truck. While overtaking, it hit a rock, tumbled and fell onto one side of the road. Luckily, all the passengers survived with minor injuries.
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| Magnetic Hills |
10.30 AM - (8520 km) - Stopped for breakfast at a Punjabi Dhaba. Had Roti, बैंगन का सब्जी (brinjal), Dal and राजमा (long beans) for breakfast.
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| The Punjabi Dhaba where we had breakfast |
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| Saw a chopper hovering above us as we were having breakfast |
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| Moonland Mountains |
3.05 PM - (8633 km)
>> 6 km to Kargil
>> Had free coffee at the Army Cafe
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| Army Cafe, Kargil |
5.30 PM - (8700 km) - Reached Drass - Pakistan LOC (line of control) border is about 20 km away - shelling area. Drass - Sonamarg roaside scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.
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| NH-1 : Kargil to Sonamarg Highway |
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| Kargil War Memorial |
Zoji La (pass): On the way from Drass to Sonamarg. It is really a GODZILLA pass! Several miles of slush. My motorbike skidded once. Som's motorbike skidded twice.
Slush: Muddy clay mixed with water.
>> Tyres act like ski-blades on ice when in slush.
>> Ride the bike along the farthest end from the edge of the cliff.
>> If the vehicle skids away in the direction of the cliff, drop down the motorbike. Its better to fall on slush than fall off the cliff ;-)
8 PM - Sonamarg - (8767 km) - It was raining heavily and we were all drenched. Some heated exchange of words between Rastogi ji and Saurabh over issues as trivial as which hotel to stay in!? Had dinner and went to bed.
18th June, Tuesday
6.45 AM - Sonamarg - Woke up and got ready to move to Jammu via Srinagar. Everybody wants to get past Jammu by sundown.
7 AM - Manki मुझसे चिड़े हुए है । बोल रहा है , "बचके रहना ।" And I don't know what the fuck for?! Later I got to know from Som bhaiyya that I had a lil' karate fight with Manki in bed last night. Manki accused my subconscious mind of almost assaulting him and kicking him off the bed. Oh poor thing! I never knew my superego could be so ferocious :-/
7.45 AM - Some bullet riders had problems with their motorbike. Upon investigation, Som found out that they had the same problem as what my motorbike had. The spark plug was coated with carbon, and hence the spark plug did not provide ignition for the engine to start. Som cleaned the spark plug and the problem was fixed.
8.00 AM - (8766 km) - I had a family friend, Rev. Fr. Victor at Udhampur near Jammu. Had told our team that we could stay over there if everyone was comforable. All were OK. So I called up Fr. Victor and informed him that we were coming to Udhampur. Fr. Victor was away at Chennai for summer vacation, but he said we could stay at his place, and that his chauffeur - Rajesh would be there at Udhampur. He gave us Rajesh's contact number and the directions to 'Pavan Convent School' at Manwal, near Udhampur. So after tea, we left for Udhampur via Srinagar.
The NH-1 highway after Sonmarg was so tempting that I flexed the throttle a lil' bit. Som bhaiyya reprimanded me for overspeeding and then I stuck to < 60 km/hr.
11.30 AM - Srinagar - (8869 km)
Spent some time by the Dal lake. A thousand 'shikaras' sailed past the frames of our camera shutters. Had bhelpuri and headed to Udhampur through Jammu bypass. By the way, Saurabh was missing from the group, and we weren't able to trace him. Didn't know whether he was ahead or behind. Couldn't contact him because he didn't have a postpaid sim.
Note: Only post paid sims will work in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
1 AM - (8895 km) - Stopped by a Punjabi Dhaba, had aaloo paratha. By then Saurabh came. He had encountered a small accident. A van had hit his bike from behind while he was taking a U-turn. His front left indicator was broken. Funny thing was - he had to settle the issue by paying up 1000 rupees, not the other way round.
3.30 PM - (8960 km) - Passed through Eastern Beacon Tunnel, 2.5 km long. Photography prohibited :-(
8.00 AM - (8766 km) - I had a family friend, Rev. Fr. Victor at Udhampur near Jammu. Had told our team that we could stay over there if everyone was comforable. All were OK. So I called up Fr. Victor and informed him that we were coming to Udhampur. Fr. Victor was away at Chennai for summer vacation, but he said we could stay at his place, and that his chauffeur - Rajesh would be there at Udhampur. He gave us Rajesh's contact number and the directions to 'Pavan Convent School' at Manwal, near Udhampur. So after tea, we left for Udhampur via Srinagar.
The NH-1 highway after Sonmarg was so tempting that I flexed the throttle a lil' bit. Som bhaiyya reprimanded me for overspeeding and then I stuck to < 60 km/hr.
11.30 AM - Srinagar - (8869 km)
Spent some time by the Dal lake. A thousand 'shikaras' sailed past the frames of our camera shutters. Had bhelpuri and headed to Udhampur through Jammu bypass. By the way, Saurabh was missing from the group, and we weren't able to trace him. Didn't know whether he was ahead or behind. Couldn't contact him because he didn't have a postpaid sim.
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| Shikaras in Dal Lake |
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| Austin (down), Som (top left) and Rastogi ji at Dal Lake |
Video: Dal Lake
Note: Only post paid sims will work in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
1 AM - (8895 km) - Stopped by a Punjabi Dhaba, had aaloo paratha. By then Saurabh came. He had encountered a small accident. A van had hit his bike from behind while he was taking a U-turn. His front left indicator was broken. Funny thing was - he had to settle the issue by paying up 1000 rupees, not the other way round.
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| Having brunch at a Dhaba |
5.20 PM - (9006 km) - Stopped for chai at Battrychasme. The traffic was heavy along the national highway. We were doubtful whether we would reach Udhampur without night driving.
7.45 PM - (9065 km) - We called it a day at Kud town, 35 km from Udhampur. It was getting dark and Rastogi ji was getting tired. He didn't want to continue during night, although rest of the crew were ready.
I had promised Fr. Victor that we would reach 'Pavan Convent School' by nightfall for dinner. But now, night riding was not in favour of the team. So we stayed at a hotel named 'Patnitop'. Manki hoped that he would be provided with a Patni-on-Top at the hotel.
We had dinner over a couple of beers. Som was advising me on the need to getting married early and I was trying to reason out all possible counter-arguements.After a long discussion, I finally conceded 'in principle'. We went to bed a little early than usual as we had to get up early the next day. Had to visit the pastor's convent and then reach Noida by nightfall. It was a 600+ km journey. I had called up Rajesh in the evening and had asked him to keep the food he had prepared in the refrigerator and that we would come and finish it for breakfast. I just can't stand the thought of chicken being wasted ;-)
19th June, Wednesday
5.30 AM - (9065 km) - The beer woke me up early by 5 o'clock without the alarm that is Rastogi ji. Got ready to leave by 6 AM.
Ah! Before I continue any further, I would like to cover riding under different conditions. Riding in streams, snow, mountain riding rules, slush and night riding. In the previous sections, we have already covered riding under snow and slush. And I don't know a damn thing about night riding and I'm not going to pretend that I know. So that leaves us with riding in streams and mountain riding rules.
Riding in streams:
>> Try riding perpendicular to the stream.
>> Drive in 1st gear for maximum power.
>> Do not lose momentum while crossing, or the engine might stall and you'll be stuck.
>> As you gain more experience, you may ride across the stream standing on the footrest like on offroad riding. This will give you better balance/control.
Mountain Riding Rules:
>> Always keep to your side (left in India), even if you're near the edge of the cliff.
>> Give way for the vehicle climbing uphill.
>> Use horn at curves.
>> Slow down at bends, or you may not get enough traction to steer into the road and may fall off the cliff.
OK, back to the log.
7 AM - (9066 km) - left Kud town for 'Pawan Convent School', Manwal
9 AM - Reached Manwal - (9130 km) - Had breakfast. Rajesh served great food. Chicken, idly, roti and sambar.
9.45 AM - Left convent and headed for Pathankot. This route saves us 60 km over the Jammu route, and hence is taken by most trucks heading to Punjab. It also saves us from the rush in Jammu city. I called Fr. Victor before leaving and thanked him for the hospitality.
12 PM - Buddhi - (9215 km meter reading) - Entered National highway, NH-1A. 497 km to Delhi. Filled petrol worth 480 rupees. My birdie is giving excellent mileage, almost 45 km per litre.
2.10 PM - (9291 km) - Had lassi at a Punjabi Dhaba. Today is Som bhaiyya's anniversary. He would have loved to be at home today. Everybody wants to hit at least Delhi by dusk, which was another 450 km away. The heat was getting onto us, almost unbearable. It was a day, when we felt too cold and too hot on the same day!
4 PM - Reached Jalandhar - (9365 km) - Drank Pana. Was feeling very much hydrated after that.
Hit 6-lane highway, speed range = 80-100 km per hour. Austin was burning the road and difficult to catch up with.
5 PM - Reached Ludhiana city bypass - (9426 km) - Drank a glass each of meethi and namkeen lassi - was awesome!
8.30 PM - Reached Ambala - (9543 km) - Everbody decides to hit Lucknow as driving is easier in the night because the heat is lesser. It was an ordeal to drive under the scorching sun. Turned on the blue blinking night follow-on lamps. Bid Saurabh goodbye and we headed to Delhi.
8.45 PM - (9544 km) - Filled petrol for 500 rupees.
20th June, Thursday
1 AM - Entered Delhi. Delhi is totally flooded. The flyovers are flooded. Down under the flyovers, half of most tree's anatomy is submerged under the deluge. Zoomed past an NDTV reporter, reporting the floods. Oh boy! Are we on TV?
3 AM - Exits Delhi, enters Yamuna Expressway - heading to Agra. As much as you'd love it for its impeccable yet empty lanes, you'll hate it for its dullness, its stillness and the ennui that it offers. The horizon does not change at all. All you need to do is step on the accelerator at a constant 100 km per hour speed till the end of the expressway at Agra.
7.45 PM - (9065 km) - We called it a day at Kud town, 35 km from Udhampur. It was getting dark and Rastogi ji was getting tired. He didn't want to continue during night, although rest of the crew were ready.
I had promised Fr. Victor that we would reach 'Pavan Convent School' by nightfall for dinner. But now, night riding was not in favour of the team. So we stayed at a hotel named 'Patnitop'. Manki hoped that he would be provided with a Patni-on-Top at the hotel.
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| At Patnitop Hotel, Kud Town |
19th June, Wednesday
5.30 AM - (9065 km) - The beer woke me up early by 5 o'clock without the alarm that is Rastogi ji. Got ready to leave by 6 AM.
Ah! Before I continue any further, I would like to cover riding under different conditions. Riding in streams, snow, mountain riding rules, slush and night riding. In the previous sections, we have already covered riding under snow and slush. And I don't know a damn thing about night riding and I'm not going to pretend that I know. So that leaves us with riding in streams and mountain riding rules.
Riding in streams:
>> Try riding perpendicular to the stream.
>> Drive in 1st gear for maximum power.
>> Do not lose momentum while crossing, or the engine might stall and you'll be stuck.
>> As you gain more experience, you may ride across the stream standing on the footrest like on offroad riding. This will give you better balance/control.
Mountain Riding Rules:
>> Always keep to your side (left in India), even if you're near the edge of the cliff.
>> Give way for the vehicle climbing uphill.
>> Use horn at curves.
>> Slow down at bends, or you may not get enough traction to steer into the road and may fall off the cliff.
OK, back to the log.
7 AM - (9066 km) - left Kud town for 'Pawan Convent School', Manwal
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| Pawan Convent School, Manwal |
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| Having breakfast at Pavan Convent School, Manwal |
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| With Rajesh, at Pavan Convent School, Manwal |
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| Ready to depart; Pavan Convent School - Manwal |
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| Leaf Spring! Nostalgia ;-) |
12 PM - Buddhi - (9215 km meter reading) - Entered National highway, NH-1A. 497 km to Delhi. Filled petrol worth 480 rupees. My birdie is giving excellent mileage, almost 45 km per litre.
2.10 PM - (9291 km) - Had lassi at a Punjabi Dhaba. Today is Som bhaiyya's anniversary. He would have loved to be at home today. Everybody wants to hit at least Delhi by dusk, which was another 450 km away. The heat was getting onto us, almost unbearable. It was a day, when we felt too cold and too hot on the same day!
 |
| Sweet Lassi |
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| Manki drinking Pana as a Sardarji looks on |
5 PM - Reached Ludhiana city bypass - (9426 km) - Drank a glass each of meethi and namkeen lassi - was awesome!
8.30 PM - Reached Ambala - (9543 km) - Everbody decides to hit Lucknow as driving is easier in the night because the heat is lesser. It was an ordeal to drive under the scorching sun. Turned on the blue blinking night follow-on lamps. Bid Saurabh goodbye and we headed to Delhi.
 |
| Turned on the blue follow-on lamps; helps identify during night |
20th June, Thursday
1 AM - Entered Delhi. Delhi is totally flooded. The flyovers are flooded. Down under the flyovers, half of most tree's anatomy is submerged under the deluge. Zoomed past an NDTV reporter, reporting the floods. Oh boy! Are we on TV?
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| The flooded highways of Delhi |
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| Yamuna Expressway |
5 AM - (9772 km) - Checked into a restaurant in Yamuna Expressway. Had some chai with elaichi and petis. Moved onto Agra at an average speed of 90 km per hour.
7.30 AM - Reached Agra - (9975 km) - Filled petrol for 600 rupees. Checked air pressure. 30 psi for front tyres and 35 psi for rear tyres. Tried calling Som, but he was not picking up. So I sent him a message that I was proceeding to Kanpur and then subsequently to Lucknow.
12.45 PM - Reached Kanpur - (10250 km)
2.15 PM - Reached IIML Campus - (10345 km)
The last stint was one hell of a ride. Had covered 1280 km in 31 hours of continuous driving without stopping to sleep! Friends officially inducted me into the 'league of iron butts'. I accepted the honour. Tried calling Som bhaiyya. He was not picking up the phone. Still driving I presumed. In the evening I called Manki and got to know that they had reached Lucknow by 5.30 PM, and all the riders were safe and sound.
I sat at my study and hanging on my desktop was the working draft of my thesis. As I opened it, I knew instantly that I was getting hooked up with my thesis... and that, my dear fellas, is how I got laid !
Signing off!
Josh
7.30 AM - Reached Agra - (9975 km) - Filled petrol for 600 rupees. Checked air pressure. 30 psi for front tyres and 35 psi for rear tyres. Tried calling Som, but he was not picking up. So I sent him a message that I was proceeding to Kanpur and then subsequently to Lucknow.
12.45 PM - Reached Kanpur - (10250 km)
2.15 PM - Reached IIML Campus - (10345 km)
The last stint was one hell of a ride. Had covered 1280 km in 31 hours of continuous driving without stopping to sleep! Friends officially inducted me into the 'league of iron butts'. I accepted the honour. Tried calling Som bhaiyya. He was not picking up the phone. Still driving I presumed. In the evening I called Manki and got to know that they had reached Lucknow by 5.30 PM, and all the riders were safe and sound.
I sat at my study and hanging on my desktop was the working draft of my thesis. As I opened it, I knew instantly that I was getting hooked up with my thesis... and that, my dear fellas, is how I got laid !
Signing off!
Josh
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| Picture of Josh penning his daily log! |
Good work putting it all together. But better still, you made it back safe :)
ReplyDeleteThank God for that. Hope you liked it :D
DeleteScary!
ReplyDeleteSafely back :)
DeleteRead every word and travelled vicariously. What an adventure! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed it. Hope I can improve it on my next trip to Bangkok. Suggestions welcome from the young writer we (Raman, Hari and I) adore :D
Deletehe is my boy
ReplyDelete:)
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