Ladakh Ride 2008

Prelude to the Ride

2008-09-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

The Leh ride was the most talked about ride among us friends whenever we talked about a trip in the hills. No doubt its a dream trip for everyone but such dream trips need extensive planning and decision making.

The first hints of the ride emerged on April 14th 2008 when Deepak forwarded a mail about the Ladakh bike ride that he and his friends decided to go. He added us. Infact all decision was already done at that point and Deep just added us to comment.

My first reaction was apprehension. Bike rides are ok but Ladakh ! I read articles on the same on the net and my first reaction from all those were forget it , i cannot do it. Seriously some of the experiences of riders going there are horrendous with bad roads , landslides , huge water crossings and what not.

Sometime later I sent a mail on the thread saying I couldn't come for the trip due to unavailability of leaves et. all , Saurabh replied back saying that he had anticipated that from me. I felt bad at that point of time and didn't want to miss out on the trip and that too of this magnitude. Saurabh was right i was jittery about the thought of the bike ride but then I thought what the heck. Purvesh called me and asked me the reason of not coming. He just said 1 sentence "Sai mai tujhe wahan se safe lekar aaunga - you don't worry , mujhe tujhme confidence hain tu ye kar sakta hain".

I decided to go ahead with the ride , fears be damned. I applied for leave and surprisingly it got approved. The dates we were to start were 5th July 2008 and return back by 20th July 2008.

I talked to Vick on chat about this and he said that he was also interested. I then put a mail about this to others too but no response from them. So Vick was left out , i felt bad but Vick wasn't confident riding in hills, but still.... anyways ...

The train reservations were done by Saurabh and the members who were to come were Me,Saurabh,Purvesh,Deepak,Abhijeet,Shailesh,Vishal,Amit. The mail threads started and then various decisions were taken. Somehow I feel that the mail threads were used for nothing. A meeting was needed but then Saurabh , Deepak had met Abhijeet and Vishal and they had a talk already so I was convinced.

There was another guy Shantanu (Deepak's friend) who was to join. But this guy dropped of before the trip as he had joined a new organization and couldn't get leaves.

Then I conveyed this to my family members , they were OK with that as long as I rode safe. I also talked about this with friends and they were like "Ladakh!! on bike? " safe hain kya, "Pulsar chadegi kya?" (i own a pulsar 150) and all such questions. I was confident that my bike could do it without problems.

The preparations started, servicing of bike, shopping et. all. We were all prepared for the trip. Our planned routes were Ambala - Manali - Keylong - Sarchu - Pang - Leh and return was via Leh - Lamayaru - Kargil - Dras - Sonamarg - Ganderbal - Srinagar - Jammu.

Finally 1 1/2 week before the trip the Amarnath fiasco begin in J&K and we had apprehensions of returning via Jammu but we had booked the tickets and crossed our fingers that there shouldnt be any tension there when we were there :)

One more twist was the addition of Nikhil (Amit's friend) during the last week where he expressed willingness to come on to the ride. We had a ticket which we had to cancel where we accomodated Nikhil.

All set and done we had a small meeting a week before departure at Pataleshwar caves and discussed about various options to go ahead. We also discussed about backup riders in case the main riders got sick or had some problem and it was decided that we carry 7 bikes for 9 people so that 2 people could be always available to drive in case of any problems.

The last week was particularly very hectic with all things to be purchased , spares , warm clothes and all. Everything was managed but there were still apprehensions of sending the bikes by train (luggage).

Saurabh had enquired earlier about the same and he was optimistic about the train stuff but then others had different thoughts so we decided to check out courier pick up services from Pune to Ambala and then pick up our bikes from their godown there and continue. Later we decided we load our bikes by train only and start on our trip.

Purvesh had made cages for luggage for me and himself for our luggage and he did try to advocate the uses of those to others too but to no avail. I however decided to go ahead with the cage idea , i wasnt optimistic of tying my sack at the bag with a rope given the rough terrain the ropes usually go loose and i didnt want to spend my time tying loose ropes.

I shopped for other bike spares - a friend who hadn't used his riding gear gave it to me (for which I have to pay :)) a riding jacket and gloves which were amazing (DSG make) for the trip.

Thus ended the decision making and stuff...we were ready..... Mission Ladakh :)

The railway transport nightmare - decisions changed

2008-09-23T12:21:00.000-07:00

As decided we were to transport our bikes upto Ambala by train (Jhelum exp) from Pune. But the catch here was that we could transport only 4 bikes a day in the train due to luggage constraints.

We decided to transport 4 bikes a day ahead and the other 3 bikes the next day when everyone would be on the train. We were however warned by the railway parcel agents that someone has to be at the receiving station while unloading the bikes as usually the guys there don't do it plus the train reaches at 12.45am in the night , damn! Now there was a catch situation here that if we send the 4 bikes ahead who would unload them at Ambala in case the railways botched it up. We couldn't risk losing a day of the trip getting our bikes back from nowhere in case the bikes didnt get unloaded at Ambala and went all the way ahead.

Two things were possible.
1. Put someone on the train that day so that he could get down and atleast unload the bikes or ask for help there for unloading the bikes, but again here reservation was needed for the person to get aboard the train the day before which wasn't possible so late. We had one contact of DCP in Pune who said that they had their counterparts in RPF Ambala who would unload the bikes there but again they said it wasn't 100% sure that they would do it. We wanted a 100% commitment that the bikes would be unloaded there, we didnt want false promises. This was a bleak option

2. Two persons among us would go ahead on flight to Delhi - get to Ambala before the train reaches and unload the bikes. This seemed a viable option but then the costs would increase for the flight and would be distributed among all of us.

We decided for option 2 , me and Purvesh were to goto Delhi by flight from Mumbai Saturday morning 6am and reach Ambala and stay put in a hotel. The train arrives at Ambala in the night at 12.45am so we goto the station and unload the first lot of the bikes. So I had to start Friday night to Mumbai to be with Purvesh. My journey starts a day earlier i.e 4th of July 2008.

Decision taken , me , Saurabh and Shailesh had to book our bikes on 3rd July 2008 to send them on 4th July 2008. So I took my bike along with all the documents of the bike (RC,TC, PUC, Insurance) which were needed there (xerox). We agreed to meet at Pune station at 6.00pm and book our bikes for the next day to be sent.

At mid-day today i get a phone call from purvesh saying that I needed to get his bike from Shivaner Auto in Kothrud where Deepak had given it for repairs. Now it was Deepak's responsibility but I had to do it...callous nature of Deepak....he could have given it earlier but he didnt! and to top it he had work at office...and he thought no one else has work?? I was going to blow my lid on Deepak but what the heck someone had to do it and if nobody did it , it would be a disaster isnt it? Now if people dont take responsibility then god knows the future....well Deepak if u read this please dont feel bad...I just wrote what i felt nothing against you buddy! :)

I reached Pune station at 6pm on my bike after completing all my work at office but Saurabh and Shailesh were nowhere to be seen. Finally they arrived at 6.45pm and we went to the parcel office. To our dismay we found out that the parcel booking closes at 5pm and we need to come the next day morning to book our bikes there , hell!

We decided to keep our bikes in the Pune station parking lot to save the hassles of bringing it again from home the next day over long distance and also because rains had started in Pune so it was a nightmare riding the bikes in the rain here in the traffic. So we kept our bikes in the parking at Pune station took the receipts and caught the next local train home.

Phew....

Rush to Mumbai

2008-09-23T12:19:00.000-07:00

4th July 2008

Next day morning I went to office with a huge haversack with all my stuff and a pittu sack also loaded for my trip as I was to start today to Mumbai. Then I kept the stuff at office , took xerox of the bike papers and went to Pune station for booking my bike. Took the bike from the parking and went to book the bikes.

Now when you want to send a parcel there are a lot of hassles involved. Agents do the packing of your bike and also *recommend* that your bikes be sent the day you want so along with the actual railway fees of the parcel 1340/- we needed to shell out extra for chai pani for all in the chain - the policeman , the agent and the parcel staff. Bloody !#!#!#. The total cost involved here was 2100/- per bike. Anything less than this and you wont know when your bike will be loaded. Nice blackmailing idea.

We filled up the forms for the parcel and then booked our bikes after the packing. I rushed back to office and agreed to meet Saurabh in the evening to take the parcel receipts before leaving for Mumbai - Saurabh did a great sacrifice of taking the day off from office and agreed to supervise the bike booking and bike loading for that day.

Evening I left office at 5.30pm and went to Pune station , found Saurabh and he announced that he loaded 4 bikes onto the train that day and he handed me over the receipts. I went to the Asiad bus stand to get tickets to Mumbai but to my horror found out that the tickets now available were for the bus at 10pm because it was Friday.

I met another friend here who had come to see me off and give me best wishes.

I decided to dump the asiad and take a taxi instead upto Mumbai. Took a right decision. Got a share taxi immediately and started off to Mumbai.

The journey was eventless and i reached Mumbai at Ghatkopar at Purvesh's aunt's place from where we were to start next day morning. Purvesh hadnt come yet and was in the local coming from Dombivali to Ghatkopar and I didnt have a morsel of food after starting from office so I had a nice dinner at a hotel outside Ghatkopar station and then waited for Purvesh to come there.

Purvesh finally reached at 11.45pm and he got the cages for our bikes. We then went to his aunt's home and made ourselves comfortable. As my day was hectic I was half sleeping , finally we both went to bed at 1am. We had to start at 4am for our 6am flight. Hell only 3 hours.....i set my alarm and went to sleep.

The day ended with much gusto.....the next day promises to bring more stuff ahead... :)

Ambala via Delhi - flight and train

2008-09-23T12:17:00.000-07:00

5th July 2008

The phone alarm for 3.55 am didn’t ring. My phone wasn’t in the best of moods :) and we overslept but not much. At 4.15am I woke up saw the time and jerked Purvesh awake. He too woke up fast and we completed brushing and other stuff and were ready.

Took our luggage out and Purvesh went out looking for an auto. Within seconds the auto came and we were on our way to the airport by 4.30. Luckily it wasn’t raining in Mumbai that time and we made good time up to the airport as it was morning hours no traffic, we reached the airport at 5.10am and checked-in our luggage and the cages. I was apprehensive at first whether they would allow those iron cages but they did!

While we passed the luggage through the x-ray the bike tools (spanner / screwdriver) caused a bit of interest among the officers there, they enquired what it was suspiciously and we told them then they asked bike ride...? n all and then let us off :) nothing much of trouble.

We checked in our luggage and went for security check and then went into the main gate area. We were feeling hungry but then the flight was announced. We were to go by Go-Air flight to Delhi. We got out after the ticket check but to our dismay found that the Go-Air bus wasn’t there. Pathetic service by those guys, extremely unprofessional. Finally after a long wait the bus came and we climbed in. Climbed up the flight and got into our seats. I’m bored of flights nowadays the only reason I travel in them is that they reach fast :P

The flight took off at correct time from Mumbai and we were in Delhi by 8.30am. Came out waited for the baggage got it and went to book a pre-paid taxi to Old Delhi station from where we had a train booking to Ambala. Purvesh had booked 2 tickets on the Saryu Yamuna express from Old Delhi - Ambala Cantt. The taxi was a maruti Omni and we got in , the climate in Delhi was horrible , cloudy and humid - no sign of rain. God it was unbearable.

The taxi started finally and wow...the roads of Delhi are something. They maintain the capital very nicely and what amazing green cover it has, all around trees and all. We reached Old Delhi station in around an hour at 9.30 am and went to enquire about the train. Heck , the trains are always late and this was no exception - our train was late by 4 hours , the actual time was 10.55am but now it was to arrive at 14.55.

We decided to dump our luggage have some breakfast and then visit the Red Fort which we had seen on our way and its near the Old Delhi railway station. So off we went to the cloak room where the babu was sitting. We put our bags there took the receipt and went out in Come sum cafe to have a nice breakfast of masala dosa, coke et. all.

After breakfast we came out, the climate was still horrible but still we decided to walk up to the Red Fort some 2-3 km away as we had ample time to kill. We walked along the crowded Old Delhi roads and finally reached the Red Fort in 30 mins.

Red fort is an awesome big structure. No wonder it’s the pride of India and there was heavy security all over due to the threats to blow it off. Being a Saturday there was a crowd there to visit the fort. We got tickets for entering the fort 10rs each and entered. The security is tight on the fort with CRPF personnel checking each and everyone there before allowing them to enter.
Purvesh or me by mistake lost one ticket which we found out later inside so Purvesh went out again and bought another ticket. We roamed inside the fort photographing all the architecture.

The inside is marred by shops allowed to be there. Spoils the beauty of the structure. The fort is a huge area with 2 museums inside - an army museum and the fort museum. We visited the throne area and came back to visit the army museum after which we visited the fort museum and came out.

For return we thought of taking a cycle rickshaw to the station back. The ride was eventful where the rickshawallah took us via crowded streets brushing against everything on his path. We felt pity on the rickshawallah as he earned a pittance to ferry people that too with sheer physical strength.Such is life.

We reached the station and went into comesum again to have something. We had kesar pista lassi which was yuck and a bad option but anyway we had it. After that we went to the cloak room and got our luggage back and went to the platform where the train was scheduled to come.

The walk from the platform 1 to platform 4 was painful lugging the huge haversack , the loaded pittu and the iron cage in one hand , we were sweating like pigs and huffing and puffing. Finally we reached the platform and put our bags and sat on a bench.The train was further delayed and finally came in at around 15.30pm , we went into our bogie and put our luggage and sat down with relief - not before cleaning our seats with paper because some idiot had dirtied them by putting his shoe on the seat , people never learn.

The train finally moved out of Delhi station but we soon realised that its being an express was moving like a passenger , we were least interested and had the whole berth to ourselves so made the most of it by sleeping there because we didnt have sleep from the previous night. Finally the train picked up speed and we were into Haryana passing via cool green fields and all , the climate all along was the same dull and humid one.

Purvesh in the middle picked up some conversation which we animatedly discussed about...that guy has a knack of speaking and I admire it. :)

We finally reached Ambala Cantt at around 6.50pm and got out of the train. Crossed over via the railway overbridge and went to the main area on platform 1. I volunteered to wait and Purvesh went to the parcel office to inform them about our bikes coming by today's train and he came back. He again went outside to find a good hotel for our 2 day stay and came back in 20 mins after booking a hotel room , it was Hotel Savoy at 400 bucks a day for two days.

We got an auto who took 40 bucks (that rascal) for a distance of 1/2 a km and arrived at Hotel Savoy and checked-in to our room. It had a cooler..wow! and it was a decent room for 2 people. We put our baggage inside and rested for sometime....

Finally we went out to fill out the petrol bottles for the bikes coming today, filled the petrol came back to our hotel and kept the bottles and saw TV for some time. Went out for dinner and found Deluxe Dhaba near the station to be a good one and went in. The A/C was on there and hence we found some relief. The waiter was a jolly good guy , we ordered and had a nice dinner. After the dinner we went to the station to check the time of the train whether it was coming on time and found that it was on time.

Walked back to the hotel and slept upto 12.00am. Woke up at 12am freshened up and went to the station. Talked to the parcel guys and the parcel babu told us that wait on the platform to get the bikes. Little did we know an ordeal waited for us ahead.

The train came in a little after 12.55am and to our dismay and surprise there wasnt anyone to unload the bikes except a lone guard. We opened the luggage door and to my horror i found that my bike was standing on its rear wheels , my heart skipped a beat...i thought something must sure be broken or something. We unloaded the bikes ourselves with the help of the guard and got all the 4 bikes onto the platform , a huge feat. The guard while coming down saw a broken footrest and we feared the worst , he gave it to us and I checked the bikes and it was Saurabh's bike whose footrest was broken cleanly at the weld at the brake side...it was to be a long day ahead getting the thing repaired. We thanked the guard and gave him Rs.50 for the help. So our worst fears did come true, there was truly no one to unload the bikes there and had we not come ahead then it would have been a different story. The railways sure suck big time...bloody @!*$!#(.

The parcel babu came after and said that as it was parcel we would get it the next day morning 9am and he assured us that the bikes would be moved to the parcel office immediately so that we can come and claim the bikes immediately.

We left the station satisfied and thought we would get the bikes easily the next day, some more ordeal waited for us the next day.

The day ended and we went to sleep, the sleep which was badly needed after almost 24 hours of continuous waking , we slept like logs at the hotel.

The day ended on a sour note and a good note that we made it ahead and got our bikes down. :)

Day 1 - The ordeal at Ambala - repair the broken bikes :)

2008-09-23T12:15:00.000-07:00

6th July 2008

This was to be the longest day of all. We got up at 8.30am freshened up , took a nice bath and went to the parcel office to get our bikes. The parcel babu seemed least interested in customers coming in and we asked where our bikes were. Imagine to our horror he shrugged saying "Pata nahi honge to idhar hi nahi to platform pe - kahin nahi jayenge". So the wicked parcel babu in the night didn't fulfill his promise of getting the bikes at the parcel office , bloody government officials that they are.

We came out on the platform and went to the parcel supervisor and asked about that .... he too was at his resting best and shrugged that they must be somewhere on the platform and they will come here sometime ... sometime?? Now sometime in their lingo can mean 1 month too..so what were we to do? Sit like idiots there ! He suggested we locate the bikes and come back. So me and Purvesh decided to look at all the platforms where our bikes were....bloody painful job of searching 7 platforms end to end looking for missing bikes.

We spent the better part of the next 1.5 hours looking for our bikes on every platform and I feared the worst whether they were burgled or what. Searching the platform in the stifling humid heat wasnt exactly a great idea of spending a Sunday but we had to. Finally after a long search we found our bikes on the same platform where we had got them down a little away from the place where we had got them down. There were 3 bikes there and the 4th one was locked away in the enclosure meant for luggage.

We went to the parcel office again and told them happily that we located our bikes only to be told that it was a Sunday so no parcel unloading and moving guys were available.. we were asked to move the bikes ourself from the platform to the parcel office before completing the formalities and taking them. Whoa...now what does the railways charge so much money for? Just like that? and then ask the people point blank to move their own bikes if they wanted it...they just dont care about anything or anyone.

So off we were to the place where we found our bikes and started moving 2 of them - one with Purvesh and one with me from platform number 7 to the platform number 1 - parcel office. The road was at the end of the platform and we had to go right across the tracks platform to platform dogding people and for that matter the trains which arrived and goto the parcel office.

When we were moving the bikes the 1st lot of them someone snubbed us.We turned to find out that it was a guard of some train saying what we were upto?. He said only the railway parcel guys were authorized to move the parcels and not others and he said that the Railway Police might catch us and interrogate us thinking that we were running away with the bikes. Bloody hell. To our relief we found a parcel officer Mr.Ashok there who too echoed the same. We told our predicament to him and he assured he would do something. We also asked him to unlock 1 of our bikes in the enclosure to which he asked a guard to do it and that bloody guard asked for a bribe of 40/- to unlock the bike...bloody shit...this corruption goes deep into the roots...no wonder we talk about such stuff...you have to be in such a situation to get something out of these guys that you forget that you took an oath that you would stop corruption! Even if that thought comes to your mind you are so tired of haggling with these people that you think its better to escape their clutches than getting entangled deep in the mire.

Mr.Ashok told us that if someone (read the Railway Police) intercepted us, we were to tell his name and get away! We moved the first lot of the bikes to the parcel office and came back to take the other 2 ones. By the time we had reached the parcel office with the 2nd lot we were sweating like hell and completely tired thanks to the callousness of the railways and the nature.

After the ordeal we went inside to get the bikes released , the usual faltu office stuff....we were offered water by a kind railway fellow...the 1st fellow we had met there who was so courteous...surprise! Finally we got the bikes released out and removed the packing which was done while loading in Pune.Filled petrol in the bikes and took 2 bikes first to the hotel parking. Came back and took the other 2 bikes to the hotel.

Now, it was time to repair Saurabh's bike... the footguard of the right hand side brake was broken from the weld - had to repair it and the front plastic shield over the headlight was broken too. We went to the main Indira market which was supposed to have many mechanic shops. After some goof-ups we finally reached the market automobile shops. One shop was named Sardar auto shop and the other was named "New Sardar Auto Shop" -- weird :)

So we got a new Apache plastic shield and went to a mechanic who had set shop just opposite these shops. The mechanic Subhash was jolly good fellow and asked us a few things about our ride and got the visor fixed in sometime. Then we asked him if he could repair the broken footrest ... he saw the thing and said he can do it ! He went with purvesh to a weld shop and got the thing repaired. He applied great logic in getting the broken thing fixed in such a way that it looked almost like that it wasnt broken. Cool! We heaved a sigh of relief but now it was nearing almost 4pm and we didnt even have lunch but anyways the bike was repaired now and we gave Subhash the amount he asked for and he also told us that if anything needs repairing again just to give him a call and he shall meet us to repair.

I would specially like to thank Subhash who repaired the bike so nicely and properly at the same time answering questions we posed to him with a smiling face and then asking us to contact him anytime we faced a problem with any of the bikes. People in the north side are very helpful in this manner - i can seldom find anyone so helpful in pune :) (just my opinion)

We came back to our hotel room and had some rest. We had to fix the luggage cage for my bike so I went out to get a hammer and pliers with which we needed to fix the clamps to the cage onto the bike to hold it tight. I again went to Subhash to ask him the shop where we could get the tools and he came with me personally to the tools shop to get me the tools + he purchased some for his shop. He also guided me to the puncture repair wallah to get a puncture repair kit for our ride ahead.

I came back to the hotel after leaving Subhash at his place and we started fixing the cage to my bike. The cage fixing took an hour but once done it was sturdy and firm and I put my haversack in the cage to test its firmness.

After having refreshed ourselves after the gruelling day we had a nap of an hour or so before leaving for Deluxe dhaba for dinner. We had our fill and went to check out the timings of today's train which would bring all the others and the last of the 3 bikes. The train was late by an hour or so.We hoped that the 3 bikes coming today dont have any major breakages or problems which would hinder our schedule as we had to start next day morning at 7am for Manali.

The other problem which lay in front of us were that the bikes which came today would only be released next day morning from 9-5 in the day which could affect our schedule too - we made some plans to get the bikes released by asking permission to the parcel guys.

Coming back to the hotel we packed our haversacks and cleared the room and had a nap upto 12am. We started for the station at 12.30am and parked our bikes in the parking and went to the parcel office - there we met Mr.Devidayal again and he assured us that he would get the bikes again today..false promises :) we knew but we couldnt do anything much.

The train came in at 1.00am and Saurabh and Deepak came to the rear end to get the bikes. Today's commotion was even more. There were 3 bikes to be removed and when we opened the luggage door there was a bike on top of our bike. After much struggle we removed the bike on top with the guard who helped us and got all our 3 bikes down and finally heaved a sigh of relief. We gave the guard his due and pushed the 3 bikes to the parcel office. Once there we requested the parcel supervisor to release the bikes immediately so that we could proceed but he demanded some amount to do it and we gave it to him - helplessly and took our bikes out , filled petrol and we were off to the hotel - all of us.

Thankfully all the bikes which came today were 100% ok and we heaved a sigh of relief.

Everybody came into the room and got fresh. Some people slept for sometime and Purvesh was fixing the cage to his bike which came today.

The morning we had to start for Manali - that is in the next post :) , phew what a day and the bloody railway wallah's...we wowed we would never send the bikes by train again !

Day 2 - Towards Manali

2008-09-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

7th July 2008

Today we had to cover Manali - 350km from Ambala and the gateway to the Leh ride. It was around 350km from Ambala and from the posts and internet we got to know it could be covered in around 10-12 hours.

We packed all our bags and people started packing the bags on the bikes and tying them with ropes. As I had a cage for luggage another person would tie his back on my back seat and my bag would be in the cage. In short I was a luggage carrier and to carry 2 heavy bags on the bike + pitoo sack on my back.

Finally everyone was done with the luggage packing and tying onto the bikes and got into riding gear + helmets and made last minute checks to their bikes and we started to get fuel for our steeds. Initially the load on the bike felt little unbalanced because it was the first time for me but as I went on the road it felt ok just that we had to be careful as we could not zip and cut lanes because of the cage fitted so had to ride the bike like a car :). We finally reached the HP petrol pump where everyone tanked up full and again everybody went to the tyre wala to get the tyre pressures checked in the tyres. There was a discussion about the route which was to be taken and a friendly local told us how to go about it.

With a short prayer we started off via the Rajpura road and the highway the NH-1 towards our destination for the day. The highway wasnt crowded today and we made good pace. To my horror I found that my odo cable was broken...shit !! I couldnt count the km's now. I decided to get it repaired at the first mechanic shop.

After a short 14-15km stint on the highway just before the Toll post we had to turn right towards Banur , the road there was ok but was a small two lane and we rode on. We came to a signal which was the Chandigarh - Ropar highway and asked a traffic cop for the route to Manali and he pointed to the direction and off we went ahead. We reached Banur in some 45 minutes and the rains had started there ... phew a relief from the heat in Haryana , now we were in Punjab :). But then again we couldnt speed due to the rain for the fear of slipping. We crossed the outskirts of Mohali in a short time and everybody was feeling hungry so we decided to stop for breakfast , it was now 11am and hence we decided to take a heavy breakfast and then skip lunch as we had to reach Manali today which was still 280km away now.

We had a great breakfast of alu parantha and chai and then contended started again. Here Nikhil found a lot of oil under his bike and fearing the worst he went to a mechanic to see what had happened. Some oil had leaked due to a loose nut in the oil chamber but not much. We started again this time everyone in rain-gear as it started raining.

We made good time over Punjab roads in the rain and someone spotted a bajaj showroom so we stopped to get some things repaired. My odo cable needed to be changed, Shailesh's indicator was not working and Abhijeet's horn was not working. We drove into the showroom garage and told the guys our problems and they told us to make job cards...the procedure done they repaired our bikes and we paid the amount. All this took over 45 minutes .. thanks to the garage procedure of having a job card for any work and the slowness of the staff. Finally we started again and reached Ropar from where we had to take a right to get to Manali via Kiratpur - Swarghat - Sundernagar - BIlaspur - Mandi.

The road surface was bad near Ropar but ahead we made good time as we entered HP (himachal pradesh) now. We finally left NH-1 and joined NH-21 to Manali and then the ghats started before Swarghat after leaving Kiratpur.

Now it was around 200km to Manali and full ghat and twisties. This slowed us down but we drove on amidst clouds and had a great view of the nature all around and took photos. At one point I stopped to get everyone who was behind and everyone came and we started again after 5 mins stop. The ghats were dangerous but the roads were good so we made good time.

We finally reached Bilaspur in the afternoon at 3pm and continued ahead. Manali was now around 120km ahead and seeing the average speed we decided we would stop at Kullu today (40km before Manali) and continue ahead tommorrow early. We crossed Sundernagar and Mandi too and stopped for filling our stomachs at a hotel just outside Mandi. Now Kullu was around 60km ahead.

After having snacks we started for Kullu via Pandoh - Aut - Bhuntar. The road was amazing and full of twisties , the waters of the Pandoh dam were amazing and by now the evening chill had crept in making everyone feel cold and we continued on. There was a tunnel before Aut which is around 5km long and an amazing tunnel ... we reached Kullu around 8.30pm in the night and hunted around for a hotel for staying in the night.

Finally we found a HP tourism hotel Sharvari and got 2 family suites booked for us 9 people and got everyone there. Everybody went to have dinner and I stayed back to have a great bath as i was not feeling hungry now. Finally after an hour at 10.45pm everyone came in and we hit the bed feeling very tired. We had to get up early tommorrow at 6am and start for our journey to Keylong (160km ahead) via Manali - Rohtang Pass and ahead.

An adventurous day ended with around 310km riding from Ambala to Kullu via the coolest landscapes and roads. Tomorrow it will be more fun with bad roads and amazing mountains and twisties and passes :) --- !!

Day 3 - Towards Keylong via the first pass Rohtang Pass

2008-09-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

8th July 2008

Got up in the morning at 6.30am and then kicked everyone to get up...the guys were so lazy! Today was an exciting day as we finally get into the mountains via the Rohtang pass to Keylong the halt for the day.

The target of starting at 7am didn't materialise as most of the guys weren't keen on moving fast and then we had a great breakfast of bread / toast / omlette and chai which made it even longer and we then packed our bags and tied it on the bikes then the usual photo sessions with local kids and the scenery and finally we started for Keylong via Manali at 9.20am in the morning with the sun beating down on us mercilessly :)

The 40km route from Kullu to Manali was great just with some events like purvesh rushing into Saurabh's bike with his cage and Saurabh falling down at a signal :) - we reached Manali at 10.30am and then tanked up fuel at an HP outlet. Someone said they want to visit the Hidimba temple in Manali and so off we went to visit the temple. The road to the temple was steep and narrow and Vishal / Abhijeet were constantly stalling their pulsar on the narrow road coz of the steepness. Finally we reached the Hidimba temple and the guys went to have darshan ... I didnt go in and stood out there on my bike , Nikhil who went to have oil filled in the bike came and he too didnt have any interest in the temple so we both chatted away while the others visited the temple.

Finally at around 12pm they came back and we started on the road to Rohtang. Crossed the bridge over the beas river and went left , got some water bottles for the way and zoooooooom. Came across a board saying Leh 474km , Keylong 120km and other distances and finally got into the gruelling ride up hill to Rohtang pass.

After 4-5 km came across Rohalla falls - amazing falls falling from a great height...went further and found Amit tailing me on his Unicorn. We went together upto Gulaba where we found a small hotel - hut where we decided we would stop for lunch and everyone to group before going ahead. Rohtang was now 30km now. The roads were good upto Gulaba.

The view around was amazing and we had a nice timing clicking pics of the green nature and the snow clad mountains. Had an amazing lunch of maggi , tea , omlette and cold drinks. Deepak took fancy for a long winter overcoat and had photographs taken in them , he sure looked funny :)

Finally after stuffing ourselves we started again , the time now reading 1.00pm. Just some distance ahead we found a landslide prone area with a truck stuck and little room for 2 wheelers to squeeze through. Squeeze we did and went ahead to see more of four wheelers and buses stranded and the BRO (border roads organization) guys repairing a part of the road. Being 2 wheelers we were let through ahead. The roads were ok and then the steep twisties began ahead. At one point we encountered water flowing on the road. Nikhil went ahead and got stuck in the stones in the middle of the water. I got down and pushed him ahead and he went ahead, then I crossed the water , this was just the beginning of the water crossings and we anticipated more ahead. The scenery was breathtaking all over and we were just riding enjoying it.

In sometime the road became narrow and steep but it was ok to ride on it and at one point the scenery suddenly changed with a transparent stream flowing and people enjoying on the banks of it. The water seemed green and transparent ... we enjoyed the scenery here and went ahead. Paragliders were having their time here... and we could see their little shapes gliding from the top to the bottom.

At a point some guy stopped us saying that there was a landslide being cleared ahead so we had to stop. We looked up and saw that a slide was being cleared and vehicular traffic was at a standstill both sides. We stopped there for sometime and took photos. We were now around 12km from the pass. Sometime later the slide cleared and we inched ahead , but the road was only a dirt road now with water in it and it was difficult to negotiate through that water and we went ahead. The road 12km to the pass was in pathetic shape with mud and water to go through and the traffic was too much.

Finally we reached Rohtang top at 13561ft and took photos. Here Abhijeet lost his goggles because he had taken them off for a photo and left it there. We went ahead and stopped by a waterfall which was flowing on the road and took photos... we stopped for quite sometime before starting again towards Koksar , it was downhill riding and the road was OK for some parts and bad for the rest. We reached koksar and went ahead , Keylong would be around 50km now but the roads were very bad and we made slow progress. We had to get to the Tandi fuel station which was the last fuel station upto Leh (365 km ahead) so we needed to get there to fill our bikes and go ahead.

The road 15km before Tandi was good and I reached Tandi first at 6.20pm and tanked up my bike and the spare bottles and waited for everyone to come. Everyone finally came in by 7.30pm and then we started for Keylong which was 8km ahead. At a point 3 km before Keylong , there was a diversion for Udaipur and Amit and Nikhil who were speedsters missed the Keylong board and went towards Udaipur and I went after them hoping to catch up with them and stop them - but couldnt find them. I returned back to the rest of them and we thought they will sooner or later realize that they were on the wrong track and come back and so they did. It was dark now and we went to Hotel Chandrabhaga - an HP tourism hotel but it was booked upto the brim and it was costly so we waited at the parking there and Shailesh and Deepak went ahead into the city to book another place.

They called up after sometime and we went to the new place called Hotel Tashi Deleg which was nice. On the way disaster struck Purvesh who lost balance on the muddy road and fell towards the valley side but disaster was averted by the cage which didnt allow him to slide down the valley and he was pulled to safety by a local. We checked-in the hotel put our bags and went to dinner at 10pm.

Had a so-so dinner because the waiter there didnt understand what we wanted! Sigh ! Always happens in a place like this ! After dinner we went back to our rooms and it was chilly all around so we went to bed immediately as we were dead tired. We had to start morning again for Pang which was around 195km ahead and we had to start early because it was a longer distance.

So the day's target achieved the 9 riders went into deep slumber :)

Day 4 - Towards Pang - crossing the snow clad passes and suffering AMS

2008-09-23T12:11:00.000-07:00

9th July 2008

I got up early morning 6am and got onto my task of kicking up the lazy guys from their sleep and asking them to get ready. Surprisingly everyone got ready fast today and we had a tea and were on our way by 7.30am in the morning.

The roads after Keylong were not in good shape so we made slow progress via Jispa - Darcha. After Darcha we stopped at a place called DeepakTal which had a cool stream flowing and a tent-hotel nearby where we stopped for breakfast. We had a nice breakfast of maggi , omlette and chai. The weather was very cloudy and it was drizzling here. We hoped it wouldn't rain while we drove ahead and it didn't.

We also saw an American couple who had cycled all their way ahead from Chandigarh and were going to Leh. Cycling and that on on those roads was amazing. I intend to do it sometime in my life.

We had our photo sessions with the couple and started ahead to conquer our first pass for the day that was Baralachala. We reached Zingzingbar a small settlement in sometime and then good roads started , it was an amazing experience ahead with twisty amazing roads upto Baralachala pass. Two tempo travelers were travelling and they were racing with me , I too gave into the temptation of racing and raced on the slopes upto Baralachala pass but they were more powerful vehicles so they went ahead. I stopped at the top of the pass.

The pass was heaven with snow on the sides and everywhere. The temperature was low and it was freezing cold. We descended Baralachala and went ahead to Sarchu which was 20km ahead. Some time later a straight road started and we started ripping only to realize that it was a bumpy road and could give us backaches. We finally reached the military police post where I waited for the others to come in the meantime chatting with a Tamil jawan there who was happy to find another fellow who spoke Tamil. He told us that the road ahead was good to a point and we could get to Pang by today evening but there were 1 or 2 obstacles on the way which we needed to negotiate carefully. There was a long army convoy coming from the opposite direction and we stopped until they all came in.

We went ahead after exchanging pleasantaries with the jawan and got through Sarchu where the J&K border starts finally and Himachal ends. Pang was now 77km away and it was 12.30pm in the afternoon. We stopped at a tent hotel and had a nice lunch of roti , dal and rice. We found a Maharashtrian there who worked with the BRO there and talked to him about the roads. Sarchu is at 14000ft and I was feeling very tired here , the altitude was taking its toll on me and the sun too was shining very fiercely.

Finally we started for Pang at 3.00pm after a little rest in the tent.

The roads were good and we hit the Gata loops. The Gata loops are 21 loops and all are hairpin bends which take you from an altitude of 14000ft to 15500 ft. After the gata loops we were on top of the Nakeela pass. The descent from Nakeela was bumpy with no roads and we entered a place called Whiskey Nullah where there were tents and hotels. We had hot tea at that place and started again for Pang from here which was around 20km from here.

We had to cross the Lachungla pass before Pang. The increase in altitude and the atmosphere made me go very tired and I was getting a headache , the first signs of AMS, anyway I ignored it and went ahead. We reached Killingserai which was actually killing and the road was a mix of mud , big stones and what not. We carefully negotiated the road and went ahead and came to Kangla Jal. Now Kangla Jal is a place where a huge stream flows over the road. Sometimes the water comes upto waist height and there have been many instances there where people have falled off their bikes or their vehicles stalled and all. Fearing the worst when we came to the point we were suprised to see that the water wasnt even ankle deep and there was a bridge now there ,our luck and we crossed safely ahead.

We hit a J&K police post ahead where Shailesh was already inside and he was not well so he was sleeping in the tent there , the police guys were helpful there and talked to us about the altitude problems and how you should rest. Finally the rest of the guys came along and we went ahead to Pang now hardly 3 kms ahead. We finally reached Pang at 15600 ft above sea level which had an Army Camp and some tents. We went inside a hotel tent for 50rs per person and made ourselves comfortable. By now AMS had struck me and I was very tired so I just threw my luggage and fell down to sleep. Saurabh came in later with my bike key which I had left on the bike, I thanked him and slept again.

As the night came my health became worse and I had less dinner and went to sleep. I couldn't get sleep the whole night and everyone around except Saurabh and Purvesh seemed to suffer at this altitude. At midnight a funny incident happened. Amit who was sleeping near Deepak and Deepak woke up like he had seen a bad dream and slept again, this left Amit laughing and me wondering as to what he was upto.

The day was very tiring and now AMS ... god help me....

Day 5 - Finally Leh

2008-09-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

10th July 2008

I woke up in the morning with a worse condition. Thankfully there was an Army camp so Deepak took me to the doctor there who diagnosed this as an initial case of AMS and gave me 3-4 glasses of water to drink and then gave me oxygen to drink. The doc (i wont name him) then scolded me for failing to drink water the day before which had led me to this state. He warned that we should keep drinking warm water in 30 min intervals so that the effects of altitude are less. He also gave us medicine and asked us to not worry.

The doc was a god-sent man for us who treated us , god forbid if we hadn't found the doc, i shudder what would have happened.

I came to the tent and we started packing and preparing to go ahead to Leh. Then a problem arose. The day before Deepak was riding Amit's Unicorn and had kept the key in the bike but someone had removed it and shut the ignition but the key was lost and to top it Amit didnt have a spare key for the bike...Hell...and in the middle of nowhere.

Amit remembered that there was an army mechanic there and he could help because the 1st day he had repaired Abhijeet's pulsar for an axle problem. So Amit took the bike to that guy and he repaired it in 2 hours time by shorting the battery so that Amit could ride without a key. The only problem being we had to open the petrol lock to fill in petrol which could be done at Leh.

We left Pang at 2pm in the afternoon towards Leh and we had to cross the worlds second highest pass Tanglangla at 17785feet now. We started from Pang and hit Moore Plains a flat level road for 40kms but as the road was being constructed it was all sand and mud and we had difficulty driving there. Once or twice my bike just stuck in the sand and I had a tough time pulling it out but there weren't any problems. The rain started when we were in the middle of the plains and hit us like pins but the rain too died out as soon as it came.

Finally the ascent to Tanglangla started and it was a steep one and the route was round and round. At one point the traffic was stopped in between to level the mud which was there on the road - the mud was due to the excavation of the sides on the roads to create a double laned road on the NH from Manali - Leh as per NH specifications. As I continued ahead the road condition became good and as I realized i was on Tanglangla.

Took photos and went down quickly to not suffer at this altitude as I had a bad experience the previous night.

The road going down Tanglangla was very bad but we made good time and just before Rumtse there was an army post - the guy sitting there took our vehicle numbers and name and bade us on and we stopped at a short distance to have tea and the time reading 4.30pm. We had nice hot tea , biscuits and some photos from Shailesh's cam and we rode on towards Leh. Now the roads were good we ripped like there was no tommorrow. Purvesh and me kept good pace upto Upshi where we stopped on the road waiting for others to catch up and looking at the lovely Indus flowing. The mountains nearby had a shade /sun effect making them look more beautiful. We took some photos and then everyone came in.

Started again towards Leh now not far and ripped on this cool road ahead. We passed by Karu which had a great army station and then the point where the route to Pangong Tso starts amd ahead we went, by this time everyone was far ahead ripping and I was going last at 60-65 and enjoying the nature , stopped in between at Shey to click the Shey palace from outside and continued ahead to Leh and found everyone stopped at a junction in Leh city. We went right and ahead reaching a steep road and stopped there , two people came and asked if we needed a hotel. Amit went with them to see the hotel and the rest of us waited there. Found that Airtel was working in Leh but no outgoing calls only incoming, although messages were going out. Time was 7.45pm and it was dark now with people on the streets gazing at us as to who we were.

Amit came back in a short time but said that the hotel's he had seen werent good and Purvesh told Saurabh and Deepak to go to look at another hotel while Amit and the guy went to some other place. We waited there until 9pm and were getting restless ... damn! Finally Saurabh and Deepak came and told us that they had found a good hotel and we were going there. Finally everyone went ahead. I was last here too :)

I had done some stupidity while we had stopped. I had put the petrol lock key in off position but forgot to remove it and rode the bike like that when we started again. Some distance ahead the bike sputtered because the lock was on OFF and i bent down to see what happened. The key was in the OFF position and when my hand hit it , it fell down because i didnt set it back to the ON position. Damn! and it was dark. Luckily i stopped the bike and went back , took out my mobile and in its light tried searching for the petrol lock key and found it , elated went to the bike put the key in and turned it to ON and went ahead only to realize I had lost the others , just as I was to take a wrong turn saw Purvesh and Saurabh standing for me at the end of the road on the right. Went that side and with them and we stopped at a hotel , Shanti Palace. Looked quite nice from the outside and it had a parking , so we parked our steeds there and went in. The time was around 9.30pm now , so we went to our rooms put our bags and refreshed ourselves and we ordered for dinner and I slept on the bed for sometime.

The "sometime" turned into more time and when I woke up i realized that no one was around. Looks like the other guys tried waking me up and couldnt succeed so they went ahead. I went into the dining room on the lower floor only to see the guys eating , I didnt have anything because I wasnt hungry, so just had a soup and went back to the room to sleep as I was dead tired.

Finally after so many hardships we were in Leh. Yahoo!

Tommorrow we are to visit Khardungla pass (the worlds highest motorable road at 18380ft above sea level) ... till then adieu!

Day 6 - Here we come Khardung La - The highest motorable road in the world

2008-09-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

11^th July 2008

Today was a day of achievements. We were to go to Khardungla Pass in the Nubra Valley. Khardungla at 18380 feet above sea level is the highest motorable road in the world. An achievement in itself!

For going to Khardungla and the Nubra Valley you need permission and permit from the District Commissioner Office in Leh. The office opens around 9.30am. Usually the hotel guys arrange for the permits for you - in our case they did , asking our name , father's name and our home address.

We were waiting for the permits to come and then we lazed around in the rooms playing cards and like and doing masti. Then someone said let me enquire whether the permits had come and they had! Weird hotel guys didn’t inform us about that!

We took the permits and go ready for the ride of our life. Asking the road to Khardungla we went ahead to the bike rental shop where Deepak rented a Pulsar 150 for 500/- bucks as he wanted to ride upto the pass himself and not pillion!

We were hungry as we didn’t have breakfast so we went to a hotel which was supposedly recommended by Lonely Planet, but there wasn’t any parking outside and we didn’t want our bikes to be seized by the Road Transport Police so we got packed sandwiches which we could consume ahead.

An incident happened here. Nikhil in his enthu for ordering sandwiches dropped his key after locking his bike on the road and I noticed it by chance so I took it quietly and Saurabh suggested that we don’t tell that to Nikhil for sometime to enjoy the fun. Nikhil came back and started searching for his key frantically and was alarmed. Finally after a long time I gave that key back to Nikhil asking him to promise to look where the key was next time before going anywhere. We already had an incident which involved loss of key in Pang and didn’t want a repeat of that again!

Taking the sandwich we started ahead. We missed a diversion and asked the locals there who pointed us to the correct road. We went ahead and we could see the road ahead curving and going high and high in the mountains. We missed a turn and went ahead to some place. An incident happened here, a small ass was walking on the road when suddenly it heard our bikes and began to run, Deepak was behind it and it ran as he revved the bike behind it, we were all laughing!

We finally reached a dead-end which definitely wasn’t the road to Khardung La! We decided to gobble the sandwiches here itself as everyone was hungry so we had our fill and drank water and backtracked to the turn where the road to Khardungla starts.

We went ahead and got the road. The road was narrow and steep but good, we encountered many army trucks on the way which were coming down and had to stop to let them pass as two vehicles side by side is a no-no there. The road slowly turned bad and was nothing but a dirt track ahead; we came across a Police Post at South Pullu approximately 12km before Khardungla where we had to show our permits to the officer.

Done that we went ahead and as the km became less we were getting excited. With Amit in the lead and me 2nd we reached Khardung La on 11th July 2008 at 3.45pm. It was a moment of elation and a great sense of achievement for both man and bike to have reached the bikers paradise. Amit and I photographed ourselves at the KhardungLa board. The weather being clear here on top made the experience more pleasant and we had the time of our lives at 18380 feet above sea level!

We didn’t try to strain ourselves much at this height as we had already suffered the effects of high altitude. Soon others also came in and then the photo sessions started. We had group photos of us 9 bikers together with the bikes and then individual poses on top. I was feeling a little uncomfortable so I told the other guys that I was leaving. I didn’t realize that some of the guys had kept their jackets in my bike cage and had removed them because the weather was clear, i rode on down after telling them.

While i rode on down the road surface improved after some point but the army trucks were very slow and were raising dust behind them making it difficult to ride so I stopped at a point and waited for the others to come, in the meantime the weather went bad and rain started heavily.
The others whose jackets were in my cage were drenched and shivering but I didn’t know about that, Purvesh came behind and we started towards Leh city and our hotel.

We reached back at the hotel around 5.30pm and got into the rooms and me feeling tired went to sleep. Others soon came in and we had some discussions and card playing. Everyone was excited after our feat today and we patted ourselves on our back.

After the mammoth bike ride today the riders slept with comfort having done a great thing. We were to go to Pangong Tso in a hired Qualis as we were tired of riding all these days so we decided to treat ourselves to some comfort and we were glad we did that!

The day ended with enthusiasm and waiting for the next day!

Day 7 - Pangong Tso tragedy and the Leh tour

2008-09-23T12:04:00.000-07:00

12th July 2008

Today we were to go to the great Pangong Tso (Lake). This lake is at the border of India and China (Tibet) and the amazing nature there is a sight to see.

We had hired a Qualis today and decided not to take our bikes.

Got up at 6.30am, freshened myself and woke everyone. The Qualis had come at 6.15am and the driver was in a frenzy saying hurry up because a delay could cause problems ahead where there were numerous water crossings and if we cross them earlier they would be easy because the snow doesn’t melt early in the morning but as the day progresses the snow on the mountains melt causing the streams to become raging torrents.

We finally started at around 6.50pm from the hotel with Abhijit opting out of the trip because of bad health. Adjusting in but anywaysJthe Qualis was a nightmare for 8 people plus the driver we did it. The driver went via the taxi stand where he collected the pass or coupons for their use and we started for Pangong.

The route to Pangong goes from Karu so we had to back trace the route to Karu from Leh (around 25km) and then the left road goes to Pangong and ahead.
We reached the intersection at around 7.20am and decided on having breakfast here. We had a nice breakfast of parathas and chai and started again.

The road was amazing and the scenery was amazing too. We could see mountains covered in fresh snow ahead and the driver said that we could see fresh snow on the way too. What a treat!

We finally went ahead and in some time we could see that the road side was wow – we were passing through snow and it was allJcovered in snow white around and people were like crazy photographing each turn and each place. We stopped at a military outpost where the permit had to be shown and went ahead. At a short distance just before the ChangLa pass (the 3rd highest in the world) we encountered heavy snow on the road. We could see many other vehicles coming back and as we feared the worst the driver go in contact with the other drivers and confirmed our fears that the road ahead was closed due to heavy snow and more so a truck was stranded in deep snow just before ChangLa. Damn! We came from such a long distance for this and now we couldn’t do it.

Anyway with a heavy heart we turned back but not before asking the driver to stop for a few minutes and enjoyed the snow on the road and took snaps. Amit was throwing snow balls at everyone and everyone was enjoying the snow. I didn’t carry any jacket so felt the cold seeping into me so I went into the Qualis quickly. Others came in after sometime and we started back again.

We again had a stop a few km ahead where again everyone played in the snow and danced like maniacs before starting again. We went back to the main road and then we decided to see the Hemis festival which was happening at the Hemis monastery nearby.

We went to that place and asking the driver to park the vehicle as the rush was too much we went ahead. On the way we saw snake charmers showing their wares and someone said we could actually , so everyone took turns takingJphotograph ourselves with the pythons the tamed python on his neck and getting photographed and had a nice time. We then negotiated with the charmer who demanded 50 each for 1 photo and settled for a good amount.

Going ahead we went near the Hemis monastery and went inside. It was choc-a-bloc with foreigners and local alike and there was some dance going on. We took some photos and came out. Now the rain had started so we stopped for sometime in the sheds where locals were selling old antique wares to unsuspecting foreigners at high prices. When the rain lessened we retraced our way back to find the driver and on the way met Maharashtrian CRPF personnel and had a nice chat with them before biding them good bye and got into our Qualis.

The next stop was to be Shey Palace an old Palace. We went there and had a nice time looking at the remnants and a big statue of “The Buddha” inside the palace. Coming down we were too hungry so we asked the driver to take us to a good hotel in Leh before resuming the trip.

We entered Leh town again and the driver took us to a hotel where a funny incident happened. The waiter asked us to write the order and we didn’t know that in Leh all the hotels had this way of ordering stuff and they don’t take orders themselves so we were angry on the waiter and stormed out of the hotel unknowingly.

We went to a hotel Peace Restaurant which looked decent and ordered food and had our fill. There are quite a few incidents which happened in JPeace which I don’t want to reveal here lest someone hits me

We came out and some people were in no mood to visit the remaining places so some of us returned to the hotel and the other enthusiasts went back to sightseeing and came back in the evening.

We had a nice slumber at the room before starting out for dinner. Had a great dinner @ Himalaya hotel and came back.

Thus the day ended with disappointment at not making Pangong Tso but we had our fill of travel adventure to other places as a lesser bargain.

The next day was free and Purvesh decided to go rafting, here too some people opted out – health was the main reason for me too for opting out!

Day 8 - Rest day in Leh

2008-09-23T12:03:00.000-07:00

13th July 2008

Today was rest day for most of us and the others were to go on a rafting ride from Chilling to Nimmu route.

Purvesh, Amit, Vishal (builder), Shailesh and Nikhil were the brave warriors who were to go for rafting. They left at around 9am from the hotel; I and Deepak went out to find some good massage parlor.

We found one who asked us to come back at 11am and the cost was 700 bucks anyways we paid him the advance and went back at 11am for the massage. The massage was nice and was for around 80 odd minutes after which my body was relaxed.

We went back to the hotel and had a nice time relaxing for some time until lunch when we went to the Himalaya hotel and had a great lunch and came back to the hotel again.

Abhijit and Deepak decided to roam around Leh and me and Saurabh decided to stay back. We did some photography of the snow covered peaks surrounding Leh as the weather was clear today with the sun. The snow covered peaks looked amazing.

We went into our rooms and slept for sometime before the warriors returned with their tales of rafting in the rapids and jumping into the freezing waters at the end to have a nice floating experience! Deepak and Abhijit too returned soon after their Leh adventure.

We all then decided to get fresh and go out for shopping and stuff here. We left the hotel at around 7.30pm and went around Leh market on foot looking at stuff we could buy or just walking around. We purchased some KhardungLa t-shirts which had nicely embroidered stuff on the front and we got a good deal. Others purchased gloves and stuff.

Amit tried to get his bike repaired – remember the lost key at Pang but he was unsuccessful to do it finally was asked by the mechanic to come next day early morning to drill a hole in the petrol tank – the only way to fill in the fuel for the next leg of the journey.

Shopping done we returned back to our favorite hotel Himalaya for a great dinner followed by discussions and came back to the hotel and had a great session of cards before falling asleep.

Tomorrow we were to leave for Kargil from Leh Enroute to Srinagar the next leg of our journey.

A rest day thus ended with us waiting for the next day to ride on!

Day 9 - Destination Kargil

2008-09-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

14th July 2008

We woke up at 6.45 am and packed all our stuff. We were to go towards Kargil today from Leh. We packed all our stuff and got Amit to go ahead to repair the tank get the hole drilled and tank up fuel for the rest of the journey.

We went down with our luggage and packed it onto our bikes and started our bikes and let them idle for a few minutes to get them warm. Purvesh’s bike refused to start after numerous attempts. Hell!

The road being a slope purvesh rode on it to find a mechanic on the main road but couldn’t. Finally Nikhil and Shailesh found a mechanic some 500m away so we went there with Purvesh half riding half pushing his bike. Once there we found out the reason, water in the petrol tank!! Damn, but the water was removed quickly and we resumed.

Now here too I did a stupidity I took out my petrol lock key and put it in my pocket and when everyone started I too started blissfully unaware that the key was in my pocket. Some distance ahead the bike sputtered to a stop and I found that the key wasn’t there. So remembering the first day in Leh I trudged back leaving the bike on the road to the mechanics place thinking it must have fallen there some 200m away only to stupidly put my hand inside my pocket and find the key still there. Hehehe...i couldn’t stop laughing at myself.

Went to the bike and rode on to the petrol pump where everyone had assembled and was tanking up for the onward journey.

We then started onto the road towards Kargil our destination for the day. It was 10am now and the sky was getting overcast, we only prayed that the weather ahead should be good.

The road from Leh to Kargil went via the Leh airport and ahead on the smooth NH-1 D highway. Roads were great throughout upto some kms ahead where we were near magnetic hill. It said that you need to place your vehicle on a box marked on the road and shut it down and it will move automatically upward the slope. Nothing like that sort happened and we moved ahead.

In a short while we had the Indus for company, it was flowing just near the road and we chanced upon a road coming in from Darcha to Padum – we Jhad heard about this road fit only for mountain goats and trekkers

We went via small and large villages on the way and then the bad roads started. The going was anyway smooth. We had decided to stop at Lamayaru some 65km from Leh for lunch and for sightseeing as it was famous for its monasteries.

The road ahead had a bifurcation one towards Batalik near the PoK and one towards Lamayaru and Kargil. Took the road to Kargil and went ahead. Here the rugged terrain started and the road was via the mountains and it wasn’t good but the views around were fantastic. Finally after around 20km we reached Lamayaru and waited for others to join in. Other joined in and we went down into Lamayaru town (so called) and went into a Hotel to have lunch.

Had a nice lunch at the hotel, especially the kanda bhajjis which we couldn’t find anywhere on our trip! Paid the bill and came out. It was roughly 2.30pm and we had to cover Kargil by the end of the day around 60km ahead via difficult roads. Deepak and Saurabh went inside the monastery to take photos and the others started ahead towards Kargil and the going was good now but the roads were bad now.

Finally I was alone now and Amit was ahead of me and we passed the Fotu La pass the highest on the Leh – Srinagar road at 13560ft. Going ahead via the scenic village of Mulbek I went ahead and decided to take a butt break and found Amit standing there. We took a 5 min break and went ahead with Amit leading the way ahead. Some distance ahead we got good tarmac around 20km before Kargil and we ripped ahead at around 65-70 kmph.

After around 15km we stopped besides the river for another break coz the ride was taking a toll on us. We then started again and finally entered the road overlooking Kargil and went down towards Kargil and crossed a bridge ahead into Kargil town and immediately went for searching a hotel. After much searching we settled for Hotel Siachen in the main market and taking the keys went back to get the others who hadn’t arrived yet. Fortunately Shailesh was searching for us and we shouted to him and he told that the others were waiting at the point near the bridge. Once there Saurabh told that Deepak and Purvesh had gone searching for us in the opp direction.

I went ahead but couldn’t find them and came back, in the meanwhile they too came back and we got a firing as to why we had gone ahead and left the others with us explaining that we had got a hotel for everyone. So finally we went into the hotel and put our bags.

We had a great dinner at the hotel which was a fixed menu and out of which many items were not available that time but anyways we did have our fill and went back to sleep. Everybody was tired after a day’s ordeal and went to sleep. Tomorrow we start for Srinagar!

Day 10 - Towards heaven - Srinagar

2008-09-23T11:59:00.001-07:00

July 15^th 2008

We woke up at 6am; we had to cover a distance of around 140km to Srinagar via bad roads and the treacherous Zozila pass and before that we had to go via the border route i.e the highway passed close to the Indo-Pak border at some places. We also decided to visit the Drass War Museum which stands as the only testimony of the kargil war in 1999.

We had our breakfast and packed our bags and checked out of the room and started ahead. The road was very small and treacherous with the river on one side and the cliffs on the other. Purvesh and others tanked up at a petrol pump just 2km ahead of Kargil. Drass was around 40km ahead.

We had to encounter numerous army truck convoys that were coming from the opposite direction so we had to stop at many places to let them pass. We met a couple of soldiers who wished us luck and asked us as to where we were going. We drove ahead and reached Drass and the museum and went inside. The museum is the only testimony of the kargil war and lists the sacrifices of all the soldiers who fought the war. There are interesting photographs too in the museum. We had our photo sessions inside and came out and took photos with Mr.Patil a soldier who was from Maharashtra and another jawan who was guarding the museum there.

We started ahead and we could see Tololing hill and the Tiger hill where the historic battles of Kargil were fought in 1999 and went ahead passing Drass town and ahead. We stopped at a point where there was shade and water and had homemade laddus and chiwada there, here too Nikhil dropped his key when he parked his bike and I took the key again and we had a great time sitting there and having the stuff and drinking water. Srinagar was merely now 80km away.

Now Nikhil started searching for his key again and we let him do the search for sometime before giving it back to him and he promised again that he would be careful…let’s hope he does!

We started ahead and the road started deteriorating. We passed the kargil army school which was a training area for soldiers with huge cliffs on either side. We reached some place ahead where the road worsened and was reduced to rubble and mud and the BRO was working to make it motor able. I was alone and as usual Amit was ahead of me and then we were suddenly into a beautiful valley with a great road. Going ahead we could see we were approaching the Zozila pass and came to a military post where the jawan seeing us smiled talked to us and let us ahead. We started climbing the Zozila pass termed as one of the most harshest and treacherous pass but as the climate was sunny the road was hard but was bumpy so we went along slowly. We were on top of the pass in about 40 mins and were going down when we were stopped by an army convoy again. Huge tanks and bofors guns were being taken by the army guys to somewhere and it was well guarded by machine gun toting soldiers who pointed their gun at the slightest movement of anyone on any side.

Stopping there we saw Baltal, a campsite for Amarnath and Amit started saying that lets visit Amarnath today and then go ahead. It took a lot of time to tell him that it requires a government permit and many hassles and then he agreed to go ahead. We were descending the pass and saw that the road had improved considerably. Once we were below were in the Kashmir valley now and the town was Sonamarg. We stopped at a roadside hotel and had a nice snack of bread/butter and chai and then started ahead for Srinagar. The time reading 4.15pm. The road ahead was amazing and we ripped at 80kmph with Amit leading the way. In the valley we could see a machine gun toting CRPF personnel every 200m. Really it was scary and it reminded of what we keep on reading about Kashmir day in and day out. These guys make the place safe as the safest of the fortresses can be and we owe them our lives all the time.

We made good time and reached around 10km before Srinagar and finally near a chowk where we decided to stop and wait for the others to come in. A traffic policeman came near us and started talking to us there and he was very cordial and friendly and asked us how we felt about the state and all. He and we started discussing topics of interest , politics and stuff like friends and he always used to say that all that we read was nonsense about the place, that place is very peaceful and only the politicians make it bad. Those policemen took a fancy for Amit who chatted away unmindfully of the time and like friends with them!

Finally Purvesh arrived but not before going ahead and tracing his way back again to the spot where we had stopped and he had an accident in the middle when some thelawala dashed him but thankfully it wasn’t fatal. In Srinagar we could see that every car would stop for a walking pedestrian and enquire if they could drop the person somewhere. I never had experienced such a thing anywhere in India where people were so friendly and reassuring.

In Srinagar too there was heavy presence of Army and CRPF personnel reminding us of the tension in the Valley.

Everyone came and Purvesh called up a contact in there who had arranged for our stay in a house boat on Dal Lake. We started and saw the Dal Lake it was very huge and we had to get to Dal Gate so we had to circumvent the lake on the bike around 15km ahead to get to Dal Gate and stopped on the road side waiting for that contact to come and receive us and guide us to the houseboat.

It was a sight with us on bikes fully loaded with luggage and everyone staring at us and asking us questions as to from where we came and where were we going. Finally the contact came and we took out our luggage at the boat post. We had to travel in a boat to get to the houseboat which was in the middle of the lake. So we unloaded our entire luggage and sent them ahead with Deepak and Vishal and we parked our bikes for the day at the parking and came back to board another boat which took us to the houseboat. I am usually wary of water and always fear the worst when travelling in a boat like it may tilt over and push us all in the water. Nothing like that happened and we were on our houseboat which was a posh one.

The owner of the houseboat was very friendly and told us that the house boat rates had reduced owing to the current Amarnath fiasco going on. It was around 12k for a day but now reduced to 3k per day! We asked the owner to prepare simple veg food of dal and rice and asked him to call us as soon as it was done. Our contact bid us goodbye and went away promising to come next day to help us send our bikes in transport back home.

We had a good time in the houseboat and freshened up and went for dinner which was simple but tasty and came back for sleep. Discussing stuff we called it a day at around midnight.

Day 11 - Srinagar and Dal Lake Tour

2008-09-23T11:57:00.000-07:00

July 16^th 2008.

Morning we woke up at around 7am and found that the contacts person Salim was present to help us take our bikes to the transport people and then take us around Srinagar just for sightseeing.

We went by the boat to the mainland took our bikes and went to withdraw money at an ATM. Done that we went with Salim who was joined by Yusuf via crowded Srinagar streets to the transport company office from where we would send the bikes back. We reached that place in about 30mins out of which 10mins were lost in the middle of the ride to locate Amit, Nikhil who were lost in the traffic and were not following us!

We made a deal with the transport company guys for our bikes for 2k including packing and transport but they said they only transport to Mumbai so we said fine and they said will take around 15days. We decided to have our get-together in Mumbai at Purvesh’s place while taking the bikes back home from Mumbai. All set and done we bid our goodbyes to our trusted steeds and came out from there where Salim had arranged a Tavera for us for roaming around Srinagar.

We went to the hotel near Dalgate first where we had our fill of lunch and went back to the market to get dry fruits and again into the market where Purvesh bought a blanket. The day was hot and humid unlike the other places and we were shocked to see this climate in Srinagar too which was cool unlike other places. Shopping done we went back to the houseboat. We had decided to go today itself to Jammu but were informed by Salim that today it was a strike in Jammu because of the Amarnath fiasco, hell! So we had to stay in Srinagar for today and go tomorrow to Jammu from where we had our train at 9.45pm in the night.

Going back to the houseboat had some rest for around 1-2 hours after which we took a shikara ride around the lake for around 2 hours and enjoyed the beauty of the lake to its fullest. The lake is around 20sq km in diameter and has many places of importance like a floating vegetable market and floating shops and all. We were amazed to see shops in the middle of the lake selling their wares from rs.1 for a chocolate to rs.50000 for a pashmina shawl!

The sun started setting down and the views became amazing in the hue of orange. Finally darkness descended and we came to the mainland, ride done. We went just idly walking on the banks of the lake and sat down. Our ride was almost done and we reflected on the days gone by on our ride and the memories of that and soaked in that happiness like small kids in a mela.

We went to a restaurant Mughal Darbar and had the finest food of my life there. I would never forget that place for the food for the rest of my life. Coming back to the boat point we bid our farewell’s to Salim and Yusuf our guides there and our new friends who without even resting came with us all around in the day.

We went back to the houseboat where the houseboat owner informed us that he had booked a Sumo for the morning 4.30am which would take us to Jammu well before our train time.

Tired with our travel and sightseeing today we were asleep before anyone knew it not before packing our stuff for the next day.

Day 12 - Srinagar to Jammu and Jammu City

2008-09-23T11:55:00.000-07:00

July 17^th 2008.

Morning we woke up at 4am and packed our stuff, freshened ourselves and took our bags out. We waited for some time for the boat to come and we could see our Sumo also coming on the mainland. We reached the mainland and loaded our bags onto the Sumo and started for Jammu around 4.45am. We made good speed and stopped for breakfast at Qazigund around 60km ahead. Jammu was still around 233km ahead.

Starting ahead we made good speed and reached the famous point of the Jawahar tunnel where we had to stop for the 8am time for the army to let in the vehicles to the tunnel. The road finally opened and we entered the tunnel and came out from the other side. All along the highway army patrols moved and checked everyone.

We reached the ghat area and the road was good via the mountain passes ahead. We stopped at a place near Ramban for some more snacks and went ahead. The road was full of twisties ahead and the driver was merrily driving overtaking slow vehicles and going on at full speed. We reached Patni top in no time but the traffic was heavy with heavy vehicles all over the road to Jammu and ahead. We reached Udhampur around 50km before Jammu and stopped again for some snacks.

The climate in Jammu too was too humid and suffocating. We entered Jammu town at around 1.30pm and the driver instead of dropping us at the station dropped us at the bus stand citing reasons that the RTO authorities do not allow private vehicles at the station. Damn! We took a van to the railway station got down there and waited for Purvesh and Saurabh who went to the retiring room to get beds for us for the remaining time which we had to be at Jammu station. They came a short while later and we took our luggage to the room and freshened ourselves there. Our stomachs were growling with hunger so we went in groups of 3-4 out to have food. Me, Saurabh, Purvesh and Shailesh went to a hotel and had nice Punjabi food and came back visiting a mall on the way. The climate was still sultry and humid. We came back to the retiring room and rested and the others went out to have food.

We had good sleep for sometime before the others returned. The time read 5pm. I went outside the station to buy dry fruits for home and came back. We did sometimepass and it was 8.30pm now. Our train was scheduled at 9.45pm.

We packed our stuff and waited for the train. We came onto the platform at 9.30pm when the train came into the platform.We got into our bogie and found our seats and arranged our heavy bags and sat down in relief.

The train moved sharp at 9.45pm and we animatedly discussed stuff of mutual interest and did timepass before it was time to call it a day and we opened the berths and retired for the day.

A day of adventure on the road from Srinagar to Jammu and then the Jammu city onto the train now! We were going home in about 38-40 hours !!

Our bike trip had ended now!

Day 13 - Towards the end of the journey!

2008-09-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

July 18^th 2008

We woke up in the morning at 9am and found people around us and we were nearing Delhi now. At Delhi we had a great breakfast and the train resumed its journey.

The day was boring in the train we passed Agra, Gwalior and into MP. Everyone else was playing cards while I slept like there was no tomorrow.

We had a great lunch and I resumed sleeping in the train and the others playing cards. I woke up at around 6pm and lazed away with the others.

The day passed off without any incident in the train. Tomorrow we would be in Pune

Day 14 - End of it all @ Pune

2008-09-23T11:49:00.001-07:00

July 19^th 2008

Woke up in Maharashtra! Had breakfast of vada-pav after a long time. Finally our trip was to end today. We were sad to part as well as happy to have made the trip. We reached Pune at around 3pm and took photos of all of us at the end and parted ways to go to our homes with the trip which would be in our minds forever.