The following pages are a day to day account of my maiden ride to Ladakh. Accompanying me was my friend Rohon, on his Bajaj Avenger. I rode my 2 month old Royal Enfield Bullet Machismo 500cc. The start reading on the odometer at 1940, almost everyone warned me not to do it on a fresh Bullet. But this was the last chance to go to Leh this year, didn't wanna let go of the opportunity. Took a chance with the Bull and headed out on October 1.
We completed 3,800 kms on the trip and spend 14 days on the road.
The route undertaken by us was as follows:
Delhi - Ambala - Manali - Rohtang Pass - Keylong - Pang - Leh - KhardungLa - Leh - Kargil - Srinagar - Pathankot - Bathinda - Panchkula - Dehradun - Joshimath - Rishikesh - Delhi
At the end of it, we'd travelled in all the North Indian states and spent at least one night in each of them.
The ride was marked with extremely cold weather conditions, snowy surrounding and of course bad roads.
Read Through. Click for PROLOGUE
Diamox and Old Monk
Prologue
The roots for the ride were sown back in the beginning of the year. Just before the two of us went to Shimla and bought rain proof gear, we had already started the pool of the "Ladakh Fund".
Time had been running out on us, and loaded with important stuff on personal and family fronts, the ride could not happen earlier. There was always uncertainty if the ride would actually happen or not. My leaves had not been sanctioned yet, and I was somehow scared of asking my boss for the required leaves. Then came this lovely extra work day in office (the same day as India's T20 WC winning display). The late working hours at office meant that the boss, and everyone else working were watching the match. India Won, everyone was happy (more importantly, the boss) and I dropped the question. With slight hesitation, the leaves were approved and final preparation began. Too many things happening on the personal front meant I was screwed up with work till 6 hrs before our scheduled departure.
Rohon finished off most of the pre-trip issues, from getting the spares, to riding boots, to Diamox, to the OMR and everything else. Amidst all the other things happening in life, I could only find time to get the Bull serviced on Saturday, 2 days before the scheduled departure.
We both realized that the trip timing was not right and we may not be able to cross any of the high altitude passes and reach Leh. Secondary protocol itinerary had been discussed and frozen.
Rohon stayed the night at my place on Sept. 30. I finished my work at 10.30 pm and we finally crashed in bed at 11.30 pm. Popped up the Diamox, alarms Set for 3.30 am, the day had arrived.
DAY 1
Day 1, October 1 2007: Delhi – Ambala – Mandi – Kullu – Manali – Nehru Kund
Alarms blaring out loud at 0330 and we were up within minutes. We took an hour getting ready and tying the luggage up on the bikes. “We stick together, will maintain visual distance. It’s up to us now. Ride Safe!” I told Rohon and we were off. Today was to be first time the Bull would hit the Highways. Pleasant weather and few traffic jams on NH1 welcomed us. We were traveling quickly now and to keep the momentum going, decided to skip breakfast and keep going. A missed turn at Kiratpur (towards NH21) meant we were headed in the wrong direction. Had to backtrack 30 kms before realizing the missed turn at Nangal. Ate Lunch at Kiratpur, and started off again. A minor oil leak in the Bull and we would stop at the RE workshop at Kullu. A quick screwing up job and we hit Manali at 1830. The road from Kullu to Manali had been dug up royally and set the tone for the next few days. We loitered around in the town for a while before heading up to our resort (Highland Park, at Nehru Kund about 10 kms towards Rohtang). The resort holds importance, as it would host Rohon’s wedding in a few months time. Popped up the Diamox, OMR down the throat, alarms set for an early start, few calls back home, calls to fellow riders and we crash.
PROLOGUE
NEXT DAY
Day 2, October 2 2007: Nehru Kund – Marhi – Rohtang Pass – Kokhsar – Tandi – Keylong – Zing Zing Bar
Schedule was to start at 7 AM from the resort, but we were welcomed by a wet morning. Looking up in Rohtang’s direction, all looked gloomy and white. Ominous signs as we saw our worst fears coming true.
Signs of snow at Marhi, and we were scared, looked like we’d have to implement secondary protocol. The weather was turning cold as well and the two layers of gloves were proving to be quite futile by now. It had only started snowing up at Rohtang two days back, and it all was white. Took some time negotiating the first of the snow infested stretches, which we managed to cross with some difficulty and we were soon getting down on the other side.
The roads were turning from bad to worse and slowing us down royally. There were long and tiring bumpy stretches and there were water crossings and there were dirt tracks to pass. By the time the Sun started settling behind the mountains, we were about 20 kms short of Baralacha La, and about 60 kms off Sarchu. The weather was getting colder by the minute and winds were picking up fast. The fingers and toes were almost frozen. Moist with the water crossings in the day, the wind added mirchi to our misery. We decided to call it a day at a roadside Tent-Hotel. Our first attempt at Baralacha La was called off. The hotel staff was courteous and friendly, a bunch of Nepali migrants (Suraj, Laxmi, Vishnu, and the ever so adorable Sameer-2 yr old kid) running a hotel (sounds funny, but these are tents 20 feet in diameter, with one quarter of the circular shape converted into a makeshift kitchen, and mattresses elevated up 2 feet on stone beds, 8-10 beds per tent capacity. A night’s charge is 50 bucks for which you get a bed and 3 or 4 quilts. All eatable would be charged extra at actuals. Maggi and Dal Chawal would be the staple diet for the next few days. We started with having Maggi for breakfast at Rohtang, did the same for Lunch at Kokhsar, and ended with Dal Chawal. We met a bunch of guys from Mumbai traveling in a Tempo Traveller for a photo-shoot. Quite amazed at our efforts on the road and our capacity with OMR: 2 cups pure, 5 minutes flat, followed by Dal Chawal and Maggi Thupka (that’s what we started calling the standard preparation, full of water. Had to repeatedly tell the cooks to dry out all the water; that’s the way we like our Maggi). Slept off under 3 layers of quilts. Diamox is one thing we wouldn't forget. Pill popped in, Woolen socks on, Balaclava worn, sweaters still on…snore, snore, off we doze!!!
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 3, October 3 2007: Zing Zing Bar – Baralacha La – Sarchu – Gata Loops – Pang – Moorey Plains – Tanglang La – Rumste
This was the toughest day of our entire trip. We slept on a clear night with brown surroundings, and woke up to a morning (at 0630) with everything buried under inches of snow; the road, the tents, the bikes and every other thing around us.
Everywhere we looked, every direction, as far as we could see, White was the colour to be seen. From Rohtang to Baralacha La everything was snowed out. Our initial plan was to get going at 0700 to cover up the time we’d lost on the Day 2, but with the snowy surrounding, it would be quite impossible even in our dreams. Again the thoughts of implementing secondary protocol started dancing in our heads. Encouraging words from the hotel staff (they kept trying to convince us that everything would clear out in a few hours) and subsequent movement of trucks and cabs kept our hopes alive. The roads were getting cleared up quite quickly with the sun out and the traffic movement. At 0830 we decided to give it a shot with considerably dried roads. Things went on fine for a few kms, but we were rising quickly and gaining altitude by the minute. The shades of the road were turning white soon after and we’d both lose our grip (almost simultaneously, at a speed of <10 kmph) while taking a turn 8 kms short of the pass. With both men down, oxygen in short supply, slippery snowed out road under our feet, heavily loaded bikes, we struggled for another 5 minutes before both the bikes could be picked up and parked on the shoulder safely away from the truckies who would keep going. 20 m ahead of us was a sharp incline and truckies (who went in slow) would have trouble getting sufficient grip. A couple of them ran out of power to keep them going so much so that one of them (heavily overloaded) started a downward slide, all wheels locked and 12 tonner sliding back…scary sight. As we ran for cover and returned to a safe distance, we decided to abort the attempt and backtrack to the tent. Dreaded secondary protocol was running again in our heads as we were greeted with surprise by the tent staff and the Mumbai fellows. The Sun out and shining brilliantly, the traffic started coming down from Baralacha La at 1030 hrs. Quick check on the road conditions “up there” from all the cabbies, we gave it another hour before we would set out again. It was a breeze now, as if the snow had never crept up on the road, we crossed Baralacha La with the minimum of effort.
Quite amazed at how the conditions change in a matter of hours, we got down.
Through more bad roads, we crossed Sarchu soon. Then came the roller coaster bouncy road to Gata Loops. Nakee La and Lachlung La were the second and third high altitude passes for the day. While hogging (Dal Chawal!) at Pang, we decided to stop for the night sometime before Tanglang La (we were still about 100 kms short) and cross it in the morning. We took the wrong trail on Moorey plains (instead of the dirt track, took the under construction road) and struggled through the gravel again. As we crept closer to Tanglang La, there were hardly any signs of civilization and it was getting dark. Unfortunately for us, we couldn’t find shelter and left with no other option, we had to carry on. Through a windy evening, fading light, horrendous road and frozen fingers, we crossed the Second Highest Motorable Road in the whole goddam World at 1845 hrs on October 3. Another hour before we’d check in to the first one of those tent-hotels that came into sight at Rumste. Luckily the roads were better now. As drained out as we were, we gave up on unloading our luggage. Fire was the first thing I asked for, the frozen hands and feet needed immediate attention. While Rohon buried himself under combination of multiple quilts and blankets, I sat around the stove for another 30 minutes. As drained out as we were today, neither of us had to energy, inspiration or the courage to fetch the OMR from the baggage tied up on the bikes 10m away, outside the tent. We knew it would be cold, we were told it was tough, roads wouldn’t favor us, but we still came till here, riding on our determination, trusting our luck, our will to get Leh’d and discover the forbidden land, but never in our wildest imagination did we ever think it was going to get as challenging as this. Thinking of reaching Leh (which was only about 60 kms away now) we slept through the night under the multiple layers. The tent-hotel staff sympathized with us and served us dinner (Maggi again!) in bed before we dozed off…not forgetting the Diamox and looking forward to reaching Leh the next morning.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 4, October 4 2007: Rumste – Upshi – Karu – Leh
As easy as they come, the short ride to Leh from Rumste was a breeze. After all the effort we’d put in yesterday, this was as easy a day we could’ve hoped for.
Touched down at Leh around 0930 and headed straight to the DC office to apply for the inner line permits. By now the Avenger was showing signs of stress as the oil seals on the front suspension gave way. Hovered around town looking for replacements and repairs, but to no avail. Looked around town for a decent place to stay, but most of the hotels had shut down for off season, eventually checked in to Hotel Khangri (very close to the market) which offered 75% discount on the listed tariff. Collected the permits at 4 and chillaxed in the evening around Leh. Had our first bath in 4 days and we had more than Maggi and Dal-Chawal to choose from; all kinds of cuisines, vegetarian and meaty were on offer. Loitered around in the evening a little more. With plans of hitting Nubra in the morning, gulped down the OMR and treated ourselves to some Chinese food, popped the Diamox and dozed away!!!
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 5, October 5 2007: Leh – Khardung La – Leh
Woke up to a clear and lovely morning in Leh at 0830. Decided to leave everything except the spare parts bag at the Hotel and head towards Nubra. Khardung La at 18,380 feet, the highest motorable road was barely 40 kms away. Excitement and a sense of achievement gripped us as we started our climb up towards Khardung La.
As we gained altitude at a rapid pace, the snow was getting closer, the wind had picked up and the temperatures dropped drastically. We had to stop a couple of times betweem kms 28 and 35 (from Leh) to warm up our freezing hands. As we approached the top, we were forced to stop again. The army convoy moving to Siachen had come to a standstill to put on the tire chains.
The roads up had all snow/ ice all the way. We were so close but yet so far. With a sudden rush of adrenaline we moved ahead. Struggling to keep the balance and maintain the grip, we crawled up the next 1 kms or so. Rohon tumbled as on lookers stared at us in disbelief. I was in a precariously balance position right behind Rohon and couldn’t leave my bike. Like an angel, one of the onlookers helped him up and we went about dragging up again. As I looked up the last corner, with shining yellow boards I noticed Rohon who trailed me by 50m had stopped and refused to go any further. He was all but 100 meters away. I started screaming at him “We’re there! We’re there! I can see it…I can see the Highest Pass in the World!!! This is why we came here, we can’t stop now. We’ve dragged up for 40 minutes not to give up on the last turn. We’re there!!!!” With a sudden burst of newfound energy I put the bike in gear, balance my feet and released the clutch. While I parked the bike near the temple, I ran back to see if Rohon was coming or not. And there he was, emerging out of the last corner. I raised my hands to the sky as Rohon stopped at the first of the boards and put the bike on stand.
The contact points with the ground were sinking in the snow as we hugged each other and the army convoy looked on. WE DID IT!!! We had conquered the Highest Motorable Road in the World while it lay buried under snow.
As we looked towards Nubra everything looked white, no trace of clear roads. There was no going further. Enquired about the Wari La route from the cabbies, none of who were encouraging enough for us to dare it.
Aborted! Excursion to the Nubra Valley stood aborted there and then. The weather started turning bad again as strong winds started blowing the feather-lite fresh snow all over the place. Quickly got done with the photo session and started the engines. The climb down from Khardung La wasn’t any better than the climb. Another half hour of dragging through snow filled roads and we were on tarmac again.
Met a group of bikers climbing up (One 2-up TB and 2 Pulsies). A quick chit-chat on the conditions up above and we started off again. Don’t know if they made it to the top or not, but we continued our descent to the town of Leh. Came down with a treat of Butter Chicken at the Leh View Restaurant and a crash-in-bed session. During the evening we split enquiring about the conditions at Chang La and Pangong Tso. Eventually not very encouraging words from all directions and we decided not to try our luck any more…we could run out of it anytime. A revised itinerary was prepared. We had aborted 3 days out of our original itinerary and with no intention of wasting the leaves we decided to hit Jaisalmer in 3 days time. “From Cold to the Hot Desert” was the driving thought here. This was the last night in Leh and we’d head westwards in the morning, 3 days ahead of schedule and follow NH15 right down to Jailsalmer from Pathankot. OMR, Hog, Diamox, snore!!
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 6, October 6 2007: Leh – Nimmu – Lamayuru – Fotu La – Kargil
Ever since I’ve been connected to the biking community (a little over a year now), I’ve heard things like “Leh – Kargil is a lovely road, it’s a breeze!!”. What I fail to understand is how can a 20 km stretch be the defining criteria for a 230 kms distance. I kept telling Rohon that this would be an easy day and Rohon could’ve killed me for raising his hopes. The only good patch was the Leh – Nimmu teeny weeny 25 odd km stretch,
which is again followed by dirt tracks and gravel filled mountain roads. We decided not to believe in anything anyone had told us. There were numerous times when cabbies and the locals told us that the roads ahead were good, instead all we got were those dreaded “under construction” gravel and dirt tracks.
The Indus kept us company throughout the route.
It was time we started taking things as they came and not expect too much. Our expectations had only caused disappointment and anguish. As we crossed Fotu La (which is the highest point on the Leh Srinagar Road at 13,647 ft) the landscapes were getting prettier. The games played by the Sun, the clouds and the mountains were simply breathtaking.
All throughout the day, the Avenger’s suspension bled profusely and left stains all the way up to the fuel tank. We were getting worried about the time we had left on us before it would give up. Checked in to Caravan Sarai Hotel, during the twilight hours. Strongly recommended by Bhuwan who was here a month back, it was better than we could’ve asked for. Gulped up the OMR, the hotel caretaker, Mr. Shiv Ram played the perfect host and cooked the best meal of our trip. Amazing Dal Chawal, better than any thing we’d had in the last whole week. While in Manali we learnt that Raid de Himalayas was beginning the next day ex-Shimla and these fellows were scheduled to be in Leh a day after us. Infact their itinerary was running at a day’s lag. All throughout the ride, we were wondering how these guys would end up doing all this, these guys would be running on a tighter schedule, their bodies would go through torture with less resting time, higher speeds and of course at the rate the weather was getting colder, they’d die in the wind chill. We’d been observing the Raid Officials hanging around in Leh since we had arrived. They were to arrive in Kargil the next day and were to stay at the same hotel as ours – Caravan Sarai. Shiv Ram Ji was proud and excited in anticipation of hosting them. Diamox was no longer required as we returned to the warmer areas. But Diamox had done its bit and served us well. I dont know what it would've been like without the regular dosage.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 7, October 7 2007: Kargil – Dras – Zozi La – Sonamarg – Srinagar
Its Sunday. I’d heard from a lot of people that Zozi La is closed for repairs and maintenance on Sundays and no traffic is allowed on the 8 km stretch throughout the day. Enquired with the out Hotel staff who were positive that Zozi La would be open to 2 wheelers for sure. As we moved out of Kargil, our next stop was to be at Dras.
We would visit the memorial of the 1999 Kargil War and paid our tributes to the martyrs and the brave soldiers who fought for our country. Got a quick round up and a brief history lesson on the War from the Army personnel who showed us all the strategic peaks where the Pakistani troops were stationed.
Trust me, they were within touching distance on the hill right behind the memorial, hardly a few kms from the highway. The LoC is barely 15 kms from where we were. Picked up a few souvenirs and headed towards Zozi La. As we approached Zozi La, the roads were again going from Bad to Worse and Zozi La was the mother of all bad roads; 8 kms of dirt and gravel on steep inclines, with sharp valleys, vultures hovering overhead. It did seem to be an off day as we came across less than ten other vehicles going past. I salute those who cross the Zozi La during the rains. I got goose bumps all over just thinking about the water and slush, gravel underneath and two way traffic on the narrow (non-existent) road. Hats off people, you guys simply rock!!
Made our way down at crawling speeds and entered the Kashmir Valley. Greeted by lovely roads and colourful scenes, Sonamarg was a stone throw away. Absolutely fantastic display of colours in Sonamarg, complete contrast from what we’d been seeing for the last few day.
As we rode towards Srinagar, we noticed a few P200s, which signified a Bajaj probiking in the vicinity. Srinagar it was, Paris Bajaj as we found out was the Probiking showroom. Hunted it down in the evening rush on the roads of Srinagar, only to find it shut on Sunday. Anyhow, we moved on and figured our night halt on one of the House Boats on the Dal Lake.
For 400 bucks, we got the most luxurious accommodation of our trip. We would hit the Pro-biking workshop first thing in the morning. Chilled around Dal Lake, took a shikara ride and followed up with a sumptuous dinner at Hotel Adoos. Awesome authentic Wazwan ishtyle Rogan Josh for the hungry and deprived souls. Srinagar we noticed has been turned into a Fortress owing to the insurgency that had crippled the valley over the last 2 decades, every 100 odd meters there were armed personnel. Every 100 m or so, a pair of CRPF/ J&K Police personnel would keep guard. The Army keeps an eye outside the city while CRPF and J&K Police maintain vigil inside the city.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 8, October 8 2007: Srinagar – Anantnag – Jawahar Tunnel - Banihal – Patnitop
It started with a long and tiring morning at the Bajaj Workshop. Checked in the Avenger dot at 0900 and finally managed to get started at 1530.
A complete fork over haul, a chain set replacement and few other minor repairs, Rohon had never been happier with the treatment his bike got. In the meantime, took the bull out for a wash in Srinagar. Finally after 8 days of riding through dirt, gravel, water, slush, snow and god knows what not, both the bikes were shining brightly. Everything fixed up, washed and cleaned, luggage all tied up, we rode out of Srinagar. As if insurgency wasn’t enough to terrorise this lovely city, the traffic on Srinagar – Anantnag road was a horror. Cabs, convoys, buses, trucks, carts, all scampering through. By the time we ate Dosas at the end of the Valley, it was almost 1600 hrs,
and Pathankot looked far and beyond. Decided to finish the day at Patnitop and take an early start. This was day that the Bull started showing signs on distress, the clutch was getting harder and I was having trouble with the gearshift. Managed to get up to Patnitop and decided to show the bike at the nearest RE workshop falling on route, which would be at Pathankot, still another 160 odd kms away. Fixed up with Bhuwan to meet him at Jaipur/ Mandawa in 3 days time on our return to Delhi from Jaisalmer. Quick check in to one of the Hotels at this small hill station, followed by the routine. OMR, hog, calls, snore!!!
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 9, October 9 2007: Patnitop – Udhampur – Surinsar Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary – Dayala Chak – Kathua – Pathankot
Ah…the longest day of the ride. Took an early start from Patnitop with intentions of hitting Bikaner by night fall. Enroute was Bathinda, where my relatived lived and we were scheduled to eat lunch with them. We pulled off NH1A and took the shortcut to Pathankot (avoiding Jammu) through the Mansar Wildlife Sanctuary roads. All morning I was wrestling with the clutch and the gearshift and then the inevitable happened. Three hours of riding and we ran out of luck, the Bull gave up on us; lost the ignition completely. Both the self-start and kick-start were unable get the engine firing. Frantic calls back to Kamlesh and Jayan dada, explained what had been happening since yesterday and they convinced me it wasn’t a seizure. As relived as I was, took out tool kit and started working on the clutch as directed by dada. In the meantime, Rohon who was hunting for a mech, kissed another bike on the highway and suffered a bent fork. The mech we found was very efficient in convincing us that the clutch plates were burnt out and replacements would have to be brought in from Pathankot. While he opened the clutch side, he pulled out a small metal piece (1 cm in length and as thick as a matchstick). For the love of him, he couldn’t figure out what was damaged. Looking at RE service center. Kamlesh gave the numbers of RE Punjab Service manager and in turn spoke to the workshop at Pathankot. As we hauled up both the bikes (riding the Avenger with a bent fork wasn’t going to be a very good idea), we took another hour and landed up the workshop at 1500 hrs. They had been expecting us and were eager to pull the Bull down the pick up. The Bajaj service center was 5 shops away and Rohon got going to get the fork repaired. As the mechanics at RE got down cracking on the Bull, we took our Lunch break. With the bike in safer hands, it was time to relax, the drinks changed, OM was out and Chilled beers were the order of the day. At the end of it all, the shattered starter bearing came out to be the culprit of all problems. The small pieces were numerous in numbers, and the bearing got replaced. As it turned out, the broken pieces floating inside the chamber had damaged the coupling surface of the sprockets, which were either to be replaced or grind and polished to get the started motor working again. The Pathankot RE was not selling the LB500 and hence spares were a problem. The replacement sprockets would have to come from the Jammu, only the next day. The Punjab service manager was convinced by the Workshop manager to grind and polish the surfaces and get the starter running again. Finally at 2130 (3 hours of overtime for the workshop fellows) everything got running again. With sureties from the workshop manager (he was the only person I wanted to trust at this time), we breathed a sigh of relief and checked in to a nearby Hotel. Times had changed now, the OM had been taken over by the beers, and the Air-conditioned rooms replaced the cozy ones. A few more beers for the night and good old Punjabi Tandoori Chicken were ordered for Dinner. We would have our second bath of the trip here. :D
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 10, October 10 2007: Pathankot – Amritsar – Faridkot – Bathinda – Patiala – Ambala – Panchkula
Again an early start as we lost another day to breakdowns. Itinerary changed and we were to hit Bikaner tonight. Finally after so long, we found good roads but within a couple of hours of riding on NH15 through Batala, Amritsar and Taran Taran we realized that the heat was getting unbearable. Took a call, changed the itinerary and decided to head westwards to Uttaranchal. Enroute we would meet up with my relatives for lunch at Bathinda and carry on to Patiala through Sangrur and Barnala on NH71 and NH64 to meet NH1 at Rajpura. Hyper cool relatives in Bathinda were sporty enough to host our filthy bodies as if they expected us be no better. As we hit Ambala we’d planned to check in and head out towards Dehradun on NH72 in the morning. But with all Hotels packed here, we backtracked all the way to Panchkula where my sister-in-law’s brother (Aditya) lived. Organised the night stay at his place and met him at 2300 hrs. Scampered through to find dinner and found yummy Butter Chicken at this place called Hot Feast in the Sector 16 market. Next day would be to Narayangarh and then to Dehradun and Rishikesh through Poanta Sahib and Herbertpur. Amidst utter confusions on the routes to be taken called up Hits and Saurabh back in Delhi. Luckily Aditya, working with an IT company had an Internet enabled place. Checked up the route online and decided to buy a Road Atlas first thing. I think I forgot to mention earlier that we had lost our maps on the third day morning when we tumbled up before Baralacha La and the sliding trucks. By now we decided to meet up Rohon’s friends who were headed to Rishikesh for a Rafting weekend. We’d lurk around Garhwal and meet them in Rishikesh on Saturday afternoon.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 11, October 11 2007: Panchkula – Narayangarh – Nahan – Dehradun – Rishikesh
The day started peacefully with nice roads and pleasant weather. It was a breeze through to Dehradun as we stopped at Raipur Rani and Herberpur for snacks tea. Within Dehradun city traffic was this Maruti 800 driver who seemed to be a little short on time. Without noticing the Panniers crept up to me from behind and banged his headlamp into the rear. As I looked back, this fellow had managed to smash up his headlamp and scraped the paint on the right end; another good use of panniers – protects you and your bike from unwanted motorists trying to creep up a little too close for comfort. As we got a minor oil leak fixed up on the Bull at the RE workshop we bought an Eicher Road Atlas. Finally we weren’t feeling as lost as we’d been over the last few days. Met up a friend of Rohon’s and her entire family in Dehradun and ate Lunch at Nirula’s – yeah the same Delhi Nirula’s!! As we hurried towards Rishikesh, we finally dumped our luggage at the camp called Logout @ Work located on the banks of the Alaknanda, 23 kms from Rishikesh. OMR, Hog, Snore!! Yeah, OM was back in action with the temperatures dropping again.
We were scheduled to meet Rohon’s friends a day later. With an extra day in hand, we picked up Malari as the destination for the Friday. Malari is where the road ends (very close to the Indo-China border) about 50 kms from Joshimath. Expecting to cover more than 300 kms the next day, we took an early nap.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 12, October 12 2007: Rishikesh – Devprayag – Karnprayag – Joshimath – Auli – Joshimath
Welcomed with horrible roads (yeah! Yet again) upto Srinagar (the Uttarakhand one) we were getting tired now. Crossing through Devprayag reminded us of our first trip together back in November last year. That was the trip when we had first met. The roads much better now, we cruised through till Karnaprayag. The 65 kms from Karnaprayag to Joshimath saw the worst of the water crossing we encountered on the entire trip, coupled with fresh landslides and rocky terrain as we neared Joshimath. The Eicher Road Atlas we had procured the day before showed the route like Joshimath – Auli – Malari. We were soon climbing the road to Auli which lay 14 kms on a hill top. Reached there to be welcomed by an Army training camp. Confusions galore as the Army fellows declined having information on the route to Malari thru Auli. Everyone said the the route exists but all the way down from Joshimath. Showed them the Atlas, which said the road exists, but reality was something else. A tough climb, confusions and a painful climb down from Auli made sure we wasted a good hour and a half. It was already 1800 now and light was fading. The roads weren’t any better. As we started moving in the correct direction for Malari, horrendous slush and water crossings were all over the place.
At 1830, 5 km down the road to Malari we aborted this as well. With no concrete info on the route, the road conditions and fall back plan, Malari wouldn't happen, not this time! Extremely frustating times and I wanted to kill the people behind the Eicher Road Atlas, which made us pick up the wrong trail and wasted valuable time. With no other choice, we returned to the town of Joshimath to crash for the night.
For some odd reason, we were mislead by the "devbhumi" tag attached to Uttaranchal, and were decieved into believing that nowhere beyond Rishikesh, would we find meat. As we ate veggie food at a restaurant and came out, the next restaurant, the very next one, less than 5 steps ahead had roasted chicken hanging on the rods from the cieling. As we glared at each other, and at the chicken, the restaurant owner and the tandoor operator smiiled at in the most sarcastic manner ever.
OMR, hog and snore was the order of the day, yet again!!
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 13, October 13 2007: Joshimath - Karnaprayag - Devprayag - Shivpuri
For the first time in the last 13 days, we were having to backtrack beyond 40 km (Leh - Khardung La - Leh on Oct. 5). This was a long ride back, almost 250 kms on the same roads. We were in a location that a detour to avoid repetetion of roads would be atleast 200 kms longer. Didn't make sense to take the Ranikhet - Landsdowne - Najibabad - Rishikesh route, as we were to meet Rohon's friends in Shivpuri late afternoon. Shivpuri is this place 15 kms ahead of Rishikesh and has numerous of these camping sites by the banks of the Alaknanda river. Treks/ rafting and other adventure sports activities are organised by these people on a daily basis.
As we reached Shivpuri, at our camp called the Paddler's Zone, around 1600 hrs, the friend's we were to meet had already left for their first rafting session after checking in around 1400 hrs. As we loitered around, Rohon had a rear flat tire. As we figured out the tube-replacing-activity which took rather long, these guys were back from their rafting session. it was almost 1900 hrs when we settled in for the OMR sessions. For some odd reason, we felt like dirtying the Ganges. Millions have done it over centuries, and our filth was as literal as it comes, 3 days without a wash and we took a dip in one of the smaller streams merging into to the Alaknanda at 2230. Nice and chilly water, river stones, and the starry night!!!! Awesome...Hung around the waters for a couple of more hours and crashed at about 0030. Next morning will be a long rafting session followed by a sprint to Delhi.
PREVIOUS DAY
NEXT DAY
Day 14, October 14 2007: Rishikesh - Haridwar - Roorkee - Meerut - Delhi
Woke up to beautiful morning in Rishikesh in the Alaknanda Valley. The banks had lovely river sand and filtering rays of Sun.
The long and tiring rafting session saw the two of us as Lead Paddlers and draining us out completely. By the time we had finished and reached the camp, we realised we were running very late. We were tired and exhausted, it was 1530 already, Lunch was pending, 240 kms to Delhi and a not so friendly highway ahead of us. We doubled up and packed up our stuff in super quick time and were ready to hit the road again.
We were nearing Delhi in Super quick time and parked outside my house at 2145. We were back to where we had started two weeks back. We quickly exchanged stuff, exchanged words and hugged each other...We had finally done it!
PREVIOUS DAY
AT THE END
At the End
At the end of it all, in two weeks we had travelled close to 3,800 kms and ran through all the states in North India and spent at least one night in each one of them.
More than anything else, I would remember the trip for climbing up Khardung La as it lay buried under layers of snow. Other than that, the third day was the toughest of all, Zozi La was the scariest place we went to, and the breakdown and hauling the Bull was the biggest disappointment.
There is lots more to explore and lots more to travel.
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE RIDE
MY HOME BLOG
All the Photographs
All the photographs from the ride can be found at this link on
My Picasa Photo Gallery
