My soul never felt so content before!!!!

Prologue:

Ever since I became a member of the online biking community, one question has itched me the most. When will I get leh’d?? The enlightment, salvation was attained on Aug 15^th 2008 (Happy Independence Day to all!!!).

My soul never felt so content before!!!!

The riders were as follows:

1. Jay : CBZ Extreme : Starting from Pune
2. Pankaj : Pulsar 150 v2 : Starting from Noida
3. Sripurna : Pulsar 150 Classic : Starting from Bangalore

The trip itinerary:

10th : Delhi - Manali (530 KM)

11th : Manali - Sarchu (230KM)

12th : Sarchu – Leh (244KM)

13th : Get the permits and do some local sightseeing.

14th : Leh - Khardung La(18380 ft) - Diskit (Nubra Valley) (118KM)

15th : Diskit - Hunder - Diskit - Sumur - Panamik - Khardung La (18380 ft) – Leh (335KM including Diskit, Hunder, Panamik) (335KM)

16th : Leh – Chang la (17800ft) -- Pangong Tso (170KM)

17th : Pangong Tso – Leh (170KM)

18th : Leh - Tso Moriri (210KM)

19th : Tso Moriri – Leh (210KM)

20th : Leh– Sarchu (244KM)

21st : Sarchu – Manali (Kunzum la pass is just 80KM from Rohtang pass J .. 3 hrs drive) (240 – 320KM)

22^nd : Manali – Kullu – Jalori Pass – Rampur – Hatu – Shimla – CHD – Delhi (555KM)

The adventure started much before we began riding. My bike had not arrived at Noida by 9^th evening (loaded her on 2^nd) and the GATI guys said that it will be coming on 10^th evening & the delivery would be made by 11^th morning. That was simply unnacceptable as everything would go haywire. The decision was made to pickup the bike from the Gurgaon godown as soon as the bike arrived there & not wait till it arrived in Noida.

The bike finally came by 10^th morning & we went there in the afternoon to pick it up. The location was a bit hard to find as it was on the outskirts of Gurgaon & after a good hour & half of riding we came to the godown successfully.

The bike was covered well & no bent/broken stuff. Unpacked & everything was good to go except for the fuel line which had got cut, thankfully at the end. Somehow managed to get it to sit on the carburettor for the time being.

Pankaj made a dash for petrol bunk & got two litres of petrol. Tummy full & I tried her, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty kicks & she was refusing to start. Finally went to a near by bike shop & the carburettor was full of water & sludge. Not sure how it got there!!!

Came back to noida by 8 and both us were exhausted to core.. Jay had managed to get some spare parts for his bike.. we got the cash out from the ATM & tanked up our bikes to start early in the morning..

Drat.. double Drat… We were already 1 day behind by the schedule!!!

Day 1: Baked Pulsars & fried CBZ for the menu!!

Loaded the gears on the bikes by 4.30 & we were good to go.. kick started her & she came alive. I closed the throttle & the RPM’s were still high!!! I was like WTF.. L Some hunting around the accel cable & some more dirt & muck had occupied around it which was not allowing the throttle cable to close completely.. Applied some engine oil for the time being & things started to look up..

As Haddock says, “Blistering Barnacles”.. it was already 6 by now.

We chugged out of Delhi safely & hit the NH1. The ride was smooth uptill Ambala & by that time, the sun was baking us for free. We reached Chandigarh around 12 in the afternoon & I made a quick dash to home to visit my parents, while Jay & Pankaj headed towards the Ropar-manali road. We were back on the road by 2.30 & making good progress towards Kiratpur. The rain gods did not show any mercy & the marathon rain session started. Out came the rain suits. The roads were full of red slush & pot holled. The traffic sense is non existant in this part of area. Finally the hills started after Kiratpur. Sigh!!

Our target for today was manali & we were in Bilaspur at around 8 PM. Mandi looked too far, let alone Manali. We found a small hotel just before Sundarnagar & crashed for the day. We still had to do more than 100KM to reach to manali.

Day 2: Rain Rain all the Way!!!!

Got stuff loaded by 7 & off we went. The stretch from Sundernagar to Manali is awesome!! We were finally enjoying on our saddle. The long stretch of army truck convoys made their presency felt to us early itself.

We hit manali by 11. Tank full & we were out to claim Rohtang la. Just then, a long army convoy also had sneaked in front of us & thus a jam ensued. Slowly we crawled upto Gulaba point & moved up to Marhi. Just after marhi we had the first taste of the many landslides we would see on the trip. The BRO guys were @ work already & we crossed it in 30 min. Rain was not abating & Rohtang looked far. The chill made itself felt as the altitude climbed. My hands were numb when we reached Rohtang.. The usual crowds were abuzz in the small patch @ Rohtang la.

Telugu, Tamilians, Bengalis, Mallus, Delhiites, Punjabis, Phirangs from Germany, Britain, US of A, other places, felt like the whole India & world had thought of meeting up @ Rohtang. Both myself & jay were doing involuntary body break dances @ the top. The chill was painfull. Surprisingly, could not spot the board which said this patch of land is the Rohtang Pass. The fog+mist+rains was getting dense.

The other side of the Rohtang la had pathetic roads. The descent to Gramphoo was hurting!! Long convoy of army supply trucks & hair pin turns which had muck completely drained us out.

It was 6 by the time we left Gramphoo. We had enquired about the state of roads ahead & had not good news. There was no roads for another 6-10KM & on top of that, It was dark & it was still raining.

Every metre felt like a Light year & we three trickled away into the dark. Finally after Sissu, the roads were looking promising but then suddenly saw a long queue of Red lights in the distance… It was a jam. WTF.. A small girl from the nearby village had been mowed down by a Army fuel truck (drunk driver) & had sped away. The little one had been admitted to the nearby hospital. But the villagers blocked the road demanding that something be done about the unruly trucks that ply on this road.

Minutes came & went!!! We requested the villagers to let the three of us go, but they refused. We started taking turns to knap on the bike itself. They had called the police station in Keylong and asked a FIR to be lodged. To top it off, the blood of the little one was on the road & needed to be taken as an evidence.

The police took their own time to come (Just like in the movies). The inspector took a photo of the evidence from a dingy looking MOBILE CAMERA. We looked @ each other & said WTF… It was dark, raining & god knows what pic would have come?

Everyone was satisfied by now & they allowed the traffic to move @ 10.

Within half an hour we were in Tandi & asked for a hotel to stay only to be told that Keylong is the best option and another 7KM of bumpy, slushy ride. Around 11 we made our entrance into a sleepy Keylong. Found a hotel & a restaurant. Airtel works in Keylong (Only Postpaid).

The day’s ride ended @ midnight!!!

Day 3: Haywire!!!

We started around 7 in the morning. The rain was still accompanying us. Everyone warned us to be carefull on the roads & lookout for the slippery stuff @ keylong. We chugged along slowly. Just as we reached Jispa, Jay was not feeling well. He was shivering madly & uncontrollably. We stopped at a road side dhaba & had umpty number of tea rounds. Nothing seemed to stop the shivering. Finally we decided to look for a place to stay for the day & let Jay recover.

We found Hotel Padma Lodge in Jispa & shacked up for the day. All were keen to get some sleep & make the most of this rest day!!

We may not have travelled more than 25KM.

Day 4: Ride as far as possible!!

Jay was better now & so were we. There was only one thing in everyone’s mind, to get to Leh as fast as possible. The original itinerary was tossed out. We were not sure which places needs to be axed or visited. Enroute, the first pass of the day was Baralachla. Pretty empty but serene place to say the least. One can make STD calls at the army post in Patseo. The last we contacted our families was in Keylong.

The rain had stopped for the time being & we headed towards Sarchu. The roads from Baralachla were more enjoyable. Sarchu came & went very fast. We were now going to start the “21 best loops in the world, the Gata loops”. Thoroughly enjoyed the ride upto Nakee la. Ascent to Nakeela was not felt much.

By the time we started for Lachlungla, it was dark & then the rain started. The most horrible 50KM i have done in my life. The pot holes were many, it was completely sloshed out roads. The trucks had dug up huge ruts on the side of the road & it was slimy to say the least. Pankaj had a small spill here. We were keeping an eye for a water crossing that comes before Pang, not sure of the name (Krishna nullah??). Luckily the bed of the crossing had a thick layer of concrete & it was fairly easy to cross. Finally we reached the army checkpost near Pang @ around 9.

Found a dhaba & shacked into the bed. We were the only three to be using the full tent. J

We slept with the thought of having to do Tanglang la in rain!!!

Day 5: Got Leh’d!!!

The night was a bone chattering festival. AMS hit me pretty badly, continous headache ensured that I could not sleep well in the night. Got up in the morning & popped in a diamox. The rain was showing signs of parting ways with us.

Was having a small walk in the morning around the tents & spotted three bikes, A KA, & 2MH bikes. Out of sheer luck bumped into Praveen Shirali, Navendu & another gentleman (whose name I forgot). The trio were coming back from the Spiti-Leh tour. They warned us of the hazards on Tanglang la & gusty winds in Morey plains.

Bid them farewell, & we started for Tanglang la by 8.30 in the morning. Once we entered Morey plains, it was a complete transformation of sorts. The weather was looking sprighty, the colours were amazing. To add to it, snow bound mountains seemed to be escorting us to Tanglang la. The 40 odd KM were done with lot of breaks.

The ascent to tanglang la was pretty straight forward, it is only the last 10KM which has broken roads owing to the widening process being undertaken by the BRO. We were @ the top of Tanglang la. To say it is comfortable sitting on top of T-la is very dangerous. I had hard time just putting the bike on its main stand with all the luggage on it. Also walking around the pass takes the wind out of you.

The descent was again frought with deep ruts & in one of them I had enough muck that covered my ankle completely & I had to literally drag the vehicle out of the situation. Again, felt like someone had sucked the breath out of me with a vaccum cleaner. Lot of small breaks ensured during the descent to Rumste.

The roads from Rumste to Leh was a pleasure to ride on & after 5 days of riding in rain, We were happy to be basking on sun’s rays. The landscape was a treat & photo stops were made on the fly.

After we crossed Thicksey, the wind suddenly picked up out of nowhere & with it came fine sand like particles that prick on the skin. The bike was swaying uncontrollably with all the luggage. At one point, the gusty winds pushed the bike from my lane to the shoulder of the right side & that too with oncoming convoy of Army trucks. IT WAS SCARY!!! (Jay was behind me & he said that it looked like I was going to commit suicide.. LOL.. J)

Hurray!! We reached leh by 5.30!! It never felt so good & I repeat again….

My soul never felt so content before!!!!

We stayed @ Hotel Kang la. Nice place. We requested for the permits to “Khardung la & Pangong Tso”. We had to axe “Nubra & Tso Moriri circuit” owing to the unforeseen delays.

Day 6: Get to the K-Top!!!

In the morning, we got the bikes checked. Pankaj was complaining of loose chain & found that the chain had worned quite considerably & couple of links had to be removed. Jay’s front disc pads had completely worned out. There was not even a millimetre amount of pad left. Unfortunately, the CBZ Extreme pads were not available in any shop, We got one side fit with a new one & the other was left as it is.

It was 12 by the time we stopped for lunch & then we started ascent to K-top by 2.30. We reached south pullu easily & gave the permits, the army guys there were quite friendly.

Another 10 odd KM and we finally had hit the K-top. The feeling was one of immense accomplishment & test of oneself. It was around 6 in the evening when we started the descent. Again, the nail biting cold on the K-top was immense. Had dinner in leh & crashed for the day.

Day 7: A Day with Pangong Tso!!!!

Left for Pangong by 9. Took the diversion from Karu & shakti flew past us. The roads were enjoyable till the army post on the foothills before the chang la pass. Had long discussion with the army guys there.

Chang la ascent was done without too much stress. The return had some surprises for us. The parched landscape looked beautifull. The streams were flowing gracefully. Tangste came in good time @ 3 in the evening.

The marsh land after tangste was breath taking & then we finally hit the “Pagal Nullah”. Much had been read, heard & said about this unruly beast. We were hoping for it to be sane, complying, gracefull duct of water. But it was afternoon & the water level & pressure had swollen.

To add to the woes, we could not see the bed of the stream, the shoulders had too big boulder like stones for the bikes to make through. So we decided to cross the nullah in the middle. We did not want our shoes/cameras to be wet & hence walked across it to safely keep it on the banks. Pankaj & Me were so busy charting out the path across that we did not see a Qualis that was coming from the other direction. The people inside had a look wat these nerds are trying to achieve walking in the water??

Pankaj was the first to go & with not much effort, he made it through. Next I was in line. Fired her up & led her slowly into the bed. Right in the middle she died on me!!! Drat.. double Drat… fired her up once again, gave a hand full of acceleration & she did not move an inch. The rear was sandwiched between two big boulders. Pankaj came over & pushed her to the banks. Finally once on safe side, I was wondering why she was accelerating so sluggishly & to my utter disbelief I found that “I crossed the Pagal Nullah in third gear!!!!”.. I repeat once again .. “Drat.. Double Drat..”.

Then came the moment I was waiting for a long time, the first sight of Pangong. the words said by Russel crowe in the movie “A Beautifull mind” zapped my mind, “Terrified... mortified... petrified... stupefied... by you”.

We found a nice dhaba with 4 beds for 400/- for the night.. Dumped the luggage, got hold of the tripod & both of us took a long walk across the shore of the Pangong Tso. I was literally pinching myself as I walked around, The dream had come true!!!

The colours, The interplay, The sweet breeze, The fluttering flags, The light green, The bottle green, The light, dark & arial blue!!! The shades of purple in between !!! Mesmerised!!!!

Jay had arrived @ Pangong by the time we returned from our photo shoot. He had a good adventure in crossing the nullah. The darkness crept on the Pangong!!

It was around 8~9PM when Jay yelled at us to get the camera out of the dhaba & we were seeing the blissfull rise of a full moon on the Pangong Tso!!! We were thanking our stars profusely for delaying us to see this beauty in action!!!

Life never felt so good!!! Peace!!!

Slept tight!!!

Day 8: Pangong’s glory in full colours

Pankaj got up fast to witness the sunrise, but alas some clouds were around hence could not spot the sunrise. I joined him on the banks with tripod happily clicking away to capture the beautiful colours. Jay was happily snoring off!!!

Finished all the clicking by 10 & we packed our stuff & left. The Nullah crossing this time was much easier & the water level was considerably low. Tangste came up in good time. Once the ascent to Chang la started, I was feeling I was riding a Luna or a moped of some sort.. The bike just was not pulling & giving more stick to the accelerator did not help any cause. The RPM’s were just not building. Pankaj did not see this phenomenon, but both Jay & me were going side by side & both the bikes were struggling to cover the metres. Finally after a very slow lumbering ride, we reached chang la top, had a hot cup of tea & made a dash for Leh!!!!

Day 9: Ride back to Sarchu

The return journey started with a fast ride to Sarchu. Nothing much to say. Started @ 9 & reached at 9. Thankfully there was no rains on any of the three passes.

Day 10: Ride back to Manali..

Today’s target was Manali. Started @ 9 and covered Baralachla easily and then the horrendous stretch of Keylong, Sissu, Gramphoo. The dust was really bad & everyone was soaked top to bottom with it. Felt like I was riding in Sandstorm…

By the time we entered manali it was 9, found a place to stay & crashed for the day.

Day 11: Landslides galore

Started @ 9 & we were in Bilaspur by 4. Just as we crossed the city limits, found a long queue of trucks & a crowd had gathered @ the police checkpost there. They said that a landslide had taken place a couple of KM down the road & hence it was closed for traffic. We waited till 7 for the cleaning up to complete, but it looked like it would take much longer. Hence found a hotel in Bilaspur & crashed for the day.

Day 12: More Landslides

Got up in the morning & headed out to the checkpost only to find that the road is still not open.. aargghh… requested the police their to allow us to go near the site & check out the status of the cleaning effort. It was a big landslide, lot of big boulders & immense amount of muck was on the road, The cleaning process completed in half an hour & we got the green signal to cross. As we headed out we found more than 5 landslides in a matter of few KM and slowly made our way upto Swarghat.

The ride back to CHD was a bit of pain as the traffic was stiffling. We had not seen this for a long time on the barren scapes of Ladakh region. By 2.30 we were in Chandigarh & we parted our ways. Jay & Pankaj left for Noida.

Parents were glad that their crazy petrol head lad had landed home safely!! The smile on their & my face was the most “Precious”!!!

Pankaj reached home by 8 & jay had some other plans!!! J

Some points to collect home to:

1. Leave early & stop early before darkness creeps in.
2. Get good number of polythene covers to cover your stuff. Some might let go in the middle & need replacement.
3. Cover your socks with a sturdy polythene cover to hold off water, if you cannot afford a gum boot.
4. There are no STD/mobile coverage between Keylong & Karu. So tell your people @ home clearly.
5. you can request army guys @ barracks for making STD calls depending upon availability.

-Sri