sherry_unicornlover

The Beginning:-

As they say, everything in this world has a beginning, so does our wonderful trip.
It was an idea planted deep into my conscious and sub-conscious mind by our very own Zayn. The planning started almost a month back and in between we went on Lansdowne trip with few other people, and that trip to Lansdowne made it clear that we can very well ride together as we share almost similar kind of riding style.
Hence, the D day was selected as 8th July's night. and so began our preparations.

The Destination:-

It was Zayn who told me that he has two locations in his mind, and I without even asking about it, said yes to it. As destination didn't matter to me, I just wanted to go out and ride for few days, away from the daily mundane routine of my life.
So the two destinations selected by Zayn were:-............
1.> Chitkul, Himachal
2.> Jhalori Pass, Himachal

The Preparation:-

I would specially want to highlight that on this trip, the complete duty of selecting the route, places to stay, Hotel numbers, Items to carry etc was done only and only by Zayn.
I as usual was busy all through this time and Zayn would call up almost everyday to share something or other.
So as days passed by, Zayn kept on informing me about one or the other thing, which I need to get before this trip.
Got the complete bike service done well in time, borrowed some stuff from friends and hence our preparation was well on track for the final Day.

The Surprise:-

It was decided that it would be Zayn and myself, who would go on this trip and hence we were preparing ourselves according to it.
And fine day I got call from a very old friend of Mine from Mumbai, and when we were talking, I told her about the trip and she gave me her final word. And the word was... SHE WAS IN.......
And when a lady says that she will do something then she does it, and there is nothing which you can do about it. And eventually I bowed down to her order and she became the third person for the trip.

First Day:-
To be continued...........

A Teaser

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SKSy_Biker

Travelogue approved

sherry_unicornlover

Thanks for approving the thread.

Day 1 coming up soon.

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phanikar

Thats a stunning teaser sherry Waiting for more

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Life is too short for traffic, take the highway...........

sherry_unicornlover

Thanks for liking it Phanikar.
Bit occupied in the office today. Hence not able to update. will do so as soon as i get some time.

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Gahlaut

still in office?

sherry_unicornlover

After waiting anxiously for months to Weeks to Days to Hours, the restlessness was increasing. And it was only filled with the excitement of the trip.
So, Zayn was at my place by 9:00 PM and by Midnight, we left for the journey. Shama was Zayn's pillion and I was riding alone and when we reached Kashmiri Gate, I took the turn for NH1 and Zayn in his own world went straight. I realized this quite soon and called him up. After almost 4th call he picked up and I told him that I was waiting for him below the Kashmiri Gate Flyover (Near Tibet Market). Waited good 15-20 minutes and then I got the word that he went straight and was about to get to the Bypass. So, I had to rush. Got stuck in almost 2 Km long traffic jam and I had only Trucks all around me. somehow sneaked ahead from the horrific jam and reached the Bypass in few minutes. Called up Zayn again, and he said that he was cruising at 40 Kmph so that I can catch up and he was already on NH1. And after about 15-20 minutes I succeeded in catching up with him.

And then It was a smooth journey and we were cruising at constant speed of 80-90, in between touching the magical figures.
By 02:15 AM we were in Jhilmil Dhaba, and everyone ordered what they wanted and I too went for my Favorites. Gobhi Paranthas. This was the first time when Zayn notices loss of Air pressure in his rear tyre. Somehow he was able to wake up the guy in his own style. Filled up air and we were ready to move. This time Shama was my pillion. And soon after we were again riding at our speeds and to pass the time, shama and I started singing songs and in kept on riding till I got call from Zayn. Conversation was like this:-
Zayn: Paaji, bach gaya
Me: What happened?
Zayn: Punchar wo bhi 80 ki speed pe
Me: Where are you right now?
Zayn: Kaafi peeche.
Me: Wait or try to keep on moving slowly and I will look for a guy who can fix the puncher.

Thankfully Petrol pump was not far off, and I saw the small shop which had the tools. Called up Zayn and told him that I am at the first petrol pump which he will encounter enroute and I will be getting the guy till he reaches.
Saw the Petrol station guy sleeping with mouth open. tried to wake him up nicely but he won't respond, And Finally I had to kick his chair.

Guy: aweeee Petrol Nahi hai
Me: Nahi chahiye
Guy: Hanji fir?
Me: Pucher wala Banda?
Guy: Nahi hai
Me: kahi Milega?
Guy: Nahi
Me: Bhai Bandi hai saath main, problem ho jayegi.
Guy: Ruko dekhta hu

But thankfully he went to the dhaba on the other side of the road and was able to bring the guy and by then Zayn reached the Petrol station too.
There were two punchers and after fixing them up and started again.
As of now, No photography. By 5 AM, we were able to reach Punchkula, and within next 1 hour we were riding in the hills.
The excitement could't last long as after about 5-6 Km's, we had to stop due to Land sliding and wasted around 30 minutes there.

Day 1, Part two coming up in sometime (With Pics)

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sherry_unicornlover

After wasting about 30 minutes due to the land slide, we wanted to speed up. And soon the speed was reduced due to the weather which simply can't be expressed in words. Suddenly we were covered in dense Fog, Visibility took deep hit and we could not see beyond few meters.



But we were not complaining but loved the due formation on the eyelids and the chillness of the weather. Much better then the scorching heat of Delhi.

It was around 8:20 AM when we reached Shimla. Shama wanted a stop there as it was her first time there, But Zayn and I decided to move on. Zayn simply hates the ever exploding crowd in Shimla, and I for a change wanted to stop at a place which was quite.
Hence we decided to move on and I'm sure Zayn must have heard few abuses from the pillion lady.
The Next stop was Fagu, for our breakfast. And we enjoyed one of the best Maggies ever. (Or was it due to the fight of unknown creatures in our stomach's?)

The View from Fagu


I must Add, Shama proved to be an awesome pillion as she never complained about anything and never asked us for unwanted breaks. And the fact, she had extremely heavy bag-pack on her shoulders. Salute to you girl.

After about 30 minutes, we were back on our steeds. and then there was no stopping apart from few stops from photography.





The Next Fuel stop was at Narkanda at 11:30 AM. we both filled the tanks with 500 INR each. And the road condition improved from Rampur and I could see Zayn leaning at mad angles and Shama enjoying them. And soon they were no where to be seen. Zayn got lil too excited and was riding quite fast but safely. And I was enjoying the Hills, the weather and the aura all around and was riding at my own pace. Still keeping the average speed at 60 Kmph.
Soon I realized I was loosing the balance and suddenly on a sharp turn I almost lost the complete balance and realized it was my turn for the Puncher. And icing on the cake, I was standing at a place where I could not see anyone as far as my eyesight allowed me. Had no option but to call up Zayn.

Me:- Calling Zayn...
Zayn: Not picking up
Me: Calling Again
Zayn: Not picking up
Me: Calling one more time
Zayn: Not picking up
Me: getting frustrated
Zayn: Not picking up
Me: Calling and Zayn picked up
Me: Dude where are you
Zayn: What happened?
Me: PUNCHER..........

for more, wait for tomorrow......

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sherry_unicornlover

The Day of Punchers continue....

ME: Zayn where are you
Zayn: around 7 Km's ahead of you
Me: Shit... Any shop you encountered enroute?
Zayn: Nops
Me: Come back then
Zayn: I'll go ahead and look for someone
Me: No way, come back. I can't drag my bike for 8-9 Km's
Zayn: Okey, I'm coming.

Now I was waiting for him to come back when i decided to click the road down the mountain which looked like a serpent in sleep.


Waited patiently and one nice person was watching me. He came down from the house which was around 30 meters up on the hill.
He told me that there was one puncher repair shop around 2.5 Kms back and If I want to move ahead then it is 8 Kms.
Zayn came in about 20 minutes. Told him about the one available 2.5 kms back. He lend me his bike and I went to look for the guy, and in the meanwhile, Shama decided to take a short nap.
Somehow located the shop but fate decided to play little more. The guy was off to Chandigarh to get some stuff and now I had no option but to move ahead 8 kms to get the puncher repaired. discussed for sometime and with the help of the locals, got a small pickup vehicle who agreed to take the bike to the place in 300 bucks. I was so frustrated by then that If he had asked for 1000, I would have paid it.





Few minutes in this pickup vehicle were the worst few minutes of my life. I was feeling puckish only because the driver was driving quite fast and was taking turns on speed beyond my comfort level. Also I was trying my best to keep the bike as straight as possible because who wants the ugly scratches on their babies?
Reached Kingel by 03:30 PM and wasted about 45 minutes there. Now we had already lost the precious time and It was time for Lunch too. Discussed with Zayn and he wanted to ride and cover as much as possible before it gets dark. I knew he was right as we still had long way to cover, But that does't mean I can't have fun. So all through the route, after every few minutes I kept on telling him that I was hungry and I want a Stop. And as usual, Shama was Ok with everything. she was enjoying herself and did't care if we are stopping or continuously riding. And after everytime I used to shout at Zayn for a stop, he would say... A lil more and would zoom off so that I can't catch up and beat him up.

In between I managed to click few more pics








Another Landslide and we wasted another 30 minutes. The ride from there was a tough one. Practically no road for more then 30 Kms (Karcham to Sangla). And because of this extremely bad stretch, we had to slow down and after sometime almost all the bike parts started begging for some mercy. I was not tired in the whole journey as much I got tired in this stretch. Dust, Pebbles to stones to mud. It had it all. But we also had amazing view of Damn build on the river and It was awesome to look at it.
And when we were getting frustrated and tired, got the first look of Kinner Kailash







It was around 06:30 PM when we finally reached Sangla. It was awesome to know that finally we were at our planned destination and no amount of trouble could deter us from our goal. Zayn too was happy to torture me all the way to Sangla by keeping me hungry but who was in the mood of complaining especially when such devine beauty is all around us.



We booked a room in Hotel Ravi. And soon we were back in our jolly mood and the fun of pulling legs, and round of jokes and the stories of the day gone by started. Ordered Hot Jalebi, Pakoras and Tea.
The backside view was simply magical with river flowing by and the mighty mountain peaks.
The chit chat continued till late in the night and finally we decided to hit the bed at about 11 PM.

To be Continued...

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Maxxrocker

nice log and some really good pics there paaji... waiting for more..

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