arent we missing something?

dude !! ...... riding in the water was fun man !! .. reminded me of the RSA stunt we had seen !! the one jumping in the rain !! ...
so this trip was like living on the edge and full on adventure huh ???

Great going guys.

I had also read darth's full ladakh travalogue when he rode there solo. That was also an amazing writeup.
Although I am still to see those writing skills here from Amit, but pics and smell of adventure is really wonderful.

Congrats to all of you guys.

yaar this teaser style marketing gimmick is really killing the fun..just write the trip log and be done with it naa!.. bhai gangtok gae toh itna bhav!! ;D

@All:Thanks and sorry for delay in trip log.Add to it we would be riding to tibet and everest base camp in 2009 and are busy with office and
personal commitments etc.

@Betaal:Leh ride holds a special sentimental value in my life coz I finished it when entire group of 8 pulled out save me and I finished it and that too against all odds,warnings and critics.....hence that triplog which I still enjoy reading.Now long rides have become too regular and easy and no body stops me now



Gopi:Screw the mountains,its 15 days without porn.Can i survive???


Sparsh:Yaar barish hone wali hai.
Anup:I returned a waterproof K2k and got a non-waterproof mesh.Do I look worried???


Sparsh:Ek orkut wali photo nikal





Jithu:Weeeeeee....This is how hard you have to ride a ZMA to catch up with a P200.

Anup:Screw you and stop smoking ciggarattes.We finished 7 day stock of cigarrates on first day in Bhutan :| I think we need to ration them.



Amit:Clouds below and blue sky above me.Vista seen from an airplane only till now.I was here.Yes !!Click it fast



Sparsh:My tough biker look.Hope he clicks it right this time :P



Gopi:I think abhijeet sawant is bigger than rajni.I gotta start making my modelling portfolio .




Anup:This is sweater given by someone special.A pic to show im putting it to a good use



A sweet sikkimese baby.She was shy while I was chasing her with a cam:P




Lukkhas:










__________________

Rode from lachen to NJP nextday(sunday).Plan was to reach phunsholing.Dont have much snaps since it was again a hard day riding.
Cross chumthang to reach a lanslide which took too three hours to clear.



BRO people at work




Riders resting




Sparsh had a makeshift resting place




Finally we reached NJP and with all riders tired we gave up phunsholing deciding to cover it the next day

On monday 22 september we rode to phunsholing.
Abt 100-150 kms from NJP.

the road was accompanied by some nice tea estates








Finally reached phunsholing gates



we sent anup and sparsh for permits for ourselves and it was done within couple of hours.Good to have sweet talkers in the group
Next we had to get the road permits for our vehicles from local rto.
the building lies a little farther ahead from immigration building



As usual we sent anup and sparsh to do the talking.By the time we had reached here it was 4:00 and office was closed.Moreever they were informed roads to thimpu were closed on 'monday' and 'tuesday'.WTF???the whole plan was abt to get ruined.
Anyways we checked into hotel west side for next couple of days spent in phunsholing.

Wednesday 24th september we finally rode to thimpu.











The line up and the town of thimpu ahead of us








School kids at thimpu




More school kids on bridge in traditional uniforms

We were already late at thimpu.Going further required special permits for ourselves which we got at thimpu immigration office.Permits for vehicles to go further ahead were secured at local RTO at thimpu.

We decided to part ways at Thimpu the next day with sparsh riding off to paro and Jithu riding off at lesuirely pace.
Me,Anup and Razor had no choice but to canon ball thru rest of bhutan in order to achieve the goal of riding west-east.We had to ship our bikes from gawhati on saturday and had a plane to catch back home on sunday.

Thursday 25th septmber 2008:
We set off in jest to ride as much as possible towards gawhati.Photos were less just a few key ones to document and as a proof

A beautiful vista normally seen only from an airplane a few kms ahead of thimpu









Bikes at pelela top



The blue mountains in bhutan




At tongsa



@Bumthang:Enroute jakar



It was dark soon.We were far away from mongar(our target for the day) and we were tired.We decided to sleep at jakar,Gawhati being faraway

Friday 26th sept 2008:
We kept riding ,samdrup jonkhar being target for the day











Ofcourse early morning starts and endless twisties meant lot of rider fatigue
















Made it to a town 60 kms from tashigang and 100 kms from samdrup jongkar

-------------------------------------------------
Saturday 27th sept 2008:
We keep speeding to gawhati thinking this was the last day of the ride.Its very early in the morning and we have to cover just 200 kms to reach gawahati.
At the start of the day my front tire skids on wet road.I check that its complete bald now.This was the baddest of all the falls and my hand was hurt i couldnt even pull it out of the glove.

we keep riding and reach samdrup jonkhar by 10:00 am.The last few kms being utterly skiddy

We cross into india.I cant pull out my gloves with my hands hurting and use the trottle forget taking pics.Razor takes the final pic at the border as a proof.

We speed to gawhati now at ground level and good tarmac we reach gawhati in a jiffy.

Find gati on beharambari.Hand over bikes thankfully no nakhras.Takes a few hours to pack up everything.We decide to check into a good hotel.Check into a very expensive restaurant.



Gawahati is a big and sophisticated city.All our fears of militants,unsafe etc are foolish.Me and razor go and watch 'Dark knight' again to kill time
---------------------------------------------
Sunday 28th sept:We fly back home.A long flight later and we reach to get a warm welcome at home.

--------------------------THE END-----------------------------


Lastly kudos to all te riders Anup,Gopi,Jithu and Sparsh for making this ride sucessful and memorable

Some FAQs and myths:

1]Do you have any issue regarding the permits??
Answer:We faced no issues regarding the permits.In fact sikkim goverment is more than happy to issue it.Only this is keep a couple of days for the permits business infact you cant visit places near to gantok while permit business is going on.Just make sure you dont go in the wrong season when there is snow
There are stories built around permitsIt only takes time compared to leh during the right season.The lady officer at gangtok checkpost said
"we welcome you all with open arms" when I asked her whether rest of my club members can visit sikkim on bikes


1 1/2o you need any army contacts/contacts

Answer:None.its our desh and its a free country.We dont have anyone working for army or goverment and we paid zero rupees in bribe

2]Is it difficult???Can I do it.
Answer:Yes you can do it.Sikkim/Bhutan is having very steep valleys unlike leh route.Just make sure you dont go down a cliff(You would only if you are stupid)

3]Is gurudonmarg tough.
Answer:Only last 4 kms would be challenging and uphill climbIf you have a high powered bike than you wont face any issue.keep pillions out

4]Leh or sikkim
Answer:Both

5]Which one is more difficult
Answer:None if you make sure you deont fall off a cliff.No dragging business in mountains

6}where is the next ride???
Answer:Mount everest base camp

7]Is north east safe??
Answer Decide for yourselves.there are bomb blasts in mumbai every 15 days .Have you wondered what rest of the country think whether mumbai is safe???Ditto for north east

The answers really sound cool.... maybe one day I will try to conquer both leh and bhutan/sikkim

@darth:thanks buddy for the rest but the main thing i was looking for is in the post no 71,and i guessed the same thing which is there in your post.

HAPPY RIDING.
WISH YOU COMPLETE MANY MORE RIDES LIKE THIS AND TREAT US WITH SOME GOOD TRIPLOG AND PIC IN COMING DAYS..

Excellent darth. This is what experienced riders like you do in the end. I appreciate you specially for your this post.
Thanks.

m living in siliguri...visited sikkim on 4 wheelers but not on a 2 wheeler gotta try it...and yeah if u fall from any cliff no1 will find ur dead body soon