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@Darkknight - Starking difference. SPITI has different colors in different weather & that's precisely why one trip is just not enough.
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LIFE IS SHORT !!! GO HARD -
I'm also planning a trip to "somewhere" next month. This place looks appealing.
Please share the route and accommodation details.The best things in life are realized on two wheels!Comment
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When you will learning counting manOriginally posted by darkknight View PostJust 4 months & look at the change
. Its not 4 but 8 months
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march-april-may-june --kitna hua beyOriginally posted by MG_Biker1806 View PostWhen you will learning counting man. Its not 4 but 8 months
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I think it should be counted as June - July - Sept - Dec - March and that is 8 months.Originally posted by darkknight View Postmarch-april-may-june --kitna hua bey
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LIFE IS SHORT !!! GO HARDComment
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DAY 3 - NAKO to KAZA
I woke up at 6 am. I was quite comfortable in blanket until this idea came in my mind - "Why not enjoy the morning view of snow capped hills outside?" This idea changed my life and within 10 seconds of venturing out I sprung back to cozy comfort of blanket... my reverse movement could have easily got me a role in next part of MATRIX. I could think sense after 10 mins. Imagine we had to get rid of morning chores in open as the water in taps had frozen. I leave the next one hour to you imagination.
0830 hrs - All set to leave for Kaza. Nitin decided to head back to Delhi as he was not feeling well and didn't want to take risk of venturing further. Lovish had to push his bike for almost a km before it roared to life. Thankfully, the two 220s didn't pose any problem. We headed out assuming that we would return to NAKO by night... what had we known that this plan was to be quashed in next 30 kms!!
I avoided my trekkng-cum-riding gloves assuming that normal riding gloves over warm gloves would do the job. I was wrong!! I could feel my fingers going numb with every passing meter. I braved & continued riding upwards... 3kms later I had had enough and couldn't bear the cold wave on my fingers anymore. Jumped off my steed in a flash... both hands on exhaust for want of heat, trekking gloves replaced the riding gloves and I was good to go. Copy that for Shaan & Lovish as well. Chango came in no time and after registering our bikes at Army chekcpoint there we headed for SUMDO. This is where you get to see the boards & hoards of SPITI valley welcoming you. Feels real good!!
We managed to reach Hoorling in two hours after a lot of stops for pics, no pics & just admiring the vistas around. A sumptuous breakfast of Momos, Chowmein, many glasses of tea and we felt good. Some locales advised against riding to KAZA for there would be excessive snow & slush. I listened to them with utter attention & was relieved to hear about the condition of road from them. I was out to ride in difficult condtions and if they had eluded me enroute.... then what's the use?? The route from Hoorling to Kaza is simple.... just keep riding on same road for 60kms and you are in KAZA. I wouldn't blabber about the state of road or what we had to ride on??
I'm rather interested in sharing what I felt riding on terrains surrounded by mountains; make that snow covered mountains. The view was obviously splendid. With every turn that we took the vistas used to get magical and called for taking a stop & using the camera. I especially loved riding on those few stretches of straight road where we would see only snow in periphery. It was nothing less than magic unfolding right in fornt of me on XXXL screen. After every photography break we used to decide that next break would only be after cetain kms. And this pact would be broken in next 500mts as someone would stop to click something. Though everytihng around was white but that's what snow does to you?? You just can't get enough of using your camera. We realised that returning to NAKO is just a figment and not a bright idea. So here we were with just 45 kms to ride, six hours of time available and mystic valley at its best texture. What more could we have asked for?? Stop anywhere, click everything, sit anywhere, just enjoy the magnificient views and thank GOD for creating such beautiful places. MAGIC
The diversion to PIN valley was blocked since snow hadn't been cleared by that time. I tried to venture for some distance but returned since it didn't make sense as it couldn't have been done in any case. We didn't go to Dhankar as well... no specific reason for it but just didn't feel like treading anywhere else. Those are places left for next time. This day also brought the photographer inside me, or for that matter, all of us. For the first time every pic taken by me was wonderful. I was capturing almost everything I saw in the view-finder. The truth was - put your camera in any setting, any angle, any zoom range - just click & you got a picture worthy of setting as a wallpaper. That's why I was such a good photographer that day. I've clicked many pics after coming back and can bet on them being nothing more than routine.
We covered the rest of the journey in 4 hrs and reached KAZA at 1530 hrs. Circit House remains open throught the year and we checked in immediately. It was clean, cozy, comfortable, everything in place except water. Water is frozen in all sublets & so manual mode to do everything is the only way it works. So you can imagine the rest of stuff about evening & next morning.
While strolling through the KAZA market in search of rum we met a guy named Jamaica. He also had a small guest house which is open all through & invited us to his guest house for evening. He was kind enough to arrange water, snacks, food & everything else to make it a perfect evening. Me & Shaan had time of our lives while Lovish preferred to stay at Circuit house.
2000hrs - It is just 1 km from Jamaica's guest house to Circuit house but at night this seemed like a coldathon. All in all it was the best day of our trip. It was fun discussing the day through amongst three of us before we hit the bed. For the second night straight... the dreams were white.
Some pics:
At Hoorling
At Nadang
Enroute Chango
Enroute KAZA
This is where road diverts for PIN
Somewhere near Shichling
Waterfall - frozen
OTR (on the road)
For your eyes only
I loved riding on such stretch
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LIFE IS SHORT !!! GO HARDComment
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really nice ride................will go sometime.....Comment
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This thread is getting better and betterComment
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Now I know...why it is called the "White" Spiti
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Bhai Abhi maza agaya superb pics and brilliant writeup....keep up the good work so now its time to plan next one also....
Ride Safe & Ride Long-->
ZaynComment
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Beautiful pics.sigpicComment
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KAZA - NAKO - DELHIThe final run
First, please accept my apologies for I'm updating this thread after a long time.
We have had three wonderful days of our lives. We had done what we aspired for & it was time to hit the road again but backwards. I woke up at 0500 hrs in KAZA. It was relatively early considering that weather outside was extremely cold & chilling. Before hitting the sack on night earlier, we all had decided to leave KAZA by 7 AM and cover the maximum that we can till evening. A resolution needs tough grit to br executed in such conditions. We all were out at 0630 to start & give enough time to bikes for idling.
There was enough frozen dust on bikes to be cleaned, the most noticeable were the needle shaped icicles abundantly at front wheel guard.
Ignition on.... auto check done.... press the start button.... shrewd noise & dead.
We knew it would be hard and bikes without kick might pose some problem. No issues!!
The desi jugaad was tried wherein everyone pushed his bike to gain some momentum, it was extremely cold outside & our efforts were directed towards beating the weather and get steeds to life. Even after 15 mins of arduous efforts & braving the cold ... the bikes didn't start. Probably it was a wrong idea to start so early.
We decided to head back to hotel & start little later. We had enough time in our kitty and so didn't feel the need to push ourselves. Anyway, Shaan was going through the worst time of his ride where his fingers had turned blue & he was finding it hard to push 220 back to the hotel. Lovish had lost hopes & was already at the gate of hotel waiting for us. I had taken my bike the farthest... it was cold but my bike had given some hope (started once but went to sleep again after 3 seconds). I was literally trying hardest to reach a slope and just give a final push. But looking at the situation of my fellow riders I realised it was of no use even if my bike started, they were not ready to leave, had taken strong beating in morning cold & we all were yearning for tea & heater.
Nothing doing any further, we all hopped back to our room, asked Mr.Ashok (caretaker of circuit house) to make tea & breakfast. It took close to 30 mins for Shaan to return to normal state. The plan was redesigned to just make it to NAKO by evening & keep it easy. It was 10 when SUN was gracing our bikes with abundant sunshine and we were hopeful that bikes wouldn't face any hassles in starting. We were right!! First push to starter & my bike roared to life. Same happened to other 220 & Lovish had to make some efforts to get this done. All ready to hit the road and destination not being too far, we knew it's going to be another lazy ride back to NAKO.
After 4 hrs and few photography breaks... we were at NAKO, the same dhaba where we stayed earlier. The plan was to ride to Rampur next day & make it to Delhi on the day next to it. It was perhaps the last night in such beautiful valley, we were happy for we did it without any mishap but sad as we just couldn't get enough of it. The evening was spent over discussing every useless thing on earth, drinking RUM and just like that.
The next day we made it to Rampur and were feeling the heat. I wasn't liking it but had this idea implanted in mind to visit this beautiful place again.
I'm actually hooked to Spiti for life It has made a niche for itself in my heart, this was probably one of the best ride of my life, there are many places I couldn't do this time in SPITI Valley and I'll keep hunting them in time to come.
Thus ended my humble ride to mystic valley. It took me many days to accept the reality of Delhi, traffic, heat, excel charts & obviously nothing being white around anymore.
Signing off till my next ride which has already been done but my lazy character needs sometime to soak it in & then write. Hope you liked it!!
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LIFE IS SHORT !!! GO HARDComment
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Abhishek: Great effort, beautiful pictures, well-written log and a wonderful attitude towards touring (no rush to push through for every listed destination - Dhankar for next time - 'I like'.)
I also like your way of expressing things by flitting between different rider's view-points. And 'the dreams were white' was a great punch-line.
And as for your attempts at leaving Kaza early, it was good that the bikes did not start. Black ice would have been a major issue on the road so early in the day.
PS: at the prevailing sub-zero temperatures, petrol doesn't vaporize well enough to catch fire inside the cylinder, what with the low oxygen content in the air in addition.I don't let my motorcycles interfere with my motorcycling...
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