Day5 - Srinagar to Drass

Route: Srinagar-Sonamarg-Zojila-Drass
Total Distance: 140+kms
Time: 7Hrs**



This is the day for which we slept with a fear to wake up early and leave ASAP to avoid the traffic from Amarnath Yatris and Army trucks at Zojila. Everyone woke up on time and laziness has gone into corners due to the excitement for a real ride.

6.45am We all got ready, attached liners to the jacket, two layers of clothes and balaclava is on to beat the cold. Packed our saddles and came down to pay for the room but as I said before the hotel receptionist will be awake only in nights, started searching for him but no luck. We didn't want any curses later for leaving without paying, hence kept money in the entry book and left the hotel around 7:00am wishing all good to each other.



Courtesy: Ronak





Decided to have Breakfast at Sonamarg and started zipping through the roads of Srinagar. Riding through Dal lake early in the morning was like a bliss. Lazy mist, sun reflections in the water and we almost did a circle of the lake on the way. We didn't even reach the outskirts but all the last night's fear came into reality, A huge traffic jam till the tip of our sight a head. Struggled a bit initially in tackling those trucks and cars but after some distance we were honored by the army officials by allowing only bikers to pass through other side of the road. Wow we were lucky, for my surprise all the other vehicles were standing in single line when the oncoming road is absolutely empty, no one wants to move even a inch towards their right, I have never seen such decent traffic Jam. The man with AK47 does it all Yes army guys were doing an amazing job in clearing the traffic. I started counting the kms from the time we touched the empty road and it was exactly 4.8kms of traffic standing in a single lane. I felt like, yes!! the hotel guy had found money in the entry book and wished us all the best to pass through this.

I and Hari managed to pass through the busy traffic ahead but lost Ronak behind. We thought waiting for him would make things worse with the traffic behind and decided to move a head and wait at Sonamarg.

Sonamarg in sight:

















The First Snow!!!











Reached Sonamarg around 8.30am and could not find any trace of Ronak behind us. We both decided to go ahead, order breakfast and keep munching till he comes. Ordered maggi, bought some almonds for time pass. Sonamarg has got 360 degrees of splendid views with all green mountains and white snow patches at the peaks, one can close their eyes and a click a photo, it will still turn out to the best shot. Hotel guy has took his own time to prepare maggi but we were addicted in the process of taking those beautiful memories into our cameras. Found Ronak racing through the road, we shouted at our best to stop him but it didn't reach him. Thought its now his turn to wait for us ahead . At last the view around made him to stop and finally he found us. He was lost behind because his back pack was not tied properly and kept moving. Ordered one more Maggi for him and again stuck my eyes to the camera.

The hotel where we had Breakfast:



Beautiful Vistas...













10.30am Finished the breakfast, had a long refreshing break and moved on from there. Reached the diversion for Amarnath Yatra, we missed the sign board behind the buses and got diverted towards the Sonamarg valley. We were suppose to go on top of the hill and it didn't take much time to realize that, me and Ronak stopped there but Hari raced on, he couldn't hear us with his head phones on. We told some of the the Yatri's to guide him back and moved on. Funny part was he was in the same mood of VIP treatment by the army guys earlier this morning and kept moving without caring the police check-post. Police came running, stopped him and checked all his saddles and bags for liquor . He has to explain the same story again what we have been telling to a lot of people through out this journey. We all were again a special attraction to the huge crowd around.

Moved on from there on the correct way and started riding towards the hill. Tourist buses has filled the entire valley and the Himalayan helicopters were moving like metro trains in shifting people.





Smile please...





Seeing a helicopter from top angle for the first time





Valley flooded with Vehicles









Brothers in Blue



Helping Each other, My pic is missing thoug



The incline from there was a proper off road with gravel, mud, dust and absolutely no traffic, Guess what!!! its the mighty Zojila. OMG!! We never felt that we are riding on the pass that we all were worried about last night, it was totally traffic free and there were no army trucks in sight. All the travelogues that we went through had a very bad experience with Zojila and we just couldn't believe that it could be so easy. We had to confirm with 2-3 army guys that it is exactly the pass. No power loss, no traffic and Zojila was a cake walk for us apart from low pace due to the road condition.















Dusty Snow



Zojila...There is no single vehicle through out the pass in this Pic.









One more step...I will be a history



It was the first time I got to touch snow and the little kid inside has came out, couldn't resist myself anymore. Got down the cliff and started playing on the snow. Met few bikers coming from the other way, everyone were saying that the road is in worst shape and cant do more than 20kmph, we felt like what!! we did the so called scary Zojila with ease and can take anything worst now. . Moved on from there after few photos









Is this what called as Heaven?



Oh God!!! write me off from responsibilities



The monument we built in the snow: 3 bikers connected with a relationship called biking!!!



Finally the mighty Zojila has been conquered

Me Celebrating:



Drass was not too far, so we were pretty relaxed in riding, stopping for photos every 5 odd kms. Sonamarg and zojila has been feast to the cameras. Photos talk more than words.


























Its again the Backpack...







We are almost there



Reached Tiger hill around 1pm and we just couldn't believe ourselves being at the place which was bombarded by bofors 12 years ago. OMG!!! its tiger hill, the pride of indian army. Just sat there for sometime munching the almonds so that the truth can sink in.

There it is









Finally in Drass around 2pm, The second coldest inherited place in the world!!! dreams are coming to reality one by one started inquiring about rooms and found the cheapest and one of the best room in our Journey. Rs300 per night for a spacious triple bedroom with ample parking space and amazing views. Yes i'm talking about the so called J&K tourist Bungalow. There was no sign of tiredness in our faces, no hot water in the room and the water was freezing cold and makes to loose your senses wherever it touches. Got freshened up and left for lunch. Had a relaxing lunching right next to the bungalow and came in, weather was getting worse and it started snowing around peaks from 5pm. Went outside to take some photos but I could not stay there more than 10mins. That cold air was poking the nostrils and my head started aching mildly. Took few photos and rushed back to the room again.

Tiger Hill from the room





Our room



Amazing Views around







Guest House Manager



We all were tucked inside the rugs and didn't even know when we fell asleep. I woke up somewhere around 10pm but could not get out from the bed because of the cold. Gave a Damn to dinner and wanted to catch a nice sleep before getting Leh'd. The first signs of AMS were here, I wasn't able to sleep properly neither with the rug on nor with keeping it open on the face. May be because of lack of oxygen.

This entire day's ride was the best for me through out our Trip. I didn't even feel that we traveled these 140kms on a bike. Finally the Day at Drass ends with a long kind of sleep.


Day 6 - How we got Leh'd....Click on the below link

Day-6: Drass to Leh

Thank you Sandeep..Yes I had the same feeling when I started reading those logs..

Route: Drass-Kargil-Lamayuru-Nimmu-Leh
Total Distance: 300 kms (Approx)
Time: 12Hrs**

Map: Google didn't allow to plot a route over Kargil-Mulbek

Last night was a longest ever sleep for us through out the trip, we slept around 6pm last evening and woke up around 7am. All our heads were popping out of the rugs like rabbit's because of cold outside . The biggest task was right out there "taking bath", no way, we were loosing senses while touching the water for our nature calls... and taking bath was definitely out of possibility. There goes our second day of ride without bath :. Got freshened up with so much of difficulty and headed out for breakfast. Again a choice of hotel and tried a different one, had maggi, omelet and tea, taste was not so good though but it somewhat filled our stomachs.

Came back to Room, I had found a sarcastic change in my health. My nose was Bleeding, yes Nasal bleeding is one of the symptoms of AMS which I never came across in any of the Leh threads (Did i overlook???). It didn't affect my energy levels anyway but the blood was clotted in my nose and making it difficult to breath at times. Took Diamox as a safety measure and it was time to get out and keep moving. Got the saddles on and the meanwhile Hari was speaking to some biker who returned from Leh, regarding some stay options. He suggested "Mahe" guest house somewhere in the Leh city, I was already irritated as we are getting late despite of taking a long rest, wasn't really interested in any kind of further conversations on road conditions, blah blah... and wasting the valuable day time. No matter what the condition is we have got to do it. Thanked him for the suggestion and moved on from there.

A small photo session.

View from the Room:















My bike has become a celebrity all of a sudden , A family who were heading to Leh in a Tata Safari had a photo session with my baby. They came along with us till Fotu La, but raced on after that.



10.30am Moved on from there and our next target was to visit the "War Memorial", reached there in few minutes and its a must that we should go in. Parked the bikes, the Place was so promising that we left everything on the bikes except our cameras, I even left the bike keys on the bike Itself..



The Tololing Range, right behind us....wow!!! we had reached places which scared and amazed us 12years agao.

















Headed out from there and the journey for the real reason has started again. Roads were not that good and we were not able to go more than 20-25kmph. Had set the next target as Kargil for Lunch and Fuel for Ronak and Hari. Trust me, ZMR was doing an amazing job in the terrain and I was getting an average of 48-50kmpl through out the journey. Fuel indicator never bothered me in the entire stretch from Srinagar to Leh, sometimes it read wrong but its all because of those bumpy roads.

Its all about the mountains around, you feel like the road is going nowhere ahead but the views will never bore you. Kept moving like turtles because of the road condition and tackling the gravel was real fun anytime.



That's a lot on these kind of roads..





Reached Kargil around 1pm but couldn't stop anywhere in the town due to the traffic, we were diverted to a different road because of traffic and couldn't find any hotels out there. We were out of Kargil in no time. Ronak and Hari went to fill petrol. Moved on from there and stopped for lunch, it was not that great to tell something about. We wanted to finish our lunch and move out from there ASAP to use the day time. Roads has never got better till now.



Kargil Town



Finished our lunch and headed to fight with gravel again. One could get out from the irritating roads only by enjoying the view around. Roads had started to get bad and to worst on the way. All we find is only gravel and my puny ZMR front tyre is hardly maintaining any balance on it. I had been extra careful as a fall might make it worse, Ronak and Hari were no where in sight ahead. Rode across so many places which I felt like already knew all those. May be the impact of those Travelogues on me . Crossed Mulbekh, Namika La, Heniskot which had the worst roads ever.



Wow..what a place to Pee...




Spot the biker







The so called roads



Haniskot:



Roads had got better a few minutes after Heniskot with newly laid tarmac. ufff...what a relief heard some fellow biker saying that roads are good after Lamayuru and the signboards has got us out of the tiredness.

See the roads!!!





Some village enroute Fotu La.





The ascent to fotula was easier than riding in Bangalore, hail BRO for such beautiful roads to highest point in Srinagar-Leh Road. We never felt like it as the highest point but once we reached the top and removed our helmets then we came to know the feel. It was too windy as someone is holding a big windmill right next to you and any unattended or untied items will fly away into the valley. Same happened with my Balaclava, Me and Hari has to ran like catching a Hare . Apart from being windy it was chill too which made my nasal bleeding even worst, the cold wind was poking my nostrils straight away but I didn't want to take it serious and spoil the fun in ride.

At Fotula top





Hari conquering the Fotula.



It was so windy that I went and hid behind the board to escape from the wind. I did't want to take any chance which make my health worst and fall into the hand of AMS.



View from Top







Hari, posing all the time for a nice profile pic



Ronak, See the wind effect on his face.



The descent from Fotula takes you to the beautiful village 'Lamayuru', view of the village from the top is spectacular with Ladakhi style of buildings. The descent was so beautiful with well laid roads, time to practice some cornering again.

Lamayuru:



Thank you BRO for such wonderful roads



The NH1D is now been changed to NH1



While enjoying the beauty of Lamayuru on the descent the first disappointing incident took place in our trip. Hari has stopped for a photo and I was looking at him as what he is doing, it was a sharp right turn on the down hill and there was bit of oil on the road (Leaked from a broke down truck i think) i didn't notice it and the helpless front tyre gave up its traction out there. Tried to manage but couldn't take the bike's weight along with saddles, I could see the bike sliding away from me and I manged to get up without touching my butt. creek..treekk..cchuukkk.... OMG!!! It would have almost took Hari off the cliff.. I couldn't take that I had been so stupid to leave my baby like that and the first fall ever for my ZMR came to reality. For all those people who were wondering all these days on how I could maintain the bike so clean, take a look of the below snap..grrrr.,but its now time to resuce. Bank Angle sensor has finally worked to stop the ignition I was worried about the damage as I didn't carry any spare Brake Lever, but for my surprise it was just a little scratch on the fairing and silencer guard. But the bike was not starting, removed the side panel, tapped the air filter, switched off and switched on that's it, The roaring K&N sound is back again. which bought a lot of smiles on our faces. (The trick was just to switch off and switch on so that the sensors are reset, but it didn't flash at that time).

Me pointing out the scratches...its not visible though...the corner where I fell is right behind.

Courtesy Ronak:


but I'm wondering as when did I remove my upper pants?? its still a suspense as the photo at Fotula top shows a different one and I'm wearing my Jeans in the above one. Will have to investigate on this.

Moved on from there and it was already around 6.15 pm, roads were ok with a bit of patches here and there but we were already used to it.

Butt breaks:









It was so scary as the rocks might fall on us anytime...





Bad patches..



Something...







Ronak and Hari has stopped for a smoke break but I moved on telling them will catch up at the next photo stop. The result was I could capture this spectacular sunset just ahead.





It was dusky when I left from there, so changed the helmet's visor to plain one. Ronak and Hari was still behind me at this point of time and it started snowing at the mountain tops, It was cloudy and a little drizzle scared me that we are going to freeze if we ride in this cold and rain. thought of taking the rain gear out and stopped the bike, Ronak and Hari reached me by then and told its not going to rain and to be brave, I was little worried but agreed to go by just covering the tank bag. They moved on and it was the last time I saw them before Leh. I could not race with them with my shrimpy ZMR lights..

This was the last pic I took in day light (from Mobile).



Kept moving on but faced a lot of difficulty with those on coming trucks with bright lights, I was going blind for few seconds after the truck passes by and some of them does not even bother to use dipper. There was an incident as well where an empty oil tanker was coming downhill occupying the entire road and I was almost riding on the edge, he still came onto me and finally realized that he is gonna hit me. That stupid moron instead of turning the truck, was shouting a like a heroine in one of the old films (nooooooooooo) damn...I was thrown off the road onto loose dust and has to revv the bike to the fullest to get out of it, It was so scary at that moment, I had something in my mouth and the pindrop silent around me was adding more spices to it. It was only me and my bike altogether through out the visible landscape. I just concentrated on road and any couldn't find any trace of Hari and Ronak. Wondering how did they manage to ride so quick. Luckily roads were good.



9.30pm Reached outskirts of Nimmu and the mobile signal was back, messages were flooding and I could even hear my message tone in that silence. Leh was 50+ kms ahead, roads have become butter smooth with almost no traffic, raced on at 80-90's to reach Leh as soon as possible and find a nice hotel. All my concentration was only on the space where my bike lights could reach. It was too windy and the known fact of handling the ZMR in cross winds was horrible. Suddenly I saw a board 'Magnetic Hill' on the roadside but could not make out the shape of the hill as it was pitch dark. Another milestone shows Leh, 29kms. Kind of relief in me but the second incident took place right out there, I switched onto low beam to pass a oncoming truck but there was another truck parked on the road(breakdown) and was not visible till my lights could hit the truck's reflector, I had no time to react and still could not figure out on how I escaped from it, went to extreme left, off the road and successfully crossed the truck without any fall. ufff.... So many scary thoughts passed by and reached Leh around 10.15 PM. Went inside the city, couldn't find anybody waiting for me. Tried to call Ronak but he was not reachable. I was already frustrated by the incidents happened and this was taking the worst out of me. By this time and I had already gone through the main market street for 3 to 4 times. whichever road I go I was guided back to Market street because of the one ways. There were lot of bikers around and first time I was happy of not being a special attraction. Went to a traffic police and asked if he had seen two bikers dressed in the same way. He again pointed out to the Market street saying that they just passed by. I had gone looking at each hotel If i could see any bikes parked but could not find any. I had stopped in front of a hotel and the owner came and asked me if I need a room, asked him If he had seen any bikers like me and I'm waiting for them, he told he didn't see any and gave his visiting card asking to call if we need a room. Other biker came and asked if I had come through Manali as he had cancelled his return trip that day as road is closed due to snow fall it was a kind of negative signs for me.

Finally got a message from Ronak that they stopped at Nimmu for dinner and packing dinner for me as well. I went till Leh Arch and guided them to there. They told that they shouted at me in Nimmu but I didn't hear. So it was me who got Leh'd first and almost knew the major roads. Tried to find 'Mahe' guest house but could not succeed. I told there is no point in searching for it when we have hell lot of options available. By this time we were passing by the same hotel where I stopped before. Told them I know this guy and lets go check the room. Went Inside, room was clean, big enough and bed was comfortable for 3 people. Bargained for 750rs per night. Our bad luck, as soon we parked our bikes, power went off, had to struggle with candles to get into the room and Ronak was already feeling sick (Suspected AMS). Had a candle light dinner , all our mobile and camera batteries were almost dead. As tomorrow is the rest day, finally got some time to go through the photos and slept with those 6 days of sweet memories on How we got Leh'd

Ronak:



Day-7: Leh and only Leh

Amazing captures there..!! & lovely words..
What were the dates you did this ride on..!!
Cause even we managed to get a glimpse of practice going on at the Kargil war memoria.

Thank you Rachit

We did the ride from 25th June to 8th July this year...

Great..!
We did from 2nd July to 21st july, this year as well
keep it flowing..!!

wow...that,s cool...

Great going sirrr...!!! Amazing logs and awesome pics...

Day7 - Leh and only Leh

Route: Leh-Magnetic Hill-Leh
Total Distance: 70 kms (Approx)
Time: 2-3 Hrs**

It was the day to rest, Being slept late and with an alleviation that we finally got Leh'd, got up around 10am, power that was gone last night had no signs of coming back. We were desperate to take bath after 2 days and asked the hotel guy as when would the power come, he gave us a face with this diplomatic answer "it comes when it comes, and we never know when it is" . Couldn't do much on this aspect but the most frustrating thing was all our camera and mobile batteries were due for death. Adding to this Ronak was down with AMS, he was completely out of energy, stuck on bed with high fever and headache. It started worrying us with the mighty task of conquering Khardung La ahead. Also my Nasal bleeding, "It never stopped and I never bothered it". Had tea and the next most important thing is to get passes, last night hotel guy told that he will arrange for all required passes. Had a discussion with him and he told we will not be allowed to go to Marismek La and passes are being given only for Khardung la, Nubra valley, Tso moriri and Pangong Tso. Tso Moriri was definitely out of our plan and told him to get passes for other 3 places. He quoted Rs.150 per head. Paid him outright as none of us were in a mood to go till DC office (Lazy bums).

Told Ronak to get freshened up and will go for breakfast, hoping that it might bring some energy in him. No need to tell about our struggle with the cold water again and we were finally out to the market street to hunt for a hotel. Even a small walk from the hotel to market was taking energy from the core of our bodies. We all were breathing heavily. Leh has got a vast range of varieties in food, you name it they have it from the worldwide cuisine. Found a nice restaurant (don't remember the name) and the menu sounds delicious. Each of us ordered different kind of breakfast apart from Indian as it has got Aloo paratha included. . The British breakfast with boiled eggs, they were not boiled at all. The moment I tried to peel off the shell, the half boiled egg got crushed in my hand. (pichaaak!!), asked the hotel guy to replace it and the next set of eggs were worst than these. May be it requires more time or temperature to boil at this altitude, we didn't want to bother the hotel guy again, ate whatever we could and left the place. Had a small walk around and went back to hotel, breakfast has done nothing to Ronak and he is still sick but bit better if he is awake. Power was back, and we were short of plug points to recharge. Somehow got all the batteries full with queue system, took a long and refreshing bath.

Never looked at the time as we have got nothing to do for the entire day, plan was only to visit Leh palace but we found that we missed Magnetic hill last night. Ronak decided to stay out of this, I and Hari planned to go for both in the evening. Had a small nap in the afternoon, got up around 3.30pm. Me and Hari went to the vegetable market to buy some fruits and juice. Hotel guy was back with passes by that time.

5.00pm I and Hari told Ronak to take rest and left for Magnetic hill first to try our luck in defining the gravity. View along the road was extremely splendid with huge mountains around. Couldn't see much of snow but it was freezing.





The teaser pic.





It was just a 30kms ride with a runway kind of road. Soon we reached the so called Magentic Hill and tried our bit of luck with no success. I think the actual road was washed out in Last year floods and this was a newly laid tarmac. This could not satisfy us and decided to conquer the hill half way over the visible trails.







Look at Moi !!!!!






I Managed to reach till the end of trial but got stuck in loose sand, the rear wheel has drilled into the sand and was not letting me go either ways. Had struggled a bit to turn the bike but finally managed to do it. Still no loss in power delivery or any kind of tiredness in the bike. I'm loving it.

Can you see the dust??



Finally out of it..







By this time Hari got an Itch to try it







Time for some stills..









It was dusky and we decided to head back before it could get dark, also Ronak was left alone.





How could one miss this. Leh welcoming us again.



Came back to hotel and my fuel indicator was showing 3 points, which means approximately 4-5 litres are still left and the last filling was done back in Srinagar. This bike is still amazes me. Hari always says that Hero Honda might have hidden a petrol pump under the fairing.

Ronak was feeling bit better, shared the Magnetic hill experience with him and headed to market for some shopping and dinner. Bought some Tee's and Ronak was feeling Dizzy again, sent him back to room and we both started roaming around. Finally bought the Map after missing our magazine in the flight, loafed almost around all the streets to buy a pashmina shawl thinking it would be cheap in Leh but for our surprise nothing is that cheap, everything was more costlier than what we expected. Went back to hotel, Ronak was gone bad to worst, and told he took some tablet and should be ok after sometime. ordered maggi for him and we both headed for dinner outside. Lots of alternative thoughts through out the dinner, will we be able to finish the ride as planned or should we head back via Srinagar itself?? I almost got headache by thinking and planning for all those alternative routes. But whatever will be decided tomorrow morning. Headed back to room, watched 'Wednesday' movie for sometime and slipped under the thick blanket to catch up a nice sleep.

Tomorrow will be the the DAY that every biker dreams about...Conquering Khardung La..

Day-8: Leh to Diskit (Nubra Valley)

Thanks Rahul...

Day8 - Leh to Diskit (Nubra Valley)

Route: Leh-South Pullu-Khardungla-North Pullu-Khardung-Khalsar-Diskit
Total Distance: 120 kms (Approx)
Time: 7Hrs**



A Day that we all dreamt about, a day that will remain special in a biker's life, yes today is our turn to conquer the "Highest motorable road in the world". There was no hurry to wake up as everything has been set and we hardly have to ride around 120 kms today to reach Diskit. Woke up late around 9.30am, Took bath, asked Ronak if he is fit to ride, he said its all fine and he is good to go . A big relief for us, ordered maggi for breakfast and started packing the saddles. Ronak's saddles were lying on the bike from past 2 days so he does not have anything much to do. Me and Hari packed everything, had breakfast, bought water bottles, settled the hotel bill and left the place with tons of excitement.

Went to the near by indian oil petrol pump, filled our tanks. Thought of buying Jerry cans for extra fuel in case if we take the Agham-Shyok Road to reach pangong, but let it go as Diskit has got a petrol pump. Moved on from there and in no time we were on the road which leads to fulfill our dreams. We could see the K-Top from there, fully covered with snow and it was high into the sky. Decided to take a lot of breaks as we will be climbing around 8000 feet in that 40kms from Leh. Bikes were feeling bit of power loss through the incline but we kept moving slowly. Stopped somewhere before south pullu for a pee break, i had removed my gloves and the wrist zip of Jacket, it got stuck while putting it back, all of us tried to test our mechanic knowledge to get it work and finally ended up in breaking it. now I cannot imagine riding through sub zero temperatures with the zip open but had no alternative, had put the jacket under the gloves, wrapped it tightly under the gauntlet and moved on. K&N was doing its part of job and thumping like RE with whatever air it could take, Ronak and Hari were far behind, I reached South pullu and knew that this is the place to submit our permits but could not see anybody in charge. Suddenly a police guy came shouting from top and asked to bring the permits. I stopped the bike, took the permits out and went to him, he asked for the other two bikers in the list, I said they are on the way slowly and steadily. He asked me to wait there till they come as they need the registration number. Ronak and Hari came by that time but didn't notice me, I had to shout and sign at them to stop, that police guy was sharp enough, he noted down the number's from top itself and gave a green signal to us.

11:30am There was not much of traffic today but It was too chill and we were almost like loosing senses. In the process of getting the acclimatization slowly, we decided to have a break and rest there for sometime. Went into a hotel and Ordered Maggi. We met few other biker's who came from Manali, who all were like scaring us that the road is too bad and anything could happen anytime. We were blank at that time didn't think of any alternative as the biggest task is just ahead. I was loosing senses even after wearing the gloves, Ronak and Hari had a pair of Woolen gloves which I thought of buying In Leh last night but couldn't find a thinner one which could fit inside the riding gloves. I didn't want to risk anymore, asked the police guy if we get woolen gloves there and He said yes by pointing out to a shop near by. At that moment, I felt as the most luckiest person in this world. With no second thought, I went inside and bought a pair of woolen gloves which is the only option for Rs. 90, Last night I didn't have a choice which could fit inside but these gloves were big enough and could be worn on top of the riding gloves. Finished Maggi, spent almost 45 minutes there and decided to move on. After wearing both the gloves, I couldn't feel where the clutch and brake levers were, but it was a bit of relief from the bone biting cold.

Bad and bumpy roads started again from there, soon we reached 'India gate' and met few other Bulletiers coming from the opposite direction. They were also from Bangalore shared their experiences and wished us all the best for the ride.

The road Leading to the top of the world.



India Gate



The Bulletiers whom we met



View from India Gate












Moved from there after a small photo session and the excitement inside started to grow as we were nearing the top, had a butterfly effect in my stomach when I could hear a group of vehicles noise from a short distance, soon I realized that we have reached the Top of the world and straight away I raised my hand with the victory sign. Some kind of satisfaction with lots of excitement, we could not believe ourselves being there, are we really there or still dreaming??. The weather made us to realize it all, the cold wind was straight away poking my bones from any small gap that it could find to enter. Parked the bike, removed the riding gloves and tried to take my camera out but it didn't even take 30secs for that chilling wind to numb down my hands and I had lost the senses. Kept my hands on the Engine but it didn't make any big difference, had put on my soft leather gloves and rushed to a quick photo session. Ronak again, was not feeling comfortable, so we decided to move down as soon as possible. He went to Loo and we both came for a photo session that could be cherished for lifetime.









The only photo of Ronak at the Top







View around:



1:00 pm Could not spend more time there with the odd weather and considering Ronak's condition. It started snowing mildly and we decided to move down and there started my struggle with the gloves again, up hill was bit easy as I didn't need to use the front brake much, but downhill was pathetic with potholes and slippery with melted ice, top of that my helmet visor was fogging up and the option of keeping it open is just impossible in that weather. Ronak had moved down quickly while I was fighting with the road and partial visibility through the visor, adding to this one more incident happened again, with the fogged visor, poor hand grip with double gloves, I rode on a small stone which made mad my little front tyre to loose its traction and the bike tumbled down, badly hari was following me like a Hutch puppy and rammed into my bike and he also fell down. Ran to get his bike up first as it was leaking petrol. Got my bike up and found that brake lever is bent., the only thing which i was hoping not to happen through out the trip came to reality. I had no spares apart from my clutch cable . The bent lever was good enough to continue the ride but again the bike was not starting, so followed the same procedure as earlier and bike was back to life again. This time a bulletier had stopped to help us with the tools. Everything was set and Bulletier said bye to us leaving his back pack there itself, I think his brain was not working properly with less oxygen. We took his back pack and went to catch him, luckily he had stopped at the next corner as the road was blocked due to landslide. It took around 45 minutes for BRO to clear the landslide and it was snowing lightly there at that time. I was totally out of energy and was shivering big time. Luckily Ronak was feeling fine here.

Courtesy: Ronak







Funny me with Balaclava and Skullcap.



BRO has let the upcoming vehicles to pass first so we were made to wait. Our next stop was at North Pullu, we had almost came down and feeling like back to earth. Me and Hari had hot Jalebi for our lunch and Ronak went to eat something from the canteen as he was hungry, asked an Army guy about temperature at the top and he told it may be around -3 to -5 degrees .

At North Pullu



Moved on from there, Roads were better after North pullu with a good tarmac we were easily doing 70s in the down hill. Passed through Khardung Village and again stopped at Khalsar to have some tea, by this time the temperature has come back to normal and first time we felt like removing our jackets. Asked the hotel guy about the Agham-Shyok route to reach pangong but he told it is not recommendable as the road condition is too bad and it will be snowing heavily at Wari la. He diluted our thoughts and we left the place by thinking of an alternative, Hari had stopped there for a smoke, asked us to move on and he will catch up later. Diskit was not too far so we were going at 50-60's. It was around 3pm when we left Khalsar. The road bisects after Khalsar, Straight road goes to Panamik and the left one goes to Diskit. We diverted towards Diskit and it was an Arrow straight plain road for quite a long distance.



Again up hill starts towards Diskit, BRO has stopped us here for sometime as they have fixed bombs for laying road through the mountain, we could see small small stones falling infront of our bikes when it was blasted. Met a german couple in that stop, they were on a rented bullet and going to Diskit, he wanted to find a Mechanic as he messed up the front tyre bolt while fixing a puncture, told him that even I need to go to the mechanic and will catch up in Diskit. We Stopped for some clicks and for Hari to join us.










Same above location after 10 minutes



Another bullet couple we met on the way..



One of the blessed Sunsets We could ever see, Sun rays falling on Diskit Gompa





Sand Dunes of Nubra



Ronak was still taking some pics, told him, I will go ahead to find the one and only mechanic in Diskit to see if I can get a replacement for my brake lever. Went Inside Diskit, asked few localites for mechanic, they pointed out a route and asked me to go straight inside for another 2 kms and you will find the mechanic. Went inside and the German couple were waiting there, they told mechanic is not there and will be coming in a short while. Waited for around 15 minutes and finally the mechanic came, asked him If i can get any Honda bike's brake lever as it could fit on to my bike, he told he will have to check inside for any spares. Helped the German couple to explain their issue to mechanic and told to fix their issue first and I will get my friends by that time. He told me he will be there till 7pm and to come back by then. Went back the same way and asked the same localites if they have seen two bikers going through this way, they told one bike has just passed on the way to Hunder, started ripping and found Ronak turning back after some distance, told him to follow me and moved from there but could not find him behind after some distance, again went back and found that his bike was stuck in a gutter kind of thing while taking the 'U' turn and he was struggling to take it out. Helped him to get the bike out and asked him to wait at the Junction for Hari and come near that mechanic shop. I Went to the mechanic again, made him to search his tool box upside down, he found one CBZ's brake lever, asked him to fit it on the bike and was very happy that I could find spare parts for my bike in the middle of a cold desert.

Ronak and Hari reached there by that time and luckily all the people whom we met on the way were staying in the Sand Dunes resort which is next to the mechanic shop. Went inside and found a decent room for Rs.600. It was spacious and 3 people could easliy fit on the bed. Dumped our luggage, freshened up and Ronak has gone to the hospital for checkup. Me and Hari were chatting with another German guy at the hotel, Ronak came back with a good news that it was not AMS and he is fit to ride. Diskit has got a totally different kind of climate, its like we were at home, feeling recharged a lot better than Leh. Left for dinner after sometime at the same hotel and restaurant was too good in Ladakhi style. Ate some phulkas, rice and crashed on the bed deciding to plan for tomorrow's route after inquiring with few other people. Instant plans are always exciting, isn't it??? The Real journey is to take the road most traveled in a different way

Day-9: The longest ever ride in the Terrain.

Day-9: Diskit to Pangong Tso

Very b-e-a-u-tiful snaps Jay...!! Bring on the rest...

Few Pics from Hari....

At GATI office on Day-1





Butt Break



Breakfast after leaving Ramban



Shikara at Dal Lake



Unknown Place





Breakfast at Sonamarg...what a place!!!!

Its me and Ronak standing on road in the background..





This is called...leaving the marks...









He is lucky with his camera as well...again we only have to click



Somewhere in Leh



Landslide at Khardung-la



Diskit

Thanks Rahul...sorry for the delay...busy with work...rest will be up soon

Great write-up man, had fun reading and like I always say, am glad u two are shutterbugs :P

PS: Like they say in chennai, "machi, irukaruthan photola varum" :P