Drass was beautiful, but not as Kullu to my eyes. We left very early not knowing if Zozi La would be open. It didnt matter. I knew from experienced riders that crossing Zozi early morning was a good Idea. We criss crossed a group of bikers who had a Honda 125CC bike in the group. To me that bike was seriously overloaded and white smoke coming from the exhaust was not a good sign. I would have helped that man if he came across any issues. I carried with me a military grade nylon rope which could pull the weight of my bull fully loaded. So I would have just towed him as far as I could to the nearest mechanic. I lost track of them just after Banihal. This reminded me of a RX100CC biker who was returning via Manali. I met him downwards after Rothang La. The RX100 chain had gone caput. I felt so sorry for him. He stopped us and asked how much more to climb. He was relieved when I told him civilization was just 2 KM ahead. There was a group of Bulleteers coming upwards then. I told him to get help from them. Towing him was an option. After that I left.



My old friend DSG gloves, battered and bruised. Stood by me.


I should admit that the complete stretch from Drass to Zozi La was very beautiful. I would ride this leg again just to see the beauty.


Pruthvi was always in the front. He was going to halt his journey in Jammu.


It was very different riding Leh~Srinagar. You were never alone. Small towns dotted everywhere.


The mountains called out to me... "Stay, you are not alone"


Endless beauty. It get boring only riding. The roads were not challenging. But the spectacular landscape cannot be discounted.


And this one. When biking you sometimes dont get to capture all this beauty because you concentrate on the road ahead. When I returned and saw these pics. It was awe-inspiring.


Just after this road we stopped for breakfast.


We had Yippe noodles for the first time and it tasted heaven.


I cannot express in words how beautiful this place is.


When we reached Hyderabad, we bought Yippe noodles instead of the Maggie noodles we eat. The taste bought back memories. This picture was clicked just after breakfast. Poli liked the flora.


Zozi La was not far away. We stopped to check air pressure. All set for Zozi.


It got colder after this place, which the name I forgot. It did get colder and I changed gloves to my other DSG winter wear.




I found Pruthvi much worried about Zozi La. I tried calm him down. Infact I was worried that it might rain. Rain can spoil the entire show. The rain gods were so generous. It never rained the entire stretch we were riding. The first rain I encountered was in Punjab when returning. All the planning had paid off. We chose the perfect timing to ride.


Man built these veins that link our country to its heart, Ladakh.


Nature saves the ice for us


So they can melt and stream down for you..


We got into thick clouds. God, please hold the rain while we pass your majestic mountains...


A light drizzle started


Respect!


Darker, colder out of an apocalypse movie.


The board says it. Welcome, you are on your own now.


The road initially cement blocked. I thought wow, did they fix the entire stretch? And I also thought, why BRO did not use this method anywhere on the Manali stretch.


Its easy to break Tar road, cement blocks last longer.




Some beauty.


It was drizzling and the block roads ended.


Small stones started falling every now and then from the hills above.


Bro, if you think its easy, Zozi La is not for the light hearted. This pass is very different from the others we covered.





Detour. Army men told us to take the road to the left. Zozi La was closed to heavy traffic. That was the news. A landslide was being fixed. We took a small difficult terrain downwards.


The terrain we had to cover was clearly visible. With rain on the horizon we did not want to stop anywhere. Push on.


From a distant we saw a group of something on the plains below. At that time, it was least of my concern.


As we descended. We came across stones falling every now and then. Suddenly me and Poli heard a loud roar. A rock weighing some 5 to 10KG was falling and heading straight to us. I sped on.


The roads we covered


Endless fold mountains.


I stopped to survey the land. The lower we got the risk of stone falls increased.


Pruthvi posed for his Victory shot. His Platina survived.


Before the final portion of descent and relief.


The Final Leg downwards. Poli's gloves also wanted a share of this pic


What we saw earlier from above was Amarnath Yatra camp.


Thats what I was told.


Kept focusing on the road ahead.


Then I was .


Never saw a camp anything of this kind.


I was getting prepared to be hounded by the Yatra traffic that would test my riding skills and patience to the limit.


This looked like a Christmas Tree.


Some of the last beautiful pictures Poli clicked.


However the first traffic we encountered was really not Human


We Had to wait for 10 mins or more. These humble animals. I love them.


Each sheep marked by the Shepperd. Each markings being unique. So that the herds dont get mixed up with other shepherds.


My Friends. After this we hardly clicked any pictures. The Yatra traffic traffic was never ending. Traffic jams, chaos, accidents. Udhampur was our target. I never saw Pruthvi until evening. I guess the traffic divided us. There was always a constant flow of vehicles both ways.

We met Pruthvi at Banihal just before Udhampur. I remember it was almost close to 6 PM.

Banihal ~ Jalandhar: Next day we parted ways. Pruthvi was going to Jammu to ship his bike and return via flight. I tried my best to stick to the original plan. Me and Poli rode all the way to Jalandhar, Punjab the next day.

Jalandhar ~ Ambala: From Jalandhar after a heavy raining night, The rain never stopped in the day as well. We decided to ride to Ambala and ship our bikes via train. Riding alone with Poli was not part of the plan at all.

Reaching Ambala by 4PM, I shipped my bike for 3250/- I was very angry at myself for not riding all the way to Hyderabad. Poli, said it wasn't my fault. But I learned many things out of this trip. We decided to not let the adventure die.

Ambala ~ Jaipur: We went to Ambala bus stand and got government bus to New Delhi. Reaching Delhi around 1030PM. We caught a private bus to Jaipur. There was no point halting in a hotel. Best spend that time traveling.

Jaipur ~ Indore: Early morning 7AM at Jaipur. As soon as we got down, there was a guest house. I took it for 2 hours (paid for a day ofcourse). We freshened up. Walked to the Jaipur bus stand. We wanted to return via Delhi, Agra, Nagpur. However there were no bus available. So at Jaipur bus stop. We had 2 options. Catch a bus to Nagpur which will take a trip across South India. Or wait for evening and take a Volvo bus run by Rajasthan Tourism to Indore. We decided against both and went to the local bus counter. Booked a govt bus for 350/- each towards Indore. bus leaves in 1 hour. By 1030AM we were on that bus to Indore. The bus stopped at every village on the map. It was an adventure by itself. To see culture and people. And While all this happened I still do not know why we did not click a single picture. I guess more than being tired, it was just that we wanted to capture this experience with our eyes and just remember it. We reached Indore the next day @ 0200AM.

Indore ~ Hyderabad: At Indore, we took a guest house. And next morning we walked down to the bus stand and booked a bus ticket to Hyderabad. There was only 1 private bus operating to Hyderabad and it was in the evening. So with some time in hand, we just walked around Indore town and did some Internet stuff. We reached Hyderabad the next day after noon 0100PM. With my bull still somewhere on a train I felt incomplete.

It was such a relief reaching home. I called my friend who took a fall and asked him if he wanted to ride to Leh via Manali in 2014? He was very happy I offered. He was game. This time, the plan will be different. We are going to ship our bikes to Delhi so we can spend 1 day each in Pangong Tso, Tso Moriri, Nubra, Tso Kar. And my friend is going to get a Bull.

I received my Bull 10 days later with few damages. The engine was intact and exactly the way I had left it. I was greeted by many of friends. No doubt its an achievement. I now know my potential. Especially Poli after going through TB recovery and many other medical issues. Life is short, so lets live it like there is no tomorrow. And the most important thing is to be true to people. Be ethical and honest. The moment you leave that behind just to gain your glory in life, you seize to be a human being.

Stay tuned as I write a short post on how I prepared this ride with the rest of my team.