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must be awesome experience ... insane tour man ...
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Awesome Pics bro, bring on the restComment
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crazy man on the scooter does it again --
Bows down -- deep respect sirji !!!!!sigpic
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Day 2-3 Pathankot-Srinagar-Drass 28-29 May 2012
Halt at Sonmarg was very brief,only for photo shoot.Plenty of tourists vehicles were parked and lots of tourists were riding Ponies towards Thajiwas Glacier point.After spending some time at the filmy location of Sonmarg,I moved ahead only to be flagged down by an BRO worker.Reason,JCB was clearing the road and big rocks were falling down.Wait was hour long.A man from Kargil was also waiting just behind me and seeing my scooter,he approached me and started a conversation and expressed amazement to see a scooter on Zozila.I also made a call from his cell phone and talked to Pragya from Zozila pass.
Today's desination was Drass,a comfortable journey,not much long.Umba La pass was the reason behind breaking journey at Drass because I wanted to enter Suru valley thru this pass not thru Kargil.I did attempted Umba la pass road and went up to few kms crossing Umba village only to find road blocked and fully deserted.
People warned me not to go far as Bears roams up there and there is no village through out the whole route.
Road to Umba La pass starts 300 meters ahead of busy Drass market.After attempting Umba la pass road for few kms,returned to Drass and
straighway went to JK Tourist Bungalow and met Salim who had helped us secure a room in Kargil in our 2011 trip.After exchanging pleasentries,
he once again open a room for me and treated me with hot cup of tea which I enjoyed with Salim and two Enginners from Jammu, Pradeep and Deepak.They were constructing all weatherproof,insulated rooms for Army on trial basis .These room were heavily insulated, with floor heating system,hot running water and Sewage treatment Plant.Currently they were overseeing the work at Army post near Tiger Hill and Batalik.They shared many stories about Dah and Hanu Villages and promised me to arrange visit me a visit to one of Army posts up in the mountains very near to International border and show me the constructed rooms and explain the techonology.I was super excited to hear.Around 8 PM,both the engineers invited me to thier room for Rum and dinner.What a night to remember.
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Awesome pictures. You have my big 'respect' for the adventure on the scooter.
HH Karizma (Current) || CBF Stunner PGM-FI || Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler
Honda Aviator || Kinetic Flyte || Kinetic Blaze || HH Splendor
Two ZMAs, 9 Days in Western GhatsComment
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A series on Lesser Known Umba Village near Drass
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Day 4 Drass-Panikhar 30 May 2012.Distance 135 Kilometers
Previous day was a successful day.I overcame my biggest hurdle, Zozila, on my sccoter.To defete Zozila,I had to pass through many hellholes but by god's grace,I SURVIVED to tell the tale.Made two new friends Deepak and Pradeep in this remote place and spend some unforgettable moments with them chatting on various topics.Desire of attempting Umba La pass also fulfilled on this day.
Today,the fourth day of my ride.Today,I am at other side of Zozila AND Technically inside Ladakh.The green valley of Kashmir have been left behind.Facial features of people are different,dialect are different,mountains are different.I am inside a little different part of JK.
Today,my new friend Pradeep had arranged a visit to an Army post near Tiger hill for me to show me weatherproof dwelling units for Jawans of Indian Army.He called up his driver to come over with a 4x4 Bolero.Only a 4x4 vehicle can go to this army post due to kutcha approach road.His driver reached at Drass JK Tourist Bungalow to take us to army post and we reached at army post after 1 hour drive.En route I saw many small army posts specially established for Howitzer guns.I also saw a Howitzer gun parked openly near the road.Rests of the cannons were hidden inside a room with a sliding roof.If war breaks out,all they need to do is just open the roof and start shelling from inside the room.Totally hidden from enemy.A new experience for me to see all this.Few individual soldiers were also guarding rooms made of mud.Upon enquiring the reason behind why they were guarding those room,I came to know that those room are actually ammunition rooms and and ammunition for Cannons are kept inside those rooms.
We reached at army post,situated on a plateau type place and surrounded by tall mountains all side.I could also see other army posts far in the horizon.I was totally in different territory and away from ride route NH 1D.The Jawan at barrier entered our details in his register and alloweed us to go to construction site.Deepak,my friend,had recruited many local men to carry out construction work.They all were busy in digging pits,tightening nuts etc etc.After giving them some directions to his men and listening to their demands/complaints/requisitions for new material Deepak show me a finished structure.Once inside this room,one feels like in his home's drawing room.
Warm,comfortable beds,telephone,DISH tv,wash basin,cupboards, everything.This room was in stark contrast of ancient mud walled,tin roofed bunker type accommodation our brave soldiers had been living for a long time.Thank god,govt is showing some empathy towards our forces and providing them facilities.This educational tour of mine lasted for 2 hours and we returned back to Drass around 12.30 pm.
After giving thanks to Pradeep,Salim and Caretaker of JK Bungalow,I resumed my Journey towards Kargil hoping to reach Panikhar before dark.Salim again proved helpful here and gave me the name of Caretaker of Panikhar Bungalow and askeD me to give his(Salim's) reference
to the care taker of Panikhar GH to book a room.He assured me that I would be surely allowed to stay there.
Real fun had started and Ladakh landscapes started appearing.I was elated to the core.Gray bare mountains with a small patch of green oasis,Balti features of people,their lifestyle,it was all very gratifying.After few hours of ride,Kargil town,the bustling town came.I did not stop here and straightway turned my scooter towards Sankoo.
It was already late evening ,and I had to reach Panikhar before dark,which seemed impossible.I kept riding frequently stopping to capture evening scenes in my camera.
Initial 40 kms between Kargil and Sankoo are very fast,thanks to well maintained smooth road.After Sankoo,road start to deteriorate little and slow you down.But mine ride was four times slower due to---
Slow scooter
Bad road
Frequent photo breaks
Darkness had descended upon the surroundings.
All these factors added to my woes and I was only able to reach Panikhar around 8.45 PM in toatal darkness.Since Panikhar GH was located slightly off the road andI could not see any sighn board pointing the direction of GH,I could not find JK Tourist Bungalow.I was very worried and puzzled and no soul was there to ask for direction for Gh.Suddenly,I saw four sillhoutte human figures walking on the road.when they reached near me,I asked them about the location of GH,they pointed towards the way to GH and I reached at the front door of GH.Gate was closed and GH was fully deserted.No sigh of Bashir,the caretaker of Bungalow.I again approached towards those gentlemen and requested them to help me finding the caretaker.One of them immiedietly dialed bashir's no but could not talked to him.He tried few times but unsuccessful.
He then walked towards Bashir's house and brougt him to the Bungalow.Meanwhile,those gentlemen asked me few question about myself.I replied that I am a govt teacher and visiting this place as a tourist.They all were govt teachers themselves.They stayed for a while with conversing on various aspects of teaching and also expressed disappointment over the disparity between Delhi teachers' salary and state's teachers salary.They bombarded me with their questions to know the break up of my salary.Even though they were living in a heaven like place still daily life's troubles them.
After talking to them sometime all the teachers left and Bashir opened a room for me and asked me about Dinner.I declined.Bashir was very happy to hear that.
This is how my 4th day of ride came to an ended....................
Sleep took over and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........
End of 4th day of ride............
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Mannn...are you for real
...super ride. Unable to view pics in office so can you please tell me which scooter you rode? Anyways, this is super stuff.
Strength is measured in pounds.
Speed is measured in seconds.
Courage...
You can't measure courage...Comment
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Beautiful landscapes and stunning pictures.
HH Karizma (Current) || CBF Stunner PGM-FI || Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler
Honda Aviator || Kinetic Flyte || Kinetic Blaze || HH Splendor
Two ZMAs, 9 Days in Western GhatsComment
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A new super hero on the blocks
, Mountain Man. Bravo Narendra, just super. I think your scooter should be given a National Award and you a Bravery award . Keep posting buddy and Ride safe with proper safety gears
Ride Safe
Vrooom VroooomComment
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Day 5 Panikhar to Penjila and Back to Rangdum -31 May 2012 125 Kms
Woke up at 4.45 am to a very refreshing morning in Suru valley.Came out to find the tall mountains bathed in the golden colour of early morning sun.Spend some quite moments and enjoyed the surroundings.Felt the calmness of Panikhar village.Stillness,silence of the village was in the stark contrast of my fast paced Delhi's morning life.
Smokes from chimney was proof that villages were awake inside their house but due to cold no one was outside.Filled the petrol in scooter from plastic Container ,loade all the luggage and started towards my today's destination.The destintion was Rangdum village and Hopefully Penji La.
The culmination point of ride.
Landscape of Suru was so breathtaking,I had to stop the scooter frequently to capture the beauty of Suru valley.Lush green fields,white snowy mountains,clear sky and river flowing down,whole enviorn was rewarding.Time stands still at this place.
Early morning in Suru valley means no shop is open.I was craving for a cup of tea,actually two cups of tea.But tea was a distant dream,yeah distant dream literally.Tea was available only at Rangdum 80 kms away.Biscuits and Slice were pressed into service to recharge my starved body.Remember,I didnt have dinner last night.
I kept riding and shooting remembering and reliving my last year family trip.I was missing my family enormously after seeing all the places again,the place where we had a picnic and prepared maggi,the place where we prepared tea.Lost in those thoughts I reached Rangdum,totally tired due to bad road.
Penji La awaits me at the distance of 30 kms.
Enjoy the photos until Penji la comes..............Wolves...........
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Thanks a lot Ravi for praise...glad you liked this log....Originally posted by ravi@17bhp View PostAwesome pictures. You have my big 'respect' for the adventure on the scooter.Comment
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Thanks buddy for this awesome praise...Originally posted by The One View PostMannn...are you for real...super ride. Unable to view pics in office so can you please tell me which scooter you rode? Anyways, this is super stuff.
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Thanks a lot Shetty for liking...Originally posted by IronHide Shetty View PostA new super hero on the blocks, Mountain Man. Bravo Narendra, just super. I think your scooter should be given a National Award and you a Bravery award . Keep posting buddy and Ride safe with proper safety gears Comment
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