Travelogue approved.

The mumbai-pune expressway looks so beautiful in monsoon

Dude!!..That's Awesome!!Solo Ride??? Awaiting Day 13 to Day 28!!

At some distance after we crossed Zozila pass I heard noise from arun's rear tyre and we found it was punctured. It happened at a spot where there were no shops/houses for miles , just lonely dark mountain road. With the cold winds freezing us underneath the riding gear, we somehow managed to repair the puncture and were set to move. Just then Vijay found that Arun's accelerator cable was also broken. I temporarily tied the cable near the RVM, which worked.

We finally started from that spot and at some distance there was an army camp. I went there introduced myself to the senior officer and requested for an accommodation to stay at night, they gave us a nice hut to stay .After keeping all the luggage inside the hut we had dinner at the army langar.

DAY 15- 24th July

We woke up at 6:00 am, enjoyed the scenery around for a while. After replacing broken accelerator cable in Arun's bike with a new one , we were all set to move by 7:30am. We shook hands and thanked the soldiers for their warm hospitality, after which started with the ride.



After kargil the ladakhi kids waved and greeted us. Sometimes extending their hand for giving a high five.
Army convoys passing was a regular sight...and due to bad roads there was dust flying all around. So it was better to either wait for about 30mins and let the convoy pass by or ride faster...Now this is funny-Lot many times when we used to stop for a photo session , we had to immediately rush to our bikes on seeing military vehicles few kms away...


Day 16 - 25^th July


On our way to Fotula top we over took an army convoy of 20-25 heavy vehicles....dust flying all the way and riding through it was another experience or a dust storm conquest you can say.

Soon bad roads were gone, and fresh black tarmac roads with no signs of dust on them welcomed us to Lamayuru.

As I rode down the hill the sight of lamayuru monastery was spectacular.Other 4 of the group were a little ahead of me as I clicked a lot of pics , I finally met them at a restaurant where we had breakfast together. We decided to rest once we reached leh and ride to khardungla the next day, after a brief discussion and a photo session we headed towards leh.

On the way we stopped near the famous magnetic hill for pics and met many bikers from different parts of the country there. With the luggage we carried, none of us dared to ride upto the magnetic hill and soon we were on our bikes heading towards Leh.

Soon we were in leh and arrived at the hotel. We got our permits prepared for khardungla in the afternoon.


DAY 17 - 26th JULY



We started for khardungla at 8:00am and it was a tough ride up hill. we had breakfast at an army run canteen , bought winter gloves as our riding gloves had ventilation that led cold air in and also made sure that each one of us had DIAMOX tablets .




After clicking some pics we decided to move towards nubra valley.There we took shelter from cold winds in an RCC hut and I saw a KA reg pulsar 220 .As he was returning from Nubra valley and informed about the bad weather there.Considering the weather as it had started snowing, riding to Nubra valley was not safe , we finally concluded to go back to leh. Neeraj, Arun and I had a feeling of nausea and headache too, so it was the health aspect which was on priority.


The weather on the other side going towards Leh was pleasant and sunny.As I had got accommodation arrangements done for the night in Upshi and the fellow bikers had other plans for the trip so after lunch we went different ways.



I reached upshi by 7pm and edited few pictures in my room.




i had planned to visit changla and pangong tso lake and return back to upshi by night , so I started off early .



After inquiring about the route with some locals I travelled for about 40mins, After which I inquired about the way and a confused Monk guided me towards a town called Pang.I lost 3 hours travelling and returned back to Karu.After topping up the tank I headed towards Changla pass. KARU HAS LAST PETROL PUMP AND ATM FOR THE NEXT 300km

On the way I got to know that due to some confusion Neeraj had got my DRIVING LICENCE,




On my way back down hill from Changla met the bikers again and got my DL back.Thanked them and after a small chat headed towards Hemis Gompa.





After a visit to hemis gompa , I sat in the parking sipping fruit juice. There I saw a foreigner struggling to take off luggage from his bike as he was scared to leave it behind. As the monastery was about to close, So I suggested him to hurry up and assured him that I will be present near the luggage.


After a while he returned and thanked me and we had a little chat .His name was Ecco and he was from Finland, we found that both of us were heading, towards manali.So the next day we planned to go together.Ecco gave me the details of his hotel in ruptse and we planned to start around 7:00am.after which we headed back to our respective places.



Day 19 - 28th July I came across a fresh water stream and thought of clicking some pics, right then I saw someone on a bullet taking a U turn and coming towards me. It was ecco, he had checked out of his hotel and had gone for breakfast.


After a quick photo session we started for manali and rode past the tang langla pass by 9:30AM . We rode slow and steady capturing pics on the way.

Thanks for the approval sir
yes pune- mumbai expressway is fun to drive or even to look at.theres a small stretch where national highway and expressway merge . and i enjoyed riding there . fast cars and water droplets splattering from trucks and SUV's did cause some discomfort.

thnk u yes .. i did solo from Bangalore to banihal (j&k) and then manali to Bangalore.

anything special about 13th to 28 ?..u sound like u already knew my itinerary

What the? Keep bombarding some more pics... Hats off to you buddy.

Where did you stay and did you ride at night too?

Everythingz Special from Start to End!!..It was Day 4 to Day 28th!!.. Your Pics are refreshing my old Leh Ladakh Kargil Ride @ 2009!!

Also, Nice Clicks!!

sure bro loaded some pics frm entire trip as small glimpse of what i experienced ...

yes ...i rode at night , took small 3-4 hours naps at random petrol bunks and then continuing with the ride for first few days...but jammu -manali-bangalore i did stay in hotels or with friends one have proper rest in those areas , mountain region+ bad roads is a deadly combo.

By 11:00am we were in More plains region, where we saw a huge bike loaded with lots of luggage and spares.Now I was curious to know about the rider. We had a chat and he told about himself. He was a waiter from Hungary and had been riding in various countries on his bike since October 2011.He had also visited Pakistan ,Iran and many other countries. He had been riding all over India , and found rann of kutch the most beautiful place. After a chat with him, we started with our journey and had breakfast at a shop in More plains.




By evening the winds grew strong and cold. We reached sarchu by 8:00pm and had dinner at a small dhaba.it would have been difficult riding at night as the next town was far , so we decided to stay in sarchu till the morning . On leh manali route there are many dhabas that have restaurant in front and tents behind, usually these are the only options as there are no hotels on this highway. The group which we met earlier in the day had also reached sarchu and they were in the adjacent dhaba.We all had a chat and shared our experiences . They had parceled their bikes from thane to Delhi , and rode from there onwards.They were surprised listening to my story.


Day 20 - 29th July


we were ready by 7am and sat at at the dhaba to have some breakfast before starting from sarchu.
we ordered omelets,tea and Maggi. We were waiting for our order and it was the first time i heard om mani padme hum playing on the shopkeepers radio, the peaceful music amidst beautiful mountains and a fresh water stream flowing near by had a soothing effect on me .

The shopkeeper explained the meaning of the song to us , though Ecco was from Finland he too enjoyed listening to the chants.

We then paid the owner and started from sarchu. The ride from sarchu to keylong was through some of the most beautiful sceneries,waterfalls,water crossings. the shadows of the clouds falling on the bare mountains looked like a huge chocolate dessert.


By 1:00PM we had crossed Keylong and soon were on the other side of rohtang pass.Then we saw a thick blanket of clouds slowly covering the mountain in front of us,Which was a magnificent sight.As we rode up hill we realised that we had to pass through those clouds and then things started getting tough.


First the uphill climb on wet roads,now we had dense fog to ride through.We cautiously rode to some distance and then it started raining.I thought it couldnt get any worse than than this,but then the little tarmac visible on the road disappeared in thick mud slush.




We started coming downhill in the fog when we hit a huge traffic jam.Usually traffic is allowed in one direction and other direction traffic is stopped in rohtang pass and this created a Jam.

we slowly rode passing between trucks, taxis & buses.and got stuck at a point in between 2 trucks , with no space on either side. As we had to ride in between those trucks With dense fog and slush ,it wasnt a easy task.


The traffic was barely moving and people often asked the person coming from opposite direction about the road conditions.their answers made us more tensed for a while.We finally found some space to overtake slow moving vehicles and finally we had passed them all .
By 6:00 pm the fog grew dense which made difficult for us to ride with headlights on, as that made fog look like a white wall.We rode downhill with pilot lamps on , slowly following tail lamps of a taxi in the rain.

Few kms before manali we found a small dhaba and stopped there as it had started to rain heavily by then.I ordered for a ginger tea and rajma chawal for us.We both were shivering with cold when the food arrived.With a few sips of that nice tea we felt better. Ecco had rajma chawal for the first time and liked it a lot .
After dinner he asked me to make a list of few popular indian cuisines that could try during his stay in delhi.I mentioned some of my favourtite dishes. Hoping he would like them.


Now that the rain had stopped we started for manali , reached there in an hour.Ecco had some friends in manali with whom he stayed earlier and i already got accomodation arranged for myself.so we decided to head towards our respective places .

After some time of riding alone i wasnt able to find the address and enquired a few passer by , and then one guy on a bullet gave directions .
I found his accent strange and familiar at the same time , I couldnt see his face as he was wearing a helmet.
Then i found out it was Ecco.
So i got directions for some far off area in Manali by a guy from finland . Amazing.

I finally reached the army mess at 11:00pm,took off the luggage and parked my bike in a safe place.

After a warm shower , i was off to bed.


Day 21 - 30th July


I had planned to spend a day in manali , so I got up late and spent some time exploring Manali markets. I did some shopping for my family, after which I had lunch with Ecco and gifted him a DVD of journey pics. Ecco had planned a longer stay in Manali while I was leaving the next day.So we exchanged mail IDS and I headed back to my place.


I had not watched tv for the past 20 days, so I spent some time watching movies in the noon. I prepared for next day departure and slept.



Day 22 - 31st July



I started from manali at 7am, sky was cloudy today as well. As I rode I saw mountain peaks covered with clouds all the way.

There were some magnificent waterfalls on the way.

By 2:30pm I reached a small town called Sundernagar and got a quick servicing of my bike done.

It was a curvy mountain road all the way to swarghat.


Some 30kms before Chandigarh I was riding on the 4 lane highway and the hilly region was gone , so were the clouds.

After which the conditions were favorable for me ,I saw straight roads & clear skies after a long time. so clicking pics was not on my mind.
By 8:30pm I reached a family friends place.




Day 23 - 1st AugDay 24 - 2nd Aug

I started from delhi and took sohna -mathura-agra route for Jhansi.I informed my parents about my location .

Soon I was in agra and as I was running short of time i couldnt visit my native 70kms away from Agra.I felt bad about it as I wished to meet my grandmother.

This was the day rode through 4 differnt states in a single day.


I reached gwalior by 8pm but the road after gwalior was horrible.

I covered that 80km strech in 3 hours and finally reached a family friend's (col prasoon panda) place whom i knew since childhood.



We had a little talk as we met after 12 years recollecting some old memories.




Day25 - 3rd Aug

I started from jhansi at 8 am , Somewhere before Sagar i heard a noise coming from the chain.Immediately parked the bike on the center stand and found it was coming from front sprocket.I removed the cover and found the insides filled up with mud, cleaned it , lubed the chain and continued with my journey. The noise reappeared once i reached sagar.

I found a bike mechanic shop nearby and after some inspection mechanic said the front sprocket was a bit worn out.They dint have any spare sprockets for pulsar220 ,so the mechanic tried flipping the sprocket and it worked.I rode towards Nagpur bit doubtful with the mechanics technique.With the highway being under construction it took lot of time for me to cover that stretch.





It was 8 in the evening when it began to rain,i immediately took shelter in a dhaba and had some hot aaloo paranthas with tea.



After that there were no signs of rain slowing i asked the dhaba guy if i could stay there.

Since almost all the employees were on leave, he asked me to pick any bed of my choice.

I parked the bike inside, kept the bags under the bed and watched TV along with a 6 year old kid for sometime before dozing off.





Day26 - 4th Aug



I gifted the dhaba caretaker a jumpsuit.
He was touched by my gesture, he wanted to pay for it but I simply refused.
After shaking hands with the kid and the owner I left for Nagpur.

By now i was used to be questioned by petrol pump workers, passer bys, and commuters.Whenever I crossed a town, I saw people staring at me with a confused face.






By 8:00pm I was in Nagpur outskirts , a stunter from Nagpur saw me in riding gear and after a brief introduction he helped me with the hotel hunt. The hotel he told me about was nice and comfy .


Day 27 - 5th Augyeh bike kitna deti hai ??


The owner also had some of his experiences to share, which I found interesting.
He narrated how a truck driver hid at his place after an accident, and how in another incident truck driver got robbed of the diesel in his truck.

After some talks with owner I was off to bed.





Day 28 - 6th Aug



I started after having breakfast for Hyderabad at around 7:00am.
After 4 hours and a short break in between I was in Hyderabad.

I reached my friends place by 1pm, and relaxed there.
In the evening i showed them the photos I had taken during the entire ride and shared some of my experience.




Day 29 - 7th Aug




Even before leaving Hyderabad I felt almost at home, now this was final 600km distance left to cover.
I left for Bangalore at 11:00am; the roads were amazing through out.



With some pit stops I reached Anantpur by 4pm.
Around 10:00pm I crossed Nandi hills, was too excited being back in Bangalore after 28days.I had some Sodexo coupons which I got with engine oil bottles, so I thought to give small treat to myself at a ccd on my way to Bangalore.
I had a cup of hot coffee, samosas.
A couple sitting next to me was curious about the amount of luggage my bike carried.
So I began narrating my long story in short.
As it turned out that the guy was a biker himself and had been to Leh-Manali many times.
So the discussion got more interesting and after 30mins said them goodbye.
I reached back home at 11:30pm.

My sister and mom came down to receive me.
Though my mom tried carrying an angry expression on her face, but the happiness overpowered that expression.
Finally after a month of riding, meeting old friends after long time, witnessing some of the most breath taking landscapes and making some new friends I was back home sweet home.

brilliant ride, great photography and excellent writeup...the traffic jam which you are talking about in the picture is famous "Narmada Traffic Jam" near bharuch...its and everyday issue...u can avoid that by passing through ankleshwar city via golden bridge...anyways waiting for the next lot of pics and writeup...

Love photographs, just confuse where is Rajasthan's log or pics ?

DAY 3 12TH JULY-

i felt so happy leaving Mumbai behind and don't know why i felt so relieved .i had breakfast at a highway hotel and changed engine oil as the bike had done 4500kms since the last time i changed oil.on the 3rd day i had been riding in rain , but after Surat i saw clear sky and the feel of hot air on water soaked jacket and gloves was so nice . i stopped for a short break and kept the jacket and gloves for drying under the sun.

the ride till vadodara was nice and easy,but after vadodara it was already dark and i started feeling tired.
things were going good till i chose dakor-kapadvanj-modasa route for udaipur to save some distance thinking it would also save some time .

the roads till dakor were good ,without median or any traffic. i felt like riding through a jungle on a narrow road without any vehicle coming from opposite direction or overtaking me. after 30mins of riding i just wanted to see a human and lights coming from a source other than my bike's headlamp.

the roads after dakor were bad and there was barely any tarmac visible . till modasa roads had enough potholes for rainwater harvesting and i got enough light that i wished for as there was continous convoy of trucks driving with high beam on dakor-kapadvanj stretch.





DAY 4 13th july
as i knew from modasa onwards it was a four lane highway , i took a short tea break at a small tea shop on the outskirts of the town (1:30am). i ordered tea and parked my bike behind the small shop and thought of checking the pics i took the entire day. i had almost finished seeing all the pics when the chaiwala (in 60s-70s) told that tea was ready . i kept the camera in the bag and came on the front side of the shop to have tea.

as i slowly sipped tea , holding the glass between my palms the chaiwala and his friends (both in 60s-70s) took puffs from a chillum and asked about me and my trip , as we were chatting those grand pa aged dudes offered me the chillum and ................

after an hour i started from modasa , i rode for 40-50mins and thought of taking small break at a highway petrol pump . it was away from road and looked safe. i took a short nap there and started at 5:00am , by 7:30am i was in udaipur and called my 10th std classmate ( i did 9-10th in udaipur 8years back in 2003-04). it was nice too see him (virendra) after 8 long years . we had breakfast as we spoke and then i had good and comfortable sleep at his place .





in evening i went for small ride in the city visiting some places and refreshing old memories , met my other classmates at sukhadiya circle , and we spoke about mischief we did in those days (troubling a classmate, teacher or even principal )...




ST PAULS , STUDIED HERE FOR 2 YEARS







THE BEAST AND LAKE PALACE HOTEL IN BACKGROUND













WITH MY CLASSMATES FROM ST PAULS , IT FELT SO GOOD MEETING THEM AFTER 8 YEARS



after dinner , a chat sitting on easy chairs in a veranda on 4th floor with continuous cool breeze was really soothing .
i slept at 10pm keeping the alarm for 5am.

thnk u ..i heard sirens and saw a convoy of white cars sp thought it was a minister ..yes it is a big nuisance ..i followed NH 8 blindly till vadodara dint know about other options

thank you just posted rajasthan log n pics , will post udaipur- gurgaon log tomorrow

Good job Shail. Nice pics.