Introduction
Some day in Feb 2012, I met Dinesh Dawda, who is a multiple Leh Returnee and a very senior biker from Gujarat, I saw his photos on Facebook and was really very impressed, got in touch with him and we met.Talking to Dineshbhai and listening to his description of LEH specially his description of the Beauty of the Landscape, the roads, the passes, the challenges that one face, the mental toughness of a rider who acheives the so called final frontier. He also mention that its like you have in Heaven, it was this that sparked the fire in me, I mad up my mind that I have to go to LEH, if now than atleast once in my lifetime. Dinesh bhai was planning to tavel again to LEH in July. I knew I would face opposition from home as my parents would most likely now allow me to go on such a long trip on a bike as I only have one Kidney that too donated to me by my mother, but I was determined to make it to LEH and prove to the world that I can do it.
I started gathering all sorts of information about LEH, the places to visit, the routes to take, the climatic conditions, what would be the basic things I will require, what sorts of food I would get, whether the Pulsar 220 that I have will be able to make it past some of the worlds most tougest terrains. I started to search the Web and travel forums for information from people who had already been to LEH on their bikes, I was able to dig out a lot of info in my quest for information.
I started collecting money as well as I knew I would not get financial support from my home. As time for the trip started to come nearer Dinesh bhai got into some issues of his own and was unable to be part of the trip. I was a bit upset and thought that now that I don't have company I will not be able to make my dream come true this year, but then another thought came through my mind, if Dinesh bhai can go alone / solo so why can't I, that thought process combined by the beauty of the photos that I had been searching on the net made me make up my mind that if no one else comes along I will go SOLO.
May had arrived and my plan to leave by the 30th Of May was getting nearer I started to get my bike ready, got my clutch plates changed, my rear tire was in very bad shape to get a new Ceat Virtigo which proved to be a very good investment for me, got the Accelerator and Clutch cables changed as well. I started to gather information about the bike's basic maintenance, change of cables, repairing a puncture and all. In the meantime I also had made a list of thing I needed to borrow from people and started to collect those as well. Got a Tank Bag from Dineshbhai, Saddle Bags from Askash bhai, got a good helmet from Jaiveer, a tripod from Siddharth, got a foot pump from Ayazbhai which I eventually did not carry along.
In a last ditch effort to get some company I contacted another group who was also going to Leh in July but I did not get a good response from them but by this time my mind was already set on my goal and I wanted to show all those out there that a 1 Kidney boy can do it.As the days started to come closer I started to thinking how I will convince my family, so then I told them that I am going along in a group and somehow managed to convince them, my plan got pushed by to 1st June morning, 31st May came by and I packed up my luggage, loaded it onto the bike to see if it was all fine, got almost 18L of fuel and got back to my room but whole night was not able to sleep, the anxiety levels were just to high, I could not keep myself calm and hardly managed to sleep some 30 minutes or so only.

Day 1 - 1st June 2012 - 04:00 hrs. Ahmedabad - Jaipur

Woke up or was already up, got fresh and dressed up. Went to the Mandir and prayed for safe journey ahead for myself. Loaded my luggage onto my bike and it was already 05:00 am and I knew I was getting late. Headed straight for Gandhinagar, when I reached Gandhinagar the lack of sleep started to catch up, all sorts of thoughts started to creep in, do I return back, will I be able to make it, what if I have an accident, what if I fell sick, all sorts of negetive thoughts, but then I kept my focus and moved on, as the kilometers started to pile I started to loose the negetivity and positive thoughts started to take over. I was feeling happy and joyous. By the time I reached Udaipur it was 10:00 AM, had my breakfast and tea also took my regular medicine dosage. The road upto Ajmer was really very very boring I had travelled this road very recently with the group and that is why that might have made it more so for me. I almost slept on the way 4-5 times. I had my lunch at Bhilwara and had some rest, by the time I wokeup it was already 05:00 PM and Ajmer was still another 50 Km away.
I got out my Headphones and put on some really cool music and the bikes after burner also ignited, speeds of 110-130 were the norn on this road, and once I crossed Ajmer the 6 lane road started, 1st time in my life I was travelling on a six lane road and the all the fatigue just blew away, I was feeling refreshed and by 7:30 PM reached Jaipur. I wanted to stay at Gujarati Samaj, which is near Raj Mandir Cinema, it took me over an hour to find it, got a room and got fresh, it was already 9:30 - 10:00 so the Inhouse Canteen was closed, so had to search for something outside, luckily the MI road was very near, I found a KFC there and had chicken popcorn and coke, it was a very satisfying meal. One thing that I noticed was that the people out there were very sincere when it came to traffic sense, even at night 11:00 - 11:30 people wore helmets and obeyed traffic signals.after 750km of riding time to sleep..........

Day 2 - 2nd June 2012 - 011:00 hrs. Jaipur - Chandigath

triiiiinnnnn triiiiiinnnnn 6am my alrm goes off, I wake up lazily and switch it off and back to sleep again....then suddnly I woke up at 9.30am...ohhh my god its really late...quickly I brush... change cloth load luggage on bike..start my iPhone ****** to find my way out of jaipur its almost 11 am now, I choose the route via Riwari - Rothak - Panipat, Ii decide to skip Ddelhi because of traffic and that was my biggest mistake....on NH8 i fill up fuel n ride again, around 2:30 I reach near Riwari, the road was ok, now moving towards rothak slowlly slowly road disappears...no road only stones and send, ohhh God where am I ....suddenly i see there is a big sand strom in front of me... this was the 1st time I had seen a sand strom in my lifel, I was thinking to go back and find shelter, the mind was also telling me to move forward and fight the Storm. I finally decidedto fight it out, I was talking to my Stallion, telling it to stand with me, support me through this bad weather, revved the bike put in 1st gear and off we were, with the storm fast approaching the visibility for getting lower by the second, it was Jaiveer's helmet only that was protecting my eyes and from the sand, cutting through the storm was an awesome experience, it was really difficult to gauge the road as visibility was low, traffic was also high making it even more hard but I pulled through and reached Rohtak. I then inquired about the road to Panipat. When saw the Panipat highway I was very happy, the road was butter smooth but as I drover 4-5 Km at over 90km/h the road suddenly disappeared. My heart sank, OH GOD NOT AGAIN, by the time I reached Panipat it was alreadyt 5 PM. I then took NH1 to Ambala I drove for a few kilometers and the was a diversion, I was like 1 Km ka diversion for a 1Km, but to my horror there was a diversion every 3-4 km, I got fedup, I finally reached Ambala at 8.30, I then took the Chandigadh, moving 40-50km from Ambala Saw a McD' on the highway This was a much needed break for me as I was already very hungry and needed something to eat, had PET BHAR KHANA. I enter Chandigarh around 10-10:30, its a very beautiful city and very well planned as well city the road,infrastrcture really really impress. Tok me over an hour to find the Gujarati Samaj in sector 26, there are no visible boards and the area is badly lit.I finally found it and got a room, the room was literally like hell, no A/c and the room was like an oven, could not sleep whole night.
Day 3 - 3th June 2012 - 10:00 hrs Chandigath - Shimla
I could not sleep the whole night in that Microware oven, I was really being cooked to my bones, managed to get up at 10:00 am, loaded my bike and moved on, stopped at a fuel bunk to get oil as I was not sure I will be able to find good oil further ahead. It was Sunday so PBK was closed, I found a bunk open so asked him for oil, he guided me an oil shop, I got Castrol Synthetic oil.
Got my iPhone ****** to find my way to Shimla, the roads were so confusing that for almost half an hour I was just roaming around between Haryana, Punjab and Himachal. I found a shop owner who guided me and there I was at the threshold of the Himalaya Express Way. The roads were just awesome and ideal for cornering, over 400 corners I guess is what I must have counted and I felt like Rossi taking those corners.
5:00 Pm and I was at Shimla, I took almost 6 hrs to cross the past 120 Km. I could not find place to stay in Shimla and I had to take a room 12 Km outside of Shimla. I freshened up, and went to roam around in Shimla, I made a big mistake not taking helmet with me, I got a ticket and had to get back to my room, Alone in room feeling lonely thik to go back, I done it now but that time was pass and divert mind,Talk with friend they motivate me feel gud, had dinner and slept.


Day 4 - 4th June 2012 - Stay in Shimla

Woke up at 10:00AM and lazily got ready and went out for Shimla sight seeing and this time I took my helmet and all bike documents along with me not to get into any further issues. Shimla is really a great city, nice place to hangout.
I parked my bike at a multistory parking lot and walked to Christ Church and then to Bridge Chawk, then to Mall Road, had good coffee at Indian Coffee House, Visited Jakhu temple which is 5 Km away from New Shimla, the road is very tough. It was raining to I got back to my hotel early, I was feeling bored and to my someones WIFI was open so took full advantage of it. Had dinner and called it a day

Day 5 - 5th June 2012 - 6:00hr - Shimla – Manali

I woke up 6:00 AM. Loaded my luggage on the bike and headed for Manali, there are 2 roads from Shimla to Manali and I was advised to take the Diversion from Narkanda if I really wanted to enjoy the journey and that is exactly what I planned to do.

At 9:00 AM i reach Narkhanda, Now where to go there are 2 roads,as planned I took the Kotgar route, roads were very bad and at times did not exist at all but it was beautiful.
Reached Kotgar and asked a local man how to get to Manali, they told me that I was going in the wrong direction, but also told me that if I kept going straight for another 20Km or so I would touch the NH leading me to Manali, so I carried on. After some 10Km or so again I encountered 2 roads but this time around there was no one to ask directions from so I sorts of decided to take the road which seemed to have a steeper incline with a hope to get to the valley quicker, after 2 Km or so the road started to get narrower and narrower and then all that was left was a Trek Trail, I on my bike could only keep my foot on one side of the road the other side was a steep valley, I was stuck with no way to go but forward as there was no scope to turn the biker on that trail, fortunately I found an abandoned home and managed to turn my bike around there and headed back up and took the other road and luckily found some road construction workers there who affirmed that I was on the right track now, I started to rip the bike as I was getting late, it was already 1:00 PM and I was no where near Manali, infact I still had over 200 Km to go. The road was good and I enjoyed the high speed corners, carving them at over 60-70 Km/h. Finally touched the NH, I took the Kullu road and what a road that was, Sutlej flowing by the road, the beauty of the river and valley was just mind blowing, tht gave more energy, the ride along side the Sutlej was an awesome experience, though the road were not that good.
Finally reached Ani take some rest had tea 'n' biscuits, then moved on. After a few km the road vanished, I was ride doing off roading, all boulders, sand and mud is all that was but the road's surroundings were just so beautiful that neither my bike nor myself were complaining, we were infact loving it and the best part of it all was that the weather help up perfectly for me to enjoy the route. I reached Aut around 5:00 pm, after Aut I came across a Dam, I don't know the name of the but it was amazing, the water was all green in color, after the dam there were 3 Tunnels going to Chandigarh, Ambala and Kullu so I chose the Kullu tunnel which was 2.7km long, very well lit with red light beaming all over, I revved the bike to check the sound and it was rocking. I kept ripping the bike and reached Kullu at around 7:30 and still some 60 K m to go before Manali, kept pushing forward and reached Manali, found a guest house near Manu Mandir (Old Manali) had dinner and slept.

Day 6 - 6th June 2012 - 10:00hr - stay in Manali

Woke up around 9 , guess what, I saw snow on the mountains, my first ever encounter with snow, though from a distance, bad luck as I wanted to travel further today but it was raining and I had change my plan, it stopped raining at around 2 and I decided to go out to IL FERNO, one of the best Italian restaurants around, suggested to me by someone the food was awesome. Now it was time to roam around in manali and do some sight seeing. Manali is a small town, nothing much to see. 1 thing I noticed is that the temperatures in Manali are prity low and I started to feel the chill and it also started to rain again. I guess it was a good idea to stay back in Manali as it helped me aclimatize to the weather.

Day 7 - 7th June 2012 - 8:00hr - Manali - jispa

Woke up at 8:00am, loaded luggage on bike and went to the fuel bunk to get some fuel and also got 4Lt of extra fuel in a can just in case I could not find fuel on the way, I did not want to get stranded.
Time to conquer Rohtang Pass, with yesterday’s rains had me a bit worried as that could have left a lot of slush on the roads.

Rohtang here I come, the actual ride begins now ……..

36km travelled and the road till now was awesome, but it was getting colder and colder by the minute. All of a sudden things start to change everywhere you turn your head all you see are cars, cars and even more cars, the snow was all dirty, I had different scenes in my mind, the traffic was horrible, people parking their vehicles all over the place without the thinking or considering the convenience of others. Thanks to the P220 I faced no issues what so ever negotiating the traffic jams, I had more than enough in my rear wheels to zip past all the issues.

As Expected the road was full if slush, but it was not as much as I had thought, the Ceat really helped me control the bike and it gave me awesome grip even in these conditions. I was really excited while crossing the Pass but extremely upset seeing the state in which the tourist had left the place, total neglect for the place I must say. It has become more than just a tourist attraction it’s just too much commercialized.

I stopped a decent enough tea stall and had my tea and breakfast, there to my shock and excitement I saw a few guys talking in Gujarati, this was something. I approached them and asked where they were from. They were also from Ahmedabad and had taken bullets on rent to reach LEH but they did not make it past Rohtang, they were on their way back, this did give me a little bit of mental concern but then my determination took over and my mind told me “Come On – You have to move on and get to Leh”. As soon as I crossed the pass the whole scene changed, the snow was now white, there was no garbage, there were no tourist, no cars, no traffic, it was just as I had thought, PRISITNE.
This was the first time in my life I got a chance to touch snow, the child inside of me took over and started to play with snow all alone, I took some pictures and started to make a move on towards Keylong. Roads were very good but there was a lot of snow on both the sides, at times felt like I was passing through walls of snow. Reached Keylong around 3:00pm, now was the time to make a decision, Stay in Keylong or move on, there was still a lot of sunlight left for the day and I was not really that much tired so thought of moving on upto Jispa. Reached jispa around 4:30 and booked a room, had dinner and slept early.

Day 8 - 8th June 2012 - 9:00hr Jispa - Pang

Woke up @ 9 in the morning, checked the bike to see if everything was ok, it has already been over 2000 Km since I left home but everything seemed absolutely fine with the bike. An aged man approached me and started to enquire about my journey, where I was from and where I was headed, later on came to know that he was the owner of the hotel, he gave me some advice about the roads to Leh which proved very helpful to me during my journey. The weather was really very bad but I had no choice but to keep moving forward, the hotel owner stopped me told me not to move ahead as I would encounter snow fall on Baralacha Pass, he told me to find a group and join in, that would help me in case I got into any trouble with my bike or with the weather, he kept telling me don’t go alone it dangerous for you, if you drop your bike you will not be able to pick it up due to lack of oxygen. That really was kind of him.

I was really confused whether to move forwards tor to wait, I finally took the old man’s advice and stayed back and waited for the weather to clear up or some group to pass by. I suddenly saw a Black P220, I stopped him and saw that they were a couple and had come all the way from London, Name is Ritvik & Brinel I asked them if I could tug along side them, he readily agreed and told me that he would wait for me at Darchu, so I hurried up and loaded my bike, met the hotel owner and thanked him and also told him that I had found company to ride along. I reached Darchu and registered myself and bike at the Check post. I found the British couple and they introduced me to 3 more bikes that were travelling along with them, we all moved on towards Baralacha Pass and true to the Old Man’s words it was snowing up there, another first for me, snow fall wow, what an experience.

We moved on as the weather was not too good and reached Bharatpur, stopped at a tea stall took a much needed break, all the other riders started to ask me all sorts of Questions, What’s your name, where you from etc. I told them that I was from Gujarat and I was travelling alone. When I told them that I had just one kidney and that I was out here to prove myself, everyone was shocked and surprised. They all told me that I was a very brave boy, you have guts and cheered me on. Among the group there were 2 Vijay & Dhruv from Mumbai and they had been travelling since the past 5 months, they were travelling across India on a bullet making a documentary on themselves, they had passed from Gujarat on their way, so I decided to join in with these guys.

We all had Maggi and lemon tea and moved on towards Pang, on the way we took some photos and videos as well. The whole road was so scenic, I felt like I was in heaven. The road was very straight and smooth, on the way we met a cyclist he was from Mandi, he had been cycling since the past 4 days. We waved our good byes, registered out bikes at Sachu and moved on towards Lachulung Pass, there apparently is a short cut that the bullet guys took, the bull easily pulled up to halfway so I was like why wouldn’t the P220 make it, half way point I realized that I was loosing power even in 2nd gear so I broke and shifted to 1st, but I had a problem, I was unable to engage 1st and I could feel my bike slipping, there was absolutely nothing I could do and I fell and my bike kept slipping luckily it stopped just before a cliff. Then I tried to call out for help and what do I see, the bull had also fallen down, my fuel was spilling, I had no energy to pick up the bike, the lack of oxygen was having its effects. Took a moment to recover and tried again and I managed to pickup the bike and went back to the main road, I had no energy left and I parked my bike on the side and literally slept on the road, the worst thing was no one had water, luckily we saw a car coming and the 2 bull riders waved and stopped it and asked for water, one of the girls in the car had seen me sleeping on the road and was worried, so asked if I was ok, I woke up drank some water, took the bike and started moving on towards Pang.

It was almost 6:30 by this time and it was very late and it was getting really really cold, We reached the pass at 7:30 and Pang at 9:00 PM. The British couple had reached there a long time ago, we discussed our incident with them, had a laugh, took 2 Rum Shots, had dinner and slept in a tant, not too comfortable but I was too tired from the day’s hard ride and I slept well.

Day 9 - 9th June 2012 - 7:00hr Pang - LEH

This was a tough day, infact a very tough day, woke up 7, had breakfast and checked the bike, after riding for 5-6 km found a road passing though the plains and the road was going right through its center. The Road was awesome and the weather was crystal clear, I felt like I would just stay there for the rest of my life but then sanity takes over and you remember that we have to reach LEH. Found a foreigner on a cycle travelling from Manali to Leh, brave guy I must admit. After a few more kilometer we came across a the desert, no roads, it was free for all, drive where ever you want, an amazing experience.

Time to now climb Tanglang Pass, there was absolutely no roads here, just slush, more slush and slush and slush and may be some mud as well. It was from this moment onwards that I started to face all sorts of problems with my bike. I thought my bike was suffering from AMS AKA low oxygen syndrome but that was not the case, the bike would run fine and in no time would heat up and stall, had to let it cool off and then again would be able to ride for a few kilometer and then again the same issue over heat and Stall. This happened so many times that I really got fedup. On the way upto the pass the bike fell 4 times, thanks to the guys I was travelling with I was able to get up and moving again, without them I would have had a hard time. Somehow managed to reach the top and took some pictures and moved on towards Upasi, this time around the bike did not give me any issues. We were some 50 Km from Upasi and again the drama started, the bike was behaving like a very upset Girl friend I thought, it had a mind of its own. Everyone carried on towards Upasi, I was stranded in the middle of nowhere. I checked the spark plugs they were OK, the air filter also was fine, 1 hr has passed and the bike would not start up, this was getting really frustrating I did not know what to do, the whole thing was getting on to my mind and I was getting upset, the loneliness was killing me from inside, fear started to creep in, wild animals could be around here who knows. Another half hour passed and viola the bike starts, as I said it had a mind if it’s own.

I reached Upasi and was surprised to see the 2 bullet guys waiting for me, from Upasi to LEH is just 56 Km, there is a small Military town in the way called Karu, it’s a good little township and the Soldiers were really very helpful.

We reached Leh at 7 PM, again the bike stalls but luckily there was a garage right infront of where it stopped, but its very very difficult to find parts in LEH. The Mech there managed to start my bike and I took it to the Hotel, unloaded the luggage and slept.

Day 10 - 10th june 2012 - 11:00hr stay in LEH

Woke up at 11, today’s plan was to get the permissions done but even before that I had to get my bike repaired and in working codition. Before that we have to get permissions to go to Pangong Tso and Khardung La, we went to the market to find the DC Office.
We found the office and we found a lot of bikes outside the office, all waiting to get permissions, we filled in the forms and the fees are Rs. 200 per person, it took us a lot of time to get the permissions, it was almost 4 PM by the time we got free.

It was now time to find a good mechanic, I asked 5 different localites who owned P220s and they all told me just one name – “Shashi”, he seemed to be the only good mechanic for P220 in LEH, I got there, he checked my bike and told me that because of low oxygen my bike was stopping, he changed the carburetor settings and my bike was ready to go, it was now 7:00PM and we went to roam around in LEH Market, I must say that everything in LEH is damn expensive. We took our dinner and slept, tomorrow I going to be a big day for me. Chang La and Pangong Tso on the cards.

Day 11 - 11th June 2012 - 6:00hr LEH to Pangong Tso

Its 6:00 Am and time to move, took some important luggage and went to the Fuel Bunk to refill by the time get the refill and start moving it was already 7:00 AM, the road was awesome, so many kids in uniform going to school, most if the kids are more than happy to see bikes pass by them and give HI5’s as we move along, I really felt good, on the way we saw many bikers returning from Pangong Tso and they would give us a Thumps Up as we would pass by and we would do the same. Slowly and steadily we started to climb Changlang La, the weather was really very bad, it was snowing everywhere, it was anyhow an awesome experience riding in the snow fall. We finally reached Changlang La. There is an army Unit stationed there, they gave us free tee and did a medical checkup, I had 3 cups of Lemon Tea and some biscuits took some photos and started our decent, it was still snowing and the road conditions were treacherous to say the least. When we reached down the road conditions again were really very good. We reached Pangong Tso at 4 PM. The sight of the lake was just Heavenly, I was really very excited, found a good tea stall, had some tea and Maggie, now was the time to absorb in the beautify of the lake, enjoyed a lot, I just could not take my eyes off the lake, it was just mesmerizingly beautiful. Around 8:00Pm it was getting really cold found a good tent on rent and slept for the night, woke up again at 2:00 AM the what I saw was just out of this world, the Moon’s reflection in the lake was outstanding, I will never forget that moment in my life, the cold was biting me but the warmth of the moment kept me going. After a while I slept again.

Day 12 - 12th June 2012 8:00hr pangaong to leh

8 AM, time for some breakfast, the weather was superb, sunny and clear. Took our last shots and started to move towards LEH, on the way back we encountered a lot of Horses, yaks and other animals grazing in the grasslands. We reached Changlang La and had our Tea and were talking to the Soldiers there, took some photos while playing with the Snow and moved on towards LEH. Reached LEH at around 4PM and hanged out in the market for the rest of the day, had Dinner and planned out for the next days ride to Khardung La.

Day 13 13th June 2012 8:00hr LEH to Khardung La to LEH

As per routine woke up at 8, its very difficult to get up earlier with the weather being so cold and that you just don’t feel like getting out of bed.
Today was the day I have been waiting for and the mission for which I had taken this journey, time had arrived to conquer the mighty Khardung La, the world highest motorable road.
Started off enroute Khardung La via South Kullu, the road was ok but was a bit dangerous as well. Took rest at South Kullu and had some tea, showed our permits and registered our bikes at the Army Check post. I saw some 15-20 Bulletiers there, I started off a conversation with them but they all showed too much of attitude, in a moment they all started moving and so did we, I don’t know what spurred me on by there was a lot of adrenaline going through my system, felt like Khardung La Baba all off a sudden descended into me and I started to rip like crazy on those difficult and treacherous roads over taking one bullet after another and in no time I was up there at the top of the Pass, I did not expect Khardung La to be such an easy ride, but it turned out to be far easier than Changlang La. I was waiting there at the top for quite sometime and then one after the other the bulletiers started to arrive they all looked at me as though I was some sorts of monster and then they moved on towards Nubra Valley.

All of a sudden one Jawan came to me and started to talk to me in Gujarati, it felt so good to be able to converse with someone in my own language that too up there in some of the most remote place. He had actually seen my bike’s registration plate with a GJ1 Passing that is what prompted him to start off the conversation, he called one more jawan and he too was from Gujarat.

After a while my other companions also arrived and they told my story to the other Army men around, they told them that I had just 1 Kidney and that I was here just to drive upto Khardung La. All of the soldiers were so impressed they started cheering me up and the entire battalion gathered and gave me a Salute, I felt so proud, it was the most happiest moment for me, something I will never forget in my life.

We took some Photos and videos and started moved back, My Aim, My Challenge is complete, I have a great sense of relief and a sense of achievement. I feel proud of myself deep down under. The our return leg we crossed an Army Convoy and I saluted each and every vehicle that passed by and they all saluted back, it was a great feeling.
Before we reached LEH my bike started playing games with me again, it stalled and would not start at all, again the same issue, engine heat up it seemed. Anyhow managed to reach LEH and the bike again stalled in the market area, I waited for over 1 hr but the bike would not start so I called up Shashi, but he too was unable to get the bike started. He tried for over an hour himself but no luck, he finally told me that we need to take the bike to his garage, he check and told me that the battery fuse had blown off, the issue is the parts are not available in LEH, I was shocked but could not do anything, took the bike back to the garage and slept with a heavy heart and and and upset mind.

Day 14 14 june 2012 7hr LEH to Kargil

I was mentally prepared for a lot of troubles and that did not help me much overnight, I really woke up early today and was ready by 7:00 am. Checked my bike and loaded my luggage, today’s plan was to ride upto Kargil, took NH1 from LEH to Kargil, the road was awesome, after a long long time got to ride on some good roads. After 25 Km came to Magnetic hill, stopped but I did not feel anything magnetic about the place. I knew it was going to be a very long day so did not waste much time and started to move forward and after a few Km my bike stalled, engine again over heated, poured water on the engine and let it cool off for a while, I would move a few kilometer and bike would stall would have to wait around atleast 30 minutes before I could move again this happened around 30 times in the day and I was totally fed up. I saw a lot of riders coming from Kargil and Srinagar, the roads were good running parallel to rivers and the water was green, again after a few km we encountered a lot of traffic, felt like a traffic jam but infact it was land slides. One trusk was stuck there, though no one died but the truck was in a mess. After an hour the traffic opened up but only for small vehicles, we ripped the bikes as much as we could and somehow we managed to cross the traffic. Now the road was open only for us, there were so many loops in the roads, zig zag, up – down and in all of that my bike would stop – start and we reached kargil around 7 in the evening. Kargil is a beautiful city but hotel rents are very high, so we decided to move on, 60 Km from Kargail near Tiger hill my bike again stopped for 30 minutes, I decided to load the bike on a truck and move on towards Srinagar, but bad luck no trucks came by, so had no choice but to ride on. After a few kilometers came across a small army base, I talked to one of the soldiers and narrated my bikes health issues, the soldier conveyed the message to the Major and asked permission for us to stay there over night, the Major was convinced and permitted us to park our vehicles in the cantonment area, they even offered us a room and free food, that was such a kind gesture on their part, without their support we would have had to sleep out in the open and would had a lot of issues.

Day 15 15 June 2012 6hr Kargil to Srinagar

This turned out to be the toughest day for me so far on this trip. Got up early as per Army rules and had out complimentary tea and breakfast, started to move to Drass all the way my bike giving me issues, it was the regular stall-wait-start process which I was really getting frustrated with by now. We were just 7 Km from Drass and my bike stalled and even after 1 hr wait it just did not fireup so waited and waited, after sometime finally a truck arrived, I talked with the driver and told him to take me to Srinagar, we agreed on Rs. 1500 as transport costs. The driver’s name was Makbul Nazim, he was a good person and honest but I could not trust him so send the vehicle number along with the driver’s name and mobile number to my Mom and told her that if I don’t call back by the end of the day she should give the details to the police station. Now me, my bike and the truck reached Zozilla Pass, it was an awesome place, again after crossing Zozilla encountered traffic, another landslide, 2 hrs of wait and finally small vehicles are allowed to cross, after that it was our turn to cross over. The road was very narrow but the driver was skillful enough to take the truck past and then again I saw another landslide happening, I told him to stop but instead he accelerated hard, I was frightened but he took narrowly managed to escape the second landslide. Moving on saw a truck accidents, this one was bad, the driver was dead, felt very sad, we reached Sonmarg, there are no words to describe the beauty of this place, its just heaven on earth, on reaching Srinagar I asked the driver to arrange me a hotel, he was like “Hotel !, Hotel kyu, mere gar chalo, Idhar Hotel bahot mehnga hota he,khana khao sojao, subhah nikal jana” – “Hotels are very expensive here, come over to my place, have dinner and sleep, you can leave early in the morning”, I was confused as to what to do, as Dhruv and Vijay (my 2 companions all the way from Jispa) did not call, it was 6 PM, Truck entry is only after 9 so the driver took me on the Srinagar Jammu ByPass and took me to his home, gave me tea and some snacks. Finally Dhruv called me up, he told me they were at the Army Cantonment, and asked me to get there before 9 as after that there would be no entry. I had a tough choice to stay here or go to the Army Cantonment. I didn’t know the road, and my iPhone was off so could not start navigation and get to the cantonment either. I decided to go to the safety of the cantonment. I stopped an auto rickshaw and told him to lead while I would follow him, if my bike stopped I would horn him to stop, he agreed and we moved on, after just 1 Km my bike stalled I horned and the driver stopped, my bike won’t start and its almost 8Pm, just one more hr before the cantonment closes doors. I requested the driver to give me a push from the back but it did not work out, time was running and I was out of options, I did not know what to do, then I got an idea, I put all the luggage in the auto and with 1 hand grabbed the auto and the with other I was steering, it was really very painful and in traffic it was even more so difficult, kept going along for some time then at the dot of 9 reached the Cantonment aread, took my luggage, had dinner and slept. Tomorrow is time to get my bike up and running again.

Day 16, 16 June 2012 8hr Stay in Srinagar and get bike repaired.

How to get my bike repaired, where to get it done, where would PBK be in Srinagar, or is there even a PBK here. Whole night these were the only thoughts going through the mind. Got up at 8 and had my tea and talked to Ayazbhai and got the PBK address for Srinagar. Loaded the bike and moved towards PBK, WTH the bike again stalled, tried everything and the bike would not start at all, even poured water on the bike still the same no luck. Waited for quite sometime, finally an auto came by, the auto wala used his brains and tied the bike behind the Auto, the idea worked but the guy literally robbed me in brad daylight, charging me a mere Rs. 150 for a 2 Km ride. Anyhow I was at PBK, talked to the service station and they started to show their arrogance, Can’t take the bike today, we are over loaded, can do it tomorrow only, come on Monday and stuff like that. I was already very frustrated and angry, so vented all that at the service guys, I then talked to manager and he helped me out, he called a mechanic and told me that this guy is very good with P220s, the guy opened up my entire bike but could not resolve the issue, then the manager called someone else and he checked the fuse near the battery, it was fused (Fuse was Fused ha ha ha). He changed the fuse and the bike was as good as new, I was so happy all my headache was gone, all my troubles sorted out, I thanked them all over and over again, I don’t even know how many times I thanked them, total expense Rs. 100, WHAT, Rs. 100 only and I was having issues since the pas 1 week, only if someone could diagnose the issue before. Then called up Vijay and met Vijay and Dhruv at Dal lake, roamed around and enjoyed the beauty, we decided to drive at night till Jammu so at 7 we started to move towards Jammu. There was a lot of traffic, as it started get darker and later the cold started to increase to almost an unbearable degree. So we decided to stop at a place, I took out my E63 as it had a torch so managed to take out my Jacket from the luggage and unfortunately dropped the phone there only, did not realize that till later when we stopped for dinner, it was already over 100Km and the road was also not safe, there was no guarantee that I would find the phone even if we returned, so moved on with a very heavy heart.

Riding in the mountain roads was a lot of fun but it was also not very easy. We reached the tunnel but it was closed as there was some work going on, we had to wait for almost 2 hrs, we all slept there for that time. The tunnel was an ok experience nothing exciting as such, he decent after the after the Tunnel was really awesome. That is when I started feeling very sleepy, it was 3:00 Am, we stopped for tea and it was an Amarnath Yatri Seva Camp, so tea was free for us and so was the night hault.

Day 17 17 June 2012 6hr Katra (Vaishnao Devi)

Woke up at 6 but everyone was still sleeping so slept again and woke up only after 8, had the tea and breakfast. Checked my bike and loaded my luggage, but Dhruv’s bike is punctured so gave him my hand pump and we were able to move, after some 10 Km found a Puncturewala (a small Puncture Repair Shop), got the puncture repaired, again the road was all twisties and full of traffic, but my P220 had no issues negotiation either of the 2, after 30 Km waited for Dhruv and Vijay, 1 waited for over an hr but they did not arrive so I thought of moving on to Udhampur and get my mobile recharged so I could call them up. As soon as I recharged my phone I got a message from Dhruv that his bike’s tube is gone, it had 5 punctures and needed to be changed, he also tome me to move on till Katra. Katra was very hot, my skin was burning and I looked around to see if I could find a dharamshala but it was full. After a lot of struggle I found a cheap hotel, got fresh and slept. After 2 hrs I called from Vijay but his phone was switched off. So I moved out to see if I could find a Helicopter ticket to get upto Vaishnao Devi. I found the place and saw a big queue all waiting for the Helicopter tickets but the tickets were not available. I waited for over 2 hours and showed them my Transplant Card and told them that I can’t walk, I need a ride, they told me to come tomorrow 11 AM, if any ticket get cancelled they will give it to me. I moved back to the hotel and then Vijay called, they wanted to walk to the Temple for darshan but they were very tired, we all slept.

Day 18, 18 June 2012 Stay in Katra

Today was a possibility to take a Helicopter ride, left the luggage at the hotel and I left for the ticket window where as Dhruv and Vijay walked, after waiting for 3 hrs I finally got a ticket, I rushed straight to the helipad and I could not control my excitement, this would be another first for me, my reporting time was 2:00 Pm so I had to wait for 1 hr at the helipad, collected my boarding pass and in 20 minutes they announced my name, finally I sat in the Helicopter and I felt like a small boy full of joy, and then the helicopter flew and it was an awesome experience, something to cherish for the rest of my life, The Helicopter took just 4 minuted to reach the top, I saw a lot of garbage and the whole place looked so untidy. People in India are really bad mannered they don’t even spare places like these. Anyhow got chance to do my Darshan and then went to take a ticket for the return but I was late, so had no choice but to walk, called up Vijay and Dhruv and in a while got together, we started to walk down. It was almost 2:00 in the morning by the time we reach Katra and the hotels were all full, what do we do, talked to the hotel owner and he allowed us to sleep on the terrace.

Day 19, 19 June 2012 Katra – Amritsar.

Whole night could not sleep, was feeling very uncomfortable, when I woke up it was smelling like shits all over the place, and what do I see, 2 big cat sized mice lying dead right next to me, I was like Oh God where did I sleep, I took a look at the mobile and it was 6:00 Am.
Got ready and had our breakfast, moved on towards Amritsar, none of us was able to sleep well, after we crossed Jummu none of us were in a state to drive further, we needed rest, we had to sleep, we came across a temple, we parked our bikes there and slept for almost 3 hrs. We had our lunch in the temple and moved on for Amritsar. Roads were superb, After crossing the Punjab boarder everything changed, all you can see is greenery everywhere, we reached Amritsar at night 2 and found a place to have dinner and also found a good hotel to sleep well. The hotel was cheap and hear a bus stand, parked the bikes and slept for the day.

Day 20, 20 June 2012 stay in Amritsar.
Was so tired by the lack of sleep the previous night and the long drive the previous day I just could not wake up early, by the time I was up it was way past 11 in the morning. Got ready and loaded the bikes and moved to Golden temple. All the rooms at the temple were full so they offered us to stay in the common hall and sleep on the floor, we agreed and kept our luggage in the lockers. The temple is full of Gold, did our Darshan and moved on to Jaliawala Baug, When I saw all those gun shots and the well where all those people fell in to escape those bullets, I felt very sad. I was already too late for Vagha Boarder, so no benefit in going there, took a walk in the market and moved back to temple, took our dinner and went to see the Temple at night and slept on the floor.

Day 21, 21 June 2012 Amritsar – Jaipur

It’s 6 in the morning and I get a shock, my shoes are gone, someone stole them !
At this time no shops are open and I need to get to Jaipur and I’m alone again, I will say good bye to friends I made during my journey, friends who were there when I needed them, friends who helped and stayed with me during some of the toughest times of my journey. Woke them up and said our last good byes, who know where or when we will meet again, they will be going to Jaiselmer today.
I took out my gum boots and started to move on towards Jaipur. By noon my feet were really hurting and almost burning inside those Gum Boots, I could not bare it all. Poured some cold water on the shoes and felt some relief, I had to keep doing that every 20-30 km for the entire stretch. Reached Delhi at 3 in the afternoon and switched on my iPhone and started the ******, was able to cross Delhi by 4. Delhi is an awesome city, buildings, malls, roads everything is superb, specially the 16 lane road is mind blowing. Was on NH8 and headed to Jaipur, reached there at 9:00 Pm, went straight to Gujarati Samaj, took a room, got fresh and slept, 1 last day of riding left before I can reach home.

Day 22, 22 June 2012 Jaipur - Ahmedabad

First thing I need to do is get myself a pair of shoes, those boots were just not what I needed, atleast not while crossing 2 of India’s hottest states. Shops open at 10, so had to wait and luckily Bata was just nearby. Took a pair of shoes and headed on the Ajmer Road, I kept riding hard and ripped as much as I could but still the tiredness and fatigue of the past 22 days was now fast catching up, could not keep up the speeds to much, reached Ahmedabad at 9 at night.
Reached home, oh that feeling HOME SWEET HOME, I proved to myself that I can do it, I am now no longer some sorts of a handicapped boy, I proved that I am normal and can take care of myself.
The satisfaction that I achieved something in life, but then what next ? Again the same boring life awaits me from tomorrow. Same old house, same neighbors, same college, ah, set me free. Next ride, BHUTAN ? who knows, only time will tell.

This is Chintan gambhir Signing off with one small message to all, Remember that everything is possible in life, all you need to do is be focused on the task at hand and have to guts to complete it. Ride safe guys.