It is easy to dream, tough to do. 100 marks
Good to be in a group, scary to be solo. 100 marks
Plan as you drive, Drive to a plan. 100 marks
Easy to give up, crazy to be going on. 100 marks
Only tough boys can do it, ladies also can ride with plucky husbands. 100 marks
Ride a RE or a Pulsar, but a supa bike? 100 marks

I was lucky to have a virtual ride, but it had my adrenalin pumping & excitement up all the time.
It was quite a journey, something to be inspired by, not for everyone. Will you dare!

What a trip, Sai!

Bangalore - Hyderabad - Nagpur - Jhansi - Delhi.

I Had done this Route from Delhi on the GT250 in 2010 , I still can remember How bad MP was back .
Good U avoided that.

Liked reading.. bring it on .. and do throw in More Pics
Santa

this is one hell of a ride

Humbled by your post sir

This is a very neat mod for the N650. Please do share ALL possible details as I am sure that there are quite a few existing and potential owners who would like to convert this excellent bike into its true form - a long range GT bike.

Some cojones you have to to do this trip, man. Great stuff.

WOW !!! Bring it on more sir soon. Glued here !!!

K2K-2012 - Day 4

I woke up pretty early and was ready to leave by 4:30 that day. Mounting and unmounting the luggage was taking lesser time when compared to the first day.

I take the Bangalore - Pune highway and my first stop is Chitradurga. Usually i do not stop for butt breaks, i stop once i need to tank up. The 650R does not have a great range - i'm always forced to slow down at approx 200 km and start looking out for a fuel station. Luckily the 650R drinks normal fuel so no searching for xtra premium or any other high octane fuel.

Pune has a good supply of quality dry fruits. I'm addicted to the anjeer, badam and dry grapes combination which i mix up in a box and sustain myself until i reach Pune. This has become a normal affair when ever i do a Bangalore - Pune or the other way round. Took the same recipe through out the K2K. Also i know where the fuel stations are so that is one uncertainty that is off the list for now.

I doze off while on the road at around 9 in the morning. All of a sudden i feel a jerk near my ankle that wakes me up. I curse myself and check if i really need to pull off the road. All ok and i keep moving on. Within the next kilometer i feel the same jerk at a higher magnitude than the previous one. So i slow down and bring the bike to a stop. Get down to inspect the reason and find my shoe lace torn at the tip. The other piece was still stuck to the chain. Lucky that it tore off rather than remaining on the shoe and yanking my foot and throwing me off balance. This gave me some time off from the riding and made sure i don't doze off again.



The 650R does not like drowsy riders.






The weather was pleasant and partially cloudy until Belgaum. Soon after that that it started get hot real quick as the afternoon sun started to beat down on me. By the time i was crossing Nippani i was again dozing off intermittently. The next fuel stop - i request the fuel guy to give me a chair and sit down for a quick session of sleep for around half an hour.

Once awake, i was fresh all the way to Pune. I get lost in the Pune traffic while reaching home due to a road blockage while approaching the city and i take a wrong road which was never ending and i could not manage to find even a single U turn.

I make it home at 4:30 in the evening and call it a day. Wife is happy to see me since the original plan meant i would meet her only in Leh. The next day was Ganesh Chaturti and i was supposed to reach Mumbai.



K2K-2012 - Day 5

Wake up late which is definitely not a good thing on a trip. Till now i had always visited Mumbai on a bus or a train. So, this time reaching Mumbai via the express way was out of question. So i call up Kumar for directions, write down his meticulous instructions on a A4 sheet, put it into the tank bag to refer it as i ride. I reach Lonavala by 11 and had to stop for a photo of the landscape which always missed me while on the expressway.



Lonavala




I get lost as i get close to Mumbai and finally reach Mumbai by 1 in the afternoon.

Amit from our 650ROG wrapped up his work hurriedly and is waiting for me on the highway. I was relieved to meet him since Mumbai on a two wheeler is a real challenge. He then takes me to get something that is as good as the Kohinoor diamond for me. Without it my trip would have had an abrupt and a regrettable end even before i reached Leh.



Meet the bash plate.




Piran from our 650ROG was gracious enough to lend me his ingenious creation - the bash plate for the 650R. He had just come back from a trip to Leh. We visited his mechanic (Kamlesh) to get the bash plate removed from his bike to be put on mine. By the time we came back from lunch, the job was done and Kamlesh had also provided some additional shock damping for my customized digital console mount. After working on the bike for two hours all he wanted in return was a safe trip for me. He would not take a single penny even after repeated requests to do so. Now thats some heart!! Thanks Piran and Kamlesh


Kamlesh's ingenious idea to shock damp my digi console. If it wasn't for this, it would have clattered and broken into pieces once the rough terrain started.



Amit is all ready with his bike and luggage. I get to know that he too is going to join me on the journey to Leh! I have company! I'm relieved and elated to know this. This news actually made my day.

I take leave and call up Kumar for directions again. In some time i reach the "HQ" - Kumar's home in Mumbai. We have a long chat, share all the tentative plans for the journey to Leh and then he finds me a cozy and comfortable accommodation for the night.

Before hitting the bed, i chat up with Amit deciding on the meeting point the next morning.

No proper sleep again and the mobile buzzes at 2:30 in the morning. Get to know that Amit would not be able to make it due to his kids ill health. This kept me awake until dawn since the sense of relief due to the advantages of having company on the trip had vanished and even after conciously trying to block out negative thoughts about bad things that could happen over the trip, i found it tough to be positive. I some how drag myself out of the bed, get ready and look out the window to find that it is pouring! How bad could my day get!

I reach out for the additional rain gear to be worn above the existing touring setup. Call up Kumar and revise the days direction and probable end points. I also get to know that the fuel availability might be dicey due to the Bharat Bandh called to protest against the diesel price hike.

My mood had taken a proper beating by now, but i some how managed to muster some enthu and i happened to think about what i would do when i visit Khardung La... this was a magical medicine and by the time i was finished with what i wanted to do when i visit Khardung La i was curising towards the outskirts of Mumbai. It was actually this brown smog created by a truck over a pool of muddy water that brought me back to my senses. This stretch was extremelly muddy and the rain had made it impossible to pass it and get out clean. I was a brown bear with brown bike by then..... back to the beaten down mood.

Luckily for me the roads got better and the rains never stopped, so there was enough spray of fresh rain water to wash me down to an acceptable clean state



Breakfast after crossing Mumbai.... Paratha? Fully fried?




Another first in my life, that day i had travelled three states. Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Once into Gujarat i could not take the express way and hence had to take the route through Godhra and connect back to the normal highway towards Rajasthan (at Shamlaji). I vividly remember the 10 km long traffic jam in Baruch due to some flyover work.

Crossing over to Rajasthan it gets more greener when compared to the previous distance travelled. The roads through Udaipur felt very similar to Chikmagalur without the coffee estates - hilly, green and twisty turvy.

At the end of the day Kumar is very happy that i over shot Udaipur and travelled further to Chittorgarh. The Udaipur bypass to Chittorgarh was chok a block but it was ok for a bike to make it through.

Checked into Hotel Meera (near the railway station, ph: 01472-240266).



K2K-2012 - Day 6

This by far was the most boring day. I wake up early get down to the parking to see that i could use a water hose. Bikers can never resist giving their bike a good wash - what say? Once done i'm happy looking at a shiny bike after all the dullness due to the dust and dirt i've travelled through so far. I also see that i do not have enough cash on me to pay up the hotel rent. So i take a walk to the nearby market at the railway station and all these factors again make me leave late. I leave at 10:30 which is insane by any bikers standards. On top of that i see a functional Reliance pump for the first time on the entire trip and don't know why did i ever decide to tank up there. Once i'm out of the fuel station i have this doubt with regards to fuel quality which played spoil sport with me all the way until my next tank up.

I start my travel in the direction of the Jaipur - Delhi highway. The heat was real bad and so was the traffic. Well i deserved this since i made a mistake of leaving way too late. Once i take the detour towards Ajmer i connect to the Bhatinda highway which lasts for 400 km. Here i over shot a fuel station and then had to slow down to save on fuel until i found another one, this wasted almost 45 minutes in the hot afternoon. The Bhatinda highway is extremely unpredictable, its littered with surprise pot holes and worse - unmarked and nasty surprises with speed breakers.

After a real boring ride i reach Hanumangarh.

There are accommodation options here but its worth a note that if you travel another 70 km, you cross over to Punjab and reach a place called Abohar. Rates are much lesser and its good to shave off as much distance as possible every day. But my parents and wife had already kicked up a big fuss when i had reached Chittorgarh a little late in the evening. So i did not want to test their patience again and decided to call it a day.

I ask people for directions to Hotel Rajdiv Palace and when i actually get there i am in two minds to enter it. By the looks of it, its a real palace and i was wondering what the cost of stay would be. Luckily it was not prohibitive, there were favourable slabs and again i get to wash my bike



Hotel Rajdiv Palace in Hanumangarh (you don't need anything else to find it... just the name will do)




K2K-2012 - Day 8

I leave at 7:30 in the morning. Trying to correct my previous days mistake.

After yesterdays boring ride Punjab looks like heaven lush green fields with hues of dark brown. The morning sun makes it much spectacular. I want to stop but the planned destination forces me to keep moving on briskly - its destination Jammu that day.

Apart from the scenery i will always remember Punjab for the absence of sign boards and if at all i find any, they were always in Punjabi. Also people will fall down laughing at you when you ask for places.... google says Abohar as in A-Bho-Har. But its A-Bhor in Punjabi. And trust me, this was the easiest of the places to pronounce.

The entire out skirts of Jalandhar is very very busy. Its easy to miss this detour to Pathankot which is around 30 km before the main city. Once you get to Pathankot you are relieved to find the roads improving but they too get worse due to road repairs. The best part is - for the first time you will see sign boards reading distances to Leh

Reaching Jammu the traffic gets really bad and there are a few stretches of just boulders, rounded due to the traffic that has gone over it and these stretches are waiting to gobble up wheel rims. Found it very difficult to cross them. But the worse was still to come. I get stuck in one way traffic snarl, over shoot the JKTDC hotel to my left and then circle round half the city to get back to the same one way traffic jam and finally into the hotel totally exhausted and dirty. For a change i was received at the reception by a sardar with a warm smile with a respect to a person who has come to Jammu from Kanyakumari. I had these K2K stickers on my luggage so he did not have to ask much about what i was up to. He quickly arranges for the room and i am settled in by 4 in the evening. Thats a first again!

The dust and dirt was so bad and the heat was so much that i could see sweat marks on my touring jacket! Also i observe this at 4 in the evening with lots of time to spare so off with the biker feel and on with a dhobhi get up. Out comes the liquid detergent and the next hour was a back breaking exercise to clean up both the jacket and touring pant with all the anti sweat inner wear i had used up till this point after Mumbai. I knew it was impossible to get them dry by dawn the next day so i ask for another pair of the hotel towels and use them to absorb excess water. The coffee table turned to one side acts as a hanger for all the washed laundry under the fan. The room really felt like a dhobhi ghat that day



K2K-2012 - Day 9

There is no check out in JKTDC. You pay the entire amount upfront the moment you check in. Its the responsibility of the house keeping guys to make sure all is ok when you leave the next day.

I call up Kumar early in the morning to decide the days route and am already trailing a local news reporters taxi towards Srinagar as soon as i get out of JKTDC by 6:30 in the morning.

You invariably fall into a convoy after some time. The traffic and the hilly section is such that you come to a complete stop for half an hour to let the strech clear up and then proceed. This happened to me atleast 5 times. The highlight of the morning was not the amazing scenery with roads looking down into a menacing river below, it was the super tasty Rajma Chaval and the quantity given would have taken me three break fasts to finish it. The rajma chaval was recommended by Kumar before i started that day

Though the traffic snarls and the heat make you sweat like a pig, so much so that you feel the sweat trickling down your back into your undies - the view is really gorgeous. Also the traffic disappears after Banihal. The previous flood of vehicles comes down to a trickle. Also the temperatures start to fall off providing a much deserved respite and you also get a lot of time to appreciate the nice scenery. By this time you are approaching the Jawahar Tunnel, the gate way to Kashmir so to speak. Bye bye Jammu!!



Some distance before the Jawahar Tunnel




Pass through the Jawahar Tunnel and then you are invited by the Titanic view Point. Enough of refreshments you say? Yes... the chaos of Srinagar starts here. Very bad and dusty roads and a chaotic traffic all the way to Srinagar.




The Dal lake was uninspiring except for its size. You feel you have already encircled it twice and you got to ask people to make sure that you actually are viewing a new part of the lake and this is no deja vu. The Dal Lake is like the focal point for the entire city. Cross it and you've crossed Srinagar.




Now comes another tough part of passing village roads for another 50 to 60 km. Then you get on to an high way sort of road all the way to Sonamarg.
Such is the magic of Sonamarg that i could not resist myself to get off the bike once ever 5 minutes! Also while approaching Sonamarg i see a snow capped mountain for the first time in my life.

I reach Sonamarg at around 5:30 and check into Sonmarg Palace.



First time i see a snow capped mountain




Super Sonamarg!




Some more snow capped mountains




I shoot the above photo and then i look to my right and go expletive since these were so close than the one above!!

K2K-2012 - Day 10

I am on the bike ready to start for the day at 10:30 in the morning. Looks like i did not learn from my mistakes? Well no, its always something new that stops me from leaving early. As long as its new, it makes the journey more interesting and gives you something more to learn Today's delay has to do with a mistake i committed yesterday. BUT - being in Sonamarg and knowing for sure that your return journey is via Manali, its justifiable to leave late since you get to enjoy it more once the sun is up. In fact i would advice a days stay in Sonamarg - enjoy the nature and additionally ride to the glacier which is pretty close by.

Yesterday, while riding to Sonamarg i was getting low on fuel. But per my calculation i had enough to reach Sonamarg - and that was a huge mistake.

After checking into the hotel with another 30 km worth of fuel left, i en quire for a fuel station. The owner of the hotel - Chandu - who is almost my age saw my excitement with snow capped mountains that he got me a room with an awesome view and after a long friendly chat with him i get to know that he too needed some petrol for his car. I offer to ride him down to the fuel station on my bike and that made him very happy. We trace back around 15 km to the only fuel station available there. The guy managing it says that only diesel is available and petrol would most probably be available the day after. Would have wished i had somebody taping this to capture the look on my face. After half an hour of asking around for fuel sold in loose i give up. Chandu came to my rescue - he made a few calls to the taxi guys who ply tourists to Sonamarg from Srinagar and made sure i have at least 10 liters available the next morning. So i have no option except to patiently wait for the fuel in the morning.



Wake up early in the morning, run out in the bitter cold to the best view of the mountains around. The first rays of light from the morning sun on the peaks capped with snow makes it look like glittering gold. Only can be experienced but cannot be captured in its entirety on a small camera i had with me.




Finish up my daily chores have a refreshing breakfast, all suited up at 9 and i wait until 10:15 when the guy with the fuel finally arrives.

Anybody proceeding to Leh via Srinagar - the last point of refuel after Srinagar up until Kargil should be considered as KANGAN. The fuel station in Sonamarg mostly will not have petrol and above all the quality is suspect going by the stories i got to know later in the evening yesterday.

The weather is so good, i am so fresh that i fail to see any board that reads "Zoji La". The bad roads only made me think of this as preparation for Zoji La. I climbed up steep ascents and also came down hill. The roads got better to such an extent that i did stop by for a few pics. But i kept up my pace hoping to cross Zoji La as quickly as possbile hoping not to loose lot of time over it. This briskness brings me to the Kargil war memorial. I get in, take a pic of our national flag proudly fluttering and proceed. Now i am in two minds, am i on the right path? Am i wrong when i knew that the Karil war memorial comes AFTER Zoji La? So i stop to ask around and an aged person points me in the opposite direction when i ask for Zoji La. I assumed he did not understand hindi and ask him for directions to Leh and he points in the direction is was proceeding. This gets me all excited that i passed Zoji La even without knowing it - i call up Kumar and share this miracle when i get a phone signal



After Zoji La






At the Kargil War Memorial




After listening to horror stories about this pass and looking at various pics and videos, i am so relieved to have crossed Zoji La. On one hand i was happy for this and on the other hand there was a hint of dissatisfaction of missing out on the experience similar to what i had seen in those scary pics and videos. This joy results in me reducing speeds to almost 20 kph - taking out the camera and shooting videos with one hand on the accelerator. This happens all the way to Kargil.

Kargil gives me the creeps, its a feeling very similar to what i felt in Srinagar. This was the exact feeling that made me skip Srinagar and settle down in Sonamarg. After riding through the city i was really perturbed about the safety of my bike since most of the parking is on the road side. I take a call on the go and cross the city to a fuel station - tank up - have lunch at a nearby place and ask for directions to the next place i can find accommodation. I also call up Kumar to update all this and ask him for his advice with regards to accommodation.

The next place is Lamayuru and its 110 km from Leh. Also Kumar warns me that it might take me atleast 4 hours since the road conditions are bad in between. I still did not want to get back to Kargil and hence start off for Lamayuru. Its a quarter to three right now and i make a dash for the destination.

The next 10 km was so good that i thought i will reach Lamayuru in the next hour. The next 50 km was so bad that i was sure it will take me more than 4 hours to reach that place. There is road construction going on. They are getting the initial foundation layer for the roads and hence have dug out the entire path for the next 50 km. This was pure off roading which i had not done even on Zoji La. I was standing on the foot pegs through out this stretch.

Once this stretch is done with, you have a race worthy tarmac. Pitch black tar, no hint of a shine its totally matt black and guess the thickness of this coating? One full feet - yes - it was a road with one feet of quality tar. Imagine this on a twisty turvy road with the scenery of majestic mountains (no greenery - its just barren mountains with occasional snow on the peaks). Its anybodys dream come true for some high speed riding I was maintaining a 90 to 100 on this stretch. But good things dont last for long and this dream had to come to an abrupt end after around 20 km.

I see that i am now supposed to climb a mountain. I can arch my neck upwards and see one or two trucks kicking up a lot of dust at its tip. It is already 5 in the evening and the sun is now hitting me almost horizontally. The part exposed to sunlight is mildly warm but the other part in the shadow is almost freezing to an extent that i cannot feel my butt cheek nor the fingers doing the clutch duty.

I start freaking out just 5 minutes into this climb, till then i had bad roads but now i have dust as deep as 1 feet in some stretches (i put my feet down to balance and my shoes disappeared underneath the dust was so thick it came up almost half way to my knee). Also the construction meant there are no sign boards and the occasional vehicle that passes you by kicks up so much dust that there is zero sunlight penetrating through it. Its a sudden night scene at 5 in the evening. I was the only one climbing up, all these occasional vehicles were going down at insane speeds creating these dust clouds. I am scared out of my wits thinking about when i would reach Lamayuru.

I make it to the top of this mountian and it reads "Fotula Pass - The highest point in the Srinagar Leh highway". I actually read "Fotula ne teri fhaad di kya?". The view of the landscape from Fotula with the evening sun hitting at an angle is out of this world. It was beautiful. I still had to make the descent, so no photoes its a glance a smile and i proceed down.

Once you reach the foot of Fotu La the roads are back to normal and i read a sign board for Lamayuru

Below Fotu La proceeding to Leh. It was 6 in the evening and it was already freezing cold.




Reach Lamayuru and ask at a tea stall for good accommodation. I check into Hotel Moonland (09419888508) a fairly decent place considering my physical and mental state.
I was the only person in their restraunt with bermuda and just a half sleeve shirt and muffler - shivering to the bones and ordering for dinner. I was not prepared for this cold and did not have any thing in my luggage to deal with this. I had my thermal liners for the touring jacket and pant but there was no way i could touch it with clean hands after what i had been through in Fotu La.



My bike at the end of a dusty day




K2K-2012 - Day 11

Leh was just another 150 km and i was assured that the roads are much much better. So i get up late in the morning and take all the time to get ready to leave Lamayuru. Its 9:30 when i leave.

I meet another biker in the hotel for the first time over this trip. He had the cherry red ZMA and the conversation started since i still love the Karizma so much and that got us going!
He is from Japan and is doing a PHD in Hindi. He has stayed in India from the past 10 years. At the end of the conversation on a humorous note he told me that the previous night when he saw me he assumed that i was a local since i was bold enough to venture out of the room to the dinner hall with just a bermuda and a shirt
Even he was proceeding to Leh but had other plans before visiting Leh.

I leave at 9:30 towards Leh. Took a very very relaxed ride to reach Leh by 2. After calling up Kumar and having a chat with Rossiter with regards to accommodation i check into Hotel Oriental (below Shanti Stupa).



After Lamayuru




Nothing like the Gata Loops but still a view




A never ending road some distance before you reach magnetic hill




The confluence - 40 km before Leh

This is getting better and better. Subscribed a while ago.

K2K-2012 - Day 12

The laziest day for me. I pick up my wife from the airport in Leh and she had to acclimatize at least for one full day. No sight seeing, no nothing. The first comment as she walks into the hotel room is.... can i clean up the room... you have your stuff all over the floor Lucky for me that she had a tough time getting some sleep in the Delhi airport the previous night. This made her doze off quickly.

The hotel had a good internet connection. I spent a lot of time catching up. Its a luxury to have a working and reliable internet connection in Leh.

The 650 happily rests for the first time - its acclimatizing too!!



K2K-2012 - Day 13

Wife does not feel any effects of high altitude. So she is already raring to venture out. I was lazy and wanted to sip tea, have breakfast and just sit there enjoying the view until lunch and dinner is served. But no can do! If home minister wants to go out then you better get your butt off the couch!

Remember the biker from Japan? He had checked into the same hotel. So we had dinner together and got to know each other a little bit more. There is a nice book in Japanese which looks like the encyclopedia of Leh. Completely detailed with pictures and maps. He happened to meet its author and have a long chat before visiting Leh. He highly recommended the Alchi monastery or the Alchi Gompa as it is referred to there.

So today it was a ride to Alchi Gompa and Pooja also gets to view the beautiful Indus Valley, the never ending road near Nimmu, the river confluence. I would have wished to visit Lamayuru again but was in no mood to pack up from Hotel Oriental. Lazy you see



Alchi Monastery is a world heritage site. It has three to four temples inside. When you visit during the off season with only a handful of people around, it peaceful! This is one of the Gods worshiped inside Alchi Gompa.




On the way back, Pooja gets to ride the 650R with its side stand firmly on the ground. She is looking in the direction wants to go... she knows this without going to race school? I should get her the baby duke maybe.




Pooja is teaching me how to correctly pose for a photo.





K2K-2012 - Day 14

Today'splan was to ride towards Karu and visit the nearby places.


Did a little bit of offroading with wife as pillion. We wanted to get near to the flowing river beside the road.




Leh for dummies




One of the Gods in Hemis Gompa. Even Gods like frooti




Knock knock!




Very far off statue of a shining and resplendent Buddha




The beautiful landscape overlooking Shey Palace (25 km from Leh)




K2K-2012 - Day 15

I'm still lazy so i convince her that we visit Shanti Stupa which was just behind the hotel and call it a day. But madam in return makes me promise that i take her to the local market since she wants to shop :|

Instead of taking the bike we climb up to Shanti Stupa. This is a must visit! A very peaceful place to recharge your batteries for the all important day ahead.

I make sure GSFerrari checks into the same hotel. He is busy with the check in formalities by the time we walk down from Shanti Stupa. We were very happy and relieved to meet him and his family. We all tour the rest of the journey together.

Mr. GSFerrari drove a Xylo all the way from Chennai to Leh. I get to know this for sure when i am in Jammu. We were in constant touch after that and i was giving him updates about the road conditions on the go. He also had a crazy time in Fotu La and had to stay put in Lamayuru the previous evening. But had a very good refreshing ride into Leh today.

Both visit a service center. He gets his car washed off all traces of Fotu La and helps me get the fuel tank off to access the air filter. The 650R gets its lungs cleaned that day.

We all head out to the local market that evening. I purchase a pair of 10 liter cans for the fuel and the ladies do a lot of shopping. We end it with feasting on yummy momos and call it a day.

The beautiful Hotel Oriental. Thats an apple tree. Really juicy red apples!!




All folks here are self sufficient to a large extent. What a life!!




Spot the helmet contest. Thats our room
Hotel Oriental is bang in front of Shanti Stupa.




An unhindered view of entire Leh city. Could not get a better view of the city from anywhere else.




Very true to its word. Visit this place since it oozes peace!!




Artistic walls




A friendly neighbour

K2K-2012 - Day 16

The all important day. We visit Khardung La today!! I'm all excited. Also the bike had a full wash yesterday and looks like its raring for a ride.

Before that we were supposed to drive to the airport and pick up Rossiter and by the time we get the Xylo out of the gate he arrives in a taxi and i have a ball of a time looking at GSFerrari and Rossiter in a leg pulling fest trying to one up on each other Though it was a "hi" it soon was going to be a "bye" since we had to leave on a two day outing and Rossiter had to stay back to acclimatize at least for a day.

I'm ready by 8 and we all finish up break fast by 9. By the time we are out of the hotel its 10. We refuel and i get some VIP space for the two cans of fuel in the Xylo. Pooja gets her real Leh ride today. Its 11 by the time we are out of Leh city towards Khardung La.

The ascent to Khardung La is not bad compared to Zoji La or Fotu La. It gets pretty bad after the road disappears mid way, after which its only stones and gravel. As we approach the summit it starts to get cold pretty quick, you can notice the visor fogging up so much that you will have to slow down your breathing pattern and open it up a little bit. But the moment you open it up, you feel the cold pricking you all over your face in spite of the balaclava. Also you get closer and closer to snow! You can touch it now!

We reach the summit in just an hour, i could not believe that. Take the celebratory photos. But before i get to rejoice i get to know that the water bottle Pooja was carrying had some how failed and everything in the backpack and also the jeans she was wearing is completely wet. I could imagine the discomfort she was going through. I could not take my helmet off due to the chill and here she is putting up with the cold with a wet jeans. So the ecstasy takes a back seat. And anyways we could not stay at the altitude and celebrate for long. We decide to proceed. Our destination for the day was Turtuk.

I was so confused that i forgot to ask for a photo of myself in Khardung La. Lucky Pooja




The descent is just 14 km to North Pullu. The roads were so bad that we take one and a half hour to cover this distance. All the while my wife is on the bike with a wet jeans



We sight the Yaks finally!




I speed up to Khardung which was another 30 km from North Pullu and stop for breakfast where Pooja gets to change to something dry and this brings back the smile on my face. Its 2:30 and our chances of making it to Turtuk gets bleak. A realistic target was Hunder.

The ride to Hunder was superb. You have the river Shyok for company through out. There are these green patches of land bang in between barren mountains. The contrast makes it look like heaven! There is a long stretch of straight and flat road with zero elevation just before hunder. Its again bang in the center of two mountains on either side with pebbles as far as your eyes can see. It seems this was once an ocean bed dating back to when the Asian continent was still not formed. There have been fossil discoveries to prove that theory. The combination of this road and the mountains make it look like a grand gateway to Hunder and its sand dunes.



My bike is looking at the gateway to Hunder




The accommodation in Hunder is very limited. So before we head towards the famous camel ride we check into Hotel Snow Leopard and then head to the sand dunes for a camel ride. The ride was a first for us but we enjoyed it. The camels are beautiful and the baby camels are really cute.



The dust storms that are building up at the mountains afar is another amazing spectacle.




Snow Leopard has separate houses within its compound. Each house has three rooms with attached bathrooms and then a common area. Since we had taken three rooms the entire house was ours and for the first time we all sit together and there is fun and laughter until late in the night. We devoured lots of snacks with a special mention to the patented Khakra with cheese slices recipe. There was a small mouse which kept the ladies on their toes during this time. We have dinner and hit the bed.

K2K-2012 - Day 17

We have a good breakfast to start off the day. Leave at 8.

What should have ideally taken us 2 hours to reach Turtuk takes us three and a half hours. The ride overlooking Thoise airfield is very exciting. The sound of the defense choppers reverberate in your chest. The roads are moderately OK after that all the way to Turtuk.



The Xylo making it across a bridge towards Turtuk




The terrain while reaching Turtuk




Its 11:30 when we were rejoicing the visit to the north most tip to which a civilian can get to. Also the men in Turtuk have this Greek touch, Alexandrian to be more precise. The village is very very scenic. A nights stay in Turtuk is highly recommended when compared to Hunder.



The north most tip for us civilians. It seems one of the mountains in the pic is actually Pakistan. The guard was stopping us from taking pictures for security reasons.




We are way low on time available. Our plan for the day was reaching back Leh but with a change in route. We were not to retrace the road through Khardung La, but take Wari La, and reach Leh via Shakti.

Wari La is no small feat since its almost at the same height as Khardung La but a lot more spooky since its the less travelled road either by the army or by the civilians there. GSFerrari and Rossiter have never had a good experience around Wari La and we could see the tension in his tone when he was asking us to be quick to empty a can of fuel into the bike and leave as quickly as possible.

One problem with carrying fuel in a four wheeler is that it stinks up the whole vehicle despite all your efforts to seal it off. It mostly is the altitude which plays with the boiling point of a liquid. The fumes due to the two fuel cans in the Xylo were really unberable. I was feeling bad for not factoring this while deciding to stock it there. Once the first can was empty we hurriedly tie this empty can and the funnel onto the right side of the bike. I had also spilt some fuel on my hand while filling but there was no time to clean up since the Xylo was already on its way towards Hunder.

I put some serious speeds, pass the Xylo and and cross Hunder in under one and a half hour on the way back. This was extremely discomforting for Pooja but she managed to hang in without a fuss. We had just stopped after Hunder hoping to give some respite for Pooja and also have lunch by which time the Xylo is also beside us. But to our surprise GSFerrari says that we are really pushing it already and hence should carry on and relax only after Wari La. By the time i am suited back up and ready to go, the Xylo has already disappeared into the horizon. We speed up and try to catch up and in this process take a wrong road and are clueless what to do. Luckily for me, Pooja sights a Xylo just disappearing at a far off corner and we make a dash towards that direction.

There is a detour to Wari La at some distance after Khalsar. We neither had a map nor a working phone to make contact and still the Xylo was not in sight. This really freaked me out. To our respite, we find the Xylo waiting for us at the detour we had to take.

The ride to Wari La takes you through Agham. Again its an amazing place we had to pass at the wrong time with an agenda to pass it quick. You have super looking straights and then very very scary ascents and more scary descents. There was a descent with a boulder on the road, this must have been a very old land slide that had not been cleared off. This is how less travelled the road is. Had it been another 10 centimeters towards the outer cliff edge, the Xylo would not have made through it.

Soon after this i face the first water channel in Leh. Its deepest is to the knee but mostly shallow at the entry and exit. The width covered the entire lenght of the Xylo. I'm not scared and i dont ask Pooja to get off. My mistake was that i was too close to the Xylo and dont have the distance to judge the unseen bottom of the crossing. Soon after the Xylo makes it i some how speed up through it and before i could rejoice there is a huge skid soon after i was out of the water. I dont fall but the bike is bent over to the point of no return. Pooja makes a quick jump to avoid getting pinned under. I try to avoid the drop but the bike is too heavy for that. I let go of the bike and its totally horizontal. I run around it and pick it up the right way to get it back to vertical. It were the football sized boulders that made up the entry and exit of this crossing. They were covered up with gravel which fooled me.
Upon cranking the bike comes to life, i make a quick check, all is well and Pooja hops on. We are soon trailing the Xylo again.

We are still quiet some distance away from the ascent to Wari La. We come across a rather menacing bridge. Again i am quiet close to the Xylo and it just guns through the apex and is crossing the bridge while i happen to loose my front again in between boulders and gravel and have the second fall of the day. This time too Pooja makes a quick get away avoiding being pinned below the bike. The fall is pretty bad one, the impact flings the tank bag to the gravel. I again make a run around the bike and lift it up.

This time the 650R refuses to crank no matter what i do. The FI light is on and i'm freaking out again. I had this tilt sensor thing at the back of my mind, so i manually switch off the bike (with the key) and turn it back ON. Lucky, this time the bike fires up and we are on our way again. But soon we find that the empty fuel can is off the nylon ropes and is rattling around with the rope almost going into the tyre. We stop to see that it was the empty fuel can that took the entire impact when i fell to my right. This had dented it so much that it had lost shape and had come off all the rope we had tied to secure it on the luggage carrier. I quickly take all the rope off. Pooja was in no condition to hold on to the can, she was finding it hard to hold on to me so the can was out of question. We discard the can beside the road and take the rope and the funnel and proceed quickly to catch the Xylo.

I found it odd that the Xylo never stopped at the bridge end. Didn't they notice the fall? I get to know at the end of the day that the altitude had affected the pickup so much that they were not sure if it would move ahead if they came to a full stop to help me. GSFerrari had asked his brother to jump out of the running car if at all i needed help

We encountered a third water crossing. This was a difficult one which i took before the Xylo and then the makes it through cautiously to avoid the rocks hitting the under body.

We stop for five minutes at the foot before ascending to Wari La. Despite repeated requests Pooja refuses to get into the Xylo. She wanted to ride pillion as long as i could do it. I can now be smug boasting that i was bold enough to move on with her as pillion and pass Wari La and what an achievement it was. But the truth is that i was lucky to pass unscathed after this cocky decision.

Wari La can take an entire page to describe. We pass ice on the road for the first time and i'm not able to feel my fingers. It was very uncomfortable for me and was much more of a pain for Pooja. The ascents and descents had given her enough of an exercise that she started to cramp big time. Despite the steepness it looks like the summit is never gonna come at all!

Finally after some agonizing riding we reach the summit - the coldest place so far. Take a photo and proceed with the descent.

The descent from Wari La to Shakti



It takes us two more hours to reach the base. We reach Shakti finally! There was a place where we deviated from the actual snakey roads and make a straight descent, my hands were so numb that along with the grips i hold on to the clutch and the brake too... my front gives way and though i release my grip over it and try to slow down by using the rear brake i am sliding wildly from side to side. I almost crash into the Xylo that was waiting for me at the end of this straight but i guess my luck was back after the two previous falls. After this the Xylo makes many more such "straight" off roading to by pass multiple curves on the downward journey. I choose to shy away from it hoping to make it to the hotel asap.

The only thing that kept us company through the rest of the trip back to Leh was the darkness, the cold and Pooja's cramps that had got very worse. She never complained but i used to ask her to get her leg horizontal (almost parallel to the seat) and hold the leg while she could rest it for a few seconds of respite.

We are relieved to reach back to the warmth of the blankets and a hot water bath in the hotel. Its a quick dinner and some well deserved sleep now.

K2K-2012 - Day 18

The previous days draining trip ensured that everybody wanted to take a day off. So the girls go out on local sight seeing and i'm happily lazy and so is Guru who is enjoying all the photos and videos captured so far.

Pooja insists that we visit Pangong Tso on a taxi so that i have enough energy to make it back. Even she had heard enough of Rohtang and the journey down to Delhi, this gives her the creeps. Rossiter's hired bike has a FI malfunction which leaves him without a ride. So we book a taxi for tomorrow.

Its a lazy lazy day today!



K2K-2012 - Day 19

Our taxi guy is already impatient in the morning. He wanted to leave "early" morning you see

We leave by 8. There are two cars today, the Xylo and the Taxi (a Innova). It was a very different experience after travelling so far and so long on the bike.

We travel through Chang La, visit Pangong Tso with one tyre puncher on the way.

I've already said enough about the beauty of Pangong Tso... a beauty which will soon become the ugly beast after 3 idiots... looks like there will be 3000 idiots visiting this place every season and screw this up!

A marmout on the way to Pangong Tso



No trip to Leh is complete without this ​



Our two vehicle convoy breaks up on the return since the taxi guy wanted to fix up the punctured tyre so that we have a spare tyre in case there is another incident. But as our luck had it, we have two more punchers on the way. The second on while on the highest point in Chang La.

Now we are out of spares and its already sun down with the Xylo at least 40 km ahead of us. There is only a intermittent phone signal. Calling the Xylo to come back and pick us up was out of question given the terrain and the bad timing.

We patiently wait for any vehicle going to Leh from Pangong. We find one after half an hour. He obliges by giving us a lift. We had to bear with the loud bollywood music and the cramped rear most seats of the Scorpio until we got to the hotel at 8 in the night. It was a rocky ride!

We have a lot of packing up to do since we say bye bye to Leh tomorrow. Upon that i do not have cash on me to check out. Rossiter takes me around the Leh gullies ... he knows this place better than the busiest places in Bangalore. We visit all available ATMs but NO GO. We finally pass by an ATM which was just beside the hotel but at the end point of our round trip journey.

At 1 in the night we say our good nights and good byes since Rossiter was taking an early flight the next day.

The highlight of today's trip was that i get to shoot pictures on a DSLR which is missed so much! Rossiter was driving the Xylo so i take over the clicking duties on the SLR. The second one was during our return - we happen to find ourselves a Marmout which was unusually camera crazy. It stayed beside the road minding its own business and giving us an occasional look for almost a minute!

K2K-2012 - Day 19

We get up early and finish off all the pending packing.

I was not feeling good at the moment. The fuel can was weighing heavy on my mind. Also i had lost one empty can to Wari La.

I look out of the window and though the view was divine with the heavy clouds and the partially visible snow deposition it gave new lows to my already low mood. I am visualizing the black ice and all the skidding and may be some more falls like during Wari La. I feel the same way while typing this in! That is how much i was affected that day.

We get together for breakfast and decide to not make through any "La"... we still had an option and we take it with both hands. We decide to ride via Chumatang which is not a La. Our destination for the day was Tso Moriri.

I some how manage to get a good 5 liter can from the hotel. How ever its not the normal shape that can be tied up comfortably on the luggage rack. And i can almost hear GSFerrari honking at the gate.... i make a run for the bike and we leave the hotel towards the fuel station.

Once the 10 liter can was full and loaded, now came the second small cylindrical one. After one try with the nylon ropes i give up. I unload all the stuff in one of the saddle bags and replace it with the 5 liter can. Again the view of ALL the mountain caps being invisible due to the heavy clouds was extremely depressing.

We are on the road towards Karu by 11. We pass Karu and take the route to Chumatang and hit our first road block... a land slide which was in the process of being cleared up by the ever patient and persistent BRO. This takes some 10 minutes which gives me time to drink some water and readjust myself after a hurried exit of the fuel station in Leh.

The ride till Chumatang was a mixed bag of barren rocky landscapes and greenery with again a river to keep us company. Many inclines too. The roads were good and i'm comfortably cruising. The Xylo crosses a bridge and moves along, i'm happily trailing them at a decent distance to give me time to react to any changes in the road.

I do notice the bridge and slow down. I am almost done passing this bridge when i just stupidly fall! This was a stupid fall. There was no cause. But again i fall to my right for the third time on the trip.

I quickly pick up the bike hoping there is no damage on the saddle bag or the fuel can inside it.

I pick up the bike and before i can think, the bike falls down on the other side.

Cursing and kicking myself, i run around the bike and pick it up, put the side stand on and just collapse due to the fatigue. I calm down and gather myself up, switch off the key and turn it back on. The bike is back to life and i proceed ahead. Luckily no damage done to anything - except my ego. Rightly so... this is Leh!!

We cross Mahe and then get to a point where we take a left for Tso Moriri and the straight ahead takes you to Sarchu (which is another 160 km). Its close to 3:30 and we decide on the move to skip Tso Moriri and choose Sarchu as our destination for the day. We take the straight towards Sarchu and just after 10 km the roads become non existent. Just plain mud roads would have been a boon, but this was now uneven road with jelly. We are climbing steadily and slowing down too. This torture lasts for the next 90 minutes. Ladakhi consistency - the views are out of the world when you cannot shoot photos. The road runs in the middle of a never ending valley both in length and breadth. We see herds of wild asses.... could have said zebras without the stripes.... from far they look like horses. Soon after the torture, you pass Tso Kar and then take a almost U turn and take the road to Sarchu. This U turn is inevitable.... except if your were trekking on foot.

Soon after the U turn you have a semi ready road. Its ready for its first coat of tar. The Xylo zooms at full speed leaving me to swallow all the dust and tag it. I was already low on energy. Also doing good speeds used to chill me down and hence i choose the dust clouds over the chill. In between there is a stretch of missing road where even lorries are taking a detour and going around it to connect back to the main road after half a kilometer. Also we see from a distance that this detour is peppered with lorries which have sunk their tyres into the loose gravel and have been abandoned for now. This makes us extremely cautious inspite of which i get stuck in a stretch with close to two feet of fine brown mud. By the time i got out of it my white touring pants were painted brown until my knees. What takes me 5 minutes takes the Xylo around 10. So that gives me some breathing time. GSFerrari's dad had to get out of the car and do a recce before guiding him down the least dangerous path and back on the road.

We proceed towards Sarchu which is another 100 km away and i start to shiver uncontrolably from the inside. This gets out of hand as we approach Pang since the roads get a lot better - like the highways are supposed to be. This makes it impossible to keep the speeds down despite a concious effort. The sun down has caused the minimal warmth to disappear too. I am frequently reaching out towards the radiator to get some warmth into my fingers. My breathing becomes rapid and i'm not able to control that either. The dipping temperature causes so much fogging that the entire front part of the balaclava is totally wet. The 5:30 sun is at an angle and all i am riding through is the shadows of mountains.... no sun rays even if i go hunting for it.

At times i was begging God for a cloud or two to get some respite from the heat and now here i am begging for all the sun i can get for some warmth. What a contrast?!

The Xylo slows down to check what is wrong since this is a clean highway and i have still not built up speed to move ahead. One look at me after i raise my visor - Pooja is already freaking out. GSFerrari instantly cuts short the present day's plan and decides that it is best for all of us to stay back at Pang. He never fancied a night stay at such a high altitude since he has previously tasted how bad it is. But i thank him for his patience with me and helping me out by being there for me in a place he never wanted to stay in.

Destination Pang. We find ourselves lucky to find accommodation in a tea stall that caters to the lorry traffic around that area. They had a huge room with four walls and a roof. The beams were made of logs of wood and there was lots of wild grass below the roof top for insulation. There were close to 10 beds on the floor with a huge pile of blankets and pillows.

I salute our armed forces who put up with these conditions and guard our contry around the clock. Cannot imagine what its like in Siachen which is approximately 19,000 ft above sea level.

I say this after spending just one horrible night at 15,000 ft - a measly altitude when compared to Siachen.

When on a bike its the riding temperature that is important. Eg. @ 50kph if the atmospheric temperature is 50 degrees, then your body is experencing a temperature of 38 degrees (less by 12 degrees) due to the speed while riding against the wind. It was around 4 degrees when we reached Pang at 6 in the evening and the temperatures fell to around -14 in the night. We suffered the entire night with AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) symptoms due to reduced oxygen levels at that height. Head aches, nausea, hallucination was the norm for that night. Thanks to GSFerrari's advice with regards to lots of water intake i made it through the night. I woke up in to see him sitting on the bed. I tell him that my head is aching pretty bad and he replies.... "well i did not see you go out and pee... Sai if you do not drink enough water to make you pee then you are bound to feel this way". I gulp down half a bottle of ice chill water and silently hit the bed hoping i'll sleep. Another important thing i noticed is that no matter what you do, you always feel out of breath wanting some more air to satisfy your lungs... especially when you try to lie down and sleep.

I found the most warm and welcoming people in the most inhospitable places and mind you - they were never after your money, all they gave and expected in return was a smile and goodness.

K2K-2012 - Day 20

It was such a lovely feeling when the morning sun invites you with the warmth. All you see around is ice and chill. The hilarious part was when i made a dash to the bathroom in the morning only to find the water in the bucket turned into ice, had to control myself and get back to ask for "flowing" water

The lady who runs this place graciously allows us to use the kerosine stove which we place below the Xylo's engine to heat it up.

I observe through the view glass that the oil which is normally oily is totally gooey today. Notice that the 650 is always on the side stand. So when you sit on the bike and get it to vertical you will notice the oil level rising. What usually takes a single second takes almost 5 seconds. That's how thick the oil had turned into.

Luckily for me i crank up the engine thrice and it comes to life and then i let it idle down until the rpm becomes constant. Also i empty the first 10 liter can of fuel into the bike and gift the owner with the empty can The bike still has a 5 liter can to the right side in a saddle bag.

After a lot of heating, a lot of effort and some help from the near by lorry drivers the Xylo comes to life.

We thank the owner and proceed to Sarchu at 8.

Sarchu is 80 km from Pang and we reach Sarchu at 11:30. We take three and half hours after another round of torture session through no roads and also ice on the early morning roads to keep us company. By the time we reach the famous Gata Loops, i am completely drained out to even enjoy this stretch. After breakfast at Sarchu we proceed to our next stop Keylong. I proposed Keylong to be our destination for the day while GSFerrari hints at wanting to make it all the way to Manali since he does not fancy another extra day of this torturous driving. I'm already feeling a bit uneasy with this news since i did not want to do Rohtang in the dark.

Before i go any further i must tell you about one of the water corssings - Killing Serai. Real killer huh. Even before descending to this crossing i see a fully prepped Aprillia stuck at the entry to this water crossing, there was a small pile up of lorries on the other side since he had blocked the exit for them. This was a true off roader by the looks, i do not know which model though. So i am looking out for options to give this crossing a miss. I spot a bridge which is missing a lot of metal plates, but the base structure (the metal column) which holds these plates together seemed ok. So i coax a BRO worker to stand at the other end and guide me out of this bridge. He says i'm insane and should go through the route taken by the others and points me down to the water crossing. The Aprillia is still stuck and he now is trying to retrace his path and come back to the dry part. I make up my mind and tell the BRO guy to stand at the opposite side and signal only if he thinks i'll fall down and start off. First gear, heart in my mouth to see the gushing water through the missing plates of the bridge and after some anxious moments i make it through!! I thank the BRO guy and then park the bike to the side and walk to meet the Aprilla guy. He was actually wanting to go to Leh so he is on the side which i have already crossed over to. When i tell him about the bridge he says "Indian bikes are too light mate, lucky you! I'm sure the bridge is gonna break if i try". So i tell him that i have a Ninja 650 which is surely some kg heavier than the amazing Aprillia he has. So that gives him some hope and he proceeds to the bridge. Mean while the Xylo cautiously but seadily makes it through this crossing and the Aprillia makes it to the other side via the broken bridge above. He waves at me from afar and proceeds while i run to my bike and move ahead.

The other scary water crossing which i had to pass was the one right after Sarchu before hitting the highway to Keylong.

So we leave Sarchu and proceed to Keylong which is a 100 km. The entire stretch of 100 km is extremely bumpy no matter how the roads were. This resulted in my neck taking a real bad treatment. The first 30 km of this stretch is no roads. Pretty much as bad as the Pang - Sarchu stretch. The next 45 km - the roads are much better and the views are out of this world. Its absolute treat to ride this stretch even with the creepy feeling of a pending ride in the dark via Rohtang. You are approaching Zing Zing Bar now and then you reach Jispa. All the mountains you see are now COMPLETELY covered with prestine white snow. No dirt, no dust, no smoke... so the snow is pure white and actually this whiteness gets to you. The contrast is so high that your eyes start to strain after some time - even with the visor down. You actually need a polarized goggles for this. We could have actually touched the snow and may be played with it for some time. But its destination Manali so no playing.

Once you cross Zing Zing Bar and get closer to Jispa, the snow disappears and the lush greenery starts. Now and then you have the roads peppered with water crossings. Not the dreadful ones but the inviting and easy ones which wash away all the dirt in your tyre types. But its worth noting that the inclines and descents after Zing Zing Bar all the way to Keylong are steep.

Very refreshing ride to Jispa.

Just before Jispa there is one bridge which is under construction, so you've got to go around it travelling on a dry river bed with all the boulders. Again very draining.

The ride after Jispa to Keylong is like a gradual acclimatization back to civilization. Reverse acclimatization for the Leh smitten tourers. Welcome back to bad roads of the highway and cities, welcome back traffic!

We pass Keylong and dont stop. Now i am trying to prepare myself for the ride via Rohtang. After another dust filled, semi constructed road of 30 km we reach Tandi. I empty the final 5 liters, leave the can at the fuel station and tank up. Its 4 o clock. Till now we were planning to have lunch at Tandi before hitting Rohtang. But i see Pooja running towards me with a bottle of gatorade. I gulp it down going bottoms up. Then GSFerrari tells me that its going to be a real challenge if we spend another half an hour for lunch. My neck and joints which were hoping for some respite fight back asking for some time out, but i agree with GSFerrari and we proceed towards Rohtang.

The dust clouds made me blind most of the day. The dust on the visor and the sunshine make it very difficult for visibility. I do not have enough energy to actually be ahead of the Xylo so i have no choice except to ride through this.

Tandi to Rohtang is very much like Fotu La. Full of dust and worse still, very steep inclines and bad roads. So it was dusty like Fotu La and wreched like Zoji La. At around 5:30 GSFerrari stops to remind me to wear the extreme weather gloves that i had borrowed from Rossiter. He says the temperatures are going to fall drastically from now on. Fall it did!

Thanks to these gloves, i was able to make it through Sarchu and now through Rohtang. Its not that your fingers dont get numb inspite of this, but if it were the normal gloves then i am sure to have lost any and every sensation in my fingers which is not good for throttle control and braking. Thanks Rossiter!

We reach Rohtang Top at 6:10. I take a pee break while Pooja picks up my helmet to clean the Visor. The fogging and the dust had made the inside of the visor real messy. I was not able to reach this while on the ride.

The sun is not visible anymore and its quickly getting dark. I am going to exactly do what i feared the most - Rohtang in the dark.

We proceed to make the descent. I mostly do this stretch with the visor up. Though the cold was causing discomfort to my eyes and resulting in a head ache, i had no option since the smoked visor with the fogging was causing problems with visibility.

The roads where mostly better than expected. Rohtang still has those scary stretches but not through out... around 60% is already asphalted... this is normal but the rest 40% is sure scary. We are at the base of rohtang at 7:30... i am screaming with joy inside my helmet. We reach Manali at 9.

What Pooja went through on the trip to Wari La in terms of body taking a thorough beating, i went through the same today... BUT ... it also brings an end to K2K as i see it... with the cherry on the cake - a round trip to Leh.