Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Pure Awesome pics dude waiting for more plz post soon

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks a lot..


Thank you..

Thanks..
The cameras used were Nikon D7000 (for the first few days) and then Sony HX100 and another sony point and shoot.. The Point and shoot was primarily used for videos..
Wide angle shots are Panorama shots from the Sony HX100..

Thanks mate..
Always a dream destination..

Thanks a lot..
I'm sure you'll make that ride in the future..

Thank you..
I'll post the next part tonight..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Super awsm pics brother.. Cant get enough of it. All the best for your abroad studies

Sent from my GT-I9003

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

'Its not the bike. Its the rider'. You are one great biker bro! This is the best travelogue i have ever read on ladakh in so much detail. I used to just browse the tlogs but your's is simply different. Read every inch of it and this has further strengthened my desire to get leh'd!!
You've got a PM..

nice pics dude!!!which camera are you using?

"which camera are you using?"

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"which camera are you using?"

Re: nice pics dude!!!which camera are you using?

Day 5:
19 June 2013
Patsio - Pang 145 km

The alarm went off at 4 30 AM.. I am always particular about getting up early and covering fair amount of distance before the traffic starts.. Something that i got from my Dad.. Leave early in the morning, try and finish the day's travel without riding late into the night and strictly no overnight travelling.. Something which some of my friends do not approve of, but I still follow it.. Today, I was more concerned about getting ready on time as we were supposed to ride with the 2 army officers.. I hurriedly got ready and forced others for the same.. The bags were packed and the bikes were loaded.. At 5 15 AM, we heard 2 bullets going ahead.. I spoke to them and they told us to carry on.. The road was now open and there were no more problems.. Everyone was ready and pumped up today.. The ride that almost got cancelled was back on the plate again..

Similar to rohtang, I was wearing multiple layers of clothes.. 2 km from our staying place, we reached the army transit camp where the other group from Chandigarh was supposed to join us.. But everything was dead quiet.. No sign of any movement.. Perhaps they were still asleep and I decided to move up ahead instead of waiting for anyone.. Even though the road was cleared off snow, there was still a lot of snow on the sides.. Coupled with the morning breeze, the cold was difficult to deal with.. I was ready to face the most frigid climate to get to Leh, my fingers weren't.. I was finding it hard to even use the clutch and brakes.. Fingers were getting numb by every minute.. I tried to think of some other things so as to take my mind off the painful cold.. I had my earplugs on and switched on the mp3 player.. I am too lazy to make any playlists.. I just let the random songs play on.. But the first song my mp3 player decided to play was "Buried Alive" by Alter bridge.. Not a good sign.. Next.. "Creeping death" by Metallica.. Stupid music player.. I switched it off.. Now that I am writing all this, it feels extremely stupid.. The lyrics had nothing whatsoever to do with it.. Maybe just the song titles had annoyed me..

I was finding it hard to ride in the 5th gear even on straight roads.. But nothing to worry about, I knew this was very natural.. In the meantime, the Fazer and Impulse were facing bigger troubles.. Both the bikes could do no better than 3rd gear even on the plain roads.. Even though the cold was numbing the body part by part, the ride was oddly delightful.. There was fresh snow all around, birds flying in the sky, the mountain peaks effulgent in the morning sunrays... Gazing at such views took my mind off my stinging fingers..




Enroute, I spotted a borewell.. I stopped to fill up some more water in case of emergencies.. We were supposed to fill water at the transit camp but had forgotten in the morning excitement.. High altitude does demand more than normal energy.. I was getting tired by simply pumping the water.. While filling the water, I spilled some on my hand.. It was agonizing.. Somehow, I filled up a couple of bottles and continued the ride..


After riding alone for a while, I spotted all my friends outside a small tent.. The tent was a makeshift dhaba and everyone had already ordered cheese omlette and tea for me.. I went inside, it was much warmer.. If not warm, atleast there was no wind.. I was rubbing my hands over to get them back to normal senses.. The omlette was delicious.. Everyone became bit more cheerful once they had some food.. Pushkaraj and Akshay told me that they weren't going to get on the bikes until the sun was high in the sky.. I was bit reluctant to wait for so long but a small incident changed my mind.. I went over to the counter to take a glass of hot tea.. While taking the glass from the lady, i spilled the scalding tea on my left hand.. And that wasn't the concern.. I did not feel a thing.. My fingers had completely lost the senses.. I panicked, I decided to wait for a while..

Once the sun was out, the ride resumed.. There was snow all around us.. At some places, there were ice walls on either sides.. It felt really strange riding on the road that had ice walls on the sides.. An amazing feeling.. Something that you always dream of, something that you always want to experience..








Then came the first water crossing.. Though the water flow wasn't much, the crosing was quite long.. I was the first to proceed.. Slowly I proceeded, speed barely 5 kmph.. Halfway through, I somehow lost control and had to put my feet down.. The first touch of the icy water.. It was excruciating.. It felt as if someone was pricking my feet with thousands of needles.. I regained my senses and increased the speed.. My feet were wet anyways, if I had to put them down again, I was ready.. Once successfully on the other side, i parked my bike and took the camera out.. Time to shoot others crossing it.. Both Fazer and the 200NS were stuck at a point.. And that wasn't the bad part of it.. I had to go back there to help them get it out.. The frigid water.. I can never forget it.. I was happy that I managed without getting stuck at any point, or worse, a fall..

The water crossing.. Unfortunately, no pics here.. I was busy taking videos..
This is some other group we encountered at the same place..


After everyone crossed the stream, I rushed to the side of the road and took off my shoes.. I was rubbing my feet for the next 10 minutes trying to get them back to normal..

Just look at the expressions..




Some treatment for the hands as well.. Rohit with his pulsar 220..
This is an extremely effective technique to warm your hands.. A self discovered method on one of our ride to Rajmachi a couple of years back..


Cold, bad weather, water crossings.. BRING IT ON!!






Some random fun on the way..


XBHP style..


After a few kms, I had a glimpse of a small lake.. What seemed a small lake at first glance, was actually the famous surajtal.. It was angelic.. The lake was shimmering, still half frozen.. The morning sun rays were trying to melt the remaining ice and the place where the ice and water met looked fascinating..








After clicking pictures at surajtal, we encountered traffic.. Since the road was blocked the day before, there was traffic from both sides and we were stuck.. I met loads of people here.. People travelling from not just all over the country but all round the world.. It was nice to chat up to people who shared one common passion of motorcycle riding.. As the conversation went ahead, I found out the we had many other things in common as well.. Many foreigners telling about their experiences how they loved the hospitality in India, Some older guys telling me that I reminded them of their younger self, some Indians sharing stories about their work and how they had to persuade the boss to get the leaves approved.. It was a wonderful time talking to all those people.. We even ended up playing rock paper scissors just to kill time.. I cant believe that I am saying this, but I actually enjoyed getting stuck in the traffic..

And who wouldn't with such company..






Once the traffic started moving, everyone was in a hurry to start up.. We had been there for almost a couple of hours..

I came across a post on facebook a few days back.. Cant help posting it here..
"To all car owners, You are not stuck in traffic.. You are traffic.. Get a bike, break free.. "
Apologies to any car lovers here, but it was too funny to just read and let go..

It was on this road that I had my first fall.. The cars leave tyre tracks on road which are free from snow.. I was on the right side of the road and to avoid riding too close to the valley, I took my bike left.. Before I could understand what was happening, I had lost control and crashed.. The bike had slipped on the snow.. The full impact of the crash was on my left shoulder.. Thanks to my riding gear, i was unscathed.. Here I must once again stress the importance of having good riding gear(even though everyone on xbhp is fully aware of it).. However careful you are, there will be a situation where you will loose control.. Only good riding gear can protect you then.. Even though i was riding at a slow pace, the fall could have bruised me if I did not have my riding jacket on.. By that time, 2 other riders were already by my side.. One of them got me on my feet and the other guy took my bike to the side of the road.. They asked me if I was fine.. I replied affirmative and thanked them for the help.. In return, I received a courteous nod and a thumbs up.. Rushing to aid of a stranger, just because he rides a bike.. True spirit of biking..

The descent from baralach la was much easier.. There were some more water crossings which didn't bother me anymore.. The traffic was also quite manageable.. All of us regrouped at the end of the pass.. It was already past noon and we still had a long way to go.. I told everyone that we will ride to Sarchu and then take a call for the further ride.. Baralach la is the border between Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.. The terrain had completely changed after descending Baralach la.. Snow was now present only on the mountain peaks.. The entire terrain was now just rocks and gravel.. Forget trees, there was not even a shade of green anywhere except for tiny patches of grass..








The road had now improved considerably and Sarchu arrived within much time..


At Sarchu, we had a long discussion about the further itinerary.. I suggested moving up to Pang whereas Rohit wanted to stay at Sarchu itself.. Since we had already lost one day due to snow, I was not ready to take a halt at Sarchu.. Leh was good 250 kms from here.. Even though people manage this 250 in a day, I was not ready for this.. It was 1 30 pm and Pang was 90 km from here.. Definitely possible.. Rohit and I have been riding together ever since we got our bikes.. Been trekking together even before that.. Friends since the past 12 years.. Even if we ever had any difference of opinions, we've never had any arguments.. Pang was decided..

Pushkaraj and Diwakar had already had lunch and decided to ride ahead to Pang, in case we get late and have problems finding a place to stay.. We ordered maggi noodles.. Back home, maggi was a solution when you are not even hungry, but just bored and want something just to keep your mouth busy.. Something you have when you go to the kitchen and don't find anything.. Out here, maggi was our staple food.. A big bowl of delicious soupy maggi noodles with vegetables, I was set to go..


The road here onwards was in a good contition and I was confident that Pang won't be difficult.. I was easily riding at 70 kmph till the road started climbing up again.. Next pass was Lachulung la, slightly higer that Baralach la.. Once again, there was a river to my left.. This river was magical.. It literally changed its colours from deep blue to turquoise by the time I was halfway up..




The road to this pass was unique.. A long straight road, a steep U turn and straight again.. I reached the top and a board greeted me.. End of Gata loops.. Damn, how could I have missed that.. 21 such loops and i never realized that I was climbing up the famous Gata loops.. I looked down the valley and could see the loops.. I clicked a couple of pictures, gulped down some water and moved up ahead to catch up with others..

The only picture of the gata loops..






Once again, the descent was simple.. The camera battery was running low and I had no more reasons to take halts.. PWD guest house where we stayed last night had no electricity and the batteries were running out.. There were a hundreds of locations so perfectly positioned for photographs.. Bit disappointed, i continued.. The next on list was Lachulung la.. By this time, the Impulse was really struggling to climb up.. Fazer had similar problems.. Just before Lachulung la, we met another lady riding an FZ, she suggested removing the air filter.. That worked.. Not good for the engine but at least the bike was able to climb up..



The customary photo at every top..
Me with Major Vineet


The road from Lachulung la top to Pang was just as I had expected.. Not a blade of grass, only huge rocky mountains all around.. The road condition had worsened and there was lot of dust in the air.. High altitude and dust had made breathing a bit difficult.. Even my eyes had begun to hurt a bit.. It was then I realized that I had forgotten to wear sunglasses the whole day.. The final few kms were really tough..


Pang 5 kms.. There was a smile on my face.. But that was just momentary.. There was still no sign of any human activity anywhere.. I parked my bike and sat down on a roadside rock.. I had fallen behind as usual, busy with photos and videos.. I was alone.. The rock structures were weird.. They had any random shapes.. Sometimes I was wondering if they were natural at all.. The rocks were protruding randomly from the mountains in any random directions.. There were areas on the road where the rocks blocked the sun and the entire road was in darkness.. Some rocks were so gigantic that it was difficult to believe that those were monoliths.. The river korzok had appeared towards my right.. The semi frozen river was cutting its way through the rocks.. I could hear the faint rumble of the river through the ravine.. Towering mountains on both the sides made up of humongous rocks.. This place was the perfect definition of solitude.. The epitome of isolation.. So far away from everything.. Everything was silent.. Not even a whisper of the wind.. This place had an aura of its own.. It had the power to turn any atheist into a believer.. Gazing at the marvels of nature, I reached Pang.. The whole experience riding through this terrain was surreal..

Some pics.. Clicked in a rush to save the last remaining iota of the camera battery..
















Pang is not a village.. It is a military transit camp and people have set up tents nearby just to provide shelter to travellers like us.. We got ourselves a tent and everyone just fell on the bed.. The temperature was now dropping and I was regretting not carrying any thermal wear.. I purchased woollen gloves and a cap from the tent owner for the night.. I walked to the transit camp at night to drop off my camera and laptop for charging.. The night was as clear as it could be.. I did not need my torch.. The moonligt was enough to show me the path.. Omlette and soup was the dinner that night.. The military doctor came on his patrol later to check if everyone was fine.. I told him that I was fine, just feeling cold.. Just to be safe, I had a diamox.. Rohit and Pushkaraj were again showing symptoms of AMS.. I told them to have medicine and everyone went off to bed.. I went out for a walk after dinner.. The soft wind and clear moonlight gave an eerie feeling to the night.. I returned back when the cold became too much to handle.. Tomorrow, it was straight to Leh.. As usual, I fell asleep praying for good weather..

Tomorrow: Getting Leh'd

Cheers,
Pranav

Re: nice pics dude!!!which camera are you using?

As usual, Awesome narration with pics which tell their own story!!

Re: nice pics dude!!!which camera are you using?

Fabulous, mate!! 'just can't wait to see you getting Leh'd. Don't stop now, that Multistrada was such a treat!

Re: nice pics dude!!!which camera are you using?

@pranav.k
Whatte description!! You write good! Beautiful images as well.
Yaadein taaza hogyi. Looking forward to next post.

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Just curios to know, how was the Hero impulse riding through this mud road...

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Am glued to the TL...... This is just awesome the pictures too speak a lot.... gives me more inspiration to getting Leh'd next year 2014 ....

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Great after long time.
Don't know but I am very Keen to know how was Hero-Impulse was performing there ??

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks a lot bro..

Thank you for those words..
Whatever you need, I'll be happy to help..

Most were clicked from Sony HX100.. Few from D7000 and another Sony point and shoot..

Thanks..

Thank you..
It was a real treat to see those bikes up there..

Haha.. I can understand.. Even today when i look at the pics, I can remember every single moment of it..
Thanks..

Thanks..
All the best to you..


For the impulse feedback, I'll let the impulse rider speak himself..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

congrats on accomplishing a dream
those images are stunning

i wish to do this trip one day

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Posting on behalf of the Impulse rider:

Hero impulse was an absolute delight in the slushy roads as well as on gravel.. Combined with light weight and good grip, managing the bike was extremely easy..

However, high altitude was a huge problem.. The bike faced serious power loss at baralach la, gata loops, and taglang la.. But a simple carb mod can fix this problem.. I got the required adjustments done in Leh.. After that, climbing up Khardung la wasn't really tough..

Verdict: Excellent bike for bad roads, (but you may feel the power inadequate at places)