Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

The beginning:

The love for motorcycling all started when I got my bike in 2011 October.. I vividly remember the day I got my hands on the Apache RTR 160 for the first time.. The rides which were initially restricted to Lonavala and Lavasa gradually extended to nearby beaches, forts, ghats.. 2 years later, I had my first interstate ride and then the desire to get Leh'd elevated..
I had joined xbhp after reading a couple of Leh travelogues with the hopes of making there some day.. And today it feels really nice that I have a chance to write my own travelogue..


Bike transport, the biggest issue
Though I had done all my homework sincerely about this road trip, I confess that my preparation wasn't up to the mark.. Thanks to Pune University, the Engineering final exam was postponed.. I barely had any time.. The biggest issue was transporting the bikes from Pune.. I made several trips to the Pune railway station in the final few days trying to arrange the transport of the bikes.. Its a simple process, but when there are 7 bikes and you need them on TIME, it becomes really difficult.. I remember visiting the railway station after the last day of my college.. I reached the station and went to the parcel office.. I was supposed to find some Mr.X, parcel office guy who was supposed to manage my transport (got his name from another person). He wasn't present at his office.. Now I had never met this man in person, finding him in the horde of people on platform number 1 was a herculean task.. I asked around and different people told me different locations where he might be.. I walked the entire length of the platform at least thrice with the hopes of finding him.. All of this while making way through the crowd with a heavy laptop on my back and helmet in my hand.. And when I finally met him, he just had the following things to say to me, "Really sorry, I cant guarantee anything."Dealing with the typical government clerks, trying to get rid of the agents who are omnipresent and will say anything to get money, I had had enough.. And all of this happening on my last day of Engineering college when all of my classmates were enjoying themselves somewhere else.. But sacrificing a couple of parties was a small price to pay for Leh..

Since the railway guy had told me clearly that it wont be possible to transport the bikes in the available time, I had to resort to GATI.. I was paranoid about the whole transport thing after reading some really bad reviews about GATI.. However, there wasn't any other option.. I had considered riding all the way, but it was a big group.. 7 riders and all weren't ready to go all the way.. Finally in the evening, I called up GATI transport Pune and confirmed the deal.. The only reason I was trying my luck as this same person had transported a Karizma ZMR 2 years back without a single scratch from Pune to Ludhiana.. All right then, I was ready to take my chances..

The train journey was fun.. It had been a while since we all had met and spending some 30 hours in train to Ludhiana wasn't boring at all.. The only thing i regret in the train journey was watching "Go Goa Gone" on my laptop.. I would have gladly done anything else instead of that movie.. Really anything, even staring outside the window for a couple of hours would have been better than that..
Halfway though the journey I received a call from Ludhiana.. All the bikes had reached.. A big sigh of relief.. The journey was going to start on time.. That phone call further lifted our spirits.. I could barely sleep the night.. The excitement was too much to hold.. The train reached Ludhiana at 3 30 AM.. The waiting room was littered with everything ranging from sleeping people to garbage to lizards.. I could barely sit there..I spent my time at the waiting room watching game of thrones on my laptop.. At 6 30, we left the station and then began our search for the GATI office.. And that reminds me of the saddlebags... True its an amazing thing to use on a ride, but to carry it while walking is really troublesome..

Once at the GATI office, the first thing I saw was a packed bike, checked its number plate.. MH 14 CH 8362.. It was my Apache.. I could see both the clutch lever and the brake lever were untouched, indicators intact.. A big sigh of relief.. Except for a couple of broken indicators on a Pulsar 220 and Pulsar 200NS, there wasn't any damage.. The unpacking began and we started changing and getting into the riding gear.. Excitement.. Finally the ride was about to begin.. So much planning, so many expectations.. It was all about to start..

Day 1: Ludhiana to Pandoh transit camp, ~254 km



We managed to gear up and start at 11 from Ludhiana.. Much late than I had hoped for, but nothing could dampen my spirits today.. Well maybe except the heavy rains that we were about to encounter.. The road from Ludhiana to Roopnagar was beautiful.. It was quite narrow and there was landslide mud coming down at many points.. But there was a river towards my left (sadly i dont know the name) and long line of tall trees to the right.. If the skies would have been clear, there would have been at least a hundred photo stops here..
At Roopnagar, we took a halt for lunch.. We were joined by a group of 4 people travelling to Leh in Toyota Fortuner.. They were acquaintances of one of my group member.. Very nice group of friendly people.. Those guys were quite older and I had to admire their spirit.. (PS. I am 21 so almost everyone I met in the entire trip were older than me.. )
After lunch, we decided that Manali wouldn't be possible today.. Anyways, what is the point of just pushing ahead if you aren't able to see any of the natural beauty that Himachal has to offer.. So the first halt was decided at Pandoh military transit camp, 100 km before Manali..


The rain was increasing steadily and I felt that I was riding through the western ghats of Maharashtra.. Nostalgic.. The route was full of fog, rain, waterfalls, landslides, bad roads.. But I'm not complaining.. I was feeling homesick.. Reminded me of all the other rides to Malshej ghat, Ahupe ghat and countless other places in the western ghats.. Unfortunately, the rain was too heavy to risk using the cameras..
In the evening, the rains subsided.. The clouds went away and revealed an amazing view.. A full rainbow arched over a mountain top, the river Satluj flowing through the valley, its color a shade of orange golden due to the setting sun.. There was a sunburst.. All this was enough for me to get rid of all the previous fatigue..











There were 2 rainbows.. I have made some really shoddy attempts at color editing to make the other rainbow visible.. :P












Me(left) with my co-riders and Rajat ji.. He said that he'll never understand why I'd prefer to ride in the rain instead of the comfort of car..


Later I gave the camera in the car and asked them to click our pictures..




A cup of tea and we were off again.. The ride now was bit tough.. Through the darkness, we handled the twisty roads of Himachal and reached Pandoh army transit camp.. Rajat ji had made arrangements for us in the Officers mess..


The room where we stayed


The same room half an hour later..

I know its not a pretty sight the rain had caused more damage than we had expected.. Most of my clothes were wet..

Lesson learnt: The amount of plastic that you feel is enough for water proofing, DOUBLE it.. Even then it probably won't be completely efficient.. :P

Totally exhausted and shivering, We changed into somewhat dry clothes, had dinner and went off to sleep..

Cheers,
Pranav

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

awesome start man... waiting for more pics..! when did you start planning your trip? tell us more dude..!

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks bro ..

Thanks a lot man..
Glad you liked it..

Thanks dude.. Been planning ever since I got my bike..
I'll post the rest soon..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

beautiful pics....

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Day 2: Pandoh to Manali, ~135 km

I forgot to mention the riders in my first post
1. Rohit Mohite - Pulsar 220 (credit for most of the photos)
2. Aniket Shende - Pulsar 220
3. Akshay Diwakar - Pulsar 200 NS
4. Akshay Dixit - Yamaha Fazer
5. Pushkaraj Shrotriya - Hero Impulse
6. Pranav Kulkarni (me) - Apache RTR 160

After a cold rainy day, I was expecting at least some improvement in the climate.. I woke up and went behind the houses we were staying.. A beautiful view to greet me morning..
Wherever I go, my Laptop follows me..


Huge mountains covered in trees and green and the river Beas making its way through the valley.. Amazing.. The river flow was very turbulent.. Last time I had seen it, it was quite peaceful.. Now it was raging through the valleys due to the heavy rainfall and the melting snow..




The best part about this morning that the skies were crystal clear and the sun was shining bright.. Without a moment's delay, I rushed back to the room and carried my bag outside.. I dragged out a couple of chairs in the lawn and put all my cothes for drying there.. Dry clothes was a big relief.. Only a person who has travelled full day with wet clothes will understand the true value of dry clothes..
I had breakfast at the officers mess in the morning.. Puri and some potato gravy.. After a nice filling breakfast and a clear climate, I was desperate to get into the saddle..
The place where we stayed


Couple of minutes into the ride, I was easily taking the curves at good speed.. The roads were just too good.. Butter smooth.. Leaning through the corners, I was maintaining good speed.. And then I saw the first snow clad mountains.. I was smiling through my helmet after seeing the first snow..




Some more photos en route Manali








About an hour before Manali, we took a halt for lunch.. The hotel owner had put up chairs and tables on the banks of the river.. Sitting alongside the river, watching the snow clad mountains in the front and eating hot parathas..






Happy faces.. Finally in reality after years of dreaming..


After lunch, I started towards Manali.. Manali had changed completely from what I had last seen.. Crowded, full of tourists, roads jammed with cars.. Didn't feel like I had come far away from home to spend time in nature... I didn't bother to stop at Manali even for a single photo.. The destination was Pelchan army transit camp, some 10 km ahead Manali towards Rohtang.. The army transit camp was just 5 km from Solang valley.. From the campsite, I could see the paragliders in the sky.. Unfortunately, we were late and the timing for paragliding was over.. I had been up in the sky before, but would have loved to do it again..



The place for the night or maybe I should call it the Palace for the night.. It was really luxurious..


The view right next to the camp












I could clearly see the road to Rohtang, packed with cars.. The caretaker told us that tourists start as early as 3 in the morning to reach Rohtang before the traffic starts.. Nonsense, why on earth would you want to go there in the chilling cold and stare at the darkness..
Dinner was again delicious.. Army accommodations are lavish.. After dinner, we played table tennis and pool.. This I had never expected.. Pool and table tennis on a road trip, that was something unusual.. At night, it was decided that we'll leave at 4 in the morning to avoid the rohtang traffic.. With the hopes of crossing rohtang without troubles and praying for clear weather, I went to bed..

Tomorrow, its Rohtang, first high altitude pass of the trip..

Cheers,
Pranav

PS. Does anyone know how I can share videos other than uploading on youtube? My current internet speed wont let me upload HD videos..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true


Those pics can hardly describe the actual insanity of the whole trip. Funny thing is,last year we were looking at some other group's leh-ladakh pics & thought that's crazy & dangerous! And look now,a year later we are the only crazy bunch all the way from pune riding our own bikes hell bent on completing the whole leh-ladakh circuit & more........

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Day 3:
17 June 2013
Manali - Patsio 145 km

The alarm went off at 3 30 am.. Snooze and off to sleep.. This continued for a while and I finally woke up at 4 15.. It was extremely cold.. I didn't feel like getting out of the bed.. But the challenge ahead was a tough one.. Somehow, I managed to drag myself out of the bed.. I went outside.. The road to rohtang was already buzzing with cars.. Into the darkness, I could see the lights flashing.. It was late, but nevermind.. Pune traffic has taught me to cross any amounts of traffic.. Cold was the bigger issue at the time.. The weather was extremely chilly and to make matters worse, it was windy..

Getting ready for the ride took a long time.. The previous rains had troubled us all.. So lot of time was spent in water proofing the bags.. We used big plastic sheets to wrap up all the important stuff and the one more layer inside the saddle bags.. Instead of changing clothes, I was just adding more clothes to what I was already wearing.. Shorts, track pant, Jeans and raincoat pant over it.. T shirt, sweater, T shirt, riding jacket.. 2 pairs of socks and woollen socks over it.. Now I was ready to face rohtang..


Me, just before starting the ride..


The first light.. Time to start the engines..


It was a 40 km ride to cross rohtang.. The first half of the ride was pleasant.. Smooth roads with trees on both the sides.. The early morning rising sun shining over the snowy mountains.. Even the cold was bearable.. Rohit and I were taking pictures and videos and had fallen behind.. The group was split into parts.. The traffic was increasing and it wasn't possible to ride together..




Notice the number of cars.. Lucky to be in front of them..


Some more traffic..






The Helmet incident:
At one point, Rohit Aniket and I stopped for clicking photos.. We parked the bikes on the edge of the road and started clicking pictures.. Aniket had kept his helmet on the rear seat of his bike, unsupported.. A strong gust of wind and the helmet fell off the bike, tumbling down the mountain slopes..


I cant stop laughing when I see this pic.. Perfect timing..


We were all blankly staring at the valley where the helmet lay.. Riding without helmet was impossible.. At the same time, it wasn't possible to turn back either.. More than half of the group was long ahead of us and there was no way of contacting them.. So the only remaining option was to descend down the valley and recover the helmet.. All right.. Lets do this.. I had the task of going down the slope to recover the helmet.. I had mixed feelings.. I was scared, unsure whether I could do it, but at the same time the challenge was very tempting.. I decided to go down.. This decision wasn't foolhardy.. It was perfectly calculated risk.. I am not new to such kind of mountain descends or climbing.. In fact, when Ladakh ride was unsure, a 20 day trek in the Pin Parvati range, Himachal Pradesh, was the plan.. I took off my riding gear and started the descend.. Watching every step, every stone in the path, I made my way down.. I could see the snow clad mountains to my right, lush green valley in the front.. I could clearly feel the difference due to altitude.. Even going down was consuming lot of energy.. Taking sips of water, I continued my way down..


Spot me


After about 10-15 minutes, i spotted the helmet.. The visor was broken but the helmet was intact.. Some really tough quality testing on the helmet.. Good enough.. I picked the helmet and strapped it to my backpack.. Now the task was tougher.. I had added weight and had to climb up all the way.. I looked up.. Aniket and Rohit appeared as tiny dots.. Its a long climb, I told myself.. Once again, slowly I started my way up.. This was tougher than I expected.. I was out of breath barely 5 minutes into the climb.. Steadily i made my way up and reached the top in about 30 minutes.. Even though I was exhausted, I was extremely happy.. Mission accomplished.. Rohit had prepared glucose water.. I gulped down every last drop of it.. Now it felt much better..


Lesson Learnt: NEVER leave your helmet unsupported on the bike.. :P

After resting for a while, the ride continued.. The scenes all around were just too good to pass by without clicking any pictures..






Final few km of the tar road..


The road was getting steeper.. At the same time, the road condition was deteriorating.. It was more of gravel than tarmac.. The cars were all lined up waiting for their turn.. Traffic didn't bother me.. I folded the bike mirrors inside and navigated between the cars..


Cold and bad road was the bigger problem.. The chill in the air was increasing and my fingers were getting numb.. At the same time, the road had now vanished.. It was only slush and more water coming into it from different places.. Riding in the first and second gear, I was moving ahead at snail's pace.. I met a couple of foreigners on the way.. They told that they were expecting bad roads, but this was something they had never imagined.. The slush was deep at few places and my bike stuck in one of them.. Already tired, I switched off the engine and stood still for a couple of minutes.. Start, first gear, half clutch, full throttle and I leaned ahead to give some more weight.. The rear tyre started spinning going deeper in the slush but within a few seconds I was out of there.. I was happy with myself.. Grinning inside the helmet, I continued the journey..




A little relief when the road appeared..




After some more kms, I was at Rohtang top.. First high altitude pass conquered.. The top was extremely crowded, full of tourists, shops and salesmen.. I didn't bother to stop at the top and continued the ride.. After Rohtang, the tourists vanished instantly.. There was barely anyone on the road.. The top acted like a switch.. One instance, the roads are crowded and full of tourists, the next instance on the other side of Rohtang, there is nobody.. Now it felt nice.. Even the weather changed.. The sun had come out.. The fresh snow was shining in the morning sun and the green mountains looked more enchanting than ever..








Akshay.. His first proper long ride.. Directly into the Himalayas..


We clicked a few pictures and started the ride.. Few kms down from Rohtang top, the road condition improved.. The slush started reducing and the road resumed.. About 30 minutes into the ride, I saw the rest of my group.. 3 bikes lined by the side of the road and the 3 riders sleeping on the road.. I promptly joined them.. I took off my shoes and socks and put them on the roadside for drying.. I even took off all the extra clothes I was wearing for the Rohtang cold.. Now it felt much lighter.. I checked my cellphone.. There was no network coverage.. Now I was beyond the networked world.. (the last line is copied from a travelogue title on xbhp, one of the best Leh travelogue i've read.. )










Some more pics while descending..


One of my favorites..


Nice hot parathas were the lunch for the day.. Once the climate was less cold and bellies were stuffed, everything seemed much more pleasant.. However, when everything becomes a little too much comfortable, drowsiness sets in.. Couple of my friends said that they needed some rest.. We parked the bikes and went down to the river banks..




In the meantime...


Even I selected a nice spot and went off to sleep.. 10 minute power nap was enough for me to ride for the next few hours.. By the time everyone woke up and were all geared up, we had spent over an hour and half at that place.. This is what a road trip is all about.. Its never about just reaching the destination.. Its all about the journey..


The road was now perfect..The terrain was quite interesting.. There were snow clad mountains to my back, mountains covered in grass and trees to my left and rocky mountains to my right..


There's a common protocol between any 2 bikers here.. When you cross each other, you give them a thumbs up or a wave and wish them luck for the ride..


















The next stop was the famous fuel station at Tandi.. This is the last filling station on the Manali-Leh route.. There's a board here that says "Last filling station for 365 kms".. Every single person who travels to Leh has this photo.. I had always wanted to click one myself.. :P


I filled up and carried a litre of extra fuel.. I was sure that I wouldn't need any extra fuel, but its always better to be safe than sorry.. I met some more tourists over here.. Some on bikes, some in cars.. There was a Kesari travels tourist car there and the passengers were happy to see MH 12/14 registered bikes there.. There was another group of tourists from Delhi.. One lady about my mothers age in the group was very excited about the whole idea of a bike trip through such a terrain.. I was chatting with her till others filled fuel.. She took a picture of all of us and gave me a red thread, 'raksha dhaga' she called it.. I don't really believe in all such things.. But out of respect for her feelings, I took it.. Instead of tying it around my wrist, I tied it to my bike..
Lady - Wow, you really like your bike more than anything else..
Me - (smiling) oh yes, as long as my bike is fine, I don't need to worry about the trip..
Lady - All the best.. Have a safe trip..
Me - Thanks, and same to you..

Time was running short now.. I decided to cancel Patsio and camp at Darcha instead.. But the sun sets very late in the mountains and the locals said that we have daylight as late as 7 30 pm.. Fortunately, the roads were good all the way except for few tiny patches and we could continue riding without taking any breaks.. At some places, the surroundings were perfect for photographs, but I couldn't risk getting late or riding in darkness in an unknown terrain.. That was a rule I had to strictly follow.. No night riding under any condition..






There was a large plain towards my right.. Multiple tiny streams flowing through it what the local villagers called river Bhagga.. The water was turquoise in color and sparkled at places where the sun shone upon it..


As we approached Darcha, the greenery was decreasing.. The mountains were now just barren rocks and ice.. The ice was flowing down into the valley from certain locations and gradually melting to become a part of the river..


Patsio was just 16 km from Darcha and it was just 6 pm.. The road from Darcha to Patsio is a ghat that climbs up from 10500 ft to 12300 ft..


The climb was quite simple till we came across a big water crossing.. First one was just a puddle and I crossed it effortlessly.. The next one was tough one.. It was a big stream flowing downhill which directly came on the road.. The snow had been melting all day long and the stream was at its full strength at this time of the day.. Extremely cautious, I ventured further.. First gear, speed barely 4-5 kmph, I was navigating through the slippery pebbles and the water flow trying to keep my balance.. Halfway through, the bike lost grip and I had to put my foot down to avoid a fall.. Somehow I managed to rest my foot on a rock and was saved from the chilled water getting in my shoes...




We reached Patsio at 7 pm.. Patsio is just a small army transit camp with no civilian settlement.. There were some tin sheds where we had to spend the night..


Today was an exhaustive ride.. Aniket and Pushkaraj were showing initial symptoms of Acute Mountain Sickness.. Both of them had a severe head ache.. The temperature was around 4-5 degrees which made things even worse.. The on site doctor gave them some medicines and they went off to sleep.. Though I was fit, the cold was causing some discomfort.. I had dinner and crawled into the bed at 8 30 pm..

Tomorrow: Unexpected snowfall!!

Cheers,
Pranav

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Man.. You had surely enjoyed your trip a lot.. Pics are really awesome.. and the best is your way is you maintaining suspense....

Let it come.

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

@pranav.k Lovely, absolutely lovely and mouth watering pics there Congratulations getting Leh'd.

BTW which is/are the best period/month/months to ride to Leh and Ladakh ?

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thanks a lot..

You said it!!

Thanks a lot bro..
I'll post the next part asap..

Thanks a lot..
You can visit anytime from June onwards once the passes open.. Im sure there are loads of experienced and senior riders who can help you out..

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Thank you


Sent from my X10i using xBhp Connect mobile app

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Have a look at this.. Really informative..

Best Time | MAX: Motorcycling Academy of xBhp: Powered by Castrol Power1

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

That is really informative and very well presented.. thanks man

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Day 4:
18 June 2013
Patsio 0 km

Its still dark.. There's no electricity at Patsio.. The tiny tin shed is extremely frigid.. The blankets and mattresses are also chilled.. There is barely any protection from the cold.. I woke up at night.. It was too dark to move around.. I could hear the wind howling into the night.. There were other noises too.. Perhaps it was raining.. It was just 11 pm.. I closed my eyes, unable to sleep.. I was thinking of Aniket and Pushkaraj.. If they have any more health problems, we'd be in a fix.. I couldn't leave them behind and continue the journey.. At the same time, they were unfit to ride and we couldn't stay at Patsio transit camp.. Only time would tell what happens of our travel.. To make matters worse, Baralach la, the next high altitude pass was shut due to snowfall.. Just the thought of cancelling the further trip and turning back was hurting me.. Praying for a better climate, I tried to sleep.. I woke up again.. I was too cold to get out of the bed once more.. It was 2 am.. The tin shed was making rattling noises.. The night seemed never ending.. I was wide awake, blankly staring into the darkness.. Perhaps the longest night of my life..

I don't know what time I fell asleep.. When I woke up, I could see light coming in through the slits.. Finally, it was morning.. The night was over.. Everyone was still asleep.. It was still cold but I decided to come out of the blankets.. I wore my shoes and pushed open the room door.. The door refused to open.. I pushed harder with no results.. I had no energy to push it any harder.. I could hear people moving outside.. Someone from outside yelled that the door is blocked due to snow.. I kicked hard, little bit hindi movie style.. I had always wanted to open a locked door with a push from the shoulder like they show in the movies.. :P But kick was much more comfortable..The door was open.. I couldn't believe my eyes.. Everything in front of me had turned white.. There had been heavy snowfall in the night.. About a foot high snow everywhere.. And that wasn't it.. It was still snowing.. I had never seen real snowfall in my life before.. The artificial snowfall which I had experienced seemed like a joke.. "Snowfall", I shouted at everyone sleeping inside and ran out.. The snowflakes were lighter that you could ever imagine.. The visibility was bad.. I could barely see anything.. I went ahead on the road.. The road was full of snow except for the tyre tracks left by the army trucks.. Then I saw the complete picture.. The mountains which were just barren rocks last night were now completely covered in snow.. The tin shed houses had large amounts of snow on the top.. And yet I don't know how but the weather was no longer cold.. The cool morning was pleasing.. Or maybe it was the first snowfall I was experiencing and I forgot to think about any other things..


The transit camp last evening..


Same place in the morning..
When I had posted these pics on faceboook, many of my friends found it hard to believe that it was the same place.. Nobody ever imagined such a drastic change in a single night..



Rohit and Diwakar were now outside.. We clicked a few pictures in the snowfall and headed to our bikes.. The army guys had told us that you'll need to start the bikes a couple of times in the night else the engine gets too cold to start.. I had my own problems in the night.. I was in no condition to get out and check the status of the bike.. The bike was safe in the parking shed.. I turned the key, pressed the ignition button.. Without a moment's delay, the engine sprang to life.. The bike had showed no effects of the cold.. I had never been more proud of my bike.. Last night we had met a group of 4 bikers from Chandigarh.. Even they were engineering students and were riding to Leh.. I remember watching them struggle to start their bikes later that morning.. Difficult to suppress a smile, I walked back to the room and got my riding jacket, gloves and helmet.. It was time for some offroading in the snow.. There was zero traction and it was fun taking the bike for a spin in the snow.. After loads of pictures and fun in the snow, we returned for breakfast..

Some morning pics..

My first snowfall experience



Bikes in the snow






Some of my personal favorites
Rohit with his Pulsar 220


Me with the Apache


Behind scenes photography


Check out the mountains at the back.. It was still snowing..


Take your pick.. Both the pulsars face to face..


After a while, we took the bikes off the road and into the fresh snow..






At breakfast, we met another 2 bikers.. Both of them were serving army officers and were riding to Leh on Enfields.. Breakfast was an uneasy time as we heard some really tragic news.. People were trapped at baralach la and there were a couple of deaths due to low oxygen and cold in the past few days.. It was difficult to eat with such conversations going about.. But later I found out that the 2 people who died were aged 60+, one of them had a bypass surgery recently and both were stupid enough to roam around wearing shorts and t shirts.. Baralach la was closed and it could take anything between 1-3 days to clear it out.. Could it mean the end of the journey.. Most of them were thinking around similar lines.. But not me.. I had spent lot of time and energy in planning all of this.. I had dreamed of this ride ever since I got my bike.. There was no way I'd abandon this so easily.. One tough night and snowfall wasn't enough to make me turn back..

After breakfast, Rajatji declared that the car will be turning back.. He said he wasn't ready to risk anything of this sort.. Nachiket also decided to turn back from Patsio.. I told others that we had 3 buffer days which we could use.. Or maybe even more days by cancelling some of the locations on the return journey.. I had a word with the Chandigarh group and they told me that they were ready to wait till the clearing of baralach la.. I had half a mind of turning back and returning via Spiti valley.. But the recent heavy rains had totally washed out that route.. Uttarakhand was also out of question for similar reasons..

No more second thoughts.. I was going to stay.. No way I was giving up so easily.. If not this time, I did now know when I would get the next opportunity.. I was leaving India next year for higher studies.. Forget road trips, I wouldn't even be riding my bike on normal roads then..

Baralach la which lay ahead of us was shut.. Darcha which lay behind us was also cut off due to snowfall.. The army guys told us that they would clear the road to Darcha by lunch time and we could return back if we wished.. I had a word with the 2 army Majors when the car and nachiket decided to turn back.. I asked him about the weather conditions and the available options.. He told me, " The army can never let the supply lines be cut off for more than 1 day.. However harsh the weather, the road will be opened.. The BRO will work through the night in sub zero temperatures if they have to.." My respect towards the Indian army which had increased after the hospitality we recieved escalated yet again after hearing this.. I was sitting on the road chatting with the 2 Majors as we watched the now melt in the morning sun.. Both of them were extremely friendly and wonderful people to talk to.. Our conversation topics ranged from Indian politics to bikes to cameras to movies.. Once the snow was sufficiently cleared, they even suggested that we can go trekking instead of just sitting under the sun.. Though the offer was tempting, I refused.. Due to the snowfall, the further ride was going to be tough.. I was saving my energy.. After lunch, the car and Nachiket left.. Major Vineet said to me," It is disheartning to see a fellow biker turn back.. But you are physically fit.. So dont even think of turning back.. We are 12 bikers.. 12 is a lucky number.. Trust me, the weather will improve.. Worst case, even if all others decide to leave, you can join us.. Tomorrow morning, we'll be the first to cross baralach la.." Thats it.. That was good enough for me to make up my mind to stay..



Once the snow started melting, we attempted making a snowman.. Initially, I was an active participant.. But the later i figured out watching others build it was more fun..




After lunch, I went to the kitchen to ask for some water.. The chef said that they only bring small amounts of supplies from the supply tent.. I went over to the tent and asked for some water.. The army guy told me to wait.. He took me in a room where they were boiling water on a large scale.. He told me that there is no way that he would let me drink the cold water.. He led me inside and gave me bottles filled with hot water.. I was seeing that guy for the first time and probably the last time.. But still he was concerned for my well being and chose to offer me hot water instead.. I was touched by their concern for the tourists.. I thanked him multiple times to which he said that it was their pleasure to serve people like us.. He wished me luck for the journey ahead and told me that if there is any problem, just find an army tent and they'll take care of everything..



Once again, the same location.. Afternoon, almost back to normal..


The mountains back to their original color..




About a mile back from the Patsio transit camp..





A makeshift dhaba where we had dinner..


At night, we stayed at the PWD guest house near the Indo Tibetian Border Police campsite.. The room was small but cozy.. There was no wind coming in.. The army Majors told us to be ready at 5 am.. The dinner that night was at a small dhaba.. Or thats what we called it.. It was one small tent and that person cooked us chapati, eggs, some potato soyabean gravy.. The dhaba was about 1 km from the room and I had decided to walk instead of taking my bike.. The walk back was nice and peaceful.. The moonlight was enough to show me
the way.. The sky was clear.. Thats all I wanted.. The bags were packed, the alarm clock was set.. With full of spirit for the next day, I went off to sleep..

Cheers,
Pranav

Re: Ladakh 2013, a dream come true

Amazing Pics . The best way to celebrate your graduation.. I think your pics on FB were just a teaser, the pics here are just gorgeous..