15 year old Itch, Scratched

Great set of pics and amazing write up so far . Glued for more buddy ..

Keep it flowing

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Thank You

Thanks buddy will try to keep it as informative as possible.

Thank You

Thanks. Glad it is of some help to you.

Thanks Rakshit that was a heavy complimet\nt to keep up.

If you are referring to the KA regd D390, it was running on front Ceat Vertigo 100/90-17 and rear Ceat Dhoom 3() 140/70 17(IIRC)

Thanks buddy will try to complete it soon.

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Pure inspiration, respect for your escapade.
Please continue to keep the log as detailed as possible as this would help newbies like us to use it like a ready reference guide. Take your time, this one deserves to be written at it's own pace. Xsuie is the way to go for this trip log.

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Apart from being a very good t'log, this thread is very informative as well. Awesome!

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

The kilo meter ride !! Lovely and nice logs .. I know how important was this ride for you ..

Let's finish NE together !!
Note : you should start post processing classes for pictures ..
Do share some videos

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Awesome bro, glued to this thread now...

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Amazingly informative tlog sirjee now that you have passed the itch to us please don't make us wait please!!😜

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Just get it started! Too much waitttttt already!

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Was checking almost everyday for the update please do it fast, can't wait for long time

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Mesmerized!!! pour more...

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Nice log.. waiting for updates!

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

Eagerly waiting for the blog Phani...

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

looks like he is busy in some another exploration trip ..
hope we will get this log soon ..

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

A surpise in this process was a confirmation by Arnab to accompany the ride, for most part of it. So the ride plans changed a bit, and decided to start the ride from Chandigarh. Cheap Air tickets from Air Asia(Comparitively) and access to ship the bikes via Gati made things easier. Though I was quite hesitant to ship the bikes though Gati.

All Set.......









The Spiti Saga
The fight landed on the air strip of Chandigarh airport, a beautiful city I must admit. The smell of butter around, light drizzle in the evening after a long summer and smiling people around set the tone for the evening. A big thank you for Gati Logistics for transporting the bikes safely. Quickly unpacked the bikes and started riding towards Shimla, thought of covering as much distance as possible and halting somewhere on the highway, for dinner and lodging.
As the saying goes, good people are always around you, in fact you don’t even have to search for them. Its just a smile and a “Hi” that brings you closer. Just as any other day, we stopped to ask a person at a traffic signal for direction for a place to dine and crash. A quick conversation kick started which lasted the signal turned green. He signaled us to follow him till the street corner to give us info. Over a chai, sponsored by him, the conversation which hit a pause button at the signal continued. He gave us 2 options: One that can stay at Nada Sahib, which was hardly about 4kms from where we were or if we had time to go to his house to have a drink. We were bowled over by his hospitality, but we didn’t want to disturb his family at that time of the day. So we opted for Nada Sahib. So he came with us till the gurudwara to make sure we have a comfortable stay. We didn’t expect the first day itself to be of so eventful. We thank him a thousand time till he disappears along the dark road flying on his humble moped. Gurudwaras mean hot rotis and sabji, served with a smile.





The next day we start our journey towards Shimla, a town that’s multifold densely populated compared to the hill stations in the south. The rain gods seemed they didn’t like the change of plans, it started pouring heavily. The last thing we wished for was a Srinagar kind of a situation right at the start of the journey.














Surprise waited for us outside of Kufri, a landlide that stalled hundreds of vehicles. Seems like mother nature had something else in store. At Wangtoo, the rain and cold started to creep in.






Fortunately(rather unfortunately) we spotted a tea shop near the Jaypee Project. Little did we know that the tea shop double up as a Theka(Wine Shop). Their hospitality was becoming way too much to ask for. One of the Driver had worked with Kudremukh Iron ore Company Limited(KIOCL) for about 6 years so he was very happy that somebody from his former place(read state) of work. They made few calls and arranged accommodation around. It took a hell a lot of convincing tactics to free ourselves from them. After telling us what all to look for in this route and telling us not to venture out in the dark as it was getting increasingly dangerous with the rains. So Had to settle for Theog for the night.
It slowly started to sink in that the ride had actually started. The sena conversation as we were passing by the greener parts of Himachal were something like this:
P: Abe this is just like Kodai ghats.
A: Haan be.
P: Who dekh the landscape seems like Avalanche.
A: Haan
P: This section looks like Valparai Isnt it.
And so on …
The comparison started to weaken up when the size and altitude of the mountains started increasing gradually. The rain gods added some excitement to the ride going forward. Population started becoming sparse and the roads were disappearing around every turn.

The Stay at Theog


How hard is life out there



























We happened to meet up with Sudhakar and Aditya who were on the same route as ours. We started a bit early buy was asked to deviate towards Urni since there was landslide ahead and army was working on the same. The village of Urni, probably the size of my locality in Bangalore is filled with such Sweet people that even if they are fighting for space in that small road, they sound better than YoYo honey singh. People here work hard to make sure this small road is made accessible for essential commodities like LPG, Transport etc.
Regrouping with Sudhakar and Adi at Reckong Peo, for filling fuel in whatever possible for the pipette fitted dukes. We had our first view of snow covered peaks which brought out the excitement. The owner of the fuel station stocked up our tank bags with tasty apples. By now Apples had been an essential part of our Diet irrespective of Breakfast, lunch or Dinner, not for a single one did we pay. The so called roads ahead was tested our patience and stamina.

It took just 10 mins to turn from this ......


To this......






































An over ambitious effort from a puny camera



Roads start to get progressively Bad till some distance post Pooh, near Khab. After that it’s a riders delight. Brilliant roads to reach a miniature heaven called Nako. For the uninformed, the Nako is a high altitude village that is located in the Pooh sub-division of the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Nako is a sleepy town that has a lot to offer for a nature lover. Apart from (Proper) Fuel you get most of your essentials for a journey. It also has a Helipad for emergencies. There are few Homestays based on your budget and requirements. Himachal was slowly becoming too hospitable for us, all thanks to the beautiful people we found enroute.
A small group of village elders welcomed us with a gracious smile. Nako has something in it that makes the place very memorable. One thing we noticed was almost every house in the village was self-sustainable. Every house had a cattle for milk and related products, vegetables grown in the backyard, Apple orchards, Flowers to decorate the place so on and so forth. Nothing went waste. After a relaxed evening, bonding with the hosts of the place over a campfire and some delicious food, we hit the sack hoping for an even better experience going forward.





























The next morning, the entire place looked as if it was a pale gold plated canvas as the sun kissed the valley. From Nako we descend down to Chango, another monstery in a hope to fix the flat on Sudhakar’s bike. Roads start deteriorating as we edge closer to Tabo.

Chango Monastery




Finally civilization after a long time. Like most monasteries in the area, the one at Tabo too was rebuilt/restored after an earthquake sometime in mid 70s. Tabo is geographically very well located. Its on the valley floor between two gigantic mountains. Access to the old temple is very restricted, as in you are not supposed to touch anything or even take photographs Most of the paintings are few centuries old. Silence prevails everywhere, along with a strong sense of spirituality and peace. As we were having lunch, a gentleman in his late sixties came panting for accommodation and food. And behind him was a heavily loaded cycle. He was supposedly from Russia and was cycling all the way from there passing through China, Mongolia and headed towards Nepal and Bangaladesh . Post that he didn’t have any plans. So we offered whatever help we could on the route and other stuffs as he was headed towards the route which we had taken to reach Tabo. A small conversation started and he introduced his family with a small photo he was carrying with him. His wife was cycling circumnavigating the globe the other way round. That’s puzzled us up a bit, the reason he gave instilled my faith in finding a right partner (Have I found or not is a different story altogether: p). They were to meet up somewhere in the Middle East and exchange stories about their experiences of going to different countries.





































Next on the Itenary was Dhankar, but unfortunately had to part with it. So Kaza being the next in the list is a base camp for most expeditions around. So, you can source basic essentials for the journey and most importantly FUEL. Its not a herculean task to find a proper accommodation around. The Good part about Kaza is that, it mainly compromises of travellers from various countries. So when you happen to meet someone, there is vital information transfer from both sides. When you are in Kaza it’s a sin not head to Key and Kibber. Key monastery in all its glory perched on a hill top is a sight to die for. The monks there are very friendly. One think I liked the most in most of the monasteries in this trip is that happened to meet a lot of people in the monastery who could actually speak fluent Kannada. Was taken aback by this gesture as I definitely didn’t expect this from them. Most monks in the Spiti ladakh region have supposedly been educated from Namdroling Monastery, Byalkuppe. They offered Herbal Tea along with explaining the heritage of Key monastery. I wouldn’t be lying if I told that the tea was the best I have had inn my entire life. It worked as a shotgun to the slowly creeping of AMS.



View from key Monastery
























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Thank you everybody for the appreciation Really sorry for the delay. been held up with lots of work and a couple of rides over the last few weekends. Will try to complete the log as early as possible.

Re: 15 year old Itch, Scratched

The only thing which can be said is WOW, amazing trip and pics. Waiting for the rest eagerly...