Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Day 7 - Sat, Sep 9 2017 - Kaza and around
Today was allocated to hang around Kaza and nearby places. Not using that as an opportunity to sleep late, I was out on the road by 0550 and headed towards Key Monastery. Wanted to see the sun rise over the place.



Reaching the monastery, I realized that it was in the shadow of mountain and it would be a long time before sunshine would reach the walls of the monastery. Deciding to head down towards the river, I found a dirt track which would take me down. However later I realized that the track ended in fields and then a steep drop down to the river.


Found one shop open in the Key village and stopped for tea. While drinking tea, I could see wide landscape across the river. It looked like I would get good views of the monastery on the other side. Subsequently I decided to ride over. Went back towards Kaza and then crossed the bridge towards Losar. After Rangrik, took a small trail to the edge of the cliffs. Key Monastery was just across the river, still in shadows.
The sun was nice and warm. Just sitting there watching the smoke from morning cooking drift out of the monastery was relaxing and exhilarating.





Returning to the Kaza I first went to the market. Walked the length and then settled in a small restaurant next to the bus stop for breakfast of parantha and omelet. Then I returned to the hotel. I washed some of my clothes and hung them out to dry in the sun. Then I took a short nap.
Waking up I lay around lazily and eventually forced myself to get ready. Leaving the hotel, I headed towards Key Monastery.
Saw a mechanic shop on way out of Kaza. Got my air filter clean and chain lubed.
As I was driving alongside the river, I had that deep urge to take a dip in the waters. I had been wanting to do that, but forgot to get my synthetic shorts and towel. Still I drove down to the water. Looking around I found a spot away from the road and behind a clump of bushes. No one would have minded me having a skinny-dip in the river. So taking off all my clothes in I went. The water was quite comfortable and it was fun splashing around in waist deep waters.



After a good refreshing bath, I went to the Key Monastery. Splashing around in the water had made me hungry. So after parking I straight went to the restaurant. Saturday is a holiday for the monastery kids. So a bunch of them were hanging around. I spent a while talking to them.
Subsequently I had thopka for lunch. Feeling lazy to walk up to the monastery, I drove towards Kibber.




Kibber is a small picturesque village located high above the Spiti River Valley and a small monastery. After the key Monastery the road changes into a dirt track going though some beautiful terrain. Side roads go to Chicham and Tashigong which I skipped. Drove around the village of Kibber and then turned back.






When I returned to the hotel, the owner was siting outside. I sat down with him for a while and chit-chatted away. During the conversation we talked about local food and we decided on Thingmo and Mutton Shapta for dinner. His cook who was from outside Spiti did not know how to cook local cuisine. So he promised that he'll have someone in his home cook for me.
After a while I took leave of him and went to Kaza market.

Kaza is more like a small village rather than a town. However the market was bustling with both locals and tourists. I parked my bike at one end and then walked along the length of the market.
In one of the by-lanes saw this nice restaurant - The Himalayan Cafe, with a placard saying local fish. I took a seat in the open area. When I ordered fish, I was told it would take 45-50min. Didn't want to wait. So ordered a plate of momos and coffee. After a wait of 30min it started getting cold. So I shifted inside. The ambience inside was nice. After a further wait of 10-15min the momos cafe. Was wondering whether I should have asked for the fish. But then that may have taken even longer.
The moms weren't that great and coffee somewhat cold. I probably should have tried some local place.
Walked a little more around the market. There was no electricity. Many shops had emergency lights. Others were dark or closed.
After a while returned to the hotel.


Returning back to the hotel I packed my bags and then reviewed some pictures. Around 2100, I had dinner. As promised by the owner I was served Tingmo with Mutton Shapta. Excellent combination and I loved the taste of Tingmo dipped in the spicy gravy of Shapta.


After dinner, I headed out to do some night sky photos. The moon was quite bright. Didn't get anything interesting. Returned to hotel and went to sleep by 2300.
Day Stats
Distance: 99.9Km
Start/End Time: Random
Expenses – Food: Rs805/-
Expenses – Fuel: Rs300/-
Expenses – Stay: Rs800/-

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Great pics bro.what's the camera used?

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Olympus OM D10 Mk2

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Day 8 - Sun, Sep 10 2017 - Kaza to Chandartal


The morning routine was the same. I was on the road by 0600. The morning was unusually cold. At one point I was tempted to take out the other pair of cold weather gloves from the bag, but then decided to continue. I also couldn't find any open shop to ward myself with a cup of tea.
The terrain, though as barren as the last few days, was quite different. The road cut through a valley which was like a wide plain between two range of hills. Down below Spiti river was a constant companion.


After around 20Km from Kaza, the tar on the road disappeared. Slowly i began to realize why this road from Kaza to Grampho is so infamous. But this was just the trailer. There was more fun to come.







As I approached Losar, the blue skies disappeared and few drops fell from the sky. The cold increased and I was worried about the drizzle growing into a cold rain.
Taking a break at Losar was my backup plan. Having heard of the bad road condition up to Kunzum La, I wasn't very keen to ride up to the pass under heavy rain.

At Losar, I found a few shops and took a break. By the time I finished with my tea and a packet of biscuits, the rain had stopped.
After registering at a checkpost, I started the climb to Kunzum La.



The climb to Kunzum La was uneventful. Bike managed quite well, while my bum did not do so well. Up at the pass it was cold and windy. I was the only one around.
Clicked a few pictures and I was on my way down to Batal

The road down to Batal was in a pretty bad condition. It was also quite steep with a series of switch backs.
At Batal, I stopped at the famous Chacha-Chachi dabha. The place was crowded with a few vehicles outside and 8-10 people inside. After 2 glasses of tea and a plate of Rajma-Chawal, I was ready for Chandratal.



The road to Chandratal was bad as expected. After to decent water crossings, I was at the campground area. The first tent setup I saw was of Jamiaca. After talking to the person, for some reason I did not feel like taking that one.
So I moved to Tenzing camp which was run by the son of Chacha-Chachi. His price was lower, so I took a single person tent.
I had started drizzling again. So after a cup of hot black tea, I dozed off. It was only 1215.

I woke up around 1500 and rode up to the parking lot. It was pretty cold and somewhat miserable weather. With the clouds around, there was no chance of the famous reflections the lake was famous for.






After hiking around the lake, I went down to the shore and sat down to talk with a group of students from Punjab. They were quite keen to take a dip in the waters and were waiting for the tourists to thin out.
Around 1700 I went back to the tents. The rain continued on and off.

There was nothing much to do at the campground. It was cold and windy. So I went inside my tent and snuggled under a quilt.
Around 2000, I went to the common dinner tent for food. A large group of Israelis had arrived. The group of students from the lake were also there. After an hour of dinner and conversations, I headed back to sleep.
Day Stats
Distance: 115.5Km
Start/End Time: 0600-1218
Expenses – Food: Rs140/-
Expenses – Fuel: 0/-
Expenses – Stay: Rs700/- (incl food)

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

The pictures - specially those of Chandartal is beautiful!
Wait for the next part begins!

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Thank you.

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Day 9 - Mon, Sep 11 2017 - Chandartal to Sundernagar
It was a tough night and I barely slept at all. I didn't feel much cold as the quilts were nice and comfortable. Maybe it was the AMS effect.
Made a mistake of waking up on my usual time. As I stepped out of the tent, it was cold, grey and drizzling.
Was in two minds as to whether go to the lake or leave for the day. And then it started snowing. Made a hasty decision to leave. Didn't want to hand around for the rain/sleet to intensify and then get stuck.
Bad idea. Should have gone to the lake once. Pretty soon I was on the road to Batal.




The dhabha was open at Batal. Stopped to warm myself up and eat some food. Then started for Grampho.
The road was as bad as I had heard or read. Early in the morning there was no other vehicular traffic. In fact I would not see a vehicle till Chhatru.
Yet the ride was fun. I wasn't feeling as cold and the skies had cleared up. Other than a could of water crossings where I got my feet wet, there was nothing serious.



Few Km after Chhatru, I gave lift to a Raghav who wanted a ride till Grampho.
Along the way we stuck up a conversation. Raghav was a shepherd who grazed his sheep on the other side of Chandratal. He was now bringing his sheep down towards Manali for shearing. His family stayed near Pathankot with the kids going to school. He spent all his summers grazing sheep in the meadows in the Chandratal area.
There were a few big water crossings after Chhatru which I managed to negotiate without asking Raghav to get off. At Grampho I bade goodbye to him.

The road up to Rohtang was pretty messed up. Around a Km below the top, the tar road started. After that it was a breeze.


Rohtang was a typical tourist spot. Driving down from Rohtang to Manali, I probably crossed 10X more bikes than I had seen on the entire trip till then. Royal Enfield probably does 75% of their sales between Manali and Kerala (which is the other place I see a lot of RE).
Took a quick tea break after the Solang cutoff and then onto Manali.

At Manali, I choose to the old Mandi road which goes via Naggar. A while back someone had recommended that I take this road. Since I had some time, why not.
This was a good choice. While the road was narrow and had good traffic, it was more picturesque than what I remembered of the main Manali-Mandi highway.


After Kullu, it was a regular ride trying to cover as much distance as I could. I was hoping to get to Chandigarh by noon on the next day.


By the time I reached Sundernagar, it was getting dark. So decided to stay there. Bilaspur would have been too late.
Found a decent room at Hotel Hamsafar and rested a while. Later went to the stalls near the bus stand for dinner before calling it a day.
Day Stats
Distance: 280.2Km
Start/End Time: 0615-1830
Expenses – Food: Rs340/-
Expenses – Fuel: Rs500/-
Expenses – Stay: Rs510/-

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Day 10/11 - Mon/Tue, Sep 11/12 2017 - Sundernagar to Chandigarh to Nainital





The last two days were somewhat uneventful.
Left Sundernagar early in the morning with the intent to reach Chandigarh by noon and then checkout some places of my childhood memories.

Stopped for breakfast on the way to Chandigarh. Booked a hotel in Zirakpur online. Was in the hotel by 1300. After resting for a while, went first to Sec 18, Sec 19 and later to Sec 17.
As a city these places are pretty much the same as they were 25yrs ago. Even the trees I used to play under are the same albeit with a thicker canopy.
Kudos to Chandigarh administration for keeping it that way. I also was pleasantly surprised with the traffic levels. There were no jams and traffic was constantly moving.
Spent the evening in Sec 17th plaza. Did some shopping of books and other stuff in the shops that have been there since I was a kid.
Reached back to hotel around 2230 after dinner at Singh's chicken.
Next morning again was on the road by 0600. Made pretty good time till Karal and then somewhat slower till Shamli. Stopped for breakfast a little before Shamli.
After Shamli took the Muzaffernagar-Bijnor route, which was a non-divided highway with bad road condition. This was long and tiring.
At the foothills of Nainital, stopped for lunch at Choti-haldwani at 1530.




Day Stats
Day 10
Distance: 247Km
Start/End Time: 0600-1300
Expenses – Food: Rs995/-
Expenses – Fuel: Rs350/-
Expenses – Stay: Rs1700/-
Day 11
Distance: 419Km
Start/End Time: 0600-1700
Expenses – Food: Rs250/-
Expenses – Fuel: Rs500/-
Expenses – Stay: -

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Brilliant as always!

Re: 2400Km of Solo Spiti Sauntering

Thank you.
As always, appreciate your encouragement.