Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Awesome. Waiting for the more to come. I appreciate your guts to take long ride after being told to leave. Usually people get upset but you instead fired up the spirit inside you 🙌👊

I drove in that route to Ludhiana many times. Seeing that pic got the glimpse of it.
Myself being punjabi visited golden temple many times. I guess you enjoyed delicious meal called 'guru ka langar' there
If you have noticed there are four entrance to the temple from all four sides, thats because we welcome humanity and doesn't believe in cast or religion.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Awesome spirit [MENTION=19191]Siddhant Mishra[/MENTION]
N that clock tower is the centre of my hometown -Ludhiana

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Great one as of now, Waiting for more to come

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

DAY-2

Woke up with my phone ranging , on other side of the call it was my mother eagerly waiting to know how far have I rode since morning. And to her utter surprise I thanked her for giving me a woke up and by then it was already 8am.I called up the room service for breakfast and was updated with 30 min delay in breakfast buffet to start. So with further delay I was ready in 15min and settled my bills , saddled up and hit the road. After moving out of the city took a break refuelled the bike , along with my stomach at a roadside subway. Then it was all complete straight highway till J&K border.

Updated my parents as well as some of my friends that it will be the last call from JIO, post this onwards call or message me on my BSNL only. And the twistes with sharp hairpin bends were eagerly waiting to welcome me. Few minutes into Himalayas and I was welcomed with my first traffic jam as a group of horses were having there time on the road and an army convoy making there way to Jammu for the upcoming Independence day celebration . Soon I was crossing bridges , when looked down it was all brown muddy water. With this I was somewhat assumed that I’m going to get few snow up in the mountains as most of the glaciers must have melted by now .
Moving ahead deep into the mountains , I had almost realised that lets take the route with shorter distance but with better scenic views. And upon enquiring with the locals , they suggested me to take the samba- mansar- udhampur route as it will be 60 kms only and you can also bypass the Jammu city and reaching directly in udhampur. Trusting a strangers words and moving on the suggested direction I realised how much truth was there in their words . The scenic views of the mountains had started with winding roads going up the mountain and giving you an amazing view from top of the mountain and the next time to need to ride down to see what’s there on the other side, trains coming out from the tunnel in someplace, where as trains passing over the bridge of a small waterfalls making views as if like the mountains are blessing with the waterfalls.

When all the scenic views were about to end then I was welcomed to udhampur with heavy rains making it’s way for a break and getting myself a refreshment . Upon reaching udhampur as it had already rained so the roads were all wet and as the day was about to come to an end with sun approaching closer the horizon. I decided to atleast cross the city and stay somewhere ahead of the city , so that tomorrow distance will be less and I will also get some time to enjoy the views . And with that I decided to settle beside the TAWI river where I found a hotel which goes by the name tawi view restaurant.

The roads in road India are just amazing. When you straight it takes you to wagah border and take a sharp left turn it takes you towards pathankot.


He looks stunning with those loaded luggage.


Time for breakfast.


So close but so far.


The famous gate , which welcomes you to the northern most state of INDIA. JAMMU & KASHMIR.


They made me halt for sometime and keep starring at them.




The rock cut mountains .








Meadow.


The first tunnel of the trip.


Engineering at its best.




This natural waterfalls were just a blessings for the locals. The local taxi drivers and truck drivers would stop their vehicle at such a place and will start cleaning their vehicles.


Even he was worried looking at the condition at which the traffic is moving in such road condition.








Stay for the night.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Good going @@Siddhant Mishra

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

DAY-3 :

Today It was very much an interesting day as I will be crossing into the much talked and much admired Chenani-Nashri Tunnel . With no power whole night the owner of the restaurant was kind enough as he had installed a solar water heater and a generator to power backup. Soon I was ready after completion of the morning rituals , bike was ready with luggage and i was ready to enjoy the roads.

Few minutes into the ride and some 4 kms before the tunnel I was stopped by and old man beside the road , who was waving his newspaper at me and asked to stop. Upon stopping his question to me was ‘’ aap Hindustani ho, han sahab ji , Thik he aap ja sakte ho ‘’. And soon I see the amazing architectural structure constructed in between the mountains called the Tunnel . I was loving it. After out from the tunnel I get to see the beautiful valley with greenery all around but I’m yet to get good roads as road construction on both side of the tunnel were still on and when it rains the road conditions starting getting sticky as the dust and rocks from the mountains . Few km out from the bad roads then i was welcomed with good roads and beautiful green mountains on both sides of the road. Stopped to admire the view and all of a sudden my eyes saw a small dam and upon inquiring locals told that there is a small hydro-electric power plant ahead. When I reached the plant and was interested in viewing it from inside but i was said that public are not allowed inside the plant because of the security reasons .

I was ok with and started moving ahead and at a particular point there was a very long army convoy standing beside the road and I wanted to take some pictures as this being a rare sight . So stopped my bike , when I was about to click pictures then there was a big shout from the behind “ sahib ji convoy ka photo na lo” , and I was ok let’s keep it simple and like a good boy I put the mobile down in the pocket . So , with upset when I was about to leave after the convoy had moved completely from the sight, then an army personal came to me said , sir my boss wants to meet with you ,can you please come and meet him. And I went to meet him. That is how the conversation goes on.

Myself: Hello! Good morning sir.

Army Personal: Good afternoon buddy, it’s already 3 minutes past noon and look like you have lost the track of the timings by enjoying the mountains. Stay alert.

Myself : Ooppss !!! It means I’m enjoying the mountains.

AP: Where are you from? Are you alone or with a group? Is this your own bike?

Myself: Sir from Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Yes, i’m all solo, Yes it my own personal bike.

AP: That’s a long way down east . OD ( ODISHA) guys are some of the rarest people who dare to venture into such terrian’s that too all solo. My all respect to you friend.

Myself: Thank you sir.

And the conversation continues with them and the whole team joins me in for listening to the travel story of mine done till now. With that lunch was followed and after that some pictures were clicked also. I spent around some 90min with them and I also didn’t knew how soon time passed by.

Bid them goodbye and now I head towards Srinagar , but before that I need to cross Jawahar Tunnel. Crossed the tunnel and now the scenic view of green mountains are back again. And with that some pictures were clicked and I moved ahead. Upon reaching Srinagar I was surrounded by some 5 guys asking me whether do I need any room and in the middle from no-where an army personal with rifle in his back pops up and asks where are you going? I told him , that I’m thinking . And his reply was , "still daylight is there in your hand for another 3 and half hour , you can enjoy the views ahead. Somewhere or there it was like a blessing for me as I had heard so many things happening in Srinagar in some few hours. So I was like let's move and make it till Sonmarg. I reached Sonmarg somewhere around 7:30 pm , got a room , took a bath , had dinner and I was on the bed.

Finally I'm at the tunnel . I was too much excited , as this is the first time that me riding inside a tunnel.


I wanted to visit the hydro electric project power plant. But upon reaching the gate I was told by the security personals that tourists are not allowed inside the premises.




I Salute them.






At Jawahar Tunnel




The beautiful Kashmir valley.


Hariyali hi hariyali.


Now it was somewhere around 1545 hrs, and still a lot of day-light was left with me.


The aroma that you get in this mountains places is just amazing.




Another day is about to come and end , and the ride is going amazingly great.




Welcome to SONMARG.


And finally I'm there.


And moon is shinning brightly, telling me son tomorrow its, going to be another bright and sunny day. Go have a good sleep now.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Good Going... finally tough hill riding will start .

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Good one brother!!

i really hope this gets featured somewhere and the manager reads it and he feels like an idiot. Appreciate your mindset to take this trip solo after getting fired from a job. As someone said, do not long for more "firing" after you complete the trip

Ride Safe Bro

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

DAY: 4

Today it was going to an adventurous day right from beginning of the ride as I was some few kilometres away from first ever encounter with a high mountain pass. I was instructed by my elders that you need to start early as once the sun starts shining bright the glaciers start melting rapidly and it will be difficult to cross those water as they will very cold . So I started early from my hotel and soon I was enjoying the vistas in the mountains. Soon I was crossing baltal and then it was like completely dusty and I was not able see anything. So I stopped on the middle of the road and asked an army personal which way to Zojila Pass, he said go ahead, keep moving , don’t stop anywhere blindly and also keep an eye on the mountains. And I was like, “ Welcome to Zojila” .

Zojila pass was completely dry , dusty and gravel everywhere on the road. It was even difficult to go above 2^nd gear and 25kmph, tyres slipping over every passing stone . Then only I realized what real adventure means. And speaking truth I was loving it not because of the pass, rather I wanted to see what benath this , in other way I was looking for snow (which I had seen in photos ) . Upon inquiring with the army they told its already melted . What you see in photos are during june-july, after that most of the snow start getting melted and water-crossings also start decreasing as most of the glaciers have almost melted by then . August last week and September 1^st week onwards fresh snow fall can be seen.

When I was enjoying the view of the mountains , thinking of what’s next then I cross drass and reach kargil war memorial. Enjoyed at the memorial , made some purchases from the souvenir shops . Then head on towards to Kargil town, upon reaching the town first I got my tank filled as this was the petrol pump that I got after sonmarg. ( There is no petrol pump between Sonmarg to Kargil , the last petrol pump is there some 10kms before Sonmarg and then the next is there just before you enter Kargil ) . Even though its just a 130 km stretch but still then I noticed some local people carrying extra fuel along with them as a precaution measure.

By the time I reached kargil it was already 3 pm and I had skipped my lunch . Then got myself something to eat , sat down at the petrol pump thinking where to go. As per my plan I was supposed to go to Zanskar valley as I wanted to enjoy the beautiful , natural greenery in the mountains. But I was also more eagerly waiting to enjoy the view of the high mountain passes.

Then after taking rest for over some 90 minutes I decided to head towards sankoo and then on to panikhar. By the time I reached Panikhar it was already past 7pm in the evening and it was almost getting dark and there were less people on the road and no one was there to guide . After searching for somewhere around 25-30 min I meet a truck driver and I asked him for directions and he asked me to follow him till the guest house . Upon reaching the guest house , the caretaker was not there as his residence is just some few metres away from the guest house. There I meet a school teacher, who teaches English in the local govt. School run there in his locality. He had came there to have some time spend there with his friend and when he saw me , he asked me to wait for sometime as he will go and call the caretaker from his house. After waiting for like 30 minutes he was there , and he talked with me as if like we were brother’s, and we were meeting after a long vacation . He asked to stay in any room you prefer like staying as not many people are there in the guest house. He also asked me to charge up my cell phones as after 11 pm there will be no power and it will be completely dark . Even though inverter was there but still then due to no-maintenance , the batteries were drained. Upon asking for dinner , he said that maintenance work is going on in the kitchen and he won’t be able to cook for me. But still then he was kind enough and asked if i want then he will get food for me from his house , which he did . Yes the food was amazing , when served with love. And with that I called it a day.

Good Morning Sonmarg.




Riding beside the Sind River.


Newly laid tarmac, its just simply a blessing.








The dust was so fine polish that sometimes it became difficult to see , even though no one was there in the front.


It was completely dry and dusty.




My first water crossing, yes it was a different kind of experience.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Hi Siddhant,

Brilliant write up brother. The photos are just amazing. Makes me want to start my bike and head towards the Himalayas right now!! I too am planning a solo ride to Ladakh next September and I intend to use your travelogue as a rough itinerary of sorts 😉.

I do have a few queries for you, if you'd be kind enough to answer them​ once you complete posting your entire travelogue. Waiting intently for the next installment.

Mad respect!!

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Great Zojila .


Nice Update @Siddhant Mishra

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Some curvy patch of road after crossing kargil check post.


I was short on water and was looking for a place where I could get water, then suddenly I saw this camps and headed straight towards it. The jawans at the gate stopped me and asked what do you want and I said if they help me with me water. They said wait here we will get it for you. In return I wanted to click a photo with them, but in the meantime their senior's arrived and I left.


I was getting exhausted very quickly and used to stop frequently for drinking water but it used to end up in clicking pictures along with that admiring the mighty himalayas.


KARGIL WAR MEMORIAL.
















The roads to panikhar from kargil is just amazing. The freshly laid tarmac along with the amazing scenic views were just asking me to stop frquently and enjoy the nature.












An amazing day of ride comes to an end with reaching at panikhar guest house. It was a tough task in finding the guest house as it was already dark by the time I reached panikhar. Even though it was just 3kms away from where I was standing, but still then I was roaming here and there like a lost rider. At the end it was a truck driver with his truck who was returning home after completing his duty and he asked me to follow him .


After reaching the guest house the caretaker was not there instead I meet a local school teacher who had came to meet his friends . He asked me to wait for sometime and he went and got the caretaker along with him. The caretaker was an amazing person. Even it was my first meet with but still then he welcomed me as if like I'm his elder brother and we were meeting after a long vacation.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Amazing write up coupled with beautiful Photogrpahs...

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Wow. U are going great there. Cant wait for U to complete it.

Re: Solo ride to ladakh 2017.

Day-5

The next morning when I woke up , the mountains could be seen from my room window and it was shinning as the sun rays were falling directly on them. When I was just admiring the view then suddenly the care-taker was there at the door. Sir, breakfast is almost ready when would you like to have them , I was like give me 15 minutes I will be ready and ,he was like sir , no need to come out of I will get it here.

Then after having the breakfast I packed whatever I need and left the guest-house , as today my plan was to visit Suru valley and drung drang glacier. I asked the caretaker about the road conditions ahead and he said road is not that bad , you can ride on it. As it an adventure trip you will enjoy it to the fullest. With that note in mind I start my journey and soon I was welcomed by the mighty Himalayas . On one side the views were amazing that I didn’t wanted to miss any view where on the other hand I had keep my focus on the road, due to the road construction that is going on . Yes the roads were all filled with construction material and my tyres were getting sinked inside them even after taking them out. With that I also got to taste the tarmac ( 2 bad fall back to back). Picked the bike up with the help of those locals who were there in the construction of the road. Then again started the ride enjoying the views and then when it was getting even more beautiful I was again about to taste the tarmac but somehow managed not to do so . Then I had almost lost the hope of going ahead, made the bike stand there , sat on the road , drank some water and recalled what my father told me.

‘’ Son this is not a race , neither you are going to prove anything to anyone , just enjoy the ride , don’t risk your life ‘’.

With that I decided to head back instead of moving further , returned back to the guesthouse . The caretaker was surprised by seeing me returning back without completing the ride , he was like “sir you have gone ahead and enjoyed the view” my reply to him was some other day for sure. Then I packed my bags , loaded them on the bikes and head on towards Kargil . Now my target for the day was to reach leh , so that I can take some rest , get my permits for inner line, clean my dirty clothes , and also acclimatize to the high altitude . Even though I was excited to reach Leh as soon as possible but still then from inside my heart I was bit upset for not being able to complete zanskar . As I had heard many amazing stories , photos of chadar trek which takes place in January every year , beautiful photos of zanskar valley but due to the bad roads which I’m not able to tackle with I dropped the plan.

With that grief inside me I was enjoying the roads when all of a sudden I noticed a board reading Namikla (3km). Upon reaching the top ,clicked some pictures , enjoyed the view and then started to move. By the time I was leaving from the pass , I knew today I won’t be able to make to Leh. So I decided to ride till sunset and by that time where ever I reach will call it a day . So as the roads are smooth and was enjoying the views then saw the beautiful Lamayuru . Went up to the monastery and upon inquiring got to know that the monastery has already been closed as its 6 pm now. So I decided to move ahead and stay at Khaltse . When I was just about to leave then 4 foreign tourists came to me and wanted to know about the ride that I’m doing and also they were much more interested in the KTM bike as they all own the same breed of machines way back in their home. So it all started with a causal talk and it ended up in me dropping the plan of riding ahead , instead staying back at the monastery with them for the night. As there was a restaurant at the monastery so went ahead and upon inquiring there was room available and the rates were reasonable , so I went ahead dumped the luggage in the room , took a good shower , got to eat some nice meal and the rest of the evening was spent in sharing travel stories . Just before the dinner there was a power cut and it lasted till the time I left the place in the morning.

While leaving the guest-house in panikhar.


















The caretaker at Panikhar Guest-house Basir Ahmed Wani . Amazing personality.


A small mosque which marks the end of sankoo. After this point Panikhar region starts and the road condition from this point onwards is bad.




Kargil city as seen on way to Leh.






Finally I made it to Namikla .


The view after Namikla changes completely.