^^ Thank you That is ALL I'm going to say to that very flattering note.

Kya baat hai Ninad sir, shudh hindi ki class leni padegi aapse..
Amazing value addition to your blog Alankar bhai..

PS: Going great Alankar, two posts every day?? I fear at this rate the amazing narration to your journey shall come to an end way before we fans expected. Nevertheless, loving it.. So keep em coming if you can..

ज़रूर कलसे एक कापी लेकर आ जाना . हम तुम्हे हिंदी अवश्य सिखाएंगे

exactly what i was also fearing !

Ok Sir.. Aur aap fees mein kya loge ? 1 full tank of petrol ?


I hope you make us fear the same way with your upcoming SS log


PS: Sorry for OT on your thread Alankar bhai

I have experienced Leh from your words Alankar. You wrote so beautifully! I am short of words man!

The way you explained every part of journey is like it is moving infront of my eyes and I unknowingly became part of your journey as a spectator.

Full praise to Spiderweb and Motorbreath! Hats off to you all! Adverse conditions, deadly nature, you all came through a lot of difficult situations holding hands together!

I am waiting for further articles as everyone is.

Alankar your blog is awesome! Keep writing buddy!

Cheers!

- Lalit

@Mitz: Arre karo OT, mera server space thodi hai. Bharo jo bharna hai.

@Lalit: Thank you so much for the praise Lalit. Yeah, will try and complete it soon. Have been writing this for almost a year now

Good going sirji


kya baat hai aapki gaadi toh full speed mein daud rahi hai pichle 6 mahine ke kasar ek saath nikaal diya...

add few pics to the t-log sirji...

I don't have too many pics from Khalsar/Nubra side. We took quite a few at Hunder though. Will insert those when I get to that part. And yeah, I'm trying to finish this quickly. I start a big project next month, wont have time to breathe after that. Need to finish this log before that.

Section 3: The Journey > Chapter 40: Of fuel and fire

June 13, 2010

The dark was compassionate for the freeze refrained from gnawing at my bones. Slumber was an unwrinkled constant. We head back to Leh today. But before we do, we must refuel our steeds. They are as parched as the Sahara. Our inquiries reveal there is but a single pump situated near the main market which is where we head now. But the pump will serve only dismay for we are told there is not a drop of fuel available and that perhaps, there won't be any for another day. We are told that a large ration was expected to arrive this morning but an accident had caused the delivery vehicle to overturn. We are also told, that perhaps, what is more likely is that the fuel was sold in the black market somewhere along the way. It is a common practice, we are notified. Our journey has come to a grinding halt.

I remember Bade saab's advice. Head to the market should you be strapped for fuel. You will find black marketers offering fuel at 60 bucks a litre - as opposed to an authorized rate of 55 - a viable option in moments of crisis. But we are in for a rude awakening - for today, June 13, 2010 is a Sunday. The market stands closed. Black marketers and legit entrepreneurs alike are on recess. We have no choice but to spend the day in Diskit. Motorbreath and Spiderweb will take turns calling loved ones from a lone PCO. I will do no such thing.

As the clock ticks lazily, we linger around the market place hoping to find some respite from our fuel-lessness but do so in vain. Our only option is to head back to the lodge and ask the staff there if they can help us acquire fuel. We turn back, Spiderweb, Motorbreath and I, in that order.

As we are about to exit, I see a few army personnel lounging out of the corner of my eye. I brake. Motorbreath sees me halt in his rear view and brakes too. Spiderweb though will turn the bend and disappear into the distance. I strike up a conversation with the personnel, explaining our situation asking them if they could help us out. They direct me to a government office on the opposite side of the road, informing me that government officers had a monthly fuel quota and that perhaps they should be so considerate as to letting us have it, given our unique circumstances. I thank them and head to the office from whence I am directed to a senior officer's residence on the other side of the market. Motorbreath and I will make our way to the residence. We meet with the officer and explain our situation. In undertones, he suggests that we should perhaps see him after work hours. We can only assume that the deal we seek to make is not legit. We thank him and promise to return by 6pm.

As we exit, we are pleasantly surprised, for we run into the family three who, at the present time, are indulging in large doses of brunch. We join them. Drifter informs me that RomeoMike and Vishal had made a lone trip from Khalsar to Diskit on RomeoMike's steed with only the Passion's wheel where they found help to fix the puncture. They then returned to Khalsar and the three rode once more to Diskit. It bothers me that they did not simply ride to Diskit with the punctured tyre. I am told that their goal was to avoid further damage to the ailing pressure-less tube, for they could not procure another at the present time. RomeoMike invites us over to their guest house. On inspecting it, I realize its as comfortable as ours and costs half as much. We decide to shift quarters as well. I ask Motorbreath to return to our lodge and fetch Spiderweb. I can only assume that is where he is for there has been no sign of him since he rumbled on an hour ago.

As we wait for Spiderweb, RomeoMike recounts that they had befriended the mechanic who had led them to the lodge and been extremely hospitable - perhaps a lot more than humanity would demand. The hostess of the lodge shows me to my room. I unpack and we head back out. I notice Spiderweb walking in. He looks agitated.

"You guys are great! You guys great!", he chants

"What happened?", I ask.

"You guys randomly decide to stop anywhere; you don't honk, you don't flash!"

"We did honk, we did flash. You never looked. We even screamed out Spidey several times."

"I have been looking for you'll for one hour."

"How is that possible? Had you retraced your steps to the market, you would have found us. We never saw you return."

Our decibel levels are rising. Our hostess tries to pacify us, asking us to forget the whole thing. But the past few days, it has become increasingly difficult to ignore Spiderweb's convention of riding ahead instead of leading. I cringed at Motorbreath's breakdown at the hand's of Spiderweb at the onset of our trip, for I do not believe he slowed us down. He rode as fast as his steed would carry him. I cringed when Spiderweb abandoned the family three and me at Shayok. I cringed when he would not wait for them at Aghyam. Time and again I have given in to his desire to ride ahead, to get to the destination, with or without us. To be fair, there have indeed been times where he's waited on me. But for the most part, he has dispensed with his responsibility to lead in his desire to mark our destinations with treads he owns. And today, while it was clearly he who rode ahead, clearly he who failed to recognize that we ride with him no more, he accuses us? How dare he. I will not back down. I will not stand for this no more. And so, I re-engage him into the argument.

"It's your f ucking job as a lead to keep us in your f ucking rear view. Your job! You don't ride without us in the rear view. If you don't see us, you f ucking return! Why the f uck did you keep riding when you knew we aren't with you!"

"I rode all the way to Hundur and back TWICE looking for you guys!"

"How the f uck does that make any sense?! You know we have no fuel. Why the f uck would we ride 7 kms AHEAD with no fuel! And if you didn't see us once, why the f uck did you go back again!"

"You guys think you are heroes and do anything you want! F uck do it then. Ride wherever you want!"

"We? We? You are accusing us?? We've spent the past one hour trying to find us some fuel. Trying to find a solution to a problem while YOU rode ahead and didn't bother looking back. YOU kept riding. YOU were stupid enough to ride to Hundur twice when all you needed to do was retrace your steps. YOU f ucked up. And WE are to blame? Are you f ucking kidding me?!!"
Decibels rise to unprecedented levels. I've had enough.I don't see him as my lead no more. I will ride alone if I have to. Why bother riding in a group when the group don't care. The rest will try and pacify us. In time we will settle down.

After another round of some much needed refreshments, we will decide to head to Hundur and spend the rest of our day there. But that's a whole other chapter.

@Alankar - how do you remember all the minute details as though it happened yesterday. Hats off to you, again.

I dunno! I just do! And thank you... again.

@alankar: jeeez ! another update ! slow down ! relax...take 10 deep breaths

sure sure !

बस बोल दिया ! और जब इतनी अच्छी कहानी चल रही है...कुछ लदाखी गाने भी हो जाये !

YouTube - Ladakhi song

क्यूंकि हम भारतियों के लिए गाना बजाना ज़रूरी है....है की नहीं ??

P.S. That guy in the song resembles someone from this story...doesnt he ?

^^^ Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha that was frikkin hilarious! As for my updates, I have to start a big assignment next month which is why I'm taking time out to try and finish this quickly!

Section 3: The Journey > Chapter 41: Humps in Hundur

June 13, 2010




Low on fuel reserves, we opt to engage only three of our faithful steeds. The Passion emerges as the shining star amongst all today owing to its superior fuel efficiency. We reckon that in the dreary event of our failing to acquire fuel the day hence, one could ride the Passion to Leh and return with fuel reserves to support the rest. At least that seems possible.

Hundur, at a distance of 7kms from Diskit, owes its prominence to its sand dunes and Bactrian two humped camels and it is precisely them we set out to see. Our first visit is in vain for camel rides are scheduled for only a few hours a day and at the present time we are one hour away from the next scheduled line up. We turn back and find shelter in Cafe 125 located a stone's throw away from an army base camp. We will be served maggie continually though I must admit that with coriander leaves and spices added to the mix this would be the best maggie preparation I would sample across the entire expedition.




An hour on the clock and we return to the humps. However, on surveying them, we decide to give the ride a go for them camels seem well past their prime. We do not wish to burden them no more. RomeoMike's steed is ailing as well for she too has contracted a puncture. For now she stands unescorted in an isolated patch on the sand dunes. Given the lack of inhabitants, RomeoMike seems comfortable with the fact.

For the next several hours, we will pixellate the sand dunes, the humps and even some mules. The mules are of particular interest to Spiderweb, it would seem, for he spends an inordinate amount of time photographing them. RomeoMike will make cheeky comments to the effect that Spiderweb has finally found his likeness in them. The others will only giggle.




We return to the cafe and spend the remainder of the day sampling maggie, samosas, tea, coffee, mangola and anything else we can set eyes on. We will relish old Bollywood stereotypical flicks on Star Gold. Spiderweb, Motorbreath and I will pick up tracks that broadcast our achievement of scaling Khardung La - the world's highest motorable road. We will even pick up some underwear.

RomeoMike will dismember his wheel and return to Diskit with Drifter to fix the puncture. While we await their return, I strike up a conversation with an elderly gentlemen who looks upon us curiously. He introduces himself as a retired fighter jet pilot. He claims he is currently here on vacation and expresses his desire to ride like we do some day. He remarks that those who know him consider him to be too old to achieve such a feat. Despite their rants, he says, he intends to ride the peaks of Leh in the following year. He chooses the Pulsar 220 as his weapon of choice for he says it has superior handling. On being informed that I own an R-15, he quickly adds that he would have preferred it to the Pulsar, but his aging spine is not amenable to a cowling position. The conversation now turns to us. He asks us of our journey and our future path. I inform him of our fuel situation. He expresses his disappointment over the fact that they ride a diesel, for they have ample reserves. The conversation continues onto other subjects. He is met with some locals who apparently know him. He introduces me as a close friend and asks them if they could help us out with obtaining fuel. They seem ill at ease and decline at first. In due course though, they claim that they might be able to provide some assistance.

As the former pilot prepares to leave, he expresses regret over his inability to help us out. He confesses that he believes he is letting us down. I retort that our unpreparedness was not his folly. It was ours and ours alone - and we bear the consequences. Furthermore, I add, the fact that he introduced us to the locals who had offered us some hope out of our quandary was perhaps a lot more than we had expected, for we had expected nothing.

Thirty minutes to the clock and the locals ask me to speak with the owner of the canteen. I do as instructed. I am asked how many litres I need. I count roughly a minimum 30 litres between all of us. He says he will arrange it for a compensation of 50 bucks a litre, 5 bucks less than the legit rate. I gladly accept. We are asked to bring in our steeds and wait on the approach road. In time, we are told, a truck would rendezvous with us and deliver the necessary fuel. We were to pay on delivery. We agree.

As RomeoMike returns and re-attaches the dismembered wheel, we return to Diskit to fetch our steeds. I go pillion with Vishal who will have me rolling with laughter for he claims that should his future wife ask to ride to Leh with him, he will prefer instead to show her photographs and ask her to be satisfied with it. He has not a iota of will to retrace his steps. He further claims that he understands that he now needs a more powerful bike and that on return, he will invest in a Passion Pro. Of course he jests.

We re-engage our steeds and ride back, hoping they will make the 7kms. On my way back I will offer a ride to a hitchhiker who as it turns out, is stoned out of his skull. He will scream "Wow" at every corner and eventually get off at a random spot and run downhill muttering similar Wows.


We must wait long for the fuel to arrive. Roughly an hour as it turns out. In the meantime, Spiderweb will pixellate while Motorbreath and I will twiddle our thumbs. RomeoMike and company will spend time in the cafe. As the fuel is delivered, we are told that we must tank up and return the vessel. In a bid to complete the illegitimate transaction at the earliest, we will empty the vessel into three steeds - Spiderweb's, Motorbreath's and mine. This, predictably, agitates RomeoMike for he believes he is running short on fuel as well. This time round, I promise him that I will ride with him even if it means detaching myself from my herd. Should he need fuel, he can draw some from mine. Understanding our fear and our decision to complete the transaction quickly, RomeoMike will settle down.




One more time we will commence our ride as six. We must once again scale the mighty Khardung La and find our way into the familiar embrace of Leh.

Section 3: The Journey > Chapter 42: Ju-Leh!

June 13, 2010

Our aspiration to ride out to Leh today will be dampened with rumours of a violent Khardung La. Or perhaps that is to be the official excuse, for we are already well into the evening. It would not be in our best interest to commence the journey in the dark of the night. We have briefly run into Biru today as he returns from a lone ride to Turtuk - a heavily guarded and extremely inaccessible border village. His company awaits him in Diskit and he will continue forth without us. In time, we - Spiderweb, Motorbreath, RomeoMike, Drifter, Vishal and I will return to Diskit as well and resolve to have dinner together. Vishal will get high both in and on spirits, summon the waiter several times and repeat only this:

"Ladhak humko bahut pasad aaya par aapke mausam ne toh hamari g**nd hi maar di hai."
(We really liked Ladhak, but the weather here has really been a pain in the ass)

Our waiter, not the one to not see the humour in the situation, will also re-iterate each time:

"Ab mausam ka kya kar sakte hain. Aap agar bolte ki kisi aadmi ne aapko pareshaan kiya hai, toh saale ko goli maar dete. Par mausam ka koi kya bigaad sakta hai."
(What can one do about the weather? Had you told me that some fella was troubling you, I would have shot the bugger. But what can one do against the weather?)

Vishal will nod understandingly. The waiter will excuse himself and serve other tables for a while and the process would re-iterate.

Vishal will also go on to narrate his favourite episode - one where his associate, under heavy intoxication will proudly proclaim his desire to relieve himself on the staircase of the bar - a desire that is promptly squashed by the bouncing cavalry. He will iterate it a total of three times, each time as if it were his first. As I recall, this is the second time I will iterate this, the first being when I introduced Vishal to you.

We retire to our rooms. We must wrestle Khardung La in the early morn.

June 14, 2010

I have not many tales to tell today, for everything goes according to plan. Spiderweb will intimate us well in advance that he has no intention of lingering around Khardung La top. He will scale and descend as swiftly as he must, for he does not wish to suffer the wrath of Khardung La anew. Motorbreath will agree to stay with Spiderweb. I will agree to stick with RomeoMike and company for I carry more fuel than they. We will all set out together, we will all wait with bated breath as an army checkpost will ask us to wait while they clear the approach roads off snow fall from the night prior, we will all choke on perhaps the worst preparation of momos the world has to offer. Remember this when you hit North Pullu. Don't order the momos.

We will lose sight of Spiderweb and Motorbreath for a while but we will find them waiting patiently for us on Khardung La top, despite their impulse to do otherwise. Today, more than ever, we will ride together as one. We will encounter army machinery clearing out the after effects of avalanches - we will wait patiently and in awe as they make way for us. We will pixellate like we have never pixellated before. What follows is our journey in pictures. Ride with us. I'll see you on the other side...






Facebook update:

Khardungla again!! Will be in Leh tonight! Major details to share!
14 June 2010 at 19:50 via Text message
Ameya.D Nimkar, Sagar Raikar, Joaquim Gonsalves and 2 others like this.


Gopinath PS sweet.. Cant wait to hear the stories man
14 June 2010 at 20:01

Winsey Varghese WTH
14 June 2010 at 20:03

Koustubh Shenai Wow, coool.
14 June 2010 at 20:12

Honey Misra share share .. got ur message ..
14 June 2010 at 20:16

Tushar Jadhav bring it alankar.... dont make it more suspense now
14 June 2010 at 20:20

Rachit K Guyz whr had u been. Al of us whr worried. Hope every1 is perfect
14 June 2010 at 20:59

Rohit Chourasia ‎^^^Snowstorms, Search parties, Treks, Rains, Petrol Hunts, etc, etc, etc...
15 June 2010 at 18:49

Rachit K hey vow.. u r here..!! great to see u rohit..!!
so many problems.. this season was bad it seems
15 June 2010 at 18:51

Rohit Chourasia yes, Pangong to Nubra was the craziest ride done. No roads for 40 kms at all 2 flat tyres (not mine) No petrol 2 ppl lost 4 kms-2 hrs Trek to search 'em sleeping at an Army camp MUCH MUCH MORE...
15 June 2010 at 19:14

Rachit K oh gosh.. sounds like a fulltoo adventure ride man..!!
waitin for you guyz to come back safely...!!!
15 June 2010 at 19:18 via

Rohit Chourasia thx bro.
Finger's crossed for B-La & T-La...
15 June 2010 at 20:27

Tushar Jadhav go go go......
15 June 2010 at 21:19

Ameya.D Nimkar Guys just keep us updates...congrates & al the best ahead
15 June 2010 at 22:12

Alankar Misra Doin that whenever I have network!! :-)
15 June 2010 at 22:14

Ameya.D Nimkar yup b'coz 4 to 5days u were disappeared...so bring some mitti of leh & ladhak 4 me
15 June 2010 at 22:19

Alankar Misra Lol. I wrote a note on why we dissappeared! As for leh ki mitti, plenty on my clothes!
15 June 2010 at 22:57

Rachit K year B-La & T-La is specially a task.. if its so cold out there in K-la, cant imagine what will it be like in B-La .. All the best guyz.... Network may be disappearing for 2 days
16 June 2010 at 11:36

Ameya.D Nimkar Oye Alankar I want mitti, stones n all that. not the dhool of your cloths
16 June 2010 at 21:14



We will get to Leh without event. The Universe has been gentle with us. We treat ourselves to a sumptuous dinner for we have scaled the world's highest motorable road a second time today. RomeoMike, true to his name, will strike up a conversation with a foreign national, Amy. For the next 2 hours, RomeoMike and Motorbreath will turn on the hormones and perhaps turn off the foreign national. She will share with us that she made acquaintance with her companions, two Punjabi gentlemen, in Goa. She accepted their invitation to head to Leh with them (no pun intended). They, we are told, own a lodge not far from where we now sit. Spiderweb, Drifter, Ashwin and I will merely giggle at our mates, as they try hard to score. The score? Nil, Nil for she leaves with whom she came.






As we return to our quarters, the lights go out quickly...