Ken sir, I'm not a big fan of Pulsars; Your Pulsar is looking something very different & very attractive to me; The exhaust looks like 200/220's while the frontal looks like the Gen-1 model with missing 2 scoops, I mean the tacho & speedo. What else is different?

@Ken.....

Spectacular stuff!!! It must have been a huge relief to come across better roads, after that nightmare at "Godzilla Pass"

I can see a whole lot of mods on your Pulsar 220...among those that I can see are the handle bar, the headlight, and the tyres. Are those ceat tyres? What are the other changes you made to your bike?

And was the Avenger stock or modded? It would be really nice if you shared in brief as to what modifications you did on the Avenger, which made it so very capable at the thin-air, high-altitude roads on this trip.

As always, looking forward to the upcoming updates.

.....Simba

Great log there Ken! I am thoroughly enjoying it. And Mael is one brave kid. Sitting pillion through that terrain, deserves an applause!

Eagerly waiting for more

Will come to that shortly too... changes that took place about a year back.

Will put in a quick short edit on the bikes and the their mods.

Yes Kurt. He is a great kid!

Besides, I was getting updates about your movements through phone from 3rd parties. Apparently you had got past Tanglang La with quite some difficulty and advised people without proper experience not to attempt it!

Soon you will see what happened to us!

Oh, is it!

I did meet up with Vishvas at K'top and Motorbreath at Changla. And was unaware that you had this ride under your belt, else we could have met up over dinner perhaps, in Leh. Nonetheless, there's always a next time

Yes, Tanglang la was quite a mess. Very muddy to be precise. We crossed it twice in less than 24 hours. Tiring, yes, but fun at the same time with lots of wheel spin and mud slinging All part of the game!

Looking forward to more from you.

Shanti StupaShanti Stupa




May Peace Prevail






Parking Lot!


Next stop was the visit of Thikse Monastery:

Thikse Monastery was built by a Tibetan Monk in early 15th century right next to the Indus Valley. In importance, it is second only to Hemis Monastery. Thikse is situated 17kms to the East of Leh on the road to Manali. It is another imposing structure with a very structural riot of colours that one expects to find in these parts. Before visiting the Monastery, we had lunch at the foothill of the climb. This was the first and last time that I had a bad headache. I took an anti-inflammatory tablet to make it subside. It worked!

Went up to visit the wonderful nearly 600 hundred year old monastery.



Prayer Wheels


Inner Courtyard!




Prayer Hall


Steps


Doorway


Dalai Lama


Monk


In Recluse:

This was another very nice day after the day in the houseboat. I really liked Leh. I would like to spend more time here, walking around, seeing the streets, the people, the vendors selling their wares. I had a nice day where I was not stressed to negotiate bad roads. I slept well. We did not ride much. We saw two really beautiful monuments. And I have managed to recover from the strain and fatigue of the Godzilla Pass. What tomorrow brings on the road to Chang La remains to be seen. We will deal with it tomorrow. For the moment I can say that we had a very nice, pleasant, beautiful and satisfying day in Leh with the short rides and the visit of the monuments.

Apologies for I could read this blog very late.... now that I've read it I admit of the pleasure I draw from your words & pics.

Ladakh rides are pouring this time but its first with a kid. He deserves appreciation for sitting as pillion throughout as I always think its more tough on a pillion than on rider. Kudos!!
I'm sure Ms.Brigitte must have had an experience on Avenger.... I love that bike. I'm really interested to know how did Avy200 perform?? What feedback does the rider has for it??

@Ken Da - All in all great log till now & I'm waiting for rest of the story to unfold.

More than anything else, I love the bright, vividly colored photographs!

Now, I would read this latest day's log.

Great Ken Da keep them coming...and yes there is no doubt that Mael is a brave boy, I made that out during the offroad sessions already.... waiting for Day 7 now Dada

+1...............!

Finally some rest & I hope you're taking the Manali route & that will be Khardung La, Chang La, Pangong Tso & Manali. Pls correct me if I'm wrong.

If you are talking about the route from Leh to Manali, then you are totally wrong!!!

Oh!!! So what would be the right one to take?

Ok, to make life easier... the Leh - Manali route is thus:

Leh - Upshi - Rumpse - Tanglang La - Tsokar - Pang - Lachlung La - Nakee La - Gata Loops (21 of them) - Saarchu (possible night halt) - Baralach La - Zingzingbar - darcha - keylong - Tandi - Khoksar - Gramphoo (turn here for Spiti Valley and other adventures) - Marhi - Manali.

Also to remember that Leh to Tandi, 365 kms, not petrol station!

As has been discussed in the Vishwas thread, Khardung La is the lifeline to Nubra and further on to the strategic Siachen glacier.

And Chang La is the pass that leads to Pangong Lake from Leh (150kms).

Yes I got the route now. Thanks so much Ken sir.