Day 2 (Contd).

Entered Kinnaur, goal was to reach Sangla before 7:00pm but how often do you achieve your goal especially when you are riding in the Himalayas. I covered hardly few kms, and found this huge jam near Jhakri. A bolero collided with a truck which led to this jam though I hope the passengers were safe. I zig-zagged through the jam, utilized every little space to crawl through it but then got stuck at this point.

 

Then it took over an hour for it to be cleared. Lots of time wasted here, it was 5:45pm and it started to get dark.

Now, I had two options:

No.1 -> Go back to Rampur, the road behind is good, the route is known to me, all the basic amenities are available there and I can reach there in an hour or so.

OR

No.2 -> Don't head back, keeping moving ahead and I should be able to reach Sangla by 8pm.

So the crazy me kicked in and I choose option No.2, not aware of the challenge that lies ahead.

By 6:15pm, it was completely dark and my destination was still very far. My average speed till a small village(before Wangtoo) was 30kmph, I could have ridden faster but thanks to the bad headlight of my bike, I could only see 15 feet ahead of me. After crossing this village, the worst of roads started... sand, slush, potholes, rocks, sharp stones that could rip your tires apart and god knows what, never ridden on such roads before. That brought down my speed to under 20kmph and I knew I had to ride very carefully. This last stretch gave me the the most uncomfortable and painful ride. It was pitch dark and I was the only one riding, encountered may be just a couple of vehicles all the way till Sangla.   

                                                                 @ Wangtoo

@Tapri... and Sangla still 27kms away, took a short break here and then continued.

While I was riding, I had all these negative thoughts knocking my head, "What if the bike breaks down and I have to spend the night on the road???"..."Phone's network is skeptical, so I might not be able to make a call"..."Can't get help from the locals either, as at this time they all must be in their houses with doors locked"... "Since, its November end, the weather can get bad and it can snow anytime". I was literally worried, reached Kharcham and saw this quote. It couldn't have come at a better time, was really a morale booster and then I decided that no matter what I have to make it to Sangla tonight.

                                                                 @Kharcham...

Took a wrong turn after Kharcham, 3-4kms down the road and something didn't seem right, my instincts were telling me that I may have taken the wrong road. So went back to Kharcham, there was an army check post, asked them about the route to Sangla and got confirmed that I was indeed on the wrong road. So took the other road this time and reached Sangla @ 8:45pm. Found this guest house "Dev Bhoomi Regency", the very first G.H. on the right. It was closed, but I could see from the window that a lamp was lit, so knocked the door and yelled for about 10-15 minutes. Finally one of the hotel staff woke up or was already awake... not sure and opened the door. He was shocked and in disbelief as if he just saw a ghost. He was definitely not expecting someone to arrive at this time of the year and that too during night.

(Conversation between me and the G.H. Staff)

Him(speaking in high tone as if he was scolding me): Its too late, where are you coming from today?
Me(I was tired and not in a mood to talk): Coming from a place nine hours away from here, just don't remember its name.
Him: How many rooms do you need and who all are with you???
Me: If you have a "buy one, get one" offer then I need two rooms for myself.
Him: Are your friends not coming???
Me: No, they were riding slow, so I left them all behind in Delhi.
Me: What do you have in dinner?
Him: Sorry, there is nothing, the kitchen is closed and we usually sleep around 8pm.

Went to my room, ate a packet of chips which I bought from Rampur, it was not a good substitute but there wasn't any other option. Finally, collapsed on the bed. Before I slept, I thanked god for protecting me. One thing I realized there was that no matter how good a rider you are, if you have crossed those unforgiving roads at night and reached your destination safely. Its not because of your riding skills but because of that unseen force who protected you all the time.
                                          
                                      My bike, outside Dev Bhoomi Guest House..

     

                                          Temperature that night as per Accuweather

                             Some pics I clicked in the evening when I entered Kinnaur