The Two Wheel Wanderer...: June 2016

Day2(Sun, 14th June): A Wonderful Day...

No Vodafone network for prepaid connection starting from Jammu, it worked fine until Udhampur post that the signals started disappearing one by one. This means, from here onwards I would be virtually disconnected. I was ready to leave Jammu by 9:00 am but then it started raining. I had enough rain bath yesterday and was in no mood to get wet at the start of the day, so just waited for the rain to pass. And when the rain calmed down around 10:30 am, I headed out towards Srinagar. Roughly about an hour from Jammu, comes this only dhaba on the left side of the road. I stopped there for a tea break, while parking the bike, I noticed the drive chain had dried out at some places. I took out the chain spray, put it on the ground and started looking for some rock or any hard object, which I can squeeze under the main stand to tilt the bike so I can lubricate the drive chain. I found a rock, just about right size and placed it where I wanted it to be. And as I was going to pick up the chain spray bottle, a white Fortuner came thundering down and mercilessly ran over it. It was a new bottle and was air tight, so it exploded, creating a loud thud that could be heard from far away. Two big fellas jumped out of the Fortuner to inspect it, they looked at the crushed and dead chain spray bottle and laughed out loud as they headed towards the dhaba. I felt embarrassed as I was expecting an apology which obviously didn't come. That awkward situation made me half angry and half funny, so I approached the driver, the big man in spectacles and asked him in a light joking manner..."How can a grown man, whose been blessed with four eyes, couldn't see a huge CS bottle?". They both paused for a moment, then again laughed out loud. The driver hugged me and said "Sorry Phaji(brother), it happened so fast so just couldn't see it". To which, we all smiled, shook hands and had a good conversation afterwards. They asked me all the details about my trip and wished me all the best. I felt their good wishes were more valuable than the chain spray but still I needed something to lubricate the drive chain before it goes kaput. Just few kms from the dhaba, I found a roadside mechanic shop and got the drive chain lubricated.

Few hours later, on the Jammu-Kashmir highway, I found myself in a massive jam caused by trucks, literally hundreds of them stacked up in a queue stretching for miles. Trucks from Punjab, from Haryana, from J&K and other parts of India. They transport rice, walnuts, dry fruits, oil, etc to J&K. I squeezed through them and went as far as I could but then was stuck at a point and had to wait there for an hour or so before the jam cleared. Reached Banihal in the evening around 4:00 pm, stopped there for a while to absorb the beauty of this village. After riding on bad roads and getting stuck in Jam for hours, Banihal was a treat to the eyes and soul. It offered refreshing views of the Kashmir valley, a very beautiful village consisting of rice fields, colorfully painted wooden houses, clear views of the mountains which were miles away, all this coupled with great weather made it well worth spending some time there. Not far from there is another beautiful village, Verinag, as soon you as exit out of the Jawahar Tunnel, you reach Verinag. Verinag welcomed me with its awe-inspiring views, light drizzle, lush green mountains and a double rainbow, I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. Nature just poured all its beauty out there and as a spectator I watched one of nature's best shows. If Banihal was beautiful, Verinag was surreal, its one of those few places where you can just sit for hours admiring its mesmerizing views. Reached Titanic point, I just sat there and relaxed for a while, had a cup of hot tea and met a group of bikers from Gujrat. There are a couple of shops at the Titanic point, owned by the villagers, you can get tea/coffee and maggie there. You can find villagers selling woolen caps and mufflers. I knew I was getting late for Srinagar, I knew it would get dark when I get there but I didn't want to miss the sunset at Verinag. Not very often you get a chance to witness such amazing sunsets and when you do get it, then you should not let that opportunity go away.

I left Verinag when it started to get dark, no breaks till Awantipora, a bike was on my trail for some time, felt like I've been followed, it soon overtook me on a dark, isolated road and waved me to stop. There were two men on that bike, their faces were covered with mufflers. I wasn't sure what was going to happen next and was a bit panicked to be honest. When one of the men started walking towards me, I sensed trouble and quietly sneaked my right hand into my pant's pocket, grabbed the army knife and just held it in there. It was a very tense moment, he was getting closer and closer, finally he stopped just few feet away from me and this conversation started.

Him: Where are you coming from?
Me: Jammu
Him: Where are you going to stay tonight?
Me: Srinagar
Him: I can help you get a room there at a hotel.
Me: Is that your hotel?
Him: Yes, I have houseboats too, you can also stay there?
Me: Do you have your hotel's card with you now?
Him: Yes
Me: Can I see it?
Him: Sure.
(He handed one over to me)
Me: Is that your picture on the card?
Him: Yes, that's me.
Me: What's your name?
Him: Jan Mohammad.
Me: You're a handsome man bro, you shouldn't be hiding your face.
(He takes removes the muffler).
Me(thinking): That's really him in the picture, he sounds legit and not a threat anymore. I've never stayed in a houseboat before, it would be a new experience for me, so I decided to go for the houseboat.
Me: What's the charge for hotel room and the houseboat?
Him: Rs.500 for the room and Rs.2000-5000 for the houseboat.
Me: That's too much, I'm on a budget and can't afford to pay Rs.2000 for a night.
Him: Just have a look at it, you will definitely like it and will happily pay the money.
Me: No, I'm not paying Rs.2000, take me to your hotel.
Him: At least, have a look at it once, then may be we can negotiate the price.
(He was able to convince me for the Houseboat).
Me: Alright! Let's go and have a look at it.

I followed him and we reached Srinagar in an hour, it was 9:30 pm, he took me near the houseboats and called one of his friends. Munir Ahmed, a tall guy in black leather jacket and blue jeans. He introduced me to him, then I got to know that all of Jan Mohammad's houseboats were already occupied, he rode all the way from Awantipora to Srinagar for his friend Munir, to help find tourists for his houseboat. He could have easily provided me Munir's location and contact number, but he choose to travel some 30 kms and took me there himself. Real friends are hard to find, I was amazed to see such fine example of true friendship, which has become very rare nowadays. Munir took me inside the houseboat, it had two bedrooms with attached bathroom, a dining and a drawing room. Luckily, some tourist who was supposed to occupy the other room didn't come and it was just me all alone in the houseboat. Since I was going to stay for two days, I was able to negotiate the price to Rs.1500 for a day. Went to the market near by, had dinner in some restaurant there, came back and collapsed into a deep sleep.

Banihal

@Jawahar Tunnel

Verinag

Some village en-route to Srinagar

Jan Mohammad's Card

Day1 (Sat, 13th June): Safety Gear is a MUST...

After reading numerous travelogues and seeing thousands of pics...It became a dream to ride my bike to Ladakh...To experience the beauty, adventure and thrill it offers... Then finally, in June, 2015, nearly after four years, my dream turned into reality.

A hectic day in the office, but the feeling that tonight I'll be heading for a soul fulfilling journey charged me up. Came from office @ 10pm(Friday night), had dinner, packed all the stuff, bid adieu to mom,dad and left home @12:15am. I prefer traveling at night for three reasons... to avoid getting roasted in Delhi's scorching heat, to avoid the crazy traffic jams and the fact that I get so excited that I don't get sleep at all. So why waste time and wait for the dawn.

Like always, stopped by Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla on NH1, to take blessings from the almighty and to pray for my journey ahead. Saw a big group of bikers near Mubarka Chowk, hoards and hoards of them, they were all packed in their riding gear (I would meet them later at Zozila). By looking at their riding gear, I realized that in all the hurry I forgot to wear my safety gear(knee and elbow pads), a huge mistake and I would pay for it later. There were dark clouds all over the sky, couldn't spot a single star, so I asked god, it would be really nice if he can shower some rains and make this ride more joyful. To which he listened and in no time sent thunderstorms on me, well, I only asked for a light drizzle. I realized that we need to be very specific nowadays, even with the god. It really started raining cats and dogs, to a point where the droplets weren't droplets anymore, they felt like needles piercing into my face. I was all drenched and it was getting difficult to ride, so I had to take multiple stops near Sonipat, Ambala, Jalandhar and Pathankot.

Reached Ludhiana in the afternoon and was welcomed by a sandstorm. I was feeling very hungry, so decided to stop by a roadside dhaba for brunch. I patiently waited for the storm to settle down while sipping a cup of hot milk tea, after about an hour, the storm calmed down a bit, so I decided to move on. Started feeling signs of fatigue since I was awake for over 24 hours but the real culprit was the bright sunlight. Its always very hard to stay focus and keep the eyes open when you've been riding for over 12 hours and had no night's sleep and now the sun's out and shining bright on your face. But I have faced similar situation in the past and know how to deal with it. The trick is to have frequent tea/coffee breaks, thoroughly wash your eyes the moment they start shutting down and eat very very less. But it would be a lie if I tell you that I was not affected by it at all. Fatigue was taking its toll on me and there were times when I was forced to take short naps(few seconds) while riding. Met with heavy rains again at Jalandhar and Pathankot.

The funny part about Day1's ride was that at one place I was getting drenched by the rains and on other place was getting parched by the sun and winds and this happened with me not once, but four times. My feeling was similar to that of a dirty cloth's that gets soaked, washed, spinned and dried up in a washing machine. Finally the rains vanished after Pathankot. At one point, near Udhampur I met with a minor accident when I tried overtaking a car on a curvy stretch. While taking the curve, the Ladakh carrier came in contact with the road, I lost balance and the bike tipped over. My right knee got scratched, but thank god, I wasn't riding fast and got away with just a minor wound. I realized how important it is to wear safety gear and cursed myself for forgetting it at home. But Ladakh carrier, God damn you! It was the first time I was riding with the carrier, the extra bulge created by it at both rear ends of the bike changed the riding dynamics to certain extent. After this accident, I had to adjust my riding style and be more careful on corners and curves as the ground clearance on both rear ends was clearly reduced by a few inches. I finally reached my destination Jammu in the evening around 7:30 and found a room in hotel "Touch Wood".