Day 2

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

Day 1

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".


Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tilla, NH1


@ some dhaba near Ambala

NH1

Near Pathankot

@ a dhaba near Pathankot

Approaching Jammu

My room in Hotel Touch Wood

Day 11, 12 & 13

Day11 (Sep 23):

Woke up around 7:30am, was able to charge my mobile for 15 mins, good enough to bring it back to life and now I should be able to click some pics. No breakfast, no tea, I wanted to reach Manali asap before the nature's call comes knocking again. By 8:30am, I left Chatru, the Chatru-Rohtang stretch is much better than Losar-Chatru, less bumpy and just few water crossings. The distance from Chatru to Manali is about 80kms. Just few kms before Manali, It came back knocking again, and this time it had no intention to go back. It was getting very hard to hold it up and the urge to do it was getting more and more intense. Finally reached Manali and found this hotel "Hotel New Shivalik" and got a room for Rs.600. Sadly, that was not the end of my torture, the cruel hotel manager must have known my current state and to add to my misery, he gave me a room on the very top floor(3rd) and the hotel doesn't have lift facility, so I had to take the stairs. Imagine carrying 40 kilos of luggage in that condition and climbing all those stairs, that was indeed the toughest part of the trip. With every painful step, I somehow made it to the top, locked the door and after 16 hours of torture, I finally pooped and relieved myself.

Today was a rest day, so just relaxed in the room, then in the eveining, went out and roamed in the market, came back to room and slept.

Some pics @ Rohtang pass

The jugaadu footrest which I found at Batal


Day12 and Day13(Sep 24, 25):

The plan was to reach Solan, stay at massi's house and leave for Delhi the next day. However on my way back, I missed the road after Bilaspur that goes to Shimla and instead took the Rupnagar-Chandigarh one. Which I only realised when I got stuck in a huge jam caused by trucks from Rupnagar all the way to Kiratpur sahib. Couldn't go back, so had to continue with this one. When I was near Ropar, my bike's engine was heating up pretty bad and making weird noises, checked the engine oil level and it was way below the mark. There are many automobile shops in Ropar, so bought the oil from one of the shops and there is a mechanic near the two-wheeler parking area, so got the oil changed. He suggested me not to stay in Chandigarh as rooms there would be very expensive instead stay @ Gurudwara Bhatha Sahib in Ropar. Glad I followed his advice and paid just Rs.50 for the night stay, rooms there are very neat and clean with attached bathroom. Besides, I got the opportunity to have Guru ka langar there, which is always yummy. The next day, took blessings from Gurudwara and headed to Delhi, finally reached home in the afternoon.



Gurudwara Bhatha Sahib, Ropar

At the end, I can describe my Spiti experience as Divine and complete Nirvana.

Day 10

Day 10 (Sep 22): Heartbroken...

Woke up early, my phone's battery died last night, couldn't charge it as there was no power in Losar since last three days, so no pics for day 10. Today's plan was to cover Chandratal and then a night halt at Chatru. After a heavy breakfast headed for Chandratal. Just few kms down the road, I realized that today, its going to be one bumpy and uncomfortable ride. You actually have to ride on a rocky path, with dozens of scary water crossings, some as big as a swimming pool. Couple of times before getting into those big water crossings, I paused and thought for a moment that is it even doable? Then made up my mind, accepted the challenge and I knew once I'm in, there is no turning back. While crossing, I was really worried about my bike as half of my bike's exhaust was in the water. But the Dark Knight(my bike) did not let me down and it just roared through them. Some 20 odd kms from Losar, soon after crossing Kunzum la came a diversion, took that road, its a 13 km road that takes you to Chandratal. The road was very narrow, reminded me of the road to Hatu peak. While on that road it started drizzling, those cool, tiny droplets splashing on my face for the entire 13 kms really felt like a blessing. Finally the road ended, a bolero was parked there. Just beside that point, we have Jamaica's Camp. Parked my bike there and decided to meet Jamaica on my way back from Chandratal.

Chandratal Lake is couple of hundred meters down from the parking area. Seeing the lake live was really like entering a fantasy world, never saw such a beautiful lake before. The lake with its deep-blue water surrounded by massive barren mountains, their reflections in the lake, was truly a sight to behold. I wanted to capture that scene so bad that I tried switching on my dead phone numerous times just to get one picture but finally gave up and realized that this damn thing is beyond dead. Spent about an hour there, could have stayed longer but the drizzling started turning into heavy rain coupled with gusty winds, so I decided to take off. Reached the parking area, met Jamaica, very nice and cool person. He took me to his tent and gave me tea and biscuits. Spent some time there, the rain stopped and the winds too. My clothes were all wet, so decided to reach Chatru as soon as possible while the sun was still out there and weather was a little nice and warm. I promised Jamaica that I'll stay in his tent the next time I visit Chandratal. While leaving, I realized that I have lost my beloved grey muffler, I tucked it tightly into one of the pockets of saddle bag before heading to the lake but forgot to close the zip. It was heartbreaking to loose it as it was a birthday gift from mom when I started working years back. It was very very precious to me, both me and Jamaica searched for it but it was gone, the strong winds must have swept it away. It was hard to digest the fact that I lost it. Finally, bid goodbye to Jamaica and headed to Chatru.

On my way back, just few kms from Chandratal, there was a stretch of couple of hundred meters of unparalleled road, where the road was bending to the right. Instead of driving in the middle, I was trying keep on the left as much as possible. At one point, there was this huge rock, dangerously placed on the left side of the road, which I was somehow able to avoid at the very last moment by raising my left leg high up in the air. I got lucky there, it could have badly hurt my leg but it only took the Bike's left foot rest. I drove till Batal with my left leg hanging in the air. It was getting very uncomfortable, I knew that there was no mechanic before Manali, so I had to find some Jugaad. Met a group of bikers at Batal, they came from Manali, their destination for the day was Chandratal. So we all had a little chat, they enquired about the route and the road status. At Batal, I started looking for anything that could work as a foot rest. And It didn't took me long to find this tough piece of wood, just about the right size and shape, like it was waiting for me since the stone age to come and pick it up. I shoved it into the bike and headed for Chatru. Reached Chatru around 5pm, the only stay option apart from the PWD guest house was Prema dhaba. Owned by a family from Kullu, husband, wife and their two sons. Just beside the dhaba, they have a dormitory, which has about 10-15 single beds. They charged me mere hundred rupees for the night stay, the only down side of staying in Prem dhaba is that they don't have a loo. So the call of nature needs to be answered out in the nature. No more visitors in the dhaba apart from me, unloaded all luggage from the bike and changed wet clothes. Then went straight to the PWD guest house, It has a phone booth, so rang home, informed mom and dad that I'm OK. There is a small lawn outside the PWD guest house, sat there for awhile and started ruminating about today's crazy ride. It was bumpy, uncomfortable, scary and what not but it was total fun, something that I'll remember forever. And at that moment I gained utmost respect for people who drive on those treacherous roads every day just to earn a living.

Returned back to the dhaba, on the parallel road there is another dhaba and a tent, where one can buy stuff like gloves, muffler, socks, shoes, etc. Bought a warm muffler for just Rs.200. Though it seemed equally warm as my beloved grey muffler, but the former had mother's love attached to it and always protected me from the coldest of weather. So, I doubted this would provide me half the warmth. Time was past 9pm, I had my dinner already and it was time to attend nature's call but then I realized that there was NO LOO. What should I do now?? The dormitory/hall has a big shutter instead of a door. At night, they don't completely pull it down, there was enough space for me to sneak through it. So, I waited for the Prem dhaba family to sleep. 10pm and everybody was dead sleep, decided to go out and relieve myself. Went to the open field near the dhaba, it was pitch dark and scary and when I was about to go for it, heard some really weird noises down there...insect/snake/lizard/ghost/don't know, could have been anything, so didn't do it and came back. Decided to do it tomorrow once I reach Manali and was somehow able to sleep.

Day 9

Day 9 (Sep 21): A lesson learned for life...

8am, I was ready, all the luggage was packed and loaded on the bike. Today's destination was Losar,  but would first visit Komik and yes, Key again. I knew that I had to get fuel first as the jerry can was empty and the tank had very little fuel left in it. But the fuel station opens @9am. And this being the only fuel station in the entire Spiti valley I had no option but to wait. That one hour seemed like a millennium, it really was that long, may be a couple of years short. After a while, checked the time and it was 8:30, So I parked my bike near the fuel station and went a for a short walk. Came back @ 8:50 and found a long queue of cars, mini buses, bikes and what not, all waiting for the Fuel station guy. I was in complete disbelief, which looked like an abandoned fuel station just 20 mins back is now crowded with all kinds of vehicles. And finally, he came @ 9:15, the fuel station guy and we all felt a sigh of relief. As if the addicts getting their fix of heroin after having craved for it for days. Now how would you feel, when you're the first one to arrive at the fuel station and the last one to get the fuel, PISSED!!! Right? I was angry with myself and regretted going for that walk,  should've stayed here. Finally, @ 9:40 got the tank and the jerry can filled and headed for Komik. It took about 90 mins to reach Komik even though the distance is just 25 kms or so. The route from kaza to Komik is so divine that it can turn atheists into true believers. On every curve, you experience a beautiful landscape. I had never been so close to the clouds, it almost felt like if I try a little wheelie here, I'd probably end up riding on them. You could see wild yaks grazing in the fields, the shape of some mountains resembling some giant humans who were mummified thousands of years ago. You're forced to take numerous stops en-route and every time you stop, you look 360 degrees around you, you look upside down and just admire the beauty you're surrounded by. You store those beautiful moments in your brain's  hard-disk and whenever you're feeling down, just play them in you mind's home theater and you're pumped back to life.

It was 11:20am when I reached Komik, I was greeted with a warm tea and smiles by two lamaji. Some foreigners were also there. A team of doctors from Shimla also reached in their 4x4 Bolero. Apart from seeing the beautiful Spiti Valley, they were providing free medicines to some villages. Went to both monasteries and saw the famous stuffed snow leopard which is placed in the old monastery. Spent sometime there and then headed for Key. When leaving Komik, there was this huge road block of mighty wild Yaks, hundreds of them, scattered all over the place, they were just standing still. The Yaks we see in Manali are dwarfs when compared to these behemoths, that's how big they were. I had no intention to mess with them, so I just waited for them to get off the road, 5 mins passed, 10 mins passed, ENOUGH, I was out of patience. So, I started my motorcycle and headed towards them, the closer I went, the mightier they became, the more nervous I became. I had no idea how shy these animals could be, the moment they heard my bike's noise, they all ran like little mice as if a cat was chasing them. Once I got past them, I took a deep breath and laughed thinking that's how easy it was, should have done that 10 mins ago.

Few kms before Key heard loud thud-thud sound coming from the back of my bike, stopped the bike, looked back and found the jerry can which was earlier filled with fuel to the brim was touching the ground and was now half empty. Somehow the rope to which the can was tied got loose causing the can to rub with the road, that made couple of holes in it and DAMN I lost two and half liters of precious fuel. I had two bottles, one liter bottle for clean drinking water and a two liter bottle for washing purpose. I had to empty the two liter bottle so I can move the remaining fuel from the Jerry can to it. Still half liter left, poured that into my bike's tank.

Couple of turns before Key monastery, some kids were playing football. One of them stopped me and asked if I have the air pump. The football looked all battered with almost no air in it, as if it was hit by severe AMS and badly in need of oxygen. I was in a hurry, I wanted to spend some time in Key and had to reach Losar before dark, so I lied, "No, I Don't". When I reached Key, I had this feeling of guilt of not helping those kids back there. It was so strong, so hard for me to bear it that I didn't go inside the monastery, just sat outside on the monastery's stairs for 20-25 mins. I had all these weird thoughts knocking my head that I started to get anxious. I decided to go back and help those kids. On my way back, I stopped to meet them and apologized for lying to them. When the football was inflated, we all decided to play a game. Time to test my football skills... Five minutes in the game and I realized that even the tiniest of them could beat me without shedding a single sweat. Decided not to get myself embarrassed anymore, so I quit. One of the kids asked my today's destination and offered rather insisted me to stay at his house, a small village(don't remember the name) before Losar. Another kid intervened "No, No, he would stay at my house". I started pondering how humble and benevolent these kids are... I thanked them in my heart for teaching me a lesson to always be humble and always help someone in need. Bid adieu to them and headed towards Losar.

As planned, reached Losar before dark, found room in a hotel, don't remember the name, but its the first hotel on the left side of the road next to a dhaba, both owned by same person. I was hungry, had not eaten anything since morning, so ordered maggie and tea. While devouring maggie, this cute little girl turned up at my table and asked for candies or chocolate, she was hotel owner's youngest daughter. I bought some chocolates in Nako, luckily I still had one left with me, so gave it to her. As soon as I handed the chocolate to her, her elder sister came running and demanded another one for herself, which I obviously didn't have, started a brawl between the two. Before I could intervene, their mother came storming in and her loud roar was enough to silent them both. She snatched the chocolate from the elder daughter and then gave me this angry stare before leaving. Honestly speaking, that sent shivers down my spine, took a long deep breath in relief when she left. But hold on, the embarrassment was not over yet, now, the younger daughter came to me and yelled "AAP GANDA HO"(you're a bad man). Before it gets any worse, I quickly bottomed up the tea and went outside for a village stroll. While roaming the village met this tour guide and driver who was hired by a Bengali family for their Spiti tour. We had a little discussion about spiti, the places he covered, he asked questions about my journey so far. He informed me about the route that I would cover  tomorrow from Losar to few kms before rohtang that its the toughest stretch in the entire Spiti valley. He told me that he has over 20 years of experience driving on these unforgiving roads and everytime he covers that stretch he feels as nervous and vulnerable as he felt for the very first time. He told me about the never ending water crossings with huge and sharp rocks hidden in them, that can easily rip the tyres to shreds. The pagal nallas(crazy water runnels) capable of throwing a ten ton truck off the hill. He thanked the mountain gods for protecting him all these years and told me if it wasn't for his living and feeding his family, he would never risk his life driving on those roads. He wished me good luck for my journey ahead and I thanked him for sharing his knowledge and experience with me and informing me of the challenge that lies ahead. It was 9pm, came back to my room and collapsed on the bed.

Vistas en-route to Komik

Langza


@Komik


New Komik Monastery

Old Komik Monastery

Stuffed snow leopard @ old monastery

The mighty wild Yaks @Komik

Spiti football team


Approaching Losar

Losar

The cute and naughty sisters at Losar... That dhaba owner's daughters...