Travelogue - That's how i got Leh'd

We had to wait for half an hour in station for rest of the gang to arrive. They came around 4.15 AM with loads and loads of luggage. We boarded a semi full train at 5 AM and packed our luggage. Within minutes everyone started sleeping and got up around noon. The packed Idly was over within minutes and again we went into slumber. I started reading 'The Good Earth' and John, 'Volga to Ganga'. Mine was quite engaging and his was engaging him as far as I saw. Before 'The Good Earth' I thought of completing the 'The Prophet' which John had brought but soon got to know that it was a very tough read. Had to appreciate myself for the same. Otherwise it'd have been just waste of time.

The major part of the day people were trying to evade transgenders who were terrorizing us. To our horror the count was a lot this time. It was fun when Arun and Mani run to a corner like a mouse getting to the hole, when they see them.

For dinner we had my tamarind rice and Chapathi and Thakali + Coriander thoku which Bharath had brought. Thokku was out of the world. I'll make sure that I take that thokku next time when I go on a train journey for more than a day.

Day 2 - A Merry Monotony

As far as I know I've always loved train journey, nothing like it. Waking up in a shaky compartment at the time you want, sunrays above your head, you still feel like Mother Nature shaking the cradle for you.

Around 5 PM we got out of the train which was around four hours late. We had to shift our luggage to parcel office and then get the bikes out. We had to pay a hefty sum of 1300 as bribe to take out the bikes. It's always an irritating job to get the bikes from train. I went out, checked the room in Vaishno Ashram near station which everyone suggested and filled up the petrol in bike for myself and cans for others. Thanks to the one liter petrol I had in bag which saved me from the tyranny of having to push the bike. If that wasn't enough we were scrutinized by the RPF or original RC. All he wanted was a hundred rupees which we didn't give even though a couple of us didn't have original RC. But I was scared more so because I wasn't sure where else they'd be asking original RC. Thankfully after that Babu, none asked.

Once we parked our vehicles to our satisfaction and settled in our AC room John and I went out to get our photos done. Worst photo ever of mine, then spent some time in Local Park. As we had left John's phone at home we were not able to contact them. Again we went down for dinner as they had already had. Rajma chawal was decent but did a terrible mistake of ordering Sambar Vada which he squeezed right out from water, in front of my eyes, dipped in sambar and gave. Horrible, horrible it was.

In spite of all we slept at around 11, after seeing the chaos in Parthi's room with all luggage out. Within an hour I felt as if something was biting me. But I didn't tell it to John. I had a similar experience couple of months before in Behrampur when I alone had been bitten by bed bugs. After few minutes I tried to wrap the bed with bed cover, there seemed to be some respite and I slept on and off till 3.30 AM.

That's when the guys from other room woke us up and told about the bug story. They hadn't slept at all. Parthi was telling that he was even thinking of sleeping in the space in front of bathroom. After they told their horror story of seeing the bed bugs for the first time in their life, I got scared and wasn't able to sleep. We decided we will start off early and reach Srinagar by afternoon. Funny us.

Day 4 - One 'Hell' of a Ride

It took close to four hours for the four bridegroom bikes to get ready. In spite of waking up at 3.30 AM we started at 10 AM from our place after a quick chai. Within minutes, rains poured and we had to take a break to wear our raincoat for half an hour. It was pretty much the story of the day. For every one hour ride we took half an hour break, had Tea like 20 times, food like 10 times and water like you-can't-count number of times. Our breakfast place where we had a bread omelet with Kheema and cheese, with kind of weird chutney was out of the world. Sadly forgot the name of the dish.

By the time we came out of the ghat section it was close to 7PM. We thought we had reached Srinagar, so had a tea break but we didn't know that we still had to go through a lot of traffic, with horrible roads, inhumane dust and horrible traffic for the next two hours. Finally we were chased by brokers for House Boat which was decent but Parthi and Arun insisted we take a room rather fearing we wouldn't have proper sleep as it was hell the previous day with bed bugs. We heeded to their request. This meant I still have to wait a few more years for house boat experience.

Our room was a decent one, we were dead tired. Had dinner at 11 PM. Parthi and co. went for shopping after that, real gutsy fellows, them and don't know when they came back. I took bath and slept by 12 as I had to wake up by 5 AM the next day.

Day 5 - An almost well-tuned ride.

Nothing much to complain about our Srinagar to Kargil ride. It was the first of 15 days where I had to take the terrible task of getting up early and waking others, only to be seen as villain. Add to it there was cash pooling where I had to ask 1K per day. As usual I was the dirty dancer this time too.

We skipped breakfast, had tea and Marie Gold biscuit before start. Started around 10 AM again. It was the day we had to cross the mighty Zozila Pass which everyone had been scaring us. Got news that it was open. Had to lie to others about the opening time about the pass but when we reached Zozila it wasn't like anything which was mentioned in blogs before. It was raining again that day and was getting colder and colder. It took us a while to come out of heavily guarded Srinagar, where there were police everywhere. Every petrol bunk, ATM and anything of slightest importance were surrounded by lot of police personnel's. In general the town was quite tension filled.

As soon as we came out of the town the passes were quite enchanting, as it had rained, the greenery was even more beautiful. It took us a while for us to wear the cotton gloves and on top of it latex gloves and various other things. When we finally hit Zozila we weren't even aware as there wasn't any vehicle crossing us, it was raining, it was misty, roads were barely there and we got the first glimpse of what to expect. Mani's FZ was struggling like anything, there was a point where my bike along with John went behind but we overcame all odds and reached Zero Miles which was dead cold.

Without inquiring we ordered a number of Maggi, Tea and Bread Omelet. Even an omelet for a poor shepherd who had only 500 sheep's. Bill came to an atrocious 970 rupees there. The innocence of the mountain people seemed to have been lost. You'll hear more about this guy later. But Zero Mile was one hell of a point with chilly winds, snow, rain, hot chai. It was brilliant.

Once we got out of Zozila it wasn't much of a deal. I took lead and drove quite ahead of the rest. There was an Elephant shaped rock before Drass which I wasn't able to figure out in spite of trying for few minutes. We waited around half an hour for the rest to arrive. We thought it was going to be easy from there as everyone said that we were about to enter the best roads of the whole journey.

They were true but we wasted a lot of time in Kargil Memorial in spite of getting few good photos and had to do a scary one hour right ride in the amazing Drass - Kargil road. If it had been day time it'd have been even more fun.

We reached Kargil, haven for non-veg lovers. The sheekh kebab aroma greeted us. We took an amazing room for 1900 and came out for dinner. Arun and John had Chicken which I consciously avoided thinking about the past. I had a pathetic Kashmiri pulav. The tandoori chicken mostly went waste with most part being eaten by Arun. Mani, the one who ordered got scared of the chicken seeing the size of it. I was upset as I had lost my handkerchief which I had solely bought for the purpose of taking photo in Pangong. So I took bath, ate and slept in a jiffy. Others where meddling with something or the other for a while.

Day 6 - Lone Ride, A Near Escape and Epitome of Happiness

I wanted to lead that day. We woke up around 5 AM. And got ready by 8 AM for breakfast at our lodge. It was regular aloo paratha + omelet + tea for breakfast. We started around 10 AM as usual for the ride. Roads were a mix of good and bad that day. I lead for most part and went to a lot of Gompas en route. In a Gompa which we went after the big Buddha statue they received us with lot of love and gave chocolates, badam fruit and insisted us on having mountain dew. It was a decent ride till the Army Canteen where we ate Momos and Aloo Tikki for lunch. Only when the rest of folks got there after a long time we got to know that Mani's FZ was creating problem. Initially they decided to go on without taking a break but as we didn't have a mechanic shed in the vicinity we had lunch there.

After that it was just John and I. We took off initially and there was a way where the road was blocked when we were thinking whether to go that way or not, a local suggested to go ahead. We went through the road. Visited Lamayuru Gompa, almost waited there for an hour. First I went to Gompa, asking John to stand so that we could stop them if they come. Then John went to visit Gompa. There was a broken or burned house which looked like Skeleton from He-Man. In spite of such a long time they were nowhere to be seen. We were in a dilemma to whether wait or to go ahead. As many had said that we'd get cell phone signal in Leh we thought we'd reach Leh, so that at least if they are in any crisis they'd be able to contact.

After Lamayuru we entered through a road which smelled danger. There were violet color mountains everywhere. John said that he felt as if he was in some place in Interstellar movie. I too thought as if we were in different planet. I started feeling happy from that moment. It was a lone ride, almost a lone one, with one of my very good friends. It felt special. I always wanted to be alone when I reach Leh. I thought it was going to happen. Next to the violet mountain road was the road which taught me a lesson.

I mean I wasn't over confident as such but I had never had a fall till that time. In the violent mountain road we asked a person whether the road is passable because we could smell danger in the road, it was eerie. The answer by the worker wasn't convincing. We decided to go ahead with the road. Only after few minutes we got to know why it was blocked. There was a JCB machine which was working on the roads, there was just space for a single person to walk through it.

From top I wasn't able to look at the road, John said, "this looks very dangerous man." I was like, "If it's easy everyone would go to Ladakh." Only after taking a U turn I saw how bad the road was. From one end of it where the road wasn't paved I asked the JCB guy whether it was okay to cross it. He said Ok. I started the engine to cross it. As if it's a danger sign, the reverse sound of JCB was ringing. John said, "There is some sound." I replied saying that it's the reverse sound of the JCB machine. We continued from there and I put break near JCB. As it was full of slush we had a fall. Didn't realize what happened next. After crossing John informed that I was about to fall and hit my head on the JCB's tyre. John pushed it in an instinct. I wasn't deterred. In fact I was happy. That was the only experience missing, the fall. John asked me whether I'd need water or something. I thought he was shaken. I didn't talk much as I was afraid I'd scare him more.

Only after we came down from the road we got to know that it was the blocked road which we had crossed. There was a marking with beer bottles. All the vehicles were coming in opposite direction. Only then we realized that others could have made it through that way and our wait in Lamayuru could be a waste of time. Soon enough there was a partition where we weren't sure which way to take. Thankfully a police vehicle came and guided us to the correct path. These confusions are the things that make travel interesting. You get to know how good your intuitions work.

It was a joy ride from then on. Nice roads, roaring waters and clean road. The flow was great. We stopped at the last point before Leh, Nimmu, the place had a miraculous water cooling system. Had bread omelet and chai in quick succession. That place also had a camp fire kinda thing, a culture which I adore in Himalayas. It wasn't there much in Ladakh region. By the time which we thought we almost lost the rest of the gang, they zoomed past us. Arun and Parthi quickly informed that Mani's bike broke down. Mani along with the bike were going in the car before them. They all looked pretty pissed of me as we had left before them.

From there the ride was a dream. Back when I was good in studies and very good in Mathematics I used to get happy as soon as writing half the paper correctly, thinking I'd get centum in the exam but end up losing a mark or two. But this time it was different. I could start seeing Leh boards, 100 KM, 90 KM etc. etc. it was getting closer and closer. I wanted to lead, I wanted to be first, and I wanted to travel alone. Nothing happened. I was the tail, I was travelling with a pillion and I was with a group. But one thing happened. I was happy, I was happy beyond words. It was a dream, you plan for something for such a long time and the moment when everything comes together. Nothing like that. If there had been a camera inside my helmet, it'd have captured all my stupid grins. I truly felt that I could die after the moment. I was so very very happy. Shouting at every Leh board which I passed and when we reached Leh it was the Climax of happiness. I felt being on top of the world. I don't think others were that much happy as they had bike tension. The Good Samaritan who helped us with the bike transport didn't take any money at all. It was like a welcome sign, "Welcome to the good part of the World."

John on the other hand was getting restless to use restroom. While the bike was getting ready I met a fairly knowledgeable guy who was talking about the route to Pangong and Nubra. It always feel special when you know more about a place than the local. John on the other hand wasn't enjoying the conversation at all. He was roaming here and there with the toilet paper to finish of his duties. Unluckily for him, it was getting dark and we wasn't finding any abode. Finally he gave up exasperated, "enada panitu irukinga, vaanga poi room eduakalam" ( what are you people doing still? let's go take a room). Then we went to a restaurant and he finished off his duties, I finished my chai. His face became normal only after that. He was telling he was feeling more happy now, "going in Ladakh than going to Ladakh"

While returning we made phone call to our home from STD booth. As the phone wasn't working, a person sitting nearby gave us his phone and didn't charge anything. When you are happy, everything around you looks pleasing. That's how it was.

After Mani's bike got ready we went in search of room. As usual it was night time so we got a pathetic room for 800 rupees and had dinner at 11'o clock. The only relief was we didn't have to get up early the next morning. It was such a relief to not have an alarm and sleep. Also not to look as if an early morning villain in front of others.

The food was bad, there was commotion in restaurant and we were joking thinking of how it'd have been if the helper of Mani's bike had accepted the request of dinner and had come there.

Day 7 - Unrest in the midst of Rest

The one day without alarm I woke up at 8 AM. Rest were sleeping. So went ahead and had tea and some snack in Punjabi Dhaba which was awesome. After coming back I could see that Bharath had woken up. John was still sleeping. By the time I lazily came out of the bath, rest of the gang had gone to bike shop. John was still sleeping. So we too went ahead to the mechanic shop. Along with Mani's carburetor, mine too had to be tuned. After that, bike was revving like anything.

We paid a fee of 50 rupees per person for god knows what and started our journey to Pangong. It was a smooth ride from there to first check post where we talked with a Tamil military man who filled our water bottles with warm water. He informed that from Chang La roads are bad and has full snow. We reached Chang La in quite some time where we had our Maggi lunch because that was the last point where we'd be getting food. We also clicked some pictures in the third highest motorable pass. Chang La had one or two small stream crossing and lots of snow. Roads of course were bumpy but it wasn't a bike killer so we didn't face much difficultly in crossing Chang La.

After Chang La, roads were a bliss. We stopped for taking photos of famous Marmot of that area. As Marmots were surrounded by a lot of pretty women it took us some more time to come out of the area. Once we reached Thiksey we had to pay a toll again for bikes/ourselves. Next 30 KM was pure heaven. We reached Pangong in no time and got the photos that we wanted.

The next one hour went for tent searching and calling our kith and kin. It was a decent time pass in STD booth as it had a Punjabi kudi who looked like, as John said, fresh out of the ramp. We got a tented accommodation along with dinner and breakfast for 1500 rupees for a tent. We took two tents for six people which was quite comfortable.

After getting freshened up Mani, Parthi and I met with a Tamil gang in the dining room, they were reciting their stories of crossing the Zojila Pass at night and staying in the same Zero Miles tent which I had mentioned earlier. They said that they had to pay 4500 rupees for one night stay along with food. If you ever go by that way. Remember that its one place you must avoid. John and Bharath who had gone to watch the lake came back just in time for dinner and heard the gist of their stories.

Dinner with dal rice, roti and papad was filling. Even though the repetitive songs were irritating as I had the access to their computers, I could play some good known songs. Post dinner I had a comfortable sleep of seven hours.

Day 9 - When everything fell on place

Turning back, I guess it's the only day when things fell on place. We got up by 6'o clock, had breakfast of bread, butter and omelet and started by 9 AM. In an hour we reached Thiksey monastery which wasn't any different from other monasteries. It'd have been good if we had learnt about the monasteries and the culture to appreciate it better.

From there to Khardung La top, the road was a constantly ascending bad road. So it took us a lot of time to reach the top. Felt good to be on top for some time in the midst of people who were looking in awe at us as we had TN registered bikes. It wasn't as crowded as I expected so we got few decent clicks. My headache was aggravating and so was it for Parthi and Mani. John being the health conscious guy made the rest to vacate the place soon.

The next one to one and a half hour too was terrible for us. Everyone started to choke. Parthi was jokingly asking me to tell that the road will get better soon. I thought it to be different but answered 'yes' for him. The road indeed got better within minutes. But in that one hour we crossed innumerable number of streams which varied in every way.

In the next check post we met French travelers Antoine and Adelaide along with photographers from my area Fahad and Siva. While we were planning to cruise from there, around 2.30 PM we were stopped by a group of bikers near a dhaba where they said that road to Nubra has been blocked because there was a landslide in Khalsar so people were protesting as government officials hasn't made any effort to visit the village. We used the confusion point to have lunch so that much time wouldn't be wasted.

It was 3PM by the time we finished our lunch. We were debating on whether we should go ahead or not. I decided that if we had to return we had to return immediately as we wouldn't be able to reach Leh otherwise on time. It meant we would have an extra day in our hand at our disposal to cover the Manali stretch. Bharath wanted to give a try as he had come till that. I didn't find logic in staying at dhaba because if we had to go to Hunder the next day we wouldn't be able to return to Leh the same day.

We kept on asking about it with every taxi driver who came our way, there was a taxi which went ahead of us in spite of us telling that road is blocked. He was so casual about it, he was so sure that the road would get open. After hearing from the driver we started off to Nubra but was quickly stopped by another SUV traveler who said it was a riot there, he advised us to proceed when a bunch of vehicles come from opposite direction. We waited for it and it happened in a while. We all let out a 'hooo' and started off with greater vigor.

The roads from there was a treat to go. Within an hour we reached Khalsar, the devastated village. The village was in such bad condition which made me feel for them. I could understand the angst as to why they were protesting.

Once we crossed Khalsar we traversed to muddy, smoky dust roads. Which generally is my favorite. I have always wanted to ride in the mud road circuit with dirt bikes. It was almost close to it. Once we crossed the mud roads we took a small break and shared our Snacks. It was almost near Diskit and we had only ten more kilometers for Hunder, our destination.

From there we went to the Buddha statue in Diskit, John and I alone went to monastery after that. Thanks to the photographers, we all got few great photos. We were relaxed as we had reached Diskit by 5 PM and had a lot of buffer time before us. There is a left turn following Diskit to Hunder, that's one hell of a road. Even though short in distance it could be compared to Magnetic Hill to Leh road or the More Plains road, that's how good it was.

After crossing that road we were able to see the sand dunes of Hunder, Adelaide seem to have spotted camels but we weren't but I loved the changing Vista. Hunder gave me satisfaction. It meant that we completed all the places that we had planned in Leh.

Having Adelaide and Antoine wait near the entrance, John and I went in search of room to one side and the others on the other side. Quite ironically the room which our first acquaintance in Leh said was the costliest at 2500 rupees per tent. We then enquired a guest house which cost of 2200 for three rooms which was quite economical. Rooms too were quite spacious. In fact it was our best room till then.

We had dinner at the nearby resort where the photographers were staying, it was a buffet dinner. Even though costly, the dinner was sumptuous. It was great talking to Antoine and Adelaide, knowing about their culture, movies etc. Antoine was quite impressed by our knowledge. The conversation continued after that but I came back to room as I wanted proper 6-7 hours of sleep and also I had to wake others up. So in all it was a satisfying day.

Day 11 - When we integrated to disintegrate

I woke up at 6'o clock and woke the rest up. Our breakfast was a modest bread toast and omelet. Nothing much to complain. It was decent. Antoine who had said that he might go to Panamik for hot water springs that day decided to come with us and en route we also picked up Fahad and Siva. We started at our regular time of 10 AM after taking a lot of photos.

After getting Mani's bike ready we had our bike chains cleaned and lubricated. I suggested to put petrol at Karu and Bharath was suggesting to fill up petrol at Leh. Much to my dismay the Karu petrol bunk didn't have petrol. He told it'd take an hour for the petrol to reach the bunk. It was already 2PM. Parthi and I went to have lunch. The cloud was getting overcast. Bharath and Arun slept in petrol bunk listening to Chinese song.

In the lunch place where we had omelet and dal rice we met the CTC gang whom we had met the previous day in the crisis point. Seems they too had planned to go to Sarchu and as Karu petrol bunk didn't have petrol they went all the way to Leh to fill petrol. Their updated plan was to reach Pang like us by the end of day and reach Manali the next day, which I felt to be quite ambitious.

Bharath was excited about it and others too said that we could tag along with them. Arun meanwhile got up from his deep slumber and recited his dream story where there he went to a monastery and a man in flames sat next to him. He was calling him as 'theenjavan' meaning a burned out man. When Parthi woke up from his sleep Arun said that he was the 'theenjavan' who had asked him to move aside. In reality when Arun was sleeping Parthi had asked him to move and slept near him. It was a laugh riot there. At around 3.30 PM we filled our petrol and started from Pang.

Roads were generally good. Few were clicking pictures of us as it had become a tourist route. Many were coming in opposite direction to us. The route to Tanglang La, the second highest motorable pass in the world was freezing like hell. We were wearing three gloves but still we weren't able to feel our hands. When we reached the Tanglang La top we were hardly able to feel our hands. We were jumping like Armstrong in Moon as it was so cold out there. For the next one hour, in addition to the cold the roads were bad but Arun and I hurried past it and it was such a relief to see the good road after that stretch and empty our bladders.

Others came scolding us for driving so fast in bad roads. Arun lit up a smoke and we took a quick five minute break. It was around 6.30 PM then. We still had around 50 KM to go. Next stretch was a riot. More plains, the best road till date and the scenery was impeccable, it was freezing. We were driving at around 80 km/h. That 30 KM stretch was fabulous when even thinking about it now. People say that it's a great stretch to off road but we hardly had any time to think about it. It also had a number of camps and there was a route which goes to Tso Kar, may be some other time. When we almost reached Pang and was just about 10 KM to destination the sunlight went off, the road became bad and navigation became even tougher. Till the last kilometer we weren't able to see the Pang village. Everyone started getting afraid. With that cold and no lights we couldn't have gone anywhere else. We didn't even have tents.

But finally we saw a number of huts and one room which we selected so that we would be shielded better against cold and also because that room had the CTC gang. Our room was a five bedded dormitory for rupees three hundred per head. It had vegetables, chips, rations and what not. What's worse was it had a common toilet. But we were too cold to feel anything or think about anything. The temperature was around 10 degree. I slept keeping our mouth shut. Other guys were laughing with Arun commenting about his dysentery and cold. I got to know the story only the next day.

Day 13 - One Last Ride

Bharath and Arun were ambitious to get to Manali that day. Parthi wanted to get rid of the mountains so he too wanted to reach Manali by end of day but not even one percent of me was confident of reaching Manali by the end of day. Having heard from others about the road status and the distance of 300 Kilometres including Rohtang Pass, I was not having even a bit of doubt of not reaching Manali by end of day.

I said if we reach Keylong by 3PM we'll think about it. I was confident that we wouldn't even reach Keylong by that time. We woke up at 6'o clock rather than the regular 5'o clock routine. Mani told about the happening last night where Bharath seemed to have told Arun, "Mooditu iraen da" for which Arun seemed to have replied, "Naan mooda thanae da try panraen, mooda matenguthae," citing his dysentery. Poor fellow. He had to bear with it for more than a week. He had been drinking only juice for all these days and he's known to be a guy who eats heavily in his circle of friends.

As the CTC gang was getting ready soon the rest of the gang too was getting ready fast. The thing that I was trying from the first day but never happened till the last day. After breakfast we started off at around 9 AM. The roads were generally bad till Sarchu where we had our lunch. We crossed Gata Loops which was a series of 21 bends. But when I counted it came to 22. Thanks to the CTC folks who drove fast with their 500 cc bikes, our guys too kept up the speed as they were desperate not to lose track of them.

It was around 1'o clock and we all were tired like hell. The CTC gang too were contemplating on reaching Manali by night. Because last time they said that they had reached Darcha by that time. But this time Darcha was like 80 KM from there. My aim was only Keylong. Anything above it would be a plus. From Sarchu to Darcha the roads were reasonable. We had to fill out our details somewhere in the middle and from Darcha to Keylong too the roads were manageable. We reached Keylong around 4.30 PM. Our cut off time was 3 PM but at that time we thought it was doable.

From Keylong I cruised. We stopped for a brief moment in Tandi and decided against not filling up the petrol as it was crowded and we had extra petrol in our hands. I didn't want to be stuck in Rohtang Pass. I remembered the last time where I was feeling so pathetic to cross Rohtang in bus. This time when I saw Old Spiti Road in sign boards I was getting scared, I was alone. Thanks to the Indian Oil tankers I lost track of them and I didn't want to stop. I wanted to stop only after crossing Rohtang. I went on and on and finally met with CTC gang. I even overtook them and went.

When climbing up Rohtang a lorry driver was irritated as I wasn't stopping for him to get down. I was trying to calm my nerves. After that I went with CTC gang. Near the top of Rohtang Pass around 7 PM my petrol almost got over and I had to fill my tank. I started getting neck pain and was wanting to finish the trip as soon as possible.

Rohtang Top was misty and beautiful. The roads were wet and looked as if it had rained just then. Thanks to their tail lamps and head lights I was able to navigate the road. They stopped for quick chai in a tea shop and after few minutes rest of our gang came and had tea and cigarette.

It was all well till then. I in fact was overwhelmed. Bharath just told, "even if we take three hours from here we'd reach by 10'o clock." Unfortunately what he said became true. It started raining cats and dogs and the path became dark. This in the midst of fog which meant we had zero visibility. My neck pain got aggravated like hell, I couldn't turn my neck. I was finding so damn tough to concentrate. Shoes became wet and we had zero visibility. Arun and Bharath took turns to lead. One of them were in the middle. On the sides Mani and I showed lights but it was to no avail. Nothing was visible. At one juncture we even stopped all our vehicles to see which side the road was. That's how horrible the visibility was. Saying about it now might sound adventurous but we were tired beyond words and wasn't able to concentrate at all.

Thanks to the van which came after that. We tailed the van for next one hour for about 10 KM, till the misty path got over. After that it was Indian Oil tankers which were hundreds in numbers. We found it very tough to cross them. In all it was a disastrous last few hours journey. By that time I decided, come what may I wasn't going to go to Delhi by bike.

Once we reached the place which CTC guys suggested we called John and asked to vacate room which he had taken. I actually didn't want to stay there and spoil their plan to go till Delhi but stayed there as John too came. Rooms were one the best I've stayed thus far. I slept as soon as I went to room, went out to eat dinner and said that I won't be riding to Delhi. Worst thing was I wasn't even able to enjoy after achieving my dream of finishing Ladakh circuit in the way I wanted. I was never interested in riding till Delhi.

Dinner was decent and I slept like hell that day only to be woken up at 10 AM the next day.

Day 14 - When I found the true meaning of Relaxation

Breakfast again was fabulous overhearing the thunderous Beas River. By morning I got to know that they too had decided not to ride till Delhi. Bharath so badly wanted to finish it in India Gate but sadly it didn't happen. I felt bad for him. We inquired about buses to Manali and started to GATI at around 2 PM. It was a joy ride. The roads were awesome. We stopped once for a quick break to have tea and bread pakoda.

It felt good to travel in the same road but with success this time. The tunnels, the Shimla to Spiti like road, Beas River, mountains, waterfalls etc. It all felt good. John took Mani's bike and he sat as pillion in my bike from the break point to GATI. We reached GATI at about 6 PM.

GATI in Mandi which was so low profile last time had become big this time with office in first floor and people in it becoming trendier. Two years before when I had parceled by bike for rupees 4000 took me rupees 6250 this time that too after two hours of negotiation. He initially quoted us rupees ten thousand. There was some stupid rule by GATI where every bike would be taken as 300 KG I guess. Parthi was saying that he is willing to pay if he takes the saddle bag too along with the bike. It was funny.

We called the travels guy for the bus to Manali and booked it immediately once we got our deal. It was fun to do everything in last minute, packing bikes all of a sudden, getting into van for bus and getting into bus after making it wait for half an hour. The bus stopped for the dinner at the exact place I had dinner while returning last time. Only difference was I was relieved last time but this time I was happy. We heard for songs some time in Parthi's iPad and slept. It would have been perfect if I had watched Yeh Jawaani Hai Diwaani too that day.

Day 14 - Yeah Dilli hae merae yaar

Our bus was late by three hours. I was never really worried. I was able to sleep for more time. From the place where we got down we went to Rajendra Place where our guest house was booked. It took 300 per cab and we took two cabs. Thanks to the luggage.

I thought of utilizing the time for local sightseeing but I was tired beyond words. I was able to go only to Lotus temple and even for that I felt really tired. I had Aloo Kulche for lunch which was fabulous. And travel in Delhi metro train is something I always love. Delhi girls are the best. Period!

Back home I came and slept for three hours. Had Pani Poori and veg roll as dinner in nearby chat shop. I watched a crappy Hollywood movie, 'Accepted' which felt lovely that day. Once John came, our plan was to go to bar but he came after the movie got over at 11 PM and looked pathetic so we decided to pull the plug. We slept for straight 12 hours.

Day 15 - When the first block of puzzle left us

John was to take train to Kerala that day. He wanted to buy jacket for his relative so we went to Karol Bagh by rickshaw where he bought a leather like jacket and a couple of wallets for one thousand one hundred rupees. Not sure whether it was a good deal or not but the stuff looked good.