Hi.. It’s been a while since I wrote
something. There was nothing worth to be frank. Life was monotonous.. Things
were going from north to south all day. I had to run as hard as I could to stay
where I was. Had the worst year in 2018 and things hardly turned better in
2019. But as usual since I am too lazy to worry about my past or future, I
survived. Salute to my better half for bearing with me and sailing along.
At some point of time I reached a point where I felt it’s the end of the road.
I never had the strength to dream and never believed I could do anything on my
own. Then slowly realized I have to fight back. At least try.. The roads as I
always used to say has been my second home and have seen all my emotions. If it
is on my bike my BUD it’s even better. So the plan was on. The trip of life.
The trip I ve been dreaming for twelve long years and it couldn’t have come at
a better time. A SOLO trip to the biker’s paradise Leh-Ladakh. Delhi to Delhi
round trip of 3400kms. Travelling always opens your senses and perspectives,
which was the need of the hour. I had to have a fresh start. 
Since I have been planning the same for
quite a long period, the itinerary was always ready. Did lots of research and
came up with a plan. Vani’s friend Arun gave valuable feedbacks and chipped in
at every point of the trip making things easier for me. But still doing a SOLO
was in itself a challenge and it didn’t go well with most of the people I knew
and met along the trip. A rough plan was chalked and I started. Finally..
Butterflies tinkled my stomach as I sat in the plane to Delhi. I pinched myself
several times to make sure it was real. By the time I reached my sister’s place
at Noida, my bike had already reached as I had parceled it a couple of days
earlier itself. Picked my BUD and did some final purchases for the trip. The
day before I started to ride, I couldn’t catch my sleep in the excitement of
what’s to come the next day. The good thing about this time of the year
was that sun would be up as early as five in the morning and stay bright till
eight in the night. So I could make the most of my days. Google helped me
find way out of the city. During a trip it’s not the destination that counts,
it’s the memories that fills your soul that counts. In that sense everything
from as small as a bird to the forts I passed by were of importance to me. The
roads were good and I eased along enjoying the morning breeze and my most
favorite golden light of the rising sun. I suddenly saw something moving
in the middle of the road and to my surprise it resembled a monitor lizard, it
was yelling in pain as it seemed that it was run over by a car. The well
aligned boundaries of roads formed by eucalyptus trees couldn’t cover the
beautiful fields on either side of the road. During my breakfast break met a
foreigner, and then some mallu bikers. The idea to carry water bag paid off as
the scorching heat dehydrated me faster than I imagined. The plain
open roads flew past fast and I eventually reached Amritsar. The arch at the
entrance was quite a scene. Golden arch shined bright from a far distance. I
had to reach Wagah border by 5.00pm to see the border retreat ceremony. After
keeping my luggage in baggage counter available there, waited in queue. The
sight of Indian flag flying high and the sound it produces in itself is enough
to give you Goosebumps. I had to stand almost for two and half hours for the
function to start and mind you that was after riding bike for almost 9-10
hours. But the excitement in the air filled my heart and quenched my pain.
After the function I rushed and found a hotel near Golden Temple.The site of
the temple in the night was mind blowing. Though few Sardars restrained me from
taking pictures of the main shrine, I couldn’t resist my instincts. The
selfless volunteering by the Sikhs is just amazing and worth praise. They clean
even the top most point of the shrine and provide 24/7*365 days free food
through their magnanimous kitchen. They even have free shoe and baggage
counter.
The good thing about Punjab traffic is
that you can follow your heart and no one cares a shit. There is nothing called
road sense or traffic rules. It was as if the same are not meant for Punjabis.
In order to exit the city and find way to Patnitop my next destination, I asked
a riksha wala for directions and in a jiffy he popped my false pride that I
knew Punjabi. I hardly understood a word he said. Again Google to the rescue I
found myself moving. The heavy summer rain made things even harder for
me. In a few hours’ time Reached Pathankot. The name always strikes hard
as the bruises of the terror attack remains in almost every patriotic Indian’s
heart. Moving forward a sign board created a lump in my throat.. Kathua.
A few kilometers ahead took a right turn from Samba (wonder if the samba of
Sholey is from here). It’s not a big junction and there is every chance you may
miss it. The landscape suddenly changed and it was quite welcoming as I enjoyed
the lush green forests and the army camps instilled safety assurance. It is
advised to fill petrol before Samba as there are hardly any filling stations
till Udhampur. Met the straight road highways again at Udhampur. The
winding roads that provided a blissful view of the valleys made the rest of the
journey beautiful. The houses in the valleys resembled colourful aquarium
pellets sprinkled on a green carpet. Came across many bridges on the way and the sight of a flyover with a
passing train was worth the watch. The last 20 kms of hilly roads that lead to
Patnitop was also mesmerizing and by then the hot sun gave way to chilling
cold. The roads reminded me of the movie Bajrangi Bhaijan.
The next destination was heaven on earth,
Srinagar. Last days ride through the rough patches of road had enlightened me
to reduce the tyre pressure and it worked. The bike became steadier and
provided awesome balance. I had already heard of a tunnel near Patnitop
so travelled all the way in the wrong direction just to see India’s largest
tunnel of 9.2KMs. I must admit that it was one of a kind experience. The ghat
roads between the rocky mountains and a river flowing miles below which hardly
had space for one big truck was filled with hundreds of it. Wise men had said
earlier that it’s always better to start early ride slow and reach safe and it
proved handy. Even though I bunked almost all the traffic blocks by the virtue
of being on a two wheeler, the unlimited traffic ate a lion’s share of my day.
Being Amarnath season the roads were guarded by armed forces on either side.
The same view continued as I zipped past beautiful highway to Srinagar. My list
of surprises continued as I went past the sign board of Pulwama and we wouldn’t
believe that this heavily guarded place was also attacked. The next hoarding
that caught my eyes was URI-119 Kms. The shock of these hoarding were relieved
by a few shops which arouse the cricketer curiosity in me. Went past some bat factories
where I would have got original Kashmir willow bats but due to the difficulty
of carrying it along the trip I intentionally skipped them. Since I had only a
few hours of the day left I could cover only the Dal lake, the must go place in
Srinagar. It was a dream come true moment for me as I had been there almost a
hundred times in my dreams and this time I got to be there for real. The
enchanting waters are a masterpiece in itself. The mountain view, the birds,
the floating vegetation and markets in such floating lands all provide a life
time experience and we really feel the depth of the keerthichakra song “khuda
se mannath hai meri, lauta do jannath voh meri”. The funny fact was that the
very same lake which was buzzing with tourists would freeze completely in the
winters. Thanks a ton ( hope I won’t get hit in the head) to Mahesh for
an unforgettable stay at Srinagar.
The ride through the Himalayan valleys started with my journey to
Kargil. The road to Kargil was closed till 2 PM. So spent a lot of time
enjoying Soanmarg, a beautiful place enroute. Please make sure to fill your
pockets at regular intervals as the probability of finding ATMs and that too in
working condition here is low. Even after all the time I spent, I reached my
first real road test destination, the Zojilla pass early. I had two options to
reach top. Either wait in queue and ride through road or cut the queue and
climb to the top taking an off road route. Since this was a once in a
lifetime experience I opted the latter. Beautiful roads, flowers and
chirping of birds and my first encounter with ice filled mountains made my ride
enjoyable and I reached Kargil easily. En route I had planned to visit Kargil
war memorial but as there were no sign boards I missed that. So as soon as I
reached Kargil, I rushed to see the Pakistani border. Thanks to a local man
renting binocular I could see the border up close and as he explained things I
clearly understood why it was so hard for our brave soldiers to fend off the
Pakistanis during the Kargil war and how easy was it for them to infiltrate our
borders. The road from Kargil to my dream destination Leh was amazing. It kept
changing colours from gold, red, green , grey and for one wearing a cooling
glass even more colours. 
Soon into the ride I realized that the oil from back shocks had
drained and had to be dead slow the rest of the ride and couldn’t enjoy the
sceneries. Had to spend a couple of days at Leh longer than I had actually
planned to get my bike fixed. Though I got my bike fixed at a local workshop by
an international jugaad, I would desist from doing any major repair works from
leh unless you own a bajaj or RE. Making most of my time at Leh, I went to
Nimmu to try my hand at rafting. Had an awesome experience of 16 kms rafting
which took almost 1.15 hrs at a cost of Rs.2000/head. The best part was that I
could capture the whole fun in my go pro and it got even better when I got to
get down in the chilling waters of the river which gets frozen in winters and
hosts the Chadar trek. By this time of the trip itself I had come across many
brothers from my part of the world and the accidental meetings sweetened the
journey. Reached hotel after covering Magnetic hill (which hardly had anything
attractive) and Sangam (the meeting point of two rivers).
The next day got to experience the wonderful hospitality of
Malaichami Sir, Sriraj bhai and Varun bhai of ITBP Leh, who helped we to keep
my excess luggage during my Nubra and Pangong Trip and once again thanks to
Arun for introducing them. They were so selfless and caring that they treated
me like their own brother. Words are not enough to explain the gratitude.
Started the day by taking permits to Nubra and Pangong and then after covering
the architectural masterpieces of Leh, the five storied shey palace and the
nine storied Leh palace(the point to note is that these monuments are from the
other century where our forefathers were not born) went to Hall of Fame. Before
going further into that the Budha Temple in the Leh Palace needs a special
mention as I have never come across a quieter and peaceful place in my life
ever before. The statue of Budha overflowed with positive energy. Now back to
the Hall of fame, this place is a must visit place in Leh as it throws light
into the hardships our brave soldiers have faced during our testing war times
and how the brave sons of our mother land fought with valour to enable us sleep
peacefully at our homes. A copy of letter written by a 22 year old
soldier to his father brought tear in my eyes. It reminded me of a board by the
BRO (Border Roads Organisation) “ The biggest gift you can give a soldier is
being an Indian worth dying for”(slightly edited, but the gist is the same). On
my way back visited Guru Pathar Sahib Gurudwara and the view of the setting sun
from the mountain nearby was mesmerizing. 
I could start my trip to
Nubra only by 1 pm the next day. The much anticipated Khardungla pass was on
cards. I was going to live my dream of riding my own bike through one of the
highest motorable roads of the world which I have been longing since the day I
got license. I had to pay the price of spending more than 20 mts at
Khardungla top and skipping my lunch as I had a severe headache coupled with
vomiting as soon as I reached the police check post down the valley. ( key
info: do not spend more than 20 mts at khardungla top unless you have oxygen
cylinder, rented bikes from other states are not allowed). The ride ahead was
fantabulous. The route to Diskit passing the plains and mountain ghats in the
pink light of setting sun was an unforgettable experience and a small waterfall
en route was icing on the cake. 
Was surprised to see couple of Chennaites and a bunch of Mallu
bros whom I had met the previous day at the very same hotel where I stayed.
After a brief visit to the Hunder sand dunes and filling my frames with double
backed camels in their natural habitat, I headed to Pangong. Covered Diskit
Monastry and Mytreya Budha temple on the way. BRO have done a great job by
maintaining the roads in immaculate condition at most of the places. And they
entertained throughout the trip with their eye catching quotes (Please don’t
gossip, let him drive and be gentle on my curves were just some of them). 
The never ending straight roads through the river bed made
illusionary effects. 
I felt as if I was staying at the same place as the sceneries
hardly changed even after miles. The clouds etched stories on the valleys and
it even resembled a human face at some point of time. Pangong lake is famous
for its rare existence as it is a salt lake and the stories of its formation
and existence is mind boggling. Enjoyed the serene view of the lake, took a
photo on the 3 idiots fame scooter and settled at a local home stay.
Later on to the night, the sky was filled with a million stars and the freezing
cold didn’t deter me from filling my soul with the sight. Since the road from
Pangong to our China border was very bad, I didn’t try it and that left me with
only a small distance to cover the next day. So I took time for photo shoots with my bike
and documenting the impeccable beauty of the serene valleys. The Changla Pass
en route was by far the toughest one I encountered in my entire journey so far
with almost no road and dangerous curves. 
So my days at my dream destination were nearing to an end. Though unwillingly had to bid farewell to the
wonderful place and friends I created along the way. Driving from Leh to Manali
you have to carry petrol according to mileage of your vehicle as there is no
petrol bunk covering around 350 and odd kilometers from Karu to Keylong. It is
also advised to carry eatables and water as the excellent roads hardly have any
eateries. As I zipped past the serene views, the road suddenly dipped into a
gorge. As
I headed further, Met Jagath Bro and Rahul bro on the way and it made sense to
travel with them as they had already been through this route on their way to
Leh. And the decision paid off as they played a big role in helping me get
through a big river crossing formed by the melting ice. Saw
lot of guys struggling to cross the same and even saw a guy falling from his
Enfield. It was here that I Met Muflin and Jabbar bro. After a night’s stay at
a temporary shelter at Zing Zing Bar surviving the subzero temperature, we
headed to Manali together. I never knew that there won’t be any network
connection till we cross Jispa (mind you that’s almost 200+kms from karu). So
couldn’t call my better half that day and by the time I could contact her the
next day she was all tensed and all I could do for a couple of minutes was to
node my head and apologize eventually. By that time we had almost covered most
of the bad roads and another river crossing which was tough but the experience
of last day’s crossing made it easier. The roads lead us through enchanting
landscapes and it varied from barren 
lands to lush green valleys with waterfalls and finally to the
snow mountains. Just like any other pass the roads were very bad and this time
it was even more dangerous with steep valleys and slippery muddy roads. The
last two days ride proved to be tough and I realized that actually it was
enough to ride from Manali to Leh to get best of all the experiences the entire
trip had to offer. Negotiating the slippery roads and never ending fleet of
Military trucks which reminded of the lakshya song “kandhon se milte hai
kandhen”, we reached Rohtang Pass top only to be welcomed by a long traffic
queue and countless tourists who crowded the entire place. Again being on a
bike helped us to get past the traffic soon. The highlight of the day was a
Himalayan vulture, an endangered species and the sight of it flying was a royal
treat. We stayed at a place arranged by Muflin and the local cuisine they
served for dinner eliminated the stress of a long day’s ride. The longest
of the rides I had in my entire trip was saved for the last day. I covered 600+
kms and drove for more than 14 hours. The roads were very bad till Bilaspur and
then it’s just plain straight highway. The burning heat kept reminding me that
the holidays have come to an end. Though Delhi roads were confusing and filled
with hectic traffic google granny helped me reach back to my sister’s place at
Noida accurately.
I had a couple of days in hand to hang around in Delhi
before I headed back. So I met Arun and also parceled my bike back home (Things
work at Nizamuddin railway parcel office only if you bribe. Or else it will
work, but may take days). The trip provided me endless memories I could cherish
for my lifetime and no travelogue can ever cover the entire emotions and events
I encountered. The motive of the trip was clear and the overall experience
quenched my thirst and filled my heart for a fresh start. Learned a whole lot
of life lessons which gave me enough strength to put the past behind and move
forward. I take this opportunity to thank all the people who stood their ground
to support me, be it my family, or the people who helped me en route or even my
colleagues who filled my place at office.
With a reassurance that dreams can
actually be fulfilled if we persue hard enough, I dare to dream again, a new
dream, a new life.
Word of the trip :- Ebullience- The
quality of being cheerful and full of energy….
