1. Leh, Julley!

Happiness is a Journey and not the destination.

I have heard this quote umpteen times and must have forwarded a few times as well. I loved it always but had never experienced it in its entirety.

May 2016 was the time I had a proposal for a bike voyage to Leh and surroundings during July 2016. It was an exciting one, prima facie.  However, some things happened and I couldn’t make it. The dream had started building up, though and gradually it was frozen on my heart.

In the Mumbai weather, the dream had to melt. Come Feb 2017 when it was completely liquidated, I wanted to turn into reality and hence I started asking friends about their interest in the Leh Extravaganza during July 2017.

I was assuming that we would form a team of around 4 of us and take a biking expedition for 2 weeks. Six folks got ready and 2 of them chose to be in Car and rest of us on Bikes. I was ok as the logistics would anyways work. In a couple of days, there was one more friend who opted for car.

From 12^th Feb to 19^th Feb i.e. in just one week, we graduated from Fantastic Four to Super Seven to Enthusiastic Eight to a dirty dozen to a Fabulous Fourteen.

The trip dates planned were 12^th July to 25^th July. The Fabulous Fourteen formed a group and started discussing the trip.

As we got closer to the dates, we were all set to travel. To my surprise, few more folks wanted to join and by the time we were merely a week close to the travel the number increased to Thirty-two. It looked like the 32 sparkling teeth were ready to chew the entire trip with maximum fun. 15 of the gang were Bikers and 17 had planned to tour the geography in Cars.

Here comes the day of Voyage – 12^th July, I’ll call it Day 1.

Day 1:

All were traveling at different timings and the idea was to gather at Chandigarh on 12th July night at the same place. 6 of us were in the morning flight to Chandigarh.

We roamed around the beautiful city, had a lovely time at Sukhna lake followed by good food to grab on. Gradually, in small bunches all people gathered and met each other. It was a semi-formal ice-breaker. To my surprise, everyone started talking to each other and got pally in no time.

We travelled from Chandigarh to Manali that very night.

Day 2:

We reached Manali by around 10am and checked into the Hotel. The bikers were super excited to welcome their bikes which were supposed to come around 4pm. Meanwhile, some chose to rest while some were excited to roam around the streets of Manali, a high-altitude (2050m) Himalayan resort town that is set on Beas River. It also includes beautiful Solang Valley known for Skiing and Gondola as well also is a home to 3950m high Rohtang Pass.

We all had a great time at Manali enjoying the food as well as the pleasant weather. We had our bikes by evening and decided to go for a spin. Our tour guide took us all towards the mountains leading to Rohtang. It was a mock for the Biking adventure that was to begin next day.

After the spin, it was dinner time. Some of us chose to have it at Hotel while some wanted to check out the Old part of the town for dinner followed by a stroll and some shopping.

Followed by dinner, we had a small round of chit-chat in small groups. Everyone was excited as we had to embark our journeys towards the mystic and enchanting locales of the Ladakh province.

Day 3:

We all gathered together for breakfast. We were now 39 of us. 7 folks had joined through our tour operator. Now, we were 19 on 11 bikes (3 were solo riders and rest 16 on 8 bikes) and 20 in 4 cars (3 SUVs and 1 4x4 5 seater back-up vehicles that carried the luggage of the bikers as well as spares, equipment and fuel).

All 39 folks got introduced to each other and we wished each other a very happy, safe and truly an adventurous journey.

The sequence was – 3 cars go first, followed by 11 bikes and the back-up Vehicle at the end. We decided to meet at Rohtang pass which is around 50kms from Manali. I was amazed at the fact that in only 50kms of travel once could reach from 2050m to 3950m.

Many of us met each other at the check-post en route Rohtang. We had some tea, grabbed a bite and resumed our expedition.

Manali to Rohtang was a smooth track. The cruising was at a decent speed but due to uphill climb, it took us good 2 hours to reach the pass. It was quite scenic on the way and also at the pass. We crossed Marhi and enjoyed the valley from the height of 3300m. We had some water and clicked pics. We were told that the lunch break will be at Khoksar and the road to Khoksar is not a great one.

The ultimate target was to reach Jispa, 140kms from Manali. We had 90 kms to cover post Rohtang. The 15km journey from Rohtang to Khoksar was a difficult one but we all survived. The roads were not in shape and also we had to descend to 3140m.

Since we were getting into the remote places, we had limited options for food and were kinda prepared for the same. A cute small restaurant at Khoksar (3140m) welcomed us and offered us delicious Maggi noodles for lunch. We topped it with some snack that we carried from Mumbai. It was a good blend of Sea Level and 3K m above Sea Level.

Post fuelling in our stomach, it was time to fuel the bikes. The next major milestone was 41 Kms from Khoksar named Tandi (2573m) which houses the fuel station that displays an interesting sign by Indian Oil – “Next filling station 365 KM ahead.” On the way to Tandi from Khoksar, we passed Sissu (19 kms from Khoksar) which is a charming village having a backdrop of huge mountains with a series of tall and slim waterfalls – a fantastic site to capture pics.

At Tandi, all the bikes and cars had filled in the tanks till the mouth and also a good amount of fuel was carried along.

It was the first day of the ride, the clock was showing 4.45pm and we had to cover 28 more kms while scaling up to 3320m. One mind told me, I need to rush while the other was asking me to take it easy. Initially I agreed to the first one and started pushing a bit but as I approached Keylong, I couldn’t resist stopping the vehicle for some pictures. It was a cool sight with mountains both above and below me and in the middle of it, a green valley asking me to shout on it’s face.

As the clock showed 5.30, I started the machine and vroomed. Hardly I must have crossed another 6 kms and was going uphill and all I see is a road descending on my right. To fulfil my curiosity, I parked the beast and started peeping in. I could witness a mesmerizingly awesome village dwelling in the valley. It was so soothing that I sat there for a while and when I got up, I decided to stop directly at Jispa and so did I.

It must be approximately 7pm when I reached Jispa. I was feeling so pepped up that I made a few kms of rounds on bike to settle down. We checked in the tents and post dinner, did a camp fire in a small group since some were tired and some were at a different hotel. By the time, we went off to sleep it was nearly 11.30pm.

Day 4:

Woke up at 6am. After daily regime of Yoga, Pranayama and Meditation, headed towards routine activities. Had breakfast and got ready by 9am. Since we had 30 more minutes to move, took a stroll on the opposite side where a small river was flowing around. It had a sweet and chirpy sound that gave ears a desired melody for the morning.

By 9.30 am we started and it was a long excursion to Pang and we were told that the road from Jispa to Sarchu is not in a good shape. Hearing this we were feeling a bit dejected as it means we have to be very slow on the roads but the next statement rejoiced us and it said – There are a few river crossings en route. Yippee!! – was the exclamation.

The road as expected wasn’t great but had some really lovely scenes at Deepak Tal (3810m), Zing Zing Bar (4270m), Suraj Tal (4883m) and Baralacha La (4890m). The best part was river crossings. I crossed the first river on the bike and I felt it super awesome. However, I wanted more and then I crossed it back on my foot and stopped the 4x4 that was approaching the river. Got on to the pilot seat and zoomed it along the river – quite a thrill it was! Post that, crossed a couple of more rivers.

For me, it was not possible to ride beyond a 10 to 12 Km stretch and the reason was none other than the beauty of the province. Not only the places that I mention but also in between those place, there were (and had to be) umpteen breaks taken.

Besides, not everything could be captured in pictures or videos and hence wanted to make the most of it through the naked eye.

It was 3 pm by the time we reached the Sarchu (4290m) check-post. On the other side of Sarchu, there was an old bridge with water flowing on the approach road of the bridge. What a ride it was! We had almost quit the exquisite state of Himachal and were entering into the royal province of Jammu & Kashmir. We broke for Lunch after crossing the check-posts of both the states.

We encountered super cool small restaurants that were built out of bricks and tents and also, had cosy beds encapsulated. We discovered that if people get late at such places, they have the provision of spending the night over there. I personally found it out to be a brilliant idea to kill the fatigue. I did rest for around 20 minutes post lunch.

The mission was to reach Pang by evening and it was not easy as it seemed. It was clearly 100 kms from Sarchu and we were not told anything about the roads so I assumed that it might be a mixed bag of the quality. Passing the Gata Loops (21 looping turns), we had to soar 900m up to Lachunglang La (5079m). It was a mammoth task and hence by the time we reached a tent restaurant and were 29 kms from Pang, the time was approximately 6.30pm. While grabbing some food and hot water, I asked the owner how long it will take to cover the last leg of 29Kms to Pang.

I laughed at the reply when she told – 1.5 hours approximately, may be a little more. With a chuckle on my face, I bid her adieu and left the place. Not to her surprise but surely to mine, I reached Pang at 8.15 pm. It was a very tough road, Oops wait, there was no road at all. It was a path full of stones of varied sizes. However, it was Super Duper extreme beautiful and so much so that I really have no words to describe. There were Rocky Mountains on my left, a musically melodious river on my right and adjacent to river were a set of mountains. The river had clear water and the mountains had a great shape – very unique. There were some formations like statue and monuments in between. The best part was that – it was a visible day until 7.45 pm.

I rode last few km in dark and for those 30 minutes, all I had in my head is I want to reach Pang (4600m) and hit the bed. The mind was refreshed but the body needed relaxation.

When I reached at Pang, there were people who had reached before I did and yes, at most of the places I was the last one to reach and I feel that was the best part. The reason is already mentioned and might come again as well. So, as I reached there I saw that except for our back-up vehicle (that had our tour guide) almost everyone was around. The stay and food was quite average there and hence there was a little bit of chaos. However, it got sorted in 30 minutes and there was a feeling that this is not what I am here for. I am here for the best of adventure and stay / food etc. is mainly the formal necessity that the body demands.

It was not a smooth night with most of us having body ache, vomiting and one or the other stuff discomforting the senses. Most of us took some or the other medicine and dozed off with an excitement that we had to hit Leh the next day.

Day 5:

185 km was the distance from Pang to Leh. Although we should have started early, when we were told that it’s a smooth road throughout (barring few km) we got into bit of a lazy mode.

By 10am, we were all geared up and looking forward to vroom. The first major milestone was Tanglang La (5328m) that was 60 km from Pang. We had to pass through Moore plains which was a fabulous road to ride. After a while, we had encountered flat road with no barriers and hence made the most of it. It was an awesome feeling to sit on the middle of the road and click pics and capture videos. The best part was lying down on the road and gazing at the sky.

I kept taking regular breaks until we reached around 30 km before Tanglang La. Due to quite a bit of heaviness in head, I shifted to the pilot seat of 4x4 and handed over the bike to the staff. Around 3 km before the pass, the head started spinning more and I shifted to the passenger seat. The pass was extremely stunning with the side walls covered with snow and the weather to cherish.

As we sloped the pass, I was remembering the bike but had less spirit to move away from the 4x4. In next 40 minutes we reached Rumste and I was feeling sleepy. I saw a buddy (who was ahead of us) coming out of a peaceful restaurant. I asked him what’s going on? He replied with a smile – have a lemon ginger tea here and you will feel the difference. Few sips of tea actually did the trick. I felt transcended.

In next 10 min, I encountered the staff whom I had given the bike. He was fixing some one’s bike there. Without a moment of hesitation, I plunged out of 4x4 and jumped on to the bike and exclaimed – Hey lovely nature, here I come.

Rumste (4260m) to Upshi (3480m) was certainly the most spellbinding terrain I had cruised anytime in my life. I felt elevated riding along the colourful mountains (red, brown, orange, maroon, green and what not). So many turns got a feeling as if the mountains are exactly above my head blessing me for the journey. On my right, there was a wide river and above that the open sky that made me feel so dwarf that I don’t even exist. I was not myself – I was the nature. I was not just involved or submerged but I was very much something that I had always portrayed as a thing but today it had an identity, a soul.

The restaurant at the corner of the T-Junction at Upshi got me the hunger sensation and I applied brakes. Despite taking regular breaks amid the passage, I seldom felt like seeing the time. Hence, at Upshi when I saw the milestone that Leh is 49 km away all I assumed is it must be around 2.30 pm going by my experience on the previous days. To my surprise, it was only 12.45pm. Had a good 30 min lunch break gulping in simple curd rice and some snack. Further, resumed the ride to Leh.

As I had already got so much accustomed to recesses, I couldn’t stop myself from doing it even when the terrain was smooth and straight. Literally every few km the scenario altered. In a humorous way, I would tell my self – Nature has changed the get up. With the Alteration in the get up, I had no choice but to stop and witness it. Not only witness but experience it, breathe it and click pic (optional) and move on.

In some time, I approached Karu and the most awaited fuel station was there to welcome us. The bikes were rather happier since they were hungry for fuel.

Post tanking them up, Leh milestones started showing up. It was a totally different sight as I passed Karu. I was approaching a small village called Shey and the road passing through was absolutely striking. It was appearing like a countryside path of a western country with a lot of peace and serenity dwelled within.

After a while, we crossed a couple of monasteries and started getting the city feeling as Leh was nearing. An approximate of 485 km of biking resulted in hitting the place which was always in imagination. There was a trade-off to be addressed – coming out of enchanting nature and getting into a place which felt noisy on its face. The military vehicles, cantonments, shops, residence and not-so-symmetrical infrastructure started getting some ideas on the mind.

The next task was to find a hotel as we had no idea about the address and also as always, we were amongst the last lot to reach. My tour operator must have been thinking all the ways – Either this guy is too slow in riding or he takes too many breaks. I didn’t reveal the secret till the end. Anyhow, after asking a few people, we finally reached the Hotel at 4pm.

Before anyone thinks about GPS, let me clarify that I had no network anywhere on my phone during the entire journey except Chandigarh, Manali and a very little at Jispa. Also, J&K government has banned data completely in the entire state.

We had quite a bit of time to loiter around in Leh and we did that after a short relaxation and a soothing shower.

Also, we had dinner a bit early as technically we had skipped lunch on that day. Post dinner, had nothing great to do so just talked with friends for a while and slipped onto the bed.

Day 6:

Next morning after the daily routine acts, grabbed access to Wi-Fi at hotel and invested some time in checking the irrelevant stuff – relatively, it was irrelevant in my opinion.

Ideally, we had to do Leh sightseeing on day 6 but there was a change in plan. The next phase of journey had to cover Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley. So, Leh, Pangong and Nubra can be considered as a triangle. However, the road from Pangong to Nubra was closed and hence we had to alter the plan. We were compelled to do Leh-Pangong-Leh (with overnight in Pangong) and Leh-Nubra-Leh (with overnight in Nubra). Besides, the L-P-L road was not in a good shape hence we were recommended to take a break from bike for 2 days and do L-P-L on cars.

So, on day 6 we planned to go to Pangong in a rented car. Since we were in a car, the only option I had to sit back relax and enjoy the drive while listening to some music. Frankly, there is nothing much exciting about the road as we took less breaks and the road was also not in a good shape.

We encountered some beautiful birds, horses, sheep and a cute animal which was called Marmot by some. On the way, there were sand dunes, small lakes and green vegetation.

The approach road to Pangong Tso was amazing. Blue water under the sky was tempting. We had a couple of stops by the lake while we were wondering where are we going to stay as the lake has already started and there are no signs of any tents or hotels. The lake was tranquil and that resulted in settling the mind after a hectic road trip.

At this point, the driver told us that the lake is 200 km long of which 40 km is in Indian Territory and the rest is in China. I was amazed at this statement was imagining the magnitude of the water body.

We were housed in cosy tents having all the sanitation facilities in it. The series of tents looked wonderful, all of them facing the lake. We had a delicious dinner and planned to doze off while some of us did camp fire and chats. We were told to wake up at 5 am if we wanted to experience the catchiest sunrise in the region. It was optional but who wanted to leave this eye-soothing sight in option.

Day 7:

I naturally woke up at 5am and started heading towards the water. It was as serene as it could be. It looked different than what it felt last evening. While we were awaiting sun to peek out of the mountains, the light had already appeared. Suddenly I felt like looking on the backside. That is the first time I realised that we had mountains on the backside as well. This was the absolute beauty of the entire geography. At almost all the places we had been during the entire trip, we were surrounded by mountains on all 4 sides. Coming back to Pangong Tso, when I saw the mountains on my back, I could see sunlight spreading all over those mighty structures. In the front, the sun was yet to appear though.

I was not able to believe that I was stationary at one place for over an hour and a half just witnessing the wonders and experiencing the bliss.

Since we had plans to move out of the place by 9 am, we had to move for the daily stuff and breakfast. Quite a peaceful morning snack it was. We started and headed towards the next milestone which was merely a few km away. This was a place where the climax of a popular movie was shot. Everyone wanted to click pictures and frame the memories.

On our way back, we passed through the same route and this time rather than focussing on the route, the concentration was on the music that we were playing in the car. We had a good time listening to it.

By early evening, we had pretty much arrived close to Leh. Before we check in to the hotel, we paid a visit to Thiksey monastery. We were tired but sitting for a few minutes in front of the huge Buddha idol, got into a recreation mode for a while. Post that, we left and after around 20 odd kms of travel, we checked in to our hotel.

It was a relaxed feeling while I was reminiscing the vibrant Pangong Tso. Soon, it was the dinner call and post dinner, I didn’t want to relax so I got connected to the concrete world of web.

Next day, we had to start by 9.30am.

Day 8:

The track today was Leh to Nubra on bikes. After 2 days of rest with regards to bike, I was naturally excited to vroom. Besides, we were told that in next 50 km we will be passing Khardung La (5359m), the highest motorable road on this planet. The road to Khardung La was a rough one but it justified the saying that – to reach the peak, one needs to pass through a difficult terrain. We had a little bit of hiccup with the permits while starting from Leh and it look around an hour to sort out. We still made it to Khardung La in next couple of hours. Initially I was excited to stop by and click pics at the top of the world but when I saw a plethora of people, I changed my mind. While each of the bikes and cars were stopping by, I set a record by cruising at 30 kmph to pass the Khardung La top. LOL.

We were feeling a little hungry but there wasn’t any place to stop by and grab a munch. Hence, we decided to move further and reach a village nearby. It took us a good one hour to reach the Khardung Village where we stopped for Lunch.
The road post that was quite heavenly. It was close to another 60 km before we could make it to Nubra valley. It was unbelievably delightful so much so that I must have taken 10 breaks during those 60 km. It scores one extra mark over the earlier described road from Rumste to Upshi.

All I could experience is the oneness between nature, me and God.

It’s practically very difficult to describe all the places in words. However, I would like to attempt for one such place. We stopped by at one place where I asked a friend of mine – Tell me, what is it that is missing in what we are seeing in front of us? He was quiet and I believe he didn’t want to reply. I added – All I see is mountain, dessert, valley, lake, green trees, snow-capped hills, shining sun, white clouds, blue sky and everything in the magnitude of a humungous structure created by nature. It looks much more than a gorgeous wall paper. I mean where are we, dude? This place is definitely not earth.

Cruising through dessert, monasteries, valleys, hills and rivers, we reached our camp at Nubra valley and I couldn’t trust my eyes to see such a fanciful resort that had 20 lovely tents sitting in the lap of mountains amid green jungle. We had an hour before the sun would hide behind the mountains. This was a great opportunity to take a stroll in the woods while acting as an ace lensman.

A mouth-watering dinner spread was waiting for us. I gulped in 2 bowls of soup followed by a stomach filling dinner.

We had a round of camp-fire and chatted over the day as well as planned for the next. Slipping on to the bed in the cosy tent resulted in a peaceful dreamless sleep.

Day 9:

More than reaching back to Leh, I was lured to cruise back on the terrain from Nubra to Khardung La but before that I wanted to catch up on the Nubra dessert and pamper the double humped Mongolian camels that are seen at only one place in the country. It was a beautiful dessert with off white clear sand and a small stream passing through the beginning of it. We were 4 of us there and took loads of angles from the camera as well as God gifted eyes. It had a unique charm of its own. The sight of 50 odd camels walking towards us was unforgettable.

We had to rush to the tents, finish off breakfast and reach the huge and placid Diskit Monastery. On the top of the monastery with a feeling of equilibrium, I could experience utmost bliss and peace.

I resumed the voyage on the pleasing terrain and this time I was all alone. It was the same path that I had to travel back so one mind told me, why do you want to take the same number of breaks on the same path while other simply told me – Why not?

I made a clear choice. Although the path was same, there was something unknown that still made it feel unique and new. I kept taking those sinking pauses and was in complete sync till the lunch break happened at the Khardung Village.

Now, it was time to pass the Khardung La but this time I surely wanted to stop by. I somehow felt nostalgic and remembered the Sela Pass (4170m) in Arunachal. With that, I also remembered that I had taken a shirtless pic there and I wanted to repeat at Khardung La. The other thing I wanted to do is to thrown off my broken wrist watch (it was a Chinese smart watch) from the Khardung La top. Needless to say, I did both and was unknowingly shot too. HAHA.

The journey back to Leh was suave though was on a tough topography.

Some of us visited a couple of places in Leh before checking in to the hotel. We planned to check in directly.

It was difficult to find sleep that night as my heart, mind, body and soul was full of an enriching experience that I had over past 9 days and especially last 2 days were quite absorbing.

The next day was supposed to be fairly an easy one with Leh sight-seeing on the agenda.

Day 10:

Of the itinerary, the only thing I was keen about is the Hall of Fame (the museum of the warriors).

We spent around 90 minutes at the Hall of Fame and it was unquestionably touching. We paid respect and salute to those who unconditionally sacrificed their lives for the nation. Such a selfless feeling it is, I still wonder. What is the point in shedding the blood for a piece of land? – I left the place with this question on my mind. There might not be a solution to this question in reality but my mind was constantly asking me – If there is a fight over a piece of land, can there not be a panel of jury who can decide and sort out this matter. Hope it was that easy L

The next on cards was – the Sangam (meeting point) of Indus and Zanskar rivers, rafting on the Zanskar River, Patthar Saahab Gurudwara and Magnetic Hill. Also, we had Shanti Stupa which I had skipped.

By the time, we were on our way back I was feeling very hungry and with the feeling of the War Museum still etched in my heart, I stopped by near that place for a late lunch. It was 3.30pm already.

Besides, today was our last night at Leh and I hadn’t got a chance to visit the Leh Markets. Although I had no particular agenda on my mind, I wanted to check out the place and get the city feeling. Most of the things I could see there were quite similar to what I find where I reside. Barring some souvenirs, there was nothing unique.

We returned to the hotel a bit late after loitering for 3 hours in the market. It was the maximum walk of the entire trip and that made us a bit exhausted naturally. After dinner and some chat with friends, we boarded the flight to the dream world aka bed.

Day 11:

This was the longest day with regards to the bike expedition. We had to ideally start by 6.30 am but by the time we start it was 7.45 am. While arriving from Manali to Leh, we had taken 3 days but while going back, the plan was to reach Manali in 2 days. Besides, we had faced some health issues at Pang while coming so we thought of skipping Pang and directly reaching Jispa, 358 km from Leh.

With a positive note, we started at 7.45 pm, luckily we got some time for breakfast. The first milestone was fuel station and we had to tank up full as the next one was at Tandi, which was post Jispa. In short, we had to cover 358 km on a full tank which was quite a task. We had back-up vehicle with extra fuel but we weren’t quite sure if we all will be able to meet the back-up vehicle en route. We had to spend around 25 minutes at the fuel station as other gang of bikers were already waiting to fuel up.

Anyhow, we resumed our journey post fuelling up. The road from Leh to Pang was a smooth one as described earlier during the Pang to Leh part. However, I didn’t change the way of riding and kept taking breaks. There was a slight hiccup related to chain on my bike. We had crossed Upshi by then. I didn’t pay much attention but a friend on another bike told me to get it fixed as it might create issues. 

So, we returned back a couple of kms to Upshi and while we were getting it sorted with a local mechanic who actually didn’t have the right spanner, we were also wondering where the back-up vehicle would be. Soon, it arrived and the stuff got fixed quickly.

Post that, we had a smooth flow of journey with the regular respites on. Also, I didn’t want to miss out on the delicious Ginger Lemon Tea at Rumste. Hence, I took a leisure time and sipped in with utmost satisfactory feeling.

It was 1.15pm by the time we reached Pang. Of course, the stomach was demanding fuel but mind wasn’t ready to have the monotonous food again. Hence, I zeroed down on Tea and Biscuits. Numerically, we had reached half way but the remainder of the way was nearly double than the first half considering the condition of the road. So, we decided to leave in next 20 minutes.

At this point, we came to know that the back-up vehicle which was behind us was stuck due to some issues. They had resources to get it sorted but it would anyway eat up some time. We were in a fix, what to do? If we wait for longer, we would have to stay at Pang or Sarchu. We were asked to leave and were told that back-up vehicle will chase once it’s sorted and also it will cover up.

With a mixed feeling, we left. It was nearly 3.15 on the watch. We knew that it’s another 7 hours of road to be crossed and if it’s gets dark (and surely it would), the wheels will get slower due to the lack of visibility.

We reached Sarchu by 6.55pm. We had to cross the borders on both the sides. Post formalities, it was approximately 7.10 pm when we started from Sarchu. The other bikers were way ahead of us. We were the only 2 bikers with our beast in the vicinity.

In 30 odd minutes, it was supposed to get pitch dark. Besides, the road was supposed to be rough, tough and with anticipated and unanticipated rivers on the way until we reach around 30 km before Jispa.

The next 3 hours from Sarchu was nothing less than the best of the adventures. Firstly, we had the reserve indicator flashing. There was no sign of back-up vehicle anywhere. No communication in any mode. Approximately, 87 km to be covered. We had no choice but to keep moving.

Around 45 km prior to Jispa, we saw some light perpendicular to us. That light was nothing but the headlight of the bike that might be a km ahead of us. I did accelerate and tried to catch it up. All I could see is a couple on the bike and the next thing I see is a white coloured gallon attached to the back of the bike. My pillion and I concluded to stay behind him so that if we run out of fuel, we can borrow.

He was riding relatively slow but I didn’t want to pass him as it was a matter of few minutes here or there and on top of that, reserve fuel. I strived to ride maximum in the neutral gear to be on the safe side. There came a river, which he crossed and it splashed a good amount of water. I was clueless thinking which side I should cross from. After he crossed, he turned over and flashed his headlight showing me the path. I crossed as he said and then after thinking, asked him – where are you headed to? He vroomed soon after replying – Jispa. We too – I don’t know if he heard that.

There were 3 other rivers that were to be crossed which were fairly easier. The last one though had a lot of water in it, I did pass but managed to wet our shoes.

After a long ride, we were nearing Darcha and there was a T-Junction at which the rider ahead of me stopped. I did remember that we had to take a left and I conveyed him the same. He asked me – Sure?

I vroomed with confidence telling him – Very much.

There was a check post ahead at the entry of Jispa wherein we stopped by and I thanked him for being around. Also, I confessed about the gallon to which he laughed and told that the gallon is empty and they were also riding on the reserve fuel. HAHA.

We had to move towards our hotel so we exchanged Good-byes. It was so dark that at one instance when I turned off the headlight for a couple of seconds, all I could see is nothing – not even the bike or myself.

On our way we could hardly see anyone but soon as we hit the hotel at around 10pm the entire world was waiting for us with open arms.

This was the longest bike ride of my life and I somehow didn’t feel too worked up. I had a peaceful dinner and a sound sleep.

Day 12:

First thing I had to do is ensure that the back-up vehicle was back. We came to know that it was safe and arrived post mid-night. I was glad to know that all the fellow bikers, the car passengers and the back-up vehicle – everything was in smooth state of affairs.

We put some fuel on the bike and started towards Manali. We had to be welcomed by the Fuel pump at Tandi and before and after that the scenic locales of Keylong, Sissu, Khoksar, Rohtang and everything that was ready to embrace us on our way back to the source.

We paid a visit to suicide point after the Rohtang pass. It was mind-blowingly scenic and we treated ourselves with lovely pictures.

Further, we checked out the Solang valley before we stepped into the hustle bustle of Manali.

After reaching Manali by around 5 pm, we wanted to refresh ourselves with a lazy shower. We did roam around the place post that and had a quick dinner. Post dinner, we planned to visit the old part of Manali and experience rejuvenation till late night and hence we did club hopping.

By the time I closed my eyes, it was 2.30 am.

Day 13:

This was the day wherein there was no agenda at all. We had to be on our own until 6.30pm when we would start our journey from Manali to Chandigarh.

After a light breakfast, I asked my tour operator to show us a place where we can have a long and a grand lunch. He took us to a lovely place over-looking the lush green hills of Manali, a pleasurable ambience and above all, no one in the restaurant except the 6 of us. It was a visual treat with a lip-smacking delicacy on the table that hardly took anytime to reach the belly.

Post lunch, we came and picked our bags from the hotel and all we come to know that our 11.30am flight from Chandigarh to Mumbai (on the next day) is cancelled. We spent an hour to contact the airlines and luckily, we were accommodated in the 7.05pm flight on the same day (Day 14).

The vehicle from Manali to Chandigarh started at 6.55pm and we reached Chandigarh at 5.40am on Day 14.

Day 14:

Soon as we alighted from the bus, we checked in to a place where we were put up for few hours on Day 1. The circle was about to be completed. We rested for a while, had a light breakfast and did our final packing. Since we are born foodies, we didn’t want to miss on a heavy and leisurely lunch at Chandigarh now that we had extra time.

We took a vehicle to the popular eatery and had a splendid lunch for 2 hours.

After coming back from Lunch, we had an hour more to catch up on the remainder of the sleep. Around 5 pm we left for the airport and boarded the flight post all the formalities.

Happy landing at 10.30 pm and home by 11.15 pm.

The circle was complete. The description of Day 1 to Day 14 ends here. The bike trip meter showed up 1379 km of travel.

There is much more to add but I would like to keep it short.

Such voyages are really once in a lifetime (even if it happens once again).

I would like to personally express my gratitude towards all the 38 fellow travellers and our tour operator. Love you all – had a wonderful 2 week expedition which was beyond expectation.

My Takeaway from the voyage:

1.       In true sense, it was experienced that nothing is impossible. This is related to what I experienced myself as well as when I saw literally 100s of people on bicycle and few on foot traveling from Leh to Khardung La and Pangong Tso as well as on the way from Jispa to Leh. Hats off to those bicyclists and the people on foot.

2.       Once I am determined to reach, I certainly can. The 358 km bike ride from Leh to Jispa taught me this

3.       The changing nature showering unique beauty at each milestone made me realise that each and every person and situation I encounter is definitely beautiful – just that I need to discover

4.       There is an abundance of peace and bliss within, the exteriors helped me discover that.

Above all it made me soulfully feel, realize and experience - Happiness is indeed a Journey and not the destination.

Some Tips for Healthy Trip:

1.       Drink a lot of water

2.       Urinate a lot (post drinking, the urge will appear but don’t hold on to it)

3.       Keep breathing consciously and constantly with awareness

4.       Eat at regular intervals, a bite is also ok

Legends:

1.       Julley – Hi, Hello, Namaste

2.       Tso – Lake

3.       La – Pass

4.       Tal – Lake