Dalai Lama: ''Happiness is not something readymade. It comes from your own actions''
When I mentioned my plans to ride a Bullet to Ladakh, the land of passes and high-altitude desert, my family and friends were unanimous in branding me a whacko; I couldn't blame them, after all, I was a 54 old who had never been on a 2 wheeler for over 22 years!
Based on inputs from Amol, the local Royal Enfield Sales Manager and friends who had been to Ladakh and route maps from the web, a basic plan was made; The message was floated around and a team of 8 was formed. After regular meetings at the local Chaiwala, we fine tuned & finalized the ride plan, in between 2 guys dropped out reducing the team to 6. By June 1st week the bikes were serviced, steel panniers fixed on 4 Royal Enfields and shipped to Chandigarh. On 13th June we loaded the bikes with tents, sleeping bags, spare parts, tools, tire-tubes, pump & puncture kit, jerry cans for fuel, gas stove, snacks, water, medicines, winter wear, spare shoes, rain coats, etc. (40-60 kgs of load per bike!) Every rider was equipped with safety helmets, riding jackets, knee guards, riding shoes, gloves, etc.
At sharp 7:30 AM we kick started our journey. It was a great feeling; finally we are on our way to the Himalayas! After breakfast at Ropar, we took the highway towards Manali. At 40 C, the ride was pretty hot and the ice cold nimbu sodas didn't help much. On the way, stopped by the RE workshop at Mandi to get an ailing bike fixed.
Since it took more time than expected, we reached Manali after midnight. Next day, filled up the fuel tanks & jerry cans and loaded a few thandoori chickens, bread, cheese spread, etc. as a precaution in case you are stranded on the mountains! As it had rained the previous day the road was in bad shape. A few hrs into the ride heavy rains and storm lashed across the mountains forcing us to abandon the plans and return back to Manali!
Next morning started early at 7 AM, it was a bumpy ride through muddy roads and over rocky terrain till Rohtang Pass at a height of 3979 m or 13054 ft. After spending some time taking photographs and riding the bikes on snow clad mountains, the 25 km downhill ride was pretty tough due to rains which had washed away the top surface of the road thereby exposing the rocks!
After breakfast at Koksar we proceeded towards Keylong, our destined halt for the day. Topped up fuel at the IOCL pump at Tandi, the last gas station before Leh, which is 360 kms away! En route, moved along with a team of riders from Malaysia on their BMWs. At Keylong, one of the riders went searching for Yogi, the local mechanic to get his bike tuned for the high ranges.
After a good night's sleep, at a local hotel, we began the toughest part of the journey towards Pang, 200 kms away with Baralacha Pass (4695mtr) and Lachulungla (5065mtrs) in between!. Towards Baralacha Pass, it started snowing and to top it we were stopped by a long haired, tattooed western biker on his souped up Bullet with a spine chilling story about an avalanche and a road block at the pass with 1000s of people stranded and an impending danger of another avalanche that can move the vehicles and people down the cliff and turn Baralacha Pass into a mass graveyard of humans and vehicles!
The story sounded too good to be true since he insisted that we abandon the climb and return to keylong!. But to his dismay we decided to continue the steep climb and finally stumbled into the mid of a massive traffic jam with hundreds of vehicles blocking the narrow road. The guy was right; the 5 hr long jam caused heavy snow built up on the road; there was no going back either since the road was blocked both ways!
We were the only bikers around, so the truck drivers moved their vehicles which were too close to the cliffside allowing a foot wide gap. One by one, we inched the bikes along the narrow gap for 200-300 mtrs while two of us went down the Cliffside and supported preventing it from toppling off. Triumphant, we moved ahead, crossed Gata Loops, yet another pass, Lachulungla(5065 mtr.) and reached Pang!
All of us could feel altitude sickness setting in (AMS). A bowl of noodles later we hit the sack, tried to sleep at subzero temp and finally woke up to a sunny day when on our way to Leh, 180 kms away, we passed Morey Plains, a stretch of 40 kms of dusty roads with 6-8 '' of dust, finer than talcum powder. After negotiating Tanglang La (5334 mtr), the third highest pass, Rumste, Upshi and Karu we rode into Leh, (El. 3600 mtrs), checked into a guest house.
After a well deserved sleep we woke up next morning very relaxed and later in the day we collected our passes from the DC's office near the Polo Grounds.
On June 19th, we started off towards Khardung La(18380 ft or 5602 mtrs) 38 kms from Leh. It was a bright sunny day and after crossing South Pullu, and a steep climb of 15 kms through unpaved road with loose rock, mud, slush and streams due to melting of snow, we reached our destination, the highest point on a motor able road! A moment to cherish!
After spending ½ hr at the pass (you should not spend more time since Oxygen levels are very low and will cause nausea or blackouts) 3 of us proceeded to Nubra valley, which was further ahead by 140 kms at a height of 4000 mts. One of the bikes broke down in between which was kept under safe custody at one of the BRO site offices. We proceeded to Hunder and checked into a nice Kashmiri cottage.
Next day after spending some time on the deserts and a few snaps with the double humped camels, we returned back to collect the bike which was then loaded on to a truck and shipped to Leh for repairs.
We reached Leh in the evening and checked back into the same Guest House and prepared for the next ride to Pangong. Luckily the bike was fixed by the local mechanic in a couple of hours!
On June 21st, early morning we started off to Pangong via Changla pass. It was, perhaps the most tough terrain since there were snow all around and many water ways across the road as well. The last stretch of the road for about 8-10 kms was absolutely washed away and the ride was on rocky mountain trails. Once we reached the lake the view was breath taking with crystal clear water for miles.
Had lunch from the Army canteen we started our return trip back to Leh. We had plans to visit Tangtse which was dropped since one of the rider had to return early. So, the next day, with a heavy heart we initiated our return journey back to Chandigarh via Kargill and Srinagar.
The road was pretty bad for over 80 kms on the 230 Km stretch to Kargill where we spent the night at a nice local hotel named Siachem! The early morning ride to Srinagar was through very scenic valleys and after spending couple of hours at the Kargill War Memorial at Drass, proceeded to Srinagar and rode on till dark, finally to check into a roadside J&K Tourism resort. Next day the ride was all through the busy Jammu region till we broke journey at the Punjab Tourism Hotel at Ropar. On June 25th, which was our last day on this trip, we rode in to Chandigarh and shipped the bikes back through Gati Transport. I took the noon flight back to Bombay.