Ladakh Biking july 2009

If there is one word by which to describe what I had just experienced, it would be “Amazing!!” That word passed my lips too many times to count.

My Ladakh Bike expedition is all about it!

All of my life I always dreamed of travelling India.

Ladakh has always been on the top of the list.

As we know route to Ladakh contains rough terrain, heavy rain& snow falls, bad roads, extreme cold, high altitude sickness (AMS) which makes it difficult to breathe.

Ladakh renowned for its remote mountain beauty and culture known as the "land of high passes" The highest of which is ‘Khardung La’ pass at 18,580 ft and is the highest motorable road in the world. It is a region in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main

Great Himalayas to the south. Inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent, it is one of the most sparsely populated regions in the area.

It is sometimes called "Little Tibet" as it has been strongly influenced by Tibetan culture

But since I had my Love (my Bajaj Platina) with me…I was sure I will make the entire adventure with her as what we had in common is restlessness, our impassioned spirits, and love for the roads.

I & other 6 friends were all geared up for this adventurous ride. Many people had suggested not taking Bajaj Platina cause of its lack of power, but I was very much keen & confident about the bike.

Finally the day had arrived & we were all set to go with Bajaj Platina 100cc, Unicorn 150 cc, Royal Enfield 350cc & 4 wheeler to carry our entire luggage.

Route of out entire Ride: Ambala – Shimla – Manali – Madi - Rohtang- Tandi – Keylong – Jispa – Darcha – Sarchu – Pang – TangLang la – Upashi - Leh – Kargil – Drass - Srinagar - Amritsar

We started our ride from Ambala, as we reached Shimla we witnessed heavy rainfall making it almost difficult to ride by those mountains. Our hired 4 wheeler started showing lots of problems but somehow we managed to get over it.

Riding through those beautiful curvy roads, Ghats & enjoying awesome weather & scenic beauty of Shimla & Manali. We saw the first glimpse of snow in Manali & the joy is still inexpressible.

About 2 kms away from Manali our royal Enfield started showing lots of problems leaving no choice to us, so we had to send it back to Mumbai by private transport. It was heart-breaking!

But we still continued with our journey to Leh.

We already had taken enough petrol from Manali itself as the next petrol pump was at Tandi which is at the distance of 380 kms.

Weather started getting colder from Manali onwards. Temperature we faced at Madhi was -2 degree & the nature again decided to test us by those heavy windy & cold rains.

Road conditions were even getting worst. One had to be extreme alert while driving on such bad muddy roads. The rain drops were such extreme cold making me numb. That night we stayed in military base camp @ Rohtang. Trust me they do not allow any one else other than military peoples, you got to act pretty well & we definitely delivered Oscar winning performance there ;)

Next day morning we faced the same old problem; our

very own support vehicle (4wheeler) refused to start because of the extreme cold weather. We had no choice rather than pushing it hard to the time it starts. This is where we realized Support vehicle is the one which itself requires a support! ;) What a way to start day in such conditions!!

The road from Rohtang to Leh is completely surrounded by mountains covered with snow, extremely beautiful! One just couldn’t believe such scenic beauty which is just unreal!

Gaining height as we proceed towards leh. For whole 2 days we were riding at the max speed of 40kms/Hr. one just can not get to accelerate more than that just cause of the roads having U-pin turns & dangerous slopes all the way.

Riding through the dirt & cold but still a beautiful feeling & enormous excitement to make it to the Khardungla (K-Top) which is at 18380 FT. each moment was seeming to be split in two, melancholy for what was left behind and excitement to witness new beautiful land.

At the height of 13,051 ft, at Jispa cars are speeding and over taking each other. The view going up is amazingly beautiful. Getting back in line of car traffic was tricky. We were driving very carefully. There were patches of broken road with flowing water that we have to cross amidst cars in front and behind. At five kilometers from the top, the road was slippery with frozen and unfrozen snow. Once we crossed the top, traffic was very minimal but the roads were very slushy and wet, so extreme caution.

Mild mountain sickness was hitting us at Jispa. I had a headache, shortness of breath, slight nausea and difficulty in sleeping. We used to have tablet of Combiflam or Diamox cxause of which I to feel refreshed next day. At the elevation of 3200 meters the surrounding mountains in Jispa is the perfect place for acclimatization. Body needs to get used to the receding level of oxygen as one goes higher and higher up the Himalayas.

We met many people in this journey including people who stay there, few biker groups & tourists. Many of them again suggested canceling our 100cc ride but I have already made my mind to take my bike to the K- top (Khardungla) which is every bikers dream.

Sometimes we stayed in hotel sometimes in tents thinking about the day that had gone by.

Seeing places where there were no shops, no network coverage, no proper food, no fuel, no mechanic, no hospitals.

High altitude sickness started affecting many of us. Fever, vomiting, extreme headache screwed many of us. I was much lucky in them as I was doing great! Because of all of this others decided to cancel the ride & return back to Manali. But I was firm on my decision as I have already decided no matter what happens. I need to make it. Somehow convinced all of them & started our ride again. Believe me such phase of journey really frustrated me a lot, there’s nothing as worst as loosing hope!

Few kms away from Tanglang-la where I met a guy called “Pol” from Italy, he was traveling since March 09, started from Vishakhapatnam to ladakh; his overall travel experience on his bullet was really an inspiration. Tanglang-la 17582 FT is second highest motorable pass in the world after Khardungla. It was turning out to be an extreme adventure & amazing ride experience. Landscapes were something I have never seen before and riding there was an unequaled joy. In between this though my bike was performing really good but I can clearly figure out that it is getting hard for her to run on such roads. I was continuously worried about her. It’s true that that like most other bikers I as well treating her as my wife, perhaps even better than that. Every morning my ride never stated without kissing her & thanking for all of her support till now.

Finally we made it to Leh. We headed towards Khardungla, a destination of which I have always dreamed of, my heart was pounding faster as we approaching close to it. The scenic beauty around was just so unreal. I was thinking of all the things I have experienced so far. My bike was literally having so much of pains, it was getting very hard for her but still she didn’t let me down. Roads were in worst condition.

Finally we made it! All of my life I have never ever felt this way. I was overjoyed. It was quiet emotional as well. The first thing that I have done the moment I reached Khardungla is I kissed my bike & thanked her.

Shouted from the depth of my lungs. Never felt so happy before. Military Peoples on the top were amazed to see me with 100cc bike & they couldn’t believe it. I felt proud & satisfied! The joy of being there is really inexpressible.

Later same day we headed towards Srinagar, we visited Drass which second highest coldest place in the world. Later we visited kargil, visited kargil war memorial where we witnessed Vijay din (10^th anniversary of kargil war) practices of our military. After seeing all those war stories & real life experiences of soldiers, their bravery I really felt proud of these peoples.

It was the most incredible journey I had ever made so far. But for all the amazing landscapes we explored lies challenges that we had to overcome first. Making it a literally breathtaking rollercoaster ride. I will never ever forget this phase of my life. The problems that I faced are the part of the ride. That made it an amazing ride of a lifetime :)