4500kms, 9 days Rann- Thar - Himalayas

prologue

What do you do when you have a weekend coming which is followed by a declared holiday(Mon).Wanted a long ride that was not happening due to whatever reason.plans kept coming and one things led to another.I wanted to go to Rann of kutch solo and get 'lost' for a couple of days (courtesy gooba).But then the 'greed' took its own course and led me from one place to another.Perhaps the map was guilty or may be my mind was already preoccupied.And all routes led to the himalayas.

Ended up deciding to do it all.Everything.Including himalayas.I was going mad.people were calling me mad too.Some ppl thought I was joking, some would never believe.although a few insane ones thought alike.Lured Praveen KM into my plan with 'Iron butt' trap although even I was half interested.I now had a company.


spent a whole week desgning a proper mounting system for a new light I had bought and when the weekend came, I still had not serviced the bike (after 5000 kms) and never had a chance for it.Decided to do a bit of servicing myself and get ready.changed chain and sprockets,engine oil,brake liners, and other stuff that looked worn out and was all set.


day 0,Fri
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That friday evening I found myself ripping to my hearts content on truck infested stretch of NH4 bangalore-pune road.had company of pkm who too was eager cover as much and as fast as possible.First stop was after davangere which is when the disgusting stretch till hubli would start.A quick smoke and again we disappeared into darkness only to emerge at dharwad.That bad stretch was covered in even better time than the previous good stretch(140 kms in abt 1.5 hrs).That was the kind of impetus it needed for this mad crossing.After a well deserved break at a hotel after dharwad,we headed to pune.This part was a cakewalk.A fuel stop later I found myself picking up the first rays of sun somewhere near pune.praveen was yet to arrive.so I decided to take refuge at ashvin's place.Moment I saw the silver Fiat palio waiting for me at NH I felt like throwing the bike and hopping into the car which I did.Ashvin rode my mobike and I followed to him on his palio around pune




day 1,Sat
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After some rest and a quick lunch we were flagged off from pune towards the busy bombay highway. The bloody mumbra stretch before thane had far too many traffic jams and coupled with some shabby road work which took us a lot of time and energy to get thorough.At this point praveen wandered into the a flyover that would lead him to mumbai.We continued again after I got him back where I was waiting.The heavy traffic at thane had started taking its toll on our time.I decided to rip the hell out of it- out into the superb amdavad highway.Pkm tailed religiously this time and that brought us to a dhaba at Manor near Daman.The service at this place 'sahyog hotel' was simply great and we got to taste a differnt food for the first time.Food was simly great.But how can everything be so great and smooth on a trip like this.I found my bike had a bloody flat tire.And the best part was I found a puncture shop right next to the dhaba and even better part being that the nail which had found its way into the tire was shining new.That sick guy at the puncture shop acted asleep and quickly got up to fix the puncture.But took a hell lot of time to fix it which set us back by more than an hour.I would have wanted to slap and bang him right there but sense prevailed we continued onwards vadodara.We had covered about 950 kms in first 24 hrs of the ride and then continued without much rest and covered another 350 kms the following evening.And once the 4 laner of Maharastra completed we were welcomed by horrid roads at entrance of gujarat.This coupled with heavy truck traffic and lack of any rest brought the inevitable and we decided to rest for the day (day because it was already 4 AM) But atleast we had covered 1300 kms in around 34 hrs.



Day 2,Sun
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Got up by around noon very tired by the previous two nights' ride.felt pretty sick too.Couldnt have proper breakfast as that hotel (in baruch) had absolutely crappy food.Contiued towards amdavad and reached there by around 1- 1:30 PM. quickly got into a ac restruant and ordered food.I was still feeling very sick due to lack of sleep and the ride till amdavad.I took some more time to get my bearings right and after the lunch I started to feel better.We continued onwards to the little kutch and reached a place called Patdi in the little rann little after sun down.

This place had only one guest house that was in really dilapidated condition.But given our condition we could have got good sleep even on footpath.After a some chat with the landlord and few ppl around, got very good gujarati dinner and we went to the bed fairly quickly.


Day 3,Mon
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Got up late this morning but feeling very fresh from the previous nights sleep.Planned a quick run to the rann near kharaghoda which was barely 9 kms from our hotel.In no time we were in the rann, completely different from anything we had seen before.It was the salt harvesting season which is why we found truck traffic in and out of the rann.yet the place had its own grace and beauty.At this time I wanted to find the the asiatic wild ass that finds home at this place.I was roaming around aimlessly trying to get lost in rann and to get atleast a fleeting glimpse of the elusive wild ass.After a bit of hardwork we came across a hut that belonged to a worker near the salt fields.But the worker would not understand hindi and I could not understand gujarati.But knew they'd call this wild ass -'kachhar' in their language and the salt worker knew why I was there.He took us closeby a marshy place where a group of these stupid asses were lazing and I managed to get some decent shots too.



At lunch time we were back at our hotel and decided to carry on to Jaisalmer.The roads in this parts of gujarat are very good that kept us in good stead to carry on into Rajastan.We went back to our usual ripping ways reaching rajastan border well before sundown.The roads in rajastan are a treat to eyes,straight as far as your sight can reach.The BRO have done a stunning job making and maintaining these roads.And the best part was that the traffic in these areas are very minimal and at night its almost nil.But we'd get to see many camel driven carts making its way with goods.Stopped at many places for fotos.At one point I spotted a horse and I wanted to take fotos which I did but then greed got the best of me and I wanted to ride which the owner too agreed.Only problem was the horse was not comfortable with anyone other than its owner.Not realising that I tried to mount it when the damn animal turned around and gave a nasty kick right into lower stomach.I dint have enuff time to react and I took the bloody kick with full force.For a moment I thought I'd be dead but then urge to continue the ride took over and we were off to the next town - Barmer.

Praveen had problems with his light,self start etc.He had diagonised it to be busted fuse which it was.But I found he was using a 15 amp fuse with a 30 amp relay.Changing the fuse wouldnt help.So we decided to continue towards our next destination i.e Jaisalmer and asked him to follow me religiously which he did.The night ride to Jaisalmer was simply amazing.I was riding cautiously keeping in mind praveen following me.I was accelerating and decelerating very slowly but mainintaing pretty good speeds.We hardly found any traffic at the time we were riding.Everything looked pretty deserted in the desert ;-). Reached Jaisalmer close to mid night.Found a decent room overlooking the Jaisalmer fort and we decided to call it a day.



Day 4,Tue


Had a sound sleep the previous night and got up looking forward to see the place,go around the desert etc.
Headed straight to the fort for breakfast.Unlike other forts in rajastan,this is a living fort having hotels,shops and private houses that also accounts for half the population of jaisalmer.As we entered the fort, found a local jumping at us` eager to show and tell abt the fort.I wasnt interested in any of that but wanted to save time by getting to know the directions to each of the places we wanted to see.So we hired him for a day and his job was to get us around places,be a porter,show us good hotels,basically take of little things.After the fort we saw some old havelis, a lake and we were off for some marwad cuisine.Later in the evening we were off to a deserted village named Kuldhara enroute to the sand dunes.The moment we went to the dunes we got mobbed by the camel owners pestering us to hire their camels.Had never seen anything like that but all I can say was it was terribly shitty.I left our guide to face the music but the mob had grown so huge that they literally chased us with their stinking camels.Police too intervened but even they failed to break the ice.Finally I pointed at one camel and asked him get it ready and with the help of the police we were able to mount it and get into the dunes.I liked the dunes a lot but the camel ride was bumpy and irritating.After awhile I left praveen to ride while I walked around.Finally out of the camel menace we were back at our comfy room so hungry that I could eat a camel.Overall the day was great and had a nice time roaming around the desert.



Day 5,wed


Got up little early for a change and the destination for the day was Amritsar,punjab crossing the 'Great Thar'.It was little more than 900 kms we had to ride.It was still dark when we started towards bikaner.The roads,to begin with, was crappy with lot of deviations and construction work but soon it opened up into the great thar with superb roads with little traffic.The thar ride was simply awe-inspiring with the great desert on both sides and the roads so straight that one could keep the throttle at max and see the awsome desert on either side.But we dint to any of that.Stopped at many places for photos et. al. we even found many dunes enroute thar and even got inside one of them, on the bike.post Bikaner the color of the desert took a different hue as it changed from pale white to shade of yellow and the sand became more grainy.Earlier, before bikaner where we tend to find dunes, the sand was so fine that It was not possible to hold in hand coz it'd find some way or other to trickle out.post bikaner we could see a very strong military presence having installations every few hunderd meters.The whole ambience took color a warzone.But that was pretty normal since road passes very close to border areas.All in all loved every moment of our ride through thar.

By night fall were already in punjab and as we were entered punjab the desert disappeared and the whole place was very green with trees and farm lands.I spotted the state police at a distance and slowed down.They stopped us but instead of checking for our documents they offfered us grapes,gave us directions abt how to reach amritsar and even posed for a group photo.That was a great welcome to punjab.The traffic sense in punjab was very simple.whoever had a bigger vehicle they'd try their best not see a small vehicle, leave alone bikes.There was heavy traffic in punjab and the population very dense.When we reached close to firozpur the heavens opened and it started to rain.By the look of it I thought its gonna lash very badly, so we stopped by a petrol bunk get ready ready for the rain.The sardar manning the bunk was very happy to see us,offered us tea and gave us directions and places not to miss.Now it was dark and the roads were bad too with construction work, deviations pothole and everything.Add to that we were confronting the funny traffic sense and praveen not having the head-light.Asked him to follow and ride cautiously.While I had to be careful and still maintain decent speeds to reach amritsar in proper time.We did that and checked into a decent hotel right next to the golden temple.This was by far the most satisfying day crossing the great thar and living it.


Day 6,Thu
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Most of the morning was spent roaming inside in the Golden temple.somehow I really started liking the whole place even though it was pretty crowded and all the roads jammed.We decided to stopby the jaliwala bagh and then off to wagah.After cutting through the heavy traffic we were in the empty road leading to wagah and very strangely we saw almost no military presence.That was really strange conidering the proximity of the place to lahore whichn was just 22 kms from the border.However it looked more like a tourist place with beer bars and ppl trying to sell fancy stuff.The place was vert calm and we saw many vehicles coming in and out of border both pakistan registered and India registered.Realising that we had little time left for himalayas we started to rush back to amritsar and then onwards to pathankot.It was already late noon and the roads were extremely pathetic till pathankot.And coupled with heavy traffic it took a lot of time to reach there.Stopped at a dhaba at punajb-Himachal Pradesh border.

Praveen now wanted to fix his light before it got dark.I started checking the connections and found there was no current.A new fuse/direct connection would also not work.Then realised that there was a relay in the circuit which required the battery for its operation.Checked the battery and it was completely dead.Not a single drop of water.was shocked.But it was expected since praveen was running on battery for last couple of nights which explained its state. Dismantled the tank and stated cutting the wired underneath to figure out where I could find any current.Praveen called up the electrician who rigged up this circuit and he directed us to check the connections.He asked us to do something that resulted in a fused bulb.Nothing helped since the battery was dead.Add to that we dint have spare wires too.Later I decided to rig up a separate connection.Got a piece of wire from the dhaba guy who was watch all the fun,made a separate connection from the alternator-to-regulator and into the bulb.Finally some light.And in all its glory.And since there was no 15 amp fuse,blocking the current,the light was even more brighter.Happy to have the light back we finally started the last stage onto the hills.



The moment we entered himachal pradesh, we could feel the sharp drop in temperature.It was night, roads were not good and it was chilling.stopped at a dhaba for food and to fix a slack chain and then off the the curving roads ahead.It took us the whole night to reach manali.Was cursing myself for having missed all the sceneries through palampur and other places until manali.



Day 7,Fri
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Picked up the first rays of sun at around kullu.That was the first glimpse of himalayas and snow since the whole ride was throught night.Stopped for a photo and then quickly off towards Manali.Stopped for breakfast at a roadside hotel.The views from that place were fantastic with shining snow peaks at distance and a river running next to the road.After a quick grub,headed straight to manali and off to rohtang road.We kept riding through the roads covered with snow on either sides until we were stopped by a couple of bsf guards who were hellbent not to allow any tourists on motorbike beyond that point.Reason was the snow clearing was in progress a km ahead and there was fear of the snow/ice breaking and falling into the roads below.We decided to walk till that point.However place was terribly commercialised with vendors renting ski equipment,gumboots,coats and their anything they felt the tourists would need to make a one bloody km trip to the top.We decided to walk a bit further through the snow.The place was windy and the cold had started to bite the skin.The temperture was well below zero at that time.Dint really feel like running around the snow or taking photos.stopped at a place,ordered maggi and was contemplating what to do next.The place was terribly shitty.

Had enough of the place and decided to come down to solang.But that was a bloody traffic jam trap in waiting.That made the matters even more sicker.That is a out and out commercialised place with every type of tourist claiming his stake of snow.Sick of all this, decided to go back to manali.It was already noon by this time.Manali is another shitty place.Not much to see, not much to do, but cant do without it since it happens to a focal point for all the tourists visiting himalayas.We were searching for a hotel,but couldnt find a decent one with proper parking.Fed up of the whole place,decided to make a run back to kullu and into some other area.After a heavy lunch at kullu, we started off towards the next place- Jalori.It was nice to finally leave the highway and off to country roads leading to banjar valley.Everything changed from bad to great.The ride was awsome.We took our time, stopped every 5 mins cliking photos and the best part there was not a single tourist and sick vendors.Bought some liquor bottles as insurance since banjar was the only proper town in that valley.
Finally we reached ghyagi for our hotel- 'sringi vatika'.That place had very nice cottages and was run by an elderly couple who were very happy to finally see some visitors.They decided that we cannot go further since there is no use as the road ahead is closed due to snow and we would not be able to make it to jalori pass.They even said they'd arrange for some 'sight-seeing' around banjar. :P After a nice dinner we we headed to bed for much needed sleep.






Day 8,Sat

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We woke up to some superb views through the window of our room.That was fantastic to finally see the unspoilt beauty after the previous days' disappointment.The hotel lady asked us if we were to stay there that day too so that they can make proper arrangements for us.For some reason they dint wanted to let us go from that place.They took a hell lot of time to prepare breakfast.I saw something fishy and decided to quickly checkout and head towards jalori- snow or no-snow.At this point they were pestering us not to go ahead citing various reasons.They basically wanted us to stay with them.I had none of it and headed towards shoja.The view from this place were fantastic sarrounded by snow covered mountains from all sides and nice forest which was missing around manali.A little after shoja we were abruptly halted by a mountain of snow when we were just around 3 kms from the jalori pass.There was no way we could go further on our bike.The snow on the road rose around 5 feet to 15 ft near the pass and much much more than that on the sides.Even normal walking would be difficult.But all this only added to the beauty of the place.We decided to stay at shoja.Found a hotel with stunning views perched right on the top of a snow slope and for as cheap as 250 bucks.Dropped our luggage in and decided to trek on snow for the last 4 kms.Found a local who was willing to join us and help us cross the snow mountain towards jalori.This turned out to be the best day in himalayas and one of the best in the whole trip.The snow,the vistas and everything was stunning.We were just about few 500 meters away from the top when it started to get dark and also the weather worsened.It looked like its gonna lash out very
heavily.I wanted to continue towards the top of the pass,but the local guide was not very confident since the snow on the top is very very high and it would take us some time to wade through it as the snow had not 'settled well'.So the return would be in the dark which he wanted to avoid.Plus we didint carry any tents, rain coats etc.And as the sun faded, the temperature began to dip drastically and it stated to feel pretty cold.Add to that I was playing in snow all the time.That added to the chill.It did start to rain too and I was loving it, praveen was first rush back to the base.Finally me and the local guide too went back to the base.A nice bonfire welcomed us as we prepared for a binge.half bottle royal stag was just too less for the sort of bite the cold had.A few locals had prepared a joint.Everything was just perfect but just missed the company of more goobas.That was a perfect end to a perfect day.



Day 9, sun-
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All good things come to an end,.,so dis this trip. And the curse that hangs upon us and which we'll probably never break - to always start late, take photos even when its too late was not any different in himalayas.We had to reach delhi, pack our bikes and board the flight early next morning.Still we were in no hurry.It was almost noon.We rode slowly towards banjar and onwards to aut.But once we hit the highway it was a different story, there was no reason to stop, look for anything but to race ahead to delhi in no time.And that really happened.The ride thru the ghats till kiratpur was maniacal and loved every bit of it.Complete non-stop ride and I was in delhi and before sundown.4500+ kms the odo read and so many places.That was a lot of fun.I still feel envious of those who live in and around delhi for whom himalayas are just a stone's throw away at anytime.

A special thanks should go to Hitanshu for helping us out with the local intricacies and with important information at many places including delhi and to pack our bikes off to bangalore.And mr.praveen for his cheerful disposition to last the whole distnace even when facing trouble with lights and still make it to the end.That was curtains to a great trip.

Photos @ www.flickr.com/photos/fotocafe