Day 3, 4 : Riding on the curves

Next day started early for all. Most of us managed to take bath as we were not sure if we could get a chance till we reached Leh. The homestay charged us very liberally thinking we were students. I guess it was me who went to look for the rooms and no doubt they were sure that we were still college-goers. KaramChandji was on time as expected. Those roads climbing up the mountains were calling. The bikers ready with their gears and we started our journey on those zig-zag road towards Rohtang. Fortunately for the bikers, it was not a sunny day. They seemed to enjoy the ride. Manja slipped off a little while taming his bike climb up on a curve and realized life is not the same as on plains. He learnt the technique soon. A little distance ahead we encountered the first block, a landslide. My mind cribbed thinking about the delay this might lead to and the plan getting upset. But I was wrong, it was soon cleared off and the road was all ours till we stopped for late breakfast at a petty shop on the road side.

It got sunny as we drove over keylong, Jispa, Darchu, Zingzing Baar. And we felt cramped inside the vehicle. Pavan couldn’t resist from riding the bike and he offered some rest to Manja. We soon reached Baralacha La pass. It is a high mountain pass in Zanskar range. After having lunch at a road side hotel we continued our journey. We dint want to stop till dusk or till the bikers wanted to. Our driver made our life very easy even for the back-seaters.  Hats off to his driving skills, he often joked at other vehicles which took its commuters for a roll-a-coaster ride on these roads. He showed us important landmarks on the way and by now he was a part of the group despite the language barriers he laughed at our jokes making us wonder if he was really laughing at the joke or at us :D.

Inspite of many frens suggesting that we should not ride very long on a single day and gain sudden altitude, we did ride up till Sarchu. We were amazed that even at 6:30 in the evening it is absolutely bright days up there. We were cheated when it got dark all of a sudden by 7:10pm around and became extremely cold. Sarchu is plain land with mountains surrounded in all directions. Extremely windy and very naturally it was cold beyond imagination. There are several camps in Sarchu for night’s stay. Charging around Rs600 – 650 per head. The tents were very cozy with an attached bathroom. They provided hot water if demanded and food was not all that great. But all we needed was a warm bed to kill the night. Before getting into the warm layers we took some time to enjoy the deep blue sky filled with stars. The landscape looked dark right below and the sky was lit up here and there with bright stars. Cold breeze forced us get into our blankets and we slept tight. Things were no different the next morning. It was freezing cold. Few among us had headache, vomiting sensation and few felt uneasy as they could not sleep the whole night. They blamed the suffocating tents. Altitude also seemed to be doing its job. We assembled for breakfast which was half toasted bread with jam and butter. It dint help us feel any better but a hot cup of tea was heavenly. We came out and magically we were not feeling cold anymore. Fortunately all were good to go.

The journey started on a sunny day. By now every one of us inside the vehicle were equally tempted to enjoy a ride on the bike and mean while the bikers needed some break. Few stretches were the most beautiful sights to watch and ride and few patches were terrible for the bikers. It was late afternoon we stopped for lunch. KaramChandji made sure that he stopped at good hotels all along. 

After filling our stomach we must have rode for 5-10kms, karamji received a call from hotel we just left. Pavan had left behind his wind jacket with wallet in it. They went back to collect & the hotel owner was humble enough to check for his belongings and clearly mentioned how much cash he had kept in his wallet and safely handed over it to Pavan. She also showed him a bag full of items left behind by people visiting her hotel. That’s the beauty of this place. We were bowled over by their modesty.

Next few hours we rode over few of the best roads laid by Border Road Organisation. The sign boards put up were really interesting and de-stressing. The best one I saw was “Smile please”. It actually made me smile. J Interesting few I can recollect here “Drive Slowly”, “One my curve, check your nerve”, “Darling I like you but not so fast ” :P, “Drive like hell and you’ll be there”, “Are you going for a party? Then y drive so dirty” Really interesting people out there at BRO haa;)

It was close to dusk when we reached Karu from where Leh is just 35kms more. But we preferred spending the night at karu and leave the next morning. The city looked almost shut and it majorly has the army settlements than civilian population. We settled down with the cheapest accommodation as it was a matter of one night. Two huge rooms with lots of dirty beds and blankets spread all over the floor. We were too tired to look for anything better and easily spent a night. Right outside the window, the moon who was close to his full that night was glowing bright in the sky.