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.