We reached Leh around 8pm. The first thing that we all noticed was, it doesn't get dark until around 8.30pm or even later.
Leh : Day 1:
J's Journal:
All these years I thought I get along well with boys. I thought I understood them well!
I was so wrong!
It's 11 am, on our first day in Leh!
There's something called as enthusiasm, excitement about being in a new place! But no! Boys don't seem to value anything more than sleep!
I don't understand how these boys act lazy on a holiday??
Here we girls are all ready, we had breakfast, we had bath ,we even applied all 3 layers of sunscreen lotion! And when I go to check on what the boys are doing, all 3 of them are tucked into the bed! And when I scream at them , they invite me to jump in and join them??##$$ ??
Disgusting!
So the three of us, the girls, decided to get the important work done ourselves, such as getting the permits, hiring the bikes, planning out the next 9 days, working out the budgets, getting the cheapest and the best deals, going around the market and meeting tourists and asking around as to which places are the best to go to etc.!
Girls Day Out : When I'm out with the girls I feel strong and a strong sense of feminism sweeps me over! I marched ahead of both of them, on the steep slope leading to the Leh Market. When both of them started falling behind considerably, I wondered when my stamina had improved so much? But then I remembered that I had dutifully taken Diamox after breakfast. My body now showed no signs of nausea, headache, tiredness or uneasiness! I looked back at Sharvani and Teju and felt proud of my achievement.
We went from one task to the other,and the boys called after a few hours to ask where we were.
(Tip: Pre paid mobile cards don't work in Leh. Post paids do!)
I was in no mood to meet them, so Teju and I headed to one of the many German Bakeries in Leh and Sharvani and the boys took on the task of checking out the bikes for hiring.
In the Bakery, I bitched to Teju about the boys and their laziness and how I plan to set them straight!
Teju knows me through Sharvani, she's her cousin. We met for the first time only in Delhi, I think the first couple of days she was a bit shocked by the things I do and say. Here too, she remained quiet and listened to all my planning and strategies.
By the end of the day we had our permits, the bikes @ Rs.700/- a day, we had 2 bullets and 1 pulsar. We were all set to check out the Monasteries and Palaces around Leh.
Day 2:
My frustration over the boys not able to keep to the schedule, and wake up and get ready on time continued on Day 2. And it was around 11.30 that we finally got out of the Guest House with our bikes. I sat with Caslino, Sharvani with Vignesh. Since me and Sharvani cannot ride a geared bike, and we were on bullets there was no confusion over who would ride. The 3rd bike was the Pulsar and Teju is quite a rider but Rahul is not. But Teju is too short for the Pulsar but Rahul is not.
As we started towards Hemis Monastery, I knew there was some confusion on bike 3. Sometimes I saw Teju ride it, other times I saw Rahul experimenting with the gears! Rahul is quite our miracle man for many reasons! This man does not have a license but in 10 days of staying in Leh he not just learnt to ride a bike , but rode it well and covered the most difficult terrain and road one would ever witness in his/her life!
Miracles apart, I personally feel Leh is not a place you learn to ride a bike in. Especially if you don't have too much time on your hands.You need to know to ride a bike well by the time you get to Leh! I did meet some foreigners who were learning to ride a bullet in Leh, but then, they spend months there.
Though Rahul proved me to the contrary, I wouldn't recommend it to any new rider. Me and Rahul had quite an argument over the issue, but well, it was just one in the many arguments between different people that would follow in the days to come!
<------ That's me on our Bullet. No. I do not know how to ride it! And that's obvious when you see my face!
People who ride the bullet have that attitude! It's like , "Dude! You don't mess with me" Types!
You don't see someone smile like I am when one knows to ride it!
I'm yet to know the reason why.
Well! Maybe, when I learn to ride one, I will know!
It's no much fun going around sight seeing in Leh! The Monasteries and the Palaces have somewhat same structure. The first time you see the prayer wheels and the interiors, you go WOW! But after you see a couple of them, it's nothing special. Our gang, and Bike 3 with Teju and Rahul performing their circus on it alternatively , covered ( slowly...because we were testing the bikes and the riding skills), some of the places around.
We got home early, the next day was a big day after all!
Pangong Lake ( approx 120 kms). We had heard stories of the water streams flowing on the road that makes a biker difficult to get his bike through it! Of how you need to cross a particularly difficult water stream ( The Paagal Naala) before 12 noon, because after that the glaciers melt rapidly and the water level rises till the knees, making it difficult to go through and one might have to return back to Leh etc.
We were all worried, what with Rahul and Teju doing their stunts on the Pulsar. We were worried about their safety, about our survival, and the big question loomed over us, whether at our speed of riding we will make it to Pangong in one day?
Day 3: Pangong Lake aka "The 3 Idiots Lake"
I thought the boys would be a bit worried about making it in time to Pangong and get ready early... But No! They woke up a bit early, but by the time we started out our journey it was 10.30 am.
One tip: Petrol Pumps in Leh are always over crowded. Please fill your tanks a day in advance. Also arrange to carry extra fuel , the day before setting out for the journey. We, obviously, the smart asses that we are, did none of this and were stuck up with the fuelling process for over an hour! This in turn fuelled a lot of arguments between me and Vignesh over "Why the tanks were not filled the night before?", to which he replied, " If you knew better, why didn't you fill it?"
Me: You are the rider, it's your responsibility!
Vignesh: You are the pillion rider, you are not flapping your wings and flying to Pangong, are you?
As we continued our arguments wasting another 10 minutes, the rest of them chewed gum and cracked some silly jokes!
As the ride started towards Pangong and we started climbing up the hills and covering mountains, and every turn got riskeir, and every valley got deeper, the oxygen levels were falling, and the tar road was getting thinner, I held on tightly to Caslino, sometimes the bumps were so strong I would fly up my seat and at one point I landed on the handle behind the seat, at other point I landed in mid air behind the handle and somehow caught hold of Caslino's jacket and climbed up the bullet!
When the climb was steep and full of rocks and streams, Caslino would announce, " Brace yourself!", and I would hold on to him tightly! Vignesh and Sharvani managed the climbs too. Pulsar would get stuck on difficult climbs and Vignesh had to handle both the bikes at some points. Ride up the bullet, then come down running and ride up the Pulsar or vice versa.
At 3pm , we reached Chang La Pass. ( 3rd Highest Motorable Road in the world), and the Paagal Naala ( The crazy stream) was still few kms away. We were so exhausted with the ride till Chang La, and so happy to be up there, that we rested one whole hour in the restaurant. I think my appetite was at it's maximum on this Pass. I generally eat less, but here I ate more than anybody else.
After this, the ride down the hill started, the bumps got bigger, the roads got wetter and after struggling on the bikes for half an hour, I spotted a rescue van and the girls jumped in it with the luggage. The rescue van crossed the Paagal Naala , helped some bikers whose Bullets had given up, to load the bullet into the van and turned back for Leh.
Our Heroes ( The Boys) started for the Paagal Naala, first to go for it was Caslino. Then Surprise! Surprise! Rahul crossed the naala without getting stuck in it, but fell off the bike in a mysterious way right after he was on solid ground! ( I told ya, he is our Miracle Man! He does things nobody else can do!)
Vignesh got stuck for a while but there wasn't much to worry about. The whole drama took another hour and Teju who was sitting pillion on Pulsar declared that she couldn't push it anymore, so did I, so did Caslino!
Another Tip: Sitting Pillion on Pulsar in Leh is a super bad idea! Please DO NOT risk breaking your back and bum bones!
So around 7pm, we found a guest house in a small village ( yes, there are small villages of around 300 population , after crossing Chang La, and there are good Guest houses. We were surprised to find human habitation at those far off, cut off from humanity type of locations!)
But Vignesh, Sharvani and Rahul continued the ride to Pangong. I don't know what exactly they saw in the dark, but they returned by 9.30pm.
Teju, Caslino and me treated ourselves to hot tea and bread and toast, after which I casually popped in another Diamox because I had started feeling sick. I had head ache, and Zandu Balm was our major companion along the way!
Yet another Tip: On this trip, Zandu Balm troubled everyone who applied it on their foreheads, by somehow making way into their eyes. I hate Zandu Balm for that reason, it makes matters worse with its stupid untimely jokes!
Use Vicks instead, it's milder. Doesn't burn as much as Zandu.
Day 4: To Pangong Lake and back
Most riders make this trip in one day. We took 2.
I always wondered, looking at the tourists in Goa, why they act crazy when they see the sea? Why do they scream looking at the waves? Well! I got the answers when we saw The Pangong! The blue sky , the blue water, the vastness of it all fucks your mind and one gets excited on seeing something so beautiful! We ran around the banks of the lake, clicked a lot of pictures, someone was meditating , someone else was sleeping, someone wanted to take a bath in the water...it was all an alien experience.
It is said, " It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
That's so true, I thought , when I saw the Pangong!
Yes, it is beautiful, no doubt about it. But take away the road that leads to Pangong , and Pangong would have been just another touristy place, crowded by a million people, polluted and spoilt!
Pangong is like an award you get for having the courage to make it till there!
And it's not just the roads, it's not just the bullets and the bikes that matter.....it's those conversations you have with your friends, those new friends you make at food stops, those "Julay's" you exchange with a total stranger, that smile and the thumbs up you get on the way from some biker, it's about those million new thoughts that pass through your mind on the way till there, and it's that total silence of the mind you experience for maybe half a second when you see the depths of the valley's, the hugeness of the mountains, when your feet touch the cold water of the streams, when your heart beats and you can hear it, and you don't know whether this is the last day of your life, and even if it is, you show the courage to live it up fully! In that small journey till Pangong, you learn to live your live in the moment! Every moment is important, every moment counts!
Leh I realised is not about the adventure alone.
It's so much about the lessons really that it teaches on every turn of the road.
Leh teaches you to live your life, to love it , be thankful for what you have in your life.
Leh teaches you to smile, to pray, to believe in miracles!
Leh teaches you simplicity,
It teaches you what fear is, and it teaches you to have courage!
Leh stands for friendships, it stands for humanity!
This, and so much more that my heart felt in those 10 days in Ladakh....., sometimes it's not possible to label an emotion, but it's something that remains with you for a lifetime!
This connection and warmth that I felt in Leh, this relationship with it's ruggedness, truthfulness and strength, is something that I will cherish eternally!
Leh : Day 1:
J's Journal:
All these years I thought I get along well with boys. I thought I understood them well!
I was so wrong!
It's 11 am, on our first day in Leh!
There's something called as enthusiasm, excitement about being in a new place! But no! Boys don't seem to value anything more than sleep!
I don't understand how these boys act lazy on a holiday??
Here we girls are all ready, we had breakfast, we had bath ,we even applied all 3 layers of sunscreen lotion! And when I go to check on what the boys are doing, all 3 of them are tucked into the bed! And when I scream at them , they invite me to jump in and join them??##$$ ??
Disgusting!
So the three of us, the girls, decided to get the important work done ourselves, such as getting the permits, hiring the bikes, planning out the next 9 days, working out the budgets, getting the cheapest and the best deals, going around the market and meeting tourists and asking around as to which places are the best to go to etc.!
Girls Day Out : When I'm out with the girls I feel strong and a strong sense of feminism sweeps me over! I marched ahead of both of them, on the steep slope leading to the Leh Market. When both of them started falling behind considerably, I wondered when my stamina had improved so much? But then I remembered that I had dutifully taken Diamox after breakfast. My body now showed no signs of nausea, headache, tiredness or uneasiness! I looked back at Sharvani and Teju and felt proud of my achievement.
We went from one task to the other,and the boys called after a few hours to ask where we were.
(Tip: Pre paid mobile cards don't work in Leh. Post paids do!)
I was in no mood to meet them, so Teju and I headed to one of the many German Bakeries in Leh and Sharvani and the boys took on the task of checking out the bikes for hiring.
Teju knows me through Sharvani, she's her cousin. We met for the first time only in Delhi, I think the first couple of days she was a bit shocked by the things I do and say. Here too, she remained quiet and listened to all my planning and strategies.
By the end of the day we had our permits, the bikes @ Rs.700/- a day, we had 2 bullets and 1 pulsar. We were all set to check out the Monasteries and Palaces around Leh.
My frustration over the boys not able to keep to the schedule, and wake up and get ready on time continued on Day 2. And it was around 11.30 that we finally got out of the Guest House with our bikes. I sat with Caslino, Sharvani with Vignesh. Since me and Sharvani cannot ride a geared bike, and we were on bullets there was no confusion over who would ride. The 3rd bike was the Pulsar and Teju is quite a rider but Rahul is not. But Teju is too short for the Pulsar but Rahul is not.
Miracles apart, I personally feel Leh is not a place you learn to ride a bike in. Especially if you don't have too much time on your hands.You need to know to ride a bike well by the time you get to Leh! I did meet some foreigners who were learning to ride a bullet in Leh, but then, they spend months there.
Though Rahul proved me to the contrary, I wouldn't recommend it to any new rider. Me and Rahul had quite an argument over the issue, but well, it was just one in the many arguments between different people that would follow in the days to come!
<------ That's me on our Bullet. No. I do not know how to ride it! And that's obvious when you see my face!
People who ride the bullet have that attitude! It's like , "Dude! You don't mess with me" Types!
You don't see someone smile like I am when one knows to ride it!
I'm yet to know the reason why.
Well! Maybe, when I learn to ride one, I will know!
It's no much fun going around sight seeing in Leh! The Monasteries and the Palaces have somewhat same structure. The first time you see the prayer wheels and the interiors, you go WOW! But after you see a couple of them, it's nothing special. Our gang, and Bike 3 with Teju and Rahul performing their circus on it alternatively , covered ( slowly...because we were testing the bikes and the riding skills), some of the places around.
We got home early, the next day was a big day after all!
Pangong Lake ( approx 120 kms). We had heard stories of the water streams flowing on the road that makes a biker difficult to get his bike through it! Of how you need to cross a particularly difficult water stream ( The Paagal Naala) before 12 noon, because after that the glaciers melt rapidly and the water level rises till the knees, making it difficult to go through and one might have to return back to Leh etc.
We were all worried, what with Rahul and Teju doing their stunts on the Pulsar. We were worried about their safety, about our survival, and the big question loomed over us, whether at our speed of riding we will make it to Pangong in one day?
I thought the boys would be a bit worried about making it in time to Pangong and get ready early... But No! They woke up a bit early, but by the time we started out our journey it was 10.30 am.
Me: You are the rider, it's your responsibility!
Vignesh: You are the pillion rider, you are not flapping your wings and flying to Pangong, are you?
As we continued our arguments wasting another 10 minutes, the rest of them chewed gum and cracked some silly jokes!
When the climb was steep and full of rocks and streams, Caslino would announce, " Brace yourself!", and I would hold on to him tightly! Vignesh and Sharvani managed the climbs too. Pulsar would get stuck on difficult climbs and Vignesh had to handle both the bikes at some points. Ride up the bullet, then come down running and ride up the Pulsar or vice versa.
At 3pm , we reached Chang La Pass. ( 3rd Highest Motorable Road in the world), and the Paagal Naala ( The crazy stream) was still few kms away. We were so exhausted with the ride till Chang La, and so happy to be up there, that we rested one whole hour in the restaurant. I think my appetite was at it's maximum on this Pass. I generally eat less, but here I ate more than anybody else.
After this, the ride down the hill started, the bumps got bigger, the roads got wetter and after struggling on the bikes for half an hour, I spotted a rescue van and the girls jumped in it with the luggage. The rescue van crossed the Paagal Naala , helped some bikers whose Bullets had given up, to load the bullet into the van and turned back for Leh.
Our Heroes ( The Boys) started for the Paagal Naala, first to go for it was Caslino. Then Surprise! Surprise! Rahul crossed the naala without getting stuck in it, but fell off the bike in a mysterious way right after he was on solid ground! ( I told ya, he is our Miracle Man! He does things nobody else can do!)
Vignesh got stuck for a while but there wasn't much to worry about. The whole drama took another hour and Teju who was sitting pillion on Pulsar declared that she couldn't push it anymore, so did I, so did Caslino!
Another Tip: Sitting Pillion on Pulsar in Leh is a super bad idea! Please DO NOT risk breaking your back and bum bones!
So around 7pm, we found a guest house in a small village ( yes, there are small villages of around 300 population , after crossing Chang La, and there are good Guest houses. We were surprised to find human habitation at those far off, cut off from humanity type of locations!)
But Vignesh, Sharvani and Rahul continued the ride to Pangong. I don't know what exactly they saw in the dark, but they returned by 9.30pm.
Yet another Tip: On this trip, Zandu Balm troubled everyone who applied it on their foreheads, by somehow making way into their eyes. I hate Zandu Balm for that reason, it makes matters worse with its stupid untimely jokes!
Use Vicks instead, it's milder. Doesn't burn as much as Zandu.
Day 4: To Pangong Lake and back
Most riders make this trip in one day. We took 2.
I always wondered, looking at the tourists in Goa, why they act crazy when they see the sea? Why do they scream looking at the waves? Well! I got the answers when we saw The Pangong! The blue sky , the blue water, the vastness of it all fucks your mind and one gets excited on seeing something so beautiful! We ran around the banks of the lake, clicked a lot of pictures, someone was meditating , someone else was sleeping, someone wanted to take a bath in the water...it was all an alien experience.
It is said, " It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end."
That's so true, I thought , when I saw the Pangong!
Yes, it is beautiful, no doubt about it. But take away the road that leads to Pangong , and Pangong would have been just another touristy place, crowded by a million people, polluted and spoilt!
Pangong is like an award you get for having the courage to make it till there!
And it's not just the roads, it's not just the bullets and the bikes that matter.....it's those conversations you have with your friends, those new friends you make at food stops, those "Julay's" you exchange with a total stranger, that smile and the thumbs up you get on the way from some biker, it's about those million new thoughts that pass through your mind on the way till there, and it's that total silence of the mind you experience for maybe half a second when you see the depths of the valley's, the hugeness of the mountains, when your feet touch the cold water of the streams, when your heart beats and you can hear it, and you don't know whether this is the last day of your life, and even if it is, you show the courage to live it up fully! In that small journey till Pangong, you learn to live your live in the moment! Every moment is important, every moment counts!
Leh I realised is not about the adventure alone.
It's so much about the lessons really that it teaches on every turn of the road.
Leh teaches you to live your life, to love it , be thankful for what you have in your life.
Leh teaches you to smile, to pray, to believe in miracles!
Leh teaches you simplicity,
It teaches you what fear is, and it teaches you to have courage!
Leh stands for friendships, it stands for humanity!
This, and so much more that my heart felt in those 10 days in Ladakh....., sometimes it's not possible to label an emotion, but it's something that remains with you for a lifetime!
This connection and warmth that I felt in Leh, this relationship with it's ruggedness, truthfulness and strength, is something that I will cherish eternally!
Janaki those last three paras are heart warming ... amazing gurl!! simply amazing!!
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