Leh and Then some more

“Traversing the bay of the beautiful Pangong Lake for few meters ahead – surely it would have taken days to cover this humongous lake.”

There’d been some dispute between Ladakhi riders and Manali riders for a while now. One would not let the other one enter with number plates representing their state. A few months ago Manali riders had mixed sugar in the petrol of Ladakhi numbered plate bikes. The engines had seized. Hence, only private motorcycles were allowed to enter. That meant that we had to Leave Bahadur at the hotel and hire a bike with the Jammu and Kashmir number plate. I had grown used to Bahadur. He was a beast of a machine. While we did hire another bike it was not the same. I hated it. Nonetheless, we had no other option but to hop on our second hire, the Royal Enfield Himalayan.

We then headed for Pangong. I had already hated my bike because I had grown so much accustomed to my previous hire that everything felt uneasy. It was difficult to adjust and to add to that the roads were treacherous. The icy roads frustrated us as the tires kept on slipping. We somehow managed to cross yet another pass – the Chang la pass.

“With Royal Himalayan Enfield; not my partner in crime after it replaced my beloved bikefriend Bahadur in the middle of the trip.”

As we were on our way I could see some of the shooting points for famous Bollywood movies. There was an inscription that read out saying “SRK was here.” SRK is short for Sarukh Khan, a well known Bollywood actor. I inscribed my name too, so that other fellow travelers could marvel on the mystery of who Rajat was.

We now started witnessing Yaks among other things. There was a sign that signaled that it was the starting point of Pangong. I am at loss to tell you even contemplate the size of the lake. They said that only 30 percent of it was in India. We could traverse the bay of the lake and it would still take us many a days to cover it. Added to the fact that we the rest of it flowed from Tibet meant I’d never seen a lake that humongous in size. You can just look at the map and see how much space the lake itself covers.

The lake water changed color every so often. It started out with a simple shade of sky blue and transformed into different hues of blue every few kilometers. It was majestic. We’d finally reached Pangong. I didn’t want to move at all. I just fell on the ground. Just as I had gathered myself up I could see someone waving at us from a distance. Two of the most unlikeliest people we’d met a couple of days ago were a few meters away delightfully walking toward us.

“Not only lakes, beautiful animals made our long, difficult trips forgettable at times. At one instance we stopped by to adore Blue Sheep grazing en route to our next destination.”

A little back story on Pandey ji, and Abinav. We’d met them at Sarchu and spent at night together. It was a night where Yuri couldn’t fall asleep that night. It was not because the views were breathtaking nor was it because of interesting conversations. It was rather Pandey Ji’s snoring that sounded like drums banging at our ears that’d kept us awake. The next morning we’d quietly left them hoping we didn’t have to encounter them again. But as luck would have it they were now right in front of us.

The moment Yuri recognized them his face turned dark. He was in a hurry to escape them. He was someone who liked his personal space and they were someone who maybe didn’t understand the concept of personal space. While we did have lunch at the same place we just wanted to get rid of them. I told them that we were headed toward Mann. They were ready to leave with us. Not what we had in mind. Yury gulped his lunch in quick time as did I. In order to get rid of their snoring I told them that we’d wait for them there to sound polite. Yury made me go as fast as the motorcycle would permit to reach Mann. The road was unkind but we quickly maneuvered about 20 km to reach our destination. Thankfully the snores wouldn’t reach that far.

The tents at Mann was a spectacle. Made out of glasses it looked like it was a perfect romantic getaway for couples looking to sleep under the stars and take in the beauty of the lake just a few steps away. We got a good deal for 1000 Indian Rupees each at Pang Travel Camp. It was recently made and the only one just beside the lake. We had luxurious tents for ourselves amongst a sea of tents. That helped because it would hide us from the two people we were running from. They maybe sweet people but I’d like to as far as possible from anything that would disturb my sleep.

“Yuri: the kindful, the helpful, and the merciful.”

Just as the sun was setting down the lake turned red. We clicked a few photographs and shot some videos and finally returned to our tent to end our day.

The next morning we left Pang. This time we took another route. We still had to go see double humped camels at Diskit and also cross the Khardung la pass. I’ve already recounted my story of Diskit in my previous blog so I’ll just skip over that for now. When we were at Hundar Valley, Yuri had the idea to go see the sky in the desert at midnight. I was too tired so I declined. He did warn me that he wouldn’t let me sleep but I just wanted some much needed rest. I told him to go if he wanted to and told him tomorrow was the big day. We had to cross Khardung La pass. Adventures are part and parcel of traveling but having travelled for such a time we dreaded another pass. After numerous adventures everyone is bound to be fatigued. I didn’t want to wet my boots and socks once again but then again, we had no choice.

As we headed for Khardung La pass Yuri was a little silent. We were about 300 meters away from reaching the pass when I started filming with my GoPro. I had seen heavy blanketed snow for the first time. He threw some snow at me. When we reached Khardung la, Yuri took his DSLR out as well. Just as he was capturing some pictures I decided to hit him with some snow too. However, to my surprise. He visibly became angry and started shouting at me. There were a few people around and I didn’t know how to react. I shouted back.

“Gorgeous white yaks strolling in the banks of humongous Pangong Lake: signs which signaled us the starting point of Pangong.”

It was probably the biggest spat we’d had and it came out the way it did as it had been building for a few weeks now. We had been traveling together and pot decided to burst amid some heavy snow. For the first time the air felt a lot cold. There was an uneasiness that had crept in our friendship. We’d have small disagreements here and then. We didn’t like the way we chose to do some things. We were definitely irritated with each other. The tensions, the fatigue, the weather, and most definitely the journey had taken a toll on us. I turned away from him. A few seconds later I turned toward him and asked him to come over and apologized for my rash outburst. He said sorry too. We had to patch things up. We still had to get home. Maybe we had to get that frustration out of our system. After we’d cooled down, we finally went to play in the blanketed snow.

We were acting normal once again. We had returned to Leh. It was an off day for us. We just chilled that day knowing that the next day we’d have to leave for Manali. Leh to Manali was a 425 kilometer distance. I had the the naivety to think that we could reach Manali in a single day. Even though we knew the road that lay ahead we knew we could do it. We even got Bahadur back and as the engine roared our energy reignited to finish our journey.

“At Losar, Kibbar; one of my favorite places during the trip.”

For the first few hours we rode without taking a break. We knew we had a long way to go and we had no time to dilly dally. As we came closer to the dreaded Taglang La pass where we’d not had the nicest of experiences crossing it. We hoped we could this time pass without any hiccups. But as luck would have it, the roads we travel upon are never as easy as it sounds.

We were welcomed with a city-like traffic jam at the pass. There were cars and trucks and motorcycles were just as eager to cross the pass as we were. A fellow conductor was out trying his best to make ease the jam. Yuri got out of the bike and walked toward the main intersection. As I sat on my bike waiting, I was unconsciously banging my fingers on the body of the motorcycle that made a clinking sound.

Suddenly, the earth started shaking. I’d survived earthquake back home I didn’t know I was going to die here. The Mountains roared and by the time I figured out what was happening I had left my bike and running toward Yuri. I had the presence of mind to hide behind a truck so as to not be buried by snow and to also escape the rocks that started raining down at us. I was scared while Yuri was calling his mother’s name out. Unfortunately, the one person who was trying to help ease the traffic was hit by a rock covered snow on his head. He was bleeding and the people carried him to a safe place. We offered our help but they said they needed none.

“Tabo Monastery: the value of visiting the place is self-reflected by the date in the board.”

Fortunately, after what felt like an entire lifetime, the shaking stopped. I hurried my way toward the bike and asked Yuri to sit and we zoomed as fast as we could to escape the place. Once we reached a tea shop we stopped and tried gathering our senses. The air was dense with anxiety and our mood was sombre. To cheer the both of us I told Yuri that we did it yet again.

Yuri had gifted the cheese to Tizi when we parted our ways but he still had some sausages left. I was getting hungry so I enquired about the sausages. He took them out and we had the sausages along with some cheese omelette we ordered from the tea shop. The sky was blue and I was wearing my gorilla cap. I took out my camera and started filming our conversation. A little while later a few people came to us to ask us for help to help the man who was struck on the head.

We had offered to help because Yuri’s mom was a pharmacist so he had picked up a few skill on first aid. He knew how to work on the injured man. We climbed the back of a truck to help the man. Yuri did his best to temporarily stitch the injured man. He even gave him a few medicines incase he needed some. That is something I admire about Yuri. He is a kind soul. He is always willing to help people. If he saw that your jeans had some unwanted thread coming out he’d be the first person in the room to find you a pair of scissors. He even offered me new socks when my socks were wet when crossing one for the passes.

“Spiti Valley, where old, surreal mud-made monasteries are still standing still since 1000 of years.”

After we’d helped the unlucky man we went back to the tea shop. Just as we were ready to head out we were offered hot and delicious Halwa. Halwa is a sweet dish. I have eaten enough halwa in my lifetime to be excited about having a delicacy up in the mountains. They said as passes are considered Gods in hindu culture. They were giving it to everyone who was crossing the road.

We still had a long way to go. There were a few other passes we still had to traverse namely Sarchu (where we’d initially met Pandey ji and his friend), Rotang pass, and Baralachala La pass to name a few. Now, every time I have had to cross a path I have had my boots wet but Baralachala La pass was the first time in the entire journey where I crossed the path without putting my foot down. When I did achieve the feat I was very much excited as well as proud of myself.

However, by the time we reached Keylong it was 11.30 pm. We decided to stay the night there. While it is always smart to book hotels we had been lazy to book one hoping we’d find the same room we’d found the last time we were in Keylong. To our surprise, the receptionist informed us that there was no room available. He did give us a way out saying that there was one room but it was meant for the cooks. We were too tired to find another hotel so we decided to take the room.

When we entered the room we saw just how awful the room was. There was a peculiar stench coming from the room that made the both of us barf in our mouth. And to add to that there was a big bellied guy snoring. Yuri looked at me and said, “I need a Kingfisher.” He needed that because that was the only way he’d sleep. He deserved that for the hardships he’s had to endure in this journey. After he had his bottle of beer he quickly fell to deep slumber. Sleep was difficult for me the first time but I had slept in harsher conditions before. I was content that at least this room had a roof over my head. I’ve slept under the sky outside a temple in Bihar, India with cow dung just a few feet across me. However, that is a different story for some other time. I eventually drifted to sleep.

“Say hi to my gorilla hat. I have got nothing but gratitude to him for keeping my head warm all the while.”

The next day we just had 100 kilometers until we reached Manali. The place where we’d begun our journey from. We were extremely excited to reach Manali but those 100 kilometers felt like a thousand kilometers. On our way we crossed Rotang. Now the roads were wide but it was slanted at an angle which made it difficult to travel as we had to be careful about our speed. Rotang was a classic family touristy holiday destination. I even saw people skiing for the first time there.

As we reached Vasist, the place where we had rented Bahadur we decided to go meet the bike brothers. When we were outside the shop I honked the bike’s horn a few times to grab Chotu, Johnny, and Jeetu’s attention. They were elated to see us and must have also been surprised to see us reach a day earlier than they had expected.

“A Dream come to true to finally click a picture in front of Pangong Lake. I said this a million times and I am going to say it again and again: Pangong Lake is one of world’s most beautiful, beautiful lakes.”

I got off my bike and hugged them and hugged them. I excitedly told them, “Bahadur is the best!”

“Bahadur, who?” – replied Chotu.

“I named this bike Bahadur.” I replied. As we chit chatted I was curious to to know about Tizi and asked them if she came back? Their face changed when they said that she never returned. She sent them a video of how the bike fell from the cliff and they had to go pick it up. She sent the side of the motorcycle that was not damaged but the other side of it was completely destroyed. They had to go through trouble to retrieve the bike. Nonetheless, they were happy to see us and told us that we could take Bahadur with us today and return it tomorrow.

When we reached Old Manali, we finally had the chance to sleep in our different rooms. I was going back the next day but decided to meet for lunch in the evening. We went to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We exchanged photographs and video footages and recounted our journey. At night we retired to our own rooms in different hotels.

“Tibetan prayer flags suspended down a monastery at Leh.”

The next morning I had to return to Vasist to return the bike. This would be my final farewell with Bahadur. When I reached the shop I did not want to return the keys. Chotu kept eying me before he jumped in to say, “I cannot give you the bike but I can definitely give you the helmet.”

I promised him I would come back next year.
I still had time for one last lunch with Yuri. Our orders were reversed today. I ordered Israeli food while Yuri ordered a Thali.
As the time to bid goodbye came closer, Yuri said, “I won’t miss you, Bastard.”
“I don’t want you to miss me!” I replied.
“Fuck you!” He fired back.
“I’ll see you someday” I said as I walked toward the bus station. With this journey coming to a close I was relieved to get back home as well as excited about the promise I had made. I cannot wait to return here once again.