Manali - Jispa (17th June 2006)
17th June 2006Start Trip Meter: 889.7 km
End Trip Meter: 1036.7 km
Route: manali-palchan-maadi-khoksar-sissu-tandipur-keylong-jispa.
Stay & Cost: Single bed Tent + food - Rs 300 on a special case
With 2 pegs of whiskey lodged into my head, though i was feeling really unusually fresh, I wake up, check the tyre pressure and head towards rohtang pass. I pay the hotel owner for the bills I forgot to pay the last day :)
I buy gum boots for 100 rupees from a roadside dealer. It's this 100 rupees gum-boot that would save me from all the cold getting to my feet. An absolute must for a rider.
(This is my first view of the snow clad mountains from manali - rohtang pass bridge.)
I arrive at rohtang pass, the weather was clear. I was hungry. I go to a ladhaki-himachal-dhaba and ask for HOT maggi noodles (my usual staple diet until I got to leh). All of a sudden snow starts to fall.. I wait for 30 minutes and it does not stop.
(My bike is so cold and snow clad!)
considering its going to impact my plan, I decide to ride on thru the snow fall.
(You may wonder, if this is a solo ride, how am I getting snaps of mine taken? Its simple I keep meeting people, if I can trust them with my camera, I ask them to take 3 snaps of mine.. I chose the best of three! I use an auto timer in conjunction with a tripod too, when ever I am close to the camera.)
Rohtang is a major tourist attraction. It is also a major menace caused by tourists. The tourists vehicles cause traffic jams and army vehicles are caught in the jam. Its then the army officers of these battalions ask their men to walk down.
In these traffic jams' I was surprised to see punjabi youth dance bhangra :) LOL..
As I sneak thru jammed traffic, and climb my bike over ice, I invite comments from the public.. especially one lady took my pic and said something like "i look macho on that bike"... "Well my lady, its just the bike, and I have to be in darcha this night."
Just further up rohtang pass, One soldier told another, yeh gadi to aaram se marsimek la pahunchegi.. I thought to myself, "Yes my brave man, that’s where I am going to".
At khoksar, i get a pleasent shock... Some guys stop me.. "Yelle ? Rajajinagar registration aa?". Ok i have company. I told them my story. These guys are going to pang...
(L-R Srinivas, Vinay, Sachit, NOTE the ice from rohtang is still on my fog lamps)
I have a tea with them and i never see them again (but in leh i meet Srinivas, after his voice went hoarse calling out my name in a busy market).
Himachal is freezing my knuckles and fingers. I have a wool glove, over that a Rexene glove, over that a leather glove (and i am still freezing). I found out that’s because water was seeping into all the gloves. With no sun and no dry wind it would prove impossible to dry to me.
I reach tandipur and top up my tank. I do not have any extra fuel cans as i am riding a AVL-350 royal enfield thunderbird and i have a superior mileage of 35-42 kmpl (except when i am in smooth highways where i do >= 90 kph LOL).
(Beautiful Himachal)
I reach keylong.. its still sunlight.. so i ride further on to jispa. And i reach jispa in the evening at 1700 hours. I ask the hotel jispa guys for a cheap room and i can’t afford their rates.
So i ask them if i could get accommodation at darcha... they say try the tents next door.
I go to the tent next door. And one all hospitable Gyaltsen of Tushitha Camps and travels is waiting for me. He hosts me for 300 inclusive of food.
At the end Of day, 18:00 hours, i crash at tents hosted by Gyaltsen of Tushitha Camps and travels. He then wakes me up at 21:00 hours and serves me hot rice and daal. I sleep for the rest of the night, preparing myself for the day ahead!
posted by Adarsh @ 7/07/2006 06:59:00 AM
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