Mumbai-Leh-09 solo (Part 2)

Read first part of the story here :)

http://whereeaglesdare2007.blogspot.com/2009/10/leh-solo-09.html

Leh-diskit:

Started early and went to see my new friends.They were painstakingly washing thier bikes.I joined them
and gave my bike a much deserved bath



Started for nubra






Road from south pullu to north pullu was entirely screwed up.



A mandatory poser shot for bikes worlds 'highest' road



Got down at nubra valley and marvelled at beautiful vistas over there.






Reached diskit..........stayed in a house with a beautiful garden



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iskit-nubra-panamik-leh

after clicking some macros which were out of focus we proceeded to see nubra desert










Syok river





went to panamik.....i was expecting some gyser types hot water fountain....we saw a water flowing from a small hole.....sulphur deposit made sides look yellow and it looked more or less like dirty sh**h**e.I am sorry for the description........I had never seen hot water springs was expecting something I had seen in discovery channel......couldnt help being dissapointedI clicked photos of it and deleted it coz closeup shots of the same looked like what was described earlier.

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Leh-Pangong-Tso:

Started riding towards pangong.Road was awesome spare top five kms on either side of chang -la.Reached pangong in jiffy.Eagarness and excitement of rest of the team on reaching pangong and seeing it for the first time was worth remembering

Pagal nallah now is almost non-existent and there is a bridge construction going there,so it would be gone next year




Checked into barracks at lukang.Was charged at 350 bucks for barracks.Last time I was quoted 1000 bucks and 400 bucks for tent.I guess the price varies according to season.Last time was august or maybe some one made a real 'chaman' of me back then.

Explored the lake.We had skipped lunched and enjoyed some french fries made by the aunty and her son.















We to Pulsies:Are you ready to take on marsimik-la tommorow morning??
Pulsars (Glowing their pilot lamps):"No fear".
I love this "No fear" pic,wish it was much sharper.
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V




Went back and we ate more oily french fries.....

After dinner we we went to click some night shots:

Eeirie.........Notice how only leg is visible

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The D-Day:Pangong- M-la- Leh:

We had no trouble waking up early.Everyone was charged up to take on toughest pass around...


Did take some early morning shots of pangong-tso:









Were greeting by a frozen mini-nallah.



Not knowing what lied ahead we rode on....
initially it wasnt much and we thought it was just an overrated pass:





















At times the gradient got steep ,we got stuck in loose soil at times some of the bikes had pushed,dragged at time



Finally we made it top.....




BAL P200/P220 lineup with various colors

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time for some pojing:
Pranay:











The stylebhai poje









Returned to Leh and all of us had a gr8 dinner.Tommorow Praful,Pranay and Veda would go back from manali route and I would do some time pass in leh and head back via srinagar the day after.

Group pic:

left to right:
Pranoy,Veda,Me and Praful:




A group photo at K-top



My short trip log doesnt give you an idea of gr8 and memorable time I had with these guys for four days.....








Leh-Kargil:

Did a easy leasure ride to Kargil.Plan was to reach drass and visit the war memorial on the way. But drass had no nice places to stay apart from tourism bungalow many places to eat were shabby looking more of a truckie stop then a proper city.

























I need photostat of my vehicle documents to courier it the next day and I would prefer doing it at a shop inbetween.When I saw decent looking hotel at Kargil I found myself riding inside gates.The cost was exorbitant at 800 bucks a day....hahaha .....this is not delhi u are charging so much I wanted to say..........argued that I had to stop only for night and would be leaving at 5 am.....the owner told me people arrive at night and stay for only two hours but pay the same....i didnt argue....place had decent parking,hot water,clean toilets ,TV with english movie channels to keep me entertained till next day.





Hotel was apparently one of the good ones with lot of gora goris,some desi travellers and plenty desi families on vacation(chitchatting abt kargil war and leh vacation spot)I was happy I didnt alone have to stay in hellish "Hill View" hotel at drass.


Hotels name was "Hotel Siachen" and its on right hand side on the highway near taxi stand at Kargil if you are driving to srinagar.Kargil is a curious town again with plenty of salons and photostudios.Wonder how does economy of place work if most of the people do the same work


There was a restaurant but no room service and I didnt have to step out of hotel.Bought shampoo sachet had a hot water bath,had a early dinner,settled into bed in front of TV bought some haldiram namkeen and cold drinks to finish off my contingeny himalayan surival kit



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Kargil-srinagar: Reached drass and was at the war memorial site: Names of heros at kargil:

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Rode off to Kargil.Zozilla was in bad shape as the praful and company had said.I had two days to spare.Planned to stop at sonmarg,but heck there cellphone want working.I had just 80-90 kms to go to finish off my marathon ride so I carried on till srinagar.
Checked into hotel new Muskhaan next to nathu sweets on boulevard road as my new friends had recommended for 600 bucks.The hotel one floor below was 1500 bucks with the same view and same room types

Spent couple of days packing my bike home,resting and on 4th october caught a flight back to mumbai.

Tololing range in the backdrop ...



Tiger hills(Straight and Pointed mountain on right hand side of the road) where a pitched battle of control was faught by Indian army in 1999







Sonmarg









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List of goodies I carried:

FOR BIKE
4 set of spare keys......i tend to lose them easily
smart card
PUC
insurance
tax reciept
10 amp fuse*2
some jumper wires
tubless repair kit
engine oil(Stopped using motul)
funnel
90 number truck oil in small bottle for lubing chain
clutch cable
clutch lever
used clutch plates(for m-top)...planning to replace them and carry old ones for emergency
brake lever
chain lock
NGK spark plug*1
small plastic tube to suck fuel out of other bikes or trucks
fix spanners 8 to 22
ring spanner(available one)12-13,14-15,20-22
two good pliers
screw driver set
washers
battery plugs
electric tape
bungee cords
allan keys 4 mm and 5 mm
footpump
tube for rear tyre???michellin...unsure now


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PHOTOGRAPHY
camera
lenses(18-55mm & 70-300mm)
lens filters& neck strap
battery charger
tripod
gorilla pod
spare SD cards 8+2 GB


TRAVEL
watch
led headlamp
cellphone
mapbook
photocopied parts of LP India


MEDICINES
old monk(to be bought at dalhousie/manali) in case of hypothermia
personal medicines
first aid box
norflox-TZ
flaygl
crocin
avil 25
mox-500(15 tablets)
electral packets
glucon-D box
chocalates+glucose biscuits(to be bought locally)+roasted chic peas(I have switched from dry fruits to chic peas...recession)
brufen(I dont take these tablets but they help during swellings after falls)
diamox(to be bought at manali/dalhousie)

PERSONAL STUFF
cash money for trip+return shipping+cards incase of emergency
pepper spray(if I get hold of one)
few undies
pan card/employer id card...pesky id checks in shrinagar
driving license
airticket printout
1 tissue roll
2-3 sweat shirts
I tee(will wear)
2 track pants+1 jeans(wear)
1 towel
shaving kit(to look good while posing)
spare shoes
deo spray(if you have space)
couple of pair of socks
one pair of shoes+ one pair of riding shoes(will wear)
tooth brush+tooth paste
sunscreen(if I can find one lying around in house)
2-3 baraclavas...they start stinking if u keep wearing the same
muffler
hippo waist pouch
riding jacket
inner liner for jacket
gloves+winter gloves
woolean cap
knee guards
pen+small book
helmet
woollen lowers to be worn under jeans
religious stuff & charms

Added later on:
swiss army knife
climbing rope
caribineer
4 boxes of matches
candles
cold cream