Ladakh Expedition - Once in a lifetime Ride

Day 1 – Delhi- Manali- Keylong.

It was around 1.00am when we reached Delhi airport. Since the plan was revised, we asked the cab to pick us up at 1.30am instead of 8.00am so that atleast we have some 6hours buffer in our hand. Since there was no buffer in the plans, given the fact that it was snowing already & landslides can happen at anytime, anywhere. Pretty stupid isn’t it. :P.

We zoomed out of Delhi since the plan was set straight. No stops or deviations from the road until & unless we reach Manali. Arjun opted to be the shot gun and stayed awake, while others dozed off. Arijith's songs were soothing our tired souls.

 We stopped for a tea break near some dhaba @ Punjab. I couldn’t sleep so asked Arjun to take five & slipped to front seat and we continued.

A shot gun is the one who seats in the front & keeps the drive accompanied & also keeps others grooving with his DJ skills :P

Sun rise in the countryside of Punjab was scintillating. Farm land en route gave us a pleasant feel with early morning breeze hitting our face. After an hour of drive we stopped for tea & the car was also to be changed due to registration issue.  The owner of the travels, Manish Sharma himself drove the week old Innova. We stopped at some dhaba to fresh up & fill our tummies with the authentic aloo parata & lassi.

 

Authentic Aloo Parantha

Soon we entered the Himachal Pradesh. It was like home away from home for me. It was all hues of green quite similar to my home town Chikmagalur. We got to see one of the beautiful & quite big lake on our way, the Pandoh Lake. We could already see the snow clad mountains in the backdrop, adding on to our excitement.

 

Lake Pandoh

                                 

As we neared Mandi,we witnessed a waterfall in the banks of river Beas. And then uut of nowhere a tunnel appeared in the highway. We reached the kullu & it was time for our special lunch.

Aut tunnel at Mandi is one of the largest tunnel road in India stretching up to 4kms.

Kulu valley was again a bliss to see,love to visit during snowfall. 

Waterfall near Aut tunnel

Aut Tunnel

Kullu Town

Manali was preparing itself for the winter & the snowfall. Landscapes were breathtaking, no wonder people opt this place for honeymoon: P. I would loved to camp at the valley, But our destination was to reach Keylong for the night. 

It was around 6.30pm when we reached Manali. And the journey with Manish bhai & his innova was at end. From here the travels had arranged JK registered vehicle for us to reach Leh. One thing I learnt was, the registration of the vehicle does matters a lot here. We met shaym, a ladakhi driver who will be taking us to leh in his Xylo.

Bidding Adieu to Manish bhai 

We had little time to roam around the famous mall road of manali& fill our tummy. We roamed &shopped for a while. And returned to the cab stand where Shyam was waiting for us. Arjun, Naveen & Deepak wanted to buy some special “stuff”, so they bluffed to bring food & went out. But lesser did I know that these buggers would waste time till 10.30. I was so pissed at them,  6hrs of buffer was all wasted meaninglessly. 

And it was dark & had to cross the Rohtang pass, which is famous for its unpredictable weather, landslides& altitude of around 11,000ft. They had little idea of the danger we could encounter in this stretch. I was boiling with anger but managed to keep myself calm. Arjun did tried to justify but that only made me more furious.

Shyam had insisted us to halt for the night & leave early in the morning, in that way we could witness the landscapes in day light. But we opted to carry on for the night & ascend to the famous Rohtang pass begun.

Rohtang Pass

The Ascend- we could hardly hold our camera, it was freezing!!

Man!! For a while I thought, I’m gonna touch the moon in minutes that was the altitude. My eyes were shut for a while & when it opened, bloody Arjun was swinging, left & right in the front seat & Shyam  was driving very close to the edge of the cliff. I was shit scared & checked on Shyam whether he’s in his senses or sleeping. 

He was driving his freaking xylo like a stimulator or something, every time he took sharp turns close to the edge, my heart was in my mouth. Arjun was in his dreamland still swinging, left & right. I was struggling to keep myself up. The buggers were sleeping so peacefully as if we are on some sweet ride.

 After some point I couldn’t keep myself up, so asked Naveen (who spent most of the time sleeping in this journey) to take the place of Arjun, so that both of us could rest for a while. We slept for a while before waking up at keylong for the final halt of the day.It was around 2.00am.

 

Our Driver till Chandigarh

                                                                                    

                                           

      That was an epic start to the trip...!!!