Memoirs of a Wandering Nomad

Day 3: Manali local and Rohtang (Gulaba) --------------------------------------------------------- The next morning at Manali came early. The day looked bright and sunny, and there was none of the gloomy, cloudy feeling of yesterday. We decided to try our luck on the Rohtang road after a hearty breakfast of omlette and bread from a local roadside chap. For Rohtang, one has to cross the river and go to the other side. Taking left, you first reach a petrol pump - one of the last few on the road to Leh - this is the base of a place called Vashisht - famous of its hot medicinal water springs. The road is dotted with shops selling and renting snowgear - jackets, boots, the works. But most of it is reused often and usually quite dirty and smelly. Stairway to Heaven? Anyway, some 20km ahead, a road leads to Solan valley. Do not go there - especially when you know that Manali is swarming with tourists. All Indian tourists go to Solan to play in the snow, and make an absolute lousy...

Day 2: Bilaspur - Aut - Mandi - Kullu - Manali (170km, 4 hours) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The morning came swiftly on the second day, but before we started off, it was already about 10am - perils of a family traveling together that one has to learn to endure over time. The road further ahead is now narrower and winding, and the going starts getting slower. The surface gets a little rough once again near Barmana - where ACC has a cement factory, but it is better than the last night. There is a large lake near Bilaspur - I believe it is called Gobind Sagar. We could see the glimpse of the water body from far, and the setting looked nice. The road climbed further to Sundernagar - which is actually quite pretty (Sunder - literally 'beautiful') - with a canal flowing along the edge of the road, and has a small-town feel. It is pity they have not developed this one into a nice a tourist place. There are no restauran...

Day 1: Gurgaon - Karnal - Ambala - Chandigarh - Ropad - Swarghat - Bilaspur (350km, 8 hours) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manali is perhaps the most discussed and described destination in North India, as it caters to all sorts of tourists - families enjoying their school vacations in May-June; bike riders trying to scale Ladakh and the valley of Lahaul-Spiti during July-August; adventure junkies trying their hands and feet on various things that drive adrenalin - like mountain biking, snow trekking, paragliding etc. esp in Nov-Dec; and foreign tourists - mainly Russians and Israelis all round the year trying to find a home away from home in the limited dollars they have managed to put together . Manali also offers different things to different people. For some, it is an alternative which is safer than Kashmir - although not as serene - with the snow-clad mountain peaks all around. It is also an alternative easier...

Ladakh 4. DAY 3 – August 06, 2007 Mon Manali – Rohtang La – back to Marhi The day opens very late – as late as 9am for us. Must be the trout curry and the exhaustion of the earlier day, but we simply can’t get out of the excellent fluffy beds. Not that we are complaining though. By the time we pack, have a royal breakfast (120 bucks for an English breakfast, complete with fruit juice, omelets and coffee) and leave, it is almost 10:30am. We cross the bridge and go to the other side of Manali, go to the petrol pump on the way, fill petrol and then take the right, which leads to Vashishth. Vashishth, known for hot water springs, is also famous in the biking community because it has Anu’s garage. Anu is arguably the best mechanic in the area – and by area I mean a circle with a radius of at least 500km. Not even in Leh would you have good mechanics, so show your bike to Anu. And that is exactly how you do it. You just show him the bike. He does not repair bikes because that’s his job. He ...

Ladakh 3. DAY 2 – August 05, 2007 Sun Swarghat – Bilaspur - Sundernagar – Mandi – Aut – Bhuntar – Kullu - Manali The second day opens with a warm sunshine and clear skies. It is quite pleasant at Swarghat, and we are all refreshed by a good night’s sleep. We start off for Manali by around 9:30am – a small mistake that I would like to avoid the next time. One should always start early, and this is the learning we have over the next few days too. I am on a thundercloud, fully rejuvenated with the sleep. Saki too gets into good action, and we make excellent progress to Bilaspur. We stop and Bilaspur to get Alok’s bike repaired. Baldev mechanic in the town – a good and helpful fellow. Recommended. After a suitable breakfast of parathas, we move from Bilaspur towards Sundernagar and then to Mandi. The road goes through a green valley – part of Kullu valley – and is exceedingly beautiful. The road has juice bars on sides, river, valley and hills. The weather is quite nice and sunny. We mee...

Ladakh 2. DAY 1 – August 04, 2007 Sat Gurgaon – Delhi [GT Road] – Sonpat – Panipat – Chandigarh – Rupnagar – Kiratpur – Swarghat I wake Alok and Rini up at 4am. The day begins with a downpour, while we are trying to pack the bags on the bike. It is dark and pours heavily for almost 2 hours. By the end of which we are at the end of our patience and wits and decide to pack the bags anyway and move on. We are completely drenched, the luggage is wet and the packing is badly done due to lack of visibility. By the grace of Murphy, once we start, the rain stops almost by design. We meet the rest of the team (3 more bikes) at Dhaula Kuan after some more confusion on the meeting place, and proceed towards GT road – filling petrol, taking cash out of ATMs and generally whiling time away for no apparent good reason. A lot of places are flooded and muddy, through which we waddle our way, especially Azadpur Mandi. Occasional drizzles add to the misery. Finally, by around 8:30am, we are out of Delh...