So before I begin, i think its ritualistic to first introduce myself. I am Vasanth (Vas), a rider from Delhi. I have a royal enfield bullet electra. My ridography includes a solo ride to Ladakh in 2007, a ride to chittorgarh, rajasthan with my wife and many other short rides to rishikesh etc.

So what is this journal about. well, post ladakh, i was wondering if there is another ride that could match its magnanimity, the unkind of super human effort that it takes to complete the ride especially solo. well “wonderings” took almost 2 years to materialize and i zeroed in on “Kibber”, the highest inhabited village in the world. More than the destination, i found out that the journey is as surreal and demanding as the one to leh. so after 2 years of hibernation, my bull, called “the messiah” and I are embarking on our quest of sublimity. but this time, i am not alone since i have got 5 others who have offered their company to me on this ride.

Chapter-1: PREPARING & WAITING

our ride begins on july 1st and should possibly end by 12th. this chapter before the ride begins is what i call preparing and waiting.

The progress so far:

bullet serviced
carriage fixed
route plan prepared

after having done the basics so far, now we await the d-day when we shall begin the ride….

5 more days to go

Yep, with 5 more days to go, things are pretty much falling into place. On Saturday i.e. day after tomorrow, I will be going to the “India mountaineering foundation” to get the tents and camping materials. My bull is serviced with couple of nagging issues here and there which i will get fixed.
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26th June, 2010. 0400hrs, Chandigarh Bus Stand. I was desperately looking for a bus to Dharamshala. A kind man told me that the bus to Dharamshala will come from Delhi and as it was a Saturday, it would be hard to find a seat. So, I decided to go for a fragmented journey (I knew the route thanks to Google Maps). I boarded a bus to Una and I was there in 2 hrs. From Una I boarded a local bus to a place called Mubarakpur, from where I got a direct bus to Dharamshala. Bus halted at a place called ‘Dehra’ for Tea. It seemed to be a nice little town. Its name reminded me of Bond’s ‘Our trees still grow in Dehra’, but of course, Bond referred to Dehradun. Finally I was in Dharamshala by 1100hrs.

Once upon a time in Dehra... ;)

“Outside of a dog, a book is Man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” - Groucho Marx.

Had it not been for the Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) , Naggar would not have happened.

A note on books and blogs Books (e-books or paper bound) are still much superior as compared to host of blogs and websites. Online forums, at best, are good for an  ”occasional tip” and that too happens cause people “speak” about the content which is quite recent. Books, on the other hand, need to re-published. The Outlook Traveller Gateways (on HP) which I referred to was published in 2008. Two years down the line nothing much had changed….

And Naggar did happen…thankfully.

This last part I have covered in following three phases: –

Phase One- Manali-Naggar, stay at Naggar.

Phase Two – Road back Home - Naggar-Chandigarh-Rock Garden-Rothak-Ajmer Road trip and a quick visit to Ajmer-e-Sharif.

Phase Three – Road back Home continues…Ajmer-Ahmedabad-Mumbai Road trip
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As heat in Delhi became unbearable, as we gave up on staying alive in the huge bar-be-que that seemed to follow us wherever one would go, and finally as our frustration psyched us out since we could not find an appropriate, worthy, exciting place for our holiday – along came Kasol. To make the deal more lucrative, it came across that Gurudwara Manikaran Saheb was close-by, hence a visit was warranted.

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