Bike trip to
Leh-Ladakh…sounds fun doesn’t it? I first got introduced to the possibility of
this trip happening in January 2014. Every time I thought about this trip, I
experienced an adrenaline rush. However, Pattyy kept warning me “The idea is
still at a nascent stage…not sure if it will actually happen…so don’t get very
excited about it”. It was true; after all it is not easy for a dozen people to
come together and successfully do such trips! Also, with the kind of
experiences I have had in the past – everything being planned and looking
perfectly fine; however, just when it is about to happen, something or the
other going wrong and the plan falling apart – I was forced into attaching a 60% probability to the event of this trip
not materializing.
But then, it happened…
There were six
of us flying to Srinagar from Mumbai; five others were to join us at the
Srinagar airport. I reached the Mumbai airport in a stuporous state at an unearthly
hour. I was certain that I would flake out as soon as I boarded the flight; don’t
know if it was excitement, anxiety or something else, but I couldn’t sleep during
the journey – a rare feat for a person like me who has religiously stuck to the
practice of dozing off before the flight takes off and getting up only after it
lands! After the restless four hours in flight, we finally reached Srinagar. The
moment I stepped out of the flight at Srinagar, I could feel the change – it
was a welcome relief from the impure polluted Mumbai air.
The first task,
as we reached Srinagar, was to arrange for our conveyance to Leh - I must admit
that the experience we had in this regard was indeed not a pleasant one. After three
hours of struggle and some hiccups, we were finally able to hire two cabs to
drive us to Leh. As we travelled from Srinagar to Leh, I witnessed the nature transition
itself - from the lush green Kashmir valley to barren desert mountains of
Ladakh. It was like a page out of those mystery novels we read as kids – a
mystery yet to be unravelled, yet to be solved.
We started our
journey from Srinagar late in the evening, making our way to Sonmarg. The
panoramic view of the plush green mountains and the freshness of the air around
was a panacea for our tired souls. The sound of the clear streams flowing through
this tranquil setting was relaxing - a sharp contrast form the hustle bustle
and the honking of horns you get to hear in the cities. This pleasantness was, however,
dampened to some extent coz of the tantrums thrown by our cab driver! We managed
to reach Sonmarg around 9 at night and then began our hunt for accommodation –
thankfully, it did not take long. We found a dormitory, big enough, to house
all eleven of us. It was a nice, cosy place; offered 24 hour hot water supply –
as we were not sure of getting hot water in places we would be staying at in
the future (remember…the trip was totally unplanned!!), we all took bath before
retiring to our beds.
The early
morning view from our balcony was breathtaking – clouds hovering over the snow
clad mountains with a stream flowing about 500 mts away! Sounds like a fairy
tale…doesn’t it? After our failed attempt to capture the beauty of the place through
our lenses, we decided to leave the place and proceed towards Leh. The journey
to Leh began with a small scuffle with the cab driver though it was not long
before we settled down. Soon after, we made our way through the Zojila Pass.
Back in Mumbai, I had done some research on the places around Leh and the route
that we would take to reach these places. I was taken to believe that Zojila
Pass was the most dangerous stretch of our route - had started imagining it as
the final stage of super mario which if one managed to pass, would get access
to the princess (in this case the mystique valley of Ladakh) – I know it sounds
weird but that is what had come to my mind! However, the pre-conceived notions
I had in my mind were busted as we made our way through it; definitely, it is
scary to move on narrow gravel roads at a height of 11000 feet but not so much
so I had imagined – one just needs to be a bit careful, that’s it.
We kept moving
ahead, taking small halts in between. We managed to reach Kargil around noon;
the environment there somehow felt completely different then what I had
experienced thus far. I could feel the ‘not so friendly’ gaze of the people
moving around in the area we had halted at; it could well be my imagination - quite possible that they were gazing at us simply because we were new faces in the area - but
this was exactly how I had felt at the time.
After a short
break, we started the last stretch of our journey to Leh. What unfolded before
our eyes was nothing short of magic – the mountains let go of the green layer
they were adorning thus far and bared the rocky barren self to us – it was a
totally different landscape. It was like a painting made on a canvas – rocky
mountains exhibiting different shades of red, brown and yellow; the white ice
proudly sitting on the mountain tops while the clouds trying to protect the
desert mountain from the scorching sun by casting its shadow on the mountains.
I was awestruck by the beauty of the place.
We kept moving
towards our destination, lost in the beauty of the place. Before we could
realize, the cool evening breeze started gently caressing our body and playing
with our hairs.
We took a final halt at the Pathar Sahib Gurudwara, before
making our way to Leh. Once at Leh, it took us some time before we could reach
the guest house that was booked for us. All of us were tired from the long
journey and decided to call it a day, retreating to our respective rooms.
