A Journey To The Heaven (Part IV)

Part I - Manali To Leh
Part II - Leh-Nubra Valley-Leh
Part III - Leh-Pangong Tso-Leh

Part IV - Day 13, 14, 15

September 14: Leh-Lamayuru-Kargil
September 15: Kargil-Drass-Srinagar
September 16: Srinagar

Day Thirteen
As we were only 3 people riding today, we could start earlier than our rest of the rides from Leh. Leh-Kargil highway passes along side Indus River. Rode is quite busier than Manali-Leh highway and it is strategically important for Indian Army. We often came across Army Convoys. On the way near Nimu, there is a hill called as Magnetic Hill which is supposed to posses ferromagnetic characteristic. While riding nearby, though I didn’t feel any difference but Bhuwan Singh with his Thunderbird had a different story to tell. He put his bike to neutral while approaching near the hill and it was automatically pulled! He was able to touch 60Kph without any effort. Also, he couldn't cross 40Kph with engine on when hill was pulling the bike back! Hilarious!
On the Leh-Kargil highway you come across an interesting terrain called as Sector 81. Which is nothing but ugly textured, steep mountains one after the other. Deep at their base one could see a shining thin curve getting lost somewhere. That is Indus. Mountains were so steep that sometimes I couldn’t dare to look into the valley while taking a curve! “Eighty One Mighty One” a board said. Quite true. As we were approaching near Kargil it was getting darker. In the evening light, I could frame mountain peaks dipped in the beautiful golden light. It was completely dark when we reached Kargil. As you approach Kargil, Muslim culture gradually replaces Buddhism. Kargil is known for its Afgani style culture. Our hotel in Kargil was on the slope of a hill. View of city nightlights from the top was quite enjoyable. Tomorrow was the last day of my riding.









Day Fourteen
We left Kargil around 9:00 AM. Kargil is quite hot as compared to rest of the places that we visited so far. Right after Kargil is Drass which is at a higher altitude and a cooler place. A road sign reads that Drass has a record of being the second coolest inhabited place in the world when mercury dropped to -60 degrees in January 1995! Unbelievable. We visited Drass War Memorial which is at the base of Tololing Mountains. A jawan briefs you important events in the war of Kargil. You could actually see Tiger Hill from there.

With the stories of war in mind we rode ahead towards Srinagar. You pass very close from LOC. Signboards like this "You Are Under Enemy Observation" brought a thrill in this part of the ride. Zoji La is the last La in whole journey. It is a narrow pass which is the gateway to the beautiful valley of Kashmir. Most of the time only one way traffic is allowed on alternate basis for every couple of hours. Cross Zoji La and you get stunned by the beauty of Kashmir. We stopped at Sonamarg. Yogesh who returned from Suru Valley in Zanskar range also joined us there. Remaining part of the journey till Srinagar was a scenic ride. The road passes along Indus river. The colour of its water, which was muddy faint green earlier, turns into beautiful blue when it passes through Kashmir. There are lots of camping sites along the river.

I particularly noted one thing about children I saw from Leh to Srinagar. Till Kargil they seemed very cheerful. We often saw them waving or stretching their hand expecting a clap from us. It was quite fun to give them on-the-move clap in response. When we entered Kashmir none of the children waved at us. They just watched us passing by. Expressionless faces and blank eyes. How sad that was. What was responsible? The terrorism in the valley or those armed soldiers standing on the road every 100 meters. Quite difficult to say.
We reached Srinangar in the evening. We stayed at a hotel near Dal Lake where Yogesh stayed in hos last trip.

Day Sixteen
We went for Shikara ride in the morning. We shifted to the houseboat where rest of the gang was staying. Everybody was together again. Rest of the day was spent in shipping the bike and lazying on the houseboat. I flew back to Pune the next day.

The sunset & After

As I entered our hotel room on the first evening in Srinagar, I quickly dumped my luggage there, grabbed the camera and rushed towards my bike as sun was about to set. I took a ride around Dal Lake. Having reached a satisfactory point, I stopped by the side of the road and sat on the bike facing the sun. I closed my eyes for a second & took a deep breath. The Sun was setting over the majestic Dal Lake in front of me. I could see few Shikaras floating aimlessly in its still water. Whole lake was illuminated with a nice warm evening hue. While riding back, a sense of completeness touched me. It was a feeling of satisfaction which is hard to finds in the hustle of our busy city life. I can’t figure out myself why I wanted to do this ride. But all I can say that it was worth it.

. . .

End of Story
. . .

Now I am sitting in the chair. Pressing keys of the office keyboard. I feel I am not what I was before I did this ride. Something has changed. I cant describe it. Those mountains, that first snowfall, getting tired at 17000 feet, AMS, riding with fever in body, sitting idle near Pangong with feet dipping in its calm water, shivering in the tent in a freezing cold night and bursting out in a laugh when somebody cracks a joke over the glass of military Rum, the curiosity in the eyes of those children when they gather around you wanting to view their snap on camera LCD, smile on the military truck driver's face when they see you waving, watching the sunset over Dal lake, lazying in the balcony of Houseboat comparing citylights with stars... list goes on. The soul gets happier as I recall these moments. It was never ever purer. Even daily office work had suddenly become interesting. Few might understand these random thoughts. Few wont. [a smile]. Its out somewhere there, keep discovering.

Other Links:
Part I - Manali To Leh
Part II - Leh-Nubra Valley-Leh
Part III - Leh-Pangong Tso-Leh
Journey To The Heaven: Flickr Photo Collection