The Last Page: My Autobiography

An autobiography. One of those things which again is available as a right, to only the famous and very well known. In part, rightly so, because people only want to read about the successful and very famous, to know how they scaled the peaks of achievements and what struggles they faced and overcame. That inspires people to overcome their obstacles and try to be successful. But, it would be very wrong to think that only the stories of the very famous or monetarily successful people are an inspiration. If that was the case, our dads wouldn't have been our superheroes and our moms wouldn't have been our gods. Their stories are no less inspirational. For the one writing his autobiography, I wonder what an amazing experience it would be to rewind the tape of his life and take out excerpts from it to put it out for others. Even the average should be able to have that experience. And just for the sake of writing an autobiography, I wish to be a very famous personality. For now, the minor rebel streak in me, who hates too much of norms, decided to take this on, in my own way. And yes, hardly anyone would read it, but it would definitely satisfy something inside of me. But then, thinking on those lines, I unknowingly embarked on a different line of thought. Who knows how I will end up and whether I would be entitled to write an autobiography or not? If someone becomes successful later on, it would be easier to give tips to others or showcase your past failures openly but it to do it before you are successful, is not something people do or would find it easy to do. I thought, if today, I was given to chance to write one, I began thinking what it would be like. Eventually, finding my way through the maze of these thoughts, I began to wonder that, given my current situation what would I want my autobiography to look like. What would be the last page of my autobiography. Thus, I decided to write not the full, but just the last page. May be few decades later I would look back and wonder how I had thought it to be and how it turned out to be. So here it goes.
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After a good, half an hour or forty five minutes of evening walk we both take our seats on a bench by the lake. It would be sunset in just a while. We just sit down to catch our breaths and give a little rest to our bones and muscles which are now doing overtime at 80 odd years. As soon as we catch a little bit of our breath back, she tees off into a conversation. She, still the talker and me, still the listener and thinker. I just wonder how dull it would have been without her, who could make up a conversation on almost anything, an area in which I struggled woefully. All these years she had filled up the silence around me with her chirpiness. And even today I was just happy and fascinated to listen to her and chime in once in a while. As I look at her now wrinkly face, but with still the same bright eyes with full of expressions, I wonder how much I still loved her. She still was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and definitely the most beautiful wrinkly 80 year old. But the countless wrinkles on both of us were symbolic of the amount of time we had spent together, starting from the very first wrinkle that innocently made its presence felt on our face years back, till the latest one. Each of those signified the long years we had left behind together. The years of struggle, some successes studded with lots of minor failures and lot other frustrations along the way. Over the years, I could now, just look at her expressive eyes and get to know what she intended to say.
After a while, listening to her, a thought just made its way across my ageing mind and I ask her "Have we been successful? What do you think?"
She looks at me, smiles, more brightly with her eyes than her lips now, and says "What happened? All of a sudden an old soul, philosophical question?"
"I was always an old soul. Never felt that I belonged in this world till you came around. Anyways, what are your precious thoughts on the question?"
"See, money wise, we have been ok. We always had more than enough to take care of everything plus some indulgences every now and then. As for other things, let me say this, we provided well for the kids and ourselves, saw a bit of the world, you set up a successful enterprise, I did ok in my career and after a point, we had the resources when we needed them. Most of all, I am still with you, so yes you and we have been successful" she said with her characteristic, wry sense of humor and again talking more through the eyes than the lips, which made me fall for her over and over again even now as I did when young.
"By that last parameter, definitely. But you are right. I think we did ok."
The sun was setting now and as the red rays of evening sunlight fell sieving through the light mist and draping everything in its red hue, I again took a look at her. Despite the vagaries of ageing life, her face was still resplendent with a kind of life in them that it made everything worth it. The single most biggest reason of us getting through around this maze of life was her being with me all through it.
"Let's head back. We will take another 20 minutes to reach and it is about sunset."
I get up and lend my hand to her for support to get up, while I hold my classical old man's stick in the other hand to support myself. That is what it is now. Both, inadequate on our own, needing support from each other for everything. She smiles and gives me her hand, and gets up. Not that she could not get up on her own, especially being as fiercely independent as ever, nor I was strong enough now to give her support all by myself, but, the coming to terms of the fact that I liked to do so and she liked that I felt nice.
She gets up. And so, inch by inch, still holding hands, as if we were teens in love, but for reasons totally different now, we move gingerly, and in the fading light we fade away in the dark moving towards a place which we had made our home for so many years. The only thought being, it was a worthwhile journey of a lifetime and we did well. Together. And most importantly, we were at peace.

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Culture for failures

There are successful people, there are triers and there are quitters. In that group of triers, a vast majority are the ones who have been labelled failures more often than not. What people like to see is only the ones who are successful now. Triers are failures, at least for that moment. That is how, especially our culture looks at those people. Only the "black and white" success is worshiped and the rest is shunned away. From the moment a child starts schooling, there is only one thing which is appreciated. All people care about is instant success in everything. The parameters of being successful are in themselves as random as anything can be. Only those who are successful at every thing they do are treated well. For others, it is embarrassment, humiliation and the shame of being branded failures. Only true failures are the quitters. In our culture, if someone tries something and fails at it, he is scorned upon, looked down upon and even made fun of.
But in reality, it is actually the failures that we see in life that make us what we are. It is only failures that keep people humble, that develops and brings out the true character. It is failures that teach us how to deal with them. People who have always only been successful till a point, really have no clue how to deal with a failure. The best examples are the child prodigies in almost every field. Because of their talent and genius, they see only success early on. But, a very minuscule percentage of those prodigies go on to become greats because the first time they hit a roadblock or a failure, they do not know how to deal with it and they fizz out or worse, quit.
There are geniuses and heroes. Both are considered successful. But the difference is, geniuses are admired but heroes are idolized. Mostly, geniuses just take the world by storm by their brilliance, whereas heroes, go through a hell before emerging out on the other side being successful. Not everybody can be a genius and that is why we cannot relate that much to them. On the hand, everybody can be a hero because almost everybody goes through hardships. That is why we relate to them more. It gives the rest of us, a hope that difficulties can be overcome.
The surest path to success is through failures and enduring hardships. It grows you from within and shapes your character. It makes you stronger. All those people who have not failed even once, I just have to say that you simply do not know enough. Success is not only how quickly you achieved it, it is how high you bounce after hitting the bottom. Success is, if you can and have, got up after hitting the low.
So don't scold or feel ashamed if your kid failed at trying something. Do not ridicule or judge your friends for failing at something for failing is a way of discovering what you are supposed to do. If you keep at it despite failures, then you succeed. There are no timelines to it, but achieving is inevitable.
Unfortunately in our culture we lay too much emphasis and appreciation on succeeding every time. Be it with kids performing at school, professionals at work, earning money or succeeding at sports and art. We fail to appreciate the process of trying to attain success through failures. Through trying out different things before figuring out ourselves and what and how to keep going on. We have seen parents scolding their kids for even coming second in class or worse, on just passing. We fail to give the kids a chance to explore other things. Not everybody is meant to do one thing. And to figure out what you are meant to do, entails embarking on a journey and treading a path of failures, on which after each setback you know yourself more and are one step closer to where you should be.
We as a society should be more open to the concept of people failing and accepting them. Not to shun them or mock them, for if they are not quitting, they are on the right path.
These words sound great from well known people who have beat the odds. I am no such person. But what I am is a normal person who has seen a fair share of failures and some successes. I am not successful by the yardstick people have for success. Not yet. That is why I thought it was more important to write this now rather than when I eventually beat the odds. For all the triers, like me, the most important thing is to believe in ourselves. Nobody would ever believe in you if yourself do not. Chances are, that even if you believe in yourself, nobody else will, but then, you will at least have you on your side and that is better than having nobody. One thing about luck and tough times is that they change. It might even take years but eventually they will change. But, when they do change, it is your responsibility to be ready to exploit the change. To be ready by not quitting, by being prepared and by keeping the self belief alive and kicking. No body is a failure until they quit, no matter what the society and the world may think. "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
If rather, you have been pretty successful already, but, you know someone who is still on that path and not yet out on the other side, do not shun them, or mock them. Try to know their journey. You will be surprised to know that if you were in their shoes, you might have been in the same position. There is nothing people remember more than the people who help and support them in their tough times.
What I have learnt from my experiences is not to judge anyone who has failed or is failing at the moment. For me, I respect those people more who failed and then came back better. We talk about tasting success, but, you are not complete if you haven't tasted failure.
If I were to hire someone for a position, and could hire only one person, and had two options, one, someone who has been out and out winner throughout his life and the other who might not be an outright genius, but still good at his work, but would failed at some point and bounced back, I would hire the second one. That is because, there would be clear evidence that he had seen failures and came out better and hence knows how to handle them better than someone who hasn't seen any.
I seriously hope we change our outlook towards failures.
I have succeeded some of the times, failed many many times, but I know "Its not over until I win, because God built me to last."

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The Yellow Chair!

One of my earliest memories is from the time when I was in nursery or probably in playschool. I will have to verify that from mom. I do not have an elephant's memory, but it is one of the weird little things, I just remember from that young an age. As a kid at that age, the little knowledge and recognition of colors I had, it was the color yellow that I liked very much. Everyday, mom would drop me at the school. I remember it being a decent sized room. It might actually be very small in reality, but my memory is that of a 3 year old, when everything seemed big. A sweet burly woman was our caretaker or teacher, which again I will have to verify, but, she was there to take care of us, teach us and help us learn while playing along the way. The room had lots of toys. Toys in shape of different vehicles, different lego kind of toys to build something and large plastic air filled balls to kick around. And then, it had, a little close to the wall on one side, a line of small wooden chairs for us to sit on. They were in all different colors. I remember blue, red, white and yellow chairs. Rest, either I have forgot or was too young to know or recognize. Whenever we were asked to sit, I bolted towards the yellow chair in the middle. For some reason, I remember, there was only one yellow chair. I remember red chairs which were more than one, blue were also more than one and probably white was also only one. Every time we had to sit, I had to take the yellow chair. Some days if I couldn't, it almost brought me to tears. One day, I even pushed one guy who was a little ahead of me in the dash to the chairs, so that I could take that chair. Even after the school got over, I used to hang on to the yellow chair. When my mom eventually used to appear at the door, to take me back home, I used to drag that chair with me to the door and plead my mom to take the chair too, with us. Every day, I was cajoled or bribed or tricked or scolded to leave the chair where it belonged. That itself, became my first failure in life, not to be able to take the chair home. That, also was the first thing I ever really wanted, except of course, apart from chocolates and a long car, which followed in the list.
Over a period of time, in my life, I forgot about it. Only sometimes, when some stories were told, I used to remember it again. But the urge to sit on a yellow chair, when I see one, is still there. Only then it flashes back now.
Up till my school, in my studies, I had a couple of downs, some really bad ones, but otherwise, it was pretty much great. Then I went to college. There, where most of us actually grow up, I saw that life was not always hunky dory. With respect to academics, I knew much more than most of the students, but the university type system showed me the first glimpses of actual life. Sometimes, no matter how much you try and are actually deserving, things do not come to you. I knew more than most. In fact, sometimes taught half the class on some subjects but I never scored as well as I wanted, It was still good, but the marks seemed to be random number generated. Even in subjects of science and subjects like maths etc, where the solution is precise, either you get it or you don't, even in those subjects, when I knew everything and wrote everything, I scored less than the people who wrote stories in sheets and extra sheets of answer booklets. Somehow the concept of science was lost on the paper checkers. That is when I realized, that no matter how much study or I don't, I would get approximately the same marks. And that was exactly what happened. That was the first time I felt, things going against me even when I tried and deserved better. But that gave me an important lesson too. Same happened in the case of landing up with a job. Ultimately, I got the best of offers and the most in my batch but it came painfully late. Then I learnt one more thing. Things do not happen instantly. For me, they take a bit of time.
But the effect of all this and then being in a boring job afterwards, was that, I lost some of the self belief. After a little more time, I wondered, whether I still had the competitive edge. I used to be counted among the best, but was not sure if I was any better at that time.
Then few things on the personal front happened. Along with it, came the aim of cracking the CAT exam. I believed that I could do it but had narrowly failed on one occasion and got royally screwed on another because of a silly mistake. After that, the time and circumstances were such that I had to do something to prove to myself and few others that I was not dumb now, and that I still had it in me. I needed it more for myself, although, it did not hurt to prove it to few others as well.
I remember the day, when it finally happened. I felt like punching the air like Virat Kohli does these days. I was with a friend when I got the results and the first thing that I spoke was "I am not dumb." I could not speak any more any further.
Then I went to the campus. I was given a room and took the keys. I took my luggage to my room and opened the door. It was a rather spacious room, with one bed along the wall, one large table at the other end, a rack in the wall, a wardrobe and just in front of the table was bright yellow chair in all its beauty and glory. The moment my eyes fell on it, everything flashed again. I left everything and went and sat on it with my legs on the table. I wondered "It was here that I was supposed to find the yellow chair. I could have never guessed it" Oddly enough, it was an exhilarating feeling. Before I even brought my luggage in the room, I sat on it for good 10 minutes. Finally, I had my yellow chair.
There are many things that the yellow chair can even symbolize. I felt, if I hadn't remembered that obsession with the yellow chair from childhood, I wouldn't have got it. Even if I had, I wouldn't have appreciated it. So, if you keep working on, and always have it in the back of your mind, sooner or later it would come.
I am no celebrity, or guru or a motivational speaker. But I can tell you, everyone has that yellow chair in mind from childhood. Most forget it completely. But if we don't, somewhere, someplace in some for or other, the yellow chair will come to you or call you to it. For me, it was not only about that chair and that event. I need more yellow chairs. Best is to keep seeking that yellow chair again and again and again. 

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How I got Leh'd

Of all the things I ever wanted to do, motorbike trip to Leh was one of the highest on the list. Over the years, after I started working, due to the ever entangling professional life, frustrations, so called lack of time, logistics and financial issues, this item on to-do list was far from realization. In the mean time after 4 years of working I even dared and had the audacity to jump into student life once again for my MBA, which, apart from few other things, chewed up my two years, at the end of which I was only richer by an over-hyped degree. Only consolation was endless, and night after night, of night cricket in the campus. 2014, however, turned out to be a little different.
One day, just sitting in my professional of 2x2 feet which some people happen to call a cubicle, it just came back to me that I had to do this. Well, at-least before I am too old for it, or before BRO makes all the roads in the area and going there becomes easy or before Pakistan manages to disturb or worse capture the area. Very exaggerated thoughts I know but nevertheless, these thoughts came. And this time I was hell bent to go. Till the last few days, however, I did not have any company. Even though I was keen on doing it alone even if no one joined me but, it was tough convincing my family and loved ones that I would go alone. A week before, one of my very good friends however decided to join me and we were definitely up and running. So without beating around the bush any more, I would cut down to the trip.
After all the planning, research, equipment arrangements and travelling to Manali from Delhi on bike, we were finally about to begin 'The Dream Ride'. The morning we had to start, we woke up really early to start our ride. By the time we had our luggage and gear all mounted on the bike, the sun had started to rise. Even as simple a thing as sunrise was surreal in those surroundings. As the sun's first rays started streaming down, I felt that they not just spreading light and warmth on earth, but seemed to gradually fill every particle of my heart with joy and light. I am a morning hater. If it were to me I would abolish the concept the mornings. There is not a single day in my normal routine life when I do not simply abhor mornings. But, this was totally different and celestial.
We ultimately started off and began cruising on the initial, good, winding roads, soaking up all the scenes and views as we rode ahead. After about 45 mins we had to stop to adjust the luggage on my friend's bike as he felt it was not balanced properly. After we adjusted the luggage, we started again stopping every now and then, to admire the beauty of the landscape. Although time was a concern but, in the surroundings, we lost track of everything and it just felt we were in trance and were driven by intuition and heart. We stopped frequently and took breaks liberally. I was also enjoying riding on the almost empty, winding roads. There is something about winding roads that I simply love. No where else I get so much pleasure in riding as I do on winding hilly roads. Many people have many quotes about mountains and I would like to share my own. "Curves are sexy. Be it on a woman, or on mountain roads."
Negotiating turns and cruising through, we reached a relatively flat expanse of land with eatery stalls and took another break to have maggi and tea. This was just before the dreaded Rohtang Pass. It was when we entered the stretch that we realized how hellish just that stretch of the ride would be. But surely there was no going back. The way to heaven was through hell. So be it. We were determined to brave it out little by little.
As we were steadily conquering every turn one by one, on of the slopes, a lorry stopped in front of me just before a narrow stony turn. I stopped behind him and then suddenly the lorry reversed. No amount of honking or the sound of the lorry crashing in the bike, could stop it, till it actually run over my bike. I didn't remember exactly when, but I had got off the bike in time. My friend had gone a little ahead when he stopped and came back. We gave an exemplary tongue lashing to the driver and his companion. The bike's left handle was almost bent at 60 degrees towards the front, the left footrest had been broken and the right mask of the bike was decimated. We ordered the lorry guys to come with us till Keylong, our next stop, where he would get the bike repaired. The problem however was to drive it to Keylong which was still 55 kms away with an unnaturally bent handle and no foot rest. Somehow, I tried to get the hang of the new posture and angles that I was now forced to ride in, and after a couple of turns got used to it. It put a lot of strain on my body though.
Negotiating slush, stony path and hair pins with that bent handle was in itself a feat for me. I was concentrating hard to keep the wheel straight with bent handle and the whole stretch was a blur.
We reached Koksar where road was blocked as a bridge was getting repaired by the army. We had to idle away close to two and half hours before the block cleared and we moved ahead once again.
A little later we decided to stop and talk to the lorry guys. They also said that, we take some money, as they coming with us would waste time for all of us. After a bit of haggling we let them go and proceeded ahead towards Keylong.
On reaching Keylong, we scourged the whole town to find a mechanic who could do something about the handle and footrest for us to be able to continue ahead the next day. After trying to find something in every nook and corner of the town it started dawning on me that we might not be able to continue ahead with the bike in that condition. We might have to head back to get it fixed and then see what we could do. It was a frustrating and depressing time. We were totally spent, emotionally and physically. While talking to a friend, I almost choked when I was recounting everything with the possibility that we might not be able to complete the trip. My friend advised me not to lose heart and if we needed to go back then we should, get the bike fixed and come back again, even if that meant that we would just touch Leh and come back.
Aditya and I, discussed at length about the plan next day. After long deliberation, with an extremely heavy heart we decided to head back. Even though I had slept only 5 hours the day before and ridden all day, still sleep eluded me. I managed to get just a couple of hours of sleep. Come morning, our hearts again felt heavy that we had to go back. Deeply depressed, we packed our bags and checked out. As if sensing our turmoil, the hotel guy asked us and we told him the whole story. He then offered us that, he would keep the broken bike in his hotel's garage and we could, and should, go ahead on one good bike that we still had. It was a tough decision that I had to take. Take the risk of leaving my friend's bike in the hotel or risk not completing the trip. The hotel guy assured us that he will charge a nominal rent and would take care of the bike. At last, I decided to keep the bike in the hotel. With subdued excitement, we rearranged our luggage and left half of the luggage in the hotel itself in order to keep the load on one bike as low as possible. Finally, we both left the hotel on the Enfield my friend had rented and moved ahead on one bike.
It was depressing to leave my bike behind but, it was good that we were still going ahead towards Leh. As soon as we got out of Keylong town, the vistas that were presented to us were overwhelming. It was tough to believe that we were actually looking at those sights. No doubt, the land is called a paradise, where Gods reside. Slowly and gradually we kept moving towards Sarchu. On the way to Sarchu, we had to conquer the mighty Baralacha pass. By the time we reached its peak, Acute Mountain Sickness had taken hold of me. I was having severe headache and felt like puking. Nevertheless, we still enjoyed spending some time at Baralacha top before starting ahead. For the first time we saw snow covered peaks very close to us. We said prayers at the top, piled up some stones to make a wish (as was the local custom) and carried on. We had a light lunch after descending from Baralacha. Sarchu was within reach from that point.
The roads deteriorated from that point on. We braved the back breaking, jumpy roads and carried on. All through that stretch, the pillion rider, which happened to me for that stretch, was more in the air than on the seat. We even joked about carrying a parachute with us, as sometimes the person sitting pillion almost attained standing position because of the jumps and jerks and there was a possibility that in one those jumps, the pillion might just take off.
Close to Sarchu, the roads became better and I was just counting minutes before we reached a camp and I could attend to my headache and rest. I was in no state to do anything else. I just put some balm on my head, took a medicine and dozed off only to wake up next morning.
The next morning, my headache was gone and I felt filled with new enthusiasm for the trip. We got a bit delayed in starting from Sarchu. This was to be our final leg of the journey, destination being Leh. We had around 250 kms to cover that day. We started and stopped for our lunch break at Pang. Pang is the highest army transit camp in the world, rising to over 4000 mts. We had lunch, which was nothing more than maggi and thukpa. We carried on, and before long, reached the famous Morey Plains. Plains at a height of approx 4100 mts. The sights were scintillating and the roads awesome. We took multiple breaks, clicked pics and zoomed through those straight roads which were in great condition, except for being unevenly up and down in some patches. We started the ascent to Tanglang La Pass. Till now, we had not experienced anything like real cold weather. Just two kms before reaching the top, however, suddenly the weather was chilly with freezing strong winds blowing across. Our hands, feet and face were numb from the cold by the time we covered the last two kms to the top. Just when we thought it could not get chillier, we were proved wrong by the mighty Tanglang La. Tanglang La is known for its unpredictable weather changes. One moment it would be sunny and pleasant, the next moment, depending on the direction of winds, it would become cold and would even sometimes start to snow. We braved the cold and stayed at the top for some time, clicking pictures. It was a surreal experience being there. It really did feel that we were very close to the abode of Gods. And then, we found snow on the side of the roads. We played with snow before we could no longer bear the cold and moved ahead to quickly descend from the freezing weather. We were well equipped to bear the cold but not well enough to tackle freezing temperatures. We kept descending till we reached Rumtse, where we stopped to have warm tea standing in the sun. It was getting towards evening and we figured that we would reach Leh only after sun down. It became important for us to take minimal breaks after that, so as to cover as much distance as possible before sunset. After sometime we reached Upshi, a small town, the last before Leh. Leh was just 50-60 kms from Upshi. We took a short break and proceeded towards Leh. It became completely dark when we were about 25 kms from Leh. The darkness, narrow hilly roads, slowed us down, but, slowly and steadily we kept inching ahead. At last we entered the town and started our search for a hotel. We decided that since all these days we have been staying frugally, we would take a reasonably expensive hotel to stay. We ultimately found one and booked ourselves a room.
It was spontaneous, genuine happiness, that we started jumping, cheering and congratulating each other on completing one half of the trip. It had been an amazing ride, though, with more than minor setback at one point, but we had reached, where he had set out for. We celebrated like kids for a while before freshening up and ordering food.
While taking bath,  I felt I was washing off at least few kgs of dirt and dust from my body and felt incredibly lighter after the bath.
We had an early dinner and ventured out to checkout the market and parts of town which we could cover on foot. After a long walk which lasted around two and half hours, we came back to our room and slept. Our body clocks had for sure been better aligned by this time. It was more in tune with the normal sleeping times like normal people.
The next day, we learnt that Leh was closed down because of some protests over Chinese incursions close to the Border region. No vehicles were allowed to ply on roads. All shops were shut. We were only allowed to roam around on foot. We decided to explore as much as we could on foot. We also learnt that Leh palace was still open for visitors. The palace was on top of a small hill. We walked to the base and then trekked up to the palace. The view of Leh from the palace was mesmerizing. We took our time and saw the palace. After coming out, we just stayed for a while at the top, relishing the views and the weather. Then we headed back down, to go to our hotel. We had lunch and rested for a while.
In the evening some shops started opening, so we checked out the market and bought some Pashmina scarfs for friends and family. We did not find any bike shops open, so we could not get any handle for my broken bike we had left back in Keylong. Unfortunately, that meant, that we wont be able to go to Pangong Lake. We would go to Khardung La the next day and the day after would head back, as we needed time to get the bike fixed in Manali or beyond Manali.
The next morning, we started with looking for handle for my broken bike. But being a Sunday, everything was closed. We somehow found a mechanic shop but he did not have any spares. So, we got our Enfield checked up. Around noon, we started the ascent to Khardung La, world's highest motorable road.
It was pleasantly warm and sunny in Leh when we had begun the ascent to Khardung La. It was 39 kms from Leh. The road was narrow but in good condition. For most of the 25 kms, we did not encounter bad roads or anything else which we could call bad. The views just kept getting better and better. We saw yaks on the way. Cherubic, adorable children playing on the roads and running away as soon as they saw a vehicle coming. We also got a challenge from a kid, who was probably 7 years old, on his small bicycle. He shouted and challenged us to race with him with all the aggression and bad ass look that a 7 year old can muster. We had no intention of being embarrassed by a 7 year old kid on a bicycle, so we just waved bye to him  and moved on. We had entered the not so good roads and the speed with which we were moving, it would not have been any surprise if the kid had won the challenge. Nevertheless, we saved ourselves a bit of shame and embarrassment and continued climbing up.  It was when we were around 10 kms away from K-Top, that we started feeling the chill. Suddenly the air had become cold and it was getting colder and colder as we moved ahead. We were wearing a normal jacket as far as warm clothing was concerned. Our riding gloves were airy so they did not help even a bit. We kept looking at the distance boards every now and then. We wanted to reach the top as quickly as possible so that we could put our hands in the pocket for a while. This was the second time on the trip that we experienced real cold. When I say real cold, it means it was really cold. For me, I like cold and grew up in colder climate. I have an above average capacity to withstand cold. But this was not just above average. It was cold for me too. Our hands were numb and had started hurting because of the cold. We felt that by the time we reached the top, we would have to cut off some of the fingers. The cold was bearable if we stopped and just stood. Driving made the cold feel worse. Slowly and gradually, freezing ourselves, we reached the K-Top.
The experience was inexplicable. There was snow on the cliffs and stones, at the top. It was not just specks or flakes of snow, but substantial, calf deep snow. It really felt being on top of the world. As with all the passes, there was a place of worship at the top. We climbed the small cliff full with snow and prayed. By road, we cannot reach any closer to God than at K-Top. We hoped our prayers would reach faster to God. We played with snow and clicked pics. There was also a small canteen which was serving tea and pakodas. We ate to our fill and the cold forced us to have 3 cups of tea. After spending about 30 mins, we decided to head back to Leh.
It was an uneventful journey back, till our hotel. We had lunch and rested. In the evening we roamed around in the market and had dinner. Back at the room. we started planning our journey back to Manali.
We started discussing with a somewhat improbable idea. We were tried to figure out, if we could make to Keylong from Leh, the next day itself. It was 365 kms and the terrain, as we had seen doesn't let you go more than 150-200 kms comfortably in the whole day. Driving at night was inadvisable and dangerous. But the plus point was, that we knew the roads, as we had come the same way and knew where the roads were good and where bad. The first stretch from Leh to Pang was mostly good, so that could be covered quickly if we were not liberal with breaks. Then the last part before Keylong was mostly good. So even if we had to drive at night a little bit before reaching Keylong, it could be done. But the bad parts which included crossing the streams, had to be covered before sunset. Also, while coming, we were not that used to riding the Enfield and consequently our average speed was even lower than average. We saw, that if we took lesser breaks, of shorter durations and took the same time to cover the distance as we had while coming, then, it would take us about 16 hours at max. We decided to leave Leh at 4:30 am the next to give us as much time possible in daylight. We also estimated that, since by now, we were more used to riding the Enfield, we should take about 14 hours to cover the distance.
We loaded the heavy luggage on the bike in the night itself, to save some time in the morning. We however got a little delayed and were able to start at 5:30 am.
We had hardly covered couple of kms when we felt we would freeze because of the cold. In all our planning, we missed out one tiny little detail. The small fact that it could be so freezing cold in the morning. In day time, temperatures in Leh were nothing like unbearable. Sun used to be out bright and shiny. Couple of times, I even went out without any jacket etc. But I forgot, that in places like these, the nights and early mornings are an altogether a different demon. Ignoring that little piece of information would now make us pay. All our clothing was packed in the big bag which we had now firmly tied to the bike. Opening it and then again mounting it on the bike, plus the break, would have meant wasting at least half an hour to forty-five minutes. We decided to brave on. After fifteen minutes, even the legs had started freezing. We were beginning to lose senses in our knees as well. After half an hour or so of these grueling times, we could take no more and stopped. We rubbed ourselves everywhere we could, in an attempt to get the blood flow going again and warm us. It was only of little help. But, the break had helped because were we not facing the wind while we were still. While riding, however it was bone chilling. We jumped around a bit to warm ourselves and then started again. Sunrise was not far away now. A little shortly after, we could see the sun rise, but we were again out of luck, if I can say that. The sun had risen but that did not help us because, the roads were flanked by mountains on both sides. So sun's rays could not reach us yet. They were all eaten up by the peaks of these smaller mountains. Realizing, that we had no other option but to cross this stretch as soon as possible. We recalled from where the ground would clear up so that the mountains are not so close on both sides. It was still more than 25 kms away. Not only our jaws, but we felt even our bones were clattering when we finally crossed that stretch and the sunlight graced us on the ground in all its glory. Very rarely, had I ever felt so relieved by going in bright warm sunlight. So much for liking cold weather. We almost brain froze. We stopped at the first point where we saw sunlight touching the ground. Luckily, there was also a street shop. We literally downed multiple cups of tea and even warmed ourselves on the stove in their kitchen. The shop aunty was kind enough to allow us to do so. We were enjoying the sun and the warmth of the tea when suddenly people started shouting. Then my friend got up and ran. It was then I saw, that another lorry had reversed without looking and banged into our bike. He stopped just in time because the people shouted, so there was no serious damage to the bike. The mud guard was bent but it snapped back in position when I pulled it. Thankfully for the other people, we were still good to go. It was amazing that our bike was hit in this manner for second time. For the first time I saw lorry drivers just reversing, without another guy coming down and guiding them. In all my 18 years of riding bikes and that too in the mountains, I had never seen lorry drivers do that and that too in hilly roads. We gave the driver an earful  and let him go. One good thing in all this was, that we were pretty much warmed up now. And with the sunlight now with us, we started feeling warmer than we would have liked. We continued. When we had planned our journey the day before, we had put cut off times for each of the places where we could stay. If for whatever reasons we missed the cut off time for a place, especially Sarchu, we would have to put up there for the night. For Pang this cut off time was 11:30 am. For Sarchu it was, 2:30 pm.
We reached Pang at 11;00 am. Little before Pang I had taken over to ride. We had a hurried maggi lunch cum breakfast and within 20 minutes were on the road again. We had to make it to Sarchu before 2:30 pm if we had to proceed towards Keylong. After 2:30 pm, there was a chance that we might have to negotiate bad roads and streams in the dark, if we continued. We did not want to do that. Plus, the cold would again play a major part after sunset. The stretch from Pang to Sarchu was one of the worst. Since we had an Enfield and were now very used to riding it, I thought to make use of it. While coming on the same stretch, our speeds were in the range of 15-25 km/hr. While going back, I thought, that this bike was immune to bad roads as long as there were no ditches on the roads, so there was no point in slowing down to 15-20 km/hr speeds. Given the roads, I can say, I gunned it at 45 km/hr. Now, here is the thing, in normal circumstances, 45 km/hr is snail pace for me. But, there, with the Enfield, it really was gunning down. My friend had to bear most of the brunt of it, as he hardly sat on his seat while we were going through that stretch. He just kept getting bounced again and again throughout that stretch. We did not stop much on that stretch, maybe a couple of times and made it to Sarchu exactly at 2:30 pm. We had planned to take a break there, but we now decided to just keep moving, to cover as much ground as possible in sunlight. By 5:30 pm we crossed Darchu. The worst of the bad roads were over. We had also crossed the streams while it was still light. We would now make it to Keylong. At around 6pm it started getting dark. When it got dark, I drove. And slowly and steadily started eating up the distance between us and Keylong. By 7:30 pm, finally, we reached Keylong. It was a record of sorts to do that distance, in one day, in that terrain. We had ridden for 14 hours. We took a room and I checked up on my friend's bike which we had left there. The bike was there and it started too. We felt relieved that we wont have to buy a new bike for my friend and only had to get it repaired. We ate dinner and dozed off.
Next morning, we left for Manali. I was back again on the bike with the bent handle. It sapped almost everything out of me for those 110 kms. My left wrist and back were crying out because of the posture I had to sit in due to the bent handle. Somehow I made it through the devilish Rohtang pass and were in striking distance of Manali.
Before Manali, the handle in my bike actually came off. Now we had to get it fixed, or transport the bike to Delhi. We had stopped at a mechanic workshop but he gave up that he could not do anything as he did not have the handle. He asked us to go a showroom which was 17 kms from Manali. We raced there but, they too did not have any spare parts. We came back. I took the bike, put the clutch in my lap drove it few kms like that to reach the shop from where we had rented the other bike. When we had talked to him, he had said to bring our bike there and maybe his mechanic would be able to do some temporary fix for us to be able to reach Delhi. We reached the shop. The mechanic there had a look and assured us that he will somehow fix the handle. We could get it replaced in Delhi as there, there were more chances of finding spares.
We checked into a hotel, and celebrated. We had done the Manali-Leh trip. Though frustrating for the bike incident, but except that, it was the most amazing trip ever that I have been to. Today, if someone asks me, where would I like to go again, Paris, Rio (Both these places I have been to and know about them) or bike trip to Leh, I would say, if I had the option of choosing only one, I would choose this bike trip.
Next day my bike was reasonably fixed so we returned the rented bike. Then we came back to the hotel, ate lunch, packed our bags and left for Chandigarh. This final part of the journey was not eventful. Normal roads, normal traffic and thankfully no untoward incident. I dropped my friend at Chandigarh Airport and proceeded towards Delhi.
It was an amazing, out of body experience. Even weeks after I had come back to Bangalore, I had dreams of riding through that route. It is one of those things which you cannot explain. Even photographs do no do justice. Even photographs cannot capture enough. On top that, the pleasure of riding. Someone has rightly said "Driving in a car is like watching a movie. Riding on a bike is like starring in it."
A trip of a lifetime. A trip that got me Leh'd, no pun intended. And, in my opinion, everyone should get Leh'd at least once in his lifetime. For me, I would plan one more, some other time, for to get Leh'd just once, is not enough ;).

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Old? Or, not yet!

I am officially 31 years old now. In a way, I have officially put one foot in the old age. At least as per the world, this age is not that young and for most, this time signifies the beginning of mid life crisis. But, why don't I actually feel that the prime youthful days are over? Sometimes, I still feel like a kid. Hell, sometimes I even behave like one. I still do not think that being practical all the time is a virtue. Instead, it is an impediment. People often say, grow up, be realistic, be practical and what not. But I still do not want to be any of those most of the time. There is something which Will Smith said in an interview and resonated word to word with me. He said "Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity." I feel, that is terribly true. By any stretch of imagination, I am not saying that I am not mediocre. I am just an average guy who is growing older, or let me say wiser, rather than old, to keep myself in denial. But, if everyone were realistic, do you think man would have invented airplanes, or gone to the moon? Would the Tatas and the Ambanis have dreamt of creating such huge businesses. Would Sachin Tendulkar have ever thought of playing at international level at 16 years of age? These are but the extremes. I have another example from my and my family's very normal and average lives. Never in his whole life, my father would have thought about owning a house in Mumbai, if he had been realistic. It simply was out of reach. The time he had booked that flat, he did not have any disposable savings, because both his sons were studying and within couple of years, both would be in college, which we all know how expensive it can be. But, my mother pushed him to book the flat and to figure out rest later. He shed his realistic outlook and went ahead. Result, he now owns a flat in Mumbai. No matter how small or modest it is, it is still a huge deal for a middle class man in government service. So, if I, without being very realistic and practical, so as to say, am still an average guy, imagine what I would become if I became realistic and practical. I won't even be able to do half the things I am able to do currently, and I am not ready to live that life. Yes, I am unrealistic, impractical, impulsive in many things. I do things if my heart says yes to and not because the mind says so. I do not over analyze things if I have to even buy something. If I can buy something and I like it, I just buy it. No analysis, or comparisons, whatsoever.
So that brings me again to the point, why I do not feel old. At least, not yet. Things which I loved as a kid, I still love them. I have not grown out of any of those things. Not in 31 years. Even the simplest of things. My mother told me once that, even as a three year old, when she used to take me out in the evenings for a stroll in the colony campus, the moment I saw the big boys playing cricket, I would stand right bang in the middle of the pitch and create a scene about playing. I would not budge till one of the boys made me hold a bat and helped me hit a few balls. Even today, if I know I would get to play, anywhere, anytime, where I can reach, I will leave everything and be there. And I have. I have missed doctor's appointments, parties, trips, classes and many other things if they happened to clash with a sure shot match I was supposed to play in.
I loved, pure chocolate since as far back as I can remember. Pure means, not mixed with anything, no nuts, no fruits no nothing but chocolate. I like dry fruits separately, but I hate it when they are put in chocolates. I hate it to my core, and I hated it even as a kid. Even today, I do not shy away from filling a bowl with chocolate pieces and relishing them slowly, just like I did as a kid. Similarly with milk. I loved milk pure, not mixed with anything else, and that is how it is even today. Even after experiencing so many different forms and flavors of milk, I truly love only pure milk, hot or cold, with just sugar.
One of the other very silly things was, I loved to eat raw bournvita out of a bowl. Not mixed with milk. I still love it and still eat it almost every alternate day. Same with jam. I can, and many times, still eat jam with a spoon out of the bottle.
My earliest memory is that of me being sent to nursery class. There were chairs of different colors for the kids there. I loved and only sat on a particular yellow chair. After the class time ended, and mom would come to pick me up, I would hold that chair and ask her to take the chair with us. Even today, if I see a yellow chair, I need to sit on it. Yellow chair still has a special place in my heart and I do not think that to be stupid. At least not yet.
I always thought, people are supposed to grow out of these things when they 'grow up'. So, although I am becoming old, I do not feel that yet.
I am not married, do not have couple of kids, haven't traveled the world, still am unsatisfied with the kind of job I am doing and want to do more. All in all, still not settled. It is not that I do not want to get married or am deliberately not getting married. I want to and want to experience that life too but few complications (which, by the way, are not because of me or created by me) are delaying that.  I want to see, why, especially the guys, crib about getting married. Some crib jokingly but some seriously about how different it becomes and why they cannot do certain things and how they are not completely free anymore etc etc. Well, if you think that is tough, try being unmarried at 31 and stay in India, where, sometimes the sole aim of living seems to be to get married and have kids. For people, their parents and everyone in the so called society. At this age, you wont have any single/unmarried friends left who can join you on trips or for going out just to have fun if you want to. They have a family, and rightly so, plan accordingly. Then you cannot join them. Trust me, it is not a happy or good feeling to be a lone single person among a group of families, even if they do not feel awkward and totally welcoming, you yourself will not feel good. You cannot go on guy trips, because there aren't any guys left, all have become family men.
I can be realistic and just go ahead and marry anyone, have a 'life' and 'family'. But, I cannot. Simply because I cannot get married to anyone else except to the one I want to. What parents and others do not understand is, if I have not grown out the very simple and stupid things of childhood, how can I be expected to grow out of a person I love. And since I know that, I know that if I become realistic, it won't be much of a 'life' for me.
So, I refuse to be old already. I recall a song "18 till I die". The number in my age will increment at its own pace, but from within, I would still be "18 and going on 55" as one line in the song says.
So I took this opportunity for the first time to wish MYSELF a happy birthday too and am happy to be growing wiser, not older yet, only wiser.

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The Dream Ride: Delhi - Manali - Leh - Manali - Delhi

The Dream Ride

There is a reason that bike trip to Leh is called the Dream Ride. It takes you on journey and experience which is unparalleled. It takes you to the land which is truly Paradise on Earth. But, the way to that heaven is sometimes through hell. You can reach there by any means, flight or car. But it is the bike ride which is an experience you cannot just explain. It changes your soul as one of the Ladakhi locals rightly said to us. Another quote comes to mind. "Travelling by car is like watching a movie. Travelling on bike is like starring in it." I have tried to bring out the experience in my travelogue but trust me, to describe what the experience was like, even the language fails me to let me do so. You got to experience it yourself, firsthand. I have also put some info and checklist at the end of the post for interested riders. Hope you can get even the faintest of glimpse of the experience because words grossly limit me to bring that out truly. Through all the dust, mud and slush, we never thought or said to each other that why we had gone there. And we realized this only later. It is definitely a trip of a lifetime.

Acknowledgements

First of all, great and many thanks to Chetan for lending me his bike and being an ever awesome friend that he has been for so many years. I truly appreciate and cherish your friendship for many reasons. No one would do what you did and have done many times over the years. I feel lucky to have friends like you. To Aditya Anand, who was my companion on the trip. Who supported all my decisions and was ever there without any questions asked. Without you the trip would not have happened. You too are a great friend and this trip has deepened the bond for life. To one other friend who has been a rock solid support for me. Who made me believe that despite the setbacks we would complete the trip and we did. Thanks in great measure to you. You have kept me sane and solid through everything crazy. Thanks to Pradeep Singh, for his inputs and help about the trip. Thanks to all of you.

Complete Travelogue

Sept 15^th, 2014

5:30 am - Noida: Finally the trip starts. After couple of months of trying to plan and asking people who might be interested in the trip, it starts on 15^th September 2014.

Early, stiffly Delhi summer morning and the journey began. The first phase of the long awaited “Dream Ride”.

With my sense of direction and roads it was quite an achievement to hit the highway out of Delhi. Thanks to Google maps apart from my impeccable sense of direction (which is, just to clear it up, pretty much screwed up).

7:45 am – Outer Delhi: I finally hit the highway to Chandigarh and successfully come out of Delhi. Took a break to let the achievement sink in J .

10:50 am – Chandigarh Airport: Reached Chandigarh airport. The ride was a breeze and covered 220 kms in about 3 hours flat. Amazing 8 lane highway with no blocks and very little traffic in the early part of the day. I idle away time at the Café Coffee Day on the airport till my friend arrives.

1:00 pm – Chandigarh Airport: My friend arrives lands at Chandigarh airport. We go to my bike and adjust our luggage to carry on forward. The boots I had been wearing for riding breathe their last at the airport and I had to leave them there. Thankfully I was carrying spare shoes although not meant for riding but something to have on my feet.

2:00 pm – Chandigarh Airport: We start again. Hit the roads on the way to Manali, our planned destination for the day which was around 310 kms from Chandigarh.

3:00 pm – Somewhere on the way: We keep following the sign boards for Manali suddenly find ourselves in a patch where there are no roads. Hilly roads had started but the roads weren’t there. It seemed that the process of cutting out roads from the mountains itself had just begun. After driving for over an hour on non-existent roads we realize we have somehow taken some other path. A bad unintentional detour. It was in the right direction though, but still, not the road that we ought to have taken. There was a lesson for us. If you have the help of technology we should use it. Not using Google maps and trusting just the sign boards led us to a path which seemed to lead nowhere. We drive on stones and in dust and dirt. We carried on and on as people said that this was also the route for Manali. Just to make it sound cooler, we told ourselves that we were making our own path rather than following the world. The statement also disguises the absolute ordeal we went through to cover those 50 kms in around 4 hours. Even onlookers seemed surprised to find a bike on those roads. We remember the song “Highway to Hell”. Only thing was this hell itself. We, luggage and the bike had become white from the dust resulting from cutting of stones. Even our eyebrows had become white with a layer of white dust. It seemed that we had submerged ourselves in talcum powder from head to toe.

Tip for travelers: While going to Manali from Chandigarh, do not by any chance take the route via Nalagarh. Ask and take the route via Kiratpur.

6:45 pm – Somewhere on the main highway: Finally we join the main highway where we should have reached from the other route. We take a break and give our butts a break which seemed to be too much stress from this ordeal. We sorely missed the pleasure of just comfortably sitting without feeling any pain or stress in the butts. If that had continued for a little while we might have had to explore options of getting a prosthetic butt later on. It was then we realized that in these close to 5 hours we had just covered 130 kms from Chandigarh. Manali seemed a distant dream and it was starting to get dark.

7:30 pm – Bilaspur enroute Manali: The roads were marginally better, or better to say that roads existed in some form. We reached Bilaspur with bruised bums and it had become dark. Looking at the condition of the roads we decide to make a stop at Bilaspur itself and continue to Manali the next day.

8:00 pm – Hotel in Bilaspur: We find a hotel with parking space and negotiate the rates with the person. It was the best we could find although it did not do justice even if the charges were half of what the hotel was asking for. We just badly needed a place to cool off for few hours so we take it.

9:00 pm – Bilaspur: Taking a bath was imperative. Lost almost 2 kgs of dirt and dust on me after the bath and ya the hair became black again from the recently acquired light greyish hue.

Sept 16^th, 2014

5:00 am – Hotel in Bilaspur: We get up, freshen up and pack our luggage and go down. All the doors are closed and we can’t get out to reach even the reception. We keep knocking for good 15 mins for the hotel guys to open the door and finally the guy comes and opens the door. We settle the dues and go to the parking lot and mount our luggage on the bike.

5:30 am – Hotel in Bilaspur: We start towards Manali. Pretty uneventful journey this with lot of changing weather on the way. Roads kept getting better especially after Mandi. We take sufficient breaks and ride comfortably.

1:00 pm – Manali: We finally reach Manali which seemed unreachable at one point the day before. I have already ridden around 550 kms. My friend had ridden for about 50 kms in the plains but since he was new to driving in the hills I did almost the whole stretch. Nothing to complain as I myself wanted to drive even though my friend offered to drive sometimes I chose to drive myself. (Ya I was being greedy to drive, as I always am)

1:30 pm – Manali: We find the bike rental shop (Manali Enfield Center) on Rohtang Road in Manali from where my friend had to rent the bike for onward trip. The guy at the shop seemed a nice, trustworthy soft spoken decent fellow.

2:30 pm – Manali: We finalize the deal and payments for the rented bike and then found a hotel close by to check in. For Rs 800 a night the hotel room had carpeted floors, individual balcony, river view, mountain view and forest view all at the same time. Seemed like a pretty good deal.

4:00 pm – Manali: After lunch we go to the bike shop and pick up the rented bike. My friend had to get used to the bike and we also wanted to see a little bit of Manali.

5:00 pm – Manali Market: We go to the market and just roam around. Randomly checked out few shops for window shopping etc. We have some snacks too.

7:00 pm – Manali: We come back to our hotel room, arrange and pack luggage and have dinner.

10:00 pm – Manali: After all the packing and chit chatting my friend who was very much keen on clicking stars in the night sky took out his camera and tripod and we sat in the balcony. He set up everything and then gave me tips and insights about this kind of photography. One of his motivations to come on the trip was star photography as he told now because in cities the city lights do not let the photographs come out good and especially in a place like Bangalore we do not get to see many stars in the sky.

11:00 pm – Manali: We call it a night and go to sleep. The next day we had to get up early to start the real journey.

Sept 17^th, 2014

4:30 am – Manali: We wake up and start getting ready for the trip. We pack our luggage.

5:15 am – Manali: We bring all the luggage down to the parking area.

6:00 am – Manali: All the luggage is mounted on the bikes and it was finally time to begin. We spend few minutes to live the moment, watch the surrounding vistas and decide to move.

6:15 am – Manali: We finally start the ride after clicking few pictures. The sun had risen and it was no longer dark.

6:45 am – Manali: We had to make an unscheduled stop at a local shop few kms into the ride as my friend felt that his bike was not properly balanced with the luggage mounted on it. We rearrange the luggage on his Enfield to balance it.

7:45 am – Manali: We start again towards Rohtang. The roads were good. Narrow in some places but still very good. The views were breathtaking especially with the morning sun lighting up the snow-capped peaks and pine trees on the mountains. We take quite a few breaks to stop and admire the views and click pictures. The thing was that the views were so amazing that we didn’t know how to capture it all in camera. You got to be there to see it and believe it, cameras do not do justice to those views. As a result we made slow progress despite good roads as we were yet to get used to the views. I have seen lot of mountains and hill stations and stayed in few. But even then, the vistas here were something quite out of the world.

9:00 am – Few kms before Rohtang Pass: As we climb higher, reaching very close to the Rohtang pass, chill starts to set in with strong, almost freezing winds making us shiver. We had covered around 50 kms on good roads till now and now were waiting to negotiate the toughest terrain in the whole trip which was crossing the Rohtang pass. Within 50 kms, we had climbed from 2000 mts at Manali to almost 4000 mts at Rohtang Pass.

9:30 am – Rohtang Pass: We enter the hellish roads. In fact, not roads, just a path and everyone was free to consider it a road or whatever they felt like. It had loose stones, small boulders, dirt, mud, slush, tar, potholes, mountain streams and everything you can probably think or not think of driving on. It was truly the beginning of getting a doctorate in biking. No wonder it is considered one of the toughest terrains to bike on. We were still lucky because the amount of slush and mud we encountered was still very less as compared to what it is in June, July or August when it also rains.

10:30 am – Rohtang Pass: Everything was moving along nicely. We were negotiating the pass slowly and steadily and then the crash happened. On a slope which was the typical Rohtang Pass terrain, a lorry in front of me stopped. As it was a very narrow strip I stopped quite some distance behind it. And then suddenly the lorry started reversing. Without any of the helpers coming down from the lorry and guiding the driver, the driver just reversed and kept on reversing. All my honking and shouting was of no avail and ultimately my bike is almost run over by the lorry. I do not remember when did I leave the bike but I had not even a scratch on me but bike was substantially damaged. The left handle cracked and bent quite a lot. The left footrest was broken. The right mask of the front of the bike was broken and the front mudguard was cracked.

We shout, pull the driver out, abuse and argue with him. We were around 50 kms from Keylong and 70 kms out of Manali. Keylong is supposed to be the last place where anyone can find some mechanics on this route. We hoped if we can somehow take the bike to Keylong maybe someone will fix it there. The driver agrees to go to Keylong with us and get the bike repaired and pay for the repairs.

11:30 am – Rohtang Pass: The bike was still in a condition that it could be ridden, although with a lot strain on the body as the left handle was completely bent towards the front and it was a very straining posture to keep the wheel straight with the bent handle. I gingerly negotiated few turns to try to get used to the new posture and start again towards Keylong. It was hellish to ride like that with bent handle and left foot hanging because the foot rest was also broken and top of that to negotiate mud, stones, slush and what not. People swear by crossing Rohtang pass with bikes in perfect condition and I was being forced to do it without even a proper handle position. It really was a painful ride for the left wrist and my back and I seriously felt I should be getting a PhD in biking for this stunt.

The thing with Rohtang pass was, that now, I don’t categorize roads as good or bad. It is roads or no roads. Any road is a good road. Only that some roads are exceptional and some are just roads.

12:15 pm – Koksar: We reach Koksar to find a road block ahead because of repairs being done to the bridge which everyone had to cross to proceed towards Keylong.

1:00 pm – Koksar: We have lunch in the dhabas in Koksar and wait for the traffic to start moving again. I got a much needed break from the painful riding with bent handle.

2:30 pm – Koksar: The bridge work is done and the block clears. We start moving again.

3:00 pm – On way to Keylong: We stop and stop the lorry to discuss and negotiate. The lorry driver seemed like he wanted to go to his base which was before Keylong and we did not want to do that as would have wasted our time and in his base there would not have been any negotiations. The driver said that he was ready to pay whatever he could for the damages and then we can go on our ways. We agreed as we also had to keep track of where the lorry was if we had to take him till Keylong. After long heated arguments we let the lorry go. It almost came to a fist fight but we calmed down and let him go and proceeded on our way to Keylong. The roads were pretty decent broken in patches and good in others.

4:15 pm – Keylong: We reached Keylong and scouted all mechanic shops in an attempt to get the bike fixed. Since there were no Hero Honda showrooms, Karizma spare parts like handle etc could not be procured to replace my bent, cracked handle. On top of that no mechanic seemed even willing to put his brain on if by some other ingenious way the handle could be fixed so that we can complete our trip. Leh was still 365 kms away and there was no surety that we would find something for Hero Honda there also even if we try to go to Leh with that handle which might come off any time. And there would be no phone networks and shops between Keylong and Leh. It was really frustrating and we started thinking that our trip would have to come to a premature end, given the situation.

5:00 pm – Keylong: We check in to a hotel and start discussing the plan ahead. We discussed whether to go back to Kullu (40 kms before Manali, 150 kms backwards from Keylong) as there was a Hero showroom there to get the bike fixed or if to proceed ahead then how to do that.

9:00 pm – Keylong: After spending long hours of frustration, gloom and anger we decide to head back the next morning and get the bike fixed in Kullu and then decide further plans.

Sept 18^th, 2014

7:30 am – Keylong: We check out with the intention of heading back to Manali and then to Kullu. It was very depressing to do so but we felt we had no choice. We had contemplated going ahead on one bike but the problem was where to keep my bike safe for those few days. It was more worrisome as the bike was my friend’s who had been an amazing friend to lend his bike to me for the trip. No one would have done that. Just then the Hotel guy offered us that he will keep the bike and extra luggage in hotel’s garage for a nominal rent and we can pick it up on our way back. Just then I remembered what my other friend had said the night before on the phone that it was just a setback and we will complete the trip one way or the other. It was then we realized that though it was a little risky and worrisome to leave the bike there but we could do that as the hotel had a proper garage and they had clearly said that would charge some rent so there was no smooth talking by them but plain and frank terms which made us trust them more. My friend was a great support and had said to me that whatever I decide he would go with that and never showed any signs of his own personal wishes whatsoever. It dawned on me that, like in life, it was a setback but we need to go on towards what we intended to achieve.

8:00 am – Keylong: We decide to go ahead. We start reducing and rearranging our luggage to fit on one bike.

9:00 am – Keylong: We are almost ready to move forward. We have a cup of coffee.

9:30 am – Keylong: We hop on the Enfield and proceed further leaving my bike and extra luggage behind. The mood was soured because of the developments of the previous day and we were worried about the safety of the bike but then I decided not to think any further of it till we came back. I also thought about the possibility that if we could not find the bike on returning then I will have to buy a new one for my friend and that was the worst that could have happened. Then we started feeling happy about our decision to move forward because as soon as we left the city limits, it presented us with unparalleled views along the way. It was overwhelming to soak in all of the natural beauty that we were seeing.

10:30 am – Jispa: We reach a small café in Jispa and take leisurely breakfast of parathas. We had covered around just 30 kms in the hour as we took breaks in those 30 kms as well and we had time to reach Sarchu which was our destination for the day. Sarchu was around 120 kms from Keylong. We get to talk with some other bikers who were returning from Leh about the road conditions etc and shared our stories. When one of them said that I should be given a Nobel Prize or something equivalent for crossing Rohtang with bent handle and no footrest, I liked the compliment and realized that, that whole part of the trip I had no major recollection as I was too focused on just keeping the handle straight and reach Keylong. I didn’t remember how bad that stretch was and didn’t recollect till that point that how stressful it was. Anyways, that was behind us and I would have to do the same again while going back and decided to think about it then.

11:30 am – Jispa: We start again after the breakfast and proceed towards Sarchu. We would have to cross Baralacha Pass which is again considered one of the toughest climbs and we were excited to be heading towards it.

12:30 pm – On way to Baralacha: We start the ascent to Baralacha after crossing Zingzingbar. We took breaks liberally and clicked pics, happy to be back on the trip once again. We had found only good roads till now except for few small patches in between.

2:00 pm – Baralacha Top: We reach the Baralacha top and saw the snowy mountains very close to us. The snowy mountains presented an awesome view hard to express in words. I had seen snow and snowy mountains from close before too, but this was something different. There were small stones piled in groups on one side of the road and asked a cab driver, who had also stopped there, that what it meant? He explained to us that it was a local custom to make wishes by piling stones. We do the same and then move forward after clicking few pictures. By now the AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) had kicked in me and I was having a bad headache because of lack of sufficient oxygen at those heights. We had taken medicines (Diamox) in the morning but that was not enough as it is advisable to start the meds at least a day before.

2:45 pm – Tent Dhaba after descending Baralacha: We descend and find some tent dhabas and decide to stop for lunch. My headache was becoming worse and I was also feeling pukish. I knew the only solution was to descend to lower heights as we go forward and try to ignore the uncomfortable feeling.

3:15 pm – Tent Dhaba: We start towards Sarchu which was around 25 kms from here and was kind of a mid-point of the Manali-Leh route. We encounter bad roads from this point and brave out the headache, sick feeling and bad roads by taking breaks.

4:50 pm – Sarchu check post: We reach Sarchu check post and realized that this was an uninhabited stretch and check post was actually the end of Sarchu. We had seen some tent camps few kms before and had thought that we would find more after Sarchu and would stay there. The Police guys told us that there was nothing for 80 kms so we turn back 5 kms to find a tent camp.

5:15 pm – Tent Camp, Sarhcu: We get a tent to stay. I quickly unpack, take medicines and apply balm on the head for headache which was raging now.

6:30 pm – Sarchu: I go off to sleep. I did not wake up for dinner or anything. Just slept through the night.

Sept 19^th, 2014

8:00 am – Sarchu: We get ready and get all the luggage mounted on the bike. My headache is gone and I feel much better and energetic. We have a cup of coffee and decide to start towards Pang on way to Leh. Our destination was Leh for the day which was 250 kms from Sarchu but we had heard that it was doable as roads were good for majority of this distance.

8:30 am – Sarchu: We start towards Pang which was around 80 kms from Sarchu. We knew from people that road till Pang was bad and if we reach Pang we can consider that we have reached Leh as roads are good from that point on. We encountered bad to pathetic roads with little good patches on way to Pang.

12:00 pm – LaChungLa Pass: We reach the top of LaChungLa pass at 17000 ft. We could easily feel the difficulty in breathing. Even the smallest of walks took left us out of breath and even talking to each other was an effort. We stop and click pics and then move forward.

1:00 pm – Pang: We reach Pang and stop a tent dhaba for lunch.

1:40 pm – Pang: We proceed further towards Morey Plains which is a little stretch of plain at a height of approximately 4000 mts. We find amazing flat roads as far as the eyes could see and was pure bliss to drive through that stretch with amazing views on both sides.

2:15 pm – Morey Plains: We found couple of guys stopped at the side and it looked like they were in some trouble. We stop to check if we could be of any help. One of the guys had fallen down as his bike had skid at a turn and his clutch lever was broken. Since we could not do anything we gave them some water and eatables and moved forward. They told us that one of their other friend was ahead and if we find him we should convey him the message.

2:40 pm – Ascent to Tanglang Pass: We crossed the Morey plains in a breeze. We didn’t find the other friend those guys had told us about, and continued towards TanglangLa.

3:40 pm – Tanglang La: We reach the top of Tanglang La at approx. 17500 ft. The wind was stormy and freezing at the top. We click pics and start freezing in just a short while. For the first time on this route we found snow and played with snow a little.

4:00 pm – Tanglang La: We start to move towards Rumtse which was around 30 kms from here and 80 kms from Leh. We find good roads and very little traffic and descend to Rumtse in decent time.

5:00 pm – Rumtse: We stop a small canteen in Rumtse to take a break and have tea.

5:40 pm – Indus first View: After starting from Rumtse we move ahead till we reach a point called as Indus First View point. This place the place where Indus river can be first seen in India.

6:00 pm – Upshi: We reach a small town called Upshi and make an entry at the check point. It was starting to get dark. Leh was now only 50 kms away and that felt exciting.

7:40 pm – Leh: We just keep on driving through the dark and good roads to reach Leh town. We passed Shey Palace and Thiskey Monastery on the way just before Leh.

8:30 pm – Leh: We find a hotel on Fort Road and check-in.

9:30 pm – Hotel in Leh: After dinner we just celebrated a little bit on completing one half of the trip. It was a great feeling. The ride had been tough but the experience was amazing. It is for a reason that this whole territory is called as Paradise on earth. It felt amazing to be there.

10:00 pm – Hotel in Leh: We talk and soak in the moment and decide to go to sleep. A much needed sleep and rest.

Sept 20^th, 2014

10:00 am – Leh: We had discussed that we will try to look for my bike’s handle if we can find it in Leh. That would enable us to stay one more day in Leh as per our original plan. Otherwise, we would have to cut down one day in Leh so that we can get the bike fixed on returning. We just came to know about a bandh in Leh for this day. No vehicles were to be allowed on roads and all shops were shut. That dented our plan to look for my bike’s handle.

11:00 am – Leh: We go out on foot to see the town in general as much as we can. We found that Leh palace was not too far and could be done on foot, so we decided to head there.

12:00 noon – Leh Palace: We reach the Leh palace after climbing uphill and few steps to the palace. The view of Leh from the palace which was at a higher ground was simply mesmerizing. We relished the views and cool breeze and took a tour of the palace. The palace was quite big but seemed in a bad condition. It was still in the process of getting resurrected by the Archaeological Survey of India to be in a better shape. It was a good experience especially for me as I like to visit palaces, forts and other historical places.

2:30 pm – Hotel in Leh: We come back to our hotel disappointed that everything was closed and because of that we would not be able to go to Pangong Lake. Maybe next time, I thought. We took lunch and rested.

6:00 pm – Leh Market: We go out to see if the effect of bandh has died down and shops are opening or not. Local market was opening. We explore the market and check out Pashmina products about which we had no idea. We even got educated on Pashminas in a local shop selling them. We roam around a little bit more in the market.

7:30 pm – Leh Market: We head for dinner at Lamayuru Restaurant. The dinner was good and reasonably priced. We had our fill.

9:00 pm – Hotel in Leh: We come back to our hotel and decide to go to Khardungla next day. We also decided to check the parts for my bike tomorrow again if the shops open. If we were not able to find the part the next day, we would have to head back on Monday, leaving Pangong Lake as incomplete.

Sept 21^st, 2014

10:00 am – Leh: We start off in the morning to check out shops for bike spare parts. There were hardly couple of such shops and that too were closed as it was Sunday. So our last hope of staying one more day in Leh was crashed.

11:00 am – Leh: We find a mechanic shop to get at least the rented Enfield checked up before heading back. After looking in many places we at least found one small mechanic shop and get the bike checked up for our travel ahead.

12:30 pm – Leh: We start towards Khardungla which is the highest motorable road in the world at approx. 18500 ft. It was 40 kms from Leh. The major part of the route the roads were in good condition even though they were a little narrow. The last 10 kms the roads were bad and all of a sudden the last few kms were freezing cold. Our fingers and toes were frozen to numbness which we did not anticipate considering it was middle of the day. At one point it seemed that the last 3-4 kms were never ending. But we kept climbing up and the views just got better and better with snow covered mountains coming ever so close to us.

2:00 pm – KhardungLa: We reached the K-Top and the weather and view was simply breathtaking. We found snow around us and freezing winds. The surprise was a small canteen which was serving hot lemon tea and pakodas. It was quite an experience to eat pakodas with tea in freezing cold. And since we had not thought about how the weather might be here, we were not fully appropriately dressed, with just a thin jacket over the shirt which was proving to be inadequate. We could still bear the cold when we were at the top and not driving but while driving it was bone chilling. We click pictures on the snow, have tea and pakodas and spend some time admiring the view, before we start on our way back to Leh.

3:45 pm – Leh: We reached back to our hotel and had lunch. Leh felt considerably warmer as compared to the place we were coming from.

4:30 pm – Leh: After discussing all options we decided to start to head back to Manali the next day as we needed one or two buffer days to get my bike fixed as it would not have been good to not get it fully fixed before giving it back to my friend.

7:00 pm – Leh: We discuss, analyze, plan and decide to try to target to reach Keylong the next day itself. We had heard people say that it was undoable to do 365 kms in one day in that terrain. We analyzed our trip while coming to Leh and saw how much time it had taken from place to another with lot of breaks. While going back we won’t be taking so many breaks as the time spent in clicking pics etc would not be used and we could take even lesser breaks. Plus we had got the hang of the Enfield and were now more used to riding it than we were while coming. We realized it was a tough and maybe an impossible task but we decided to give it a shot and even if we were able to cross the Baralacha pass before getting dark we could reach Keylong as roads after that till Keylong were good and we knew those roads as we had come by that road. We decided that if at any point we felt we would not be able to cross Baralacha and couple of streams after that before getting dark then we would stay the night in the nearest possible place. So we would have to ride for around 14 hours, with minimal breaks to achieve this. It was decided to leave around 4:30-5:00 am the next day to give maximum day time in the parts where roads were worst.

8:00 pm – Leh: We pack our luggage and mount all but one bag on the bike to avoid wasting time on this in the morning, as leaving on the decided time was very important.

9:00 pm – Leh: We settle the hotel dues, have dinner and go off to sleep. The more interesting part of the trip being over, now I again felt a little worried about the bike we had left behind and how to get that fixed as there weren’t any service centers or shops which had spares for my bike.

Sept 22^nd, 2014

5:30 am – Leh: We finally got everything ready and were about to begin our journey back. We were around half an hour delayed already which could mean anywhere from 15-20 kms distance behind which might be crucial with respect to the tough terrains. But still not so delayed which was good. And this was our earliest start on the whole trip. As soon as we started riding out we began to experience numbing chill all through our body. Early morning cold in hilly areas was something I had forgotten after years of staying in Bangalore weather. Only after a while it felt like we might have to cut our fingers to get rid of the pain given by cold. But, we braved on. Especially my friend who had decided to ride this early part of the route. All our joints had started hurting and were inadequately equipped to handle that cold. We just rode and rode and hoped for sun to come out soon. But even when the sun came out, no sunlight was reaching us down because the whole route till Rumtse had mountains on both sides and sunlight was getting blocked from reaching us at the roads. The only way for respite from this was to cross this stretch as soon as possible.

7:30 am – Rumtse: We covered around 85 kms to reach Rumtse and stopped at the first canteen where sunlight was streaming down. It was the first place since morning where sunlight was reaching us to warm us. We even warmed ourselves by staying close to the stove the canteen people had. We had tea and warmed ourselves but the thought that we would be crossing Tanglang La next gave us the chills. That pass was freezing when we had reached there in the afternoon, so we could not even imagine what would be the state there at this time. Just then we heard few people shouting and saw that another lorry had reversed and rammed into our Enfield which was supposedly safely parked in front of the canteen. My friend rushed to the lorry driver and I rushed to the bike. Thankfully the damage was minimal. The front mudguard had come closer to the tyre which I pulled back in to proper position and it worked. Great thing was that the bike still did not fall even though the impact was from a lorry and it was on side stand. We would not have been able to take the Enfield not in appropriate condition back to Manali, as there were no mechanics or phone signals till Keylong. We again shouted, abused and fought with the driver that how could he reverse without looking back? And the amazing part was that the bike was not even on the road that time. Luckily the damage was only cosmetic with mudguard getting a little dented and scratched.

8:00 am – Rumtse: This uncannily similar second crash wasted around half an hour for us. We decided to continue forward towards Pang. On the way we crossed Tanglang La and surprisingly we didn’t feel the wind biting into us. It was still cold there but I guess we had been hardened by the extreme conditions during the morning travel.

11:00 am – Pang: We reached Pang. Had a quick lunch and headed towards Sarchu. It was crucial for our time check to see when we reach Sarchu. If we made it till Sarchu till 2:30 pm at the latest, Keylong would still be doable otherwise it would become riskier and riskier and by the minute.

2:30 pm – Sarchu: We hit Sarchu just in nick of time and decided to continue towards the tent dhabas at the base of Baralacha. We skipped a break and although our bums were screaming for rest but we carried on towards Darchu on the way to Keylong.

5:30 pm – Darchu: We crossed Baralacha in time and the two streams and a patch of bad road and reached Darchu while it was still not dark. We took a much needed break and relaxed. The hardest part was over. Keylong was now in reach and we knew we would spend the night in Keylong.

6:00 pm – Jispa: By the time we reached Jispa it had started to get dark but we knew that roads were better in the final stretch except for couple of patches which were not dangerous and remote as they were intercity roads. Keylong was now less than 30 kms away.

7:30 pm – Keylong: We finally reached the hotel in Keylong and celebrate with high fives and cheers on being able to do this. It was a record breaking epic ride of 14 hours to cover 365 kms in that terrain where people say ideal distance every day is to cover anywhere between 120-180 kms. All our estimates and calculations were spot on as regards to the timing. I congratulated my friend on braving the early morning ride and he congratulated me on driving practically nonstop with good average speed in the areas of worst roads. I checked my bike and it was there in the same condition as we had left. The hotel guy was trustworthy after and we thanked him for his help.

8:00 pm – Keylong: As we were still outside and relaxing and chit chatting, another biker came and stopped in front of the hotel. My friend got talking to him and we came to know that he had a workshop in Manali. We showed him my bike and he very confidently said that he would fix it the next day when we reach Manali the next day. We felt ecstatic that probably our problem would finally be solved.

9:00 pm – Keylong: We have dinner and discuss plans for next day before dozing off after the bik-athon of today.

Sept 23^rd, 2014

8:30 am – Keylong: We wake up and rearrange our luggage and mount on both the bikes. We settle the dues and give the charge for keeping my bike safely.

9:00 am – Keylong: We start towards Manali. We only had to cover 110 kms to reach Manali. We had time so we took breaks liberally. More so, because it was too straining to drive for long with the bent handle and no footrest.

12:30 pm – After Rohtang Pass: Finally the horrible terrain of Rohtang pass was crossed, once again with the bent handle. We took a break and realized we were almost there and had crossed the worst. Good roads had started and while descending from Rohtang Pass there was a place where we drove straight into the clouds. Literally the clouds were on the roads and we drove through them. It was a first in my life to drive through the clouds. We stopped to savor the moment and view. It took time to sink in what we had just witnessed. A whole bunch of low clouds right at our level on the roads. It was simply breathtaking.

2:30 pm – Manali: Eventually we reached outskirts of Manali and found the workshop of the guy we had met the night before. By the time we reached the workshop the handle of my bike completely came off. Now the situation had become even graver.

3:30 pm – Manali: We ask the guy to look and try to figure out and fix the bike as it was in absolutely no condition to drive. We discussed at length and ultimately he gave that he could do nothing and we would have to arrange the handle somehow. After being so overly confident the night before he was not even willing to put any thought to how possibly the handle could be temporarily fixed to enable us to reach a place where we could find a showroom to get it properly fixed. He told us that there was a new Hero showroom around 17 kms from Manali and we should head there to check for handle. He did not even have the number of the showroom and told us that it would close around 5 pm.

3:50 pm – Manali: With no other option we start rushing to that showroom.

4:30 pm – Hero showroom, Patlikul: The guy at the showroom told us that he had no spare parts as the showroom had newly opened. We engage in elaborate discussions with him to try to get us at least the handle if not the footrest holder by next day. He enquired and said that the handle was not available even at the Kullu showroom (40 kms from Manali) and was there at Mandi showroom (100 kms from Manali). We earnestly ask him to procure it from Mandi and give it to us the next day. He said he could not commit but would try his best and let us know by 12:00 noon the next day. We then talk to our bike rental guy from whom we rented the Enfield. He told us to bring the bike somehow to his garage and his mechanic might be able to figure something out.

5:00 pm – Manali: We reached the bike rental shop (Manali Enfield Center) and told him everything once again. Then we left for workshop where we had left my bike to bring it to this shop.

6:00 pm – Manali Enfield Center, Manali: I somehow managed to drive the 4-5 kms with clutch in my lap to bring the bike to the rental shop.

6:45 pm – Manali Enfield Center, Manali: The mechanic finally takes a look and assures us that he will do something for the handle and the footrest so that we can proceed towards Delhi. We were desperately hoping that he would do something positive as till now who ever had responded confidently had only disappointed us. The mechanic asked to come at 12:00 noon the next day and he will have the bike temporarily fixed.

7:30 pm – Manali: We leave my bike at the shop and check in to a hotel.

8:00 pm – Hotel in Manali: Despite all the frustration, we freshen up and celebrate on completing the Manali – Leh – Manali leg of the trip.

10:00 pm – Hotel in Manali: We go off to sleep after dinner.

Sept 24^th, 2014

10:30 am – Manali: We head out to the market and have some breakfast and roam around in the market.

12:00 pm – Manali Enfield Center: We reach the rental shop to check the progress if any with the bike. The mechanic came up and very nonchalantly told us the obstacles he faced to carry out his initial plan to fix the handle. But before we would become depressed he said in the same breath that he still managed to get something done by drilling and welding so that the handle would hold. It was a great relief to see the handle in its proper position though not very correctly but still manageable.

2:00 pm – Manali Enfield Center: My bike is as fixed as it can be, given the conditions. We return the rental bike and take my bike to head to the hotel. We pack our luggage. The shop owner and mechanic were the rare people who delivered what they promised. The rental did not give any problems ever and they fixed my bike too. More so the mechanic did not even ask for any money for the repairs. We still gave some for sweets and mutton in gratitude. The rental bike had a little damage on the mud guard but the shop owner (Keshav) did not charge anything for that too, saying that we already had suffered losses and the mudguard thing was not that big a deal. It was really great to see nice people especially those who are operating a business to be so considerate and honest. We also checked up on updates from Patlikul showroom and that guy said that he had somehow managed to get the part from Mandi to Kullu and was going to get it from Kullu now.

3:00 pm – Hotel in Manali: We check out and start towards Chandigarh, planning to stay the night in Bilaspur like in our onward journey.

4:30 pm – Patlikul showroom: We take the handle, pay the guy and thank him for his help. The temporary handle was sturdy enough and we decided to get it replaced in Delhi itself and kept the handle.

9:30 pm – Bilaspur: The drive to Bilaspur was slow with bad roads but we eventually reached and checked into a hotel. We freshen up, have dinner and go to bed. The trip was on the verge of getting complete.

 The next day and day after was pretty much uneventful and finally the trip was complete. We amassed a little more than 2200 kms on the bike during this whole trip and it felt exhilarating to do so. 

Info and Checklists

This section is for all riders who are planning to undertake this trip.
First of all, if you are used to riding Enfield or own an Enfield it is advisable to rent it out in Manali. I am not endorsing Bullet. And frankly, I don't like Bullets and did not enjoy riding it on this trip. But the thing is, in terms of service and parts availability, that is the only bike for which you will find sufficient availability. If you ride a different bike and want to take that, make sure you have essential spare parts, because after Mandi (100kms before Manali) there are no showrooms or service centers for other bikes. Even if there are some small ones, they do not have spare parts which you might need.
So you need to carry
 - Handle bar or different handles, depending on the handle of your bike. Especially for Karizma riders. Being a Karizma rider for close to 10 years now, I know that if a Karizma falls, 90% of the time its handle will take the brunt of the fall and I faced the same again.
 - Clutch and accelerator wires
 - Spark plugs if required
 - Bulbs for head and tail light
 - Clutch and Front brake levers
 - Disc brake pads just to be extra safe.
Apart from these it is up to your discretion and judgement what you want to carry.

- Plan for atleast 15 full days for the trip to be able to see all the places and keep couple of days in buffer for contingencies.
- September is a little colder than other months but the roads are mostly dry and in the best condition that they can be. So this is the best time to go. Before this or during rainy seasons you will too much of slush and streams.
- The last petrol pump before Leh is at Tandi (110 kms from Manali and 365 kms from Leh). Depending on your bike's mileage and tank capacity you might need to carry extra fuel.
- Keylong is the last place before Leh which has couple of mechanic shops and has telephone network. All telephone networks work till Keylong. After Keylong, no network will work till you reach Upshi (50 kms before Leh). From Upshi, only BSNL/MTNL and Airtel POSTPAID connections work.
- For road conditions etc you can get that info from the travelogue above.
- You need to be willing to wear the same jacket and jeans for the length of the bike trip because no matter how frequently you change, it will become dirty in half an hour. So avoid carrying extra luggage. Just keep couple jeans, tshirts and shirts along with thermal inners.
- Waterproof riding boots would be helpful in some places to keep your feet from getting wet while crossing streams.
- Good biking sunglasses which cover the eyes completely from all sides are essential as there would be lot of dust.
- Keep medicines for all general problems like headache, loose motions, stomach ache, fever etc along with Diamox for Acute Mountain Sickness. Start taking Diamox (250 mg) two days before you expect to reach the higher altitudes. Take one tablet after every meal (3 times a day). It might save you from severe headaches and vomitting at higher altitudes.
- Carry cash. You find ATMs till Keylong and then in Leh but it is better not to rely on them completely as they can be found broken as well.
A detailed checklist would be posted later but these are the essential ones.

** Everyone needs to do this trip atleast once in his life **

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