Leh Ki Leh Li

             Risssk hai...Adventure hai...BiKing hai....
                                                                             Vaadiyan hai...Barrf hai....TrekKing hai...
             Bonding hai....Yaariyan hai...DrrrenKing hai...
                                                                              Lounde hai...Khwahishe hai...
                                                                                                                      Saale sab BakarKing hai...

Writing Style     :  #ImaginaryRealism #RushdieStyleNomenclature #Bro64Encoding / #BroPactEncoding   

            
Characters:
                             * MedicineMunna/DiamoxKid/CudBePuker

                                                                                  * PukerMan/JaldbaaziKiPaidaish

                             * Tripodwa/ToiletRoll

                                                                                  * SunScreenJawani/FursatKiPaidaish

                             * CashewNutBaby/CamphorCutee/WaterfallMandakini

                                                                                   * HerogiriDude/MehnatKiPaidaish 

                             * BoltaPopat/Aakhiri Rockstar




Ye un dino ki baat hai jab JP Murugan ke Anonymous-6 ...IT ke taamjham se pak chuke thhe...& desperately needed a dhaansu brk .. Ek yaaran da trip ...To celebrate the Frndship... To b... The Phamous-6...

Inspite of the I-Know-Evrythng bakarChitChats... kabhi bhi koi Tht-Unforgettable-Trip ke guts nhi dikhe  ...Aanan-Faanan me enquiry commission baithaayi gayi...to find the "TheUltimateDudePlace" in the near earth... Trip advisor advised for Leh, highly rated by lukka-bachelors, ghar-chod-chuke-foreigners & YehJawaniHaiDeewani styled AlwaysHoneymooning youngAndHappening-couples... 
L.E.H. won the popular vote... But har gr8 trip ka koi na koi purpose hota hai....Is trip ka so-called-purpose kya hai pyaare bakarChando........
Guruvaani kehti hai... "It izzz to be away from offc...from all kindda Official Bakar....From all kind of sweetners...gurs....honey coated bakarss...galss ki & unke amaao ki..bole toh from all galat Phamily Bakars..."

Koi Nahi Toh Shorr Sahii....

Presssure frm peers n yaars wass building up...Jana bhi zaroori thha...Itna shor jo kiya thha....Itna bawaal jo machaya thha...Par no plan is so very sure after all, until it is done-done...

Plan hilta dulta dekh Tripodwa ne chime in kiya : "CEO nishkasit kar dega Murugan se sabko.... Yenna Rascala....Itna hangama barpa ke productivity already kum kar rakhi hai...Upar se ye highly unproductive bakar planss.... Bass charcho me rehke parcho me bat jaate hai..."
Nirasha me duba CashewNut Baby bol pada : "Chhodo yaar... Kuch honna jaana nahi hai 10 din ki chutti me....& the mission is to reach the most distant destiNason on earth...To do The adventurous Biking for dayss......N those I cant miss places.... with coffee sips ke saath relaxx ki khwahish..
Kum se Kum 1 mahine ki chutti chahiye Boss...Period..."

Bol-Vachhan se sakhth parhej karne wala Bolta Popat bhi expert comments dene se khud ko rok na saka..."Kabhi galti se hi sahi ....life me saala kuch toh bada karo..."
Antatah ZNMD-DCH Mail Chains ko dhakka diya gaya....

In Pin Safety Pin...In Pin Out....

Popat : "Humm toh aag sulga ke bhaag jaane walo me se hai....Jao Nahi Jaayenge...Bass baithe baithe bhaav khaayenge..."
Yepp U guessed it right mate...
Trip ka Pehla Roda thhha "Finally who all r there....??"

Pukerwa : "Bachpan se do hi khwahishe rahi hai...Ik Leh ki & duji Leh Ne Ki"  

Tripod aka Toilet Roll : "Leh Cheez kya hai...Aap mujhe Himalaya le chaliye.. Bas 1 baar mera kaha maan lizziye"
Andesha sab ko poora thha ki the original planner Tripod har baar ki tarah is baar bhi plan hitch karke ditch maarega...
He actually had some obligations with another Leh-Planning & actually-wants-to-go-too grp... Apparently he had some chuddy-buddies thr..Tripod phoolAurKaante ke ajay devgan ki tarah dono bikes pe sawaar thha..in ishtyle... We-have-better-dhansu-plan ka jhansa deke we trapped him somehow...


Medicine n Herogiri toh bachpan se hi har kaam me tentative rahe hai.. 

Upar se ...Puker aur Medicine ka kehna thha ki Is saal woh lagan me magan ho sakte hai....Aur puker ko toh honeymoonwa ke liye hi saala 10-15 din ki chutti chahiye...
Bolta hai Lagan ka Mandap Taiyaar hai... Bass 'Sapno me milne waali Kudi' jane kahan Faraar hai...
"Shaadi ka ata pata  nahi par HoneyMoon ki bookings done hai lounde ki..."
Ek-ek chutti ko pyaar aur mehnat se sahej ke rakhna wala MEDICINE bola ..."Yaar ye Trip 5 din ka ho sakta hai kya..."
As expected, he wass bombarded wid shuddh dessi ghee me doobi mishti mishti gaaliya from Kaju Kattli aka CASHEWNUT, the only interested & confirmed Leh enthusiast at that point...
Lagta hai is baar bhi Lonavla ki chikki se hi kaam chalana padega...
Jahan chaah wahan Sunny Leone... Kaffi jaddojehad ke baad ...Kuch logo ki Leaves sanction ho gayi...n ZNMD-DCH Trip ka shubhaarambh hua...

Phir pehli #KingfisherBeer meet hui..March ki haseen raaton me...Jisme irctc ko beat karte hue tickets book hue....IRCTC felt bad as usual...


CashewNut ne SunScreen Jawani aur Tripodwa ko confidence me lete hue kaha...
"Ye ghar-ghar khelne wale bachho se ghanta nahi kuch hona jana.. Letss stick to our original plan matess...Bhaad me gayi duniya...Pinjare waali muniya..."

Using puke power....Puker fused in sum distractionss....
"Ladke hai...Open Car me GoGoaGone karte hai...ZNMD-DCH ishtlye....Make my trip ka latest eyeball grabbing ad dekha kya...BangKock Trip...Aavan Jaavan..Rehan Sehan ...Maalish mila ke...Sirrf 20 hazaar ke gaandhi wale parche..."
"Ya phirr God ki khud ki country me..Backwaterss me chaii chapp chaii bhi karr sakte hai...Yu bass  pasar jao...aayurvedic massaage ka laabh uthaao..Kabhi socha hai..."
Par Bhaav nahi sirrf Taav Mile....Sabke aag ugalte chehro ko dekh ke backwaters se backtrack karte hue puker finally cleaned his puke...

"Ok ok ok.......Mission Impossible se bass thoda sa zyada possible, finally final wala plan hai...June 18th to 22nd ki leave maarte hai..."
CashewNut bola "Haan Haan 2 din aane ka... 2 din jaane ka... chhooke bhi nahi aane ka..par poore 5 din marwaane ka...."
Maamala garam hota dekh...dil pe pathar rakhke Medicine aur Puker ne situation ko sambhala... 
"Aisa naa bol..Chal teri yaari pe 1 din aur kurbaan.....Final 6 days.. bole toh IT loundo ke 10 din....Ab Isse zyada naahi ho payega is kangaali me.... Jo bhi hi hai bass yehi hai....We know 2 much of a challenge for us...ghanta Leh'd nahi ho paaye toh kya... saath me rabad hi lenge kuch din...yaaran da bhi tashan hai..." 

Preparations 1.0

Route Daywise(Spots)...Bike/Car booking(Delhi -Manali - Leh)...Hotel Booking.....Checklist of Things...all this prarambhic jaankari..went to our original planner:: The Tripod  ..
Medicine Munna got lost midway in the Mediciness lisst... All the dimoxes took a toll on him...

Travel Tickets?...Thand ke special kapde... website checks... Biking conditions...accessories...Puncture repair kit, spare clutch cables(Zyada ho jayega?) and some good carriers (to hold luggage) ?? 
Weather...? Mentally prepared?...Physically fit..? Budget kitna hoga..?  


Pehle chandigarh ko humne The real start maana... Koi Bike rental sites pe laga hua thhaa.....Koi Leh Travel blogs pe...Koi Biking n food travel conditions jaanch raha  thha.. Koi medicines n weather condition ka bol ke dara raha thha...

Tso Moriri in or out...? Chahat bharpoor hai... Par samay ki kami bhi khoob hai...
Office Communicator ka fultoo use chal rha thha...
Medicine Munna ke darawne emails bhi chalu thhe..He & tripod digged into some Leh biking websites...
http://www.xbhp.com/talkies/tourer/13391-my-first-ride-ever-khardung-la-18380-ft-riding-world-s-highest-motorabl.html#post446456
To get Bikes on rent...
http://www.bikerentalsmanali.com/
We need to get this bike knowledge...
http://www.bcmtouring.com/articles/preparing-your-motorcycle-for-ladakh/index.html
Tripod TheWannaBeBulletOwner shared...
http://devilonwheels.com/index.php/inner-line-permits-for-leh-ladakh/

Cashewnut...Herogiri n Puker...Ticket booking me lag gaye.. Herogiri gave disclaimer tht count him till dilli ki sarrdi...

He has sum othr indescribably imp wrk... But wud grace the occasion wid some company till midway.... Par Cashewnut n Puker mann hi mann jaanat rahi ki.. Somvaar ho ya Shukrvaar.. Herogiri maange bass thodi si Manvaar....

Trip Tip:
Many unnecessary scary/stupid leh blogs r there which can be ignored while doing preparations...(Of Course this one pagle)

ShubhAarambh @ Mumbai Central...

3 months ki planning ke baad, 10 daysss waali trip ki shuruaat me hi...Station pe aakar agar koi ye pooche ki "Haan bhai finally..LEH hi ja rahe hai naa"... means the no frills guy koi aurr nahi.. humri Sunscreen Jawani hi hai..
Bachpan se hi khwahish thhi Rajdhani me 1 baar toh tashreef tikaane ki... Aaj usi shubh din ka aaghaaz thha.... Excitement phoot phoot ke aankho se tapak rahi thhi....Shehnaiyo Aur ShankhNaado ke saath humari vidaai ki bela kickstart huiii... Tilak ki jagah kuch HD pics se memory imprints increase kiye gaye....2 Rick me Trip KickStart krte hue Maal-Aad station ki aur humne kooch kiyaa....Chehro pe "Chalo-Saala-Kuch-Toh-Shuru-Hua" wala satisfaction saaf nazar aa raha thha...
Mil-chuki-Slow-local kaise Der-se-aane-wali-Fast-Local se behtar hai...wass our first tp bakar topic....Local me log humaari Maa-kasam-style-bakar sunke bikhar se gaye....Gour se dekhne pe paya gaya ki kuch darr ke maare sakpakaye hue thhe toh kuch Kahan-Se-Aaye-Hai-Re-ye-Namune wale look ke saath khisiyaae hue thhe...Hum logo ne "Khushiyo ke Shubhaarambh" ke liye Dairy Milk ki jagah "Jeevandaayini-Vada-Paav" ko chuna...
Ik taraf pehli baar, samay se pehle  pahuchne ke kaaran "Tripod aka Toilet Roll" ki banche khil gayi...Wahi doosri aur RajDhani me muft me milne wale khaane ke baare me soch ke Herogiri ki aankhen bhar aayi....
Finally ZNMD-DCH ke Aamirss aur Farhaans(Male Bonding N cool trips ke karta dharta....Holding our earss for our gurubhaaiss for 2 secs..) ko yaad karte hue humne humari DudeFullLukkaBachelor trip ko aakhiri barr phir se shuru kiya...

Dilwalon ki Dilli??

When does The Adventure actually start in an adventure trip...? Koi kaan me fusfusaate hue, kehta hai kya ki, "Haan bhaai...Shuru kar lo adventure.."
 Ek baar shaqle toh dekh lo hum sabki...Hasi ka phavaara nahi baadal phootega...Anjaani raahon ke begaane abdullah ki tarah dilli station ke bahar rabadiya rahe thhe... Kaise ek button dabake manali pahuche...Thulle bhi achraj me pad gaye, humaari gumshuda-ki-talaash waala look dekh ke...But our question was not answered yet...
Doosra Roda:
How to reach Manali from Delhi b4 5AM the next day.... ?

1 Bachelor Trip sahi maayno me bachelor trip tabhi kehlaati hai jab Planning se nahi Instant-Gut-Feeling se decision ho....Yun ki...Dialogue ke liye toh ye falsafa achcha thha... Par ab 1 din me pahuche kaise...
After landing on Delhi Station without any planning of what nexxt.......
Our business-minded but honestly-concerned for us cousins were waiting for us wid the trapping garlands outside station....Locally they were called Travel-Agents... In bicholiyo ke saath 1-1 karke hum bhi lag gaye....n 1-1 karke humaari bhi lag gayi...Iss delhi comedies ke hero thhe
Delhi Ke Gabru Jawan agents...Bhaiya Log...Police Chowki waale...
Par even after 1 hr of rigorous on-road-google-search... hum ye na jaan paye ki ye "Asli Dilli-Road-Transport-Service" hai kounsi?
60 K me tumhe ghum ghaam ke wapas le aayenge... Instantly humne apne gul-luck phode... Kuch chillar nikale... Khushi ke maare humne 1 sudden-death meeting bhi schedule ki.....
We discussed on: 
1. OhYesAbhi Ya ShaamKiBusSePhirKabhi 
2.Chandigarh jake gaddi kar lete hai..Aur thoda sa Delhi aur thoda sa Chandni Chowk bhi ghum lete hai  
3.  InnovaScorpionYaTavera ya phirr TuTeraAurMainMera
1 baat pe sab consensus me thhe ki ... Ye Puker aur Medicine kum chhuttiyo ke chakkar me akkhi trip ki waaat lagayenge....Finally we BOOKED a sparrkling white Scorpion TO LEH in 50K....

Paisa ya Dossti---Herogiri ki Entry

Ya toh tripod ko drop karke Honda City kar lete hai ya Herogiri ko in karke Innova types kar lete hai...Plan A me tripod ke bura manne ke chances n badhthe kharche ko maddenazar rakhte hue humne Plan B ko select kiya....
Par ye Herogiri kyuu nahi aa raha...Har cheez me ise manvaar chahiye...par pehle bass 5-6 baar se kaam chal jata thha....

'Daya' The Last perfect Gentleman...

Din ke kareeb 1 baje...Dilli ki galiyo ko paar karte hue we got on to NH through Panipat Sonipat....
Karnal ki lassi aur Pehalwaan dhaabe ki Rajma Bhaat khaate hue hum aage badhe... Jaanke afsos hua ki sarso ka saag abhi NotInSeason hai...Dilli outskirts se in budget Monks n Signatures ko kidnap kar liyaa gaya... Prakash da dhaabe pe chai ki chuskiya maari gayi....Shortcut to Manali ke chakkar me, Daya bhai got us into an unbearable mountain pass with lot many bumpers n back bone breakers...Aur us route pe bonus me mila thha cemented dust.. which was purifying our lungs.... Tuning in2 Herogiriss aashiqui tracks hum girte padte hue aage badhe...Latest sensation...Hunters & womaniyas ko bhi gaake salaam kiya... Roads were as if Sonakshified & in absolutely bad shape....

Mandi Ki Thandi..

Mandi ke pehle 1 gaanv me pahuche..Vahan ki daal bhaat se mood off karwa ke...We had anothr sudden death meet n vowed to reach manaLi...Daya bhaai ki haaalat trast dekh ke we decided to halt midway in mandi....

Mandi ke Motelss me rang reliya manaate hue hotel managers ko cross karke...we rchd some random peaceful motel... 
We were really tirrred... Booked a big bachelor room...lazy bunch jumped on2 beds...Crazy bunch plannd for the signaturess...
To make it large.....we thot to clean ourselves up first...n took turn bathing....
Night was bit chilly but didnt recognise when we got the last blink tht nite....

Raft it @ Beas...

Mandi se naha dho ke.... garam garam chaai n pohe phaankte hue we departed around 9....Scenic from the word go..the surroundings mesmerised us.... We cud not resist ourselves from the beas flowing @ the entrance of manali n jumped in for rafting...Rapids of increasing severity which ran along the higher grades were there to welcome us....Our sherpa boyyy....christened them as Ganga Jamuna... Shaktimaan & ek angrezi rapid bhi thhi Tornado.
We faced 7 amazing rapids... hothon pe Jai-Jawan-Jai-Kisan wali muskaan liye.... Haalanki sabki haath me aa chuki thhi...Herogiri n Tripod acted brave till 3 rapids then joined us in the bandwagon of cries n chillam chilli...

Trip tip: 
White-water rafting on the Zanskar and Indus rivers is recommended for people who can wait.
Some rapid grades are not for the very faint hearted.

HoneyMoonwa @ManaLi(Teesra roda)...

"Dossto...Monday morning .Manali me humaari aakhiri subah hogi.... Raafting...Paragliding Aur phir Manali me shopping....Kal hum sabki doli yahin se vidaai legi..."
"Ho Jayega Yaara..." Senti Driver Daya bhi bola...
Hum sabne bhi yahi Socha.... Par sala humari research me nikla lochha... Surrrprise...Permit toh Sunday ko miltahich nahi hai.... SDM office is on leave on Sundays & National holidaysss, my dear brothersss...
Kya soch ke aaye thhe... Now we have plenty of time in Manali.... Jo karna hai karo.... Juss tht we wud hv to update FB status to
Manali me Mana Li.....
"Chalega na...? "
"Khaak chalega ...Kya izzat reh jayegi hum loundo ki..."
"Dude...Iska matlab samjha... 
If Manali is dating ur gf in ccd,sar jhuka ke...LEH is the bachelor riding on his classic enfield, Sar utha ke...
If Manali is the coupless heaven..Leh is bachelor's den..."

"Maana couples bhi insaan hote hai... Par ek Sacha M.A.R.D. hone ke naate ye humare liye humiliating hai... Infact aisa sochna bhi paap hai..
Naa bhai naa....Kaise bhi karke hume yahan se bhagna hai. Isse pehle ki facebook ko bhanak bhi lage....ComeOn dude..ye Sweetu Shona bolne wale logo ka hotspot hai... Unka Live n Action itthe hi hota hai... Bahut se pyaar yahin rang laye hai...Kai Jawaniya yahi phooti hai..hum jaisi prajatiyo ke beej yahin kahin ankurit hue hai...
Mann soch ke hi sihar jaata hai...ki isss pyaar ki nagari me hum kaaa karenge re babua..."
Dialoguebaazi se mann maar ke thak haar ke Hilltop pe badhiya sa scenic cottage  dekha...
"Nazaara bhi achcha thha...Daam bhi kum thha... Par Manali me settle kisko hona hai yara...We hv to run away...Market me koi lodge me tashreef tikane ki jagah dhundo..kaafi hai....Jaise bhi ho Ye saala Permit toh leke rahenge...."
"Daya ghaadi ghumaao..."

Permit ka jhol aur Pashmina shawl

Raste me Police walo se leke locals tak ne manali me phasane ki koshish ki.... Bola ki permit ki dukaan toh bandh hia bhaiya....Saazish...Conspiracy.....Kullu wale ullu bana rahe thhe.. but we were determined.... Jab tak apni khud ki aankho se dekh na le...Kaano se sun na le... We wont believe.. N Our beliefs paid well.... Guess what..
After much shor sharaba...we got permit...
ManaLi ne bhi jamke Li....
It wass time for grand celebrations... Thand ko kaabu me karne ke liye & aage ka gameplan decide krne ke liye...We found out a  happening Tapri on the Main Market of Manali Streets... Ubalti chaai ke saath garma garam ideas bhi discuss huee... Looking at the Shimla Jackets & Pashmina shawls market, we tried our bargaining skills with Bhutta on the sides...We also got to c n buy some branded  leftover clothings from angrezaa type ppl...  Kisi mahapurush ne sach kaha hai Jacket Jacket pe likha hota hai ...pehnne wale ka naam...

Ik Subah Aisi bhi 

Whiskey whisked into our souls around 1 AM...n we woke up for our mission Leh around 4 AM...
As poojya pita ji & cool travelGurus always say Jahan bhi Jana ho...Make it as early as possible.. especially it is advisable to cross Rohtang pass before 8 am...Considering Marhi to Rohtang Pass is a steady climb..
As per the plans..defying the hangOvers we kicked into the morning rituals..
But at tht early times even the Chais & suttas cant kick in...
Somehow got ready...Went to find Daya from sunsaan gali of manali..& waking him up...we started our journey to rohtang...Mr Daya was pretty gaga over going early..
After listening to Daya's sweet yet heroic chardhaam stories.... Away from all  worries...we were inching ahead with happy-kid stories..
On a steep road ...not even near to rohtang yet, we heard a sudden mechanical sound... And lo our Scorpion looked half dead...
And there, we were stranded midway on some unknown connecting road with unknown GPS coordinates, with no help in near sight.... Welcome Roda No. 4

DayaTreatment - Part2

Daya ko gaadi ki fake surgery karte dekh hum samajh gaye ki we have some real expert help with us... Some spirits made him feel... He knew everything... With all weird ideas like
We shd not try to go this far on a single day... Lets take rest for a day more in Manali....
Started scaring us with all the shit about how tough the journey might be...
With no idea as to what to do next..
Called up the dilli waale daar ji in hope of sending a rescue helicopter immediately...
Daar ji se bhi jhagda paal ke.. We made it sure to make things even more worse with some gaali galoch & our No Daya Attitude with Daya... as for the "No-Idea-Where-I-Am" & "Engine dikki me hota hai ya bonnet me" look, which he had..
Called up all the possible Manali numbers... Waved hands for help to all the touristers... Also Armstrong styled cyclists passing by waving good bye...
Some stopped..Some tried to help, but in vain... Waited for few mechanics...Called on numbers...  Some road experts extended their help.. Felt like the car almosst started...but after a while it went bad again....With the sight of hard & testing times inching towards us... All of us went into our defence gears... yelling at each other... Maine Toh Pehle Hi Bola Thha... That classic shit dialogue..

Fun On The Hills & Waterfall Mandakini 

Ab saala Kuch nahi ho sakta situation ko bhaapte hue .......We decided to have Fun-Run-On-The-Hill in between... Tripod took the opportunity to capture scenic shots.... Medicine & Sunscreen voted in favor of a cat nap... Puker & Tripod played with the poor kids chantu bantu & cousins & found them quite promising for FB likes...They were with the road construction workers parivaar near to our incident area...
Yu kaho ki hum sab ne ghar hi basa liya thha un pahadiyo me...
CashewNut had few cool & seducing waterfall mandakini shots under the jharnas with help from his officially "Bestest frend for 2012" Sunscreen...
Medicine & Tripod had some fun even in these dire times... After hogging in the biscuits and supposed to be equally shared cashew nuts....The bhukka lions went downhill & got some Maggy from a chai ki thadi....
Finally hum log dus-ek ghante waste karne ke baad mudde pe  wapas aaye... gaddi ke asthi panjar sahi karwaye gaye.. Chalte Chalte café se ekdum fresh lunch order kiya gaya... Gaadi ko fullon race maarte hue hum aage badhe...

Roadies 2.0 : Pass the Rohtang Pass...

To make matters worse it started drizzling, & saamne dekha toh paya ...gaadiyo ka ye lamba zakheera...Most of the domestic tourists usually just ascend the Rohtang pass...and then return back to Manali... Upar se itte traffic dekh ke kaafi toh durr se hi alvida ho liye... Came to know traffic jam is a common phenomenon at Beas nallah near Marhi and then at Rohtang pass.If you scavenge over net you will find about an interesting Rohtang Tunnel project from Rohtang to Keylong which will shorten the distance by about 50 km and reduce the travel time by couple of hours. Very much needed considering the military significance & tourists round the clock.
Can someone imagine...for TWELVE HRs ppl getting stuck at an high altitude pass like ROHTANG...
But socha jaaye toh this tunnel idea sounds more comfort & less fun....
Worth mentioning is that, this is one of the few routes adopted completely by the army man....B.R.O. guys...They clear the snow every year as the winter ends i.e. around April I guess... So tht we can mk these kind of bakar trips...The scenic stop at rohtang was fun though... It was first pheelings of Everest Fateh after tht long janmo janmo ka intezaar...By the smell of snow & people's excitement around, we got sure that we were right on track...It was quite crowded but hum mumbai-local-train-trained ke saamne toh sab crowd paani-kum hai...
Had a cup of T & tripod took some Cheesy Phamily snaps...
This was our 1st shivering to hell experience... Being the 1st time we were pretty unprepared...

Travel Tip:
Take a vehicle with high-ground clearance and a large tank, as there is no petrol station... & Leave early with a Trusted & Tested Vehicle...

Shadishuda Gumshuda lounde...

The landscape changed immediately after getting past Rohtang Pass and entering into Chandra river valley in Lahaul region that lies in rain-shadow..It was missing a road-divider & had only one or one and a half lanes at some stretches. Somehow we rolled forward in the mountains.

Stretch was a compulsion not an option wid the kind of delay we had.... Ideally normal-ppl-with-normal-luck should reach Darcha by the first night....But from the look of it darcha-sarchu looked like a distant dream...Our bleeding hearts yelled... Oh please stretch it till Jispa... We prayed for all bets to b in our favor..
Sunscreen Jawani & PukerMan ki Chai ki talab ko maddenazar rkhte hue humne vishraam ka socha... Finally found a ChaiTapri+Kirana named Sonam da dhaba in tht virana... Got few Don-look-like-YasserArafati-Mufflers ... After few tripod shots & the garama garam maggy with sizzling hot T ...
Some extra take away orders came from a grp of enthusiasts... who had some clear plans for the way ahead...
We thought of piggybacking those guys for further journey... Gour se dekhne pe pata chala these are pinjre se aazad married ppl's grp..After filling Innova's tank with them...we decided to halt at some random hotel at jispa where our seniors stopped...Padma Lodge ...Naam toh suna hi hoga...
The starry starry sky in Padma's lodge was very soothing to the eyes.... Aftr a quick bath & some quick spats we enquired about some hogging-in-options...

Travel Tip:
Rolling out the option of nite stay @ Keylong is highly recommended, if Manali is the start point... Jispa toh humari majboori thhi...

Rum Maaro Rum...

Bath, Spat & Rummed feelings added to a confusing trans state...Carnivorous instincts of Cashewnut & Pukerman made them order MuttonJalfarezi... Daal Tadka fueled our discussions to usual-demeaning-arguments... But wht woke us frm our Leh dreams was the super hot discussion amongst the grp of senior pals... The experienced bunch of married guys....

Frm how not being regular in gym is bringing in unnecessary abs, 
to how the late thirties is bringing their performance & stamina down.. But looked like the Jalfarezis & RumMaaroRum rounds se unka paara saatve aasman pe chad chuka thha... There discussions were becoming alcoholically louder & vibrant & personal for sure... We stayed tuned to this channel of performances & understanding the nuances of married life in matru bhasha hindi.... After gaping at the Jispa stars once again in the clear sky....we decided to call it a day...

Agar Dharti Pe Kahin Swarg Hai: BarahLancha Stunts...

As they say the real fun and pleasure is in the journey itself and not in reaching the destinasan.... Awesome and breath-catching scenery and never-thought-of surprises along the highway were our constant companions.....The road from Manali to Leh is often known as a Biker's Paradise. In our case though the paradise was not perfect as we had INNOVAted & went against Cashewnut's childhood dream of riding on the dark horses in the paradise..
The roads kept us engaged & we were enchanted to c some stone shrines or whatever they say about those amazing carvings on those mountains... Nature finds ways to keep itself beautiful... Tripod boyy didnt want to miss on these highly spectacular views ... 
Aam Log-Baag tambu gaadte hai...Whereas for him to settle or tk rest meant fixing the tripod... & yes it wass so amazzing tht we cud literally get down at any damn place for distant miles...



We slowed down at TheWont SeeItAgain kindda lakes with mountain shadows reflecting  & shining through them...
And then thr were epic Herogiri stunts...Runnning into the barrf-ki-farrsh like a kid out of school...
We had few Ujala-Lux-Cozy-Moments captured...
Push Ups is an officially listed entertainment wid this Panchayat group anyways... In the absence of popat we dedicated the "OnTheSnowsPushUps&MatrixStunts"  to him... After some cool Canon shots we moved ahead...

Wiki Leaks:

The highway crosses some of the highest mountain passes in the world, including Rohtang La, Baralacha La (16,050 ft), etc definitely not for the faint hearted...
The steep ascent to Baralacha La starts at a place named Zingzingbar . There is a stream (from a glacial melt) flowing across the highway just after Zingzingbar. It is advisable to cross the stream before noon because the flow of ice-cold water increases as the day temperature rises. If the flow of water in the stream is too powerful for a vehicle to cross it or if the weather turns ugly en route to Baralacha La, turn back to Zingzingbar where dhaba tent basic accommodation is available quite cheaply. Or one can go back to Darcha la....
(Was there a place like that...Dont remember.. Sourced from archives...)

Pukers Zone...

Half the adventure of long journey depends a lot upon the kind of seats u get...24 hours sitting on one of those not so driver seat.. gives u an uneasy feeling for sure...will take all the pleasure out of the trip....And add to that our lesser-seat-agreements & more-seat-tantrums...Dimox kid toh constant dhamki mode me thha... Tht he can puke anytime.. Henceforth, 1st seat got reserved...Puker showed his travel history reports which clearly showed his Puke showering capabilities graphically on the Y axis... So 2nd window seat was 9-2-11 too... Understanding the trick.. Tripod generated some unwanted puke.... to get the 3rd window seat ...also to click some random shots on the paradise ahead.....Puking Tantrums rock as always...

Save me Mr.Camphor....

Kuch tambu khade dekh ke... We decided to tk a brk... The Non Oxygen effect was slowly kicking in... Daal Tadka with foreigners ke darshan was not pricey....Ironically, the foreigners relied on those looks-like Khattara-HPTDC-buses... They definitely will miss the fun of a SUV... But it was amazing to see those overloaded & old as hell buses going adjacent to the deep valleys in full on confidence...
Asli maze toh ye angreza le rahe hai sir... hum toh bass yun hi...

 As we kickstarted to one of the last laps to Leh...we were embraced by the never ending viranas & flat lands.....Strong current of wind, narrow roads, and numerous military checkpoints.... It was as if we were going on one hell of the last journeys...Nausea.....vomit... That unknown feeling....I am alive..No i m dreaming....N the High altitude /acute mountain sickness was becoming agni pariksha for our bodies...Like before going to the Mars expeditions... we have those virtual simulators to test our Haisiyat & train us... Perhaps we shd hv done those to acclimatize ouselves....Acclimitazation, the latest word in the town,  was not only difficult to pronounce at this moment for us but to learn as well.. This fast paced short trip will end up teaching us the hard way.... .

Trans mode kicked in.....

Background me Lucky Ali was singing Hairat hai from Anjaana Anjaani... And beeba boys were jumping in & out of car like The RK boyyy... The mountain peaks were covered in bad rusted snow and were glaring even in that cloudy noon.

Awesome Landscapes appeared to turn into super dussty ones... & the already less Oxygen content became as if extinct...

Medicine Munna's homework told us that this is gonna be the toughest moment in trip, in terms of sudden high altitudes... bad stretches of roads, snow crossings, water crossings due to glacial melts and occasional landslides.....
 We heard the eternal voices echoing frm the viraan mountains....
" Main toh pehe hi keh raha thha"....."
"Aurr karro Leh Leh...." 

Wiki Tip:

It is strongly advised not to sleep in Sarchu or Pang on the upward journey (towards Leh) as it can cause acute mountain sickness: headache, nausea, dizziness and vomiting. 

Diamox is available over the counter in India (as opposed to all Western countries )and can be used with varying success to speed up acclimatization. Carry Tentss if at all someone gets stuck....

Best Leh'd Plans....

Best laid plans are the ones never planned....

Oh yess we plannd it though... & were slowly inching towards Leh... The Ultimate Destination...  

Mahaan Sindhu ghaati sabhyata ka prateek... Indus river... was flowing besides us...

On the right bank (north) of the river...we discovered Upshi village ...Upshi had a Customs and Excise taxation check post before crossing the river... We stopped there for checking of vehicles... From there till Leh thru karu..Indus escorted us all the way through.... 

Other than the INDigenoUS warmth it was mostly a straight & boring stretch...
It was getting darker..
Around  6-7... we startd rolling arnd to search for possible good hotels... 

Smart Ass Ranveer & Get Leh'd @ HoneymoonHeaven...

We stoppd by a hotel agent's shop to look out for night stay options... We got rubaru wid a specially designed character locally known as Jimmy... As cunning as he lookd so were his 'Saara shehar mujhe Jimmy ke naam se jaanta hai' waale expressions....  Unknowingly, we divided ourselves into smaller groups to c the cottages arnd us... Seeing our vella bachelor grp.. he was tempting us with attached bathrooms, offering hot water & all kinds... But his Jhoote Vaade & Aankho ki gusthakiyaan didnt wrk out well wid us... Finally we voted for a cheaper with somewhat Hot shower with a bonus tub kind... Honeymoon resort... near to the  Fort Road, Leh Ladakh, in The Heart of Leh City...
Daal ka tadka maar ke hum log khaato pe pasar gye..

Wiki Tip:

Mobile phones from outside Kashmir will not work in Kashmir, so warn your loved ones beforehand that you may be out of touch and start writing postcards....Post paid wrkd for sure but not for all carriers.. Also u can get a local sim easily..(Please note all this shit took place in 2012 Alibaba times... not the latest info)

Thumping N Roaring Enfields...

Cashewnut ki enfield chalane ki khujli badhte hi ja rahi thhi... Pou fatathe hi pehla kaam in 500 cc ghodo ko  hotel leke aana thha... Herogiri aur party ne bikers gang style kuch phutwa click ki... Life saving Bags with all the necessities, bikes ke peeche bandh diye gaye...  Ghodo ko ghaas khila ke we speeded out of Leh...Every one of us had a different touch to driving.. Herogiri as his name suggests was mostly in full throttle.. The pillion rider has to apply caution wid him... But he had the best control on the turns & curves of mountains... Desi bhaasa me kahe toh Bhaai me nazaakat thhi..Cashewnut & Medicine were self-proclaimed-bullet-aficionados but then again the pillion riders ko unke extra pyaar pe lagaam deni padti hai...Koonche Pahaad..."Baahon me chale aao" gunguna rahe thhe... Our lukka bachelor gang controlled emotions. & decided to Phocus on roads.....

Changla.....Changla nahii yete.....

Mission Changla ko trigger dete hue Jai Mata di and Jaikaras ke saath we kicked off to the world's 3rd highest motorable road as they say.. Ride was a mixed bag of experiences... Some roads were too narrow for the fellow bikers like us, to go hand in hand....Indeed there were picturesque valley views and we couldn't resist from just stopping by....Crossing those strong and freezing water currents was challenging as well as feel gud stuff...But the funny yet brave scene was watching ppl do the daring on mere cycles...We encountered couple of instances where the cars were completely stuck in those strong streams as the underlying stones & the slippery mud slush were pretty unpredictable... Even all wheel drives wouldn't suffice, especially if one tries to be oversmart... You have to do individual case study before daring.. Some jerks even dared with maruti zen kinda stuff.. But mostly the fellow travellers came in for a decent helping hand....If not, then the Gods of these Changlas, Khardunglas and Dongrilas, the B.R.O., Lords of Himank project, would appear in some way or the other...
Thats the most awesome stuff on these rides...BRO follows the BRO code....Road sides were filled with some kinda blinding white dry snow.. The signboard at the top said it was around 18K feet above sea level... Chai chuski at those heights was another world experience....The ride after CHangla was ordained by daunting mountains on either sides.....Perhaps triggered by tht & the extra ginger in T , tripod decided to donate the Lunch ki daal bhaat at one of the exotic locations on our way....   

Chilled Corpses @ Pangong Tso    

Slowly we came to realize that our initial plan of 6 hrs is inflating big time for sure... Timeboxed travel seldom works & fun factor takes a toll... 

The-last-stretch as always was the most stretching....Puker bola ki his enfield's breaks r not wrking properly....Humare Phephdo aur kidneys ne maano jawab de diya ho....Kehne ko swarg wahin kahin thha par na hume swarg jaane ki phursat thhi hi naa hi koi chahat... Pehli baar maano Enfields bhi cruise control mode me daud rahe ho....Dhoond Dhaand ke finally jab aage pahuche toh kuch tambu gadhe hue dikhe....Andhere ka raaz poocha toh pata chala ki wahan bijli nahi hai...Saala yahan thand ke maare kulfi jam gayi hai.... Aur  itne travel ke baad aaye hai toh woh bhi Swades wale gaanv me... Koi hope nhi dikh rahi thhi... We were dead with cold....Upar se Bakwas Roads...
How all of the sudden sab kuch negative negative sa ho raha thha...Finally found a thik thaak Tented area... Dinner khane tak ki Shraddha nahi thhi....
Chain se halke honge socha toh saala Toilet roll bhi nhi mil raha thha...Upar se lucky draw me paani wali baalti bhi poore group ke liye ek nikali thhi...Chehre dekho toh koyla ke srk jaise thhe .... Phate hue hoth....n phata phati faces......Sunscreensss flowing... ek-aadhe toh bina dinner ke hi ludak gye... Kadaake ki thand me ...Dinner ke liye pahuche toh chhote parde pe Emraan Hashmi special Aksar aa rahi thhi...
Humare caretakers Udita ko niharne me busy thhe... 
Raatri bela zaroorat se zyada lambi lag rahi thhi especially since our really-close-pals were already in deep sleep... and we were made to count the stars in the dark sky..

Aaj ki Shiksha: Ek samanya Insaan is duniya me sirrf Ek hi insaan ke kharaate bardhasht kar sakta hai.. Khudke

Sooraj ki baahon me....

And when we widened our eyes to the morning in Leh... All our pains were chamatkarikally gone... Sipped hot morning T wid the finest landscapes in the background.....Tripod and puker went for a romantic-bare-footed-walk to the shore...Smelling the phaadu view they proclaimed the good news in the camp.... Dont even talk abt bathing... Packed our bags to jump into the silence of nature.... And yes that silence was one of our most enticing-tryst-with-nature... We cruised through the lake side with our enfields.... Though it was tough considering the resistance from sand...Met an enthu biker who came all the way from Mysore on his mean machine...His typical roady look  & multi coloured Pulsar would have pleased Raghu & Ranvijay for sure...After parking our bikes aside the beach-sand we ran towards the lakeside... Tripodwa took some awesome captures..... The serenity and texture of Pangong lake was a beauty...It was unbelievable how insensitive and blind one could b in an exhausted nite....We saw few ducks kinda birds afar...In front of us was the Crystal clear vibrant water....The deep blue waters, surrounded by tall mountain peaks...... Medicine Tripod and puker tried the 3 idiot gimmick live.....Then thr was the usual round of Hey Dick..Take myy one special Lounda click....

From the Wikis:

Pangong lake lies on the Indo - China boundary, with only one fourth of the lake being in India.

Victory Thumb never gets numb.....

Our return was thru the awesome Jharne Vaadiyan of Changla... By now we were Changla-certified-riders & experts... Raahgiro ko bhi muft ki raay de rahe thhe... 2 experiences though stand out in the Changla crossing.. One, the funny road-sign-boards with all kind of inspirational to intentionally weird quotes...like...
I'm curvaceous, but please take me slowly.
Darling I like you but not so fast.
And the next cool thing was the victory wave amongst the fellow travellers... Yes being a rider on those roads , waving hand or a thumbs up came quite naturally....Victory thumb is what we named it....That was a gesture of some fun n friendliness  in those harsh roads.. It was also another way of conveying... "Jo tera haal hai , Woh mera haal hai"

Google Tip:
One enthusiastic sherpa has even captured all Ladakh region witty quotes in a book.. http://ladakhroadsigns.com/

Noodle Poodle Zindabad...

Travelling bk is rarely fun especially jab sher bhooke bhi ho... Isiliye when we saw a dude bikers gang stopping by at a food corner... We too decided to slow down wid dem.. After ordering the essential chais.. our faces were brightened to know tht ki is dukaan pe maggy ke alawa bhi kuch aur milta hai, Maggy ka Chinese cousin, ChowMein ..Tapari sambhalne wali ek tez tarrar Aunty aur unki bholi aur nadaan ladki yahan ke chef thhe...Being around noon, bachha party bhi school se lout rahi thhi...Chowmein Aunty ke yahan bhi kuch paltan doudi doudi aayi... Hum aliens ko chinku minku ne ache se investigate kiya... Phutwa ki request pe Smart Aunty ne local bhasha me kuch toh bola ...Shayad ki Yahan har cheez ka paisa lagta hai... Samasya ke samadhaan me humne Aunty ki portfolio snaps se hi shuruaat ki...

Chinku Minku ki paltan...

Being 6 of us wid 3 bikes...we kept on rotating the driving seat as well as our 2 by 2 combinations.. And then again after 2-3 hours of rigorous driving..frozen-haath aur sunn-panv ko jagane ke liye we took another chai samosa break... Yes..To our surprise they had samosa kachori...All the cute faced school kids were waving hands to us in their post-school-super-active modes...Happy faced bandwagon had small Gangulyss & Tendulkarss playing Cricket at one side & some baichungs busy wid football at other.... We focused our eyes on garam Samosas & chaiss & chatpati gupshup... Topic of our directionless bakar was Herogiri & his love affairs... Bakar champ popat ki khalti kami was super evident.. We recorded all our controversial proceedings as a proof for Popat...

Phunsuk wangdu ke 3 Idiots school ko salaam thokte hue hum aage badhe....... 

Bells of Tekshey Monastery...

Coming back fully charged as we were ...stopped at Shey Laddakh to visit one of the biggest Monasteries.. 
There appeared to b 2 knds of Lamas...Old Lamas....Experience unke chehro se tapakta thha...Humari dilchaspi ko maddenazar rakhte hue ...They told us about the verses encrypted & about the bells....
And Kid Lamas..They were quick & confident as Kangaroos... Par humare be-sar-per ke sawalo pe unhone ghaas nahi daali...

After seeing the different ensembles & the beautiful Lord Buddha statue in particular we escaped our ways onto the terrace.... Thr was some amazing view of the villages nearby.... Everything on those walls had a meaning ..not clear to our eyes though... But it was beautiful including those 7 flags... Seeing the beautiful & lonely escapade we indulged in some reflections...One of the gang members went a step ahead & triggered in the baba style asanas to get rid of the maligned unwanted stuff in us... Sharm se jhuke hue saro ke saath humne keh diya alvida..

Chorbazaari @ Leh

Leh  ki ek aur sham humne galiyo me ghumte ghamte nikaali...Main Bazaar and the surrounding streets had numerous shops selling souvenirs, mostly Tibetan antiques or replicas. The Tibetan market is a good place to buy little jewelery, souvenirs, and various other goodies. second hand clothing bazaar bhi paas me hi jagmaga raha thha... Sunscreen jawani , Cashewnut aur Tripodwa ne kuch "Finally Got Leh'd" type ki self motivating messaged t shirts kharidi...Then after shopping around for the cute small buddha statues &  anti-virgin-status-waale-cool-Leh-TShirts wid a bonus-Leh-Map, few of us went bk to resort while Medicine and Puker leh market ko kum tawajjo dete hue...chose to explore Khar Dungla options ...

Planning me khot...Khardungla ki chot...

Aakhiri roda thha ... Khar Dungla ...
Naa ho payega KharDungla.... Worldss highest motorable road ko chadne ka khwaab ...1 khwaab hi reh jayega... Jaana Aana ek hi din me hai...& its pretty late to find some shoorveer driver... 
Bikess itna nahi chada paayenge...aur ik baar chade toh phir utar nahi paayenge....
Phir se reet aur parampara ke anusaar...Plan me Gadbad dikhte hi sab 1 doosre ke matthe galtiyo ka tokra phodne lage..Basic Golden Rule was ki jo bhi achcha hota hai hum karte hai...
N medicine echoed his golden words..."Main toh pehle hi keh raha thha..Par.."

Haar na mante hue...Puker N Medicine aur nayi jugaad me nikal pade..When nothing happens.. catch locals...Old style Cyber Cafes came to our rescue...Internet Cafe mahoul kum n Travellers-Permit-Searching-looks zyada thha wahan pe...Kaafi jaddojehad ke baad  "Inner-Line Permit" mil gayi laundo ko...Phir se gullock phode gaye...Bache hue Chillar Khardungla Travel agents ko tika diye gaye....Nashe me dhutt 1 Ratan-Noora-Style-Steele-Body waale ko humara driver karaar de diya gaya....

The Great Battle of phussys....

We gathered at our sweet home for dinner...Bhooke shero ki tarah we had whatever it was...Mool baat ye thhi ki usme roti, daal aur jira rice thha... 3 mandatory thngs for lukka groups to fight any bad hangover...Hotel waalo ne Mogambos ko khush karne ke liye & As part of tip-generating-strategy kuch fresh kati hue kakadis bhi rakhi...Raat ho chuki thhi...Pichle dino se chal rahe vaad vivaad pratiyogitao ke anusaar aaj badi waali fight ka din thha...Yes today was battle of phussys...Koso durr se janta aayi thhi.. History has witnessed several times when warriors met face to face..From Napoleans to Sikandars...From Herogiris to Tripods....What we were going to witness that nite was nonetheless an epic war..No it was not wid Swords & Armors... It was several rounds of Say-Any-Nonsense-Expletives & Pure-Random-Gaalis from both sides...Hamesha ki tarah mahoul poora banaya gaya...Hum sab position-take karke pratham deergha se aankh gadaaye ektook dekhte rahe...Ki bhaiya kab Bijli kadkegi n kab jwalamukhi-darling phootegi.. Aisa rutba thha fussys ka ki Mazaal kisi tigdi ki jo inse bina pooche phoot jaye...Cashew n Sunscreen were super excited for the fun show@nite... But alas...around 9 on the D Day day the great challengers were found sleeping... haathi gode sab bech baach ke...like newborn babies...Pure innocence...God Bless them...phuddus vs phussys remained a distant dream tht nite too...

Where L.I.F.E. sells cheap....  

Early morning the DAY EIGHT we jumped out of our beds & Xyloed for khar dungla, claimed to be world's highest motorable road...So after starting our trip with auto rickshaws...Trains...& then Innovas N Royal Enfields.. Now it was Xylo's turn (And Flights for Our last return later, to add all possible variety) But somehow we liked Innova better as a fully loaded car...Geylson The Champ, replica of Ratan Noora looked quite serious about his job.. He told us Ladakh was struck with serious floods and mud slides in August 2010...How it was a complete rehab for all in Leh and Laddakh region... How more than 10K ppl were affected...

Changing to better moods... singing classic bollywoods and cracking our daily cheap jokes we moved ahead.... but what made us numb....was a dead body lying on the uphill to khardungla without any whereabouts.... We were utterly shocked.....One of those awkward moments where we do not know what to talk about & what we heard from sum locals was that a jeep cum van of baraat going from nubra to leh lost its patience @ a steep turn.... N we even saw the accident-van hanging up in the valley....One thing mosstly ignored by everyone but always visible in big fonts was D.E.A.T.H....We chose to sliently pass through those dangerous turns... Even more unimaginable were these driver's & local people's daily lives which was everyday at stake in these dangerous roads...

Wiki sources:  
Mana Pass is actually the world's highest motorable road & not Khar dungla... But not many tourists go that way.. though its near to Badrinath...

Magical Maggy wid Hot Coffee sips...  

On this highest Leh point it was a fresh & warm feeling... Wid Army men preparing the lovely maggy...... we scanned around the area....Eyes wondered at the colourful flagss... We started finding patterns in Leh's surroundings... N we bowed our heads at a Hanuman temple...There were other enthusiastic groups too.... Some couples & families too.... It was wonderful to see an adventurous old couple waving us goodbye.....

 After the downhill the route was as picturesque as the Napa Valley ride in the bike video games... Those giant surmounting Sand Dunes made one hell of a ride...Geylson told us ki Yahin Kahin se Siachin ka rasta bhi nikalta hai...

Maadhuri Meri ... Sridevi Teri...

Our next option was choosing one of the twos... The hot bipasha springs on Panamic or the sundar sand dunes of hunder... We went wid Sundar Hunder Nubra Valley ride as the pkg included the famous Diskit monastery on our way back... .Nubra valley was famous for this 2-humped Bactrian camels...So the Dude-Dudwas on special demand opted for a Safari ride on hot camels just for 300 bucks..We raced to jump on to the famous two Camels ... Madhuri and Sridevi as in  thats what our guide said...They were contrasting figures as in Madhuri lookd more hairy... whereas Sridevi was over active...CashewNut almost had a fall on take off...courtsey the hawa hawai sridevi. Medicine didnt accompany us... Didnt understand ...'coz of pure Dudsical reasons or stomach upsets....Or cud b bcoz he was a Juhi fan... The teen patti ride had its share of fun moments..The big fart by madhuri-sri on each big step being one of them....We laughed to the extent tht we bcame oblivious to the great sand dunes surrounding us....Though our Nikkons & Canons captured the beautiful silence of the landscapes ....We played with the Sun-Shadow camera effect... We realised tht wid time the xceitement of giving poses was waning down...Law of big trips & photography.... StyleSnaps were turning into sumwht weird expressions... On our way back, Geylson as promised took us to Maitreya Buddha statue at the diskit gompa maintained by Diskit Monastery.... We went inside & spend some time in the serenity.




The Buddhist wheel, along with two dragons, is a common feature on every gompa,....Buddhist monasteries sporting prayer flags was  another frequent encounter in those valleys.. Luking at our curious bachha like faces...The Bhikshu there told us quite a few interesting things... Then we spent most of our time in the open-air-discussion around the great statue...Masters in Bakar as we were...started again on some random threads...

From the Parchments:
The Nubra Valley is at the base of the Karakorum Range.  The famous Maitreya Buddha statue faces towards Pakistan & is very close to the border...

Behti hawa sa wala Phunsuk Wangdu

We got finished early by around lunch time..Stopped at one of the local village restaurants...

Army Men came to give us company, here too... But the fun-man in the army lot was Phunsuk Wangdu sitting across on our table...Yes that was his actual name...  We confirmed it twice... Behti Hawa Typess hone ke bavjood he spent time wid us discussing some cool army stuff... We ordered the Special Noodle Soup,thukpa  and momos (dumplings) to give some more kick to our discussions....

On our way back...Learnt from Geylson champ some cool local gaalis..n tested successfully on one another...Sounded somethng like Jay Koop Bolordam...Since we were in Run-Lola-Run moods....We just glanced superficially through the remaining landmarks...Aftr all One shud know what all is left....Taaki kal ko koi Raaju bhaiya stle me ye na bol de ki itna durr jaake bhi ye miss kar diya....Wht a pity... So we did some durrdarshan of ......Palace of the King of Ladakh,a small mosque and something like Shanti Stupa....

Candle Night Dinner wid a Toast of success... 

To plan next day we met Our Driver no. 1, The Last Gentleman, Daya...He scared us about the cud-b-hurdles if we choose the srinagar route way back... & being a lazy and fattu guy by himself the suggestion went along wid his personality...Kinda expected..But we pushed for the srinagar route as to avoid the option of repEating the same ManaLi dish in our driving menu...Leaving early demand pe thappa maarte hi Daya bhai ne bhi mandavali kar li.. 
So is prakaar the heart of our trip...Leh Chapter was formally coming to a end... We decided to end it with elan...ek grand dinner toh banta hai boss... So we decided to go for an early dinner....We googled with local ppl on any famous get-away place...After reaching at one such, Was it our age or whatsoever but the place again looked scary romantic...Or may be we were biased with our cozy n ambience waale mumbai apartments,sumwht less formal & chakhna bhi sasta waale ...Aftr turning all menu pages in the candle-lit-restaraunt thrice...Medicine,Puker And cashew succumbed to their non veg cravings...What wud b better than the lambs marinated in Rogan Josh..Veg eaters decided to play wid words and satiated their stomach wid some lazeez (RandomFlashyPrefix)-Paneer-(RandomFlashyPostfix) dish..
Bakar ka vishayvastu shuru retro se hua par phirr  ghoom phir ke came to, Ye saala puker daya ke pichwaade me kyuuu chupa rahta hai....

Kooch To Kargil... 

Before the morning sun we spreaded our wings towards the Indian army base of Kargil  ....On the way we got to experience the Magnetic charisma...Our last gentleman,Daya handled the demo well... Aftr switching the car off and in neutral mode - it started moving upwards without gears towards the magnetic hill defying gravity... But it was more chunnu munnu kinda kiddish educational experiment feelings..
The happy news was that this route was lower altitude, and so it reduced the risk and severity of altitude sickness....Leh to Kargil was first non bumpy ride after a while too...We simply enjoyed the farmland & terrains look in the morning sun...After crossing all the by lanes of the busy Kargil market...We stopped by Mishra Vaishno Dhaba on the special demand from Herogiri... He found some Karan Arjun association thr....Dhaabe me army walo ki Kargil gapshap sunne ke baad... sab ne jeera maar ke wali chaach daba ke pee...Chaach ke asar me mastmagan hoke wahan se alvida hue...Chaach ke asar ko Daya ke  Strong break ne beasar kiya...
We were in front of Nation's pride...Kargil Dras War memorial built by the Indian Army located in the foothills of the Tololing Hill across the Tiger Hill......Shahadato ko yad karte hue humne har koonche pe salaam kiya.... The wall of fame had the name of all the army men who were instrumental in Operation Vijay...

Due to the higher risk of militant troubles in this route, we started noticing army patrolling more often... Army camps & trucks were frequent too...As entering to the other side of Kashmir valley we can c the shift from the peaceful Buddhist territories of Laddakh to the kesarified and perfumed Muslim territories eminently visible... Tibetan style ladakhi language was getting changed to urdu clan..

Jab humari phat ke haath me aa gayi... 

After wondering over the physical phenomenon of magnetic field...we came to the dreary Zojila pass...After initial, itss-so-easy phases & slight drizzling we found ourselves admiring a spot where all religions met each other... A small shrine...where a Mother Mary stood next to Raam ji ....

Ghumte ghamte jab aage badhe toh pata chala ki..there were actually 2 different routes in the beginnning & looks like we took the Wrong Turn.... It was already a super scary &  dangerous pass and to add to woes we got stuck in trafffic.. It was amazing to see the coordination of local vehicles & army vans... the way they never get stuck....even in the narrow paths... but we were not experts & on top of that we had Daya's blessing's in the trip, even the thought of turning that vehicle, wid Mr. Daya In Command was terrifying.After somehow convincing him...we got face to face with  a steep climb....Unfortunately we again took a wrong turn which almost cud have landed us in hell.....All our Happy Antakshari songs got paused & the point of focus ...ended on the last alphabet Z....Z for Zozilla pass... Shayd Sunny deol ki  90ss movies me suna thha...aaj dekh bhi liya ....jee bhar ke....

Sonamarg ka Sean Connery...

"Humare sonamarg me sabse achcha mutton milta hai...Shorma E kurbat... Kha ke dekhiye tabiyat khush ho jayegi" ...said the SonamargKaSeanConnery also the owner of the restaurant daawatEkhaas... Ye sunte hi.. Medicine, Tripod, Puker N Daya ki baanche khil gayi... They decided to quench their long drive cravings for the kurmas & kurbats.... Connery told them that how Sonamarg n nearby areas remain closed for more than half the year 'coz of snow.... Some local police walas were busy discussing Sonamarg wid him.... Puker had rich in flavor Kahwah sips on Connery 's special recommendation....

Vaadiya Mera Daaman...

Pou fatathe hi hum log boriya bistar baandh ke Venice of the East,Srinagar ki aur ravana hue... Nimbu ko aakhiri boond tak poora nichodne wale desi ki tarah we were determined to enjoy Srinagar dal lake jheel ride however...Bhai Raste me hai toh, syllabus ka part hua na...Vaadiya bhi baahen khol ke welcome kar rahi thhi...Evening was kicking in...& bhook bhi zoro ki thhi... So we jumped into a Dilli/Punjabi restaurant to get some Daal tadka & roti...Jaise North ke bandhe ko telugu tamil sab ik hi lagta hai... Waise hich South ke bandhe ko bhi poora Dilli UP sab ik hi lagta hai...Aur waise hi hume bhi Ladakhi aur Kashmiri 1 hi khet ki mooli lagte thhe.... but things were different... Laddhakis were predominantly Tibetan Buddhists, relying much on tourism...& Srinagar aur kashmir ki vaadiya was more Muslim population... So food...culture ...vesh bhoosha ... sab me kaafi farq thha..

Srinagar heavy security me magan thha...Solar and wood looked like the energy sources at most places...
"Yahan Nahane ka paani tak lakdi ke badaulat garam hota hai Sahab " said one of the Hotel guy...

Bromancing in the Shikaaras...

Aur paas...Thoda Aur paas...Jab kuhniya takrayi tab ehsaas hua ki bhari dupahri me we r Bromancing in the jheel....U know how our heart pheels...

Maana ki Sham tak ka waqt guzarna hai... Maana ki safar ki thakaan hai..

 Par relax karne ke liye is had tak..Dal jheel itni bhi Dull nahi hai.... yahan ki kashtiyo ko itni sazaa...

Yun haalat ki nazakat ko samjha  jaaye toh we Bachelors were stuck in one of the most romantic places, Heaven on Earth... & yes super beautiful it was... After a heavy Lunch @ Delhi Palace... & a peek into the all-luxurious-attached-bed-room-house-boats we opted for a Kashti-ride....Taking us ahead was Tai The Boatman...There look was like what Rushdie Uncle said one day... .... I Am Here Since Ages ...Jahan tak nazar ghumaao sab mera hi ilaaqa hai...

Jheel ki shaam ka lutf uthate hue... Sunscream ne masst On the Jheels Shopping ki... Aur baaki premi yugalo ne char aane ki Vanilla Scoop Softy bulk me kharid ke ek dusre ko kulfi khilaane kaa aanand liya...Gappe Shappe on the jheels karte hue... we went along..

Marna Zaroori hai...

Ab chahe sar phoote ya matha...Maine toh hai flight pakadni...

Mission Srinagar to Dilli in 1 day... Target 32 hrs naan stop travel...

Neend aankho me tair rahi thhi.. Par GentlemanDaya ne apna relentless spirit dikhaate hue breakless dancing speed me Sri Ganesh kiya...Alpa Viraam se PurnaViraam ki taraf badhte hue...we started chasing The Longest Yard... Srinagar se Jammu...

The Great Debater aur Mata Ka Langar

Raste me...Kuch Mata ke darshan ki aas me thhe.... Kuch Amarnath pahuchne ki talaash me thhe ...

Paanch ghante ke Chakka Jam ko productive banate hue  humne ved-upnishad se leke Ramayan Mahabharat tak ...Aur aadam se leke Isa tak sab pe charcha kar li...

Ise humari khush kismati kah lijiye, Muft ke bhandara  ek ke baad ek milte gaye aur hum vaad vivaad ke saath pet poojan bhi jam ke karte rahe...  Aur hume is param-satya pe phir se vishwaas hua ki... Langar ki puri-daal hi bass ek sach hai is zindagi me baaki toh sab faani hai...

& We Split...

Aur is parakaar ek tukdi...

Camphor Cutee aur Sunscreen Jawani... Vaishno Mata ke bulava ko poora karte hue aur jaikaro ki goonj machate hue uddhampur me hi utar gayi...

Doosri taraf baaki paltan..

Bin-Lotte-Ke-Jao Ya  Khud-Ki-Balti-Lao styled KaakeJiDaDhaabe me subah-subah masst fresh hoke aur phir aaloo de naal paranthe chep ke dilli ki taraf kooch kiye...

Epi-Logue a.k.a. Ab Kahan Hai Ye Log

After the trip this YoYo gang has requested Oxford waalhas to include LEH as a synonym for AdVenture..
Few hv/had ongoing affairs at tht pt of time....

Adventurous they were as always...few among those heard the wedding bells & Fell in2 the most thrilling of all  adventures "Wedding & Afterlife..."

Now they do not need any more roller coaster rides as life gives them for free...

Other Young Achievers ki bhi holle holle kat rahi hai..

"Is ghatna ke saare paatr asli hai bass zaayke ke liye ghatnao ko kalpana ka tadka maara gaya hai..."