Finally, the dates were announced, a wave of excitement was all around. Some planning ride before & some planning a ride post-Bullatiapa – 4Play.
The Mumbai Chapter was making their plans too. Here we sit with dates in our mind & work on our hands.
We usually plan our rides in groups & try to stick with each other. It gives everyone a different level of confidence. Everything getting planned & set for the ride. And I get a great news about my cousin`s wedding. I am happy and at the same time, I am confused. I didn’t want to miss any of the events. For me attending both, cousin`s wedding & bullatiapa was important.
But what a relief this one call gave me. The wedding date was fixed a week before the dates of bullatiapa. I got my energy back & was on track again to make plans.
My mom was against of riding bikes to Delhi. But it was also not feasible for us, me & Mohnish to attend the wedding, come back to Mumbai & ride back to Delhi with the whole Mumbai Chapter.
***DAY 1***
I & Mohnish did all our preparations for this journey of life & called it “Brothers on Road”. I was riding “Fernweh” Classic 350CC, & Mohnish on his Himalayan 411CC.
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| Tea Break after crossing a toll naka |
We planned our ride & started on 15th November 2016 with a target to reach Udaipur on the same day which is 790km from Mumbai. The excitement of the ride could not let us sleep & we kick start at 445AM from our place in Jogeshwari. Soon we were 100km away from Mumbai & hungry. We took our first break at “Hotel Athiti” which is located on the Highway at Charoti. Had some yummy & heavy breakfast before we started our journey again. Initially, we were riding a bit slow but then realized we have to reach Udaipur on the same day. We crossed Surat around 11AM. As the day progresses, we started getting local traffic on the highway which made us ride slow. We wanted to enjoy the ride also safety was always in our mind.
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| Fernweh & Himalayan Taking rest |
We were using a pair of LEXIN R6 Bluetooth Intercom Device which made us easy to ride during the night time. As we ride, we keep an eye on the fellow rider through the rearview mirrors. It`s easy to locate your fellow rider in the mirrors during the daytime, but a bit difficult at night.
We entered the city of lakes Udaipur. Sanjay Babble, a rider from Udaipur Chapter & a very good friend, was waiting at the check post to receive us. It was so nice to see Sanjay almost after a few months and he looked as great as he was when I did a ride with him in March 2016.
He took us to the place where we were supposed to stay that night. Taking us from the narrow arterial lane of Udaipur, its rich culture through its painted walls. intricately carved doorways and traditional haveli have by the lakefront. And here we are, Ravi Soni, another rider and a dear friend from Udaipur, booked our stay at Hotel Lake View Haveli, situated right in the middle of the city. We took a quick shower & headed for dinner to the rooftop restaurant. It was a very cold night, even the house wants to have a house of their own so they can enter inside them and feel warm. We had some delicious delicacies for dinner.
Tired, exhausted & excited to meet the brother from IBR`s Udaipur Chapter the next day, we were chit chatting in our room, I didn't know when I drifted off to sleep.
With the loud sound of the alarm, I woke up. Got ready quickly & headed for breakfast. With an amazing view from the rooftop, only to realize then where we had dinner last night was so pretty. With a lovely view of Taj Lake Palace, Located on a natural foundation of 4-acre rock on the Jag Niwas Island in Lake Pichola. We could see almost the entire city from here. We clicked some photographs & decided to move ahead in the day.
Discussing our day 2 ride towards Jaipur, we planned a small lunch ride with our Udaipur brothers. Started by visiting Sanjay`s home, took blessing from his mother & off to Jaipur. Udaipur Chapter tagged along for a small ride on the LAL GHAT. We took a halt for lunch, meet Sujet (CH-Udaipur - 2016), had yummy local food, shared some jokes & created some memoried. It was time for us to bid them off and continue our journey towards Jaipur.
He took us to the place where we were supposed to stay that night. Taking us from the narrow arterial lane of Udaipur, its rich culture through its painted walls. intricately carved doorways and traditional haveli have by the lakefront. And here we are, Ravi Soni, another rider and a dear friend from Udaipur, booked our stay at Hotel Lake View Haveli, situated right in the middle of the city. We took a quick shower & headed for dinner to the rooftop restaurant. It was a very cold night, even the house wants to have a house of their own so they can enter inside them and feel warm. We had some delicious delicacies for dinner.
Tired, exhausted & excited to meet the brother from IBR`s Udaipur Chapter the next day, we were chit chatting in our room, I didn't know when I drifted off to sleep.
***DAY 2***
With the loud sound of the alarm, I woke up. Got ready quickly & headed for breakfast. With an amazing view from the rooftop, only to realize then where we had dinner last night was so pretty. With a lovely view of Taj Lake Palace, Located on a natural foundation of 4-acre rock on the Jag Niwas Island in Lake Pichola. We could see almost the entire city from here. We clicked some photographs & decided to move ahead in the day.
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| Panoramic view from the rooftop restaurant in Udaipur. |
Discussing our day 2 ride towards Jaipur, we planned a small lunch ride with our Udaipur brothers. Started by visiting Sanjay`s home, took blessing from his mother & off to Jaipur. Udaipur Chapter tagged along for a small ride on the LAL GHAT. We took a halt for lunch, meet Sujet (CH-Udaipur - 2016), had yummy local food, shared some jokes & created some memoried. It was time for us to bid them off and continue our journey towards Jaipur.
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| with IBRMC Udaipur |
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| SANJAY - ASHISH - RAVI |
Jaipur is nearly 400km from Udaipur. We started at 345pm expecting to reach Jaipur by 10pm. We rode a single way and also a 3 lane highway from time to time. The journey was pretty much of. Taking tea break & having some mom made thepalas. Soon it turned out to be dark & the drop in the temperature was not making us ride fast. We managed to ride & coordinate with the help of intercoms.
We entered Jaipur late at night. We began the search for a hotel on Oyo rooms & soon found a decent one. Our pocket-friendly stay for the night. We checked our route plans for the next day & went off to bed.
***DAY 3***
I got up early as I was waiting to see my friend after years. It was early morning so we had a walk at the local chai tapri. Our conversation was never-ending, but the clock was also ticking. So we bid her a bye & started our ride towards Delhi. Only to find that we are lost in the city road of Jaipur. Took us an hour to get back on track due to city traffic.
270km & we are in Delhi. As per what we heard about the Gurgaon traffic we were a bit scared to face it. But we fought well to win over the traffic and reach the venue where mom & other relatives were eagerly waiting to meet us.
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| Mom - Mohnish - Kanika - Mama - Aarti - Ashish - Mami |
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| Mohnish - Mama - Ashish |
We somehow felt like celebrities. Everyone around us started clicking picture & asking all question that came into their mind regarding our ride from Mumbai to Delhi.
***Post Wedding - Day 6***
The wedding went well. We all had a lot of fun. Now Mohnish & I, have 5 days before Bullatiapa. We are confused as there are many places that can be covered on our bikes. Kasol, Tosh, Sach but then we had a discussion with Shushant our rider brother from Delhi Chapter. We planned out a trip to McLeod Ganj - Dharamshala.
The Trio started riding towards McLeod around 3pm on 21st November 2016. The ride was going smooth. Our night stay was arranged by Shushant at Dera Bassi. We took a turn from the main highway towards Dera Bassi. the condition of the road was too good. We all were enjoying riding at a decent speed/ Shushant was in the lead, followed by Mohnish & then me. Clam & dark. Suddenly, my electrical of the bike failed, lights went off and the bike refused to star. I could not contact Shushant or Mohnish due to no network. Our intercoms also failed to conned as Mohnish went out of coverage area. I tried asking for help with the locals, but they won`t stop their bikes & car. Finally, I tried to look into the matter. I checked the spark plug first, it was fine. I was thinking about what could have gone wrong. I saw 2 lights approaching me. I was expecting about Mohnish & Sushant & bingo they were here to help me. After a while of discussion we finally checked with the fuse & yes the fault was there. It was late at night, we decided to come back from 20km towards the highway & stay there for the night.
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| Lunch break at Rasoi Resturant - Sushant - Ashish - Mohnish |
Early morning we searched for a local mechanic & got the electrical fixed. We are ready again to ride hard. Our today's target was to reach McLeod.
We reached Naddi which is few kilometres ahead of McLeod Ganj around 815PM, but the atmosphere out there was as if it was 12 at night. we figured out a place to crash that night. A huge room with all amenities for 3 people at just Rs.1000/-. Early in the morning the artistic golden sun got up like a baby and started painting the dark black sky into a bright blue sky. The view from our room`s window was so awesome. Seriously, you have no idea, looking out of the window, I can see mountains weaving across the horizon. Cloudy sky & the snow-covered peaks instead of a concrete landscape. What a lovely morning. We saddled up our bikes & move towards McLeod. Which is around 5Km & we took 15 min to each McLeod.
While riding to McLeod we visited Brig Sher Jung Thapa memorial garden. Brig Sher Jung Thapa was awarded, The Maha Vir Chakkar for displaying outstanding leadership during one of the crises in 1948.
The most adventurous part of our trip was demonetization. We were facing some issues using our old currency. But locals there were really helpful, they accepted our old currency. We got a decent stay in McLeod & booked it for a night. It was noon, so planned to visit the Shiva Cafe which is situated near the Bhagsunag Waterfall. On our way to the cafe, we visited the Bhagsu Nag Temple. We had to do a small trek for 20 mins to reach Shiva Cafe. Shiva Cafe is one of the most famous places in McLeod Ganj - Dharmashala. The best thing is the amazing view of the mountains and Bhagsu Nag Waterfall. We fell in love with this place instantly. Shiva Cafe is worth every step & every single sharp breath that you take as you climb up. We had delicious hot coffee & Maggie.
We trek down from Shiva Cafe & were in search of some place where we can sit & chill. On this trip, we were lucky to get rooftop cafes & restaurants everywhere. This time it was the highest rood top cafe in Mcleod Ganj. The manager made us sit at the best tables in his restaurant. A breathtaking view was waiting for us. The sunset, a magnificent view of the whole town in the real, the colour of the sky just turned dark blue from orange. I have never met a sunset I didn't love. We ordered some local food, some Momos & Thuppa. We spend some more time at the restaurant taking & making new friends. We called our night off at the restaurant & went back to our hotel. We were tired & almost dazing. We have a long day waiting for us tomorrow.
It was a normal morning in the mountains. We planned to have a breakfast on our way back to Delhi. And what could be better than Momos and garam chai. We hogged on Momo`s as if we will never get to eat every in our life.
We reached Naddi which is few kilometres ahead of McLeod Ganj around 815PM, but the atmosphere out there was as if it was 12 at night. we figured out a place to crash that night. A huge room with all amenities for 3 people at just Rs.1000/-. Early in the morning the artistic golden sun got up like a baby and started painting the dark black sky into a bright blue sky. The view from our room`s window was so awesome. Seriously, you have no idea, looking out of the window, I can see mountains weaving across the horizon. Cloudy sky & the snow-covered peaks instead of a concrete landscape. What a lovely morning. We saddled up our bikes & move towards McLeod. Which is around 5Km & we took 15 min to each McLeod.
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| Drinks break on the way |
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| Night Stay at Naddi |
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| Early Morning View from the room |
The most adventurous part of our trip was demonetization. We were facing some issues using our old currency. But locals there were really helpful, they accepted our old currency. We got a decent stay in McLeod & booked it for a night. It was noon, so planned to visit the Shiva Cafe which is situated near the Bhagsunag Waterfall. On our way to the cafe, we visited the Bhagsu Nag Temple. We had to do a small trek for 20 mins to reach Shiva Cafe. Shiva Cafe is one of the most famous places in McLeod Ganj - Dharmashala. The best thing is the amazing view of the mountains and Bhagsu Nag Waterfall. We fell in love with this place instantly. Shiva Cafe is worth every step & every single sharp breath that you take as you climb up. We had delicious hot coffee & Maggie.
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| Brig Sher Jung Thapa memorial garden |
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| At Shiva`s Cafe - Ashish & Shushant |
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| Shiva`s Cafe |
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| Sun Set & The City in Valley |
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| View from the Resturant window |
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| Making Friends everywhere we go |
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| Breakfast - Momo`s Maggi & Chai |
Descending towards Delhi, we visited the Dharamshala War Memorial. War Memorial is located at the entry point of the Dharamshala town and was built to commemorate the memory of those who fought valiantly for the honour of their motherland. The place is located in the pine forest & one can have a pleasant walk in the woods. How can we not click any photographs? Our next location to visit was the very famous Dharamshala Cricket Stadium (HPCA). Every step forward towards the stadium we could not control our excitement. The first view of the ground was jaw-dropping. Stunning. Breathtaking. Awesome. These are the words which pop out as soon as we saw this cricket ground. The Stadium is set against the backdrop of the dramatic snow clad mountains, is perched on the high slopes in the upper reaches of the Kangra valley. With a wish to play a small game of cricket on this ground with our friends we bid adieu.
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| Ashish at Dharmashala War Memorial |
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| Mohnish & Sushant posing with the War Tank |
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| Dharamshala Cricket Stadium |
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| Chilling at a lake in Dharmashala Mohnish Ashish Sushant |
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| Can't control the excitement when we reached Bullatiapa 2016, Delhi. |
