Before we even had our breakfast , we got the taste of the “dangers” waiting to happen in himalayan roads. We were stopped few kilometers uphill, because of “shooting stones” .
As we were wondering whats that all about , few stones came shooting downhill on to the roads. There was a JCB , which moved the stones away from road , but the stones kept on falling. Its a risk for bikers as we are exposed to these stones which is coming from top of the hill. For the first time , I wished I was inside a car . We decided to take the risk of crossing the shooting stone stretch , as nobody knew when the shooting will stop. Taking a deep breath , we crossed the slushy stretch of roads even while we saw the stones shooting before and behind us.
Few kilometers uphill, JSR's bull got a puncture again. This time , we decided to make it more lively by taking non-stop pictures of how a punctured tube can be replaced. JSR wanted to put it up as a “HOW-TO fix a puncture.” As he and GK fought with the tyre , I kept on clicking the emotional scenes. Two bulletters waved at us , as they crossed us. After loosing 2 valuable hours , we moved on towards Srinagar.
We crossed PatniTop at around 12 o clock noon , and there the vision reduced to few meters due to thick fog. Wished that I could stay and enjoy the greenery in mist , but time was not on our side.
Jammu-Srinagar highway is full of trucks and every now and then , we saw kilometers and kilometers of trucks parked by the road side. A quick enquiry gave us the reason behind it. There are stretches on this highway where it has only oneway traffic at a time. This meant that these trucks might be stuck for a day or two , until they get a chance to reach Srinagar. Being two wheelers we were lucky to move forward. Met quite many Mallu fauji's enroute but did not stay longer as we were already late.
GK who was dragging behind us , rung us to give the news . The two bulleters who waved at us some time back, got a puncture and they do not have puncture kit. By the time , me and our mechanic ( JSR ) reached the spot , some truck drivers had already helped them remove the tyre and take it for repair. And thats how we met , Max and Torston from Germany. Once the repaired tyre returned , JSR helped them to fix it, only to realise that a main nut is missing. We searched and searched the entire area for the tiny nut, but after 3 hours of no luck Torston, decided to find a temporary solution until they reach Srinagar. This meant they would be riding really slow . We 3 bid good bye as we had to reach Srinagar atleast by 6:30 in the evening .
We crossed a long tunnel and then the breathe taking scenery infront stopped us. The first view of Kashmir valley from the top of the hill. Nothing is enough to describe the feeling. We did not discuss anything between us . Just stopped the bikes , got down and looked at the nature's beauty. Minutes passed , hours passed , and all we did was sit there and take few snaps.
“Thad-thad-thad” of bullets brought us back to reality. There they are , the germans. It was written in our fate that we were to hang along. Together we all rode towards Srinagar and reached the city by around 9:30 pm .
It was a dead city , with nothing moving . The city's eerie silence was broken by the sound of 4 bullets and a Karizma . We stopped to decide where to hang out for the night. “Preeeeeeeeeeh” , a whistle blew and I saw a khaki clad guy crossing the road few meters away from us. “The Goorkha's are all out this early , eh . !!” , we thought. “Preeeeeeh , second time the whistle blew and I just waved back at khaki-guy and conveyed in my best possible hindi, that we were searching for hotel rooms . He just took the AK-47 he had on his shoulder , which I had mistaken for a lathi till then, and pointed at us. Oh, boy this is not a Goorkha.
JSR went and tried to settle the matters in better hindi. Five of us were asked to park the bike a few meters ahead , which was right under a small tank. Few more army guys came out of the dark and asked us the where abouts. Later JSR informed us that , one amongst them was literally shouting at us for not reporting to them when the whistle blew. Guess what JSR replied, “ Sab , we thought you were goorkhas.” . Rest of the words which the officer said , was in Hindi , so I was lucky. Atleast I couldnt understand the meaning of the bad words he used.
Finally at around 11:30 at night , we got rooms in a houseboat. After a healthy dinner and kashmiri tea ( Qahwa) we all sat around for a little chit chat. GK taught max how to have bettel leaf and tobacco , and he was all out after that. Max and Tungsen are planning to stay in Srinagar for some days . They want to do a bit of trekking and also learn more about Budhism. Thanks to them , and their books I learned more about Budhism. We all bid good night to each other and went to sleep at around 2 am
Next day , we had morning breakfast at 12:00 pm . Kashmiri Roti , butter and Kashmiri tea. The houseboat owner was the one who was really amazed by us. 3 guys coming to Srinagar...without any desire to see the city , market , or even the shikaaras that was rowing in the lake. We just were 3 lazy bumps according to him. But our minds were elsewhere . We asked for the nearest place worth riding to , which was Gulmarg . Went there , had food , came back and purchased some warm clothes for the journey ahead.
We met a lot of mallu fauji's on our way to and from Gulmarg. They were very happy to see us and enquired about the weather and political conditions in Kerala. We did not have anything to ask them , but just our silent respect to the work they are doing. Every 100 meters on the road , army people are there on both sides. They search the vehicles and frisks the passengers. You can sense the tension in everyone's face. The news of grenade lobbing on tourists was lurking on my mind too. All I wanted was to pack our bags and leave the place.
We left srinagar the very next day morning , leaving the houseboats, shikaaras and the germans behind us. The road was crowded with college going Kashmiri gudiyaas. According to GK , there was no average looking gal amongst them. The choice is between better and best. With these destractions in mind and after travalling 50 Kilometers, we realised that we are just another 100 km from Muzaffarabad in PoK . That meant we are on the wrong route . ( Didn't I tell you , Losing way and then returning to where you started, was a hobby for us ) . We returned to Srinagar and then headed on the correct route to Leh . Tonight we need to reach Kargil.
Beauty of Kashmir was not in the crowded city of Srinagar but on this road. Dark green valleys, huge mountains , crystal clear streams , tall pine trees and bright blue sky . For a lonely rider, nothing else was required. We road on and on , stopping at times giving way to the amry convoy or for a butt break.
I'll never forget the turn I took , in Sonamarg. All on a sudden the surroundings changed to lush green meadows . And bordering the meadows far away, I saw the snow capped mountains. My first view of snow , a image I'll carry to my death bed. We stopped for taking few pictures and tea , and then JSR reminded us about the challenge ahead. Zojila Pass. Our first , mountain pass . Without wasting much time , we moved on.
I was not affected by the AMS ( acute mountain sickness ) but our bikes were . On the muddy road ( if you can call that a road ) , bike and bulls showed resistance to movement. GK was found pulling and pushing his bull to make it move. Somehow we crossed the first mountain pass , Zojila , and entered even more difficult terrains .
We are in Srinagar – Leh road which was in the thick of actions during Kargil war. We passed the road to Amarnath Caves, Saw the route which terrorists took to kill pilgrims few years back , saw the matayne camp which was the base camp for India's Kargil operation , we passed Tiger hills and Kargil war memorial near Drass. I'll not forget the yellow board near the war memorial and the words it had
“Please stop , and remember those who gave their todays for your tommorows”.
I bow my head to all those who laid down their life , for me to take this ride.
My mood was changing. From the excitement before we reached Srinagar and then the fear while in Srinagar , I was feeling a lot low now. Even my surroundings started reflecting my mood . There was no greenery. Yeah , JSR did warn me about seeing brown mountains but I was not expecting it to be this bad.Every few meters you'll see a memorial of a martyr who lost his life , while trying to save our nation.
The roads turned all dusty and rocky and even the small river was muddy. At Drass , my front mudguard got a crack. I decided to break it and throw it away . In JSR's own words , “Karizma started loosing weight”. As we got closer and closer to Kargil, we were totally bowled out by the work done by BRO ( Border Roads Organization) .
We had a heavy dinner in Hotel D Zojila and sat on the balcony watching the Kargil's night sky. Moon was really bright and the rocky and naked mountains glistened in the night . I was feeling low , I was feeling light and I was feeling sleepy.
To be continued .......
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