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Ladakh 2024: Roadblocks and Resilience - Episode 2

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Embarking on a train journey to my hometown, I brought my bike along as luggage, arriving in Bikaner, Rajasthan, on March 22nd. The excitement built as I meticulously prepared my bike for the upcoming adventure, ensuring my riding gear and luggage were all intact for the challenging ride ahead. However, just before the ride was set to begin on April 5th, disaster struck – I fell ill with a fever. With the daunting prospect of a 14+ day ride ahead, health became a major concern. Despite my worries, I took medication and rested in hopes of a swift recovery. The following morning, we were scheduled to depart early, around 6 or 7 am. However, there was a crucial task to be completed before hitting the road – collecting snow chains from Karol Bagh, which we had ordered from Jaipur. Unfortunately, there was a delay, as the transport vehicle had gotten stuck at the border, resulting in a four-hour wait for the chains to arrive.  Making the best of the situation, I spent the time relaxing in a
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Ladakh 2024: The Journey Unfolds Ep:1

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Every journey begins with a spark of desire. For me, it ignited two years ago on a memorable New Year's Eve. Ladakh, with its rugged terrain and breathtaking vistas, beckoned me. I meticulously crafted an itinerary, envisioning conquering its most challenging roads, including the notorious Killar-Kishtwar route. However, fate had other plans. In 2022, a detour led me to Sikkim, and in 2023, the timing never quite aligned. Yet, the dream persisted. On New Year's Eve 2023, determination struck anew. Originally slated for June, circumstances nudged me to consider an earlier departure. Consulting friends and seeking advice from Discover With Dheeraj, a trusted YouTube channel, shaped the evolving plan. Despite warnings of April's unpredictable weather, I remained undeterred. Challenges only fuels my resolve. Amidst skepticism from some friends, the unwavering support of Discover With Dheeraj and the eventual commitment of companions like Aditya, Dheeraj and Venky fuels my deter
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Ladakh Diaries - Part 3: The final chapter

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I woke up in Pangong Lake at 6 AM. I  was  excited to see the view of it. Oh my God! What a feeling to see such a heavenly view as first thing in morning. Crystal blue carpet of water lying in the house of Himalayas. I took my camera with other stuff and ran towards the lake to click some pictures. There I saw a group of boys from Srinagar who were struggling with their camera. So I clicked some pictures for them and in return got some pictures clicked of myself. I was so indulged that I forgot to look around for my friends. Then I saw one of my friends who got separated from us at Karu , he has already seen my bike and was enquiring about me at the Dolma restaurant where I stayed. But I was still busy with my camera, capturing the pure light of that place. At the same time I saw few more riders of our group approaching, these riders got separated at Chang La . All where looking for me and I was enjoying watching that from lake. Finally I got back to them and we started
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Ladakh Diaries - Part 2: Leh Day 1 & 2

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     First day in Leh. We woke up   around 7 AM . We had good sleep and a hot shower after 3 days, it was really refreshing. After packing up ,while having breakfast in the hotel, we came to know that if you want to go anywhere around Ladakh like Nubra valley or Pangong lake, you need to take Inner-line permit from the tourism office of Leh. Information which is available online regarding this says that if you are an Indian citizen you don't need to take any permit, which is incorrect. You have to go to the tourism office and take permit by paying some charges  which vary on number of days of permit. It will cost you around 300-400 per person. After taking that permit and getting our petrol tanks full, we went to a mechanic. There we heard that all the routes to passes (Khardung la and Chang la) are blocked due to heavy snowfall and land slides. After talking with some of the riders, it was confirmed that we won't be able to go to Nubra valley passing Khardung la which we h
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Ladakh Diaries - Part 1: Hyderabad to Leh

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           To make your Ladakh trip memorable you have to start dreaming about it at least 3,4 months before the actual trip. I  started dreaming about it 3 years ago but could not execute the plan till now due to many hindrances,sometimes I didn't get the right company and other couples of reasons included money crunches and time shortage. I waited for all the factors to be right because I didn't want to do a Ladakh trip only for the sake of it. I always wanted to make it my lifetime memory.       31st December 2016, the New year eve, it is when we all made our first and foremost New Year resolution to  surely go on a Ladakh trip this year. From that day onwards, we started doing our informal researches in our spare time. My First important online research which I have made to schedule the trip is about the right time/month to go Ladakh. As we all know for bike ride to Ladakh, the season starts in late-may and ends in mid-October. So either you should plan your trip in
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