The Motorcycle Diaries - Official Film Trailer

Dehradun-Chandigarh-Manali

The day finally arrived on the 9th of september when Akhilesh and I were to leave for Chandigarh from Dehradun. Ujjwal lived in Chandigarh and therefore we decided that all of us would meet there, also because it was en-route to Manali, so even Mohit (who was coming from Bangalore) took a bus to chandigarh after landing at delhi. It took us nearly 6 hours to reach Ujjwal's flat. Mohit was running a little late and he was supposed to reach a couple of hours later so I thought we could relax ourselves with a few beers by then and everybody agreed willingly, even though it was pretty obvious that it was the next thing we're going to do. So we went to a pub nearby which served their own brewed beer and we, after trying 4 samples, ordered 3 pitchers of our choices. It must have not been more than an hour or so when ujjwal got a call from mohit that he had arrived so ujjwal went to pick him up while akki and me were still in the bar sipping our chilled beer. After getting over with it, we left the bar, bought a few medicines and first aid kit for our trip and reached his place. Within a few minutes or so they both arrived as well and for the next few moments, it was a jubilant re-union of 4 school friends, who had hardly seen each other for a year, with hugs and high-fives all around and  swearing at each other out of sheer joy and excitement. Trust me ,a moment like that calls for some more beers and thats exactly what happened next. Gulping beer after beer and trolling with each other, we were at the zenith of our excitement, not only cuz we met after a year but also because we were about to leave for manali in a little while. Ujjwal  had already booked a cab so after some confusion with the cabbie, it finally arrived to pick us up around midnight. Hence we sat in the cab and left for manali. Now imagine 4 friends, a car, one long road ahead and countless stories to be told..but somethings missing right? Beer, thats right. So we bought some more again on the way for the journey. As soon as we hit the highway , we had beer in our hands and endless stories about the school life and our other adventures were tossed at each other, reliving all those moments once again. After driving for the next couple of hours, we were quite drunk especially ujjwal so we stopped at one of the dhabas to have our dinner. After we had our dinner we continued the journey.

Inception

They say a Journey of a thousand miles must begin with a simple step. And so it began. As i recall, the first ever discussion about going on a ''road trip to ladakh on royal enfield bullets'' was the next day to diwali last year (November 2012), when me and some of my old time school buddies were gathered at my place in the evening for some drinks and dinner. And it was where, after a few rounds of whiskey , my inner ''biker demon'' came out. The idea of going on an expedition to ladakh had smitten me for years and so i proposed the idea of going for 'The Dream Ride'. I think it wasn't taken seriously at all in the beginning but i was persistent and with each passing round of peg, the discussion became more and more intense, when finally came a point where a couple of my friends (Mohit & Akhilesh) finally agreed to come along for the trip. They must have finally realized how beautifully adventurous it would be to travel on a bike set forth on a 500 km long journey to the trans-himalayas riding on one the highest roads in the world OR they must have been so bugged by then that they finally decided to give up and just say 'yes'.

But The Day didn't arrive anytime soon but almost 8 months later in july when i got a call from Mohit , stating that he is going to apply for a leave and Akhilesh is already on a leave and as they promised they are ready to hit the road this month, along with Ujjwal who was also ready to come along. I was over-joyed with excitement. The day was about to come when finally we'll be on the road approaching ladakh. So the preparations began. Although Ujjwal was least concerned about planning anything or gathering information about ladakh, Akhilesh still managed to find time to shop some of the necessary things needed for the journey. It was Mohit and I, who did most of the planning and research work about the routes , weather , clothing and present conditions in ladakh and en-route. I even kept two sheets of paper detailing routes,popular attractions and things to-do along with some common medicines and list of spare parts that might be needed along the journey. While we were busy planning and preparing for the trip, a lot of news kept pouring from all the directions about some cloud-bursts and earthquakes that had hit ladakh region recently. Now to be honest , we did get a little skeptical about the trip hearing the bad weather conditions. Even some of our friends advised us to think twice before leaving as it might get a way too dangerous as we had thought. The next day we even got the news that the Chinese army intruded into the ladakh border, as if the weather alone wasn't enough a reason for us not to go. I felt as if the Himalayas (along with the Chinese Army) were challenging us to come.


 We had quite a few discussions over this topic as whether or not should we go for it. But Akhilesh and I, were way too excited about going for the bike trip that dropping the plan was just out-of-the-question, and i personally believe that the tougher the conditions, the more adventurous the ride and the journey is. It was the conditions that kept my spark alive and made me even more determined to accept the challenge. I was ON for it, to face anything and almost everything that comes my way. So after a few days of heavy discussion  Mohit, , Akhilesh and me (yes, ujjwal was even missing in the discussions) we finally decided that whatever happens, we're going for it.