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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment