10 July 2010

Next day, everyone woke up with Gyan's calling. The time was 6:30 AM. Nobody remembered their alarms going off. It was all bright outside. We were terribly late. Just like other times, we decided not to hold drinking sessions at Gyan's place anymore in the future. We set off at 7:30 AM, three and half hours behind schedule. Called up Rohit at Ambala to meet us on the highway.
Ambala was crossed easily with the highway wide open. There was still evidence of the havoc rain had created on the sides of the roads. Rohit bhai caught up with us at a dhaba just before Rajpura after entering Punjab. We were taking a route so that Chandigarh could be bypassed. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, they say. During rides, we follow it to the hilt. The difference is that breakfast becomes the meal for the entire daylight time. Aloo Parathas, Curd, Lassi and lots and lots of butter.
Before setting off, we called up Ajit ahead at Chandigarh to meet us at Kharar. We asked him to pick up some premium liquor too. This was a special ride that deserved some special alcohol. He picked up a Jack Daniels and Black Dog. But before reaching Kharar, we reached another hurdle. The bridge connecting Banur and Kharar was broken. The way across was through a 3 feet deep nallah. This was the first of many nallahs we would face on this journey. This one was deep enough to drown the silencer. Most of us did not want to undertake that crossing, instead preferring to take the 10 kms long diversion. Gyan is the aggressive one. He saw the localites crossing with their 100 cc bikes. This was enough to try out himself. The high silencer position of Karizma helped and he was across. We told him to catch up with Ajit and wait for us.
At first, there was some guilt of taking the diversion. But then riding on that village road amongst the lush green paddy fields, we were too glad on taking that route. The sort of moments that make you proud of your country. Rohit bhai was surprisingly fast on this route. He was so fast that when we caught up with Gyan and Ajit after Ropar, he was still riding ahead. Some cold respite was needed quickly. Ajit suggested Lassi, but that would make us sleepy. Dutta still had it. We later realized the person we were dealing with. This guy is a total, straightforward, out and out rider. When on his machine, he does not get distracted. Just give him the destination and time and he'll get there, even if the others do not.
After Ropar, came the stretch towards Kiratpur. During our last visit, this stretch was under construction being converted into 4 lanes. It was all ready this time and the sailing was super smooth. This road brings out old memories. Ladakh 2007, Lahaul-Spiti 2008, McLeodganj 2009. Nostalgia.
We waited for Rohit on reaching the turn towards Bilaspur. He was still racing ahead in a mood of his own. This was quite unlike him. He was just a few kms ahead. Now the hills started. As soon as the ascent starts, the mountains prepare you for what will be coming next. The pickup drops and you are surprised to know that you've been using full throttle and still no result. Nature is a great teacher.
Now, we were part of the notorious Bilaspur ACC traffic. All of us were covered in dirt. This made us thirsty. We had to take emergency measures. Dehydration cannot be taken lightly. Gyan halted at the first theka and 4 strong beers opened. Rohit bhai feels out of place in such situations as he's a teetotaler. He does not usually smoke, but this time he did.
Refreshed we continued our journey. We reached Sundernagar and stopped for lunch. A very late lunch besides the canal. The next meal would be only at Manali. We stuffed ourselves. The food was great too. Now, it was getting dark too. Time to stick together. Darkness even brings the runaway Gyan together with the group as his Karizma headlamp does not rotate.
We crossed Pandoh dam. Again a brief halt at a tea stall to regroup and then prepare for the final assault. "Assault" reminded us to stock up for the night. Close to Kullu, we picked up 2 Old Monks. We crossed an empty Kullu. All the crowd was at some VIPs marriage ceremony.
After crossing Kullu, on the ascent towards Manali, we saw a crowd rush at one of the local thekas. There seemed to be some scuffle going on. All of us passed the trouble cleanly. But, we faced another trouble only a few feet ahead. Ajit's rear tyre had been punctured by one of the broken beer bottles near the theka(Puncture #1). At that time of the hour, past midnight, there was no help to be found. We had to help ourselves. Vihans was the first to dive in. Others took full advantage of this and just stood to the side. It took us 2 hours to fix the puncture. An extra hour was because the glass was still stuck in the tyre even after Gyan had given it his full hand brush.
Reaching the Manali entry, we stopped to pay the "green tax". I wonder if that money is really put to use. There's no checking in Manali whether they have entered after paying tax or not. Vihans took full advantage and got us across the gates by paying 50%. He's so good at such communication that the guards also stopped a local guide to take us to a decent, cheap hotel. Cheap it was. At Rs 300 per room, it was a steal. Saurabh was somewhat disappointed here. I think he's used to some luxuries. Like it or not, this was going to be our home for the next two days.
After some washing up, we gathered in the main chambers for the holy cleansing. Its useful in making the dash to Manali in one day only as the next day is reserved for rest. So, you can really enjoy the evening in peace. Thats why we all were wide awake at 3 AM and making life hell for the hotel staff. We made him get us anything to eat. He managed to bring egg bhurji and toasted bread. Clean hands or not, everyone dived in.