18 July 2010

Another early-rising day for us. This was not turning out to be a relaxing holiday. The big solace was that phones were unreachable. Oh, did I mention I had forgotten my cellphone at Sarchu? I miss that to this day. It had been my companion for nearly 5 years.
We packed up our tents and sleeping bags to camp at Nubra. As soon as we started to take off, Saurabh discovered his front tyre to be flat. Being Sunday, no shops were open. He had to ride a good 7 kms outside Leh to find a shop to carry out the repairs. We made use of the time by having breakfast and got some samosas packed for those who could not. We also decorated all the motorcycles with those little Buddhist flags. They attracted a lot of attention for the entire journey.
When we reached the South Pullu check point, we were informed that a nullah a few kilometers before North Pullu had become dangerous. We were rushed ahead. Now, we climbed the final 8 kms to K-Top. This was the World's Highest Motorable Road. We let out a loud cheer as we reached the top. This is the highest our machines would ever go. Cameras got busy clicking everything. I had been saving the Indian flag, lent by Nishant till this day. Now was the time to bring it out and wave it proudly. The huge crowd dulled the enthusiasm a little. This used to be a very isolated spot and now look at it. The souvenir shop had a huge sale.
Now, it was the time to venture in new territories. Nubra Valley. By now, we were so experienced that we scoffed at the news of the dangerous nullah. How hard could it be? Turns out, Very. The stones were very sharp and big and the water flow was furious. Our most stable rider till now, Rohit barely had a fall(Fall #9). The surrounding people supported and he was saved from being washed away. Making our way across, we paused for some fluids and to dry our wet feet. Meanwhile, an Innova got stuck. Try as it might, there was no motion. Last we saw, it had to be picked up and pushed back.
The road ahead is all downhill. Expectedly so as you reach the lowest points in Ladakh from the highest point. Plus, its so smooth. Speeds. We stopped at North Pullu for a meal. Till now, we were unable to procure Wai-Wai. It seems that Maggi has done a takeover of the entire state. Even here, we got a cheap variety of noodles other than Maggi, called as ____. Not as tasty as Wai-Wai. Other items ordered were, the usual Maggi, Mutton Thupka.
Filling ourselves, we moved on. The mountains that could be seen from KhardungLa were still moving alongside here. I had seen pics of a changing scenery at Nubra, but even after moving 50 kms, it was still the same. Didn't know how far we would have to go for a different view. Oh yes, Gyan had a fall here(Fall #10). He was trying to take a shortcut. Thats why the shortcuts in Ladakh are terribly dangerous. Although, they look tempting, they are very tricky.
The scene changed only at Khalsar roundabout. You reach a wide open flat area here. The surrounding area is all sandy. The straight road leads to Panamik. The left turn takes you to Hunder, Turtuk and Base Camp. Possibly, the Siachen Base Camp. Our target was Hunder. Maybe, we'll stretch the target in a subsequent visit. This left road is a very nice spot for photography. A 1.5 kms straight stretch following the curvature of the earth. An oncoming BRO truck had to wait annoyingly as we cleared the path after a few photographs.
The next scenery change was only after Diskit with some 8 kms left for Hunder. Now sand dunes were visible. The Ladakh Cold Desert. Its a unique sight to see sand dunes at this sort of altitude. One of nature's many wonders. On reaching Hunder, we began to scout for a place to camp. At one instant of time, all of us were roaming inside the village on entirely different paths. The interior of the village had many resorts but in the name of camping, they had tents in between 4 walls and a garden. Camping requires wide open spaces. So, we went to a spot right at the beginning besides a stream. We had to put up the tent before dark. We had already placed an order for dinner at one of the village's restaurants. Who will be the lucky ones to fetch them was left as a debate for later.
The tents were put up and firewood as assembled. Gyan and Ajit fetched snacks and glasses from the restaurant. Water streams is our weakness. It arouses a primeval instinct to have a natural bath. Vihans, Doley, Rohit and myself quickly stripped and dove in. The stream was a very shallow one and we had to lie down to get completely wet. The water was not as chilly as one might think. Another advantage is that you do not feel cold. Now, we were all set to finally open the special Jack Daniels Ajit had been carrying from Chandigarh. This was a monumental occasion. How many have the privilege of enjoying a campfire at Nubra? I took over the duties as bartender. For people who needed some dilution, we used the nature fresh stream water.
Now began the debate of who would bring our dinner? Much coaxing later, ____ and ___ went. We had a lovely spread of mutton and chicken and some vegetables. 4 local dogs were in the vicinity. They were very healthy from all the throwaway food from all the camps. It was also planned to have an early departure so that we could cross the mad nullah before it got dangerous. Like that was going to happen. HAAAHH.