Bari's Motorbike Diary

Chandigarh-Rishikesh

Bari — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 16:30:34 +0000

Saturday, October 22.
Lovely to wake up in a clean bed and have cel phone connection to talk and for internet. Joe was picking up a couple of new tyres for the bikes for down the road and he also needed to open my bike up to check the fuel pipe. Dinesh’s bike was overheating a bit last evening as we entered Chandigarh. So Joe went to work on them, while Amit the still phototographer and I were updating images and text on to our websites.
By the time the bikes were done, had breakfast and ready to roll it was already 10:30 or 11 am. (see photo). Real slow start. The day was sunny and warm and we headed towards Dehra Dun, about 200 km away. Our night halt was scheduled to be New Tehri, which is another 100 km from Dehra Dun.
The roads were lovely and soon we started to get in to the hills, were very different from the himalayas. These were very small and dense with forest. We only went up to around 2000 ft and it kind of plateaued. Going through the villages along the road side and seeing the relaxed pace of life was very nice. Again, lots of school children in uniforms walking to school was a common sight.
The trees were lined all along the road side forming a canopy over us. At about 50 km from Dehra Dun, Dinesh’s front tyre got a puncture and went flat. (see photo). We were so thankful that something like yhis did not occur when we were in the Himalayas. By the time mighty Joe fixed it and we got rolling it was another 1 1/2 hour delay.
We then got to Dehra Dun and had lunch around 4 pm. We then decided to break our journey at Rishikesh which was 40 km away. We wanted to avoid having to ride at night.
The traffic through the town was heavy and crazy. When we got out of the towns, the road was through the forest and if not for the blaring headlights coming at us in high beam, was fine.
We reached Rishikesh by 6 pm and settled in to a hotel Natraj. We sat down to discuss tomorrow’s ride plan and figure we will have to make up the lost time from today. I am happy to get this time to post this blog and be current.
Cheers and Good night!

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Manali-Chandigarh

Bari — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 14:47:34 +0000

October 20th. what a refreshing break it was to be in Manali. (see photo). Much warmer during the day around 20 c. Manali is a small tourist destination at the foothills of the himalayas. Very picturesque. Noticed a lot of couples who seem to be on their honeymoon. Also lots of foreigners ( non Indian) on Enfield Bullet motorcycles. Meanwhile Joe serviced all our bikes, from all the beatings they had endured in the hills. Thanks Joe! Most Crucial member of the team.
It was so refreshing to take hot showers and sleep with a heater although it wasn’t absolutely necessary. We celebrated the night before with a bottle of Johnny Walker Green Label whiskey , i was carrying, waiting for an opportune moment. We all felt, we need to when we reached Manali. It did say “green Manali, clean Manali”
Our video photographer, Rakesh took a hiatus from our adventure to get back to Pune to finish some work on his film. He will re join us in a week. We hope! We saw him off and generally walked around and I was busy updating the website. since I still didn’t have any Reliance wireless connection, I couldn’t upload. so I had to wait till I got to Chandigarh, Punjab.
Oct. 21. We had breakfast at the hotel and set off around 8:30 am. It was still quite cold at about 15 c when we set off. Before we left the town, my bike began to stall and Joe did a quick fix and got me going again. The fuel pipe was bent and he opted to take care of it later. The roads were quite nice though we encountered more traffic in 4 km than we did in the previous 4 days. We set off towards Kullu (see photo), the capital of Himachal Pradesh, which wasn’t very far.
Soon as we came down the hills more, it got warmer and we soon took off our thermals and the warm jackets and slipped in to something more airy and light. The mountains were very green and at the bottom was a stream that was quite full and flowing next to the road with a constant hum. at some points the water was so still, it looked like a sheet of glass. The mountain side was very lush with plant life including date palm. It was quite a sight (see photo) with waterfalls leading from the mountains in to the stream. The waterfalls we saw in the higher mountains were frozen solid.
We also saw lots of school going kids all immaculately dressed and walking along the roads to their schools. We saw some women carrying bundles of grass ( see photo) that they pick from the steep hill sides. Joe actually went up to them and tried to carry a bundle on his head and couldn’t even pick it up on to his head. They were so heavy.
At around 2pm we stopped by a small restaurant by the stream and had a relaxing lunch. The winding road was perfect for any motorcycle enthusiast. Freshly paved and with enough turns and twists to keep us wanting more.
We then entered Punjab state (see photo) again. Chandigarh was a planned city designed by Le Courbousier. and it is all on a grid with wide streets and real straight roads. By the time we reachd the city limits it was 6 pm. But then it took us an hour and half to get to our hotel. There was a lot of traffic and that is all we could see in that light. Missing the Himalayan air already. We reached hotel North Park with the help of a hired local. The hotel was very nice, spacious and clean. Already we were wishing to stay back and really enjoy it. But we are already behind schedule by a day and have to move on.
Finally had internet connection! Got to post some of the blogs, that i had written earlier.

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Leh-Manali

Bari — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 04:58:58 +0000

We woke up cold and wanted to get going before it got late. We were told to cover about 240km to a place called Sanchur where we could break if the skies were clear. If overcast, we were advised by the army personnel to carry on through the next pass or we would be blocked off from going to Manali, our destination.
After we left Leh around 8 am we soon were climbing the second highest motorable road in the world, Tanglangla pass at 17,582 feet above sea level. Once again, the views were spectacular. The air was fresh, except when the lorries passed us. (smoke is much worse than on the freeways of L.A.). When we left Leh which is at about 10,000 ft, the temp. was around 6C. Soon the temp. was dropping and the wind chill was numbing my fingers and toes(even with 2 sets of warm socks and gloves).
After the Tanglangla pass we came down to about 14,000 ft where the landscape was flat. The roads were pretty bad for most part. Akso, since it was so cold, my camera wasn’t working. The battery was froze. Ocassionally, Joe’s camera would work from being in the jeep and he managed to get a couple of pics.
We rode for about 50 km in the high plains and then stopped by a tiny army camp area in a place called Ping to have some potato parathas. There were some workers eating there who were absolutely covered head to toe in tar. Except for their eyes and the inside of their mouth, they were completly black. Navroze talked to them a little and learned that they were hired to work on the roads there with hardly any protection and they barely made enough money to even send back home. It was a very brutal job. Even with all my gear, i was cold and these chaps were mostly with one pair of tattered socks and slippers. and a makeshift jacket.
We soon reached Sanchur at about 4 pm. It was not a village by any means. There was an army camp and a few tents along the road side, making up this village. By the end of this month, the roads are closed off for the next few months of winter. Everyone felt bitterly cold and the sun was behind the mountains, making it colder by the minute. We were advised by a local chap in the tent to break there for the night and not proceed any further till day break next day. Somehow, we felt it would be the right thing to do, as we were feeling cold and a little sick (nauscea) from lack of oxygen. We were offered a tent with blankets to get under and we decided to camp there. It was so cold, we didn’t even get out of our riding jackets or anything. ( see photo).We didn’t feel like eating much either, since then we would have to deal with the consequences of having to go outside for relieving ourselves. We tried to go to sleep hoping it would day break soon. We were having a hard time breathing and trying to be comfortable in the tent. Kept waking up often and asked if anyone could see the sun yet. It was only 1:30 am . This went till till about 7 am, when we opted to get up and get some chai. It was -6 C in the tent. At -4 C water freezes. So any water we had was frozen solid.
The bikes and the jeeps were frozen and hot water had to be poured over the engines to help start them. on the jeep engine, the hot water when poured, froze immediately. So we decided that the 3 bikers would carry on slowly and that the jeeps would catch up after they started.
The roads were extremely bad from there and the water that were on the roads were now ice. Thee landscape was barren and cold. (see photo). Our fingers and toes were frozen and when we rode in the sun, it was around -6 c as opposed to in the shade where it was around -10 c. My camera wasn’t working and it was quite a struggle to take a pee break even. Hats off to those living in the cold. Glad i am from South India and even in U.S., living in warm L.A.
We covered 80 km in 4 hours and we still had about 140 km more. So we were determined to keep going however slowly, without many breaks. There wasn’t even a place for chai, anyways.
When we came down to about 6000 ft, it felt so warm and we stopped at a village called Darchu for some eggs and chai. It was refreshing to see trees and were so relieved to be out of the bitter cold.
From there we srossed in to the next state, Himachal Pradesh. The views were still spectacular, very green and the mountains were awesome. Felt like I was in switzerland.
We still had one more major mountain pass to go through before we got down to Manali. The Rohtand pass was at about 13,000+ ft and by the time we got up there andwere winding down, the sun was already setting and was getting dark and cold ( see photo). We are 3 little dots going down the mountain in the photo.
By the time we reached Manali, it was 7:30 pm and we were so relieved. Having stayed with the army for the past couple of days, with no heat and barely some hot water, we decided to get us a hotel instead. also, we opted to take another rest day there to soothe our bodies and mind. The past few days in the himalayas were absolutely the most beautiful and the toughest ride, so far. It literally pushed us to our edge and made us face what our capabilities were.
I feel humbled and proud to have gone through the great Himalayan mountains.

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Kargil-Leh

Bari — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:46:29 +0000

We all woke up really cold and Col. Rakesh Mishra had asked us to stay for breakfast before we left. we figured it might be best, as the distance to covered today was less than yesterday. But the breakfast took a while to be set up and i was getting anxious to roll. By the time we left the camp, it was about 9 am.
The landscape between this sector, was the most amazing I had ever seen. Every turn, the landscape would change so drastically and the scale was so magnificent. We stopped quite a bit to take pics. and to just take it all in.
There were some mountain passes that were just solid rock going up thousands of feet an at the next turn, it would be sand dunes and the colors were so vivid and crisp.
We went through some villages that were quite quaint. (se photo).They were lined with the chinar trees which were blowing in the wind. The golden colored leaves would drop on us as we rode through like we were being welcomed with a shower of petals.
We reached Leh by 6:30 pm and the camp was another 15 km away from town. we made it out there and checked in to the 2 rooms which we 8 people were sharing. Boy, it was cold and they would bring by 2 buckets of hot water to wash with.
We were resting here for another day. In the morning, Rakesh, Joe and I opted to take a ride in the jeep to Kardungla pass, 56 km away. (see photo). At a altitide of 18,380 feet, this is the highest motorable road in the world. It was so bloody cold -6 C and the BRO guy up there who happened to be from around Hyderabad, took us in to his cabin and offered us hot soup and let us warm our hands and feet back to some kind of sensation. It was fairly difficult to breathe up there as well and was beginning to make us feel nausceous.
We got back down and met up wit the others and had lunch at a place called Amdo Cafe and had some authentic food of Ladakh. We then strolled around the couple of streets hat formed the main area of town.
Later that evening Dinesh, Navroze and I went and met with Brigadier Naik who was taking care of us. We had a very nice conversation with him and he gave us vital information of the road ahead.
It was full moon that night and the light on the mountain peaks was serene. We got in to our sleeping bags and called it a night. The toughest part of the journey was to come next.

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Srinagar-Kargil

Bari — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:17:39 +0000

How I wish you could see what we see! It’s really hard to describe how insanely beautiful this part of the country is.
After we set off from Srinagar, it took us a while to get out of the town, trying to find the way through the narrow gullies.
Once we started to climb, (see photo), it got us all excited. The air was fresh except when the lorries would pass us.
Soon, we were going up fairly narrow road which was, well not really there anymore.( see photo). Due to the heavy snowfalls, the roads take a beating when the snow is being cleared. So the dirt roads are single lane road with rocky cliffs on one side going up hundreds of feet and on the other side, a sheer drop of a couple thousand feet.
So the ride was rather slow and cautious. We got through the zozila pass which is at 11640 feet.(see photo).
That seemed quite high, but that was just the beginning.
We reached a small town called Drass for some chai and some bread which I thought was outstanding. I bought a couple of loafs for 2 kids who were standing outside watching us eat and they left happy. Then I saw an old man standing outside and gave him a loaf as well. He was smiling as was the others working inside. Then the old man walks inside and sits behind the cash desk and it was brought to m y attention that he was the owner. Go figure!
We pushed on to Kargil and got there just as it was getting dark. We then had to wait a while for a guy from the BRO to take us another 30 km to the army camp for us to sleep. It was dark by now and we didn’t want to ride at night. But we didn’t have a choice. Luckily, the roads were good from there and there was no traffic at that hour on those roads. The camp was in the middle of nowhere and it was already very cold at about 6C. We had covered 240 km in about 14 hours. Tomorrow, another 220 km to Leh.

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Jammu-Srinagar

Bari — Thu, 20 Oct 2005 16:15:42 +0000

We got started fairly early to head towards Srinagar. we had stayed the previous night a few km before Jammu. We passed through the city, which was quite polluted by the lorries spewing the diesel fumes.
Once we got past the town, we started to ascend the hills. Everything was green and beautiful. We were all fairly excited about getting in to the mountains.
By 10 am we reached a town called Udhampur, where we were treated to an amazing brunch by Gen. Sharma and his family. (see photo) Gen. sharma is Dinesh’s brother in- law’s , in -laws. We engaged in some interesting conversation about the area and what to expect along the way. Coincidentally it was Gen, Sharma’s sister in-law, Ranjana’s birthday that day and we shared some fantastic cake. We were stuffed by their generous hospitality, which got us through the rest of the day without many breaks.
The Jammu to Srinagar highway was affected by the recent earthquake (Oct.8th) and there had been quite a few landslides. The BRO (border roads organization0 had done a tremendous job of clearing the roads within a few hours. (see photo).
The roads were winding up in to the mountains and the views were already breath taking. We passed by some local nomadic families who were migrating south for the winter with all their belongings on their ponies. (see photo) Jammu is the winter capital and Srinagar is the summer capital of J&K state. There were also lots of monkeys along the roadside. Didn’t get any pictures, sadly.
By sunset we were descending in to the Kashmir Valley from where the roads were on flat land. We had tea with
Major Manish Kumar and then we carried on to Srinagar, which was still 50 km away. The sky was overcast and we opted to put on our rain gear just in case. The sun set was beautiful. It looked as though a little piece of the clouds were pulled apart just in the west, so we could see the sun setting. The chinar trees were a lovely green with most of the leaves turning golden yellow. I had vivid memories of these trees since my first visit. Sure enough, it started to rain for about 20 km or so making the ride miserable. It was very hard to see the road up ahead with the rain and the on coming traffic’s blaring headlights, which are always on high beam. Just before we got to Srinagar, it had stopped raining and it felt much nicer to finish that way. We stayed with the BRO just on the outskirts of the city. It was the coldest so far at about 10 C.
We had a scheduled rest day there and took it easy in the morning. We went in to the town for some authentic Kashmiri food and then went to the Dal Lake (see photo). Being in Srinagar had brought back a lot memories of being there with my family 25 years back. We took a casual boat ride for an hour or so and headed back to the camp. There we met with Col. H.R.K. Babu for some lively conversation. Very nice and passionate man. We had dinner and got our winter gear ready for the next day’s ride.

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Amritsar-Jammu

Bari — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 15:48:26 +0000

Got up to clear skies and were off by 7 am. The roads out of Amritsar were very good. The previous night’s rain was evident by the puddles on the roads. The smell of the rain soaked soil and the farms next to the highway reminded me of my childhood in my native village, Vakadu.
We stopped off for petrol which always takes us about a half hour. (see pphoto). Lots of locals come around and ask if we are promoting these bikes or shooting a advertisement or something. Most asked questions are how much they cost and what the average is? (mileage). Navroze gets about 50+ km / litre. Our imported bikes get 20 km / litre. One guy had commented with a smile that we must be just going from one gas station to the next.
We carried on towards Pathankot a small town at the end of the punjab state line from where we had our first view of the Himalayan mountain range. The terrain was still flat and we soon crossed in to Jammu & Kashmir state. We were actually doing real well with time and stopped off at a small dhaba (see photos) and had lunch. Soon we reached the outskirts of Jammu where the BRO (border roads organisation) were hosting us. They accomodated us at a nearby guesthouse as they did not have ant available rooms.
Joe changed the tires on Navroze and Dinesh’s bikes ( see photo). The threading on the tires had worn down quite a bit and needed to be changed before we got to the himalayas.

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Amritsar

Bari — Mon, 17 Oct 2005 14:48:23 +0000

Our day off in Amritsar was refreshing. After we leisurely woke up and did our laundry, posted my blog, it was already late afternoon. We decided to go to the Wagah border which we were told was about 15 km away. So we carted ourselves off in 2 autos. instead it was almost 30 km away and got us there just before sunset. (see photo). This is the border check post between India and Pakistan. There is a ceremony every evening as the nations’ flags are brought down. It has become quite a spectator sport and permanent bleachers have been set up on both sides. It was packed with cheering crowds and at the end, the gates are closed for the night.
We then headed back in to town and a few of us decided to go to the golden temple, the holy shrine for the sikh faith. I had previously seen pictures of the place and was aware of he gun battle that took place there between the Indian army and the Akali dals(?) in 1984. The temple is located in the middle of the city and we got there just around 7pm. We had to take off our shoes and cleanse our feet in a shallow foot bath. Had a glass of their drinking water which was so much cleaner and tastier than any bottled water and then went in to the inner courtyard area (see photo). There in the middle of the lake was the glistening temple in pure gold. There were a lot of people just sitting and lying around the water and listening to the lovely singing of the bhajans from the inner temple. There was a lovely calmness in the entire place. The air was cool and breezy. As we walked around the outer courtyard making our way to the inner temple, it started to rain. It lasted until we were done and left the temple. Very cleansing. The city felt very different getting back to he hotel as all the dust had settled. It rained more later n that night giving me a little concern for the ride next day. Had a nice hot shower and very good tandoori food, a speciality of Punjab, and got to bed by 1 am.

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Bikaner-Amritsar

Bari — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 07:25:18 +0000

Good morning from Amritsar, Punjab!
We did a nice long rode from Bikaner yesterday, covering about 520 km. Left at 7am from Bikaner (see photo). The hotel looks more grand and regal on the outside than it does in side. Trust me!
We rode out for about 2 hours covering 160 km before we stopped for breakfast at a road side cafe, Hans Hotel (see photo). Ordered the traditional Rajasthani breakfast (see photo) consisting of aalu paratha (roti bread stuffed with ptato, onion and chilli) and plain yogurt accompanied by fresh cut onions and chillis. The parathas were made from scratch right there and then and were the best I have ever had! Very fulfilling breakfast and had a chai before we hit the road again.
The roads in Rajasthan were fabulous and we could notice the change in the landscape as we were leaving the state. More trees and the traffic was increasing. Lots of lorries (trucks) and tractors filled with hay ( see photo) resembling the afro ken toys. They look very comical like they have this wild wind blown wig on.
By early afternoon we reached Punjab state. Quite a luscious state. The roads were more beaten but the eucalyptus trees lining the roads and the cotton, sugar cane and paddy fields were on both sides of the road was a beautiful sight from the bikes. (see photo). All the canals and river were brimming with water and the trees would canopy the road, giving some cool breeze as we rode. When we stopped for a quick lunch around 3 pm we realized it was still quite warm outside. Had a quick lunch and were out on the road in an hour. Our fastest lunch break! We wanted to arrive in Amritsar before it got quite dark. We reached the city limits by 7 pm and hired an auto to lead the way to our hotel, Royal Castle (again, only for namesake!)
The harvesting season (for the rice and wheat ) must have just finished. The remaining stacks still in the ground are set on fire, which helps the next seeding. It’s just that, everyone does it at the same time. Obviously! Needless to say, the white smoke was everywhere and particularly as we were entering the city limits and the sun was setting, the visibility is very smoggy like. The sunset however looked spectacular.
We checked in to our hotel and chilled for the night. Felt too tired to post a blog last night.
This morning we all did our laundry (ourselves). Navroze and Joe went to the golden temple in the morning and then went to the airport to pick up a new member of our crew, Sanjeeev Shah. He wasn’t able to join us any earlier due to prior engagements. He is an established film maker from India and we are all excited about him joining us from here.
We are planning on going to the golden temple later this afternoon and then to the India-Pakistan border, which is less than 30 km.

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Jaisalmer-Bikaner

Bari — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 16:10:20 +0000

Ahh…To be connected again!
We went by the fort last evening as the sun set and walked around a bit. The haunting sounds from a folk musician captivated our attention (see photo). He had such a sweet face and the music that he produced from that instrument was so damn good. He was selling a cd of his music, which I eagerly picked up.
Today was an easy ride. Left Jaisalmer by 7 am fueled up, got one last glance at the fort city (see photo) and hit the national highway 15. The highway in Rajasthan is fantastic. Simple 2 lane road with hardly any pot holes and minimum traffic. Needless to say, we lost sight of Dinesh for quite a few stretches. Go Go speedracer!
We stopped after 130 km at a small desert town called Pokhran. There is a lot of military activity around this area. This place got notoriety a few years back for being the site for the nuclear bomb tests, which got the attention of the rest of the world.
So we stopped for breakfast at a modest looking hotel with restaurant. Inside they had quite a large gift shop with lots of local knick knacks and a fairly big selection of books. To my surprise, nestled in between books of Kama Sutra and the royal Indian monarchs and their jewelry was my book, “India Bazaar” .(see photo). Here in Pokhran, middle of rhe thar desert!
Navroze purchase a copy of it and managed to get an author’s discount. It was quite an unexpected little thrill, because we were just talking about the book the night before at dinner.
The ride was cool until about 10 am or so, after that it was very hot, around 38 degrees C. We had another 200 km to go and were determined to just ride on through to Bikaner. We stopped occasionally (see photo) to have some water and carry on. Navroze was lucky to get the shade before I got there. There were some stretches of the highway where we were all going at different speeds and i found myself completely isolated with not a soul in sight and absolutely no traffic ahead or behind. It was quite meditative as many thoughts drift through your mind.
We reached Bikaner city by 2pm and checked in to Basant Vihar Palace hotel. It’s a palace only in name. there seems to be lots of “palace” hotel/ motel??? (see photo)
I finally have wireless connection here and so managed to post my 2 earlier blogs.
Tomorrow we have a long day ahead. We are riding all the way to Amritsar, Punjab about 500 km.
Good Night!!

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Kharaghoda-Jaisalmer

Bari — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 11:50:32 +0000

After a rejuvenating break in Kharaghoda, we decided to make a slight adjustment to our itinerary. Our original plan was to ride about 350 km to Barmer in Rajasthan state and halt for the night there. We opted to carry on instead to Jaisalmer which is another 160 km. The roads were excellent and having left with pre packed breakfast from Mr. jahangir Vakils’s place in Kharaghoda, we covered a lot of distance before stopping for chai.
We got to Barmer by around 2 pm where we had lunch. It’s a very small desert town and we were all glad to have made the decision to carry on. The landscape was changing as we headed more north. Lots of sand dunes with very dry vegetation and the sun was very intense. Lots of wild animals such as peacocks, antelope, langur monkeys were roaming freely close to the highway. Stray dogs are plentiful here. Besides the cows and buffaloes, this is the camel country (see photo).
We managed to complete the 520 km ride in 12 hours from when we left, arriving in to Jaisalmer at sun down. It was a beautiful calming sight. we were booked in to a hotel just outside of the fort city, which was quite comfortable.
We were going to be staying here for an extra day, because we made it here a day sooner.
Next morning Navroze, Joe and I went and walked inside the 12th century fort. All the previous forts, i have ever visited were meant for the royal family primarily. Here, the entire city is perched on a hill with the fort walls surrounding them. Very compact streets with gorgeous havelis and carved decorative details in stone. Sadly, it’s a hot tourist destination and everything is catered towards that.
We walked around for a while, took some pictures (see photos), had some breakfast and were heading back to the hotel as it was already beginning to get hot. We ran into our cameraman, Rakesh who had been in there since 5 am. He was on top of the fort filming a folk singer when he said he felt an earthquake. We hadn’t felt anything. When we got back to the hotel, we checked the news and sure enough, there was a 7.8 earthquake in Northeastern Pakistan and Kashmir felt a 6.8 magnitude shock.
This is a concern for us because we are to be in Jammu& Kashmir in 4 days or so. One of the main highways leading to Srinagar is closed temporarily due to landslides. But by the time we get there, we are hoping for road clearance. No worries yet! We are having the assistance of the border security forces (BSF) who when contacted, told us that it would be fine.
Unfortunately, here in Jaisalmer, there is no Reliance wireless network at all. That is the celphone i use to connect my laptop to the internet. So I cannot post these blogs till we reach our next destination, tomorrow, Bikaner.

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Bhuj-Kharaghoda

Bari — Sat, 08 Oct 2005 10:12:38 +0000

Got out off Bhuj by 7:30am before the heat and traffic kicked in. Had some sandwiches packed at the hotel, so we could save some time. Roads were good and we were out of the town fairly soon. Actually rode out for about 75 km before we stopped for chai,
Soon the sun was up and we could feel the heat. The last couple of days, we were feeling the effects of it. Kept ourselves hydrated and the roads were very good in some stretches. one of the nicest roads we were on was not even on the map.
by about 4 pm we reached Kharaghoda(salty pits), a tiny village town on the edge od the little desert of Kutch. This area is also on the border of the wild ass sanctuary. We saw a couple of them on our ride. On reaching, the village we had a celebratory welcome by our host, Mr. Jehangir Vakil, Navroze’s cousin. (see photo).
Mr. Jehangir, runs a family business here called Pioneer Magnesia works. It;s a beautiful oasis in this desert. It’s lovely to take a day’s rest here. Dinesh, Naveen, Rakesh and jehangir have taken a shikar in to the woods in the late afternoon, while Amit, Navroze and i took a walk in to the village and checked out the salt mounds (see photos). The kids were so joyful when they saw their pictures and followed us through everywhere, Meanwhile, Joe who had earlier cleaned all our bikes, found a baby cobra snake in the dining room and carefully picked it up with a stick and took it outside. Hopefully there aren’t any more around tonight. Another baby cobra was just spotted in the kitchn as I am writing this. No worries! Everyone here is quite cool and nonchalant about it.
Last night when we arrived here, some Jehangir’s friends came by for a bbq dinner and they shared with us some very exciting stories about survival in the desert and adventures on their vintage Indian Chief, vincent, Matchless and Triumph motorcycles. One of them is of the royal family in this area.
Today we had a hearty breakfast of eggs, bacon and sausage and for lunch were treated to my first authentic Parsi lunch. Tonight, we are having a muslim dinner. looks like I am going going to gain weight than lose a few pounds.
We washed our clothes today and are setting off to Rajasthan state in the morning. We are to have a night halt in a town called Barmer, but might try to make it on to Jaisalmer for the night halt. It would be close to 500 km and the heat is something to be taken consideration of.
I have no internet connection here and so have to post this blog when we reach Jaisalmer.

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Mandvi- Bhuj

Bari — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 16:49:55 +0000

Got up by 6 am and got rolling by 7:30 am. Just can’t seem to leave any sooner. It was cool when we left, although, it was already beginning to feel humid. The roads were very good and hardly any traffic. We were riding through the desert of Kutch ( see photo) which was very arid and dry. Hardly any people around and absolutely no tree shade to pull under when we stopped for a break.
Got to Koteshwar, the western most tip of India. (see photo). Nice moment. It was bloody hot and we couldn’t wait to get moving. at least then, the wind kept us slightly cool. 35km from there was Lakhpat, one of the most successful trading ports during the 17th century. Bhuj is another 100 km from there and we were getting hungry and tired from the heat. It was already 2 pm.
Navroze picked up a local guy who needed a ride to the next town and offered to show us a place to eat. He asked Navroze what we were doing and when he got the low down, mentioned to him that either we had to be rich or really mad.
Another interesting anecdote that has occurred a couple of times. when we park, some onlookers would ask us how much the imported bikes were. When we quoted them a price, they would tell us how foolish we were. For the price of one bike, we could have gotten an air conditioned car and all 3 of us could have gone comfortably on it.
The road conditions today were good for most of the day. good roads and easy traffic. Then we had the last 100 km to Bhuj which we all ranked as the most trying and difficult ride so far. There was a pilgrimage procession along the road heading to a temple that was 100km long. (see photo).It was longer, we just stopped off at Bhuj, our night halt. That absolutely exhausted us all. The heat, the lorries driving completely in our direction to avoid the pedestrians. A lot of the pilgrims have been walking for days, for as much as 400 km , some barefoot, some blind folded holding on to others. They were all very joyful shouting out praises to the goddess.
It was just very strange starting out the day cool and on deserted roads with hardly any people around. Then we end the day hot and dusty and people for hundreds of kms.
Glad to have reached our hotel Lake View in Bhuj. we all feel exhausted but in good spirits.
Tomorrow, we head to Kharagoda, where we have another day’s rest. So looking forward to it.
Thanks again to all for checking the blog and posting your comments.

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Jamnagar-Mandvi

Bari — Tue, 04 Oct 2005 15:57:11 +0000

Hi Folks,

Back again! sorry, didn’t have any wireless connection yesterday in Mandvi, hence couldn’t blog.
We have covered quite a bit of ground in the last 2 days. We left Jamnagar quite early (by our standards) around
7:30 am. The road out of town was quite bad. Just as bad as it was coming into town the day before. We then went on to the rural roads which run parallel to the coast. After only 25 km we stopped for breakfast at a tiny shop. Got talking to Navroze about some of the documentary films he had worked on and lost track of time. can’t wait to see some of the films when we get back to Bangalore.
Finally we got back on the bikes after 1 1/2 hours break. The roads through the rural areas there were quite deplorable and we barely covered much ground for the next hour or two. When the roads got better, we managed to get moving a little faster. y the time we stopped for lunch in an industrial town called Gandhidum, it was already 1:30 pm and we had only covered about 150 km. As we headed West the annular solar eclipse was in effect, but we didn’t see it. (not that we were looking into the sun or anything). We wanted to make it to Mandvi before dark, because we heard the hotel we were staying was right on the beach in luxury tents. (see photo). On route, we passed quite a few cattle herds. Passing through them, (see photo), was a fun experience. They were so gentle. so well behaved and listening to the whistle of the herdsman.
In Mandvi, we reached by around 6 pm and checked into or tents, and walked over to the sea and watched the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful. Serene waters, shallow and quiet. Naveen got out his fishing rod and went to the shore for his first sea fishing. He actually caught one fish. (see photo). His excitement was captured on camera and will be entertaining for all to watch at a later day. Rakesh and I went swimming in the sea. The water was warm and quite clean. Not a soul around. The property belongs to the king, who has his palace right there, From the water, the view of the coast ha the palace on the west end and a few wind mill generators, like the ones on the 5 fwy on way to San Francisco.
We had dinner on the beach. The temperature had dropped to 23 degrees C (from 36 C during the day) Hit the sack around midnight.

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Chorwad to Jamnagar

Bari — Sun, 02 Oct 2005 18:07:49 +0000

Today was a landmark day. We set off from Chorwad by 7 am. we rode for about 30 km and stopped for a traditional Gujarat breakfast. ( see photo) It was unexpectedly delicious. We saw these 2 guys walking on the road in their traditional white clothes dyed in pink carrying a bunch of peacock feathers. It was quite a visual and we asked their permission to photograph them. Unfortunately, they were doing a religious journey and wished not to be photographed.
We headed out towards Porbandar. On the way we stopped by the ocean and tried to get our bikes on the beach.(see photo) The sand was not as hard as we thought and so we couldn’t really ride on the beach.
It was very special going to Porbandar today. It’s the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi. Coincidentally, today is his birthday. So we stopped by his house and took some pictures (se photo).
The cows and bulls here are absolutely magnificent. They have such beautiful faces and their horns are like I have never seen before. Solid with sensual curve to he horns.
Off to Dwaraka, the place where “Krishna” grew up. small town with most people making pilgrimage to the temple
( see photo). We had some lunch there and decided that we need to go the extra 33 km to Okha. It’s at the Northwestern point of India with a coast line. (see photo).
Then we headed back to Dwaraka filled up gas and rode out to Jamnagar. The first 115 km were really good with newly surfaced roads and sparce traffic. but that sure made up for the last 25km. It was a deja vu from Mumbai suburbs ride.Badly thrashed roads looking like swiss cheese and the dust being kicked up by the trucks made the visibility quite poor in the failing light. It probably took us more than an hour to do the last leg of the journey. Finally found the hotel and ready to hit the sack. clocked in about 415 km today.
Tomorrow is another long day to Mandvi. I hear the accommodations there are to look forward to.
Good night!

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Bhavnagar to Chorwad

Bari — Sat, 01 Oct 2005 15:57:59 +0000

October 1st, 2005. Good day today! got up by 5am and tried to get riding by 6:30am . Off by an hour, we were out the gates of the palace hotel by 7:30am. Got some chai on the way a couple of hours later and had some sandwiches we had packed up from the hotel. We made it to Diu, (an union territory, which was under the Portugese rule till the 60’s along with Goa and Daman. ) for lunch. (see photo. from left: Naveen, Amit, Navroze, Bari, Joe, Rakesh, Dinesh).
After a 2 hour lunch we hit the road and very soon got lost in a village with roads that are well… (see photo). We pulled over and Navroze asked an elderly man dressed in traditional garb and a massive head dress and topped and RayBan sunglasses for directions. He looked at us and told Navroze that we seemed hopelessly lost and that we should come to his place have some roti (bread) , milk and some rest and then he’ll direct us to where we need to go.
The people have been very kind and friendly.
We got back on the road towards the next town Viravar where we were waiting for the jeeps to catch up. (See photo of 3 asses). We weren’t too far from our final stop for the night, Charwad. We got here by sunset and it is quite lovely. We are staying in a couple of cottages on the beach right next to the ruins of the old palace (see photo).
The weather during the day is quite hot and humid and now in the evening, the ocean breeze is cooling us off.
Soon we shall have dinner and hit the sack soon for another early rise tomorrow. Looking forward.

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Goa to Bhavnagar

Bari — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 13:13:02 +0000

Finally here In Bhavnagar, Gujarat, for a day of much needed rest. Let me update on how we made it here. Unfortunately, there has been no internet connection available in the last 2 places and so I could not post. Let’s go back to where I last posted.

We left Panjim after a hearty breakfast at around 9am. Joe had already changed the oil in all the bikes. The ride to Ratnagiri was absolutely breathtaking. The roads were fabulous. Hardly much traffic on the roads and the landscape was lush forests on the western ghats. We ket stopping to take pics and just take it in. The air was clean with no hint of pollution. There was a calmness all around, even the tiny villages and towns that we went through were very mellow. No sense of urgency. We stopped every 100 km for a chai break (see photo).

We soon got in to the next state, Maharashtra. We even had some rain for about half hour. Very refreshing. The landscape continued as before until we reached Ratnagiri by around 4:30 pm. It was nice to have a late lunch and still have daylight to go by the harbor for a while. One of our crew members, Naveen Bopiah is an avid fisherman who was keen on trying his luck. Didn’t have any though! Sat on the lava rocks and watched the sun go down. Pretty sight and calming. Was stinking of fish. Lots of fish being salted and dried on the roads.I guess one has to get accustomed to it to live right around there. Got back to the hotel Alankar, which was right on the highway about 10 km from the town. Bummer, no cel phone reception there. so no blog. We filled up petrol that night to save on time to leave early next day. The next day was to ride to Daman, about 450 km from Ratnagiri, in the state of Gujarat. Navroze had been insisting that it was going to be a hard ride and we need to get going.

Hard as we tried, we couldn’t get started till about 8:30 am. We made it down the ghats on to flat lands and had lunch and continued on. The weather was getting hotter and humid. The landscape was getting more urban and not really that interesting. We soon got to the expressway to bypass Mumbai and stopped to wait for the 2 jeeps to catch up. we waited and waited for 2 hours (see photo) trying to figure where One of the jeeps had ended up. Finally we got going at the peak rush hour going through Thane on the outskirts of Mumbai. Because of the unbelievable rains they had recently, the roads were beyond description. Hard to even explain the traffic and road conditions without you feeling that i am exaggerating. It was the hardest 2 hours of riding that i ever hope to do in my life. We covered 35km in those 2 hours. The roads were completely stripped of any asphalt and the traffic was painfully slow and absolutely congested. I felt bad for the jeeps who to keep up with us. The bikes could at least weave through the cracks. Boy! splitting lanes in U.S. traffic at its worst doesn’t even come close to this. Finally when we filled up petrol and got out of the city limits and into Gujarat state line, The highway was incredible. 2-3 lanes each way with a divider. No pot holes and we made it to the hotel in Daman just after midnight. Daman was under the Portugese colony along with Goa and Diu, till the 60’s. Our hotel was right on the beach and the tide was low in the morning when we got out to have breakfast.

We had another long day ahead, about 450km, but getting started was once again a challenge. so by the time we got out, it was already 10am. We went about 25km when we relised that Navroze had lost his cel phone. We called on that number and it was back at the hotel Miramar in Daman. Must have fallen off when he got on his bike. So we waited around at another Chai shop while Navroze rode back to pick up his phone. When we re grouped and started, it was already noon. Had no idea how much we had to cover and the roads were quite bad. When we got to the Narmada river bridge outside of Baruch, we stopped to take some pictures. Navroze pointed to another bridge further down the river which his great grandfather was contracted to build. Hence his family name, Contractor. That was very cool and felt connected. We had lunch outside of Baruch around 4:30pmand filled up the bikes again. Navroze’s bike is giving him incredible mileage of 50-55 km / litre. Dinesh’s and mine are giving about 20 km / litre. So we need to find the right gas station more than Navroze. The bikes have been handling the roads very well. The suspension on them has been very kind to our bodies. Other than the sore bum, I am fine.

It was very late by the time we got to Bhavnagar. Let’s just say, VERY late. We never intended to be riding at night and tomorrow are planning on leaving by around 6:30 am to make it to Chorwad, our next stop.
Here at Bhavnagar, we are the guests of the Maharaja of Bhavnagar and are staying at his Palace hotel It’s about 200 years old and he was the first king to give up his palace to the people after the independence. This is our much needed rest day. Joe, took all the bikes apart and serviced them. by the way, it is Joe’s birthday today! Have to have a drink in his honor (Gujarat is a dry state. Prohibition!) There is a pool here that I want to go take a dip in and rest early tonight. There are a lot of peacocks here, at the palace grounds. Have never written this much before. I’ll keep the next post more day to day. Hopefully there is internet signal.

Amit is our still photographer who has been taking some fantastic pictures. He is working on posting them on our official website.
Rakesh has been the filming the ride in dv and when completed will give you the view of our experience, which we have been privileged to, for the past few days.
Naveen has been the guy driving one of the jeeps and co ordinating and planning the logistics of the trip, along with Navroze, who is the mastermind.
Ramesh is the other driver for the second jeep.
I’ll get a photo of everyone together and post it soon.

We have a had a hitch in posting photos and the travellogue on our official website for the past few days. We have finally sorted it out. Check out more photos and thoughts from the other riders and such at Bharat Parikrama

Thanks to all for checking out the blog and for your comments. I have read them all and am deeply touched by all the support and encouragement. Feels good to be so far and still connected. CHEERS!!!

Kundapur to Goa

Bari — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 15:37:37 +0000

Managed to get some sleep last night at Kundapur. The food so far has been really awesome even at the roadside cafes. Sure beats Taco Bell!
We set out today after a delicious breakfast of idli, vada and fantastic coffee. The south Indian coffee is supreme!
Before long we got to the sea. It was a gorgeous day and after the recent rains, the landscape was really lush right up to the road. The roads were very good. 2 lane highway with coconut trees all around and scattered lotus ponds. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking. Got a lot of video footage which I can’t wait to see myself.
Just before we got to Goa state line border, we stopped of at this bridge in Kanwar where the backwater river end up at the ocean. Here’s a pic. of the 3 astronauts.
The traffic was sparse in the countryside and horribly congested as we got close to the towns and all the way to Panjim.
We are about to get some dinner and sleep. Tomorrow, we continue up north. Cheers.

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Bangalore Send-off

Bari — Mon, 26 Sep 2005 02:25:42 +0000

The first day of our adventure started off with a great turnout of our friends and family members cheering us off from a motorcycle themed cafe, “Road Trip” in Bangalore at about 9am.
From Bangalore streets to the open highways (by open, i mean they are open to anyone and anything and anyway, anyhow) with beautiful surroundings. The day was gorgeous. Temp. around 80F and no smog. The rice field were lit up in all the shades of green and the mountain ranges were outstanding.
We started from the Deccan plateau and decended through the Western ghats ( mountain range). We did a total of 450 km and made the first night halt at a town called Kundapur. It’s on the west coast above Mangalore . The roads were good for the first 150 km and in the mountains were really broken up. Great learning experience for riding on the Indian roads. The bike is performing beautifully and i am quite comfortable riding it and keeping up with Dinesh and Navroze. They are 2 really skilled and experienced riders. Leant a lot through them. It was dark by the time we came down to sea level and got to the west coast town of Mangalore. From there the highway is 2 lane and awfully crowded with trucks and all forms of traffic.It took us longer than planned to make the first night halt. We got to the hotel around 9:30 pm. We did take a couple of needed breaks and that slowed us down as well. But the road conditions are what they are.
Now we are getting ready to get to Panjim city in Goa. It’s about 350 km from here. Hoping to get there before dark.
will post from there.

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Getting Ready

Bari — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 11:24:55 +0000

Here I am , finally in India. Reached safely on September 20th night to Bangalore. Navroze has settled on an Indian made motorcycle, Bajaj Pulsar 180cc for his ride. Dinesh and I settled for Kawasaki KLE 500 as our choice for the motorcycle. I’ll be riding the silver and Dinesh the black.
The bikes were finally delivered to us late last night and our mechanic Joe has painstakingly put them together this morning. The tires still need to be inflated and we need to test ride them later today and tomorrow.
We have been meeting with the local press who want to cover the event.
We are scheduled to start “BHARAT PARIKRAMA” (circling India) on Sunday, Sept.25th at 8am from Bangalore.

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