June 2013

In Leh we met again with Masa and David ( a friend from France we met in Vashisht). After a couple of relaxing days in a nice hostel all together we decided to go to Pangong lake next to the Chinese border. Masa, David, Andrew ( from Canada) rented a bike and they joined us to go there, all in all 8 different people on 7 different motor bikes- a great group!!!!!

We passed the 3rd highest pass in the world on the way and got to this amazing lake with great colours.

Now we can say that we have been swimming at 4.380m hight! That was bloody cold and everything shrinked :) (Patrick)

Enjoy the pictures.

What an adventure and highlight of our trip these last 5 days have been!Initially very difficult, we thought never to make it to Leh because the motor bike(s) we rented  broke constantly down on us and we spent 134h at the mechanics, crazy… we woke up twice at 5 am and 4 am to be ahead of the traffic to the Rothang La pass and both times before even reaching the first climb our bikes had severe problems…arghhhhh!!! Why ahead of the traffic? Well, every Indian of this planet wants to touch the snow and drive to the pass –  the result is 1 billion jeeps, cars and minivans wanting to reach the pass – MADNESS.

So after all this start up issues, we finally had our  2 nd Royal Enfield ready to take us to Leh. We made it in 5 days,  475 km.

Day 1: from Vashiht to Keylong. This was the most difficult part of the trip. Meters of snow, melting and creating mud and deep rivers to cross, big stones, bumpy roads – we had it all! This was so hard that we even thought to drive back to Vashisht if the roads continue to be so though.

We stayed 2 days in Keylong to rest and at the same time the bike got checked. Result: engine problem!! The mechanics from Vashisht had to bring our 3rd bike to Keylong! Crazy that they gave us such a shit twice! We were really frustrated. In Keylong we met 2 really nice guys, Ajay and Jatin who were in the same Guesthouse and we had the same destination. So after the 3rd bike arrived we continued our trip all together.

Even if the roads were still in bad condition, the scenary was breathtaking. It is one of the most beautiful motobike routes in the world. We were most of the time alone on the road… What a sensation that was and easy to forget all the problems we had in the beginning!

Day 3: we met Sam and Laurence at Sachu. These 2 guys are making a trip from Australia to UK by small postal motobikes!

Day 4: from Sachu to Pang. This was one of the most beautiful and interesting parts of the trip. On the way we had to cross a bridge which collapsed couple of hours before:

Solution 1: waiting 2 days – actually not an option because we were short of fuel

Solution 2: pay a 1000 Roupies to Indian road workers who  carried our bikes on the other side of the valley. Everything worked really well except that while our bike was carried to the other side my camera got stolen and I was really upset! ( Emi)

Day 5: we passed the 2nd highest pass in the world and we were realllllly proud having done that!  The same day after a long downhill descent we  arrived in Leh.

We will never forget this trip: a challenging but unforgettable journey where we met great poeple and had mindblowing sceneries and views!!!