The ride from Manali to Leh: Strenuous and yet Sentimentally Strong
Leaving Manali for Leh required the sleep to be abandoned and with a tummy-adjusted-against-medicines the tempo traveller ride for rs 1800 was all i could secure. Rounds to the Manali bus terminal weren't comforting enough to lend me a direct answer on a direct Leh bus with some persuading Keylong should be the halting point.
A direct transport was all that i looked for and a late afternoon departure from the lodge gave me the leeway to spend time on the Net as well as scan the proceedings in the bus market area. Thick with people, the market late in the night saw two to three guys putting to ash thick sheets of paper probably brought from a food joint. The attendees to the proceeding made it sure that all papers preserved in the past and lit now were left in a state with nothing to reveal. Having watched that and other stray dogs and cats, it was safer to leave the market area and head to a site where the mini bus would come in a colour of white.
At 1.56 in the morning the tempo traveller started with Vashisht the first destination in town where it picked more passengers who fitted the 1800 rs crown. At 2.10. the road had an uneven and ruptured opening lasting fairly long and traced to factors like heavy traffic movement, landslides and rains. Between 3.52 and 4.06, the road is a cakewalk followed by another rupture of sorts. At 4.40 Koksar is accessed and from here it does not take long for the smooth transition to give way to a road strewn with slush, pebbles and stationary trucks on either side.
The first among slew of signboards is on safe driving; " road sinked drive cautiously" appearing intermittently. Water collection on road is a repeated sight and 15 minutes after Sissu has passed the Glacier View cafe is a sight that shows there are few eating joints which are having a blast. The road breaks out at different points and when Gondhal is 4 kms away there is another sighting "desi bottle 70 chilled beer." Before Tandi bridge the mini bus goes past a petrol pump. Going past Tandi bridge at 6. 08, Keylong 6.25 followed by Circuit House Keylong II, and Panjab Agricultural Univ., Keylong. comes as easily as boards conveying "inconvenience regretted", BRO roads. Mind you the road is bumpy enough to throw you out of sleep if one attempted at any point.
Etched on a rock 983276 is all that i can make of a cell number and at 7 it shows Leh 347 km intermingled with a higher dose of rough road and a low but noticeable showering of a smooth one. Another board showing Welcome to Camp Jispa journeys followed by Padma JISPA and a one on "after drinking whisky, drving risky."
At assistance centre Darcha we are at 7. 18 and from here Sarchu is shown to be 77km. In Darcha, Apna Dhaba step in for bk'fast, lunch, dinner thukpa, mo-mo lemon, black tea is widely visible and so is the capacity of the vendors to spell that most of the daily necessities are available after crossing the bridge. After bridge is Himalayan Dhaba. From Darcha to Sarchu vehicles go up and down for umpteen times with a U Turn underscoring that this zigzag could have been avoided had the bridge been positioned with a proportional advantage. The Road after TCP to Zing Zingbar is smooth and at 8.21 Z Z'bar is accessed with Peace Cafe z z'bar coming at 8.30. At 8.40 the vehicles which left Leh cross us and at 8.59 we go past Parlachcha, highest point of snowfall. At 9.16 Leh is shown 273 kms, with Sarchu coming at 10.35. From Sarchu, Leh is 251 and Loma 355.
The stoppage at Sarchu is long enough to make people search and secure the disposable toilets - the best part of such journeys should be to dispose the idea of paying a visit to disposable wonders if one can - amidst a brief conversation with a documentary filmmaker who seems to be no less than a tutor.
The view of peaks from Sarchu is strong and lasting. And few kms before and after Sarchu the ride is smooth but not long enough when you go past Brandy Bridge at 11.09 and Whisky bridge at 11.12, the latter being weak and under repair. The sighting of BRO Creates,Connects and Cares is enough for one to make a strong pitch that more efforts are required to get the somewhat better connectivity with a honest surety. The approach to Pang is filled with dust and the number of times the vehicles go off the road to come back is large enough to realise the wonder of travelling in a place which amidst the dust has camp tents pitched for a fest. Finally, Pang comes at 1.18 and here the halt is over an hour. From here Tanglagla (some signboard spell Taklangla) is shown 65km, and when Tanglagla is 60 km away the smooth option begins for a while. We reach Tanglagla at 4.05 followed by a halt of few minutes. As usual the road ups the ante, peaks surmount and after innumerable rounds of ascent and descent we are at Rumtse at 5.30 followed by Gya and Rong. Upshi border post comes at 6. After the formalities of depositing and collecting the passport at border post (true for those who deposited here from a country where they were subjected to a wear and tear), the ride ahead takes us to Leh a little after 7.15.
The ride from Manali to Leh was for a little over 18 hrs commensurate with innumerable ups and downs on roads littered with all possibilities that a road network can present. Still the thick traffic on either side at some point suggested the longing for LEH and a latitude that few could flay.
Leaving Manali for Leh required the sleep to be abandoned and with a tummy-adjusted-against-medicines the tempo traveller ride for rs 1800 was all i could secure. Rounds to the Manali bus terminal weren't comforting enough to lend me a direct answer on a direct Leh bus with some persuading Keylong should be the halting point.
A direct transport was all that i looked for and a late afternoon departure from the lodge gave me the leeway to spend time on the Net as well as scan the proceedings in the bus market area. Thick with people, the market late in the night saw two to three guys putting to ash thick sheets of paper probably brought from a food joint. The attendees to the proceeding made it sure that all papers preserved in the past and lit now were left in a state with nothing to reveal. Having watched that and other stray dogs and cats, it was safer to leave the market area and head to a site where the mini bus would come in a colour of white.
At 1.56 in the morning the tempo traveller started with Vashisht the first destination in town where it picked more passengers who fitted the 1800 rs crown. At 2.10. the road had an uneven and ruptured opening lasting fairly long and traced to factors like heavy traffic movement, landslides and rains. Between 3.52 and 4.06, the road is a cakewalk followed by another rupture of sorts. At 4.40 Koksar is accessed and from here it does not take long for the smooth transition to give way to a road strewn with slush, pebbles and stationary trucks on either side.
The first among slew of signboards is on safe driving; " road sinked drive cautiously" appearing intermittently. Water collection on road is a repeated sight and 15 minutes after Sissu has passed the Glacier View cafe is a sight that shows there are few eating joints which are having a blast. The road breaks out at different points and when Gondhal is 4 kms away there is another sighting "desi bottle 70 chilled beer." Before Tandi bridge the mini bus goes past a petrol pump. Going past Tandi bridge at 6. 08, Keylong 6.25 followed by Circuit House Keylong II, and Panjab Agricultural Univ., Keylong. comes as easily as boards conveying "inconvenience regretted", BRO roads. Mind you the road is bumpy enough to throw you out of sleep if one attempted at any point.
Etched on a rock 983276 is all that i can make of a cell number and at 7 it shows Leh 347 km intermingled with a higher dose of rough road and a low but noticeable showering of a smooth one. Another board showing Welcome to Camp Jispa journeys followed by Padma JISPA and a one on "after drinking whisky, drving risky."
At assistance centre Darcha we are at 7. 18 and from here Sarchu is shown to be 77km. In Darcha, Apna Dhaba step in for bk'fast, lunch, dinner thukpa, mo-mo lemon, black tea is widely visible and so is the capacity of the vendors to spell that most of the daily necessities are available after crossing the bridge. After bridge is Himalayan Dhaba. From Darcha to Sarchu vehicles go up and down for umpteen times with a U Turn underscoring that this zigzag could have been avoided had the bridge been positioned with a proportional advantage. The Road after TCP to Zing Zingbar is smooth and at 8.21 Z Z'bar is accessed with Peace Cafe z z'bar coming at 8.30. At 8.40 the vehicles which left Leh cross us and at 8.59 we go past Parlachcha, highest point of snowfall. At 9.16 Leh is shown 273 kms, with Sarchu coming at 10.35. From Sarchu, Leh is 251 and Loma 355.
The stoppage at Sarchu is long enough to make people search and secure the disposable toilets - the best part of such journeys should be to dispose the idea of paying a visit to disposable wonders if one can - amidst a brief conversation with a documentary filmmaker who seems to be no less than a tutor.
The view of peaks from Sarchu is strong and lasting. And few kms before and after Sarchu the ride is smooth but not long enough when you go past Brandy Bridge at 11.09 and Whisky bridge at 11.12, the latter being weak and under repair. The sighting of BRO Creates,Connects and Cares is enough for one to make a strong pitch that more efforts are required to get the somewhat better connectivity with a honest surety. The approach to Pang is filled with dust and the number of times the vehicles go off the road to come back is large enough to realise the wonder of travelling in a place which amidst the dust has camp tents pitched for a fest. Finally, Pang comes at 1.18 and here the halt is over an hour. From here Tanglagla (some signboard spell Taklangla) is shown 65km, and when Tanglagla is 60 km away the smooth option begins for a while. We reach Tanglagla at 4.05 followed by a halt of few minutes. As usual the road ups the ante, peaks surmount and after innumerable rounds of ascent and descent we are at Rumtse at 5.30 followed by Gya and Rong. Upshi border post comes at 6. After the formalities of depositing and collecting the passport at border post (true for those who deposited here from a country where they were subjected to a wear and tear), the ride ahead takes us to Leh a little after 7.15.
The ride from Manali to Leh was for a little over 18 hrs commensurate with innumerable ups and downs on roads littered with all possibilities that a road network can present. Still the thick traffic on either side at some point suggested the longing for LEH and a latitude that few could flay.
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