Going solo 2600 km to Leh Ladakh on a bike without any bike spares and extra petrol cans. That is not bravery, that’s stupidity. I will complete this journey in multiple blogs as there is a lot to share about this trip. First picture is of my bike in front my house, Second is from Hall Of Fame, Third picture is with an Indian soldier posted at War Memorial and the last one if of my ‘LEH Haircut’ 😀
My main motive behind this tour was to reach solo at the ‘Highest Motorable Road Of The World’
This trip was supposed to start on 23rd June. The night before i was celebrating birthday of my friend. Due to Hangover, I was tripping next day on bike ride and my bag was also falling apart so i came back to home after covering 13 km.
I even did not have the right ropes to tie the bag on first day. When i came back, I bought Bungee ropes suggested by another rider who had been to Ladakh before.
My first halt was in Chandigarh at my friend’s house. On my 2nd day, i was still struggling with my bag. At a moment when i stopped to tie it up, the bike felt on the road side. Then a driver passed by and told me- ‘Dost! abhi toh bhot door jana h’. In English– ‘Buddy! You still have a long distance to cover’. I suppose he got the idea that i am travelling to Ladakh after seeing my heavy luggage.
25th June’2016, Today! I lost my phone that i brought just to record videos. I was carrying two cell phones on this trip. The mobile mounting device took off my bike during ride and the moment i stopped to pick up my phone, a few cars ran over it already. Ouch! It was literally resting in pieces-My 17k water proof Sony Xperia that i bought by giving dance classes. I still have it with me as a memory. Will put the picture in next blog.
Leh Haircut, Bungee rope, Bike fall and Death of my phone. This should be all for today. Upcoming blogs on my Leh Ladakh Trip includes ‘A surprise short visit by my brother’, ‘The day i ran out of breath due to lack of oxygen at height’ and ‘Khardungla-Highest Motorable Road of the World’. Stay Tuned…
Was this another solo trip? Yes, this is just the start. Some things in life are meant to happen. This trip was meant to meet two new people- Rahul Menon & Noel d’gama. I will tell you about them ahead. I completed this tour only in 7.5k Indian Rupees. This journey was made from Mumbai which is very close to Goa at around 600 km away.
How 7.5k? Surprising but in this budget i did my train tickets for both sides. Rented a scooty in Goa for 4 days, Had beer, food and stayed in my own tent at a different beach every night. The sound of water in the night is very pleasing and opening your eyes in morning in front of an ocean literally lifts up your soul.
I planned this trip all of a sudden one night before just because i wanted some refreshment while i was in Mumbai. And because i have been to Goa before, i could not stop myself, packed my bag and left the next morning.
The picture in which i am posing beneath a rock led to a minor injury on the head. The rock was very pointy and i banged my head by accident a little too hard leading to blood clotting in my hairs.
Goa, Music and New Friends- First i met Rahul while we were both heading to the same beach on different scooters asking for direction. After reaching he asked me to join him. Later he introduced me to some dope musicians of Goa at a Karaoke night. I also wanted to sing but i was shy in the beginning and then i gulped a whole beer and went for it. I realized that day how bad singer i am. Yet everyone clapped. Then i met Noel d’gama, great guitarist. He liked my selection of the song and said “It requires balls to sing that song”. The song is ‘Riders on the Storm’ by the way. Noel then invited me to his place where i listened to some of his dope recorded tracks and then in the morning we had some dope for real 😛
About Rahul Menon- Rahul is a great artist. He is a marketeer by profession and plays some music for his passion. Listen to one of the track that he played in on YouTube by clicking at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_DXVSQoMo . The song is ‘Struggler’ by Tripp Pilots. I even used this music in one of my travel videos on you tube. Here is the link to that video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wqrriH3ilgA . While i was in Mumbai looking for jobs randomly, Rahul simply gave my reference to one of his friend who offered me a job without any interview. But my journey in Mumbai was coming to an end so i could not accept it. I don’t know if he is this nice to everyone but i do not meet people like him everyday.
About Noel d’gama– Have you checked out the painting i have uploaded above? The painting features Noel and is made by Noel himself. You will see the face portion where he have put a frame around. The picture inside that frame has been made using ash left out of fire. Seen that before? Noel mentioned that he belongs to the generation of Vasco D’Gama (a Portuguese explorer and the first European to reach India by sea). Noel lives a very simple life. He is carefree and makes money out of his gigs. Recently he has joined a Bangalore based group by the name of ‘Crystal Codes’ that plays Classic Rock and Instrumentals. Here is the link to their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/CrystalCodes07/about/?ref=page_internal .
Summing Up– Going out on a solo trip have always been a great experience for me. Some people that i meet during my travels understands me very well. They are now a part of my life and a memory for lifetime. Who knows whom one will meet if they will not step out of their house at first place? Share your views in the comment section 🙂
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Rishikesh is a city in northern state of Uttarakhand in Himalayan foothills. I confronted death from very close on this trip during Rafting accident. I have to been to Rishikesh several times, one time was on my 25th Birthday to do a Bunjee Jump. On my first trip to Rishikesh, i met with two more travelers carrying the same tent as mine..
My first day was in Haridwar. It is famous for Ganges river which is considered to be a holy river. I did a small trek and used rope way in Haridwar for a temple visit.
I planned this trip with a friend who boarded a wrong train considering that we were going to ‘Agra’ city which was never discussed among us. Amazing guy. Just thought by himself that we were going to’Agra’ and missed the 1st day trek due to late arrival.
Met two more travelers carrying a tent just like mine. We camped with them, had lots of laugh, shared some traveling tips. Also they mentioned about their plans to visit Andaman Island which has been on my bucket list from 4 years. Possibly i will cover the island in this year on December 2020, for deep water diving on my 27th birthday.
Camping in Rishikesh- I have this fixed spot of camping in Rishikesh where i have set up my camp at least 3 times till now on different tours. Beach like sand beneath you, river floating next to it and mountains in the front. Sleeping there with your head out of tent is magical when you can hear sound of water, breathe fresh cold air and see a sky covered in beautiful stars. It is a treat for the soul. The place have lots of positive energy to it binding you towards it for a little longer.
Rafting- People have been reported as dead during this adventure sport in Rishikesh and there has been a case when the body was not even recovered. I also confronted death like situation during my rafting experience. I would not blame the rafters. Most of the time it is the public who don’t follow their instructions and secondary is nature that takes twisting turns one can’t defeat. During rafting, i was floating on the water wearing life jacket along with my new camping friends. The rafter asked us come on board and we said we will manage to the corner as it looked really close. But then the flow of water suddenly got 5 times fast to what it was few seconds back. We all started swimming towards corner but the water kept on drifting us forward. Everyone got panicked. My breath still get slow when i remember that incident. I putted all my efforts and kept on moving my hands. For a moment i thought, i would not be able to make it. It was horrifying. But somehow i did not stop, i kept on swimming even though my hands were tired and could not move at a point. I lied on my back and changed the movement of my hand. After getting some rest, i again started swimming fast. The place where i was supposed to reach, i touched the ground at least 50 metres away from it. But the guys with me couldn’t swim across and the water flew them away. Suddenly a whole team of rafters took a boat and went into waters to grab them like the speed of a bullet. Thankfully, they found them and brought them back. Both of the guys got their legs injured due to the rocks in water. Always listen to your instructor when you are under the guidance of one. They do it everyday and they know it better than us. Rafting is an amazing experience full of thrill. Do it right and enjoy the adventure like a Boss.
Summing Up- With all this experience, this trip seemed to come to an end. There are lots of places to explore in Rishikesh like caves, Neer waterfall and more which i will share in my coming blogs. Have you also confronted any incident which made you realize never under estimate the power of nature? Share your experience in the comments section.
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The famous traveler who discovered life on Planet Mars 😛
This was next level thing for me. I felt my soul’s presence for the first time. Solo trip is full of excitement, thrill and new people. You are out there on your own.
First thing is that this was a small budget trip. I made some savings from giving dance classes and completed my whole journey in 15k indian rupees. It included my stay, travel, tickets, renting a bike, food, casino, beer and everything. Surprising right? No. When i went to Goa for 2nd time, it costed me 8k only.
How did i travel at such low cost? Bought brand new tent @1800/-(No hotel cost), Sleeping Bag @700/-, Travel by train (Sleeper class) from Delhi @1000/- one way, Scooty rent @300/- per day and in food i had pineapple with coconut water in the morning followed by proper meal for lunch and dinner.
So how do you freshen up if you stay at a tent? You order your breakfast from any shack/ restaurant that have washroom facilities and till the time your meal is ready, get done with your morning freshen up routine. Simple.
Train Journey- Actually two of my college colleagues planned this trip with me but they stepped back at the last moment when there was no confirmed seat in the train and it was a 42 hour journey. I went ahead and booked my ticket right in front of them. This was a nature’s call and i began my solo trip given the unique circumstances. It was now or never for me. I absolutely fell in love with this train journey. Mesmerizing views all along the way passing through so many new cities and states that i had not touched before. Specially because it was new year, most of the people in the train were travelers just like me. I became friends with them, we talked, i got to know about their country and some of them are still in touch with me on Facebook and Instagram. I did not even realize when 42 hours ended for me. Even the train meal that gets served brought me happiness. I felt like a child who is getting happy at such small things. Remember i told you that i had no seat? So i used my sleeping bag and slept on the floor of train. People could have offered me their seat but they were also running short on it as most of the bookings were like 3 seats for 5 people. But on my way back, a gentleman gave me a whole seat that i relaxed on whole night. He had a small kid with him, the kid was sleeping with his mother like a monkey baby attached to his parent. So i got lucky there.
You have arrived at Goa– So the arrival train station is Madgaon in Goa. My best suggestion is you book a scooter right outside the station, They will take your I.D and will hand it back once you return the vehicle. It will save your time, you won’t get exhausted and will prove to be pocket friendly. Average rent for one scooter is 300 Indian rupees for one day. Why scooter? You can put your bag in front space between your legs and other things like water bottle in extra space below the seat as well.
Inside Goa- It was one day at one beach for me. Out of all the beaches that i covered, ‘Anjuna’ is good for Shack parties, ‘Arambol’ is the one with maximum crowd, ‘Morzim’ is decent for some quiet time. And there are plenty more to explore. I even worked as a waiter for 2 hours at a shack. The owner noticed my tent and was running short of manpower so he asked for my help. I did not take any money from him for this. Though he gave me a delicious lunch full of Goa dishes (Yummm). After this, i went to ‘Fort Aguada’ and the ‘Light house’. Do not miss the Light House. It is located right beside fort Aguada. I did not notice it in first time and went to the light house on my 2nd visit to Goa. They both have visiting timings, so check on internet and plan your visit accordingly. View from Light House will blow your mind away. As far as you will see, there will be ocean. It is like a 360 degree view of Goa. Also i went to Casinos that are located in Panjim. Great deals. You pay 1500 rs., they will give you chips worth 1500 to play with. Also your food and beverage (including alcohol) will be on the house for as long as you can stay inside. The entry price and schemes are different for different casinos. This was Casino Pride in 2015. Do not get too much drunk, they have ATM machines installed inside that can dry you up. Before you go, fix an amount that this is how much i am gonna gamble with. Do not spend more than that. If you loose it, just accept it and come back. There is more to be done in Goa 😀
Summing Up-
Get high, but only to the limit where you can drag yourself back to your headquarters.
Do not wear clothes with net while going in beach water. The sand won’t come out of it for months.
For food, come a little inside of streets and make your purchase there. The prices are two to three times higher at beach. You have a shop in your city? Goa also have plenty where prices are stable all the time. Shop there.
Always rent a scooter. It will save your time and energy and it is pleasant to ride.
And Sunscreen. Super Super Super powerful sunscreen. Wear loose kurtas with long sleeves. There are plenty in Goa. Or just let it be. Enjoy your Tan 🙂
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Do You Remember Your First Trip? Next Level Excitement, Unprepared, Unknown to the fact what is going to happen? Well, get ready to feel it again…
My big brother “Yuvraj” kick started the travel itch inside me. He gave me a Royal Enfield Bike and took me to my first journey with a “RE Biker’s Group” from Chandigarh.
Now it was obvious to become a travel enthusiast after meeting so many travelers at once and hearing about the places they have been to.
Bike Ride- I was feeling like i am into some movie. Dozens of bikes with roaring sound moving in a lane with their headlights on. Damn! On our first ride, me and my brother ran through an accident when another local scooter rider came in front of us from the other direction (Don’t judge my riding skills, I am a Pro. My brother was riding here). So the bike slipped and got imbalanced because of all the little stones on the road and we felt. But we were safe due to the leg guards on the sides of our bike. This is not it, another biker even confronted a black panther in the ‘Hills Of Kasol’ whom he scared away with the loud throttle of his bike silencer.
Inside Kasol- What a place? Greenery all around you, fresh air, no noises. 25 Km ahead of Kasol, there was this very cold place, My hands were frozen to death when the gloves got wet after making a snowman. Also, there is another place by name of ‘Manikaran’ where water is hot at all times. People even make rice by putting the jar in this water for 5 minutes. I had to dry up all my clothes with the help of heaters in our rooms. The trip was so amazing due to the large number of bikes riding in a single lane, mouth watering food served at the hotel, dance party organized with a bonfire in the night and breath taking views of the hills. There are many more place to explore in Kasol. Trek lovers can opt for 4 hour KheerGanga Trek. It is another level feeling to trek in middle of forests located on mountains. This was only beginning to my travel life. The boost that i got in this trip has led me to many destinations where one should think ten times before visiting 😀
Summing Up-
Always protect your clothes from getting wet while traveling to cold places. It won’t dry up and may end up getting a frost bite.
Ride carefully at moderate speed. Enjoy the views, do not let the views enjoy you 😀
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