Day - 5 | The Day I was Afraid to Ride - Dream Ride LADAKH
LADAKH - A dream ride for many. I was fortunate enough to complete my dream ride in the month of July 2021.
Day - 5
From - Amritsar ( Punjab ) To Srinagar ( J&K )
Road - Amritsar - Lakhanpur Border - Udhampur - Anantnag - Srinagar
Date - 15.07.2021
Total - 447.2 KM
Day 5
It was the day when we were actually going to ride on the circuit we were dreaming of. Our day started at 4:00 am. We got up, packed up all the things, and were ready to leave ly 5:00 am. Our stop for today was at Srinagar, which was around 450 km, and the predicted time was 12 hrs.
After setting the luggage on the bike we were ready to leave. We left the hotel around 5:30 am. The weather was pleasant. Almost 22 degrees. We took NH -54 and which merged with NH- 44 at Asa Bano. It was a straight road till Lakhanpur which is the State border for Jammu Kashmir and Punjab. We were stopped at the check post and were asked to show our Negative RT-PCR report. As we had already got our results we showed them the reports and then they let us pass into the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. We reached there around 7:30 am and had traveled around 130 km.
Now we were into the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. Topography had completely changed. We were seeing Sky-high lush green Mountains and narrow roads. followed by ghats. Roads up to Lakhanpur were very good but now they had narrowed down. We were following the same NH- 44, all the areas that you see on TV for some brave military actions were passing by. A lot of army personnel were deployed on the highway that day. We did not know what was happening, whether it was a daily routine or something special on that day. Google maps showed us a shortcut to Udhampur from Samba which skipped going to Jammu. I suggest everyone use google maps to find that road. It is the shortest and fastest road, with scenic views and lovely ghats. It saves almost 2 hrs and 100 km of ride. The road is called Samba - Mansar - Udhampur road. The road is small but not a problem because of its scenic view.
Once you reach you again connect to NH-44. The road is good but has a lot of parts under extension and maintenance. We encountered a lot of slushes, Unpaved roads, and traffic jams. We had our breakfast at the nearby hotel there. The hotel also has a very scenic view. We enjoyed our breakfast and were again onto the road.
Before Patnitop, there is a diversion for either going to Patnitop or using the Syama Prasad Mookerji Tunnel and heading towards Ramban Gateway. It was the first tunnel we crossed that day. Then headed towards Jawahar Tunnel, the second tunnel of the day.
We noticed that there was a lot of army movement on that day and only bikes were allowed for movement on that highway near Army Convoy. As we were ahead of them we were not stopped but we were told by the army personnel that if we stop and some get behind the convoy we would be stopped for some time. So we avoided stopping even for pictures and kept moving towards Srinagar. The nature around the highway was very scenic but we did not stop.
The road is very narrow at some points and only one truck can go at a time with the valley on another side. I was riding very slowly as I am very much afraid of heights. My speed was a maximum of 20 km/h on the ghats, which was usually around 120 on Highways. Frankly saying I was wondering, why am I on this ride, I don't want to ride here and I Am scared. these were some thoughts going in my mind and I was going very very slowly. At a point, I felt like leaving the bike and going straight home. These were some of the challenges of that day.
We reached Srinagar by 4:00 pm and now a new challenge came. We had no Network for our mobile. In J&K and Ladakh, You either need a BSNL Postpaid or a local sim card. We knew this thing and we had already booked a hotel accordingly. But when we reached, there was no Hotel to be found there. Then asking the locals we were advised to take a road to Dal Lake which took us another 45 min to cover due to heavy traffic in the city. Somehow we managed to find a hotel offline and checked in. We got WIFI from the Hotel which got us connected back to our home. I informed my parents about our reaching Srinagar safely. It was almost 6:30 by the time. It took us almost 2 hrs to look for a hotel and do the check inn.
We got freshened and headed straight to Dal Lake which was just 100mtr from the Hotel. We saw some beautiful Shikaras and decided to go for a ride. We were offered a ride for 1 hr for rs.1200 for 2 but after some serious negotiations, we did it for Rs.400 for 2. It was a wonderful experience with beautiful mountains around the lake and pleasant weather.
We were very hungry as we did not have our lunch. We reached the local restaurant near our hotel and had a heavy dinner. The food was delicious. Then we decided to take a local sim card from a nearby store. The store guy tried to do his best to provide us with a Sim card but it did not work. I then decided to drop the plan of Simcard and manage using Offline maps and advance bookings of hotels.
I don't know if that man cheated us using our photo and Voter Id. can't say anything about that. But I will definitely recommend not getting into any of these stuff in Srinagar and avoiding mixing with locals. Srinagar is like Military Base with Army Personals all around. I could understand why there is so much news on attacks and counterattacks coming from Srinagar. A big Salute to the Indian army whose efforts have kept Kashmir Intact with India. I am writing this about J&K for a reason you will get to know in the next blog. Not all Persons are Separatists, but some people are still there who are involved in anti-India work. A good ride day ending with some serious security douts in mind.
We traveled 447 Km On that Day.
Thank You
Amazing👍👍😍😍
ReplyDeleteVery nicely written👍