Why “Power of 3”? Ok, let me give a snapshot and you decide for yourself…
3 TRIPS - Sarahan, Sariska and Chail
3 PEOPLE - Kalyani, Asif and Myself
3 DAYS TRIP – This trip was 3 day long (25th Oct ’08 – 27th Oct ’08) Peppered with
3 FLAT TYRES – We encountered flat tyre on all days (Only My Bike)
It was 5:00am and I was standing at the petrol pump next to my apartment waiting for Asif Bhai, who came in around 5 minutes. As planned we picked Kalyani from ISBT and moved ahead towards Rohru (Our initial plan).
At 5:30am the three of us were sitting on the pavement just ahead of ISBT (
Sitting there we replanned and had two options Rishikesh and Chail, we chose Chail as we could see on the map there was some bird sanctuary and planned to visit it.
At around 7:00 am we got a mechanic who was ready to fix the tyre and at 7:30 am we were moving ahead towards our new destination, Chail. The weather was quite nice and we moved at a swift pace until we met a long traffic jam of around 3 – 4 kms just before Karnal and a lot of time was wasted.
But this is where Bikes score higher then four wheelers, maneuvering the bikes between traffic, going a bit off road and there we were ahead of the traffic jam. We moved ahead stopped for some photo-shoots and then moved ahead.
We stopped at the same dhaba (Jhilmil) ahead of Karnal, that we had visited the last time enroute our trip to Sarahan.
Asif and myself both were relaxed as the destination had now changed to a place much nearer. We had breakfast and started with our “ride ahead“. Unlike last time we didn’t face much traffic, thanks to new flyovers. This also compensated for the time that we had lost in the jam earlier. It was a nice but boring trip until we got the first sight of the mountains.
The happiness that you get on sighting the mountains after a long time ( in our case 9 months) is like….Well, I can’t explain you will have to feel it for yourself, sorry!!! Not only we but also the beast standing here love the curves (of the roads)
The roads were in a bad condition compared to what we had on our last trip but nevertheless, the curves, those boulders of rocks, the hanging trees, the deep valleys and the beauty of the mountains compensated for those small pot holes. The freshness in the mountain air gives some kind of energy and you feel like if you can ever enjoy the ride this is the place to do it, in the mountains.
We stopped once to relax and then moved ahead and stopped at a restaurant at Dharampur. Where Asif tried his hand on a different ball game :-)
and he won
We confirmed the direction and were assured that we have to take a right turn from Kandaghat and once we took that right turn it was a mixed riding emotion that we faced.
The road was not that good and was quite bumpy but the route was very nice, scenery was enchanting and with almost zero traffic it felt like riding in solitude. The ride was really something we cherished on this route. As we had lot of time in hand we took a break around 19 kms ahead of Chail and had a small photo shoot.
We reached Chail and on our way to the guest house where we couldn’t get any room saw a beautiful bird with colors similar to peacock. As we couldn’t get any room at the guest and so we opted for room in hotel Himneel
which is the economic wing of
and so all the reservations and everything were done at the
We relaxed a bit and then went for dinner. Smartest of all “me” was not carrying anything warm except my newly bought DSG Nero Jacket and a warm inner and so was at the receiving end in that cold. I wore the inner and a T-shirt on it and was a site to watch. We had our dinner, then a chit chat session and then went to sleep.
Next morning I woke up and went for a small walk and one thing that amazed me the number of monkeys present at the hotel (it was later that I came to know that caretakers use to feed the monkeys every morning and so such a high number).
After sometime the other two comrades also were ready and after gobbling down our breakfast we went out for a day long photo-shoot and roaming around.
We spent a lot of time in photo-shoot and then came to know that there was a bird sanctuary. We went back to the hotel and picked our bikes and started towards the sanctuary, but were disappointed to know that bird watching was possible only in early mornings else one has to be extremely lucky to watch them during day time.
We parked our bikes on the road and were contemplating the next move and then we saw a not so pleasant scene.
The angle holding the silencer of Asif bhai’s bike had broken and it was sheer luck that held the silencer. We tied the silencer with a handkerchief that I was carrying and hoped that it wouldn’t burn by the heat of the silencer.
We came to know that there was a Kaali temple at the top of the hill and decided to visit it.
As we progressed the climb became steeper and it was just broken roads “welcome to off roading”. We stopped at a place as the view was quite nice.
We stayed there for sometime and then moved ahead, we saw a lovely resort to the right of us and decided to have lunch there. We had our lunch and started towards the temple.
Well Guys it was Day 2 and time for the Second Flat tyre. As soon as I was out of the resort the rear wheels wobbled and I knew what it was. All three of us looked at each other and were like W.T.H.
Asif decided to go down and get some mechanic, Kalyani decided to visit the temple and I had no other option but to wait there with big bull with flat tyre standing infornt of me. Asif came back with a mechanic after sometime who got down the work. We decided that I would go to the temple and once the bike is done Asif would give me a call and I would return.
It was a nice trekking route to the temple but it was my first trekking expedition and it was real tiring. The view form the top was enchanting, enthralling, serene, calm and what not. It was like we were in a different world altogether. I saw Kalyani sitting silently on the boundary of the temple and went to her. We had some photos clicked over there .
Then Asif bhai’s call came. Kalyani wanted to spend some more time there and so leaving her there I went back to the resort.
We decided that Asif would go to the temple and would bring Kalyani back while I would take the mechanic back and will get Asif’s Silencer repaired and will meet them at the hotel.
I reached the mechanic’s shop and there he got down to welding the silencer. Once the work was over it was quite late and sun had almost set. I started from there and I felt something wrong with the rear brake. I was not able to push the paddle down, now that was quite annoying, but I moved ahead and then saw another mechanic. Unfortunately he was into repairing tractors but fortunately he had the required tools (Thick wood plank and Hammer). Actually when the earlier mechanic fitted the silencer he didn’t fit it well and it was on the upper right side and was blocking the rear brake paddle.
Two strikes by the hammer and the silencer was in place and the brake paddle was moving freely. I gave him 10 rupees (though he was adamant on taking nothing) and was on my way to the hotel room. Asif and Kalyani also reached at almost the same time and as it was quite late we decided to have dinner and call it a day.
We were welcomed by bright sunny day and lots and lots of monkeys the next morning. We had our breakfast and Asif and I went to saddle up our bulls much to the awe of other occupants of the hotel. It is time like these when you feel a certain happiness that you are doing something that people normally do not dare to think about and you love to do it.
The return journey was not very eventful, just a “Day 3 – Puncture 3”.
We didn’t have lunch just to save time and stopped at a restaurant in the evening to have some snacks and this is where we found the second casualty to Asif bhai's bike.
After that it was straight journey to Delhi and as usual we dropped Kalyani at ISBT and then both of us moved towards Noida.
Conclusion:
The difference between a tourist and a traveler is made clear on trips like these. Things even though are planned but are very much unplanned and it rests on the discretion of the traveler to change it at his will and surprisingly nothing changes for him ‘coz it is the travel, the road, the journey that matters and not the destination.
While I started writing this triplouge just after the coming back from the trip but somehow got caught up in daily life routine and it was lying there on the backburner.
I & We went on to do more trips after this one but never did I knew that this would be the last bike trip for us as a trio.
Life never remains the same after these bike trips and this one was one of them...But as they say the Journey Continues and we RIDE AHEAD...
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