Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Lesson 13 - My Best Ever Bike Ride



Moving towards Naggar, I saw many sign boards of various interesting places but had to leave some of them for my next unplanned journey. There are a number of apple orchids near Naggar. The place is famous for these lovely apple orchids & corn fields. Green apples were turning red while corns were still very small. So wanted to pluck an apple & run away. It was not for the taste of an apple but for the taste of stealing. Parked my bike on one side, ran towards a tree, pluck two & fled away. I could see the natives laughing at me. But the feeling of stealing is so exciting that I could never resist. Last time when I was here with my college friends, we had actually robbed a whole orchid of golden apples at 4 o’clock in the morning. This trip was incomplete without this act of stealing.

Passing through Manali, I decided to move towards Rohtang. 57kms away from main Manali, this place is a gate way to heaven. Last time when I was there, I had gone really ill. Wanted to go back again to win that extreme climate which defeated me last time. Extremely dangerous road, horrifying & rude hills around. Zero oxygen makes these hills rocky with no vegetation. Though it was sunny but somehow I could feel the possibility of a climate change. I had crossed Kothi but then something stopped me. Parked my bike. Went to a Bhutta seller, sat beside him. Cozy sun, green grass & a hot bhutta. Wanted to stay there forever. Life rarely gifts such simple pleasures in life.

My intuition was getting stronger. So I pushed myself. While returning back, I saw a couple of bike riders loaded with stuff. Assuming them to be coming from Leh, I started following them. Got fascinated to see their dirt laden bikes. Following their rhythm, I reached Manali. I stopped at a roadside tea stall. There I heard some people talking about snow fall around Rohtang & a landslide near Kothi. My intuition never fails me. Sat at the terrace of an abandoned house beside that tea stall, looking at the sunrays disappearing behind the hills. Today’s was my best bike ride ever

2 comments:

  1. Very nice Blog Nandita. I cant believe you rode a bike thr all by youself. Me and my hubby are also planning to hire a bike there and visit Rohtang and Manikaran and other places. Was wondering if the ghat roads were safe to ride.? Did you used to switch off the engine on downhill there? Need some tips, Regards, Kusum

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