Delhi to Leh : 100 Rupay Jeb Main – Tandi to Jispa( I proved my smartness again)

It was 5 o’clock in the morning and we could hear the army trucks moving out of the camp. We felt so ashamed of sleeping till late. A peaceful breakfast at the officer’s mess & we left the comfort behind at 5:30 a.m. Next stoppage was a petrol station few kilometers away from Tandi. The precious one as the next one would be available after 365kms. If you miss this one, you will be out of fuel in the middle of a desert. It was 6 in the morning and the station was locked. Unlike other filling stations, this one remains closed at night till the owners come at 6:30 in the morning.



Meanwhile we met a middle aged man who had come in a fragile looking 120 cc bike & cans & bottles for petrol. A yellow flag “ Om Namah Shivay” written over it. He was a part of a bike rally which starts from Jaipur to Amarnath shrine every year. He has been a part of this rally for the past 11 years. People can be so incredibly crazy. The road ahead took us to an unseen journey among beautiful & rare terrains & absolutely breathtaking sceneries. We could also see some amazingly planned villages & small monasteries.



On our way, we had to cross several natural springs ‘nalas’ as they are called. Some were very light & could be crossed while still riding the bike but some had such force that we had to get down from the bike & drag ourselves through the water pressure. I was almost about to get swayed with the flow a couple of times. We were all drenched in water up to our waste. My feet had started freezing. I was advised to keep my fingers moving so that they could continue to feel & do not freeze.



We had crossed Kelong & were somewhere between Gemur & Jespa, when we saw an extreme high spring flowing over the road. We could also see few bikers drying themselves up on either side of the spring, I had already given up. There as no way we could cross that gigantic spring. But my friend said it was possible. I didn’t wanted to risk my life so I got down & stood at one side to see what was coming up next. He got off the bike too, with full throttle, he got into the water. The next second I could neither see him or the bike, but we could still hear the bike roaring. Two bikers from the other side jumped into the water & pulled the bike & the rider out. And there they were on the other side of the spring, water dripping all over. Now that is called being courageous. I was happy to see both of them alive.

Oops! But now it was my turn. Well I might sound like blowing my own trumpet but girls have always been smarter & so am I. I waited for another couple of minutes till I could see a truck approaching. Got a lift till the other side of the spring. SIMPLE. You don’t always need to have courage. Sometimes even brain also saves. I could see all the bikers smiling at their foolishness & my smartness

In the middle of all these brave acts, we found two Australian cyclist crossing the same spring on their cycles. Now that’s called being extra courageous. We all clapped for this undying unfazed spirit of adventure.



We took an idea about the road from those bikers & moved onnnnnnnnnnnn………….