The team – Raj Kiran on Pulsar180 classic, Venki aka Venkatesh aka Paelu, Bhadri aka Easu, Mohan Arul aka ? all on their Royal Enfield 350s
20th June- To Delhi..
Started off from Chennai after a nice farewell by all the guys. Reached Delhi and reached RK’s place after a hassled taxi ride. Saw my bike parked all neat and nice. Badhri and Mohan had apparently unpacked the bikes in the morning and were trying to start their bullets with great difficulty till they poured some fuel in P-180’s tank and pushed the electric start button- it started smoothly! Heh heh.. No damages on my bike, minor breakages like indicator light breakage, exhaust pipe clamp bent etc on the other bikes. Went to bed late, big day ahead tomorrow.
21st June- The ride out..
Odometer reading – 95020 (yes, it’s a six year old Pulsar180)
9:20 pm, rode out from RK’s house in peak traffic and he accompanied us to the main road from where we could catch the highway. Not 5 km later in a traffic signal, Venki was facing some minor problems with his bike and we pulled over to the side. He had to clean his carburetor and Bhadri had some problem with his accelerator as some bolt in his yoke had snapped. He propped it up with insulation tape and we were ready to leave. Exactly at midnight, 22nd June we took a break at a Dhaba somewhere before Panipat.
Here I recall a discussion we had before the trip. I had asked the other three whether we are gonna ride at night during the trip. We had decided that we will, if we have to. And to think of it, we started our trip with a night ride! I had also asked during a discussion whether we were gonna ride if it was raining. We had decided that we will, if we have to. We rode out and soon enough, it started raining too. We stopped at another Dhaba just after Panipat. It was a long halt. We covered our saddle bags with rain covers, wore our raincoats, had dinner etc. I didn’t have boots, I was only wearing my woodland shoes. It was raining, so I packed it up and switched to my chappals (floaters). We rode out for a while and had a tea break at a tea shop before Ambala (this is the place where the Qualis had got stuck in the slush). By then I was tired, so was Mohan. We still didn’t know where to halt for the day, whether to halt at all or not. We rode out again in the mild rain, wet roads, early morning. The guys halted for a pee break 10 km before Ambala on the road side. I just got off the bike, parked in centre stand and slept off in full riding gear with my helmet on. I dozed off peacefully as the vehicles sped by and the guys had their break, smoked, surveyed the place etc. It was a power nap indeed. They woke me up and I realized that I had had a really good nap. I was all fit and energetic to ride out. The next break we took was 15km before Chandigarh from where we took a by pass towards Solan through Kalka. Its just a right turn that we had to take, some construction work was going on and so we had to take a left, a U-turn, another left, another U-turn, another left.. heh heh..
We stopped at a place before Solan to have breakfast. It was a nice small cozy place. We had some rest there, had parathas, tea etc. I changed back to my shoes and Bhadri had dozed off flat out on the mud floor of the tea shop. I was taking his snaps and the pose in which he was sleeping seemed like a Pirelli calendar shooting. The shopkeeper aunty was laughing. Soon enough, a stray dog curled up beside Bhadri and the two were sleeping happily.
We rode out towards Shimla and took another break when Bhadri had to take an urgent call from nature. Mohan had to accompany him back to a petrol bunk to watch his luggage while he was in.
2:15 pm- We started again and crossed Solan it started raining. We halted at a tea shop and Venki was suggesting that we could have carried on and the rain is not that heavy when it started raining crazily. The shop we were in was getting washed out. It was one of the heaviest downpours ever. It took a while to stop and then we rode out towards Shimla and helped a CBZ guy on the way whose tank was dry. We entered Shimla and took the tunnel as instructed and got stuck in a traffic jam in a steeply inclined road. After wasting sometime, we turned back and decided to ride through the city itself. On the way Mohan searched for a room near Kufri, it was expensive and we decided to ride 12km more till Theog. The time was already past 6pm and it was getting cold. We reached Theog, by when we were exhausted, tired and were carrying partially wet luggage. Couldn’t see any hotel around in the village and we were discussing loudly on the road whether to ride till Narkanda itself when some ladies from the balcony above our heads pointed us towards a guest house. Mohan and I checked it and decided to take it. The path leading there was really steep and slippery, my bike skid and fell down gently, nothing happened. We checked in and settled down. Ordered food and brandy. Bhadri had already dozed off, a remarkable trait which he displayed throughout the journey.
23rd June- Ride to Bhuntar through Jalori La..
Lots of luggage had become wet in the rain during the ride. The sun had come out early and was blazing away. We had a huge terrace-balcony at our disposal and we dried everything in a couple of hours. I repacked everything in polythene bags before putting it in the saddle bags. Did lots of shifting of things between the saddle bags and the tank bags.
Odometer Reading- 95432
410 km done
Started off at 13:15 and rode to Narkanda. Had breakfast in a hotel and filled Slime (puncture-sealant) solution in Mohan’s bike (the rest of us had filled it in Aditya’s house before sending it to Delhi). Started off to Jalori La (all the guys had hyped about this pass so much that it is the steepest and toughest of the lot). It started getting really dark and thick fog blocked our vision. We took a break by a small stream, shot some snaps, took a snap from my Reliance phone and MMSed it to Ajith’s email- technology at its best.
We were riding through Jalori La expecting the worst as the milestone readings went down to zero and realized we had already crossed it. Well, all of us were thinking- ‘what was so tough about that?’ . Well, the roads were rocky, very narrow, slippery, a few streams, a steep fall into the Indus on one side.. And that’s what a pass actually is. We crossed Aut and then rode through the famous 3km long tunnel. Took snaps on the move inside the tunnel. Decided to halt for the night before Kullu. Checked into a hotel at Bhuntar – Downtown, nice two double-bed room. Had dinner and crashed.
24th June- Ride to Keylong through Rohtang La..
Woke up at 7:00 am, got ready, saddled up, had breakfast and rode out at 10:30am.
Odometer Reading- 95617
600 km done
Crossed Kullu and entered Manali where we had to pay entry fee of Rs.100/bike for Himachal Pradesh Tourism. Minor electrical problem in Mohan’s bike, his horn was not working, we stopped at a mechanic just after Manali market. I changed my bike’s foot peg covers at another mechanic nearby. The bolt had broken off inside the footpeg stub which had to be removed and replaced to secure the footpeg cover. Now, how do I explain this to the mechanic in pure Hindi (I know hindi quite well, but how do you say ‘thread’ in hindi?) Apparently, sign language worked and there was a drilling machine nearby. The bolt was drilled through and was tapped for letting in another bolt and the job was done. We started from there and went to a fuel station. I was running low on fuel, while the others had fuelled up earlier and the next bunk was only at Tandi, before Keylong. There was no petrol in the bunk there and he said the one before this was also empty. I asked the guys to ride on and that I ll catch up with them at Rohtang. All the fuel stations till the Kullu highway was empty. I thought of riding back to Kullu, some 30km back to refuel when a fuel truck came to unload in the bunk I was in.
It unloaded in half an hour and there was a huge commotion in the bunk for refueling. My turn came and the guy said 4 liters only, I bargained for 6 liters and got it. The time was about 2:30 pm, I sent an sms to the guys and sped off. The road to Rohtang was very busy with traffic and I caught up with the guys at a skydiving place 14 km before Rohtang.
Reached Rohtang and stopped in front of a huge glacier.
Wow! It was freezing cold there. I bought a pair of rubber boots there as planned. From then on I was riding only with my rubber boots and it took quite a while to get used to wearing them. It was mainly for protecting me feet getting wet while riding through the streams. We rode on and had a tea break some 50km before Keylong and took some snaps near a waterfall.
The next stretch was one of the most bumpy road made of small rocks throughout. We couldn’t ride fast as it the tires would start to roll in the stones.
I just ducked a bit and rode on till we reached Tandi fuel station. This is the last station before Leh! I learnt from the guy there that they were closing in 5 mins. We had made it just in time.
We reached Keylong at 8:30 pm and checked into Hotel Valley View. We went out for dinner at a nice restaurant nearby and had some ‘10000’ labeled beer and a heavy dinner- Bhadri’s Birthday treat.
25th June- Ride to Serchu through Barlacha La..
Woke up at 7:30 am and went for a walk to see what was around. I bought shoelace, had breakfast, went back to the room, got ready and saddled up by 10:30 am.
Odo Reading- 95804
780 km done
I rode hard and fast and shot off ahead and reached a water crossing. I surveyed the stream and decided which path to take. There was a road roller parked just after the stream and there were a few laborers there. I crossed the stream and stopped at the other side to take snaps of the others crossing the stream.
There was no sign of them for a while and the laborers were chatting with me and I learnt that the name of the place was Zanzibar. After a while Venki appeared and I started taking photos and he got stuck right in the middle of the stream and got his feet wet.
The others also came and we rode on and met up with the Enduro Himalayas group who were on their way back from Leh. One of the guys from their group had died after going off the road on their way to Leh.
Woke up at 7:30 am and went for a walk to see what was around. I bought shoelace, had breakfast, went back to the room, got ready and saddled up by 10:30 am.
Odo Reading- 95804
780 km done
I rode hard and fast and shot off ahead and reached a water crossing. I surveyed the stream and decided which path to take. There was a road roller parked just after the stream and there were a few laborers there. I crossed the stream and stopped at the other side to take snaps of the others crossing the stream.
There was no sign of them for a while and the laborers were chatting with me and I learnt that the name of the place was Zanzibar. After a while Venki appeared and I started taking photos and he got stuck right in the middle of the stream and got his feet wet.
The others also came and we rode on and met up with the Enduro Himalayas group who were on their way back from Leh. One of the guys from their group had died after going off the road on their way to Leh.
Then we came across many water crossings on the way and there was one where there was a broken bridge over it. Venki went through the stream and got stuck and stalled his bike. A couple of BRO people pulled him and his bike out. I decided to take the broken bridge. Well, 2/3rd of the flooring along the length was missing and there was a break in the remaining path. One miss and you fall into the stream off the road. I took it easily and the other two followed suit.
We reached Bharatpur and took a break at a tent- tea shop where Mohan bought his ‘woolen socks’ (this is very important, remember this socks). We caught up with a couple (foreigners) and one more guy in two bikes who were also on their way to Leh. We did some off roading into the fields and upto a gorge and shot some snaps.Then we entered Serchu camp where we met up with an army
officer, Mr. Madhesan. He got us cheap accommodation in a tent nearby by 6:00 pm. The couple and the other guy were also staying in a nearby tent. There was also a Belgian journalist on his Honda Unicorn staying there. Venki and I acquainted ourselves with them while Mohan and Bhadri had hit the sack with mild signs of AMS. We had dinner after a while in another tent and went to bed. The temperature there had gone down to 4 degrees in the night. 26th June- Ride to Leh through Nakee La, Lachalang La, Moore Plains, Tanglang La..
Woke up early and saddled up and rode to Serchu camp and met Mr. Madhesan, who provided us with tea. We started from there at 8:45 am.
Odo Reading- 95917
900 km done
Woke up early and saddled up and rode to Serchu camp and met Mr. Madhesan, who provided us with tea. We started from there at 8:45 am.
Odo Reading- 95917
900 km done
Crossed Nakee La and stopped for tea and breakfast. Drove to Pang where Venki stopped for
another break. Bhadri and I decide to ride on leaving the other two behind. We crossed Pang and entered Moore Plains. It was really dusty with lots of sand pits. It was a vast stretch of land we just had to ride on between the mountains with some tire tracks as reference. It was a really rickety, bumpy ride and then we hit a beautiful tar road and I started clipping crazy.
I revved up to 7000 rpm after a long time and hit 100-
110 kph speeds and felt relieved. Then again no roads, just rocks leading to Tanglang La, the second highest motorable road. The ride was extremely risky, rocky, exhausting, stressful for me and the bike. The lack of oxygen was very evident now and the bike was not revving. We reached the summit and again Bhadri was flat near the platform. We just took a couple of snaps as it was really cold and decided to ride on.
Time -2:20 pm, 110 km more to Leh, 60 km to
Upshi.We finally reached a tea shop at 3:30 pm before Rumtse and decided to take a break. Bhadri dozed off as usual. I had omelette, lemon tea, Fanta, Kit Kat and was chatting with the little boy at the shop and learnt that we had already entered Ladakh.
Venki and Mohan reached at 4:30 pm and all of us started at 5:15 pm. The roads from here were well laid and wide. We clipped high speeds and rode through Karu and reached Leh at 7:00 pm. We went to Hotel Padmalinga in Chang Spa as instructed by the guys. It was full.
another break. Bhadri and I decide to ride on leaving the other two behind. We crossed Pang and entered Moore Plains. It was really dusty with lots of sand pits. It was a vast stretch of land we just had to ride on between the mountains with some tire tracks as reference. It was a really rickety, bumpy ride and then we hit a beautiful tar road and I started clipping crazy.
I revved up to 7000 rpm after a long time and hit 100-
110 kph speeds and felt relieved. Then again no roads, just rocks leading to Tanglang La, the second highest motorable road. The ride was extremely risky, rocky, exhausting, stressful for me and the bike. The lack of oxygen was very evident now and the bike was not revving. We reached the summit and again Bhadri was flat near the platform. We just took a couple of snaps as it was really cold and decided to ride on.
Time -2:20 pm, 110 km more to Leh, 60 km to
Upshi.We finally reached a tea shop at 3:30 pm before Rumtse and decided to take a break. Bhadri dozed off as usual. I had omelette, lemon tea, Fanta, Kit Kat and was chatting with the little boy at the shop and learnt that we had already entered Ladakh.
Venki and Mohan reached at 4:30 pm and all of us started at 5:15 pm. The roads from here were well laid and wide. We clipped high speeds and rode through Karu and reached Leh at 7:00 pm. We went to Hotel Padmalinga in Chang Spa as instructed by the guys. It was full.
After some searching around we found a nice little place called Maryul Guest House near the circuit house. We checked in and settled down.
Went out for a heavy dinner at a Tibetan restaurant and came back at 11:00 pm.
27th June- Roaming about in Leh..
Woke up late at 10:30 am. We had breakfast at a German bakery and then to a travels office and applied for our permits and enquired about rafting. We met the Belgian reporter on the road and were speaking with him. He had a message from the foreign girl we met before Serchu- she has the ‘woolen socks’ that we forgot at the tent in Serchu!
We rode to Mohan Sharma’s (popular bullet mechanic) shop and were tweaking up our bikes. He asked us to come at 5:00 pm. So, we decided to get our bikes water washed at a place nearby. We came back to his shop after getting our bikes all clean and sparkling. We had to go Airport road to get engine oil, so Mohan and I went in my bike towards Airport road. My bike seat was torn and the sponge was wet and uncomfortable. I needed a new seat cover and there was a seat cover shop nearby. So, I got a new grey-black seat cover done, bought a 5 litre engine oil can and came back to the mechanic’s shop. Got our bikes ready and went to the travel agent and got our permits for Pangong, Nubra Valley, Wildlife and Red Cross. We had a snack at the German Bakery and Bhadri and I proceeded to Shanti Stupa, while Mohan and Venki (who was wearing shorts) went to the room, filled up fuel from the bottles of petrol, changed to pants and joined us at the stupa. Just on our way back, the foreigner girl met us on the road and said she has the woolen socks that we left in Serchu back in her room. We weren’t sure actually whose socks it was, but the deal was to collect it from her tomorrow at Pangong Tso. Then, we went to a nice restaurant – KC restaurant in Chang Spa where they were playing a movie on a big screen. I ordered a whisky and remembered I hadn’t taken photocopies of the permits. It was already late, so I asked the guys to order plain rice, curd and pickle for me and sped off to the market. It was 9:30 pm already and the person who operated the copier machine was not there. I took the copies myself and joined the guys back at KC’s. Had dinner and went back to the room and were planning for the itenary for the next three days in Leh and we settled the trip expenses what we owed each other.
28th June- Ride to Pangong Tso through Chang La..
Woke up at 5:45 am and packed only my tank bag and started off by 7:30 am.
Odo Reading- 96227
1210 km done
We filled petrol at the nearby bunk and sped off towards Karu where there is a diversion to go towards Pangong. We had a tea break there and rode on. From here there were lots of TCPs- Police and Army, where we had to submit a copy of the permits and proceed.
Met an army officer from Madurai at the next TCP. It was getting really cold already. At the next check post there was an army officer from Salem, Mr. Dhanapalan, who was apparently a friend of Mr. Madhesan at Serchu. He took us inside to their base and gave us pista nuts and tea. We rode through Chang La, the 3rd highest pass I believe. The ride was challenging with bad roads, high altitude and low temperature. We pushed hard through really tough terrain. The sun never came out that day, so the water streams wouldn’t be wild on our way back.
We reached Pangong lake after a long ride. It was such a beautiful serene place.
The lake is 165 km long, 45 km of which belongs to India and then to China. I rode towards a tea shop nearby where I thought Venki was already there and decided to ride a bit ahead. I kept on going and didn’t feel like heading back. No road, just rocks. The place was so beautiful and the terrain was changing with every few hundred metres. Rode almost till Spangmik post and stopped and took loads of snaps. Then I returned back to the tea shop where Mohan and Bhadri were waiting and learnt that Venki had also gone ahead riding in a different route towards Spangmik. 
Venki joined us after a while and had apparently caught up with the foreigner girl somewhere near the lake and had taken delivery of the socks. It was actually Mohan’s socks and we started teasing Venki on how Mohan’s socks brought him and that girl together. By then we started chatting with two American women at the tea shop who took our snaps and promised Bhadri that she will email the photo to him for Christmas! They gave us a box of cherries that they probably couldn’t finish and left. We finished the box of cherries promptly and left the place to an army run souvenir shop nearby (now I wonder why they were also selling lingerie there). We bought T-Shirts and other trinkets (nothing else) and started back.
There was a huge stream on our way where a Sumo and Qualis were stuck right in the middle. We rode into the water and came out alright and rode hard for a long time without stopping and reached the Salem officer’s post. I gave a lift to an army officer in between who was carrying some hens in a carton box. Had tea at the army post and rode through Chang La.. again.. the bikes were whining and crying.. whew.. and I reached the Madurai officer’s post. Venki soon joined followed by Mohan. He gave us Tropicana fruit juice, biscuits and coffee. Bhadri had shot off ahead, while the 3 of us took a nice break and then rode on. Then the roads were good and we joined Bhadri at the diversion near Karu and then we rode to Shey Palace on our way to Leh. We filled up fuel on our way back to the room and freshened up. I went to the market to take more photocopies of the permits and waited for Bhadri and Mohan to join. Venki decided to stay back in the room. We went to the same Tibetan restaurant and had dinner and took a parcel for Venki.
29th June- Ride to Nubra Valley through Khardung La – One of the most amazing rides of my life..
Odo Reading- 96548
1530 km done
We started off by 9:45 am to K-top which is only 40 km from Leh. The last 15 km from South Pullu to K-top and the next 10 km from K-top to North Pullu was really tough. We roughed it up and reached.
It was really cold there and we met 3 guys from Wanderers (Giriraj, Shastri and Sudhir) and 1 Indy Thumpers guy (Harsh). We could recollect meeting up at the Rider Mania’08 at Hyderabad especially when I said I was riding a Pulsar180 (he was the guy at the entrance that DJ, Dosai and I had approached to enquire where to park).
My toes
were numb due to the cold and we went to the canteen nearby and had noodles and tea. Shastri and Harsh had proceeded towards Nubra valley while the other two and Bhadri and Mohan decided to ride back to Leh. After some shopping at the army souvenir shop Venki and I rode off towards Nubra Valley. The chill forced me to wear my balaclavah for the first time. The ice had by now drained me of all the energy and was feeling really hungry and exhausted. We reached a lower altitude and entered the town of Khardung. 
Here, I personally feel that a ride to K-top does not qualify as having driven through Khardung La. The Khardung La ends at Khardung village. We took a short break and sped off towards Khaltse where there was another Tamil army officer who directed us to Diskit and said that there is nothing mush in Hundar. The valley was beautiful and we caught up with Shastri and Harsh and one more Gujarati guy just before Diskit. There were a few stray double-humped camels there and we took some snaps.
The time was already 3:00 pm and I suggested to Venki that we turn back otherwise it would be difficult to get back. The 2 of us turned and rode back to Leh which I feel was one of the most memorable rides ever. We were clipping from the start. The rocky roads from North Pullu, the spine chilling weather, the altitude was making the conditions really hard for me and the bike as well. We couldn’t stop for a break as it was getting really
cold and breathing was also getting tough. When I breathed through my mouth the visor became foggy and I had to lift it up to let the chill wind inside to defog it. We just rode through K-top which was by now almost deserted and rode down to South Pullu. I was really exhausted and wanted a break but decided to keep going owing to the wind chill and fast diminishing sunlight. My toes had already gone numb and I was trying constantly to revive them while I was riding. What kept me going was the sight of descending roads when I looked down at lower altitudes. Venki caught up with me in a while and we decided not to stop and ride to our guest house directly and have tea there itself. We reached our room at 6:00 pm sharp after what was a non stop 3 hr ride from Diskit to Leh, through Khardung La, 120 km.
We started out for dinner and to pay the money for rafting. Bhadri had opted out of rafting while the 3 of us had decided to go ahead for rafting the next day. The 4 of us and the two Wanderers guys went for dinner to the Himalayan Café. They were damn furious after they learnt from us that Shastri and Harsh were not coming back the same day and that they were planning to stay in Nubra Valley for the night. Their plans were going haywire apparently because of this. We had dinner and went to the room and crashed.
30th – The day I fell into Zangskar river..
Woke up at 7:00 am and the 3 of us left out by walk to the travel office near the German bakery where the pick up vehicle would come. We had a light breakfast and were waiting for the vehicle. The vehicle came and the 3 of us, 2 American college girls, the raft guide-Mukesh and the driver started off to a place called Chilling. Now, Chilling is about 65km from Leh, past Nimo, which is the meeting point of Indus and Zangskar rivers. We were to ride to Chilling, raft down to Nimo in Zangskar river for 30km in level 4 rapids, have lunch and ride back to Leh. The other option, that we didn’t take was to raft down from Spituk to Nimo in Indus river for 20km in level 3 rapids.
We picked up the raft at Nimo, loaded it on our Qualis and rode to Chilling alongside the Zangskar river. I took a lot of snaps of the river and the rapids that we were going to raft down in. We reached Chilling and unloaded the raft in the river and wore our suits and floats. Then the raft guide started explaining how to sit on the raft, how to row, what are the commands we have to follow and how four days back the raft had toppled at the Chilling rapids.
We are supposed to sit on the edge of the raft and secure one leg to one of the cross-bars and the other leg remains free. One of the American girls had rafted before, so she took the front left position and I volunteered to take the front right position. Well, it is only in this position that you are supposed to secure your leg in the cross-bar behind you. Venki and the other girl were behind me on the right and Mohan was at the left. A guy in a kayak also came along for safety and rescue just in case.
We set off paddling away, the 5 of us and Mukesh and were finding rhythm as we rafted on and got familiar with the rafting commands- all forward, all backward, fast paddle, right back, left back etc. We hit a few rough rapids and came out fine in the huge river deep between the huge rocky walls of the gorge. Then, we hit a huge rough rapid and the raft was getting thrown about. The command was ‘right back’ and I 
was paddling with all my might backwards with my weight behind me until a huge wave lashed the raft from the left side. The intense wave threw the girl on the left into the raft and threw me out of the raft into the rapids. I fell and I remember every second of what happened. I kept myself composed, didn’t panic, secured my paddle tightly in my right hand and saw the raft in front of me. I reached out to the rope with my left hand and grabbed it tightly. While I threw my paddle into the raft I glanced around the rapids for a split second and realized it was chaos around, we were in the middle of the rapids. Now, Venki was yanking at my life jacket (as instructed earlier, in case anyone fell off) and I was trying hard to get back in. With great difficulty I climbed back to safety and before I could gather myself, Mukesh was shouting ‘all forward’. Within a split second I was paddling away and we came out of the rapids. Whew! What a breather. I was thrilled at what happened and when I think about what happened I cant stop smiling with excitement. We rafted on for more than two hours and got off the river a few km before Nimo. We changed to dry clothes and loaded the raft back on top of the Qualis and rode to Nimo. We unloaded the raft there, had a nice simple lunch and rode back to Leh.
While Mohan went to the room and crashed, Venki and I browsed for a while and then went to the room. We were really tired and decided to have rest and decided to meet Bhadri and Mohan, who were starting out for shopping, at KC for dinner at 9 pm. We slept off and missed dinner and woke up past 11pm and were really hungry. We decided to try our luck and find food. We rode out in the cold and found KC was still open. Had a quick dinner and came back to the room past midnight.
1st July- Ride to Kargil through Fotu La, Lamayuru, Mulbekh..
Woke up at 8:30 am and vacated the room, saddled up and were ready to leave by 11:00 am to Kargil.
Odo Reading- 96780
1760 km done
We rode to Nimo and stopped for lunch and had soup, fried rice and momos. Bhadri and I shot off through the dusty roads and rode non-stop past Lamayuru and took a break. Now, the people in these parts have a strange culture- the kids just stretch out their hands to tag you with a sweet smile in their face. I started slowing down and was tagging as I rode through the villages. We had to beware of these teenage kids who would slap at your hands so hard that it hurts your palms. So, I stuck to tagging small kids and dodged the bigger kids after stretching out my hand a few times.
We took a break at a tea shop outside a petrol bunk 4 km before Kargil and were waiting for Bhadri and Mohan. When they didn’t show up for quite a while and I found out that there is a diversion which they might have taken to reach Kargil market. I drove up to the diversion and a cop confirmed that two bikes had indeed passed him in that direction. So, I rode back down and started off with Bhadri and proceeded to the point where the diversion reaches the main road again. We telephoned control room and the operator-Ajith picked up and said that Venki had called him too. (our mobiles weren’t working by the way, in case you couldn’t guess) Ajith told us that they were waiting near Hotel Grand. Enquired the guy at the booth and he said there is no ‘Grand’ it must be ‘Greenland’ and he guided us and we caught up with the guys. We checked a room nearby, it was not good, then another, it didn’t have parking, so we decided to ride back a bit to a hotel called D’Zojila (which a businessman had recommended when we were waiting at the tea shop). We checked into the hotel and had dinner there. We were all the time enquiring about the political situation in Srinagar, curfew, locals pelting stones on passing vehicles etc.
2nd July- Ride to Srinagar through Drass, Zoji La..
Woke up early, had breakfast, watched the news, enquired about the Srinagar situation to a family who had just returned from there. Made a lot of calls to the guys and the boathouse guy, Haneef in Srinagar. Apparently the curfew was over and the law was revoked.
Odo Reading- 97020
2000 km done
We filled fuel and started off and crossed Drass and then to Operation Vijaypat- the place where Kargil war took place. The army guy there explained about the war and showed us the memorial, the mountains, Tiger Peak etc and briefed us about the story of the war that happened. We drove through picturesque roads and spotted army bunkers on the mountains. Took some snaps and crossed Zojila and took
a break at a tea shop near an army camp. Rode together closely as a group with me sweeping and reached Srinagar and reached the place Haneef had asked to to come to and called him. He came there and took us to a parking lot nearby and took our luggage across the road and loaded it onto a chicara in the lake. We went to the boathouse and checked in there. The hospitality was too much to handle, it almost got to our nerves.
We started making
ride plans to Chennai and then freshened up and Haneef took us to the city by chicara and then by car. He took us to a Himalayan carpet place and the owner there was showing us lots of carpets of various sizes, how carpets are made, the weavers’ language and stuff. At first we didn’t have plans of buying but after seeing what we saw, we were tempted to buy. Three of us bought carpets and asked him to courier it back home. We reached the boathouse for dinner and were watching the news to find out about the situation in Jammu now, where riots and police firing were happening. There was a bandh in J&K the next day. We decided to ride on as there was no telling when the situation in Srinagar will erupt again. On top of that, there was a truckers’ strike too from the next day.
3rd July- Stormed out of J&K to Amritsar through Patni-Top..
The plan was to ride on through Udhampur and by-pass Jammu and gather info about the situation on the way. We checked out and took our luggage to the parking lot in the chicara and saddled up and were ready to leave by noon.
Odo Reading- 97250
2230 km done
We started off towards Udhampur and rode through Patni top together as a group. We kept asking the cops and army on the way about the situation ahead. All shops were closed, no food, no tea. Reached Udhampur and there was a shop open and lots of cops around. We had Thums-up there and rode on and after a long and strenuous ride reached Pathankot- 100km more to Amritsar. We stopped for dinner and then had a night ride in the pitch dark to Amritsar. The roads were straight and flat and I started clipping and rode constantly at 100kph+ and we reached Amritsar within two hours after a break in between (this is the place where the dog was barking endlessly). We checked into a really decent hotel with central air conditioning and flat screen TVs. While I hit the bed at 1:00 am the guys were discussing the ride plan further on. Venki and Bhadri were planning to ride down to Kanyakumari and extend the trip by two more days. Mohan was planning to send his bike back from Amritsar itself if possible or atleast from Delhi.
4th July- Am off on my own to Delhi..
Woke up late at 11:30 am and learnt about the ride plans and last night’s discussions. I did not have the time to ride to Kanyakumari with the guys. Venki suggested I ride with the 2 of them starting tomorrow, till Hyderabad expecting to reach there by 9th and then ride solo to Chennai on 10th while they rode to Bangalore. I thought if I have to ride solo from Hyderabad, I might ride off solo from Amritsar, so that I will be able to cover more distance alone everyday. Also, another reason was that, if I had to pack the bike from Delhi it had to be the next day-Saturday, otherwise I would have to wait Sunday and send it only on Monday.
I made a spot decision to start off immediately and saddled up and left by 2:30 pm. I went to an ATM and took lots of cash and was on the highway by 3:00 pm.
Odo Reading- 97730
2710 km done
As I was clipping on the 4 lane and 6 lane highway, I remembered I had forgotten my toothbrush back in the room. (I don’t forget my toothbrush even when if I am gonna stay over at a friend’s place). A bit later I realized I forgot my shin guards back at the room too. A bit later I also realized I didn’t need my rear view mirrors anymore. I blazed away through Ludhiana and reached Jalandhar where I tanked up. Then rode on through Ambala and Panipat when it started getting dark. I realized my headlight bulb was fused and caught up with a bullet guy on the highway and asked him where I can find a mechanic (the bullet guys always have this information!). He asked me to go to Shahabad a bit ahead where I changed my bulb and topped up engine oil.
I was feeling thirsty and I realized that I am not carrying water. Took a break, had water, washed my visor and again started riding full throttle. By now, my back, neck-shoulder area was really aching. Venki’s Volini spray that kept me going was no more available (well, now he doesn’t have my AXE spray too- fair & square, heh heh). Reached Delhi by 9:30 pm (450 km in 6.5 hours, not bad..).
I was trying to find some place to take a break, but there was nothing on the huge main roads in Delhi for a long time. Saw a lane to New Delhi Railway Station, took it and reached some busy place. It was then that I realized that the objective of the trip is complete- to ride through the toughest terrains and the deadly passes at extreme conditions and decided not to screw up my health anymore. I decided to pack my bike the next day and go home. I checked into a decent hotel, had dinner and slept off.
5th July- Back to Chennai..
Woke up and got hold of a yellow pages book and made some calls and found that there was a GATI office nearby. I checked out and packed my bike back to Chennai. Then took a taxi to the airport, took the first flight out to Chennai and reached Chennai. Kaushik and Anitha picked me up and went straight to his place and boozed and crashed.
Well, what an amazing trip it was- the rain ride, night ride, rocky passes, evening sun piercing your eyes, ice cold weather, dust, muck, slush, rafting, curfew and political scenario, boat-house, long burning cigarettes, the attention from locals, the surprise on people’s eyes on seeing TN registration bikes, nice army people- all packed into one pleasant trip..
3200 km in 14 days...
Woke up late at 10:30 am. We had breakfast at a German bakery and then to a travels office and applied for our permits and enquired about rafting. We met the Belgian reporter on the road and were speaking with him. He had a message from the foreign girl we met before Serchu- she has the ‘woolen socks’ that we forgot at the tent in Serchu!
We rode to Mohan Sharma’s (popular bullet mechanic) shop and were tweaking up our bikes. He asked us to come at 5:00 pm. So, we decided to get our bikes water washed at a place nearby. We came back to his shop after getting our bikes all clean and sparkling. We had to go Airport road to get engine oil, so Mohan and I went in my bike towards Airport road. My bike seat was torn and the sponge was wet and uncomfortable. I needed a new seat cover and there was a seat cover shop nearby. So, I got a new grey-black seat cover done, bought a 5 litre engine oil can and came back to the mechanic’s shop. Got our bikes ready and went to the travel agent and got our permits for Pangong, Nubra Valley, Wildlife and Red Cross. We had a snack at the German Bakery and Bhadri and I proceeded to Shanti Stupa, while Mohan and Venki (who was wearing shorts) went to the room, filled up fuel from the bottles of petrol, changed to pants and joined us at the stupa. Just on our way back, the foreigner girl met us on the road and said she has the woolen socks that we left in Serchu back in her room. We weren’t sure actually whose socks it was, but the deal was to collect it from her tomorrow at Pangong Tso. Then, we went to a nice restaurant – KC restaurant in Chang Spa where they were playing a movie on a big screen. I ordered a whisky and remembered I hadn’t taken photocopies of the permits. It was already late, so I asked the guys to order plain rice, curd and pickle for me and sped off to the market. It was 9:30 pm already and the person who operated the copier machine was not there. I took the copies myself and joined the guys back at KC’s. Had dinner and went back to the room and were planning for the itenary for the next three days in Leh and we settled the trip expenses what we owed each other.
28th June- Ride to Pangong Tso through Chang La..
Woke up at 5:45 am and packed only my tank bag and started off by 7:30 am.
Odo Reading- 96227
1210 km done
We filled petrol at the nearby bunk and sped off towards Karu where there is a diversion to go towards Pangong. We had a tea break there and rode on. From here there were lots of TCPs- Police and Army, where we had to submit a copy of the permits and proceed.
Met an army officer from Madurai at the next TCP. It was getting really cold already. At the next check post there was an army officer from Salem, Mr. Dhanapalan, who was apparently a friend of Mr. Madhesan at Serchu. He took us inside to their base and gave us pista nuts and tea. We rode through Chang La, the 3rd highest pass I believe. The ride was challenging with bad roads, high altitude and low temperature. We pushed hard through really tough terrain. The sun never came out that day, so the water streams wouldn’t be wild on our way back.
We reached Pangong lake after a long ride. It was such a beautiful serene place.
The lake is 165 km long, 45 km of which belongs to India and then to China. I rode towards a tea shop nearby where I thought Venki was already there and decided to ride a bit ahead. I kept on going and didn’t feel like heading back. No road, just rocks. The place was so beautiful and the terrain was changing with every few hundred metres. Rode almost till Spangmik post and stopped and took loads of snaps. Then I returned back to the tea shop where Mohan and Bhadri were waiting and learnt that Venki had also gone ahead riding in a different route towards Spangmik. 
Venki joined us after a while and had apparently caught up with the foreigner girl somewhere near the lake and had taken delivery of the socks. It was actually Mohan’s socks and we started teasing Venki on how Mohan’s socks brought him and that girl together. By then we started chatting with two American women at the tea shop who took our snaps and promised Bhadri that she will email the photo to him for Christmas! They gave us a box of cherries that they probably couldn’t finish and left. We finished the box of cherries promptly and left the place to an army run souvenir shop nearby (now I wonder why they were also selling lingerie there). We bought T-Shirts and other trinkets (nothing else) and started back.
There was a huge stream on our way where a Sumo and Qualis were stuck right in the middle. We rode into the water and came out alright and rode hard for a long time without stopping and reached the Salem officer’s post. I gave a lift to an army officer in between who was carrying some hens in a carton box. Had tea at the army post and rode through Chang La.. again.. the bikes were whining and crying.. whew.. and I reached the Madurai officer’s post. Venki soon joined followed by Mohan. He gave us Tropicana fruit juice, biscuits and coffee. Bhadri had shot off ahead, while the 3 of us took a nice break and then rode on. Then the roads were good and we joined Bhadri at the diversion near Karu and then we rode to Shey Palace on our way to Leh. We filled up fuel on our way back to the room and freshened up. I went to the market to take more photocopies of the permits and waited for Bhadri and Mohan to join. Venki decided to stay back in the room. We went to the same Tibetan restaurant and had dinner and took a parcel for Venki.
29th June- Ride to Nubra Valley through Khardung La – One of the most amazing rides of my life..
Odo Reading- 96548
1530 km done
We started off by 9:45 am to K-top which is only 40 km from Leh. The last 15 km from South Pullu to K-top and the next 10 km from K-top to North Pullu was really tough. We roughed it up and reached.
It was really cold there and we met 3 guys from Wanderers (Giriraj, Shastri and Sudhir) and 1 Indy Thumpers guy (Harsh). We could recollect meeting up at the Rider Mania’08 at Hyderabad especially when I said I was riding a Pulsar180 (he was the guy at the entrance that DJ, Dosai and I had approached to enquire where to park).
My toes
were numb due to the cold and we went to the canteen nearby and had noodles and tea. Shastri and Harsh had proceeded towards Nubra valley while the other two and Bhadri and Mohan decided to ride back to Leh. After some shopping at the army souvenir shop Venki and I rode off towards Nubra Valley. The chill forced me to wear my balaclavah for the first time. The ice had by now drained me of all the energy and was feeling really hungry and exhausted. We reached a lower altitude and entered the town of Khardung. 
Here, I personally feel that a ride to K-top does not qualify as having driven through Khardung La. The Khardung La ends at Khardung village. We took a short break and sped off towards Khaltse where there was another Tamil army officer who directed us to Diskit and said that there is nothing mush in Hundar. The valley was beautiful and we caught up with Shastri and Harsh and one more Gujarati guy just before Diskit. There were a few stray double-humped camels there and we took some snaps.
The time was already 3:00 pm and I suggested to Venki that we turn back otherwise it would be difficult to get back. The 2 of us turned and rode back to Leh which I feel was one of the most memorable rides ever. We were clipping from the start. The rocky roads from North Pullu, the spine chilling weather, the altitude was making the conditions really hard for me and the bike as well. We couldn’t stop for a break as it was getting really
cold and breathing was also getting tough. When I breathed through my mouth the visor became foggy and I had to lift it up to let the chill wind inside to defog it. We just rode through K-top which was by now almost deserted and rode down to South Pullu. I was really exhausted and wanted a break but decided to keep going owing to the wind chill and fast diminishing sunlight. My toes had already gone numb and I was trying constantly to revive them while I was riding. What kept me going was the sight of descending roads when I looked down at lower altitudes. Venki caught up with me in a while and we decided not to stop and ride to our guest house directly and have tea there itself. We reached our room at 6:00 pm sharp after what was a non stop 3 hr ride from Diskit to Leh, through Khardung La, 120 km.
We started out for dinner and to pay the money for rafting. Bhadri had opted out of rafting while the 3 of us had decided to go ahead for rafting the next day. The 4 of us and the two Wanderers guys went for dinner to the Himalayan Café. They were damn furious after they learnt from us that Shastri and Harsh were not coming back the same day and that they were planning to stay in Nubra Valley for the night. Their plans were going haywire apparently because of this. We had dinner and went to the room and crashed.
30th – The day I fell into Zangskar river..
Woke up at 7:00 am and the 3 of us left out by walk to the travel office near the German bakery where the pick up vehicle would come. We had a light breakfast and were waiting for the vehicle. The vehicle came and the 3 of us, 2 American college girls, the raft guide-Mukesh and the driver started off to a place called Chilling. Now, Chilling is about 65km from Leh, past Nimo, which is the meeting point of Indus and Zangskar rivers. We were to ride to Chilling, raft down to Nimo in Zangskar river for 30km in level 4 rapids, have lunch and ride back to Leh. The other option, that we didn’t take was to raft down from Spituk to Nimo in Indus river for 20km in level 3 rapids.
We picked up the raft at Nimo, loaded it on our Qualis and rode to Chilling alongside the Zangskar river. I took a lot of snaps of the river and the rapids that we were going to raft down in. We reached Chilling and unloaded the raft in the river and wore our suits and floats. Then the raft guide started explaining how to sit on the raft, how to row, what are the commands we have to follow and how four days back the raft had toppled at the Chilling rapids.
We are supposed to sit on the edge of the raft and secure one leg to one of the cross-bars and the other leg remains free. One of the American girls had rafted before, so she took the front left position and I volunteered to take the front right position. Well, it is only in this position that you are supposed to secure your leg in the cross-bar behind you. Venki and the other girl were behind me on the right and Mohan was at the left. A guy in a kayak also came along for safety and rescue just in case.
We set off paddling away, the 5 of us and Mukesh and were finding rhythm as we rafted on and got familiar with the rafting commands- all forward, all backward, fast paddle, right back, left back etc. We hit a few rough rapids and came out fine in the huge river deep between the huge rocky walls of the gorge. Then, we hit a huge rough rapid and the raft was getting thrown about. The command was ‘right back’ and I 
was paddling with all my might backwards with my weight behind me until a huge wave lashed the raft from the left side. The intense wave threw the girl on the left into the raft and threw me out of the raft into the rapids. I fell and I remember every second of what happened. I kept myself composed, didn’t panic, secured my paddle tightly in my right hand and saw the raft in front of me. I reached out to the rope with my left hand and grabbed it tightly. While I threw my paddle into the raft I glanced around the rapids for a split second and realized it was chaos around, we were in the middle of the rapids. Now, Venki was yanking at my life jacket (as instructed earlier, in case anyone fell off) and I was trying hard to get back in. With great difficulty I climbed back to safety and before I could gather myself, Mukesh was shouting ‘all forward’. Within a split second I was paddling away and we came out of the rapids. Whew! What a breather. I was thrilled at what happened and when I think about what happened I cant stop smiling with excitement. We rafted on for more than two hours and got off the river a few km before Nimo. We changed to dry clothes and loaded the raft back on top of the Qualis and rode to Nimo. We unloaded the raft there, had a nice simple lunch and rode back to Leh.
While Mohan went to the room and crashed, Venki and I browsed for a while and then went to the room. We were really tired and decided to have rest and decided to meet Bhadri and Mohan, who were starting out for shopping, at KC for dinner at 9 pm. We slept off and missed dinner and woke up past 11pm and were really hungry. We decided to try our luck and find food. We rode out in the cold and found KC was still open. Had a quick dinner and came back to the room past midnight.
1st July- Ride to Kargil through Fotu La, Lamayuru, Mulbekh..
Woke up at 8:30 am and vacated the room, saddled up and were ready to leave by 11:00 am to Kargil.
Odo Reading- 96780
1760 km done
We rode to Nimo and stopped for lunch and had soup, fried rice and momos. Bhadri and I shot off through the dusty roads and rode non-stop past Lamayuru and took a break. Now, the people in these parts have a strange culture- the kids just stretch out their hands to tag you with a sweet smile in their face. I started slowing down and was tagging as I rode through the villages. We had to beware of these teenage kids who would slap at your hands so hard that it hurts your palms. So, I stuck to tagging small kids and dodged the bigger kids after stretching out my hand a few times.
We took a break at a tea shop outside a petrol bunk 4 km before Kargil and were waiting for Bhadri and Mohan. When they didn’t show up for quite a while and I found out that there is a diversion which they might have taken to reach Kargil market. I drove up to the diversion and a cop confirmed that two bikes had indeed passed him in that direction. So, I rode back down and started off with Bhadri and proceeded to the point where the diversion reaches the main road again. We telephoned control room and the operator-Ajith picked up and said that Venki had called him too. (our mobiles weren’t working by the way, in case you couldn’t guess) Ajith told us that they were waiting near Hotel Grand. Enquired the guy at the booth and he said there is no ‘Grand’ it must be ‘Greenland’ and he guided us and we caught up with the guys. We checked a room nearby, it was not good, then another, it didn’t have parking, so we decided to ride back a bit to a hotel called D’Zojila (which a businessman had recommended when we were waiting at the tea shop). We checked into the hotel and had dinner there. We were all the time enquiring about the political situation in Srinagar, curfew, locals pelting stones on passing vehicles etc.
2nd July- Ride to Srinagar through Drass, Zoji La..
Woke up early, had breakfast, watched the news, enquired about the Srinagar situation to a family who had just returned from there. Made a lot of calls to the guys and the boathouse guy, Haneef in Srinagar. Apparently the curfew was over and the law was revoked.
Odo Reading- 97020
2000 km done
We filled fuel and started off and crossed Drass and then to Operation Vijaypat- the place where Kargil war took place. The army guy there explained about the war and showed us the memorial, the mountains, Tiger Peak etc and briefed us about the story of the war that happened. We drove through picturesque roads and spotted army bunkers on the mountains. Took some snaps and crossed Zojila and took
a break at a tea shop near an army camp. Rode together closely as a group with me sweeping and reached Srinagar and reached the place Haneef had asked to to come to and called him. He came there and took us to a parking lot nearby and took our luggage across the road and loaded it onto a chicara in the lake. We went to the boathouse and checked in there. The hospitality was too much to handle, it almost got to our nerves.
We started making
ride plans to Chennai and then freshened up and Haneef took us to the city by chicara and then by car. He took us to a Himalayan carpet place and the owner there was showing us lots of carpets of various sizes, how carpets are made, the weavers’ language and stuff. At first we didn’t have plans of buying but after seeing what we saw, we were tempted to buy. Three of us bought carpets and asked him to courier it back home. We reached the boathouse for dinner and were watching the news to find out about the situation in Jammu now, where riots and police firing were happening. There was a bandh in J&K the next day. We decided to ride on as there was no telling when the situation in Srinagar will erupt again. On top of that, there was a truckers’ strike too from the next day.
3rd July- Stormed out of J&K to Amritsar through Patni-Top..
The plan was to ride on through Udhampur and by-pass Jammu and gather info about the situation on the way. We checked out and took our luggage to the parking lot in the chicara and saddled up and were ready to leave by noon.
Odo Reading- 97250
2230 km done
We started off towards Udhampur and rode through Patni top together as a group. We kept asking the cops and army on the way about the situation ahead. All shops were closed, no food, no tea. Reached Udhampur and there was a shop open and lots of cops around. We had Thums-up there and rode on and after a long and strenuous ride reached Pathankot- 100km more to Amritsar. We stopped for dinner and then had a night ride in the pitch dark to Amritsar. The roads were straight and flat and I started clipping and rode constantly at 100kph+ and we reached Amritsar within two hours after a break in between (this is the place where the dog was barking endlessly). We checked into a really decent hotel with central air conditioning and flat screen TVs. While I hit the bed at 1:00 am the guys were discussing the ride plan further on. Venki and Bhadri were planning to ride down to Kanyakumari and extend the trip by two more days. Mohan was planning to send his bike back from Amritsar itself if possible or atleast from Delhi.
4th July- Am off on my own to Delhi..
Woke up late at 11:30 am and learnt about the ride plans and last night’s discussions. I did not have the time to ride to Kanyakumari with the guys. Venki suggested I ride with the 2 of them starting tomorrow, till Hyderabad expecting to reach there by 9th and then ride solo to Chennai on 10th while they rode to Bangalore. I thought if I have to ride solo from Hyderabad, I might ride off solo from Amritsar, so that I will be able to cover more distance alone everyday. Also, another reason was that, if I had to pack the bike from Delhi it had to be the next day-Saturday, otherwise I would have to wait Sunday and send it only on Monday.
I made a spot decision to start off immediately and saddled up and left by 2:30 pm. I went to an ATM and took lots of cash and was on the highway by 3:00 pm.
Odo Reading- 97730
2710 km done
As I was clipping on the 4 lane and 6 lane highway, I remembered I had forgotten my toothbrush back in the room. (I don’t forget my toothbrush even when if I am gonna stay over at a friend’s place). A bit later I realized I forgot my shin guards back at the room too. A bit later I also realized I didn’t need my rear view mirrors anymore. I blazed away through Ludhiana and reached Jalandhar where I tanked up. Then rode on through Ambala and Panipat when it started getting dark. I realized my headlight bulb was fused and caught up with a bullet guy on the highway and asked him where I can find a mechanic (the bullet guys always have this information!). He asked me to go to Shahabad a bit ahead where I changed my bulb and topped up engine oil.
I was feeling thirsty and I realized that I am not carrying water. Took a break, had water, washed my visor and again started riding full throttle. By now, my back, neck-shoulder area was really aching. Venki’s Volini spray that kept me going was no more available (well, now he doesn’t have my AXE spray too- fair & square, heh heh). Reached Delhi by 9:30 pm (450 km in 6.5 hours, not bad..).
I was trying to find some place to take a break, but there was nothing on the huge main roads in Delhi for a long time. Saw a lane to New Delhi Railway Station, took it and reached some busy place. It was then that I realized that the objective of the trip is complete- to ride through the toughest terrains and the deadly passes at extreme conditions and decided not to screw up my health anymore. I decided to pack my bike the next day and go home. I checked into a decent hotel, had dinner and slept off.
5th July- Back to Chennai..
Woke up and got hold of a yellow pages book and made some calls and found that there was a GATI office nearby. I checked out and packed my bike back to Chennai. Then took a taxi to the airport, took the first flight out to Chennai and reached Chennai. Kaushik and Anitha picked me up and went straight to his place and boozed and crashed.
Well, what an amazing trip it was- the rain ride, night ride, rocky passes, evening sun piercing your eyes, ice cold weather, dust, muck, slush, rafting, curfew and political scenario, boat-house, long burning cigarettes, the attention from locals, the surprise on people’s eyes on seeing TN registration bikes, nice army people- all packed into one pleasant trip..
3200 km in 14 days...
