Four Mountain Bound Loonies
Last week ,your humble narrator went up north to the glorious hill station - manali with buddies Dias, Joe and Sudu. The day we reached there, we dallied and rambled about the hadimba temple,clubhouse and other tourist hot spots. The next day we made an expedition to Rohtang pass which is high on top of the mountains. As our mode of transport we tactlessly decided to rent a couple of bullets inspired by some adventure seeking ,reckless western tourists .
We rode up and around some very steep and spectacular mountains. We also beheld sights of such pristine beauty, my friends ,that it took our breaths away. Such as the enormous spread of vegetation , valleys which appeared thousands of miles below , the River Beas originating on top of some nondescript ,snow capped mountains and some gorgeous glaciers.There was a setback however, which broke the spell of enchantment cast by nature upon us.We were stopped on our tracks by the border security personnel because none of us was wearing a helmet.After a great deal of pleading and cajoling they took mercy on us and let us go.
We eventually made it to the pass where we witnessed thousands of tourists, mostly Indians, having the time of their lives, doing all kinds of stuff like skiing,taking a ride on very swift motor sledges and also riding the not so swift ,pride of the Himalayas-the yak .As soon as your awe-struck narrator stepped on to the snow, some snow crept inside his rented boots and his feet went numb with cold. Later on, I did the stupid mistake of making a little snow ball to throw at the others, with my bare hands only to find my hands emulating my feet.Things started to get worse for your almost comatose narrator. I developed a headache and while the others were rollicking and frolicking in the snow, I was resting on a big enough rock trying to catch my breath. Joe complained of headaches too.
After half an hour,we decided to return . I sat behind Sudu and after staring the bike sudu realized that the acceleration cable had come off the handle. Dias and joe scampered in all directions to find a mechanic .They couldn't find any.Some onlookers advised to take the bike sixteen kilometers downhill ,in neutral, to a place called marhi where there was a slight probability of us finding a mechanic. It wasn't all downhill, there were the occasional ascents where the whole business of pushing the heavy duty royal enfield was excruciating.
While sudu gallantly handled the screwed up bike. Dias , I and Joe went triples, all this my dear readers, on a narrow highway four thousand meters above sea level. After some agonizing pushing and shoving we made it to marhi . There was no mechanic there. A gentleman recommended to tie the acceleration cable around the forefinger of the rider and pull at it, to start the bike. This very belligerent idea worked. The proactive Sudu did the honors.
From here on, I sat behind dias. After having ridden another fifteen kilometers we chose to take a break, you know,to rest our stressed up buttocks and take some photographs ,in some heavenly surroundings.After this short hiatus, the royal enfield being bridled by dias refused to start up. Sudu promised help and went on his way still pulling at the cable of his bike with his forefinger.We had to travel another twenty kilometers to reach manali.His bullet had mood swings later and both the bikes had to be maneuvered ,post dusk, with no street lights ,downhill, in neutral.
We made it alive to manali at around eight in the evening and I reckon both sudu and dias should get medals for their fortitude .
We rode up and around some very steep and spectacular mountains. We also beheld sights of such pristine beauty, my friends ,that it took our breaths away. Such as the enormous spread of vegetation , valleys which appeared thousands of miles below , the River Beas originating on top of some nondescript ,snow capped mountains and some gorgeous glaciers.There was a setback however, which broke the spell of enchantment cast by nature upon us.We were stopped on our tracks by the border security personnel because none of us was wearing a helmet.After a great deal of pleading and cajoling they took mercy on us and let us go.
We eventually made it to the pass where we witnessed thousands of tourists, mostly Indians, having the time of their lives, doing all kinds of stuff like skiing,taking a ride on very swift motor sledges and also riding the not so swift ,pride of the Himalayas-the yak .As soon as your awe-struck narrator stepped on to the snow, some snow crept inside his rented boots and his feet went numb with cold. Later on, I did the stupid mistake of making a little snow ball to throw at the others, with my bare hands only to find my hands emulating my feet.Things started to get worse for your almost comatose narrator. I developed a headache and while the others were rollicking and frolicking in the snow, I was resting on a big enough rock trying to catch my breath. Joe complained of headaches too.
After half an hour,we decided to return . I sat behind Sudu and after staring the bike sudu realized that the acceleration cable had come off the handle. Dias and joe scampered in all directions to find a mechanic .They couldn't find any.Some onlookers advised to take the bike sixteen kilometers downhill ,in neutral, to a place called marhi where there was a slight probability of us finding a mechanic. It wasn't all downhill, there were the occasional ascents where the whole business of pushing the heavy duty royal enfield was excruciating.
While sudu gallantly handled the screwed up bike. Dias , I and Joe went triples, all this my dear readers, on a narrow highway four thousand meters above sea level. After some agonizing pushing and shoving we made it to marhi . There was no mechanic there. A gentleman recommended to tie the acceleration cable around the forefinger of the rider and pull at it, to start the bike. This very belligerent idea worked. The proactive Sudu did the honors.
From here on, I sat behind dias. After having ridden another fifteen kilometers we chose to take a break, you know,to rest our stressed up buttocks and take some photographs ,in some heavenly surroundings.After this short hiatus, the royal enfield being bridled by dias refused to start up. Sudu promised help and went on his way still pulling at the cable of his bike with his forefinger.We had to travel another twenty kilometers to reach manali.His bullet had mood swings later and both the bikes had to be maneuvered ,post dusk, with no street lights ,downhill, in neutral.
We made it alive to manali at around eight in the evening and I reckon both sudu and dias should get medals for their fortitude .
posted by aj at
3:40 AM
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