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Cold and Colder
Trucks, ice and snow
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9883-M.jpg A frozen lake http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9881-M.jpg But my favourite sight has to be this broken down lorry and the guys squatting beside it lighting fires http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9884-M.jpg Trying to warm up the diesel in the tanks to get it going again, it looked like it had been there a couple of days at least. I was beginning to get concerned about how never-ending my own journey was being. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9882-M.jpg On the plus side, it was sunny and I had blue skies. I'm easily pleased and can still smile http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_2698-M.jpg Baralacha La - I made it, didn't stop and kept going until I saw the welcoming sight of the chai (tea) shops, though strictly speaking, these are tea tents. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...1_092425-M.jpg A warm cup of tea helped me take my mind off my freezing feet, and some friendly words from other travellers helped me to leave the warmth of the tent and get back on the road http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9885-M.jpg It was a nasty road going down, my body temperature was plummeting as I desperately tried to keep my feet out of any more water and finding that balance between making good progress but not going too fast to feel cold, whilst still cursing at the tricky bits in the road. I finally made it to Sarchu - a high altitude valley http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9890-L.jpg No- as in ZERO facilities except tent sites, but, hey it was a place to stop after my loooooong ride, having left Manali in my role as International Guinea Pig this morning. |
Limited Accommodation Options
I'd arrived at Sarchu, the tent site, evening was fast approaching, the light was going
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9894-M.jpg My face is pale and looking a bit pinched, I'm cold and as I'm at 4200m (13,800 ft), I've got a thumping headache - and this is AFTER descending 30km from the mountain pass. I spot a suitable tent place and head off the road http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9893-M.jpg I rapidly negotiate for a tent - all the while the bloke was looking back up the road for the rest of my group or even a husband, unable to take at face value that I was alone. I got his last tent, and took the Enfield over to the blue tent in the corner http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9897-M.jpg Finally able to smile, but as I crawled inside, the nausea hit me big time, I barely had the energy to drag my panniers in and pull out my sleeping bag. I fumbled around, found my acupressure wrist bands (great for any kind of nausea but usually I use them for my chronic motion sickness). I emerged once, just briefly, holding out my metal water bottle (thanks to Dave at Anderwerks in Calgary for that bottle), it works amazingly well as a hot water bottle. The guy running the site filled it with hot water for me, and so I lay back in bliss, as the blocks of ice that were supposed to be my feet gradually thawed out - yep folks, don't forget the rivers I'd been crossing earlier. My feet were still soaked from them. Fighting altitude sickness, and with no appetite to eat anything, whilst also feeling completely drained I drifted off to sleep clutching a sick bag and my Kriega hydration pack. (please note, this was another case of don't tell my Mum how bad it actually was). |
Hunger Pangs at Pang
For those of you who are familiar with my travels and may be thinking - where's the rufty tufty Tiff who takes her own tent everywhere and camps rough - yes I did have my tent in my Giant Loop panniers. And I was prepared to put it up and had also spotted a few secluded spots to wild camp in, but I was extremely worried about how cold my feet were and with no source of heat at these altitudes I knew I was in danger of frostbite. My poor circulation means that high altitude travel is a bit risky and I'm prone to cold feet at the best of times.
In fact one of my favourite quotes from my ex-boyfriend who had been a policeman for some time is "Jesus Tiff, I've handled corpses that are warmer than your feet" And so, I found myself in the Indian version of Eurocamp for the night (google it if you're not sure what Eurocamp is) I survived the night, despite the incipient vomiting and massive headache, waking up feeling a lot better - especially once I'd seen the view from my tent http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9899-M.jpg I scrambled out of tent to get a look and take some photos, this was my tent site http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9902-M.jpg My Enfield is the one on the right next to my tent. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9898-M.jpg No time to linger though, I had a lot of miles to cover today as well - usually I would not be travelling this fast but as you will recall, I am on a recce and have limited time to check out the route and get back down to the plains. Oats, dried fruit and water for breakfast along with a mug of tea, then I set off again, with yet more blue skies. Though I wasn't to appreciate those blue skies until my return journey. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9903-M.jpg Another river crossing- where a car was having a lot of problems and was stuck http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9907-M.jpg what you can't see from this photo are the seven people crammed in the back of the car, all looking a bit concerned that they will have to get out and push http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif I wasn't keen to get soaking wet again and so I asked the bridge repair guys, who happily let me squeeze past them http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9908-M.jpg as you can see, the bridge was not in the best of conditions. I'd descended a lot from yesterday's snowfields and so the riding was a lot easier. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9906-M.jpg Next stop is Pang, where I enjoyed my first dish of momos http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9909-M.jpg This is the Momo Mama- she operates out of a parachute tent, she and her family live out the back while food service and cooking goes on in the front. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9913-M.jpg http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9911-M.jpg having sampled the Tibetan food, this is also where the locals are in their traditional Tibetan robes http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9910-M.jpg The altitude headache had gone, there was a bit more oxygen in the air to brethe and so I could smile once more. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9905-M.jpg |
Tyre Issues
Leaving Pang, I realised I had a flat tyre, luckily this guy was on hand
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9916-M.jpg He usually works on trucks but took on the Enfield with gusto (though not very competently as I was to discover later). I had prime viewing spot, sat next to the Sikh guy on the seat ripped out of a bus http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9915-M.jpg - in true Coates style, sitting on a comfy seat in warm sunshine after several days of riding I drifted off to sleep - much to the amusement of the mechanic, and the alarm of the Sikh next to me - I swear I was NOT dribbling on this shoulder http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif I paid the tyre guy 50 Rupees (about 50 pence) - that's the going rate, and continued, keen to make up the lost time. My surroundings had changed, arid is the word, nothing grows along here. I found a cyclist to take a picture of me riding past http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9918-M.jpg They're hardcore, the cyclists who take on the Himalayas. Indian understatement of the year - I'd asked a bloke about fuel- he said no petrol until Upshi, but he did mention a "Tilted Petrol Lorry" further down the road, well, tilted is NOT the word I would use for this http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9923-M.jpg Completely upside down where he had rolled down the mountainside. no chance of petrol from him, so I continued, at which point... http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9920-M.jpg Another flat, and this time literally in the middle of nowhere by the roadside, though luckily there was tarmac. I soon had some helpers http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9919-M.jpg Including a couple of guys from a bike club in Mumbai- I am now an honorary member of their bike club Tiffany of the Road Stallions (I don't think they reckoned on having female riders in their club), though as a former member of the National Union of Railwaymen, a mis-titled group is something I'm used to. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9927-M.jpg These are half yak, half cow calves being driven along the road. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9928-M.jpg |
Great story and photos, thanks for sharing your adventure
Wayne |
Hi Tiffany. I have followed your stories and travels and watched the HU dvd's and you are one brave lady. Thanks for all the wonderful experiences you share with us. If ever you find yourself in Windhoek Namibia it would be an honor to meet and host you.
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Thank you
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Chai Stops
The Road Stallions had stopped for chai (tea) again
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9932-M.jpg so I pulled up with them http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9924-M.jpg One of the nice things about riding in India is everyone is riding an Enfield. this car pulled up http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9933-M.jpg noticing the bike on the roof (and the seats), I went closer http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9934-M.jpg having a chuckle at the "Himalayan Off Road Rider" plate that's on it. It's definitely off-road if it's on the roof of a car. another chai stop with those Stallion guys- this is "Auntie" in the middle- she serves the chai and chats non-stop. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9936-M.jpg In India, when you meet a woman you don't know in this sort of setting (serving food etc), she gets called Auntie - a habit I quickly picked up. The guys headed off http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9937-M.jpg A final problem for me before I reached Leh (capital of Ladakh) http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9943-M.jpg yes, more grief from that rear tyre. I nursed the bike to this guy http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9948-M.jpg who did a good job, while I watched his other customers http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9944-M.jpg wandering at what point this guy will realise that it's Lefty Loosey he should be doing NOT Righty Tighty http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9945-M.jpg Phew, he got it http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9946-M.jpg My cold drink preparer was this young woman http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9949-M.jpg she has a complicated long name, with Sherpa in it somewhere - she's Nepali and was closely watched by her grandmother http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9950-M.jpg __________________ |
Well done Tiffany. Loved the information and the photos!!
Mal |
Leh
Ladakh is known as the Little Tibet of India, I'd already noticed the similarities in dress, language and houses and now here was a monastery that looked like a copy of the Potala in Lhasa
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9940-M.jpg I'd reached my destination - Leh, having ridden from Dehradun in four days. I found a good place to stay - Enfield owners can't be wrong I thought as I parked alongside the others http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9954-M.jpg The rest of the garden is for growing the veggies that are served in the guesthouse restaurant http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9953-M.jpg I explore town http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9952-M.jpg Get to know the local wildlife http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0021-M.jpg This poor dog looks like a cross between a dog and a sheep http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9951-M.jpg Have my chai prepared in a very 21st century manner - a bloke using a weird electronic hob whilst using a mobile phone. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0020-M.jpg Reassuringly he was still using the old fashioned method of measuring out the sugar into the pan using his hand. Nights are dark here, there is a lack of street lights, but the monasteries and stupas are lit up, looking amazing http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9956-M.jpg |
I haven't read such an informative and joyful trip report before. Make me feel traveling over there .Thanks. ..
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Appreciation
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Hi Teote many thanks for the comments and appreciation, it's nice to get good feedback and I'm pleased you're enjoying the stories - I do get a lot of joy out of travelling and it's good to know that is comes across on here. Cheers Tiffany |
Khardung La - Almost
A rest day and then I was ready to hit the road once more, the mountains were calling to me and so I headed up Khardung La, the highest road in this part of the Himalayas.
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9967-M.jpg An easy enough road to follow without the drama of river crossings etc, and little in the way of other traffic except the occasional dog http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9977-M.jpg http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9976-M.jpg But there was a dodgy moment when I found out at the checkpoint that I didn't have the correct permit. I smiled nicely and the checkpoint officer said if I left my passport with him as insurance then I could go IF...I took one of his soldiers who needed a lift up - no problem I said and so onto the Enfield's pillion jumped a sapper. We didn't get far before we had to wait for some roadworks to clear http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9961-M.jpg I was particularly taken with the bulldozer driver who resembled an IRA hitman from the 80's http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9962-M.jpg Soon after this the soldier jumped ship but his place was taken by a civilian hitch-hiker. I often give lifts to hitch-hikers on my travels and I have to say it is a lot easier in India where everyone seems to be around my height or less, unlike Scandinavia where one of my hitch-hikers was 6'8" (AND he was carrying 7 foot fishing rod). We were doing well, the Enfield's engine chugging away as we headed up the mountain road. I paused for a photo opportunity http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9963-M.jpg Hitch-hiker proudly posing with the bike and then I gave him my camera to take a picture at which point... http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9965-M.jpg Damn - another puncture. |
High Altitude Tyre Tales
At 4000m with a flat tyre, heading up to Khardung La Pass - I explained the situation to my unlucky hitch-hiker, turned the bike around and limped slowly and carefully back down the mountain, I was only 3 kms from the top.
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0003-M.jpg Although I had the tools etc that I needed to remove the rear wheel, which on an Enfield is pretty easy, I wasn't carrying tyre levers; so I stopped and asked the soldiers at a checkpoint for help. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9969-M.jpg They were delighted to pitch in once they realised what the issue was. Whilst I was served ginger tea, they clustered round and did the work - under my watchful gaze. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_9968-M.jpg I couldn't thank them enough and promised to say hello next time I was back here. I'd used my spare tube and as I was only carrying one with me- this was just supposed to be a quick day trip, I reluctantly decided that with my current track record with punctures I'd better abandon my attempt to reach Khardung La. I retrieved my passport from the checkpoint guy and promised that I'd be back soon, then enjoyed a fast ride on the good tarmac stretches down the mountain accompanying some Scottish guys on their Enfields - racing?? Moi http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/wave.gif I was very disappointed but consoled myself with the knowledge that I'd be back in a couple of weeks with my group and we would be heading over the pass then. Back in Leh, it was time to take serious action on the puncture situation, which is how I found myself in this unusual position http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0015-M.jpg riding pillion on my own bike through the streets of Leh as a local rode my bike to the best tyre guy in town. This guy - http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0019-M.jpg We also had to sort out a couple of other issues and ended up in this workshop http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0016-M.jpg Yes - this IS a professional's workspace, I particularly enjoyed the Hindu shrine in the corner http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0017-M.jpg and the meticulously arranged tools http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0018-M.jpghttp://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/lol8.gif |
Heading South
View from the handlebars
http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0028-M.jpg Ms Coates on the road with a serious look on her face as she has less than four days to get to Delhi from Leh http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif It was time to head south again to meet my group in Delhi, as I was re-tracing my route up, I was feeling pretty confident, especially as I was by now acclimatised a lot more to the altitude (4-5000m). But I should have known, things do not always go smoothly. To begin with: the yak with attitude in the road http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0029-M.jpg He stopped and gave me the evil eye a few times before moving off http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0030-M.jpg he had all his mates with him and I wondered if an Enfield could outrun a herd of stampeding yak. There seemed to be less snow than on the way up which was a good sign http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0033-M.jpg Yep, had I mentioned the stunning views and scenery around every corner?? http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0039-M.jpg Even the Buddhist monks were impressed by their surroundings http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0038-M.jpg At times I had company on the road, I was impressed by the balancing skills of this guy as he chugged along. http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0031-M.jpg Not the most crisp and sharp of photos, but to be fair I was also riding along on the gravel as I snapped this quick picture. A brief stop at Pang for momos with Mama Momo and the choughs - a symbol of Cornwall (my home nation) and incredible to see them in the Himalayas http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0036-M.jpg http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0047-M.jpg One of my favourite spots - I'd like to try and ride my bike through the arch http://tiffanystravels.smugmug.com/I...IMG_0048-M.jpg But that's just a narrow gravel footpath running up to it - and feeling a bit sensible and grown up, I decided to wait until I had someone with me to attempt it...just in case things went wrong http://d26ya5yqg8yyvs.cloudfront.net/icon10.gif |
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