Thursday, February 14, 2019
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Finally in Leh!
Hi all,
I've finally made it to Leh!
Rewinding a bit to my last blog posting ... after making that posting and saying that I was going to store my bike and just travel around northern India, I went back to the hotel and stared at my bike - it stared back at me (we've been spedning too much time together), and we jointly decided -what the heck, let's go to Manali and see how far we can cycle to Leh!
So, the next day, a 10 hour bus ride that puts the word "semi" into "semi-delux", I got up to Manali, and started cycling the next morning. Of course, the penalty for starting anew from Manali was an immediate pass - so started a 1400m climb up to Marrhi, a small town 600m below the pass. The next day, in a strong wind, headed up the pass and crested it at 3998m. From there, an easy downhill (mostly, on bad roads) to the village of Sissu.
From Sissu, it was a relatively easy cycle to Keylong, where I called Killaine (at about 3300m), and then from there climbed up to Jispa. By the time I got to Jispa, I was pretty whipped (having done a 3rd consective day of over 1000m of climbing per day). Nonetheless, I carried on the next day with American & Spanish cyclists towards "Zing Zing Bar" (named after the river feature, not after the nonexistant alchol serving place). Reaching Zing Zing Bar at 4000m, I was beyond tired. I turned back, and cycled back 10k down the road to Patseo at 3750m, and found a great campsite.
I took the next day off - reading and chatting with the (very few) locals. By the next day I was feeling great, and continued up the road, past Zing Zing Bar, and camped a short distance higher at 4301m. Had a great night (meaning - no altitude effects) and blasted up the road (in figurative terms, of course), covering 16km and 650m up to the Baralacha La pass at 4918m. Spectacular views, and a great ride down through spectacular scenery to Sarchu at 4408m.
But, by this time, it was Wednesday, and I knew it was time to high tail it to Leh. As soon as I pulled into Sarchu, a couple of jeeps pulled up - I asked if they had room for a cyclist - they did, and off we went on the spectacular, yet frequently terrifying, 8 hour jeep journey to Leh. We crossed the "second highest motorable road in the world" at 5399m in the dark - that was one of the many terrifying parts - but the specacular parts were finally seeing the Morei plains - part of the Tibetan Changtang plateau that extends down into this corner of India.
Finally reached Leh late last night - fortunately, one hotel tout was still around, and I got a cheap yet comfortable room in a guest house (although I upgraded this morning!). Spent this afternoon getting bike packing materials (carpet underlay and a potato sack in lieu of a bike box), and I'm about ready to head out for a big pizza!
Guy
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com
Monday, September 14, 2009
Now, Plan "E" ...
Howdy folks,
I'm back in Shimla! Not exactly where I wanted to end up, but it's been a fun filled week or so since I last posted something ... so, starting from where I left off last time ...
Had a couple of super excellent himalayan cycle days from Recong Peo through Pooh to Nako. Hotels in Pooh were full, so I was able to pitch my tent on the roof of the building next door. Next day's cycle to Nako was super - very little traffic at this point, hot & sunny day, endless low angled switchback through a world of rock, only interspersed with the occasional orchard clustered around the few streams.
Rolled into Nako at 3600m, feeling the altitude. Nako is a wonderful little town - completely Tibetan in every way - checked into a little homestay place run by a friendly Tibetan couple, and in a traditional mud & thatch roof. Nice little garden out front - incredible views. Felt really good about progress so far, and feeling optimistic to continue to Leh!
Next morning, Cliff (the Australian I've been tracking since Rampur) & I stood out in our shorts in the rain. It was cold. We went for a cup of tea to wait for the weather to clear. The rain picked up. By 11, we decided just to stay the day in Nako (easy decision to make - wonderful village - did I mention that?). The locals said the rain would end tomorrow.
The next day, the local folks said "the rain is ending ..."
On the third day of rain, the local folks said "we have never seen so much rain before".
Later that day ... the local folks reported "the road to Tabo is destroyed". And later ... "the road to Recong Peo is closed".
On the fourth day, Cliff & I cycled up past the village to the "Malling Slide". It's a well known rock slide path, that the Border Roads organization has been struggling to keep open for years. The road crosses and extremely steep & unstable gully ... or at least it used to. There was no more road. It was not just washed away, but completely removed for at least a kilometer across the mountainside. No way around it - up or down - the terrain really is that steep.
So started much speculation and planning & replanning. Clearly, there was no way I could go into the Spiti valley - that was at least clear. However, there could have been a possibility to toodle over to Manali (about 3 days travel), and just try to cycle from there.
But, on day 5, the road south to Recong Peo was still closed.
Time, unfortunately, has burned away and I slowly came to the realization that the cycle trip was pretty much over. Still, along with two Belgians and Cliff, we rented a 4wd taxi, and drove back down the valley for 10 hours to Rampur. The road from Pooh back to Recong Peo and beyond was heavily damaged by the rain, and there were numerous waits for sections of the road to be cleared. Much himalayan driving drama.
Finally, we got to Rampur, and found out that the Jalori Pass to Manali was closed - that was pretty much the only last chance we had to get up to Manali to even conceive of cycling ... and only if I/we didn't have any rest days or extra acclimatization days. Sigh!
So, this morning, I took the bus back up to Shimla, back to the hotel I stayed at previously, and arranged to store my bike at the hotel. I'm going to take a light pack, and do the travel by bus thing ... I'm headed up to Manali tomorrow, and I'll see if there is any possibility of taking a bus from Manali, over the Rothang La and down into the Spiti valley that way. I'm pessimistic considering the state of the roads ... but we'll see! If going into the Spiti valley isn't possible, then I'll explore the hill stations & towns of Himachal Pradesh, including Dharmsala - a place I've wanted to visit for some time.
It's been quite a week and a bit! But, being "stuck" in Nako wasn't really like being stuck - it was a great town, it had an 11th century Gompa to explore, a fascinating little village, and some great walks (in the rain) up to the Chortens and Mani walls surrounding the town. Got as high as 4200m on a hike with some local folks to visit the high pastures.
All-in-all, quite disappointed that the cycling hasn't worked out, but still looking forward to 1 1/2 weeks of traveling around India.
I'm back in Shimla! Not exactly where I wanted to end up, but it's been a fun filled week or so since I last posted something ... so, starting from where I left off last time ...
Had a couple of super excellent himalayan cycle days from Recong Peo through Pooh to Nako. Hotels in Pooh were full, so I was able to pitch my tent on the roof of the building next door. Next day's cycle to Nako was super - very little traffic at this point, hot & sunny day, endless low angled switchback through a world of rock, only interspersed with the occasional orchard clustered around the few streams.
Rolled into Nako at 3600m, feeling the altitude. Nako is a wonderful little town - completely Tibetan in every way - checked into a little homestay place run by a friendly Tibetan couple, and in a traditional mud & thatch roof. Nice little garden out front - incredible views. Felt really good about progress so far, and feeling optimistic to continue to Leh!
Next morning, Cliff (the Australian I've been tracking since Rampur) & I stood out in our shorts in the rain. It was cold. We went for a cup of tea to wait for the weather to clear. The rain picked up. By 11, we decided just to stay the day in Nako (easy decision to make - wonderful village - did I mention that?). The locals said the rain would end tomorrow.
The next day, the local folks said "the rain is ending ..."
On the third day of rain, the local folks said "we have never seen so much rain before".
Later that day ... the local folks reported "the road to Tabo is destroyed". And later ... "the road to Recong Peo is closed".
On the fourth day, Cliff & I cycled up past the village to the "Malling Slide". It's a well known rock slide path, that the Border Roads organization has been struggling to keep open for years. The road crosses and extremely steep & unstable gully ... or at least it used to. There was no more road. It was not just washed away, but completely removed for at least a kilometer across the mountainside. No way around it - up or down - the terrain really is that steep.
So started much speculation and planning & replanning. Clearly, there was no way I could go into the Spiti valley - that was at least clear. However, there could have been a possibility to toodle over to Manali (about 3 days travel), and just try to cycle from there.
But, on day 5, the road south to Recong Peo was still closed.
Time, unfortunately, has burned away and I slowly came to the realization that the cycle trip was pretty much over. Still, along with two Belgians and Cliff, we rented a 4wd taxi, and drove back down the valley for 10 hours to Rampur. The road from Pooh back to Recong Peo and beyond was heavily damaged by the rain, and there were numerous waits for sections of the road to be cleared. Much himalayan driving drama.
Finally, we got to Rampur, and found out that the Jalori Pass to Manali was closed - that was pretty much the only last chance we had to get up to Manali to even conceive of cycling ... and only if I/we didn't have any rest days or extra acclimatization days. Sigh!
So, this morning, I took the bus back up to Shimla, back to the hotel I stayed at previously, and arranged to store my bike at the hotel. I'm going to take a light pack, and do the travel by bus thing ... I'm headed up to Manali tomorrow, and I'll see if there is any possibility of taking a bus from Manali, over the Rothang La and down into the Spiti valley that way. I'm pessimistic considering the state of the roads ... but we'll see! If going into the Spiti valley isn't possible, then I'll explore the hill stations & towns of Himachal Pradesh, including Dharmsala - a place I've wanted to visit for some time.
It's been quite a week and a bit! But, being "stuck" in Nako wasn't really like being stuck - it was a great town, it had an 11th century Gompa to explore, a fascinating little village, and some great walks (in the rain) up to the Chortens and Mani walls surrounding the town. Got as high as 4200m on a hike with some local folks to visit the high pastures.
All-in-all, quite disappointed that the cycling hasn't worked out, but still looking forward to 1 1/2 weeks of traveling around India.
Instant message from any web browser! Try the new Yahoo! Canada Messenger for the Web BETA
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Thanks!
Hey folks,
Thanks for the comments!
Don - I must have missed the MacDonalds, but doesn't matter 'cause I'm doing the vegetarian thing over here anyway. :-) Oh, and the places I'm staying at are small hotel kinda places. My "standard" has come up somewhat over the last few years. :-)
Leonard, Dag, Lynn, Deanna, Al, Fabia, Mike K - thanks for the wishes!
See ya,
Guy
Thanks for the comments!
Don - I must have missed the MacDonalds, but doesn't matter 'cause I'm doing the vegetarian thing over here anyway. :-) Oh, and the places I'm staying at are small hotel kinda places. My "standard" has come up somewhat over the last few years. :-)
Leonard, Dag, Lynn, Deanna, Al, Fabia, Mike K - thanks for the wishes!
See ya,
Guy
Heaven, Hell, Himalaya
When I plan for a trip, I tend to do a meticulous amount of research about the route (just ask Killaine) - stuff like the terrain, the climbs, the state of the road - all that kind of stuff. I even chatted with a few folks via the Lonely Planet and India Mike websites. However, none of the information I had gathered even hinted at the possibility that I'd be cycling through about 30km of a hydroelectric mega-project ...
The day started off great - I got an early start from Sarahan, and enjoyed the fully in-control cycle back down into the valley back to Jeori. Past hotel hell, then back along the road, following again the Sutlej river upstream. The road continued to be spectacular - blasted into the side of sheer cliffs, hundreds of metres above the Sutlej. Fantastic views, great cycling.
I came upon a couple of tragic accidents in short order, however. The first was a head-on between a bus & a truck - I'd heard about this one the day before from some German folks (who past it on a different bus). Not pretty. Shortly afterwards, while cycling along another sheer section, a truckload of police drove up, stopped, and looked over the edge. I stopped and asked them what they were looking at - apparently a truck went off the road the night before (which explained the broken railing). I asked how many were killed - they didn't know yet. I have no idea how they'd get down to the river to recover the bodies - it was a long way down.
Continuing on, the road dropped right down to the river, and deteriorated as I entered some kind of construction zone. Little did I know that this was the start of a new Sutlej river hydroelectricity mega-project. In some senses, cycling through a third-world project of that nature was certainly eye-opening. People crushing rocks (by hand - with hammers) on the side of the road, armies of people digging roads - and many camps where the workers lived in very desperate conditions. Dams under construction, massive tunnels being built into the mountainside for diverting the river flow - fascinating stuff, from an engineering perspective. From a cycling perspective, however, it was 30km of unpaved, rocky & muddy road. At one point I said to myself, "at least it's not raining" ... it started to rain a short time later.
Anyway, exhausting work. Finally reached paved road eventually, and took shelter in a police checkpoint hut (folks are very friendly - did I mention that before?). Continued on to the turn-off to Recong Peo, and then just another 300m of climbing and I pulled in at about 4:30pm - after having started cycling at 6:30am. 92km and 1300m of climbing altogether.
Got the "best room" at the Rindang Hotel, overlooking the busy bazaar. Noisy, but spent a fascinating hour or more just watching the folks going about their business. Really cool just to watch - things slowly start to reveal themselves - the cows wandering the streets do get fed by the vegetable vendors as they sort out the less good produce. The porters ready at a moments notice to unload vehicles. All sorts of folks - tough to describe the whole thing.
After such an exhausting day yesterday, I took a rest day today. I also had to get an "inner line permit" (i.e. permission to cycle close to the border with Tibet) - it was easy to get, but a good excuse to take the day off. Went to the Aru car wash and mechanic to wash the layers of mud off my bike, but in true Indian fashion, a fellow washed my bike up for me - making it cleaner than when I left Canada! A bit of oil on the chain, and good to go.
BTW, also super impressed that my fancy tires & Killaine's wheels held up to the rigours of yesterday.
Onwards tomorrow to the village of "Pooh", then up to Nako at 3600m and then finally the descent into trans-himalayan valley of Spiti. Not sure when the next Internet access thingy will be.
Summary of the trip to date ... fascinating & challenging!
The day started off great - I got an early start from Sarahan, and enjoyed the fully in-control cycle back down into the valley back to Jeori. Past hotel hell, then back along the road, following again the Sutlej river upstream. The road continued to be spectacular - blasted into the side of sheer cliffs, hundreds of metres above the Sutlej. Fantastic views, great cycling.
I came upon a couple of tragic accidents in short order, however. The first was a head-on between a bus & a truck - I'd heard about this one the day before from some German folks (who past it on a different bus). Not pretty. Shortly afterwards, while cycling along another sheer section, a truckload of police drove up, stopped, and looked over the edge. I stopped and asked them what they were looking at - apparently a truck went off the road the night before (which explained the broken railing). I asked how many were killed - they didn't know yet. I have no idea how they'd get down to the river to recover the bodies - it was a long way down.
Continuing on, the road dropped right down to the river, and deteriorated as I entered some kind of construction zone. Little did I know that this was the start of a new Sutlej river hydroelectricity mega-project. In some senses, cycling through a third-world project of that nature was certainly eye-opening. People crushing rocks (by hand - with hammers) on the side of the road, armies of people digging roads - and many camps where the workers lived in very desperate conditions. Dams under construction, massive tunnels being built into the mountainside for diverting the river flow - fascinating stuff, from an engineering perspective. From a cycling perspective, however, it was 30km of unpaved, rocky & muddy road. At one point I said to myself, "at least it's not raining" ... it started to rain a short time later.
Anyway, exhausting work. Finally reached paved road eventually, and took shelter in a police checkpoint hut (folks are very friendly - did I mention that before?). Continued on to the turn-off to Recong Peo, and then just another 300m of climbing and I pulled in at about 4:30pm - after having started cycling at 6:30am. 92km and 1300m of climbing altogether.
Got the "best room" at the Rindang Hotel, overlooking the busy bazaar. Noisy, but spent a fascinating hour or more just watching the folks going about their business. Really cool just to watch - things slowly start to reveal themselves - the cows wandering the streets do get fed by the vegetable vendors as they sort out the less good produce. The porters ready at a moments notice to unload vehicles. All sorts of folks - tough to describe the whole thing.
After such an exhausting day yesterday, I took a rest day today. I also had to get an "inner line permit" (i.e. permission to cycle close to the border with Tibet) - it was easy to get, but a good excuse to take the day off. Went to the Aru car wash and mechanic to wash the layers of mud off my bike, but in true Indian fashion, a fellow washed my bike up for me - making it cleaner than when I left Canada! A bit of oil on the chain, and good to go.
BTW, also super impressed that my fancy tires & Killaine's wheels held up to the rigours of yesterday.
Onwards tomorrow to the village of "Pooh", then up to Nako at 3600m and then finally the descent into trans-himalayan valley of Spiti. Not sure when the next Internet access thingy will be.
Summary of the trip to date ... fascinating & challenging!
The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Escape from Jeori
Ok, I'd better make this quick 'cause the power is somewhat unreliable up here ...!
Yesterday morning, I left Narkanda nice and early - a nice sunny day, and what a way to start with a 2000m vertical downhill into the Sutlej river valley. The descent went nicely - stopping every 200 vertical meters to let my wheel rims cool, then putting on the sunscreen, then putting on the insect repellent as I descended down into the malarial zone. Finally, "hit" the valley bottom at 800m where it was very, very hot.
I had about 30km to do along the valley to Rampur. Slowly the heat sucked the energy right out of me, and my water bottles were drained quickly. I pulled into Rampur - a neat little town clinging to the valley edge above the river. I pushed my bike down into the bazaar - a maze of shops and services - looking for a hotel. Unfortunately, the one I was looking for was full, and the alternative didn't look too appealing, so back up to the road, and back the way I came a short distance to the nice Himachal Tourist Department's hotel.
Another cyclist (!) was also staying at the hotel, although we didn't meet up until this morning. He was lamenting the weight of his load - it turns out that he was carrying, among other things, a laptop and a big SLR camera (and I had a serious debate with myself as to whether I would take my ipod). But, his bigger issue was that he tore the sidewall of his tire on his second day out. He had a spare, but of a much lower quality. This was a bit of a concern for me, 'cause in the interest of saving weight, I decided not to bring a spare tire! Oh well, I guess I'll need to be careful ...
Today's plan was to cycle a short 22km to Jeori. A nice, short day, considering the heat from yesterday. However, I wasn't really looking forward to the hotel in Jeori, which was described in one of my books as "fetid". Now, there is an alternative to staying in Jeori, and that would be to cycle an additional 17km ... and 700m vertical, up to the village of Sarahan, where there is a popular hindu temple. Obviously, I wasn't keen to do that in the heat.
I pulled into Jeori, and found that the hotel was even worse than I could imagine! Now, I've stayed in some bad places in Pakistan & Tibet, but this place was bad - comically so. The fellow showed me the room - there was an empty whiskey bottle on the floor, along with the cigarette butts and other trash. Don't ask what the bed looked like. The view across the river valley was brilliant, at least. I tried to "make the most of it", but then slowly realized that the only thing separating me from a decent hotel was a short bus ride. So, I grabbed the next bus, and 45 absolutely terrifying minutes later, I was in Sarahan and in a much, much better hotel. (the bus ride up was scary - the road was narrow and with a huge precipitous drop down to the valley - I remembered again why I chose to cycle over here - it's safer!)
So, I'm in Sarahan now. It's pouring outside - a monsoonal day. If all goes according to plan tomorrow, I'll cycle back down to Jeori (all downhill!), then 74km to Recong Peo. It'll be a long day, but should be cooler as the road in the valley goes from about 1500m up to ~2200m in Recong Peo).
Final notes - the people are super friendly, virtually every car/truck/bus that goes by honks merrily and people wave. Scenery is spectacular. Big hydro projects under development. Clouds still obscuring the highest peaks. Stomach is holding together nicely. Kickstand on bike has broken, and I lost my cycling gloves in Rampur!
The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Narkanda
Well, I'm in Narkanda, after my first day of cycling in India! Where to begin ...the flight getting here went well - Jet Airways is actually quite nice. Picked up at the airport by a guy from my hotel, and the hotel in Delhi was "ok". Next morning, to the bus station for the 10 hour ride to Shimla. It was a comfy air conditioned bus (temp. when I landed in Delhi was +29, at 9:30 at night!). Fascinating bus ride through the Indian countryside, with the final few hours spent climbing up improbable roads on the side of steep, green hills up to Shimla. Shimla is a beautiful city, perched on both sides of a ridge at 2150m. Much, much cooler and pleasant than Delhi. Good hotel, finally unpacked the bike (it survived the journey unscathed). Next morning, waited for the rain to ease, then started cycling to Narkanda. Although the hills were initially steep, and it started raining again, both eased and it was a great bike ride along the roads. Green forests, steep drops and not too much traffic. Goats, cows & monkeys along the road. Caught up to and passed a Swiss tour group - made it here to Narkanda (2650m)in about 5 hours, finally giving me most of an afternoon to finally relax. "Should" be an easier ride tomorrow down to Rampur, but the 2000m drop will put me back into the heat, so not looking forward to that! |
The new Internet Explorer® 8 - Faster, safer, easier. Optimized for Yahoo! Get it Now for Free!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
On Mount Sir Richard, April 2007
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments