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Published: August 17th 2007
Where is everyone?
When I reached Manali, it seemed that anyone on a motorbike and a sense of adventure had already left for the town of Leh in Ladakh, a jouney of about 700km, through some of the most amazing terrain you'll ever see.
An 365km stretch of the road to Leh has no petrol stations or bike workshops, a distance too far for the standard 12 litre tank of the Bullet. I didn't fancy doing that stretch on my own just in case something broke on the bike that couldn't be fixed with one person.
Dylan's Coffee Shop
I chilled out in Manali for a couple of days, making some good friends, Rajan and Riyaz, in Dylan's coffee shop (best coffee in India) and having dinner with some of the guys who work in jewellery shop. I asked round to see if there was anyone taking the trip to Leh in the next couple of days.
Dutch bikers to the rescue.
As luck would have it, a group of Dutch bikers were heading my way and it turned out that they were more than happy to have me tag along, kindly letting me make use of
their mechanic and support vehicle. Unfortunately, I don't speak Dutch, but my new Dutch friends made me feel very welcome and their English was excellent.
The journey was sometimes difficult, and we experienced extreme cold as we crossed mountain passes in the rain and snow. As we entered Ladakh, the weather improved and we had an unbroken stretch of clear blue skies until our return to Manali.
Crushed by a bulldozer.
Using Leh as a base we travelled out to other locations for over-night stays. During one of these trips, my bike was crushed by a bulldozer, clearing a landslide. The driver was reversing and although I'd made eye contact with him about 2 minutes before, he apparently forgot I was there. Not looking behind him, and unable to hear my shouts and blaring horn over the racket of the dozer's engine, the tracks of his vehicle moved inexorably closer. There was nowhere for me to move to as the gap between the side of the mountain and the bulldozer was getting smaller very quickly. I couldn't reverse as the incline was too steep and the Enfield too heavy. I jumped off the bike in the nick of
time and watched as it was crushed into a banana shape.
The frame was bent and the gearbox shattered. I was gutted, for a couple of minutes, but then started to laugh at the situation. Anyway, I'd had my money's worth out of the machine and down the hill, one my Dutch companions (the gorgeous Margjen) was waiting for me to ride her much faster and more comfortable 500cc Bullet with her on the back. Turned out nice again!
Round of applause
Some Belgian tourists in a car had caught up with the rest of the Dutch group and told them that a biker had had an accident with a bulldozer and the bike was smashed. The group were expecting the worst, bless them, and so when they saw me and Margjen both obviously in one piece, they started cheering and clapping. What a great bunch!
A picture says a thousand words.
Needless to say, this trip was another highlight of my time away. I'll let the pictures do the talking as this part of the world is mind-blowing; it's like being on another planet, and reading about how great it was to throw the bike into
exhilerating corner after exhilerating corner could become a bit boring and I'd soon run out of superlatives. I'll definitely be going back to Ladakh for some more exploration at some point and I'd heartily recommend anyone else to do the same. The tour guide, Hans, runs a company called
TourATrek. He's a great bloke, a true adventurer and if you're interested in visiting Ladakh on a motorbike then get in touch with him. He's Dutch, but speaks perfect English.
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