On the Road Pt. 2

In this second part of our unforgettable Indian road trip, we travel the Leh-Srinagar highway 

“Let the sun beat down upon my face . . . when moving through Kashmir”

—Led Zeppelin

 

In the first part of our two-part series, we introduced the Leh-Manali highway, a grueling road in northern India open for only three months due to inhospitable winter conditions, and a symbolic rite of passage for many motorcycle riders. In this second part, we continue highlighting our experience riding a 350cc Royal Enfield on this highway as well as the Leh-Srinagar highway that originates from the famous Kashmir valley.

THE BRO: The Border Roads Organisation is the main caretaker/builder of the much-abused roadway networks that serve India’s border regions. Its work is invaluable and makes travelling this region even possible for those few summer months. They dig out landslide debris, blast boulders, lay new tarmac seemingly every day and sweep the roads . . . by hand. Most amusing to us, they also install concrete markers bearing safety slogans that were clearly penned by the local rhyme meister: “After Whisky/Driving Risky” and “Peep Peep/Don’t Sleep.”

BROTHA, CAN YOU SPARE A LITER? It is a sound no rider wants to hear: an engine no longer combusting due to lack of fuel. It’s a situation made more aggravating when you realize there isn’t a gas station or a person hawking gasoline-filled bottles within hundreds of miles. We personally avoided this by carrying 10 extra liters of fuel. But for the unfortunate who did NOT know there is a 215-mile stretch on the Leh-Manali highway with absolutely no gasoline, a ride to Leh on the back of a truck is an expensive lesson.

TENTING (NOT THAT KIND): Besides the lack of gasoline, there are no permanent settlements for a majority of the highway, just temporary tent encampments. And by “tent” we don’t mean “camping in the woods” tent, but “I used to be a parachute in the sky, but now I’m a tent” tent. In these tent towns, you’ll find food, drink, bedding and maybe a lost Indian who wants to pay you royal sums in order to drive him 20 miles in the dark to find his equally lost companion, backtracking on a road you barely survived in the daylight. Odd encounters like this are a bit of the norm on this road trip.

LITTLE TIBET: So, you’ve conquered the gasoline and tent challenge, and you finally reach the city of Leh. Ah, Leh: where the Indus river, whose source is the revered Mount Kailash in Tibet, flows right into German bakeries and backpackers. If you’re financially or ethically put off from visiting Chinese-controlled Tibet, you can get a cheaper and less restricted taste of Tibetan life in this busy town, which is less than 40 miles from the Chinese border. There are thousands of Tibetan refugees in Leh, and they, plus the local Ladakhis, put a distinctive Tibetan Buddhist spin on life. This is a good thing, because you’ll need to practice some loving compassion when the mechanic won’t start your much-needed repairs because he’s too busy playing cards.

PERMIT ME: Special permits are required to visit more remote, military controlled areas around Leh, and, darn it, we do love us some remote, military-controlled areas. We highly recommend Nubra Valley (which requires crossing the 18,380-foot Khardung La, once the world’s highest motorable pass, and gets you within a stone’s throw of Pakistan) and Pangong Lake (which sits on the de facto border between India and China, causing the occasional testosterone face-off between patrol vessels).

I’M ON A BOAT! If you don’t want to return the way you came, the only way out of Leh is via the highway to Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir. Srinagar’s famous Dal and Nagin lakes are home to thousands of British-era wood houseboats, perfect for end-of-travel recuperation: as you watch shikaras (small decorated boats) glide by the intricately carved deck of your houseboat, your spine and muscles will finally unwind.

GREEN: It also helps facilitate true relaxation when you have easy access to fine cannabis products. Just like in many other parts of India, marijuana is abundant, readily available and definitely illegal. You’ll find it in pure hashish form or mixed with tobacco in “magic cigarettes”; just ask your friendly shikara driver, houseboat owner, craft vendor, etc. As for edibles, marijuana honey is available from a cheery local woman who also sells opium honey.

leh.nic.in, www.jktourism.org