Tantalizing India. 3 Dudes, 16000 kms, 18 Days

SAHIR.KITTUR · 22nd June 2010, 11:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by aargee

Great way to see India I guess. Thanks Sahir for sharing & updating us the information. Oh!!! By the way, how is the Endeavour doing? Any service planned in any of the cities?

Thanks Buddy.
They are presently on a houseboat at Dal lake. they will resume @ 1300 hrs. will surely let you know about the plans for service.
Cheers.

sameer sultan · 22nd June 2010, 11:35

I am folowing the Tantalizing India Dudes and presently they are relaxing in a houseboat in Srinagar. They plan to proceed to Leh in a couple of hours.

I know Sameer through Facebook. He has done drives to Leh and Arunachal Pradesh from Bangalore his home city. He drives a Ford Endeavour. Surprising he is not on Team BHP.

I think they got their Endeavour fixed at Amritsar yesterday. Dont know what kind of service or what they got fixed. They have not put up any details on this.

Mostly they are blogging on thier website and Fb about the exhotic food they are having and meeting strange people.

They can be tracked live on tantalizingindia.com

Fordmanchau · 22nd June 2010, 11:48

Just checked into this thread and I am amazed.
Read through all the posts, and it seems like they are having real fun.
They are actually having a whale of a time and seeing India in it's different colorful shades. Record or no record, but hats off to them for doing this. Wish them all the luck and loads of fun time.
@neel, thanks for starting the thread.
@sahir, thanks for the regualar updates on this thread. Appreciate it.

SAHIR.KITTUR · 22nd June 2010, 12:16

The Endeavor is doing fantastic. We havent really planned a service as yet. however, we had an issue with the fan belt, which was sqeaking. Hod got it tightened at a ford dealership in amritsar. needless to say we got priority service.

I thank everybody for the wishes.
Aadil.

JVH · 22nd June 2010, 12:31

Great stuff and thanks for the pictures Sahir!

BTW, which part of Belgaum is Adil from? The face looks familiar.

SAHIR.KITTUR · 22nd June 2010, 12:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by JVH

Great stuff and thanks for the pictures Sahir!

BTW, which part of Belgaum is Adil from? The face looks familiar.

He is from camp. check out www.bandukwala.org to know more about him.

neel385 · 24th June 2010, 22:20

Isin't it amazing how much of the hidden treasures of the country one comes across when one drives!! The three dudes are a case in point. The three Babas would not have been in any Travel Guide/Book!! Way to go guys!!

SAHIR.KITTUR · 26th June 2010, 11:22

Done with Punjab. Rajasthan Dusted. Madhya Pradesh stamped. Our next destination – Magical Srinagar. We landed up at Srinagar this morning.
However, prior to that we were fortunate enough to witness the Sunrise about 80 kms from Srinagar.
We absolutely loved the sunrise here. Never before have we seen nature smiling at us in such a fashion.
After witnessing one of our best sunrises ever, we headed to Dal lake to camp for four hours in a beautiful houseboat before embarking onto Kargil.
Keep watching this space for our update on the houseboat and Dal Lake.

SAHIR.KITTUR · 26th June 2010, 11:46

Reached Srinagar and thought we’d been on the run continuously for over 6 days, it was about time we caught up with some rest. We knew we had gained a lot of ground but it was important to maintain momentum. Kargil, Leh and Manali were up next and we knew the terrain wasn’t going to be very kind to us.
We parked our car close to Dal Lake and started negotiating with ferrymen and houseboat-wallas. A lot of them wanted to purely milk us – if you know what I mean.
All this while, an interesting character with a few grey hair was watching us closely but said nothing. We moved towards him and started talking. His name was Rahim Chacha and we quickly briefed him on what we needed – a houseboat to ourselves for four hours, some lovely kashmiri lunch a ferry ride to the houseboat.
He said he knew just the place for us and before we knew it, we were in his shikara ferrying to our houseboat. At the houseboat, we were welcomed by Mohammed Sahab who introduced himself as the owner of the houseboat. We exchanged pleasantries, had a few hearty laughs and talked about the situation in Srinagar.
We were welcomed onto the houseboat with a steaming cup of Kawa. Kawa - traditional green tea with spices and almond, is consumed all through the day in the chilled winter climate of Kashmir.
Sameer disappeared to catch up on some sleep, Ratheesh whisked Rahim Chacha away with his ferry to get a haircut and I got interacting with our fans on facebook, taking and editing pictures and writing about our experience.
The houseboat was a treat in itself – two bedrooms with attached bathrooms that flaunted bath tubs, a living room, a dining room and a balcony kinda sit-out.
At about 12:00 hrs, we were served Wazwan. Wazwan is a multi-course meal in the Kashmiri tradition. It was one of our core objectives to have Wazwan when we hit Srinagar. Shafi – our butler meticulously served us the following:

Kabab (Minced meat roasted on skewers over hot coals)
Tabak Maaz (Ribs of lamb simmered in yogurt till tender, then fried)
Rista (Meatballs in a fiery red gravy)
Lahabi Kabab (Flattened mutton kababs cooked in yogurt)
Doudha Ras (Mutton cooked in sweet milk gravy)
Rogan Josh (Tender lamb cooked with Kashmiri spices)
Gushtaba (A velvety textured meatball in white yogurt gravy,a specialty)

What touched us about Srinagar was it’s hospitality. Both Raheem Bhai and Mohammed Sahab were extremely humble, good hearted with a smile on their face. Shafi – explained each and every dish of Wazwan to us while he served us and made sure we thoroughly enjoyed our meal.
Needless to say, the beauty of Srinagar left us asking for more. But then we also had a record to break. Enjoy the pictures.

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Raheem Chacha , Our ferry man at the lake

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Mohammed Sahab, The owner of houseboat

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Interiors of the houseboat

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Wazwaan - 7 course meal

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MihirC · 26th June 2010, 12:10

Im sorry regarding my ignorance but have you guys passed mumbai yet, is it in the plan??

SAHIR.KITTUR · 26th June 2010, 12:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by MihirC

Im sorry regarding my ignorance but have you guys passed mumbai yet, is it in the plan??

Mihir, They have passed Mumbai. There is a post here Amchi Mumbai to Apnu Amdavad. Please go through it.
Cheers.

SAHIR.KITTUR · 26th June 2010, 12:44

Never before have we had such a ‘tantalizing’ experience like the one we had in Leh, Ladakh. Mountains covered with snow, freezing temperature, alert and vigilant military, tenacious bikers, excited foreigners, the calmness of the Himalayan range – you name it.
Lets get to details like what kind of altitudes we reached, and whether we had air / altitude / motion sickness, whether we found it difficult to breathe.

We reached 17500 feat at Taglangla in terms of altitude [Pictures coming up in our next post]
We got stuck in a traffic jam in the night where in we were stuck for more than six hours in our car in temperatures below -10 degrees.
All three of us suffered from serious altitude and air sickness. We were barely able to breathe and were freezing in the cold. Our heads ached, our stomachs cramped – how we wished we could get our feet into hot water and grab a cup of steaming Kawa. But that wasn’t to be.

All said and done, inspite of the hardships we faced, the result was sweet. We went through it and it was an experience that’ll stay with us all our lives. We’re glad we’re doing Tantalizing India!

neel385 · 27th June 2010, 01:28

Wow!! The Wazwaan looked Waaaaawww!! Way to go!!

KRRaj · 27th June 2010, 11:12

Wow!! Beautiful snaps of the snow clad mountains. Looks like a bike and Qualis got into trouble.

tanwaramit · 27th June 2010, 11:43

any details on the qualis ? what happened ?

22nd June 2010, 11:35	#32
sameer sultan BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Chennai Posts: 435 Thanked: 791 Times	I am folowing the Tantalizing India Dudes and presently they are relaxing in a houseboat in Srinagar. They plan to proceed to Leh in a couple of hours. I know Sameer through Facebook. He has done drives to Leh and Arunachal Pradesh from Bangalore his home city. He drives a Ford Endeavour. Surprising he is not on Team BHP. I think they got their Endeavour fixed at Amritsar yesterday. Dont know what kind of service or what they got fixed. They have not put up any details on this. Mostly they are blogging on thier website and Fb about the exhotic food they are having and meeting strange people. They can be tracked live on tantalizingindia.com
	() Thanks

22nd June 2010, 11:48	#33
Fordmanchau Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,666 Thanked: 340 Times	Just checked into this thread and I am amazed. Read through all the posts, and it seems like they are having real fun. They are actually having a whale of a time and seeing India in it's different colorful shades. Record or no record, but hats off to them for doing this. Wish them all the luck and loads of fun time. @neel, thanks for starting the thread. @sahir, thanks for the regualar updates on this thread. Appreciate it.
	() Thanks

22nd June 2010, 12:16	#34
SAHIR.KITTUR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Belgaum / Doha Posts: 300 Thanked: 117 Times View My Garage	The Endeavor is doing fantastic. We havent really planned a service as yet. however, we had an issue with the fan belt, which was sqeaking. Hod got it tightened at a ford dealership in amritsar. needless to say we got priority service. I thank everybody for the wishes. Aadil. Last edited by SAHIR.KITTUR : 22nd June 2010 at 12:19. Reason: fonts
	() Thanks

22nd June 2010, 12:31	#35
JVH Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,051 Thanked: 209 Times	Great stuff and thanks for the pictures Sahir! BTW, which part of Belgaum is Adil from? The face looks familiar.
	() Thanks

24th June 2010, 22:20	#37
neel385 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Kharagpur Posts: 530 Thanked: 430 Times View My Garage	Isin't it amazing how much of the hidden treasures of the country one comes across when one drives!! The three dudes are a case in point. The three Babas would not have been in any Travel Guide/Book!! Way to go guys!!
	() Thanks

26th June 2010, 11:22	#38
SAHIR.KITTUR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Belgaum / Doha Posts: 300 Thanked: 117 Times View My Garage	Good Morning Srinagar Done with Punjab. Rajasthan Dusted. Madhya Pradesh stamped. Our next destination – Magical Srinagar. We landed up at Srinagar this morning. However, prior to that we were fortunate enough to witness the Sunrise about 80 kms from Srinagar. We absolutely loved the sunrise here. Never before have we seen nature smiling at us in such a fashion. After witnessing one of our best sunrises ever, we headed to Dal lake to camp for four hours in a beautiful houseboat before embarking onto Kargil. Keep watching this space for our update on the houseboat and Dal Lake. Attached Thumbnails
	(1) Thanks

26th June 2010, 11:46	#39
SAHIR.KITTUR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Belgaum / Doha Posts: 300 Thanked: 117 Times View My Garage	Dal lake in Srinagar Reached Srinagar and thought we’d been on the run continuously for over 6 days, it was about time we caught up with some rest. We knew we had gained a lot of ground but it was important to maintain momentum. Kargil, Leh and Manali were up next and we knew the terrain wasn’t going to be very kind to us. We parked our car close to Dal Lake and started negotiating with ferrymen and houseboat-wallas. A lot of them wanted to purely milk us – if you know what I mean. All this while, an interesting character with a few grey hair was watching us closely but said nothing. We moved towards him and started talking. His name was Rahim Chacha and we quickly briefed him on what we needed – a houseboat to ourselves for four hours, some lovely kashmiri lunch a ferry ride to the houseboat. He said he knew just the place for us and before we knew it, we were in his shikara ferrying to our houseboat. At the houseboat, we were welcomed by Mohammed Sahab who introduced himself as the owner of the houseboat. We exchanged pleasantries, had a few hearty laughs and talked about the situation in Srinagar. We were welcomed onto the houseboat with a steaming cup of Kawa. Kawa - traditional green tea with spices and almond, is consumed all through the day in the chilled winter climate of Kashmir. Sameer disappeared to catch up on some sleep, Ratheesh whisked Rahim Chacha away with his ferry to get a haircut and I got interacting with our fans on facebook, taking and editing pictures and writing about our experience. The houseboat was a treat in itself – two bedrooms with attached bathrooms that flaunted bath tubs, a living room, a dining room and a balcony kinda sit-out. At about 12:00 hrs, we were served Wazwan. Wazwan is a multi-course meal in the Kashmiri tradition. It was one of our core objectives to have Wazwan when we hit Srinagar. Shafi – our butler meticulously served us the following: Kabab (Minced meat roasted on skewers over hot coals) Tabak Maaz (Ribs of lamb simmered in yogurt till tender, then fried) Rista (Meatballs in a fiery red gravy) Lahabi Kabab (Flattened mutton kababs cooked in yogurt) Doudha Ras (Mutton cooked in sweet milk gravy) Rogan Josh (Tender lamb cooked with Kashmiri spices) Gushtaba (A velvety textured meatball in white yogurt gravy,a specialty) What touched us about Srinagar was it’s hospitality. Both Raheem Bhai and Mohammed Sahab were extremely humble, good hearted with a smile on their face. Shafi – explained each and every dish of Wazwan to us while he served us and made sure we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Needless to say, the beauty of Srinagar left us asking for more. But then we also had a record to break. Enjoy the pictures. Raheem Chacha , Our ferry man at the lake Mohammed Sahab, The owner of houseboat Interiors of the houseboat Wazwaan - 7 course meal
	(1) Thanks

26th June 2010, 12:10	#40
MihirC BHPian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 534 Thanked: 71 Times	Im sorry regarding my ignorance but have you guys passed mumbai yet, is it in the plan??
	() Thanks

26th June 2010, 12:44	#42
SAHIR.KITTUR BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Belgaum / Doha Posts: 300 Thanked: 117 Times View My Garage	Snow Time in Leh Never before have we had such a ‘tantalizing’ experience like the one we had in Leh, Ladakh. Mountains covered with snow, freezing temperature, alert and vigilant military, tenacious bikers, excited foreigners, the calmness of the Himalayan range – you name it. Lets get to details like what kind of altitudes we reached, and whether we had air / altitude / motion sickness, whether we found it difficult to breathe. We reached 17500 feat at Taglangla in terms of altitude [Pictures coming up in our next post] We got stuck in a traffic jam in the night where in we were stuck for more than six hours in our car in temperatures below -10 degrees. All three of us suffered from serious altitude and air sickness. We were barely able to breathe and were freezing in the cold. Our heads ached, our stomachs cramped – how we wished we could get our feet into hot water and grab a cup of steaming Kawa. But that wasn’t to be. All said and done, inspite of the hardships we faced, the result was sweet. We went through it and it was an experience that’ll stay with us all our lives. We’re glad we’re doing Tantalizing India! Attached Thumbnails Attached Images
	(1) Thanks

27th June 2010, 01:28	#43
neel385 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Kharagpur Posts: 530 Thanked: 430 Times View My Garage	Wow!! The Wazwaan looked Waaaaawww!! Way to go!!
	() Thanks

27th June 2010, 11:12	#44
KRRaj BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 514 Thanked: 35 Times View My Garage	Wow!! Beautiful snaps of the snow clad mountains. Looks like a bike and Qualis got into trouble.
	() Thanks

27th June 2010, 11:43	#45
tanwaramit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Dilwalon ki Dilli Posts: 1,937 Thanked: 501 Times	any details on the qualis ? what happened ?
	() Thanks