A 4000 km ride with our Versys 650 from Bangalore to Spiti; Experience

Travelling to Spiti for the first time from Bangalore on Hulk and making countless memories, we experienced a journey filled with highs and lows.

BHPian nandita_bayan21 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Prologue

“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets…”

It was mid of May 2019, and I had quit my job at Infosys. A well-paid secured job right in the IT capital of India, Bangalore, and what would have urged me to take this decision? The ideal answer would be that I must have got a better opportunity in some other company. But that was not the case. Atul and I had completely different plans in mind, and it was time to act upon them. My brother, along with his family, moved from Bangalore to Delhi owing to a job promotion-cum-transfer around three years ago. As soon as he left, it was only Atul, and I left out in the city, though we had ample friends from colleges, work, etc. We were very close to my brother, and once he left, we could feel a sense of emptiness, missed the supportive guidance a sister feels with her brother around. So, the moment he left for Delhi, this was the first time the seed of us shifting to Delhi germinated.

Having moved to Bangalore from Guwahati as a teenager, it is almost close to 13 years that I have spent in this beautiful city. This magnificent city which helped me become a strong adult from a carefree teenager, an independent working professional from a naive student, move out from the comfort zone of home and tackle the real-world challenges with determination. It is here where I made friends, friends who are family, acquaintances, met and married my soulmate, Atul. Anyone who has stayed here long enough would surely agree with me that Bangalore has its own charm. More trees, less pollution, a soothing calm temperature throughout the year, movies at Plaza, Rex, Urvashi, and Vaibhav, pubs like Pecos, Purple Haze, walk through the busy lanes of MG Road and Brigade Road with friends, lush greenery at Lalbagh, well-laid footpaths and tree-lined boulevards. It was a little paradise in itself, and I still prefer to love Bangalore that way despite the growing traffic, pollution, haphazard parking, and chaos. Bangalore would always remain close to my heart even if it has turned now into a chaotic city, losing the compassion slowly. The place has been my 2nd home for almost close to half of my entire life, and the very thought of leaving it and settling into a completely different city was not easy.

Just because my brother shifted to Delhi was not the sole reason for us to do so too. There were many other parameters. I willingly learned Kannada to get more accustomed to the place I was staying in, picked up a little of Tamil too from friends at college. But whenever our parents visited Bangalore, they always had the language barrier to an extent. With Assamese and Hindi being both side parents’ languages for expression of speech, they felt discomfort whenever they had to converse with people in Bangalore, be it while using public transport, cabs, market places, shops, etc. I am not a linguistic chauvinist, but I think most of you will relate to the fact that parents who have spoken local languages throughout their life would find it difficult to converse in a completely different language. Accepting food style was never a challenge, although there were a lot of dissimilarities with taste. I could indeed say that our parents were quite open about the notion that once you are in a different place for earning your bread and butter, it is always good to adapt to the local surroundings and be aware of the rules and norms of the land.

I would say that the most critical factor for us to shift to Delhi was the proximity to both our hometowns. Connectivity of Guwahati and Begusarai from Delhi is undoubtedly better than from Bangalore. Though Bangalore had direct flights and trains to Guwahati, the problem most faced was by Atul. He would lose an entire day if he had to travel from Bangalore to Begusarai, which is in Bihar — changing flights, trains, and taxis to reach home. From Delhi, the Guwahati Rajdhani passes through Begusarai, and the distance is covered in just 12 hours. This was a boon. Also, we can’t deny the most crucial point that our parents are getting older and they would want us to be near them, if not stay with them. Atul’s father is a heart patient, and he requires to come to Delhi very often for his check-ups. So, being in Delhi would surely mean better medical care for him. We have been requesting them to shift to Delhi and stay with us, but they prefer to be staying in Begusarai and be rooted to where they belong. Nonetheless, Atul’s sister and her husband stay in Noida too. This means for both our parents if they want to visit, they can visit all of us together, my parents for me and my brother, Atul’s for him and his sister – a place lesser to go meet their sons and daughters.

Since we were confirmed on shifting to Delhi, it made no sense for us to look for other cities as an option like Pune, Hyderabad, or even Kolkata for that matter. Both Atul and I knew that there were more cons than pros if we have to shift to Delhi. More pollution, extreme weather conditions, need to adjust to a new city, new office environment, and work culture, so on and so forth. However, we felt this was a small price we both were paying to be close to our families. Now, most of our friends warned us about the fact that getting a job in Delhi would be difficult as compared to Bangalore. But trust me, this is not at all true – Delhi has equal opportunities both for a person with technical as well as marketing background. I will speak about this a little later in the travelogue. Hence, with all these points in mind, as soon as it was the beginning of 2019, Atul, and I thought that if we have to shift to Delhi, it has to be this year, within 2019. It was time to take a bold step, decide on a fixed timeline on when to shift to Delhi, and then make all our plans by backtracking from that day. After some discussions, talking to families, we agreed upon moving permanently by Oct 2019 (I wanted my Diwali 2019 to be in Delhi). So, with this date fixed, it made our life easier as between January to October, all our plans and activities were planned accordingly. All along, both Atul and I knew that this was a life-changing plunge that we both wanted to take, but we had each other’s back. We were aware that we are going into a territory full of uncertainties, but until and unless we try, we will never know if this was the right choice or not. There will always be an option to move back to Bangalore.

I hope the story so far has not bored you; hence, let me come back to the actual prologue of this thread. My notice period at Infosys was close to three months with no negotiation (which I didn’t need anyway). After some calculations, so that both our last days would be close to each other, Atul also went ahead and quit from his job by the first week of June (his notice period was for two months). This was a very scary moment for both of us, as although we had put down our papers, we were without any job offers in hand. Despite being terrified, we knew that it wouldn’t be so difficult for us to survive a few months without a job/salary because of the savings we were doing for several months. Initially, I had the thought of taking a few months break from career, prepare for the shifting, do the actual movement, settle down, and then go on finding a job. But after some discussion with friends and family, they convinced me that this would be a bad idea, and the ideal way to move ahead would be to keep applying for jobs in parallel and see how things unfold. So while we both went ahead and quit from our respective jobs, we started floating our resumes through Naukri, friends and acquaintances, ex-colleagues for job opportunities in Delhi and NCR regions. It wasn’t as bad as we expected, through those 2-3 months we did get few calls for job opportunities, and the job pipeline kept building up slowly and steadily. I was confident that by the time it would be Oct 2019, we will surely have some offers in hand.

While we were waiting for our respective last days, Atul and I had this sudden urge to do one last long ride from Bangalore. Between later part of August (both our last days would be done by then) and October, we will get some 1.5-2 months which would be sufficient for doing all packing, shifting, clearing and transferring everything (bank accounts, gas connections, D2H, internet, etc.) and move completely to Delhi. We needed some two and a half weeks for this ride. Having done with most parts of the country, including west, the north-east, the south, and some parts of north India, there was only one place which was yet to be explored by us. Yes, you guessed it right – LADAKH! As the joke goes within our biking circle, you have not graduated as a true rider if you haven’t done Ladakh once in your lifetime. So there were no second thoughts at all, Ladakh it was going to be, our last long ride from Bangalore. We were anyway planning to visit Delhi once before the actual shift to decide on many factors, rented home or own flat to buy, which area to stay (it was actually decided that we will stay somewhere in Dwarka as my brother stays in Dwarka), few face to face interviews lined up, etc. Hence, we clubbed the Delhi visit with this Ladakh trip. I know many people would think of us to be reckless, who goes for a long bike trip before a massive activity like shifting the city? But trust me, this is how Atul and I have always been, living life to fullest, taking some extreme steps in life, do things which bring happiness and some meaning to our lives, live life on our terms. And all this is possible only because we have each other’s back, a supportive family, and the zeal to explore the world together in life.

We considered starting the ride towards the end of August after having done with each one’s last day. Atul had prepared plans for Ladakh way back in 2013, and since then, every year, we would plan for the trip, but due to some issues or the other, it had to be cancelled. This year both of us were determined to go Ladakh come what may. The plan was already done, places to visit already known, and there wasn’t much research to be done for this trip as there are ample number of videos, travelogues, write-ups, and Google reviews. One can easily write a thesis and get a Ph.D. degree on Ladakh by reading all the information available online, which is good for us in terms of saving time on doing research, understanding about the places to visit and other essential details on weather conditions, geographical and demographical scenarios, etc. Like all other trips, this time as well, we decided to pre-book our stays for each day's destination. However, this time around, our exact date of travel was still not fixed so Atul kept the task of booking hotels for a later stage.

So, the days turned into weeks and weeks into months, and it was almost August. It was time to get ready with the final preparations for the ride like booking hotel tickets, get Hulk prepared for the trip, arrange the check-list required, and make a plan for the optimal use of budget. During May, June, and July, we avoided any bike/car trips and unnecessary expenses to save as much as possible (except a couple of short weekend overnight rides to Sakleshpur and Madikeri with our rider friends which incurred barely any cost). I was insisting Atul on booking the hotel tickets by now as it was already the first week of August and with just less than a month left, it was the right time for us to book our stays at the earliest.

Then came the day of August 5, 2019 – the Indian Government revoked the special status or limited autonomy granted under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution to Jammu and Kashmir state, dividing it into two Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh. We started getting news that several army troops have been deployed to the valley to quell any possible unrest that this move would bring in this disputed territory. Internet connections, mobile phone lines, and even landlines were severed to try and maintain law & order in the state. In such a tense situation with curfews and restrictions imposed in several districts of J&K, Atul and I had to rethink once again on our Ladakh trip. Families and friends advised us not to take the risk, drop the plan for our safety and security, which was, in a way, true. The move had worsened the already-heightened tensions with the neighboring country. I have a college friend working in Srinagar, and after talking to him about the current situation, it was fair and wise to drop our Ladakh plan for now. Once again, Travel God had a different plan laid out for us, and the ‘Got Leh’d’ Trip went down the drain for the nth time.

Both of us are thick-skinned when it comes to travelling. If a ride plan is dropped for some reason, we will make sure that we come up with another one, by no means, the days kept for the trip should go waste. Now with Ladakh going out of the window, we had to come up with a plan B. I think it didn’t take much time for us to decide on the next best destination; we planned on doing the Spiti Valley circuit. Spiti was another fantastic destination that was always in our bucket list, and we wanted to do it sometime later, after having done with Ladakh. And, so with just three weeks left for us to start on the trip, all plans and route maps for Ladakh were dropped, and Atul sat down to create a new list for Spiti ride. Both of us did the usual homework of finding out the route maps, places to visit, and other necessary details. Like Ladakh, Spiti also has sufficient information on the internet, and it didn’t take much time for us to decide on the route and places, and finally, the detailed plan. We also fixed on our travel date, August 28, 2019. - a 17 days ride back and forth from Bangalore.

Within the next couple of weeks, Atul and I both served our full notice period and done with our last days. Finally, after working for so many years continuously, we both were unemployed, even though for a brief period (however, both of us had some face to face interviews lined up in Delhi). Once done with the office, it gave us ample time to make arrangements for the trip. First in line was to do some tweaking with Hulk and get a simple service done before the ride, to prepare him for the unknown terrains in Spiti. Atul got the below things fixed:

• EBC Brake Pads worth Rs 9,000
• Hi Flo Air Filter worth Rs 1,500
• New front tyre Timsun TS712R worth Rs 4,000
• OSRAM Pilot Lamps worth Rs 1,000
• Overall service worth Rs 6,000

With all these, Hulk was almost good to go and hit the roads once again. A quick bike wash was also done a day before the ride.

After Hulk, it was time to prepare the final checklist of items to be carried along with us for the ride. Once again, we had to choose what to take and whatnot, so as not to overload Hulk. In the past, there were times when we could have managed with lesser stuff but ended up taking more along with us. This time we wanted to be careful and pick up only bare minimum required things with us, which included (for both Atul and myself):

• 4-5 pairs of extra tee shirts, mostly dry fits, 2 extra jeans
• Quick-dry towels
• 2 warm jackets to wear for cold weather
• Winter gloves apart from our usual riding gloves
• Extra pair of socks and a pair of sneaker
• Bathroom slippers
• Tool kit, puncture kit, and electric inflator
• Chain lube and cleaners
• Rain gear
• Passports and Marriage certificates
• Medical kit (pills for fever, cough, cold, stomach ache, headache, stool, Diamox in case AMS hits, bandages, crepe bandages & motion sickness pills)
• All electronic items and their chargers
• Toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrush, hand sanitizers, hand wash, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, deodorant, comb, sunscreen, body lotion, lip balm, lens solution, etc.)
• Umbrella
• Torch or flashlight
• Snacks (some biscuits, quick bites, etc. This we refilled along our journey)
• Tissues (both wet and dry)
• Sunglasses and anti-glare glasses
• Cloth cleaning soap (just in case we need to do some quick laundry)
• Scissors and a small knife
• A spoon and a glass
• Thermometer
• A notepad and a pen
• Sleeping bags
• Extra bedsheets
• Red Bull
• Extra backpack
• Zip ties, electrical and duct tapes
• Laptop, two 2TB hard disks, connectivity cables, extra memory cards, extra GoPro batteries,
• Last but not the least – our camera gears - tripod, GoPro, DSLR (2), Lens (3), Gorilla Pod

This list pretty much covered everything that we would require for the ride. To carry all the items, we took our Dirtsack Frogman saddlebags, Rynox Optimus Tank Bag, Hepco Becker Xplorer Topcase. We also carried our tent chair and few extra bungee cords to fasten up anything required. Mobile network is supposed to be very bad in Spiti valley with only BSNL picking up in few places, and Kaza (latest news heard mentions that now Jio has better connectivity with 4G available in many places – not sure how true this is). We didn’t get time to pick up a BSNL sim, though.

Coming to the hotel, like most of you would know that we prefer to make our reservations before the start of the trip. This time when it was around two weeks left for the ride to start, we sat down and made most of our bookings. Few we went for on the spot walk-ins or some places where we couldn’t find anything available online. Here is a list of all the hotels we stayed (along with the fare mentioned):

• Nagpur – Hotel OYO Townhouse 155 Satya Kalmana Market (Rs 1,366 for an AC Deluxe room for one night, breakfast included)
• Jhansi – Hotel The Marvellous (Rs 1,200 for an AC Deluxe room for one night, breakfast included)
• Delhi – no accommodation required
• Rampur Bushahr – Hotel OYO 40105 River Rock (Rs 800 for a Deluxe room for one night)
• Chitkul – Samaa Resorts (Rs 1,250 for a Mountain-side view room for one night, breakfast included)
• Nako – Himalayan Homestay (Rs 800 for a Mountain-side view room for one night – this was a walk-in, breakfast included)
• Kaza – Zostel Spiti (Rs 2,500 for Deluxe Private room for one night – we stayed here for three nights)
• Chandrataal – Pema Thang Camp (Rs 2,400 for a night tent with bathroom attached, welcome Maggi and tea, dinner and breakfast – this was a walk-in)
• Manali – Hotel Himshakti (Rs 1,200 for a Deluxe room for one night – we stayed here for two nights – this was a walk-in)
• Chandigarh – Motel Maurya (Rs 1,316 for a Deluxe AC room for one night, breakfast included)
• Delhi – no accommodation required

Most of the hotels were good, and we didn’t have any major issues apart from the OYO properties, where we had to give extra money. OYO would let you book the property for a lower price, which would be not per the hotel folks. And once you reach the premise, the hotel reception will ask you to pay the standard price for that particular room booked else they don’t let you check-in. Ultimately, with no other option left, we had to pay the actual price for the rooms demanded by the hotel. After riding for such long and reach a hotel to relax, the last thing that you would want to do is argue and look for some other accommodation. OYO customer care would also be of no help as the only thing they would say is ‘Extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused, we deeply regret. We are looking into the matter’ – the greatest lie of all time! Nonetheless, I will let you know more about each hotel once I get into the daywise travelogue.

So with all basic stuff arranged, hotel reservations are made, the entire travel plan well-laid out, Hulk serviced, it was time to count days for the final D Day – the ride day. A weekend just before August 28, we had to make a quick trip to Hyderabad (24 and 25 August) as I enrolled myself for the Airtel Hyderabad Marathon for a 10k run. It was a simple drive in Skiddy, reached Hyderabad on Saturday, picked up my running BIB, ran the race on Sunday early morning, ate some lip-smacking Biriyani in Paradise, and drove back to Bangalore by the evening of Sunday. While returning, I got the results of my run, finished the 10K run as the 1st runners-up in the Female Open category (more than 6000 people were running the race, and finishing 2nd amongst all the female runners was a great achievement in this journey of running for me, though the timing was not my personal best). It was a Sunday well-achieved. Some clicks from that weekend are below:

And so, after returning from the Hyderabad trip, it was just two days for us to do all the packing, last moment knick-knack items for the trip, clean and get all the riding gear ready, a wash of Hulk before the trip and ticking all items from the checklist to not miss out on anything.

I would also like to mention here about the total expenditure that we incurred during the ride. The break-up is mentioned below:

• Petrol – Rs 12,530
• Food – Rs 14,455
• Hotel – Rs 19,032
• Miscellaneous – Rs 50,100 (this looks like a considerable amount – isn’t it? More on this later)
• Flight – Rs 8,000

Finally, some quick bytes from the ride:

Riders: Atul and I (pillion)
Bike: Kawasaki Versys 650
Dates: August 28 – September 26, 2019
Route taken: Bangalore > Nagpur > Jhansi > Delhi > Rampur Bushahr > Chitkul > Nako > Kaza > Chandrataal > Manali > Chandigarh > Delhi > Bangalore
Distance covered: 4,000 km approx. (Bangalore > Spiti > Delhi)
Total expenditure (for two people) – Rs 46,017 (petrol, hotel, food, and some extra expenses), and as mentioned above, I’ll give more details on the miscellaneous expenditure of Rs 58,100 at a later stage.

P.S.: Just before the trip, we got all our DSLRs and lens serviced, but since 70-300 mm was working fine, we gave it a pass. However, during the trip, the focusing system of the lens started malfunctioning due to which some of the pictures came out blurry. Please bear with the image quality.

Also, this turned out to be a pretty lengthy prologue, but I wanted to put forward details of each event that happened before the ride. Stay tuned for the day-wise description as more stories unfold as we go along the ride.

Spiti Ride Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9G6QtxAMLA

Continue reading BHPian nandita_bayan21's travelogue for more insights and information.