Off to the hills

Day 6: August 6, 2008 Ludhiana – Ropar – Kiratpur – Bilaspur – Sunder Nagar – Mandi – Kullu – Manali.

We got up at 5:30 the next morning and left for Manali. Getting out of Ludhiana was not difficult thanks to the directions Selven gave us.

The highways of Punjab looked familiar and the weather was bright and pleasant. We were off to a good start and hoped to make it to Manali comfortably by around 6pm. Breakfast was at a dhaba near Ropar. The climb started as soon as Kiratpur was over and we knew this was the beginning of how the roads were going to be for the next two weeks!

We liked what we saw – the hills had arrived and our bikes had started to get a dose of what they were going to be going through too. The ride was hassle free and we kept stopping for pictures and entered Himachal Pradesh soon.

One cannot expect Hill roads to be wide and smooth and so we rode on narrower roads and encounteres many a pothole! We stopped for Rajma chawal at a dhaba after Sunder Nagar and it appeared like the toilets were built as viewing stations to the beautiful valley! The front faced the unexciting highway.

The Beas started following after Mandi and the view from there on till Manali was breathtaking - excellent winding roads and lush forests led us to Manali. We came across the delightful little Kullu airport before reaching Manali at around 7pm. I was glad with how my bike was performing. We looked around for a place to stay and found rooms at Hotel Drilbu for 225/- a night. Our luggage was soon all over the room. After a hot water bath and some phone calls, we set out to take a walk and look for a place to eat. Selven directed us to try out some authentic momos at one of the small joints at The Mall – those tasted great.

Since we were still hungry and had time, we decided to try out a small dhaba at the Bus Stand gates. After making ourselves comfortable we ambitiously ordered chilli chicken. The sound of a butcher chopping meat came to our ears and to our surprise our dish was being made fresh, right before us. After waiting for around twenty minutes we were given a large bowl that contained what seemed like close to a kilogram of fresh chilli chicken. Though we could not understand why we were given what I guess was the whole chicken, no one seemed to feel the need to question, or even order anything to accompany the dish – guess we were too stunned for words. We knew we were in the wrong place as soon as the first piece of chicken went into our mouth – horrible! The lady who served us stared like she would chop us into pieces if we didn’t finish it and on asking how it tasted I don’t know why but I replied it was nice... We tried but couldn’t have any more. After a quick glance at Philip I asked her to pack it. My statements were confusing her and she asked me why we did not want to have it there. I replied saying we’ll finish it in the hotel. Soon we were out, 175/- poorer, and from my fingers hung a neat parcel of chilli chicken. I felt bad for wasting food, left it on the road and prayed that no dog would eat it and pass away.

We decided to play safe, had some softy and hung around for some time before going back to our room and getting into the warm quilts. I was out before I knew it.

Classic bikes, cars and people

Day 5: August 5, 2008

After getting up we set about looking for a mechanic who would check our bikes and were directed to Jagjit Auto Centre by my brother Selven. Lovely, the person in charge proved to be just whom we wanted – a pleasing Sardar who passed both bikes with flying colours. He said he loved the way my bike ran and said it would give no trouble anywhere! Being the bike enthusiast he was, he took us to his house and showed us some of his bikes – a rare Honda 70cc, a well kept RD350, his own Road King and an RX100 that was being restored. It is worth mentioning that the Road King and RX 100 were kept in an air conditioned room – now that’s what called loving bikes. We also came across a rare James classic motorcycle powered by a Villiers engine – we were disappointed that the garage owner was not interested in answering our questions about it. Lunch was at Indian Summer and by then Ludhiana’s restaurants had impressed me – great food, ambience and prices. We then went to Chaura Bazar to shop for gumboots before visiting Christian Dental College, where we met Selven’s friends. There we came across an old and imposing Bedford Ambulance that was still in use - old is definitely gold.

We visited Alex Abraham at their home and proceeded to meet the Shadangis, old family friends who had studied medicine with my mom. I was glad to be meeting friends out of Bangalore after very long.

Our time in Ludhiana was drawing to an end and we had to ride to Manali the next day. After chatting and packing up, we crashed for the night.

Wagah and more...

Day 4: August 4, 2008 Ludhiana – Phagwara – Jalandhar – Amritsar – Atari - Wagah

All of us got up early the following day and left for Amritsar. Our time at Ludhiana can be referred to more as a time of rest, preparation and fun with family. On this particular occasion, the driver of the Toyota Innova we were travelling in was giving us live demonstrations of the vehicles capability to move faster than anything else on the road. I must say his control and judgement were superb. We were at the Golden Temple in record time. I had never seen so many Sikhs at one place before and being able to see them in worship was a special experience. We then visited the historic Jallianwala Bagh, where, on April 13, 1919, the British Indian Army soldiers under the command of Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer opened fire on an unarmed gathering of men, women and children killing more than 1000 people. I realised many of us do not even know of how India gained independence!

We searched almost all of Amritsar for its special Fish Amritsari dish but ended up having something I’m sure was not what we were looking for! If anyone does know where this delicacy is available, the information will be accepted gratefully and I shall treat you to it whenever I’m in Amritsar next.

We left for Wagah Border in time to catch the lowering of the flags and I must say the experience was something you won’t get at any border post around the world. Thousands of Indians sing and dance on our side of the border everyday, and like Philip says, it’s more like a celebration. In contrast, the Pakistani side had few people and was less colourful. The border fences are not a pleasant sight and made me wish partition had not taken place. Our cricket team would’ve been stronger too!

We saw this sign board according to which Lahore was only 47km away. It was near Amritsar that we crossed the mighty Beas – one of five rivers that feeds Punjab and rises in the Himalayas. We were to ride alongside for a long distance till after Manali. 

We stopped at Haveli Restaurant in Jalandhar for dinner on the way back. Even if you do not take the food at Rangla Punjab into account, just the ambience of the whole place is mind blowing – a neat little Punjabi village, complete with live bhangra and camels, just like how it actually is, has been built into the restaurant.

The day was tiring and we were glad we could laze around and do nothing the next day.