Riding the dream - Ladakh - VI: Acclimatization

 Today was going to be about rest, relaxation, acclimatization and doing the necessary chores. I made the below list of things to do:

1. Have clothes washed - Visited the beautiful Leh market the previous night and found out a place for laundry - handed over clothes then, with a promise to get them back today afternoon. The Leh market itself is very pretty, well planned and fabulously maintained.

2. Get essentials - oxygen pump, jerry cans to carry fuel - Purchased a portable O2 pump. Also bought 2 5 litre cans and 1 10 litre can, since I was not sure how I would be mounting these on the bike, with an agreement to return the ones I dont end up using. There was not going to be a petrol pump after Nubra valley, so it was imperative to carry fuel. After numerous trials and errors, I concluded the best way is going to be using the tail bag's side pockets to host 5 litre cans on each side. While in the market, met an elderly couple from Pune whose son was in the army and posted around Leh, and they had come to see him. It was a very pleasant, homely conversation!

In general, I felt prepared to handle most of the situations that may arise. The only one I hoped did not come up was puncture - due to the spoked wheels, my bike has tyre + tube setup, so attending a puncture would mean taking the wheel out and possibly replacing the tube.

3. Fix action cam - I realized the reason the action cam was not working as desired yesterday, was because its housing locking mechanism had gone kaput. Came up with a jugaad.

4. Get a BSNL sim card - My initial research told me that after Nubra Valley, my airtel sim would not have network upto Darcha (almost close to Manali on the way back). So decided to try getting a BSNL sim. Visited the BSNL office. After waiting for >30 minutes, was told that they provide sims only with local address or accompanied by local guardian. The lady there asked me to go to a shop nearby where they would arrange one for me. I did not totally comprehend this mechanism of working, but went there anyway. Apparently, they do not accept Aadhar as address proof. Only voter ID or driving license. I was not carrying my voter ID so handed over my DL. Then I was told only Maharashtra DL is not accepted! I turned back empty handed.

5. Visit DC office to get Hanle permit stamped - Went here after the BSNL disappointment. The gatekeeper told me they don't manually stamp permits anymore - so I was good with the permit I had.

6. Visit shanti stupa and other sites if possible - This was such a peaceful place with gorgeous views! It had a separate meditation room and I quickly jumped in for a serene 30 mins of meditation.

Back at Zaltac - realized that my rear rack for the top box had bent. Straightened it out and moved the rack a bit further ahead onto the plate for more weight distribution towards the front. 

While at Zaltac, I met a couple from Bangalore on a rented Bullet. They were scheduled to go to Nubra as well tomorrow, so we decided to tag along.

7. Finally, fill up the tank and jerry cans - Late in the evening, decided to head out to tank up. I pull in the clutch and bam - the clutch cable snapped! Luckily I was carrying a spare clutch cable so replaced it within minutes.

Headed out to the petrol pump alongwith the tail bag, which had the 2 5 litre jerry cans on either sides.

Filled up the tank. Before filling up the jerry cans, the operator asked me twice - are you sure the jerry cans are intact and not leaking? I was pretty confident that they were perfectly intact, since they were brand new from the shop. The 1st can indeed held the fuel fine, but to my horror, the 2nd one was leaking big time! Luckily there was a used jerry can lying around in the petrol pump and I ran to get it, transferred whatever fuel the leaking can was still holding, and topped it up. One side of my tail bag was going to be smelling petrol for a while now! 

The couple from Bangalore had gone out to Lamayuru today, and I got to know they came back only by 11 PM. Accordingly, I was prepared to start late tomorrow. The weather in general in Leh had been very pleasing so that was a blessing.

It was time to cross the mighty and ever popular Khardungla!

Continue to the next chapter