I woke up with a sharp pain in my lower right jaw. Flossing and some piping hot early morning tea lowered the pain enough for me to not notice it anymore. Well, for now atleast.
Today was going to be start of my return journey, technically. What I was excited about, was that I get to talk with the wife today! I still would not get mobile network, but I was told there is Jio connectivity after Loma and before Mahe, so the plan was to borrow a phone for a quick call with the wife.
The ride till Mahe was mostly through good roads. The deviation after Mahe was a completely different story though. A few kms after Mahe, bumped into a delhi rider on his CBR250R. It was a nostalgic flashback for me, since I had the exact same black silver CBR250R a few years back. The guy had slapped in button tyres and I was glad the bike made its way on these terrains!
As I rode further, the terrain changed again, this time full of loose sand coupled with steep ups and downs. The sheer diversity of terrains that this land of high passes offers is indeed intriguing! After a while, I stopped for a butt break and to sip some water; noticed an old bloke on a rented classic 500 slowing down towards me. It turned out to be a guy from Poland - he had rented out the bike from Manali, and was on his way back from Zanskar. He also was headed to my next destination - Tso Kar, so we decided to tag along.
There was not much water in the Kar lake, so we were able to ride our bikes right down to the water bed. Explored the lake to my hearts content. I was about to leave when a family from Delhi came over in an Innova - the uncle in the family got very excited seeing my bike - he apparently used to be a biker, but age got the better of him. Made me wonder what is in store for me in the future! Anyway, he requested to take a ride on the Xpulse around the lake, and I was happy to oblige.
Continuing my journey, I spotted a Himalayan rider stranded on the road - Harshad Rao. Asked him if he was looking for some help - he was actually waiting to catch some Jio network! Yes, apparently you catch network for a few minutes and then it goes off for a few. As we got talking, I got to know that he is from Pune - and that gave us enough and more reasons to bond and talk further. Got to know that he routinely organizes treks around the Tso Kar area, and has jointly designed a pair of minimalist outdoor sandals.
I was already hungry by now. Harshad had recommended a couple of places for lunch, but I stopped at the 1st option I saw next. The lady there was very grumpy - extremely unlike my experience so far. Anyway, went with some parathas. As I got talking with her, she told me that she has been having excruciating tooth pain since a couple of days, and there is no doctor nearby to go to. I gave a few painkillers that I was carrying, hoping for her to get some respite.
Crossed Puga hot springs on the way, and it was time to finally connect to the Leh - Manali highway, and get some decent tar roads! I was watching time and had to decide where I would stop for today - I thought Pang would be a good pit stop.
Settled into a small but clean room attached to a road side eatery. A few minutes later, a rider and pillion on another KA registered bike stopped at the eatery, and they too were looking for a place to stay. I found both the guys to be reasonable, and decided to share the room with them.
The rest of the evening was spent chit chatting and having some hot maggi and tomato soup. The pain on my lower right jaw had picked up again in the night - but I hoped it would somehow wade off soon. The weather had started to deteriorate, and we could see dark clouds in the evening - maybe a sign of things to come!
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