Woke up to dark skies and extremely cold winds, indicative of the bad weather ahead. Further, the pain in my lower right jaw was only getting worse. Furthermore, majority of roads today up to the Atal tunnel were supposed to be horrendous. The silver lining was that finally, I was going to be back under mobile network coverage starting Darcha.
Piping hot tea and paratha subsided my jaw pain a little bit, and off I resumed my descent. The word was indeed true - the roads were horrible to say the least. I started descending the famous Gata loops, and for the 1st time ever, I experienced snowfall! I was not expecting it, and so was pleasantly surprised! Stopped over to soak the moment in.
The already pot holes filled road had gotten even more treacherous due to the snow. The entire journey was not very pleasant, and the cold and wet conditions did not help. Crossed the mighty Baralacha la, and the weather was only getting colder. My gloves, boots and socks were totally wet thanks to the water crossings, splashes and the snowfall. As I crossed one of the numerous bridges along the way, noticed a few people who had lit up a small bonfire, and I self invited myself. My gloves, socks and boots got some heat treatment.
Stopped at Darcha for lunch, and had another hearty portion of Rajma Chawal. What a pleasure to have a plate of steaming hot rice and rajma in such cold weather, followed by tea.
This also provided some interim relief on the jaw pain, which was only getting worse by the hour.
I decided to halt at Manali today. The guys from KA I met and stayed with at Pang had come from Manali, and provided a recommendation to an excellent and affordable hotel in Manali. Filled up fuel at Keylong, and dropped off my jerry cans there, since I would not be needing them anymore. Crossed Jispa - a wonderful, quaint and pretty little town and in no time reached the Atal Tunnel. All I wanted to do now was reach Manali, freshen up and see a dentist.
Riding through the buzz of the highly popular Solang valley, reached the hotel. After some rest and a nice hot water bath, was on my way to the Manali market to see the dentist and for dinner.
The dentist diagnosed it to be some infection, and prescribed me a dose of anti biotics for now, followed by proper treatment once back home. This is how my face looked with the swelling:
I am blessed to have a pretty awesome family dentist back home, she advised to go with the prescribed medication for now. Since this part was done for the time being, took a stroll at the happening Manali market, and settled down in a cafe with live music. Iced the jaw for some relief from the swelling and pain.
It started raining in the evening and it continued through the night, so I planned to start early morning, hoping it won't rain that early. I was ready to leave the hotel by 615 AM, but to my dismay, it was raining cats and dogs! Waited for another 15 - 20 minutes but the rains did not show any signs of slowing down, so decided to head out anyway. And this was the story for the rest of the journey till delhi - lashed by heavy rains all through. Pounced on the opportunity to pick up some yummy and juicy apples on the way.
Crossing Mohali was the most painful part of the entire journey. Heavy rains led to water clogging at multiple places, and people had utter disregard for two wheelers; I would have been splashed on at least 10 times. Navigating further through the heaviest rains I have ever been in, made it till Ambala, and found a decent hotel to spend the night.
All of my riding gear was drenched, in spite of all the liners and jackets. Squeezed as much water as I could and put them to dry, not too optimistic about them drying by the morning. Iced the jaw to get some relief - the medicines were taking there own sweet time to make their presence felt!
I had to reach Nizamuddin railway station as early as possible the next day to ensure that I get the Xpulse on train.
As expected, the riding gears had not dried out completely, but good enough to wear them in the morning. Plus, I hoped the morning breeze would help it dry out. Luckily for me, the morning skies looked clear, and I was on my way on the last riding day of this journey. After another paratha breakfast stop, the rain gods decided to not miss on having a rendezvous today as well - and down came the rains heavily. I got drenched completely all over again - but Delhi was in sight!
Reached Nizamuddin station by early afternoon, and decided to pack all of my wet riding gear in a separate bag. The experience here was in stark contrast to the one at Bengaluru - first there was no power, then the keyboard stopped working, and then the internet gave up! Finally got all the formalities done after excruciating 3 hours.
Visited Nehru palace for a scrumptious meal, and was back at the station for departure to namma Bengaluru. The train was on time, and this time I was fully prepared for my meals in this journey - the apples from Himachal, and one roll which I ordered to be delivered at one the stations along the way.
My physical exertion took over most of the return journey, and I caught up on sleep for most of the way back.
The process to pick the bike up at Bengaluru was extremely smooth and organized.
Had a heartful welcome back home, and I was elated to see the family again, eager to share all the memories and experiences with them.
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