Ghumakkar's Diary

Finally, planned - postponed - planned - unplanned...series of Yes and No...year after years...finally a plan that took a shape to be executed...and finally it collapsed! Fourth year of Planning a Ride to the Top of the World( ly senses ), and it Flopped when the guy who planned it - booked a bed in Hospital for some unknown disease that turned out to 'fresh water worms' but killed his plan! When it starts to feel like cliche (like my life), I get to the point...I am leaving for Leh tomorrow morning! This time - NO PLANS! All I have got is a ticket to Jammu and a return ticket from Leh. What I will miss most on my ride is ofcourse you don't know and I won't tell, but Achtung!  will for sure be missed a lot; but it's his fault - he didn't start the day he was scheduled to be packed and leave for Jammu; perhaps he didn't want to start it alone! Epic ride it is! (Btw, to those who don't know, Achtung!  is my Bull - an RE TBTS 350. What next? I don...

This post is in continuation of Series of posts on my recent Zanskar trip. For the first part on Srinagar, Click here . Dal Lake Famous as " Jewel in the crown of Kashmir " or " Srinagar's Jewel ”, Dal Lake is the second largest lake of the state with a shoreline of about 15kilometers and covering 18 sq km area. While, Houseboats and Shikara (small boats or gondolas) bejewel the Lake, Mughal era gardens decorate its periphery. During winter season, the temperature sometimes dives sub-zero and freezes the lake. Sunset at Dal Lake Spread over 18 square kilometres, this Lake is essentially a part of a natural wetland which covers 21.1 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi), including floating gardens that are actually fenced and tied to wooden logs. These floating gardens are known as "Rad" in Kashmiri. The wetland is divided by into four basins; Gagribal, Lokut Dal, Bod Dal and Nagin. Lokut-dal and Bod-dal each have an island in the centre, known a...

Talked and planned over mails and phone-calls, I reached Srinagar a day before Dheeraj and company. I was expecting a VIP welcome at airport by a drive holding a ply card for me, as a friend has got booked a government rest house for me. But there was none, mobile network was down and there was no public booth near airport. All thanks to sh*thead insane  Nakoula Basseley   who directed a sheer nonsense movie to hurt public sentiments, and to control any outrage in the protest-affected Srinagar, all the mobile networks were jammed. After spending about an hour there waiting for the guy, I took a taxi and planned to book a hotel at Lal Chowk, one of the few places I know well about the town. As I saw the Heaven from the Sky As we moved through the streets, I could easily see what I read before in a    Curfewed Night . Streets were mostly empty or dotted by a few people here and there. It was a sunny day with a pleasant atmosphere but without charm . Shops were c...

There’s saying, that whatever you may do, plan-replan, if He doesn’t invite, you just can’t pay Him a visit. So, it happened again with me. As blogged earlier, I couldn’t embark on the highly coveted Ladakh ride with Bisons in last July. I was waiting, accumulating leaves (and money too), planning, preparing for the ride for last one year and just couldn’t go. So, I re-planned it with a college senior and bullet enthusiast. Fingers crossed, not shared with anybody, tickets done, final planning started, route done and it cancelled. Partner got his leaves cancelled and thus the plan again crashed. I thought to ride solo, but recent cloud-bursts and landslides, that are rather common as the monsoon dies, killed much of my insane enthusiasm. I have been to Spiti eons back, and it seemed that a visit to North of it just not to happen soon... Shot somewhere in Spiti Valley, Keylong in 2007 At that time, I saw a retweet by Deepak Sir ( @Magic_Eye ).  Dheeraj of DeViL on WheeL...