An Amazing Road Trip by Sumit and Aditya : Chandigarh – Wagah – Amritsar – Tarn Taaran – Pathankot – Dalhousie – Khajjiar – Nurpur – Talwara – Una – Anandpur Sahib – Bhakra Dam – Chandigarh || 27-30th Dec 2011

 27-30th Dec 2011. This period has been etched in our memories forever. It was a period of FIRSTS, a lot of them. It still feels unbelievable, unachievable. But, when we stare back at those days, with sheer disbelief, we feel proud as we can be, that..WE DID IT!! It wasn’t something of a pro traveller, but as rookies it was a big deal.

What begin as a ride on the most famous routes of the world to visit the holiest of the shrines of the newest-yet-respected faiths of the world (starting with its epicenter) in the most fertile lands of mother India, ended up as a dare, with several leaps of faith (& falls of amusing proportions), wandering, braving the cold, pushing the limits. But, what was intended to be at the core of it, remained, the free spirit of biking, of treading on two wheels, unadulterated biking.

Those were the days when we would wake up to a long day of counting milestones, covering kilometres, watching the countryside pass by, morning to evening. Strangers became our guides, every direction board was greeted with cheer (as if spotting an old friend unexpectedly) and every mile put on the odometer would make us record holders in our own small universe. These were times of doing things we cannot imagine doing, travelling on isolated highways at night (daytimes too), wandering, trusting our knacks. Most importantly, it was a period of renewing faith in each other as friends, as travellers & learning to respect the fellow man’s instincts.

Each & everything that we did in those 3.5 days, just seems sheer impossible (and moreover moronic). We still (and will) continue to smile/ laugh (hysterically) whenever even a thought of those kilometres flashes in the mind.  

And most importantly, we believe more firmly now in the lines we identify ourselves with (read at the back cover of a Ruskin Bond book):

    “it is said that if the smell of the mountains creeps in a man’s blood, he will return to the hills again and again, and strive to live amongst them.”

The initial & the final trip plans are below (might give you an idea of what idiots/ darers (we prefer the latter, as its more respectable & soothing) we are:

Plan 1 (initially formulated):

Day 1: Chandigarh – Wagah – Amritsar       (Trip: 300kms)
Day 2: Tarn Taaran – Khem Karan – Mukstar  (Trip: 245kms)
Day 3: Bhatinda – Sangrur – Fatehgarh Sahib   (Trip: 244kms)
Day 4: Fatehgarh Sahib – Chandigarh (if required)

(Trip: 42.6kms).
 

Plan 2 (formed on day 1 at Amritsar):

Day 1: Chandigarh – Wagah – Amritsar            (Trip: 300kms)
Day 2: Amritsar – Tarn Taaran – Pathankot – Dalhousie

(Trip: 220kms)
Day 3: Dalhousie – Khajjiar – Pathankot – Hoshiarpur – Una – Anandpur Sahib        (Trip: 296kms)
Day 4: Anandpur Sahib– Chandigarh   (Trip: 89kms)

Actual (as it happened):

        Day 1: Chandigarh – Wagah – Amritsar    (Trip: 300kms)
        Day 2: Amritsar – Tarn Taaran – Pathankot(Trip: 144kms)
Day 3: Pathankot – Dalhousie – Khajjiar – Nurpur – Talwara – Una – Anandpur Sahib

(Trip: 360kms)
        Day 4: Anandpur Sahib – Bhakra Dam – Chandigarh 

(Trip: 142kms)   

It’s a must we share the lessons learnt while on the road:
 

==  All roads are not 4/6/8 laned ==
 

-    80kms on plains & 80 kms on mountains are as different as God and the Devil.

-    No matter how huge balls you claim you have, never travel on unknown roads at night (especially mountains).

-    When you think what lies ahead is frozen water, it DAMN IS FROZEN WATER..!!!

-    When you’re co-traveller tells you something for your good, LISTEN TO HIM..!!!

-    Never cruise on an unknown road; you might not know when it ends..!!!

-    Dear Central/ State governments. Kindly allocate a certain (a meagre but suffice) amount from the bloated road construction budgets to purchase & fixing of “ROAD ENDS/ CONSTRUCTION IN PROCESS/ DHYAAN SE CHALE, AAP APNI MAUT KE SWAYAM ZIMMEDAAR HAIN” kind of signs.
And last, but the most important...

-    Respect, love & care for your ride, for it is she you need by your side the most when you hit the road.

All these Photographs are clicked by one of the Enthusiastic Photo-Traveller Sumit Sond ... Write-up of this PHOTO JOURNEY is done by Aditya Bhardwaj !!!  

More detailed Photo Journeys from individual days of this Road Trip will follow soon.

If you liked this post and found it helpful, I would request you to follow these things when traveling -

- Manage your waste well and don’t litter

- Use dustbins. Tell us if you went to a place and found it hard to locate a dustbin.

- Avoid bottle waters in hills. Usually you get clean water in hills and water bottles create lot of mess in our ecosystem.

- Say big no to plastic and avoid those unhealthy snacks packed in plastic bags. Rather buy fruits.

- Don't play loud blaring music in forests of jungle camps. You are a guest in that ecosystem and disturbing the locals (humans and animals) is not polite