ZUMZUMZUM- from Romania to Thailand on a bike

Am ajuns si in Delhi. Nu ati vazut aglomeratie pina nu ati incercat sa intrati in orasul asta pe la ora 3. Am stat in trafic cam 2 ore.

Termometrul de pe moto nu indica mai mult de 50 de grade asa ca nu stiu exact cit de cald era, dar in orice caz… cald.

Daca ii vedeti pe indieni cum se bulucesc in trafic, cum se baga ca prostii in fata ca sa blocheze complet si definitv orice intersectie, cum nu te-ar lasa sa treci desi nu ii costa nimic….Ce e la noi e parfum.  Probabil ca asa va fi si traficul din Bucuresti peste 20 ani de becalizare si manelizare 🙂

Orasul e mai frumos decit ne asteptam, e plin de viata. Partea construita de englezi e foarte eleganta si verde, partea indiana e plina de jeg dar totusi cu un farmec al ei.

Incepem sa ne obisnuim cu stilul indian. Avem un sentiment nefiresc de familiar 🙂 toata lumea se cearta, se impinge, vrea sa te pacaleasca la bani…intelegeti voi. In sfirsit am gasit un loc unde oamenii sunt chiar mai prost-crescuti decit in romania…

niatza, niatza

ne-a lovit si pe noi o oarecare lene caracteristica acestor locuri si am ramas un pic in urma cu pozele 🙂  sintem deja linga delhi si n-am plantat pozele din kashmir.

srinagar a fost locatia perfecta pentru citeva zile de pauza. Am fost inspirati si nu am ramas la o un boathouse in centru, pe lacul Dal si am mers in nordul orasului, pe Nageen unde era mult mai liniste si mai frumos.

orasul e asezat pe doua lacuri si un riu, partea veche e chiar pe lac si restul de jur imprejur. sint canale care unesc lacurile si casele si barco-casele 🙂 si barcute cu visla in forma de inimioara care te plimba intre ele.

casuta noastra plutitoare nu arata asa de bine pe afara, dar era chiar dragutza. nu avea decit doua dormitoare si o bucatarie, o camera de papat, una de citit si uitat la tv si o veranda cu bancute -perfecta de uitat la lac si la barcute, si de baut un ceai kashmiresc 🙂 foarte bun. Va fac si eu la iarna, m-a invatat tanti cum se produce.

recunosc ca n-am fost in delta, dar cam asta mi-au sugerat plimbarile cu shikara (barcutza) canale cu nuferi si lotusi (pacat ca nu mai erau infloriti), gradini plutitoare, case mai vechi si mai noi, si o groaza de pasaret de toate felurile. Recunosc ca preferatul meu a fost un kingfisher mic si albastru care mi-a tinut companie la primul ceai baut pe veranda. se mai uita la mine, mai baga o scufundare…foarte simpatic, cu nasu lui maare 🙂

ne-am plimbat pe la gradinile mughalieno-britanice….dragutze si ingrijite si inca pline de flori , ne-a fost lene sa ne urcam la templul din virful dealului si am dormit si ne-am uitat la lac si am stat degeaba. odihna si tratament 🙂

partea usor ciudata este cu armata, soldati peste tot pe strada…multi. Am intrebat si noi care e ideea si le e frica de atacuri teroriste…aparent nu s-a mai intimplat nimic de multa vreme…dar sint inca toti acolo. e frumos tare in kasmir dar nu stiu daca chiar asa de frumos sa se bata ca disperatii atitia ani pentru bucata aia de pamint.

marea majoritate sint musulmani asa ca am beneficiat de inca 2-3 zile de ramadan 🙂 cintat muezinul si batut toba de mic dejun inainte de rasaritul soarelui, plus ceva mai complicat de mincat, baut pe strada…n-a fost asa de grav ca in pakistan totusi.

ne-am mai distrat intr-o seara cu o incercare de furtuna, aparent nu avem nici rau de mare…se balanganea intr-un mare fel “hotelul” nostru iar dimineatza era tot lacul verde, adusese vintu la loc algele curatate cu o zi inainte.

proprietarul era simpatic, din seria clasica deja in care nu facea nimic toata ziua. Mai inchidea un geam si mai aprindea o lumina…plus cele 5 rugaciuni obligatorii… plus plimba cite un ceai de la maica-sa la noi din cind in cind. Am incercat sa calculam din ce traieste acea familie, erau 7 adulti si un pusti de 9 luni, traiau in barca de linga…care era jumate din a noastra si nu pareau sa munceasca niciunul. erau toata ziua creanga pe barca sau in parcul de pe mal 🙂 nu ne-am lamurit 🙂

frumos tare si au niste mere foarte foarte bune!

Since we stayed in Srinagar for a few days, we manged to have to bike gear washed (first time since we left home).
My jacket was so full of sand and dirt that the ventilation zippers didn’t work anymore.

I thought it would be a good time to make a short review of our gear.

Helmets:

Ioana’s helmet is an Arai Condor that we bought just before we left. After 2 months and 12.000km, the helmet is still ok, comfortable and silent. We had a small problem with the visor. It seems that Araihelmets are made for less dusty roads. The visor mechanism became clogged up with dirt to the point where it would hardly move at all. A bit of cleaning and lubing solved the problem (for now at least). In the Arai owners manual they show how to remove the visor but not the side covers, they probably assume that you always take the helmet to the dealer.

My helmet is a Schubert C2. I bought the helmet this spring, some 17.000km ago. This helmet had a hard life, from a few thousands km in snow and rain on our way back from Germany (see here), to desert crossings and a couple of pretty hard falls.
At the beginning I had a couple of problems with it, I even returned to the dealer because the visor would not close properly. After a while, I’ve become accustomed to it and now I really like it.
My main gripes are: the stupid side lock release (I’ve had the mechanism almost seize because of dirt), the top vent which is awkward to use, and the fact that is more noisy that I expected (although less noisy than my Shoei XR1000).

Jackets:

Both jackets are about 6 months old (about 15.000km). Ioana has a Rev’it Angel women jacket. There is a weird discoloration of the material on the shoulders.Otherwise the jacket is comfortable and seem reasonably waterproof although we had too little rain to be sure).
I have a Rev’it Off-Track jacket which is much more solid and better made. It has separate waterproof and thermal liners and it’s comfortable from 5 degrees to 35 degrees with just a t-shirt underneath. One issue with it is that with both liners the jacket is very bulky (this is the reason why we didn’t bought one for Ioana).

Pants:

We both have Rev’it Zip pants. They are light and comfortable, with hard knee protectors and soft hip and ankle protectors.
The main problem with them is that they have very poor ventilation and the waterproof liner is non-detachable. In Iran an Pakistan they were quite hot but we still managed to wear them.

Boots:

I have some 2 year old Alpine Star MX-S boots. I know they are a strange option for a touring boot, but I am comfortable in them and they are pretty bulletproof. I removed the toe sliders to make them look less aggressive. I am comfortable wearing them all day long.

Ioana has Rev’it boots (can’t remember the name right now). They are a light touring boot. While comfortable and waterproof, there seem to be a little misunderstanding. We thought that the “light” part refers to the boot while apparently Rev’it thought it refers to touring. The boots don’t seem to be very resistant, their soles already starting to come off.

In Srinagar we reached the 12.000km mark since we left total bike mileage 54.500km), more or less half way through our original route.
So I did a check-up of the bike.

We found an nice house boat on Nageen Lake, near a park. The owner “persuaded” the gardeners to let me park the bike inside the garden 🙂 , so I had a nice spot for working.

I replaced the spark plugs, since the very rich condition caused by the altitude was bound to foul them. At 5000m there is roughly half the sea-level air pressure.

I checked the valves, well five of them since the front cylinder exhaust valve is so difficult to reach. They were all
within the specs, the rear cylinder exhaust valve was at the tighter end of the spec so I’ve loosened it by a hair.
they
The read brake pads were badly worn (on the road from Kargil, I only used the front brake), so I’ve replaced them.

The Africa Twin air filter is quite large so I could not bring a spare. I clean it regularly with compressed air (and hope it will last).
After all the unsealed roads it was quite dirty 🙂 . 

Here is a nice story that illustrates the differences between india and the other countries we’ve been in (Pakistan, Iran).  I usually go to a tire shop and ask for some compressed air. The owner comes out, watches in amazement as I extract the air filter, cleans it, and gives it back to me (this was the same everywhere), now I ask how much should I pay. In all the countries except India the owner would smile and say “nothing, have a good trip”, in india he said “special price for you sir, 10 rupees” 🙂 .

The chain and tyres (Metzeler Tourance and D.I.D.) seem to have plenty of life left in them. The tyres have developed
some micro-cracks since about half-way through Turkey but seem ok.

Back home I usually change the oil every 5.000km. During this trip my strategy regarding the oil is as follows: I started with fresh oil
and filter and took 3 more filters with me. I kept the first oil for 6000km. The subsequent oil changes have been changed
every 3000km (since the local oils are of unknown quality), I change the filter every two oil changes.So far I’ve been able to find Castrol and Shell
20W50 oils, which seem to be ok( the changes were in Kashan-Iran, Quetta-Pakistan and Srinagar-India).

There were some other checks: fuel filter, sprockets, front suspension. Everything seems to be in excellent condition 🙂

We were very lucky to manage to squeeze this tour just before the winter.

We only did the basic tour  Dharamsala-Manali-Leh-Kargil-Srinagar. We had to postpone the other parts like
Nubra Valley, Suru Valley, Zanskar  for some other visit.

It is really worth your time and money to come and visit these unbelievable mountains.

I will just make a short overview of the conditions to help others plan the own trip.

As we arrived in late september, we were not sure if the high passes from Manali to Leh were still snow-free.
We tried to find out the road condition before going to Manali, the horizonsunlimited.com forum was very
helpful (as always) but, just as Graham predicted, you can’t really know until you are in Manali.

In Manali we found out that the buses stopped but the jeeps are still going, so I started asking
every jeep ticket reservation shop about the road conditions. The answers ranged from TanglangLa being snowed in,
 to the road being opened but with the Sarchu tent camp closed to everything perfect.
Finally we spotted a luggage laden Enfield coming down from RothangLa, it was coming from Leh.
Finnaly a source we could trust, we find out that  the road is open, Sarchu camp is still there but is also very cold.

As we were in a hurry, we only stayed in Manali (actually Vashisht) for 1 day, skipping over the acclimatization.
 It’s better to stay in Manali for a few days, going to RothangLa during the day and sleeping at the lower altitude.
Ioana had no problems with the altitude sickness, I had a strange gastric acidity crisis (strange because I never had
such problems before). This started in a night that we slept in Sarchu (4200m) and continued until we reached Srinagar.
It wasn’t serious but it was a bit of a nuisance.

The road from Manali to Leh has all kinds of surfaces: about 30% is very good asphalt, another 40% is badly potholed asphalt, 20% is gravel and the rest is sand, river-crossings, etc etc. This is probably changing all the time due to the frequent land-slides and very harsh winters, so don’t rely too much on this information. We didn’t had any really difficult parts (for a 2-up Africa Twin, with 60kg of luggage and Tourance tyres). There is a lot of heavy traffic so any muddy section is usually thorn up pretty bad.

We managed an average of about 30km/h (including stops), you could go significantly faster, but I was trying to protect the overloaded panniers racks. This speed also conveniently divides the trip in two days, Manali to Sarchu and Sarchu-Leh.
You can hurry a bit and go all the way in one long day, but I don’t think is worth passing-on the wonderful night sky in Sarchu.

We managed to cross the mountains just in time, the next day there was heavy rain in Leh and the mountains were all white.

The road from Leh to Kargil is better than Manali-Leh, with a long unsealed section on the descent from FotuLa. Kargil
is probably the most expensive town in India (we were quoted 1300 rupees for a grubby room by one delusional hotel manager).
Leh-Kargil took us about 5 hours.

Kargil-Srinagar is even better apart from the truly spectacular ZojiLa, which is a bit difficult but it’s well worth it. Here
we had the deepest stream crossing (a good 50cm deep) which wasn’t very difficult but a bit… refreshing in the 9 degrees ambient.
It also took us 5 hours to reach Srinagar. Here I recommend to stay on Nageen Lake rather than the much more crowded Dal Lake.

Some pictures from the mountains:

and a picture with the tent camp in sarchu: