Kalpa

We rode the eight kilometers up to Kalpa from Rekong Peu and found the first decent guesthouse called Parvati guesthouse. Their we met Gali and Mati, two serious acid heads in their late twenties on their fourth trip to India. We sat with them and heard stories about various acid trip they had taken in random spots all around the world.

The next day Anastia and I took the bike down to Rekong Peu, though the bike stalled on the way and we had to push it through mud and seek help from Kalpa locals, most of whom are usually dressed in traditional green hats and brown frocks.

The next few days were spending the mornings at the mechanics trying to figure out what the hell the problem with my bike was, becoming convinced the mechanic had no idea how to fix the bike and was making up random solutions on the spot that made no sense just to get me out of there, and the afternoons, smoking with Mati, talking shop, lounging about and enjoying the stunning view of the tallest peak in this area (mount Kailish, 6500 meters). The weather couldnt have been better, and tourists were generally not around as the road from Manali was roadblocked and most had turned back. The food was surprisingly good at the guesthouse, run by Raj, a man in his thirties who cooked all the food himself. We ate thali usually, but the beans were of a different variety every night!

After four or five days and enough confidence that our bike would make it to the next stop, we decided to head out. We had this annoying oil leak that just couldnt be fixed, but the mechanic had fixed some cable and the bike seemed to be running better than before. We prayed we wouldnt get stuck on the way.

We made our way through and through the windy hills that slowly turned more barren and sandy, and also more beautiful, and decided our next stop was Chango. We reached Nako by evening, about 20 kilometers before Chango, and the Dhali Lama's stop for the next day. We wanted to sleep in Nako but the DL's visit was causing problems for us: all the guesthouses were full, literally. We decided to take our chances and head for Chango in the dark...whats the worst that could happen? The bike was underperforming again due to who knows what, and we rode slowly. Eventually we reached an uphill muddy slope and the bike stalled. I tried to start but nothing happened, and then it started raining, and then it got cold. We thought about what we could do, and then decided to hitch a ride to Chango and come back for the bike in the morning. After a few futile attempts, a jeep stopped for us and we headed for Chango. Right after where we stalled was a landslide area with a deep river to cross, and jeep handled it poorly. Driving in a jeep at night is scarier than many things I'd experienced, and when two jeep cross on a narrow dirt rode with a steep cliff on one side, theres many reason to close your eyes and pray.

We made it to Chango only to learn from the police at the entrance to town that everybody went to Nako to see the DL and that only one guesthouse was open two kilometers earlier. One of the policeman recognized us from Rekong Peu, he had almost given me a ticket for riding without a helmet, but warmed up to us and convinced the jeep driver to take us back to the guesthouse. We arrived, and were told we could sleep but would have to leave by six am because the whole family was going to Nako in the morning. We ate a dinner of leftover spinach and chapati and went to sleep. In the morning we took a jeep taxi back to the bike and managed to start it.

We crossed the precarious river, one of the hardest on this trip, and continued our journey, slowly. The bike was performing poorly, and I had to stop to refill oil in the clutch box from time to time. Nevertheless we still enjoyed the increasingly amazing views and took tons of photos. Eventually we reached Chango again, passed and continued on to Tabo.

We reached Tabo and had no choice by to stay there and not proceed to Kaza because a landslide up ahead had blocked the road and wouldnt be cleared until the next day. We ended up staying in Tabo for three days in one of the best guesthouses we'd been. We found Gali and Mati there also and we slacked off with them, building a homemade bong and chatting with Tenseen most of the time, the guesthouse owner from Manali. We had entered the Spiti Valley, and we were nearing Kaza, where I was sure to find a good mechanic.

I didnt have more oil and was worried about riding to Kaza without reserve oil, but Tabo, like Chango, was empty and the stores were closed, on account of everyone fleeing to see the DL in Nako. In Spiti everyone is Buddhist, but they are not considered Tibetan, rather they have their own Spitten culture, just like the Ladakhies and the Kinnauris.

We left for Kaza after a few extremely pleasant days in Tabo.