Kinnaur

Hey!! Im back in Israel now and Ive got pleeeenty of time to finish up my big india story...

Right, so I was in Manali with a bike problem. We rolled down the hill from where we stalled and when we got back to the start of Manali the road stopped going down. I told Anastia to wait while I went to find the nearest mechanic. I ran, and I sweated but I was determined to leave Manali the same day being as it was raining and all and I hate the rain. I finally reached a shop and the mechanic came back with me and we pushed the bike manual style.

I won't bore you readers with the boring details, but suffice it to say we spent the entire day at that shop with a couple mechanics who, I realized later, knew jack shit about enfields and how to fix them. The problem, I was told, was electrical. Later, after changing some parts that actually didnt need to be changed, the problem was boiled down to a busted alternator. OK. So fix this shit and lets get out of here! But no, they werent sure of what they were doing and had to call in another mechanic named Sonny who apparently is quite a famous mechanic! They fixed the problem but it was too late to leave. Also the spring for the kick start broke while they were fixing the other problems. blah blah blah.

We drove back to our guesthouse frustrated but then surprised to run into our friends who were supposed to also have gone to Spiti via Rhotang Pass in a jeep. As it turned out there was a massive landslide that made passing to Spiti impossible, and we were lucky we hadnt proceeded further, as we would have had to turn back to Manali anyways, as they had iin the jeep. Plans were delayed for a day and we would set out the next day.

The road was blocked again the next day and while the group abandoned Spiti-Kinnaur, Anastia and I were determined to make it. We had to do some more stuff in the shop of Sonny and Bonny, fix the spring for the kickstart and Sonny showed me that the chain itself was completely fucked and had to be replaced due to the poor workmanship of a Kashmiri mechanic who had put the new chain on without centering it. I had to put in a new chain, and I had him put new shocks in the back too because they were worn out completely and with Anastia on the back I wanted to make sure the shocks wouldnt explode in the middle of the mountains! This took a whole day and so we were delayed yet again. We also decided, since the road block to spiti, that we would head south to Kinnaur first, and then go up to Spiti and Lahaul and come back to Manali. This is the same thing we were planning just the other way around. By the time we got to Spiti the road would be repaired.

The following morning we took off to Kinnaur. We were on our way! Hurrah!

The first part of the trip out of Manali was fast and familiar to me, as I had ridden this way earlier in the trip on the way to Kasol from Manali. We reached Aut and turned off into the hills towards Chail Chowk. We road thru low windy hills covered in green and reached Chail Chowk where we ate dirty thali and found that bottled water was simply unavailable. We continued, thirsty and drank at our own risk from a random stream on the way.

I realized at this point that I had oil dripping from the clutch box. Shit! Not a good way to start the trip into what is commonly known as the toughest road in India! Sonny had told us quite clearly that the Spiti Lahaul part is the hardest road to navigate in all of India, even more than the manali Leh road.

We reached Karsog, a small beautiful village and took a nice room with a balcony and amazing view. We had bought a bottle of sketchy Indian whisky in Manali and sat drinking all night long on the balcony.

The next day we continued and were determined to make it to Kalpa, a small village a few kilometers from Recong Peu, the main village of Kinnaur Valley. Our determination didnt mean we'd make it however, as the oil leak got worse and the bike stalled a few times. The first time it stalled near a waterfall we were drooling over but we managed to jump start on slope. I was rather pissed that my bike was having problems after having been to Sonny and Bonny and demanding that they do whatever necessary to prepare my bike for the trip. My bike was failing me and we weren't even in Kinnaur yet!

the bike stalled again on a sandy dirt road in the middle of the day in scorching weather and I started cursing every member of Sonny and Bonny's family each time I tried to kickstart and nothing happened. Anastia was also pissed and we had to push the bike for some time in mud and dirt. It sucked big time! I thought it was over, we were stuck forever, I was gonna ditch the bike and become a homeless vegetarian nomad and make russian kids with anastia, but then the bike started all of a sudden and we continued to Luri. Luri was a hellish village mainly because of the hellish heat. I tried to find a mechanic but none was available in the village that ran for no more than 200 meters. The oil leak was getting worse and I tried to figure out what the problem was but couldnt figure it out. The bike was sputtering a bit and obviously something was not working right.

We left Luri and I prayed we'd make it to Rampur, a rather big city where a mechanic could help me out. We arrived and suffice it to say that by the next day, after a good nights sleep in a fine hotel on a majestic river and 700 ruppees in a mechanics pocket we left. The problem was the starting switch or something in the alternator again and the mechanic fixed it. Before we left though he took me to wash my bike and then see the building he owned. I smoked a joint with him and the contractor which was awesome. He had also claimed to fix the oil leak.

The bike was riding great now, but 20 kilometers later I realized I still had an oil leak! I called the same mechanic who rode out to meet us and temporarily fixed the problem. Somebody stole one of my gloves and we continued. We just wanted to get to Kalpa and relax!

After Rampur, which is on a fairly main highway, we again entered the mountains and headed for Recong Peu. The views were familiar to me as were back in Uttaranchal where I was in the beginning of the trip: mossy and bushy green mountains and verdant valleys with gushing rivers: amazing. And at least we had great weather now. No rain, no scorching heat, just perfect. We hit a couple stretches of bad road but nothing like what I had seen up in Ladakh. The 40 kilometers of road before Recong Peu were bad due to construction being done on the roads. The road up here was fairly decent for a place lacking in traffic and people. It would stay fairly decent until Spiti. We finally reached Recong Peu at night and drove up to Kalpa to a guesthouse and passed out immediately.