[vredesbyrd]

Prologue

Right from the day the Uttarakhand trip had concluded back in Nov 2023, we were itching to spread our wings again.
This turned into countless weekends of drawing route maps, budget analysis, slide decks and brainstorming instead of the usual "order nice food, shoot other people and their space stations in Rebirth 7.7, wind down".
Yes, I make slide decks for my trips as well because planning is paramount (and usually things do not go as planned).

The final decision was to take a 3-man squad to Manali:

• Balbir (Akash) - From the last travelogue, one of the only two people allowed to be on the driver seat of the Eclipse as I am extremely paranoid about people crashing it. Highly experienced rider/driver and he frequents Leh/Spiti along with random hill stations with funny names.
  Then there is our taste in cars, modifications, gaming, photography and music that goes very well. He was my roommate back in Chennai, so we have influenced each other over the years to the point that we can communicate without speaking
  
  
• Ritter McFritter (Ritwik) - This is the oldest friendship that I still have active and well. We used to share the class bench till we got split up by Bio/Computer Science. The fellow who flies with me in Rebirth 7.7. The guy who goes inside a battlefield totally blind but manages to survive. The man who knows target prioritization and weapon grouping, even though the controls are in Russian.
  Besides, there is a near 99% match on our musical preference, which is extremely rare. Rarer than a cheap LC200.
  
  
• Myself - Yeah, sometimes people need motivation and emotional blackmailing to pull a trip through

Bookings were made and we drew up a date where the rendezvous would be at Lucknow

<<NOTE>>
Most of my phone photos from the trip are lost due to:
1. My stupidity of not taking backups
2. Apple sync software for windows

Have recovered a small portion, thanks to Balbir. Most phone photos that you will see are taken by him and myself.
Also, lost the driving footage up to Manali because the Hero 10 corrupted the SD card. But we still have content as it worked after a format.

Because of the same reason, the POV videos come at a later stage in the travelogue. Travelogue? Might as well be a photovlog as a few people got really offended by a recent post. Hence, reduced text content and funny bits in order to play safe.
<<END OF NOTE>>

Bookings were made and we drew up a date where the rendezvous would be at Lucknow. Balbir started off from Delhi and the same for Ritter departing from Kolkata.

Crusty but dependable WAP7 pulling Balbir's Shatabdi:


The boys seem to have a party where they put up at Lucknow:


Nobody could get proper sleep due to the excitement and we were off by 3:30 am:


Somewhere on the Agra Expressway:



Having a grand time:


Then I surprise the boys by pulling out a 13 year old Torch 9850:


Ritter's reaction to that information:


We are reaching Chandigarh in the next post

[vredesbyrd]

Chandigarh and beyond

As the sun rose, the heat and traffic became worse. Despite some diversions (due to the protests), we managed to reach Chandigarh by afternoon.

I though I should pull out my Z5 just in case:






Upon reaching, we decided to have lunch at a place different from our hotel:




With thirst quenched and bellies satiated, we headed to The Lalit for checking in and a nap.

Hmm, yes, AC it seems:


Product marketing:


Mirror check:


Asserting dominance:


The long corridor:


After relaxing for the rest of the day, we start off towards Manali in the next post

[vredesbyrd]

Reaching Manali

After a relatively lazy checkout between 9 and 10 am, all there was left was to reach Manali, preferably before the last light. You know how things go.
Unfortunately, the entirety of the driving footage from Chandigarh to Manali is lost now, thanks to the Hero 10. Will have to do with photos for now

Paratha stop:


Wheeling:


And the scenery kept improving:


Entered Manali just before sunset:


What we had booked was a Zostel in Burwa village (between Palchan and Manali). We got the attic room with a nice little balcony and 3 beds. I did not let Ritter take the single bed this time.

Lo and behold, the first photo from the balcony:


Naturally, Balbir was not happy with the way I had parked, so he went downstairs to correct my mistakes:


With a very nice set of rolls and burgers (ordered online, of course), we went to sleep after what was a very tiresome day:


We are taking a walk tomorrow because rest day

[vredesbyrd]

A walk in the park (town) 1

We woke up refreshed after a good night sleep, the rolls were really nice.

Got slapped in the face by majestic scenery in daylight:














Spotted this chunky potato downstairs, couldn't wait to lay my hands on this fluff:


Ritter idling to reach operational temps:


Balcony view:


We were downstairs in a jiffy:


Squishy:


He did not want to hear our complaints about wanting to send NGT to prison for crimes against humanity:


We will actually step outside the hotel compound in the next post

[vredesbyrd]

A walk in the park (town) 2

Every direction you turn, you see some nice scenery:


The boys doing their thing:




*A new player has joined the lobby*:


It is a very pretty village, no doubts about that:


We found a place willing to sell us fresh momos. Plus Ritter made friends with a greek lady and grabbed her uke:


1939:


Ritter decided that it would be a good time for a JoJo pose:


Balbir gets a phone call, so Ritter decides to go back to idle animation:


Super cute girl :


We will make a failed attempt at Rohtang pass the next day

[vredesbyrd]

Rohtang Pass failed attempt

Rise and shine, duster, we got ourselves a situation.
Oh wait, this is not Mars and this is definitely not 2nd October 2828. (Oh no, humour, I hope I don't get criticised for supporting the martian rebellion).

Rest day got us bored, so we got intel about the Atal Tunnel. It was closed, and would remain the same for the next 2-3 days. Bummer!
But that is not enough to stop us. We decided to check out the nasty old Rohtang Pass. I had been on it back in 2011. We (I), wanted to give it another shot.

Crisp morning:


Snow and alpine:


BW:


Ready to rumble:


Reached the entry check post and were shooed off as it was closed due to ice.
No photos, nothing taken. All I have are videos here.

Chasing another 4WD at a blistering 40 kph:

https://youtu.be/oWhu8RqQdYE?si=Ge_niZilfqDlF4bI

My first attempt at making a retro video:

https://youtu.be/bBdfqZMZRDE?si=zan93LNlll04hUXE

Well, maybe this:






We returned back to the Zostel and awaited further intel.
Some evening photos. Three iterations of the same scene at different focal lengths:






Where blue and yellow mix:


This could be a Summoning album cover:


Balbir flexing his superior camera (I had a mere 14 Pro then):


And the sunset:






Next post/day, we decided to lump it and head to Sethan

[vredesbyrd]

Sethan, a suspension test

While Balbir and myself are corporate slaves, Ritter is a doctor, but we do like our leisure (the reason we took 35+ hairpin bends at midday).
We made a failed attempt at Atal Tunnel and decided to head to Sethan after a bit of discussion on some lovely local tea and biscuits.

Here's a picture from the crusty and decrepit 9850:


Getting to Sethan was really hard work for both the pilot and the ship itself.
The terrain keeps getting challenging:




The uphill section was refreshing. In fact, it was so good that I forgot to pull out my Z5 until midway.

Balbir being smug:


Vertigo:


More vertigo:


More cool photos:


A small rebreather:


And Ritter found a stick:


The first priority after reaching Sethan was to find a parking space. Found next to a Jimny with American Racing style rims:


Ritter and I contemplating on the next attack plan since the Italian Pizza Hut was closed:


Rest of Sethan was frozen:




Ritter performing a high speed maneuver:


Balbir with his infamous MTNL handsign:




Sethan was pretty quiet and sleepy:




We met this super nice and soft fellow at Sethan. We could barely hold back from kidnapping this floof:


Sethan exit videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2pLQVxtONg&t=252s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLES7D-_oMU&t=53s

And the next day? We reach out all the way to "The Tunnel"

[vredesbyrd]

Atal Tunnel

On our return from Sethan the previous evening, we got intel that the Atal tunnel might be open today. Packed some chips and coke, still having around 30L of diesel left, off we go towards Atal tunnel.
The idea was to:

• See if the intel is correct and the tunnel is actually open
• If it is, then just cross it, take some pictures and videos
• Drive around a little bit and head back

There are no pictures or videos up to the first checkpoint at the end of Solang because it's just annoying taxis, NCR Thars who have zero road sense and clueless pedestrians blocking the roads and a particular black Thar with wide tyres and a deathwish (nearly made us drive off a cliff).
The police flagged us down and said that only 4x4 allowed beyond this point as conditions were icy and wet. We gracefully showed them the terrain control knob and they let us through.
The thought of challenging terrain had us giggle in excitement like little girls (except it was not so challenging).

Unfortunately, the next set of photos is rather crunchy as they were lost and then recovered through Whatsapp. You know what the app does to the photos.

As we started to climb, the weather got dark and dreary (which is a good thing):




Balbir piloting again:


With the heater cranked up, Ritter was having a good time in the back. He's not used to harsh northern winters:


Absolutely brilliant weather:






We stopped at this bridge for a few seconds just to take in the scenery:


Here's us driving through the same section:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3WyVzcMb1Y

Some coffee that we carried from Zostel helped us make the decision to go all the way to Sissu instead of just hanging out at the North portal.
I had never experience weather like this before and this makes me wish that it snowed in the rest of the country as well.
Given the conditions, the Eclipse did slide a little at some points but Balbir knows how to counter-steer.

Nice and slippery hairpins:






We made it to the tunnel and it was warm inside:






The drive to the South portal was really fun but what came next was even better

[vredesbyrd]

Light at the end of the tunnel

As the title says:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0Vsn2Rwsqg

Ritter was trying to imitate the horrible vloggers we see on the tube.
But then we saw taxis. A lot of them. There was no point hanging around, so we took a whole batch of photos and made our way towards Sissu. The idea was to find a nice place for brunch (seeing the weather and limited resources there, a plate of momos with some maggi and tea would be a 5 star treat).

The entire photo batch:


We never thought that all those years after school and college, we'd end up crossing one of the coolest tunnels in our country, together.

The portal:






The instrument that got us there:






The bridge:




Concrete thing:


As usual, Ritter having a good time:


Majestic Balbir:




The hand-egg:


Reeling:


Good times:


With some photos and a nice break, we pressed on

[vredesbyrd]

Jispa and a U-turn

Our objective was to find a place that would offer us hot momos, maggi and tea. There might have been places offering just that, but we miserably failed to stop there.
Balbir had been driving since the morning and it was decided that he will drive the current section till we turn around. Then it would be my turn:

https://youtu.be/E-jEm8hteks?si=qsZU9RYffcdquZgB

Found a nice spot for some photos with little to no tourists:








Balbir:




Ritter power-posing all over the place:


Moving onwards:

https://youtu.be/piihI0KUbDo?si=0t2MXnfeQpeplXz6

Kept going for over an hour and we found another spot for photos:


























And some shorts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qjE4Pl95d4

Balbir could sneak in some shots:








We kept marching till we thought what was a road block

[vredesbyrd]

Turn around, now

The scene we thought was a roadblock:


Which it wasn't because later a swift and a bunch of boleros coming from Darcha plowed through this.

Turned around and took some photos:










At Keylong, the cops told us to return through the same route by 3pm citing weather conditions. Or else they'd be forced to send a search party.
Our decision to turn back from here was wise as we made it back in time.

A happy Balbir translates to happy times:


With myself back on the helm, there's plenty to show:

https://youtu.be/VXc19UgcM2A?si=fDePCi1jvaOyYtQK

https://youtu.be/1BrTiJa_afo?si=TnC1HMjk3BrdMosX

https://youtu.be/eQaVkCObX9c?si=QaqTzaS2wi1GRfUv

https://youtu.be/otHZWwvMO4A?si=WTV4q71F0wg-9m21

Crossed Keylong:

https://youtu.be/nPYTEOXvfDA?si=GlRARjNvOKe6N8ap

Nearly at the North portal:

https://youtu.be/ydtgY8wj77c?si=95_s5zDZgrB1YxvL

This trip reaffirmed my choice about the Eclipse. The machine delivered what it had promised and more. Add to that the fantastic company I had and the negative temperatures. It was perfect, but all good things must come to an end

[vredesbyrd]

Epilogue and bonus content

We started a day later and made it to Noida in record time.
Ginger, Pari Chowk:


One last hurrah:


Bonus content follows.
Sad attempt at Zostel (Hotel) California interrupted by a soft potato. Ritter's hands were freezing as it was -2 degrees outside:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxh1yNqRBgg

What does Ritter do? Well, he has a good time:

https://youtu.be/9570QanExak?si=Z-UQcha6EyJwUGFb

Photos from the 9850:
















Mid-week edit:


Touchy. It's the same potato that interrupted our singing:


Ride Inn Cafe, where tables are made out of bike parts:


Soft fluff:


Stranger danger:


We are about to open 2 12" pizzas:


Some "crushed" recovery photos:
















Back in the comfort of plains:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szCD3zTwxUY

I suppose this is the end of the thread, yea?
Got plans for this December and Balbir is tagging along. The location is a surprise!

Until next time

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[T.50s]

Amazing travelogue and some very funny pics in the midst of a sea of them.
By the way how was the cleanliness and the crowd in Manali this time of the year?
My friend visited Manali last year in December and said that the crowd was very rowdy and unruly and the streets also were pretty dirty around the market areas.

[vredesbyrd]

Originally Posted by T.50s

Amazing travelogue and some very funny pics in the midst of a sea of them.

Thank you. Comedy is our motto!

My friend visited Manali last year in December and said that the crowd was very rowdy and unruly and the streets also were pretty dirty around the market areas.

By and large, it is the same. That is the reason we chose a place to stay away from Manali. The situation is terrible, especially the Solang valley with those selfie types that have no pedestrian sense. Fine if you want to take a selfie but do not block the road!

As usual, the taxis create a huge mess and people have zilch for road manners. Then you add NCR registered Thars to the mix and you have to drive around like a scared cat.
Tourists throw garbage wherever they go. That's why we have a bin in our vehicle. I would suggest staying away from crowd centers if you are travelling in your own vehicles.

The only other big crowd we saw was a squad of 4 Endeavours in Jispa. But they were parked nicely on the side.