I awaken to biking impotence, for I cannot ride today. Motorbreath seems eager to prove himself following yesterday's miscarriage and asks of our plans for the day. Spiderweb, it would seem, is as unable as I. We resolve to spend the day in Leh. It would appear that Inder has called it a day, and a journey as well for he has resolved to return to Mumbai from Leh. He will ride no further.
Motorbreath, Spiderweb and I revisit Dolphin - our breakfast haven. Perhaps we fancy our hostess more than our cuisine, although, to be fair, the latter is up to par. Motorbreath leaves to find an ATM, Spiderweb to relieve himself and I'm given the opportunity to be alone with her for there is no other customer.
For the next fifteen minutes, I sit there, watching her as she resets the tables, recounts the cash, brings me my tea, smiles demurely as she realizes that my eyes glaze over at the very sight of her. My mind recites "Kiss her". Her proximity to me only throttles up the recital. I'm surprised at myself for I take my instinct seriously. My hands tremble as I contemplate the consequences. She brings me my cookies and a shy smile. The wind carries with it her sweet smell.
"Perhaps I should just talk to her. Perhaps I should ask her out for coffee... coffee? Seriously? And where would you take her? To her own restaurant? Ask her her name... start with her name... damn you! Say SOMETHING! Experience this, even if its rejection..."
As I'm about to utter, an elderly gentlemen, perhaps her father, walks into the eatery and my reverie ends in a highside. Note for the future: Next time, throttle up. Coasting is not an option.
All she does is laugh shyly at my wreck. She's not condescending. Merely amused.
"It's been a while since I traversed these roads. I'll get better with practice, I promise.", my eyes say to her. In time, Spiderweb and Motorbreath will return too and the latter, perhaps caught up in the same reverie, will only manage to ask her if she's from around Leh. She will respond, a response I do not remember for I was too focused on her eyes. Motorbreath will never ask her her name, for he will run out of steam too - a fact that tickles me no end. Two highsides in one race. Spiderweb looks amused as he watches us struggle from the sidelines.
We walk lazily across Leh, spot BMWs and Bullets and bleached babes. Nirvana, if there ever was one, was to be found here. But as time rolls on, the biker in us begins to itch. We need to ride - perhaps a little, certainly not a lot. And so we holler out to Inder, drag him out of his room and remount our steeds. We will head to Leh palace.
Leh Palace overlooks the Ladakhi Himalayan town of Leh, modelled on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. The palace was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century, but was later abandoned when Dogra forces took control of Ladakh in the mid-19th century. The royal family moved to Stok Palace. Leh Palace is nine storeys high; the upper floors accommodated the royal family, the stables and store rooms were in the lower floors. The palace, a ruin, is currently being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India. The palace is open to the public and the roof provides panoramic views of Leh and the surrounding areas. The mountain of Stok Kangri in the Zangskar mountain range is visible across the Indus valley to the south, with the Ladakh mountain range rising behind the palace to the north. ~ Wikipedia
With the Leh palace marveled at and pixellated, we decide to head to Shanti Stupa.
"Shanti Stupa is a Buddhist white-domed stupa (chorten) on a hilltop in Chanspa, Leh district, Ladakh, in the north Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was built in 1991 by Japanese Buddhist Bhikshu Gyomyo Nakamura . The Shanti Stupa holds the relics of the Buddha at its base, enshrined by the 14th Dalai Lama himself . The stupa has become a tourist attraction not only due to its religious significance but also due to its location which provides panoramic views of the surrounding landscape." ~ Wikipedia
We return at dusk, eat a hearty Indian Chinese meal and guzzle Mangolas. As I look out the window, I see the familiar sight of a black R-15. It's Aman. I rush out and holler. He hears and halts. The rest join me. It would appear that he has lost track of the Pune-ites. I will only know of his adventures on our return. For now, we must bid adieu for he's been riding long and needs rest. That is the last I will see of him in our sojourn. I will meet him weeks after my return to exchange photographs and stories of which he will never blog and I will realize, pleasantly, that he holds no grudges of our temper tantrums and different strokes.
As night falls, we cruise from one ATM to the other in search of one that works and in doing so, run into three of the brethren - Raman Mishra aka RomeoMike, Ashwin Narvekar aka Drifter and Vishal Karve aka Vishal Karve. RomeoMike had asked to ride with us to Leh, but haven't ever ridden with him and unaware of his biking dynamics, Spiderweb had decided against it, a logical decision at the time. As I shake RomeoMike's hand, I'm reminded of doing the same at Fountain, back in Mumbai, where our journey first began. He was there to see us off. Between the first handshake and the last, I had lived and left a lifetime.
RomeoMike had followed our path a few days hence partially on rails and the rest on two wheels. The fact that he and his comrades had traversed equally arduous pathways said a lot about their biking faculty and their passion to ride. They were one of us. And so we agreed to ride together for the remainder of the journey. Little did we know that one decision would bring forth so many more adventures.
Our chance meeting will escalate into drinks and a plan for the morning hence. Looking back, I'm glad we rode together. Looking back, I'm glad I remember to look back, for in those memories lies the essence of who we have become. It is only fair to pay tribute to those moments, only fair that we do so honestly.
More chapters will follow, more words will flow - an ode to all that was and all that made us what we be...
