I'm at home with the terrain now. It shows me no malice - its diversity, an opium to my oxygen starved brain.
An endless sky, wrapped in blue and gold witnesses our advance. We will ride long; without consequence, without a care.
We halt briefly for tea. Our hostess takes to me like a bee to honey. For she will ask me why I sport no wedding ring. "Isn't it obvious?", I quip. She asks me of my woman. I inform her that I have none. She remarks that perhaps I should take home with me a Ladhaki girl. I state that I'm prepared to but haven't met any one of interest. Perhaps I lie, for my heart remains within the confines Leh, in a little place called Dolphin.
I never said goodbye - merely left a big tip and a hope that I will someday return.
Or perhaps I do not lie. Perhaps I would have done more had I had any real interest. Or perhaps... the hostess breaks my reverie, recommending that I take one from her own village for they consider me worthwhile. I realize she jests, for my wives-to-be are in their early sixties. Much too ripe for a man of thirty-three. The conversation continues without direction.
She reminisces her time spent working in a Delhi call-center. When asked why she left, she raises her child into my viewport. "I got married.", she says. "I love city boys.", she adds, her eyes repressing a hitherto forgotten memory, her lips uttering nothing more. I notice one other belle looking over a makeshift barrier, smiling bashfully in my direction. I'm flattered by the attention, but mostly cynical of their intent.
Inside, the boys are sipping the last of their tea. I tell her I better hurry in. She nods. I glance at my would-be-lovelies one last time. They seem to be weaving carpets. I ask my hostess one last question - "How much do these carpets go for?". "Marry them and you'll get it for free", she replies. "I'm sorry I asked.", I think to myself. I see more bikes turning into the compound. Spiderweb exclaims that they belong to 60kph. I find one of them exclaiming to the other that our bikes were xbhp.
We make no introductions for want of time, remount our steeds and resume the journey. We must reach Tangtse before dark. As meters melt into kilometers, I zone into a careless throttle. The Universe speaks to me no more, the terrain challenges me no more, the tarmac wobbles me no more, the open sky... shows trouble. There's a sand storm brewing in the distance. Wisps of particle combine with violent intent. From our vantage, its pretty clear we'll have to navigate right through it. We decide to pick up the pace. Experience suggests, the longer we mull around, the worse it usually gets. Of course Vishal will do everything but pick up the pace and so the group splits once more with Spiderweb cranking up the throttle to insane levels while a cautious Vishal moving to the other end of the spectrum. Drifter and RomeoMike will stick to their mate, and I will glue in to mine.
The storm pushes us around good. The R15 shivers like a new born in Alaska. We keep our heads low, our visors down and our throttles up. The pelting sand destroys my view frame. I see nothing, only the dim glow of Motorbreath's tail lamp a few feet from me. My lone rear view struggles to reveal the background; it fails every time. Fortunately, it only takes us a few, though long minutes - perhaps more than twenty, to exit the eye of the storm. We've lost the three once more.
We find ourselves close to Tangtse - 2kms if the stone is to be believed. Spiderweb suggests we keep moving and look for accommodation. It will be dark soon. At 0 kms from Tangtse, we find ourselves at a crossroad, one leading into the township, the other, by-passing it to arrive at Pangong Tso. We are incapable of deciphering one from the other for the board seems to suggest nothing of consequence. Spiderweb decrees we take the right - we follow blindly. Turns out, his guess was right. We land at the doors of Tangtse.
Tangtse, a micro settlement, the equivalent of a short street. A few buildings on either side of the road sums up the town. We find two options for accommodation - an Inn and a comparatively modest guest house. We chose modesty over luxury - although luxury in these parts is often misleading. We get permission to park our steeds within the premises. We unsaddle as we wait for the three to arrive. When they do not, I worry that perhaps they turned towards the wrong leg of the fork. I head back see if I can get a visual on them. Luck favours not me; I head back worried.
It won't be long before I hear the rumble of three heading into town. I signal them into the house. As I do so, I see Spiderweb exiting the bathroom. He's happy with the facility. Happy enough to praise it with a Kodak smile. I decide to give it a go. Which reminds me... I need new underwear.
By the time I exit the facility, not more than 5 minutes I pretend, the family three have slipped into deep slumber. I am famished as are my two. We stroll down, have a late lunch, speak of inconsequential things and return to rest. RomeoMike will awaken many moments later and we will head out once more, him for food, I for underwear. We find two stores - selling everything from pencils, to hooch, to underwear. The one we hit seems to be selling male thongs for that is precisely what they look like - little strings with an air of a trifle bit of masculinity. We will have no such thing under our belts.
The other store is owned by a member of the opposite sex. It pains me to ask her for underwear. Lack of options is the mother of adventure. I blurt out my desire to clothe myself beneath the exterior padding. I'm too dizzy to remember her response for I now have no memory of acquiring an underwear. I do remember buying me some socks though.
Motorbreath and Spiderweb will pick up some hooch to celebrate the onslaught of darkness. Heck they'll celebrate anything if it involves a good dose of intoxication. They are not alone.
Our canteen boy had it right. Tangtse is a brutal environment. The freeze makes me question my sanity, the thin still air deprives me of it. How do you escape claustrophobia outdoors? Where do you run to? I lay still on the mattress, listening in to familiar tunes, covered in layers of clothing and sheets. I dare not move for I fear my chest will explode. Motorbreath complains of the oxygen levels; Spiderweb waves him off saying its psychological. Perhaps he's right. Perhaps I react not to the weather but to the warnings. But I dare not speculate. I will give dinner a go despite invitations from the family three. I will lay still and sink into oblivion.
I wake up to a full bladder. I try to resist, but resist I cannot. The phone bellows 3:30am - its glare blinding my sleepy eyes. The physical discomfort, in addition to the freeze is too much for my constitution to take lying down. I will have to risk visiting the john. I take two puffs of aerosol to prevent myself from going to an asthmatic shock. I can hear my chest pounding as I rise. I limp to the bathroom. A weak right ankle hurts in the extremities. I relieve myself. Much to my relief, my heart catches up with the Universe. It pounds no more. I walk back lazily. I have no temptation to tempt the Universe. I do not want to be taught another lesson; not tonight. The Universe, it would seem, is as disinterested as I.
I see the dim glow of my phone lying on the bed; searching desperately for relevance in a network. "Should have put it on airplane mode to conserve battery. We won't have any network outside so long as we are out of Leh.", I think to myself. I don't go in, preferring instead to sit on a cane chair outside and stare at the moon. It looks deceptively close. The stars shine through the clear black sky. I sit transfixed for many breathless moments. I don't feel her creep up on me...
"Where've you been?", I ask.
"Around", she says. "You've been busy I see", she adds.
"Apparently not enough", I remark wryly. She giggles and takes a seat besides me. We hold hands, her familiar smell intoxicating my very core. I dare not move, for I'm afraid I'll lose sight of her.
"Why here? Why tonight?", I ask.
"Because I felt you needed me", she responds.
"What makes you think that?", I ask.
She brings up her finger, holds it close to my eye and collects a tear. I look away. I did not realize I was crying.
"Wanna step inside?", she asks.
"Do I?", I wink. She laughs, squeezes my hand tight and drags me under the sheets.
"How I've missed you", I whisper.
"But I never left", she murmurs.
We hug close, falling into slumber in each others arms.
We'll cuddle all night, me and her, my loneliness and I...
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