7 October 2005: The Motorcycle Diaries

http://www.whereismark.fotopic.net/c647485.html (Weeks 24-28)
http://www.whereismark.fotopic.net/c709106.html (Weeks 29-33)

Hi people,

I trust everyone is well, and enjoying the afterglow of the English victory over the Aussies in the Ashes match this summer. I've finally managed to escape from India, and ready to finally head onto Australia. I came for 4months & stayed for 7!

After getting back from Tibet, there was time to visit the largest stupa in the world at Bodhnath (surrounded by candlelight) , and fit in a bungee jump at The Last Resort in Kodari. A beautiful place, with a narrow suspension bridge across the Seti Khola river. But it was one of the stupidest, thrilling & insane things I've ever done. Now I know the answer to "Why do people jump off a perfectly good bridge?" It's because they're stupid! Never again. [Video available on request :^]

The 8000m+ peaks were all visible on the flight to Delhi, but rather than stay in India's heart of chaos I took the train to Shimla though the mountains, following in Michael Palin's footsteps(?) A very pretty place, as long as you don't get mugged by the monkeys. I'd describe it as half-way between India & Scarborough, with Indians promenading & eating candyfloss, and celebrating Independence Day.

Travelling North, I arrived at Dharamsala where the Dalai Lama resides. However the monsoon weather meant it rained most afternoons, and the Dalai had high-tailed it to Leh in Ladakh further North. So I stayed around for week to help with English lessons for refugees, and then decided to chase after the Dalai on borrowed 350cc Royal Enfield motorbike, lent me by a very generous Israeli called Mottie. Indian roads are great, as long as you avoid the cows, dogs, goats, people, potholes, streams, mad bus drivers & no road rules. When you stop, kids appear out of nowhere & everyone wants to know (a) where you're from, (b) if you're married & (c) why not?

So I went on a loop through the Himalaya from Dharamsala-Jammu-Srinagar-Leh-Manali-Dharamsala, motoring out of the foothills & into the forests of Jammu, then the fertile valley of Kashmir where the population seems to be outnumbered by the army 2:1 staying in the serene Srinagar on a houseboat an Indian family watching the wonderful 4th Ashes test match. After that, past the alpine towns & hanging glaciers of Sonamarg & though Drass (2nd coldest inhabited lace in the world)... running out of petrol & being rescued by the Indian Gurkhas so that I could make it to the high desert of Leh.

Leh was stunning, azure skies, polo matches, dances, huge mountains all around, and finally after 600km the chance to catch up with the Dalai Lama! A very peaceful lace, and quite different to hectic India further South. It's definitely a good place to start if you ever want to come to India.

Sand-dunes, snow-fields, highest motorable road in the world, landslides, crashes, washed-away-bridge, snow-storms, army everywhere, punctures, new friends, sleeping in tents, sharing my Bourbon biscuits with nomads... it took me 5days to do Leh-Manali, and I was pretty glad just to be alive. Fantastic scenery, but it was hard work to do it on a touring bike when a trails bike would have been better... and Winter was just around the corner. I met a fantastic Aussie girl who'd never ridden a bike before, & we travelled together on two bikes for the last few weeks.

All that remained was to visit Amritsar & drink the holy water at the Golden Temple (it had fish swimming in it, and my stomach was not happy either) & Jallianwala Bagh (site of the 1919 Amritsar Massacre), before popping to the Gandhi Museum on his birthday. Happy 136th Birthday Gandhi. And of course a trip to the Taj Mahal. And still there's more of India that I want to see, especially the mountains!

What's the weather like in UK now? Sorry for rambling on for so long, but I hope you're enjoying the stories. As ever, best wishes to you all,

Mark

Previous Galleries:
Week1 (1st Week in India),
Weeks2-4 (Kerala & Karnataka),
Weeks5-8 (Karnatarka, Goa & Rajasthan),
Weeks9-15 (Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh & Nepal),
Weeks16-20 (Nepal & Tibet),
Weeks21-23 (Tibet & Shangri La).