Adventures over

What an amazing place India is. Chaos, colour, people, endless people,
smiles, colour, variety, movement, rubbish, smells, many delightful, heat,
chill, great food and less great food, happy people and dreadful poverty.
Mad traffic.

Yet in all this throng and seeming chaos a wonderful country unfolds to the
traveller with an open mind and awe in his heart.

Wonderful, wonderful India!

Will I be back. The only question is when.

The adventure is not quite over yet

We found our train. Which was described as couchette for overnight to Delhi

On the toy train from shimla

Departing shimla

The train is more comfortable than anticipated!

Almost back to shimla

Last day

Just to show that two weeks in India doesn't make any better looking!

Shoja

What a view from our fabulous accommodation at 8700 feet.

After some dull, by indian standard roads, you know two lanes of tarmac and
even white lines but still many ruminants wandering about, we left the main
highway and the heat and climbed about 6000 feet up a fabulous
switchbacking road which ended on an even more fun switchbacking gravel
road. I was nearly laughing all the way up as I whizzed by my slower riding
buddies chucking gravel and dust up in my trail.

The accommodation is out of this world.

All going very well and rather sad tomorrow is our last biking day.

Shoja

What a view from our fabulous accommodation at 8700 feet.

After some dull, by indian standard roads, you know two lanes of tarmac and
even white lines but still many ruminants wandering about, we left the main
highway and the heat and climbed about 6000 feet up a fabulous
switchbacking road which ended on an even more fun switchbacking gravel
road. I was nearly laughing all the way up as I whizzed by my slower riding
buddies chucking gravel and dust up in my trail.

The accommodation is out of this world.

All going very well and rather sad tomorrow is our last biking day.

Dad enjoying lunch

Have lost a lot of height and now sweltering at 3600 feet in the foothills.

Should be staying at around 8000 feet tonight and then up to 12000
tomorrow. So much cooler

Seems strange to be on tarmac roads with two lanes and the odd insect
buzzing about. I am almost missing the hard off road sections and the snow.

After the inner line

So let's go back a few days. We crossed the sensitive inner line very close
to Tibet, at one point only about a km away. Crossing the line meant the
end of mobile phone signals. Not because the steep and arid mountain
prevented access but because the Indians were jamming any signal, lest the
Chinese announce their decision to invade by mobile phone.

We were now in spiti valley proper although at least two days full riding
it was no ordinary valley more like riding along a dirt track carved out of
the rock in the side of the grand canyon with the alps occasionally popping
into view as we first gained height leaving the river below, then zig
zagged back down to the river to cross a bridge.

We got as far as Nacco where we stopped to find out the status of the land
slide.. It was only a few km away but impassable. We waited in the shade,
occasional blasts being heard around the corner.. Then as the sun lowered
we moved into the sun then finally as it set being the mountains we donned
warm gear. Eventually the news came that the road would not be cleared that
night, so we set off to find accommodation in nacco. Basic to say the least
but with lots of good interaction with some motorbiking indians who, with
the assistance of dad managed to restore electricity to our humble abode.