Noida to Ambala

Day 0 - 3rd July

The day, we have been waiting for had come. At 5.00 PM we started from our office parking. Our bikes, loaded with all stuff were looking brand new, unaware of their future condition :)

It took around 1.5 hours to cross Delhi. After that the traffic was very less and the roads were excellent. On a flyover after Panipat i easily touched 125 kph. We were taking breaks of 15-20 min every hour to relax our backs and have something to drink or eat. After dark, when the headlights were on, i started to feel a pinch effect on my forearms. I thought it's a drizzle. A couple of minutes later some meshy liquid started appearing on all over my helmet shield. It was not rain, but an infinite army of tiny insects which was flying towards the light and getting crushed after an impact with the helmet. I could feel the survivors inside my ears and on my face. I had to switch off the lights and used them judiciously till we reached Kurukshetra.

By 9.30 PM, we reached Ambala, and decided not to proceed till Chandigarh. We took a room near the flyover and had dinner at a Dhaba. After dinner we went to bed at 11 PM. Within one hour we managed to get a good sleep.

Day summary: Noida - Ambala, 4.5 hrs, 225 km.

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Ambala to Solang Valley

Day 1 - 4th July

We left Ambala at 8 AM and headed for Chandigarh. The road was superb and it didn't take more than 40 min. to reach there. We were searching for a place to have breakfast. We crossed many sectors of Chandigarh but couldn't find any market which was open. The irony was that liquor shops were all open in the morning. I don't know if Mohali was in the route, but we finally had Parathas in Mohali. After a good breakfast, we left for Ropar. The roads were good. A few km after crossing Ropar, roads were never straight. We had entered the mountains. I had never driven on curvy roads before. It was fun to drive up and down the hills. We were also stopping for pics. In the below pic i had difficulty in focusing on Nikhil :)
We crossed Bilaspur and stopped at Sundernagar for lunch. The route after Sundernagar was beautiful. All the time a river was flowing with us.
There was also a 5-6 km long tunnel between Kullu and Manali. We reached Manali at 6 PM. I filled my tank there and couldn't believe that my bike had given a mileage of 45. Manali seemed a very crowded place to me, flooded with tourists. Our plan was to spend night with our colleagues in Solang Valley, which was 10 km away from Manali, on the way to Rohtang Pass. We took some shots before starting the ascent.
The ascent from Manali to Solang valley was very steep. It was around 7 pm and we were the only ones who were going in that direction, whereas everyone else was returning from Rohtang. After ~10 km, there was a left turn to Solang valley. We reached there and enjoyed campfire with our friends. The scenery in night from the valley was spectacular. I captured some good shots in the night.
Day summary: Ambala - Ropar - Bilaspur - Kullu - Manali - Solang Valley, 11 hrs, 370 km

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