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.

Next

Srinagar to Jammu

Day 10 - 13th July

This was the last day of our trip and not an easy one. We had to courier our bikes back to Delhi and catch a train at 7:45 pm. We wanted to reach Jammu latest by 5 pm, so we left Srinagar early by 8 o'clock. As nothing was open at that time, we could't have breakfast. Despite of the curfew, we didn't have any trouble in crossing Srinagar. After 1 hour, we stopped at a dhaba for breakfast.

Scenery was green and roads were almost straight for the first 60-70 km after Srinagar.
After that roads were all around the mountains. We crossed Jawahar tunnel, which is ~ 2.5 km long. It was completely dark inside the tunnel. The width was just enough for a truck to pass.

Driving experience till Patnitop wasn't very exciting because of the heavy incoming tourist traffic and hot weather. Between Patnitop and Udhampur, we took a break of 10 min. By 4 pm we reached Jammu. As soon as we reached Jammu, we called up the courier service. Their office was at the other end of the city. We had to cross the whole jammu city and then come back to railway station. By 6:30 pm we had managed to reach the station. We were happy that we made it before time and didn't miss the train :)

We boarded the train at 7:30. Everyone in our compartment was staring at our dirty clothes. When i opened my bag and people saw petrol pipes, ropes and gear footrest; their face expression was worth looking at :)We didn't trouble anyone much and went to bed at 9 pm.

The train arrived Delhi, right time at 5 am. While on my way back to Noida, i was watching the sunrise of delhi. Our trip was over. I was in Delhi but the overwhelming experience of the trip was etched forever in my memories. My eyes were still seeing the mountains in the buildings of the city:)

Day summary: Srinagar - Patnitop - Udhampur - Jammu, 8 hrs, 300 km