Day 6 – Bikeday 3
After our visit to the village which ended the prior letter we had to descend on the same road chisled into the mountain side as our ascent the day before.
Driving through, albeit fewer, villages was also an experience. High risk of traffic jams but a greater risk of holy cows and stray dogs. They were everywhere and sometimes in unlikely places. There were many pedestrians. The children smiled and waved. Laughed when we waved back and often wanted a high five, which we reciprocated as we passed them. The first days were in lush and green valleys and steep hillsides. We saw houses built on steep slopes. Crazy real-estate! Driving to higher ground the landscape became more barren and houses scarcer. Snowcapped mountains came to view and the valleys narrowed.
Roadwork was just about everywhere and getting through could be challenging. (Click on the below picture and view it i full format)
The below picture is taken on one of many photo stops. Randi and Rolf shown here.
In spite of barren and desolate landscape, there were still some green oasis to be seen. Usually due to a stream, irrigation and local agriculture.
As were now moving into a disputed area between India, China and Pakistan. They do not agree on where the actual boarder should be. The Indian authorities want to know who is in the area at any given time. We therefore had to stop in the city of Kalpa to get permission to enter the area. There is a major Indian military presence here. Time spent on obtaining the necessary permissions resulted in a short drive that day. We spent some time walking around the area and observing the local life and nature.
Below the view from our hotel.
Day 7 – Bikeday 4
Up early 05:00 hours and depature at 06:30. My clutch cable snapped and another rider punctured! This was promply repaired by our Indian mechanics who drove last in the group. Leaving Shimla we divided ourselves into two groups. One leader first and a mechanic last in each group. The mechanic had a «bag of tricks» on his bike with the necessary spares and tools to perform quick fixes. The accompanying van was a rolling workshop with all spares and heavy duty tools. The clutch and puncture were quickly fixed. Below is the chief mechanic Darmender performing his magic.
We are now very close to the Chinese/Tibet boarder. Only 5km to the mountain tops where the boarder is located.
We continued our journey into «Spiti Valley» which used to be the administrative center of inner Himalaya. On the bright side there was less traffic than before. We entered in through a very narrow side valley, which then emptied out in wide valley.
The below video shows our entry into Spiti Valley.
The valley is best described as a desert valley. Not much greenery but still inhabited by locals. It is a fantastic valley granting us some great views and experiences the following 2-3 days. Our first stop was in the village of Nako where we took the opportunity of taking a walk and observing the village.
In Nako I spied this wonderful young woman doing her laundry.
The below picture is a local farmer’s cowshed. Not much space for the animals but the winter fodder of hay is stacked on the roof.
The night was spent in the town of Tabo an old monastery township. The monastery was founded in year 996 AD and was magnificent. The below picture is taken inside showing monks beating their drums and humming their prayers. I appears to us to be a despicable existence. Then again, who are we to judge?
It was claimed that Dalai Lama had stated the he would move to Tabo when he retired. (Do Lama’s retire, abdicate, retreat or just wither away?) It’s evident that this is a place celebrating an ascetic way of life. It is forbidden to smoke or drink in the monastery.
Before the monastery was built the monks lived in caves on the hillside above.
Day 8 – Bikeday 5
A very special and interesting day. Our first visit was to Dhankar, the old capital of Spiti. On our way we stopped to view some special rock formations as shown below.
Dhankar’s special location high up on the mountainside.
The fortress high on top of steep cliffs. Small in size and no easy target to conquer.
Kaza is a town located in the valley below. Surounded by desert.
We ate lunch at a restaurant in Kaza. I was allowed to take pictures in the kitchen. Now we know why the pot of chicken consists of small pieces full of chicken bones. The chop up the chicken. Not exactly a chicken filet!
The below women’s head gear show that there is a substantial muslim population in the area.
Our last place to visit was Kibber. Altitude 4200 meters over sea level with world’s highest post office. On our way we veiwed the Key monastery and it’s incredible location:
Time did not allow us a visit th monastery.
The Kibbber village viewed from an adjacent cornfield – 4 200 meters above sea level.
A long queue of bikers at the world’s highest postoffice. Post cards to send home!
Where was Postman Pat? No mail man no mail! Our saviour again was our chief mechanic Darmender. We gave him our post cards and money and he as usual fixed it. The million dollar question is: Did the post cards ever arrive? Yes, they did, after almost three weeks.
The day’s destination was the town of Kaza.
Our hotel appeared to be nice and fairly new. Poor carpentry almost ended with an accident. While we were having supper the owner told Gunnar to come to our room immediately. A window was almost falling out. Gunnar had opened the window to dry the bike clothes. The screws holding the window hinges had fallen out. Only one screw was holding the window hinge in place. See the below mickey mouse screws the carpenter had used to hold the window hinges. This was a heavy window.
