How did I end up in India and riding the Himalayans on a Royal Enfield Himalayan? It all started in 2018 when I resolve to leave for my big trip up and down the Americas. I had to thin my flock of motorcycles, so I posted my Ducati Hyperstrada 821 for sale, and ultimately rode it to the new owner’s house, Steve Martin, who did not know how to ride yet. Fast forward a few years later, Steve and I have kept in touch and stayed friends, and mention about going on the trip to the Himalayan on a tour with a tour guide and motorbikes, for less than 2000 dollars. It was an enticing figure even though I did not like the idea of a tour, but it be nice to not have to worry about anything.

As the time nears in March and April to book the flight, the pricing for the flight went up (expected), the pricing for the tour also went up significantly. As the numbers add up, we are looking at close to 3500+ USD, and maybe more once you add miscellaneous other things to spend money on. The budget ballooned, the interest waned. I offer the idea of simply flying there and just winging it, rent bikes and just take off and do what ever. We don’t need a tour, and we don’t need to wait for anyone. We can change the flight dates a little and still make it within our 2000 budget, give or take 500 dollars.

The idea was rejected by the group, understandably, considering I was the only one in the group that travel solo for 10 month in multiple countries without a plan. Phaedon was the only crazy cat that was willing to wing it (as expected, lol). Afterward, I felt really down that this highly anticipated trip was not going to happen. By chance I saw Dustin Nere on Facebook, (a online friend I have found via super dork style searching for #dr650 #rtw #alaskatoargentina, who was only 2 weeks behind me when I rode to Ushuaia, Argentina), posting about his upcoming trip to just “wing it”, in no other place than the Himalayans. Like fate and anything opportunity that comes your way, you have take it. I message Dustin, wondering if they were okay having a 3rd, and maybe a 4th (Phaedon). We talked and chatted a bit about our travel styles and our experiences, and Dustin and Guy (his riding buddy) agree that me and Phaedon will rendezvous with them in Dehradun, where he already arrange 4 bikes for us to rent from ‘Himalayan Motorcycles’. That was it, no plans, no tour, no accommodation, and no itinerary. My kind of adventure.

Phaedon and I did a gear test prior to departure. I had to fix a bunch of little things that were broken with my gear or worn out. I also did the unimaginable and cut my chair, a 4 year commitment. I don’t think I will grow it out anytime soon. Shaba also got his passport last minute. We are ready to go.

Melissa and Neo brought over a little turtle for Shaba cause they know that I could not bring anything bigger to accompany Shaba. Me and Phaedon left for Amtrak for New York at 4 am. Train ride was actually pretty pleasant. Then we aboard Air India, and Phaedon brought the Switch, it definitely pass time quickly. We landed in Dehli, and immediately try to transition to our flight to Dehradun.

This is when the shit storm hits. First we could not find the domestic flight location, it turns out to be on the upper deck of the airport. Then there was numerous security check to just exit and enter into the same airport. After that, when I was checking in, they told me I only have a total of 20 kg and I have 40 kg, for check luggage. We bought the flex ticket that said 20kg 2 check bag instead of 15 kg 1 check bag, apparently its 20 kg total, not 20 kg per bag. For some magical reason Phaedon’s person who checked him in didn’t charge him the extra weight. Which for me turned out to 120 dollars. The whole ticket was 120 dollars round trip from Dehli to Dehradun. I was a huge Karen about it, and the guy at the counter drop my payment to 82 dollars instead of 120. Still highway robbery, which also mean I’ll have to pay the same thing on the way back. Making this 1 hour domestic flight ticket nearly 300 USD. This was just the beginning of the fuckery.

I checked in late, the payment process took forever, and yet no one seem to care if it’s almost time for me to board. Once I settle the check bag, I go to security. I ask the guy if I need to take my boots off, he said no, then I walked to through the metal detector, it did not go off, and the security on the other side told me I need to take my boots off. So I went back and took my boots off. This back and forth and then finally I got through to the other side waiting for my stuff. They looked at every single of my electronics, took everything out of my bag, my DJI action cam, battery banks, Sena com units, and finally … my Garmin GPS. Meanwhile Phaedon is calling me, telling me that they are boarding already, and everyone is already on the plane. They took my GPS, and said its a satellite com unit and they have to confiscated. I argue back and forth with them, and then they took it to this other officer in charge which I had to wait another 10 minutes. Phaedon calls me to take a later flight, cause the gate is 15 minutes walkaway. I thought… that is an exaggeration. Finally he looked up my unit via photo recognition and determined it was just a GPS and gave it back to me. I packed everything and ran to the gate. I needed to go to gate 60… I’m at gate 1. FML. It was almost the last gate in the whole airport wing. I think 62 or 64 was the last gate. When I tell you it was far… It was far. For some way of magic, they screw up the food cart and had to change it out, and I got to the gate. They try to search my stuff AGAIN!!! before boarding! OMG! this was a total clown show, but I made it. And we head to Dehradun.

Finally met up with Dustin and Guy in person. We got our stuff packed on a taxi and off we go to our comfort inn hotel. Basically the nicest place in the whole town, stuck out like a sore thumb. The opulent hotel in a town that was otherwise as impoverish as you can imagine, created a such distinction of the have and the have nots. It reminds me when I went to Xi’An in 2005 to see the Terracotta Army with my dad, there was this one “five star” hotel they built a few years earlier for Bill Clinton when he visited. Everyone else outside the hotel was living in make shift shelters. Me and Phaedon breaking out first meal in India in this upscale hotel. Super duper expensive by local standards. You divide those prices by 80. First time figuring out that those are mint flavor grains as mouth freshener after the meal. I doubt they give out new one each time, probably recycle and pour out to next customer. I tried it, and it was okay, did not get the runs.

Our motorcycle was delivered in the middle of the night. I spend the morning with Shaba, and then we all went to pack our bikes for a test run. We were missing some pannier racks which Alam (the guy that rented us the bikes) got the pannier racks for us, and showed us a few routes for us to take. We finally plan to take off the next day. We had plan to leave right after our bikes were fitted, but with the delay with the pannier rack, we did not get packed until late in the afternoon. So we decided to leave the next morning. Apparently my bike was missing “papers” and Alam said he will get it to us before we left next morning…

Night fell, we ate our second dinner at the hotel. Then it rained cats and dogs over night. Power at the hotel cuts on and off constantly even before the rain. When it rained there was a period of time without power. We woke up with no paperwork, so we waited for Alam. Fourth photo is people living under tarps directly next to the hotel. At 11:00 we finally rode to Alam’s shop asking for the paperwork, Alam claim he told us he was just going to “email it to us”. -_- … We had plan to leave early, before the traffic in the town picked up at 10:00 + . Finally, we decided to be on our way. So we thought.

The traffic dodging was an absolute craziness. Reminded me of Taiwan and China. Everyone inching away scrapping by in traffic with less than an inch gap. It was exciting for like 50 min, until my bike died. Charging system completely failed. We stopped, and Phaedon went to the Royal Enfield “showroom” to see if we can get parts. Alam was “an hour away” I got some coconut, I have to say the Colombians knows how to cut these coconuts 10 times better. Guy found a guy selling batteries, and it was cheap, but it turned out later to be the wrong battery, so we didn’t buy it from him. Alam finally came with a bunch of parts to swap. We tested the battery, stator, rectifier, nothing worked. After 5 hours of waiting, and seeing our first accident. Alam got me another bike, and we were finally on our way, at 6 pm. I must have sweated 30 lb of water weight. It was hot as hell and the diesel fumes, petrol fumes mixed with trash, cow pies and stale/ spoil fruits filled the air. People are super nice however. Everyone tried to help, and no one was trying to sell you anything.

We did not make it very far, but we did get out of the crowded city and end up about 3000 ft of elevation in Nahan, 50 miles away… that took us nearly 2 hours. Ate some street food, where the guy is handling money, and also putting his hand in the food that is cooking. It was very unsanitary, made me very dubious if I should eat the food or not, but I was hungry. The food was delicious, no one got sick, we luck out again. Nahan was a much calmer town and definitely less dirty and slower pace. We were drenched in sweat head to toe, we all cleaned up and got a good night sleep. No AC in this hotel, but it was not expensive. There was fans, electricity, and most importantly shower.

The morning fog was very dense. You could not see 5 feet in front of you. There is also cows everywhere or Yaks, I do not know. But they were on the field all night. Third photo, Phaedon demonstrating his impressive stature compare to the super short door way entering our hotel room. I had to duck to get in. I took a walk around town, there were tons of monkeys everywhere. Almost feel like someone is watching me, it was creepy lol. I found some bananas early in the morning when I spotted one food stand that were setting up. It was nice because most places does not open until 10, and I got this banana at 8 am. We got dressed and went on our way. Finally our first break to leave early and head north, so we thought.

We rode out of Nahan and went underway on a detour, because the main route 5 was closed due to landslide. The riding and roads were fantastic as we got into the mountains. We rode all day on the detour route, the scenery was fantastic, but we spent almost 4 hours to go 15 miles north.

It was getting dark, and we had to stop soon, Phaedon spotted this Himalayan glamping spot, and we rode into it. It was actually a really nice spot and they even cook the meal for us. I discover some new tea that I enjoy. It turn out to have fantastic Wifi as well. At this point, we are all wondering if we will even make it to Leh. 2 days of riding and we barely able to do 200 km a day. To more of our dismay, that is no 200 km north, its just 200 km total.

We set off in the morning, Phaedon fixed his phone charge issue, and helped me run the pump to inflate my tires. I mistakenly didn’t bring any spare fuses and the fuse I had in there was too low amperage to run the pump, it immediately pop the fuse and I use the crappy fuse from Phaedon’s bike, that lasted the rest of the trip. We stop a few times on the side of the road for food. Ultimately we arrive in Manali after a full 8 hour day. We went a grand total of 120 miles this day. Not only are we exhausted beyond measure, I put my bike down on one of the road exchange where a truck took up the whole lane. 0 mpg drop, it was not bad, but I was so tire I just needed a break. Phaedon took a tumble soon after in his bike and slightly injured his wrist. My shoulder was killing me from having the backpack on me the whole time. Manali was 8000 ft and the nights were finally cooling down. After 3 days of making little to no progress on the road, we fear we are inching towards Leh and then have to turn around immediately.

We rode out of Manali with very little expectations. The road immediately opened up to us. We stopped at this bridge opening celebration that delayed us about 45 minutes. Guy was able to get wifi from the military, lol. India people are the friendliest I have ever known. We were doing great mileage and no longer crawling. The beauty of the landscape and the unparallel visual of the glacier and mountain passes reminded us of why we are here to ride motorcycles. We are in the Ladakh district. The northern roads are manage by Border Road Organization - aka BRO for short. They have all these corny saying all along the road like “BRO drive slow arrive safe”. So, Phaedon and I would “Bro” each other every time we see the signs. Yes for the whole 2 weeks. lol.

When we pass through the 9km tunnel just north of Manali, we were already over 10,000 ft above sea level, about 3048 meters. As we took a lunch break in a valley, we did not know what was in store for us. The day was so good we thought we would just keep riding, especially after the 3 days of grind that left us no further than 300 miles north. We were eager to make more progress to Leh. So we continue on thinking we would just stop at the next valley when we come off the next mountain pass. We reached out first pass Baralacha La at around 3:30, it was 15,910 ft around 4850 meters. Both Guy and Phaedon mention having headaches and that we should not stay in the summit too long. So we process on. By this time my bike has died multiple times in the mountain pass. Once it hit over 14,000 ft the big was lugging and then eventually dying on the side of the road. We were join at this time by Sam and Nasir who stopped to help us. I wrongly and rightly postulated that there was a vacuum lock, but the real reason of why was incorrect.

***Tech Bits: There was an accumulation of sand or dust in the pump filter, starving the fuel as the pressure increased in higher elevation, by opening the gas cap and relieving the pressure eliminated the vacuum of pulling all the direct into the pump, so the bike was able to run, but this also created more dust in the tank, which eventually in a few days totally starve the fuel from the bike. So it was a temporary solution that got me up the mountain, but it made the problem worse in the long run.

We continue on from Baralacha La and was hoping we would stop soon in the next valley, which we thought would be in 2 hours. To our surprise we road the ridgeline from one to the next, and we arrive at Nakeela at 15,547 ft. At this point we are at almost 5:30 pm. It took a lot longer than expected, and we are desperately hoping that we will start to descend and we can either find lodging or camp out, which was fine either way, since we have all our gears with us. Half an hour later, we arrive at Wiskey Nala camp… just over 16,000 ft or 4877 + meters. It was 6:00 pm sun was going down. We contemplated of staying in this elevation, with both Phaedon and Guy having headaches from elevation sickness, so we asked the local, what is the next town, the lady said Pang, which would be “much lower”. Given the information we receive we continued on. It was a very very BAD idea.

The night fell immediately as we went on our way. We could not see anything with all the dust kicked up by the trucks that glare that it created reflecting off our headlight. You can see perhaps 10 ft in front of you. For the next 18 miles from Wiskey Nala to Pang it took us nearly 2 hours. Not only that, we pass Lachung La pass at 16617ft (5065m) almost immediately leaving Wiskey Nala, but we did not see it, cause it was pitch black with dust. Finally at 8:00 +, we arrived at Pang. Pang was at 15,500 ft … “much lower” by 500 ft. (152 meters) We had to stop, it was too late to ride any further. Guy was visibly sick, Phaedon was complaining about his headache and was erratic and got a room across the street and “passed out”.

Guy, Dustin and I stayed in one of the truck stop room, I chatted with Nasir and Sam and Dustin after eating some food. Then we all went to bed.

Overnight, Guy got pretty sick, threw up many times, and was not able to stay warm for a bit of time. But he eventually got better. I took Shaba out for a walk in the morning while everyone was still asleep. Our host holding Shaba in picture 3. There was food made, and tea in the morning, I was good. Phaedon came out a few hours later when the sun came out. He had a worse night than Guy; threw up, headache, and basically did not sleep. He looked very weathered, but he took some Diamox (elevation medication) and hydrated up and we all (including Sam and Nasir) went on our way. There was not any other solution than to make it Leh at 11,000 ft (3352m). Lower elevation for our body to acclimate properly.

We were worry about going to higher elevation, and we knew that Tanglang la is on the way. However, there is a highway way to take that avoids the high altitude climb. Well, Sam and Nasir was leading the way, and we did not see another road, and we were at Tanglang La before we knew it 17,482 ft (5328m). My bike died multiple times on the passes. Barely wanted to start in the morning, and just barely able to make it up the mountains. We rigged it and made it off the mountain. One of the check point we were at took forever, every single one of us except for Nasir and Sam who are locals needed to fill out paperwork. The guy was teaching some kid to fill it out line by line. When I said it took forever, I meant we probably was there for nearly 40 minutes.

Then my bike finally died and gave up. Sam said to let him try to start it. I got off the bike, he got on, and start it and took off. With all my stuff on the back. For a moment I thought… did I just get robbed. lol. Guy try to keep up with Sam, but he was gone. I rode in the back of Nasir’s 350 and finally got into Leh. Only to find Sam sitting by the entrance sign. He was there 20 minutes waiting for us. Apparently he just red line the bike and it runs fine now. Phaedon’s bike at this point has no charge since mid day. But since it was carbureted it ran just enough to get us to Leh. We saw a Royal Enfield service shop right at the entrance and we rode in. The second we got in, Phaedon’s bike died. Stator went bad, tested by the dealership mechanic. The dealership mechanic knew what they were doing, we were in good hands.

They looked at my bike and took the fuel out, and clean the pump and filter. It was loaded with sand and particles that was clogging the pump. Problem fixed for 7 dollars. Phaedon’s problem costed him nearly 80 USD. Stator failure can happen anywhere without notice, but damn were we unlucky. We got food across the street while they worked on our bikes, and then we finally got logging, and walked around the town square. Leh was pretty cool.

Finally, we got to Leh, faster than expected. We took an easy day just walking around and hanging out. I got some more Rupies exchanged at the local exchange. Phaedon got an eye infection or black eye overnight. Sam and Nasir, with Phaedon and I went to eat, and they introduce us to briyani. This time was chicken, and it tasted very good with tons of spices. It was fantastic for about 30 minutes, then both Phaedon and I raced back to the hotel bathroom. lol. It was a nice relaxing day. There are some rules about riding outside rentals up to Kardung La (famous mountain pass). So we agree to rent local bikes to go up. Turns out… local bikes were cheaper per day at 18 dollars and day, versus the 30 we paid Alam. To top it off, as we would find out the following day, the bikes we rented were in much better maintenance/ condition than the one we got from Alam. Well at least for Phaedon and I that was 100% true.

I bought some prayer flags and put it on my handlebar, strap the bookbag down in the rear with water and Shaba, and we road up Khardung La. The rental bikes made the bikes Phaedon and I were riding this whole time seem like 50cc scooters. The power was much better, the bikes just feels better serviced. There was no hiccup and the power was there the whole way up to the top.

After we got to the top, Sam and Nasir took off to Nubra Valley, we road down Khardung La a bit sad. We got use to traveling together and really enjoyed their company and addition to our adventure. We took some trails and offroad excursion after. It was pretty epic and sketchy on the ridgeline. But we all made it just fine. Then we went to the temple on the way back, that Guy hiked up by himself the day before… This 63 year old guy has more testosterone than me when I was in my 20s. He is also probably in better shape than me when I was in my prime. lol. Us young punks took the easy way, and checked out the temple. Then we got some food as we got back. We picked a nice rooftop restaurant for our final meal as a group. Me and Phaedon will turn around and go towards Srinagar the day after, and Guy and Dustin have 3 more weeks of adventure in India.

Phaedon and I set off pretty early that day, hoping we will make it to Kargil and take camp. The road to Kargil was fantastic, and our bikes were running better than before, however, my bike barely wants to start in the morning. Every morning it is a struggle. I think the enrichment cable is jacked up, and its just not working, and when its cold I am having to hold the throttle open instead of just enriching the mixture. Cause it is just fine when it warms up. When we arrived at Kargil it was only around noon. It was the dirties city I have yet to seen north of Manali. We decided it was too early to stop and that we will just find the next place to stop. We took a chance and decided we will go over Zojila Pass (a pass known for its beauty).

Of all the mountain passes we saw, Zojila definitely take the cake for visuals. The road is laid with pavers… millions, billions of pavers. It was mind boggling. We road down one of the trails to a waterfall area. As we watch the 4x4 trucks go by, we saw that the water was at least 2 ft if not 3 ft deep at the crossing. So we did not want to get completely soaked, cause we would probably freeze to death, considering there is a gigantic glacier just to the left of us. As we were leaving there was a truck loaded with local tourists. They all decided to sit on our bikes to take “poser” shots. They were so enthusiastic about it, I even gave them my helmet to take the photo. lol. We wind down the mountain and discover a perfect valley with the view of the glacier, in a very nice hotel. It was probably one of the best visual ride this trip.

We road a very short distance to Jammu. Phaedon’s shoulder was bothering him and wanted to call it a day. It was around noon at the time. He decided to stay at the local castle at the tune of 60 USD a night. I opted to go to the lower part of the town where it was only 15 USD. Before we made this decision we stopped by at a local coffee shop to grab something to eat. There was one sandwich behind the counter. I took one look at it, and thought, that looked like its being there awhile. So I bought a prepackaged granola bar and some hot tea. Phaedon ate the sandwich… and, that’s just it did not go well for him for the next 4 days. rofl. Granted I’m cautious because I have a lot of digestive issue, so I’m pretty experience in judging food.

We met up after our hotel and went to see a famous architectural marvel of the Raghunath Temple. Very interesting Hindu temple. We had to take off our shoes inside and it said no photos, but literally EVERYONE was taking photos. So we did as well. lol. There was a standing guard outside the temple in a bunker with an automatic rifle just pointing straight into the crowd… Very disturbing. lol

Then we walked around, and then Phaedon started buying the first of many “scarfs”. I think he ended up with like 8.

The next day we rode as far as we could, and ended in a town in Ludhiana. Jammu was rather pleasant with pretty clean streets and people following traffic rules and lights! Shocker. Well, Ludhiana is more like Dehradun. Total chaos in the streets, monkeys everywhere on the rooftops (to be fair this is every city), and electrical lines are just all over the place. Trash everywhere, and pollution is as thick as it can be. We cue into a hotel near town, parked outside, and the hotel staff parked their car behind our bikes so no one will mess with the bikes. I got up in the morning around 7 and walked outside, there was trash everywhere and not a soul in sight. We took off soon after.

The last day riding to Dehradun was perhaps the second worst day, other than the ride to Pang from Manali. It started to rain the morning, and we made the right decision to put on our rain suit, and it poured for like 3 hours. If you thought India traffic was bad, wait till you see how things are in the rain. It was a shitshow. My right hip cramped up as we push the last stretch to the shop. Go sorted with our gear and left for the airport. Total shitshow at the airport again, they confiscated Phaedon’s stove, flint, and was about to take other things. They somehow did not see mine when it went through the scanner and I got on without an issue. 200 dollars down the drain. These airport games… reminded me of Brazil when I was younger.

We arrived in New Dehli otherwise unscathed, and reached our airbnb, but that 30 minutes drive took nearly 1.5 hours because of traffic. My cramping hip got really bad, and it triggered a bad episode of my sciatica. Good thing we are no longer on bikes. We visited some monuments in Dehli. Got a crazy moto taxi driver that let us drive his tuk tuk, and we dined at perhaps one of the most expensive restaurant in town, so I got the mutton briyani. Afterwards we visited the old spice market and let a local guy pedal us around in his rickshaw. Final stop was red fort. Then its off to Agra for our big reveal of the Taj Mahal.

So up until the moment I got to Agra, I did not know that Taj Mahal was a mausoleum. For some reason I thought it was some royal palace. I know I’m a moron. Now that I know its somewhat of a Muslim faith building for his favorite wife, its still incredibly impressive, maybe even more so. The amount of white marble and intricate stonework (stones from all around the world), is jaw dropping. It was also hot as balls.

I could not bring anything in Taj Mahal, so I was worry they would take Shaba, so I left him in the car. I felt so guilty afterwards, I had to apologize him many times. lol. I took him to the Mini Taj as they call it, as part of our tour. The guy in the pink told me I could not take photos with Shaba, but I can take photos… This dude just made up the rule on the fly. I said okay and then took photos anyways, cause zfg. I went up a stairs that was off limits, but there was no signs or blockade. As I got to the top, I saw a bunch of monkeys. I took some photos and turn around to take the photo of the building and before I knew it the monkey closest to me made a move towards me and started making aggressive noise. I turn and ran. It was a brown moment for sure.

I packed my bags the day before, and Phaedon said he will packed his in the morning. 30 minutes later after talking to his girlfriend, he realize his 1:45 flight was am not PM and that he need to go to the airport in 2 hours. lol. He left in a hurry and that was that. I got to my flight, no drama at check in, but that bathroom photo was very disturbing. Then I go on Egyptair, and arrive in Cairo.

It is so easy to be complacent, and regress. It has being 4 years since Covid, I have ridden less, done less trips, and have not really push myself until this pass Jan when I got my Open water license in Dahab. Adventures by nature are dangerous. Going into the unknown, embracing cultures that are different than your own is uncomfortable. Whether it is sanitary standards, food spices, or people respect to personal space. Lets not forget driving on the different side of the road like in UK, and of course people driving on the wrong side of the road. All these things are stressors, that differs our own understanding of the world. I do not know how I would have reacted to India, had I not being to so many other countries prior.

As I look at Guy, who is 63 years old, I can not help but feel ashamed at myself. He is in better shape than me, he is bolder than me, and he is living his life so much fuller than I am. Complacency is death, in both business and in life. We need to keep deleting bad information we get from all the inputs we receive from social media, friends, family and in many times even doctors. We must live and experience all the colors of life, so we can replace those bad information with good ones.

A persons world is only as big as the limitations their mind put on themselves. When you embrace change and discomfort, you are validated by those that preceded you that had successfully adapted. When you fear change and seek comfort, you are validated by those that preceded you that failed. Everything we do, there are success stories that are inspiration for us and there are people who failed that served as a warning for others.

Some of it is luck, some is experience, but most of it, it is simply confidence. As the saying goes “fortune favors the bold, brave and strong”.