Continuing from the Jawahar Tunnel we pass through some of the most breath taking scenic passes through the mountains, it was also getting dark and we are still far away from our destination for the day, as the evening progressed opposite traffic started increasing which meant my over taking had to be well planned, why? Remember the big bags on the sides, and it is single lane Ghats throughout. Now, I do not believe in taking unnecessary chances while riding/driving, I know if I lose some time in overtaking at a particular moment I can make up that lost time when there is an empty stretch, so for me there is no need to take those unwanted risks. But the fellow road users do not agree to this part, especially taxi folks, they were on a merry overtaking from all the sides in Ghats, even at stand still if a monkey passes them they would want to overtake that.
Their dumb and dumber nuisance went on, one taxi fellow i guess dumbest of the lot trying to overtake a bus on a curve causes a jam, a BIG jam.
We are stuck royally. It’s getting dark and cold we were prepared for the cold, but we are very tired it’s been a really long and hard journey, we did enjoy the ride but now we really need some rest. I turn back to check on my pillion, she is exhausted and shivering with cold but still trying her best not to show that on her face, she knows I will get more worried. There is nothing much I can do about the situation, but I am angry, very angry at that Jerk who caused this misery to us. At that moment I felt like walking up to him and teaching him some manners which his parents failed to, but in that case I will have to teach manners to rest of those folks who were adding up to the situation by driving up from all sides and filling in the smallest of gaps, this made the situation absolutely pathetic. It’s a pity how they fail to realize, what inconvenience is being caused to others by their barbarian behavior.
Finally, after about 45mins Jam started clearing. It’s already 7pm and fog has started covering the region pretty fast. We are still in the valleys, a thought occurred that we should stay over at the next available town, but there is just one concern, there are no towns on the way.
We ride towards our destination it’s getting really cold now, my guess it was anywhere between 2 to 4 degrees. The cold is piercing through our riding gear, my hands are numb and I can’t feel rest of my body, but I am more worried about my pillion, she cannot take extreme temperatures, I stop and check on her, she smiles and says “kya hua?” I ask if she is fine, “cold hai par accha lagraha hai” says she, those words set the mood and lifted my spirit back. We started the ride back there was another 75kms more to cover and got a stretch of straight roads after we ascended through the Ghats, here I can make up for the lost time, there are only two issues, one is its very foggy and second its biting cold.
To my luck a tourist bus passes me, he was doing good speeds, exactly what I was looking for, I start tailing him with a safe gap between us and the bus, and due to this the cold which was hitting us directly reduced and we were covering the distance at good speeds, only problem bus was throwing up a lot of dust on me, but do hell with the dust, I am making a fast progress that was more important.
Our destination SRINAGAR
After a long days ride we finally enter the city around 9.30pm, it was lit up beautifully. We waste no time and head straight to Dal lake street, this place is full of hotels of all range, after looking around a bit we checked into J&K tourism hotel bang opposite Dal Lake for Rs.2500/night.
Total distance Traveled 265kms of Ghats (Jammu to Srinagar)
We quickly freshen up and go down for dinner, since these places close early, I read the menu and as usual we want to try the local dish, so I ask the gentlemen taking our order to get what he thinks is the local delicacy.
He got this