To Leh From Kerala in Mahindra Bolero

[smooth rider]

LADAKH the land of high passes and mountains had always fascinated me. Driving on the highest motorable pass KHARDUNG LA was a dream that i wanted to achieve.For the last 1 year ladakh had been haunting me day & night and so i decided to go there this summer. the window of opportunity for me was end of may and june as my kids had their vacation in may - june and also monsoon would set in ladakh by june end.
RESEARCH - did lot of reading about ladakh at various sites in the internet.there are umpteen number of travelogues which i went through. The ones i followed closely and sought advice from were-
1) Yogesh sarkar @ BCM touring
2) Dheeraj sharma @devilonwheels.com
3) Humbleh'd 1 indopolsh himalayan expedition by HVK and co
4) Avindu's t'log @TAI
a big thanks to all of you.
THE TRAVELLERS-
in the initial stages lots of people wnted to come along. Me, my wife sheena and kids Bhadra and Bharath and my close pal suresh was confirmed initialy itself. there was space for one more , thats what we thought but nobody came along. in the end i feel it was a boon in disguise as it would have been very crowded.
MY CAR -
Bolero storm VLX 2011
serviced him about 10 days prior to d day at ITL motors Kannur. the only major work that had to be done was to change the suspension bush which was broken but which had not shown any symptoms. topped up all fluids, brake was given a full check up and also the clutch disk which are the two major component that gets strained in the mountains.
wanted to get am exta set of lights fitted but all good brands were costly. hence changed the bulbs to osram 140/90 along with the relay.
fitted a roof carrier- borrowed from a friend
removed the jump sets at the back and fixed a parcel tray and made a boot and converted into BOLERO hatchback
changed the tyres. had zeroed in on MRF wanderer / bridgestone dueler , the former being the cheapest and good reviews while the latter being costlier, was not available any where and good reviews. ended up buying yokohama geolandar AT/S 215/75/ R15 cheaper than bridgestone good reviews.
2 days before D day my bolero developrd a creaking sound from the rear on cornering - took him back to ITL motors where it was diagnosed that the new suspension bush had broken. was changed free of cost.
Things bought / borrowed for the trip -
1) tool kit - included jumper cables, all sorts of tools for a small workshop, nuts, bolts, hammer, m seal , fevikwik, etc
2)medicine kit
3)Belkin car inverter
4) towing belt
5)15 metre nylon rope
6)puncture repair kit
7)two 20 litre plastic can for water and diesel
8)hydraulik jack
9)spare bulbs
10) photostats of id proof , inner line permit application form.
11)portable LPG stove
12) food - maggie, milk powder. condensed milk, rice flakes
13) pulse oximeter
14 ) portable oxygen cylinder
15) Map my india GPS
colin spray for cleaning the winshield

I HAD AN INKLING I HAD FORGOTTEN SOME THING WHICH WAS IN THE BACK OF MY MIND ALL ALONG THE TRIP

ROUTE PLANNED - Payangadi - Mangalore - Ankola - Hubli - Pune - Mumbai - Ahmedabad - Udaipur - chittorgarh - Kishangarh - Hanumangarh - Bhatinda - Amritsar - Pathankot = Udhampur - Srinagar - Kargil - Leh - Nubra valley - Leh - Pangong Tso - Leh - Tso Moriri - Jispa - Manali - Mandi - Bilaspur - Chandigarh - Ambala - Jaipur -Mumbai - Pune - Mangalore - Payangadi

 

[AR Ram]

Re: To LEH from KERALA

Woh!!!!

I am stuck to the thread that was much awaited. Waiting for the TL with tonnes of pictures

 

[vijay]

Re: To LEH from KERALA

KHARDUNG LA , awesome TL this is going to be, glued to this thread already with some amazing set of pictures and experiences of yours.

 

[Chandranath]

Re: To LEH from KERALA

KHARDUNG LA , awesome TL this is going to be, glued to this thread already with some amazing set of pictures and experiences of yours.

The Storm Looks menacing and ready to hit Ladakh.

Waiting for the entire details.

 

[appus]

Hope you had a great trip. Waiting for updates with pics.
Congratulations for achieving a milestone which most of us envy. ;-)

 

[smooth rider]

sorry for the delay mates as i was tied up by work.
D day was fixed as 31st may. the day prior to the journey was hectic. went to kannur for last minute purchase. went to the Madayi kavu temple and sought the almighty's blessings for a safe and sound journey. gave the keys for pooja. lighted lamps in the small kavu in front of the temple. ( its a small kavu on the way to madayikavu ). wanted to have a haircut very badly but postponed it due to lack of time. packed all the bags into the back of the vehicle.went to be d only by 1am.
all plans of an early start evaporated. we hit the road by 7.30am. picked up my pal suresh from his home. and we were on the way - LADAKH HERE WE COME.
AM I FORGETTING SOME THING ? SOME TOOL ? WAS NOT SURE.will i have a haircut ? time will tell for sure.
reached kasaragode by 8.30 am. had breakfast at Indian coffee house just by the bus stand. this time around we had decided to follow the old Apache indian motto regarding food - eat to your tummy full when you get the chance for you don't know when your next meal would be and what if this is your last meal
reached mangalore by 11.30 am.
then we had a brief tendr coconut break at a shack by the beach side.

 

[anshuman8]

Awesome and exiting TL, waiting for rest.

 

[Crazy cat]

@smooth_rider, Wow! This is just awesome. I will be keeping a close watch in this, please update as early as possible. This is my dream destination.

Also update about the condition of Bolero after the trip.

 

[smooth rider]

reached murudeswar by 2pm. had lunch at RSM restaurant by the highway. good food and good service, would recommend for future travelers in this route. the waiter brought the fried chicken and gobi manchurian before the nan and we gobbled it all up as we were famished. we had to order another round of chicken and gobi when the nan arrived. was he making money for his owner by making us order more dishes ? was it our hunger that didn't make us wait for the nan to arrive..........???
Gave the first toll of INR 5 at Honnavar.
then we had a MANGO BREAK. there was lots of ladies selling mangoes by the road side. haggled and bought a dozen for INR 100/. had them then and there. sweet & juicy mangoes. loved them.

 

[AR Ram]

good pictures

Very interesting TL. Waiting for the remaining story

 

[amit1km]

Yeah, Nice writeup ..and a massive tour. Bring the story

 

[AppU]

Good Start SR

Eagerly waiting for the Full TL

 

[dharmesh]

Glued to the thread. Excellent. I am always great fan of Leh / Ladakh TLs.

 

[appus]

Mouth watering TL too

7.30AM you started from Pazhayangadi (payangadi) and reached Kasaragod in 1hr ? Oh my god ! Is not that too fast ? (60 km with few bad stretch or 75 km thru NH)

8.30 in Kasaragod and 11.30 in Mangalore - Is n't that too slow (50KM with good roads)

Eagerly waiting for the remaining with lots of pic.

By the way, your hair is short. No need to worry about Haircut

 

[mukesh]

Hi smooth rider i was waiting for this travelouge eagerly must say a very nice startup, i was also thinking of going to LEH this year in my Storme but had to cancel due to some other tasks. now please update the quickly as i cannot wait.