! was up around 7:30, before anyone else, but with a short day to Anantnag planned, there didn’t seem to be much reason to rush off. I changed tyres, from my Smart Sams to the almost slick Supremes now that it looked like I was back on fresh tarmac for the rest of my ride. I …
To Daksum An eventful start to this day! My night was undisturbed by wild animals. Or by passing vehicles, not after a couple of late night travellers drove down the hill at around 9:00 pm. Up at first light, packed up and breakfasted on a packet of creme biscuits and a chocolate bar, and on …
Sunday 10th August. Kishtwar – ? From Kishtwar, the nicely surfaced road dropped steadily in a series of hairpins down to Bhandarkhot (a descent of about 450 m in 12 km). Since most of the day would involve climbing towards Sinthan Top, this wasn’t actually what I wanted. The road crossed a bridge over a …
Thursday 7th August, ? – Kishtwar Not a bad night, all things considered – hiding from mosquitoes inside the bivvy bag reading my Kindle until sleep took me. Kindles, or e-readers in general, are being supplanted by tablets for their higher resolution screens and app-running capabilities but, for travelling, you can’t beat the e-readers battery …
Wednesday 6th August, Killar – Sohal (plus a bit) This is the section of road that I’ve been waiting so long for! Although the early part of the day was pretty ugly… I’d promised myself a 6:00 am start but hadn’t really believed it. Not bad though; I was ready to order cheese omelette and …
My guesthouse was comfortable and clean, with a spotless bathroom – funny how bathroom cleanliness quickly becomes one of the most important criteria by which to judge lodgings whilst on the road – and a nice sunny garden in which to enjoy breakfast. Breakfast was Tibetan bread with butter and locally harvested and made apricot …
My share taxi was due to leave at 5:00 am from about 40 minutes walk from the hotel so it was an early start with the alarm going off at 3:45 am. I had a quiet, dark walk through the back streets before heading out to the ‘Boulevard,’ the main road along the lake. There …