Some ice, some fog and some frost.

Some ice, some fog and some frost.

I over stayed at Manali, because it was Old Manali. I met a local tour operator by chance, and as I did, asked a lot of questions about the route towards Leh.

He said, " People usually don't ride alone from Manali to Leh. Even if they come here alone, they join other groups to do this route, and then  they go home and say it's sološŸ¤£. As there are water crossings ahead, it's really difficult to cross them alone. You need someone to push your bike or if you fall, someone has to come for you. Almost everyone slips in the water crossings. As this is the first time you are riding this stretch, don't do it alone." He asked me to join them, and I politely refused. He said "Badi himmat hai aap me".

I heard, I smiled and said thank you. I went back to my room. Got my permit for
Rohtang pass, you can easily get it online.

My only plan was, to start early. Before the sun goes up, melts the snow, and the water flow in water crossings increases, I had to clear my  route.

So I did. I left Manali at 5 AM in the morning.

It was COLD. And I hardly had any visibility. My headlights and fog lamps were on, but everything ahead was a white screen.
My warm breath inside my helmet was creating it's own fog screen. In an impulse, I lifted the visor completely. I felt the wind on my face and I saw more.

It started drizzling, and the cold little drops of rain were directly hitting my face. I LOVED IT.

Then, I realised that everytime I blink, I saw the rainbow colours. I enjoyed it till, a knee jerk thought came to my mind. AM I HALLUCINATING?

So I stopped, to check myself. And this is what I see
The rain drops that fell on my face. Some of them formed silly little crystals of ice, on my eye lashes.

#neninthešŸ˜Ž #solorider #travellerdiaries