Nathu La, Katao and Gurudongmar Lake Roadtrip with BRO in North Sikkim

Posted on January 10, 2011 by ghoomakar Posted in India, Offbeat Journeys, Traveller's Notes Tagged Frozen Lakes,Himalayas, Kanchenjunga, Mountains, Sikkim 1 Comment

All of us love travelling, not just when we do it but also when we write/blog about it. And travelling with the Defence Forces of any country has its own set of charms, thrills & surprises and is a never-ending high. It is expected to be even more exciting if one is the guest of the B.R.O., the Border Roads Organisation, an arm of the Indian Army that builds and maintains all roads in international border regions of India. Be it the icy Himalayan borders with Pakistan/China or the vast desert borders of Rajasthan with Pakistan; the BRO is omnipresent, making & repairing roads for civilians and armed forces.

Panorama shot of the frozen waters of the Gurudongmar Lake at 17100Ft above sea level in North Sikkim And the cherry on the inviting cake(of Sikkim, one of Indias eastern-most hill states) was the visit toLake Gurudongmar, a freshwater lake at the dizzying height of 17100ft Above Sea Level(ASL), almost a stones throw away from China(Chinese occupied Tibet). The lake is also one of the 2 sources of the River Teesta, the other being Chho-Lhamo Lake. We were happy that our road-tripping to one of the worlds highest lakes was in the safe hands of the same group of dedicated army personnel, who made the roads in the first place! Day 1- From polluted plains of Delhi to Gateway of East: Our 6-day roadtrip started with a flight to Bagdogra, W. Bengal from New Delhi. Bagdogra which adjoins the city of Siliguri is connected only to the cities of Kolkata & Delhi and is the main gateway to Darjeeling & Sikkim. It is an airport of strategic importance for Indian defence forces and you notice heavy security in & around the airport. For people arriving by train, New Jalpaiguri station is adjoining the city of Siliguri.

From Bagdogra airport we were picked up at 12PM by a BRO Maruti Gypsy, the preferred small vehicle, we later realised, of the BRO and headed out through Siliguri on to NH31 and later onto NH31A. Private cabs for hire from both the airport, railway station & Siliguri Taxi stands charge you approx. INR 1500 one-way, but if you wish to share cabs then it is a very nominal INR 150-200 per person. Buses are also available for less than INR100/trip/person. Total Distance to Gangtok from Bagdogra: 130Kms Time: 3.5 to 5 hours depending on traffic you get when passing through city of Siliguri Road Quotient: Good roads, scenic beauty with usual hill feature of hair-pin turns & twists and the River Teesta flowing alongside the road from Sevoke till Singtam.

We had a brief stopover mid-way at Rangpo BRO Resthouse for a sumptuous lunch & much needed loo and cigarette breaks. The BRO Driver seemed to have been instructed to take it easy, in terms of pacing our climb from Bagdogra(400ft ASL) to Gangtok (5500ft ASL) and also due to the twisting nature of the roads, since it was well into the later part of the day that we reached Gangtok, after almost 6 hrs of journey.

morning view of Gangtok, matchbox style multistorey houses, hotels & restaurants, a typical hallmark of hill stations overrun by tourists in India nowadays BRO Officers Guesthouse complex is part of the Army Cantt. area and it is right across the city, perched on the highest hill of Gangtok, enjoying all-round views. The bungalow given to us was called The Kanchenjunga & we assumed it to be so named after Gangtoks most famous landmark, the towering peaks of Kanchendzonga (as it is locally called). This is common in Gangtok, as to us it seemed nearly every 2nd hotel, restaurant or souvenir shop in Gangtok was named after the peak! But the morning of our Day 2 proved us wrong. The doors of our bungalow opened to a clear view of all the peaks of Mt Kanchendzonga and hence the name of the bungalow! It was a clear view of the worlds 3rd highest & Indias highest mountain peak.

the five peaks of the Mt Kanchenjunga - army jawans posted at the Cantt. Guesthouse told us this viewpoint was better than the famous Tashi View-point, which civilian tourists access. Day 2- Indo-China Trading Border Post, Holy Lake & a Temple: The action of the day was to visitNathu La Pass(55kms) and Changu (Tsongo) Lake(40kms). Also on the way we were to stop at Baba Mandir and Mt Kanchenjunga view-point. For us it was the BRO Gypsy, but from Lal Market taxi

stand, Sumos & Jeeps etc, take you as part of groups or on single hire basis. Tour rates range from INR 750 to 900 per person in a 6-7 seater vehicle or INR 5000 for a full cab hire, depending on vehicle type and peak or off-peak seasons. Permits are required to travel to Nathu La, due to itssignificance as a border post, so keep photographs & copies of some Government ID handy (foreigners passport copies are needed). Do reach well in time to book your passage. Permits are taken care of by cab drivers/agents/guides whom you hire for the trip. For morning rides the cab drivers take your document copies & 2 photos the previous night. Do note that foreigners dont get access to Nathu La but can go up till Tsongo Lake only.

Clockwise from Top Left, enroute the way to Nathu La, Pic of Tsongo Lake( can you see the 3rd eye of Shiva), Hathi(Elephant) Lake and other semi-frozen lakes From late-Dec till end-Jan Tsongo Lake, which is at height of 12400ft ASL, is usually frozen. The lake is considered holy by Hindus because of a reflection of the hillside on the water which seems as if it is an open, watchful eye; consider this as Lord Shivas 3rd eye! Because of its holy nature, the water is still spared from pollution by tourists or the locals. Since roads are very narrow, we waited our turn to start towards Nathu La and reached in an hour from Tsongo Lake, with innumerable photo-clicking stops included! Private cabs will not be so generous to stop for photo-ops though, so many thanks to BRO!

Nathu La Pass & viewpoint. 14100 Ft above sea level Across the border is Chinese-occupied Tibet. We drank strong, sugary tea with the Army jawans and shook hands with Chinese soldiers across barbed wire, saying our Ni Haos( How do you do? in mandarin language). NathuLa is one of only 3 such passes between the borders of India & China through which local trades-people cross borders for business on designated days.

Clockwise from Top Left: Looking over onto the Chinese side of land, our Indian Tricolour proudly fluttering, heart-stirring words describing how our army men are trained for combat and why Nathu La is important Next stop was Baba Mandir, which is a very popular Sarv Dharm Sthal, literally meaning All-religions point. The temple is in honour of an army jawan, Harbhajan Singh, who lost his way in a storm while on a routine patrol and died. Many of his co-jawans dreamt about him and made a small temple for his soul to rest in peace. Now army jawans, be it of any religious belief, come here to pay their respects before and after any important posting around this area. It is well maintained by whichever Army contingent is posted nearby.

Images of Baba Mandir, Inner Sanctum Sanctorum, huge collection of bells & fluttering pennants tied by countless army battalions make it a very interesting spot for photography

Our driver & the accompanying Jawan, noticing us to be click-happy, insisted we go to a place, which, they said had amazing photo-opportunities of Mt. Kanchenjunga. The place is a diversion further on the road after Baba Mandir and usually out of bounds for normal tourist vehicles but BRO vehicles had the required authority to go.

This sudden change of weather is referred as mausam pack wherein the sun would progressively become over-shadowed by these very beautiful cottony clouds we saw from up above. So then it was back to Gangtok, stopping at Tsongo Lake for some food. The lake area is overrun by shacks selling watery coffee, tea, Maggi noodles, pakoras and Yak rides on smelly saddles. We made do with whatever best we could find!

Day2 ended with a dinner with the BRO CO(Commanding Officer) and his team at the Gangtok Army Officers Mess. The army men recounted to us stories of the challenges faced by them in making and maintaining roads in such hilly & cold conditions. Their stories highlighted the true grit & determination of our armed forces who defend our motherlands borders, come what may. The CO also very kindly chalked out the next few days plans for us, giving necessary instructions to his team. Day 3- To Base Camp Chungthang: We headed north from Gangtok by BRO Gypsies via the town of Mangan, North Sikkims District Headquarters, where Tourists(Indians and Foreigners) can also get their Permits for going further into North Sikkim. Usually tourists book overnight tour packages from Gangtok (Tour1-Lachung, Yumthang, Zero Point, Katao or Tour2-Lachen, Thanggu, Gurudongmar Lake). Packages including conveyance, standard food, stays(usually home-stays which call themselves hotels/resorts!) and sightseeing. Gurudongmar or Gurudambaa Lake, as it is called locally, is usually not on a general tourists itinerary as there is no road beyond Thanggu. The route is arduous and lack of oxygen at heights of 17000ft ASL make it very difficult for an average tourist. Thus the costs are prohibitive for cab operators, who usually decline to take people to the lake, but if you ask around at North Jeep stand at Gangtok, you may find interested tourists willing to club together for a trip. I strongly advise you to go for it, as the crystal lake bang in the middle of barren snowy desert-like ambience to be one of most breathtaking places in Sikkim. Those of you who have visited Leh/Ladakh can imagine Gurudongmar Lake and its surroundings to be similar to what you saw in & around Pangong Lake in Ladakh.

Total Distance to Chungthang from Gangtok: 103Kms(via Mangan) Time: 3 hours for travel, not including time needed at Mangan for the permits. Road Quotient: Narrow roads, which are bad after monsoons. Every few miles we saw waterfalls, some washing out the roads at times.

Enroute to Chungthang: Top middle pic is the mighty River Teesta as it is in Sikkim Before Mangan there are two important Buddhist monastries(Phensang & Phodong), but we didnt stop at either, taking our first break at Seven Sisters Falls. There are well-maintained picnic grounds & a steep staircase to reach nearly the middle of the opposite cliff, best vantage point to see how water falls on seven different levels, one after the other.

One of the pics capturing middle 3-steps of the fall We bypassed Mangan, as our permits were already done by BRO in Gangtok and we were on our final stretch to Chungthang. The BRO team had made arrangements for us to stay just below the ethnicLepcha village of Chungthang, at the BROs guesthouse for the remainder of our trip in North Sikkim. Chungthang is where the roads diverge; one leads to Yumthang Valley(Lachung, Mt. Katao, Yumthang, Zero Point) & other to Tshopta Valley (Lachen, Thanggu, Gurudongmar Lake).

a roadside temple, where each passing vehicles drivers pray for blessings to have a safe ride Chungthang(5300ft) is the point of confluence of 2 rivers(Chu is what rivers are called locally), Lachen Chu & Lachung Chu which combine to form a big tributary of River Teesta. Chungthang was to be our base for next 3 days. Usually, due to fewer options of staying here, tourists are taken to the next villages of either Lachung (22Kms) or Lachen(27Kms) for night-stays. Both these places offer basic rooms, and lodges offer bed & breakfast(B&B) and vegetarian food. If you wish to eat non-vegetarian food, then buy some beforehand at Mangan and the lodge/hotel owners will cook it for you at an extra cost. Thus ended our Day3 and we slept to the soft lullabies of the river flowing below the cliff where the BRO guesthouse was located. Day 4- Snowy Peaks & Valley of Flowers: We decided to go via Lachung(8800ft) to Yumthang Valley(11800ft), further on to Zero Point or Yumesamdong as it is locally known(15700ft) or only attempt Mt. Katao(15000ft). Out of these places Zero Point and Mt. Katao are out-of-bounds for foreigners. Starting early at 7AM, it took us an hour to pass the ethnic Bhutia village of Lachung, which is spread on both sides of the Lachung Chu river. The village was abuzz with tourists, who had spent the previous night here and were also headed towards Yumthang & Zero Point. The local BRO office jawans advised us to avoid the touristy rush of Yumthang & Zero Point by going to Mt.Katao first and go to Yumthang later in the day and we agreed to do so, since our Driver also said that weather was unpredictable in mid-December in the hills of Mt Katao. Basically due to the concept of mausam pack, as we learnt 2 days back at Nathu La! Road quality changes enroute Katao, frequent rain, snow & landslides negate efforts of BRO ! Why Katao is more fun, exciting yet riskier than Zero Point? Going from Lachung to Katao brings on bouts of hill-sickness/headaches as we climb approx. double the height of Lachung in a span of only 32Kms. Compare this with the 48Kms ride from Lachung to Zero Point which also takes you to a similar altitude, but more gradually. The road to Katao is fine for the initial 12-15KMs but especially after Zekuphyak, an Army outpost, roads are non-existent and its a slippery & bumpy last 10Kms. Extremely skillful drivers can navigate the sharp turns & twists of roads with deep gorges seemingly just inches away from your tyres. Passing by almost frozen waterfalls, trees & leaves with icicles hanging from them, when we eventually reached Mt. Katao by 10AM it had become dark & foggy with rain/sleet. Still it was beautiful, completely covered in powdery snow from the previous night. Snowball shooting was practiced with gusto for a few minutes to bring back some blood circulation in our stiff muscles!

Katao: frozen waterfalls, snow & thick fog all around us..

We were thankful for the Lachung BRO jawanss advice to aim for Katao before Yumthang & Zero Point, because we later came to know that no tourist vehicles were able to make it to Katao that day due to inclement weather. Actually this is the tourist cab drivers Katao Trap, whereby on the way to Yumthang they talk glowingly about Kataos beauty, and how it has more pristine snow than Zero Point, which because of too many tourists gets dirty. Tourists get excited about Katao & decide to take up the drivers option of not going further to Zero Point and instead return to Lachung to head for Katao. But by the time they reach Lachung to start the climb up to Katao it is already few hours after noon and the dark & foggy conditions alarm the tourists. They themselves get second thoughts about going any further up on the steep & narrow track to Katao and stop the cab driver from driving any further. He in turn returns back to Gangtok, with a very disappointed look on his face, seemingly because the weather played havoc with his Katao plans! The BRO driver told us that it is not a common malpractice, but happens to 1-night trip tour packages of Lachung, hence a discussion with the driver/tour agent is advised prior to starting from Gangtok.

We returned to Lachung and headed towards Yumthang, where weather was clear. The area around the route is part of Shinghba Rhododendron Sanctuary which is the Sikkim Governments attempt to preserve unique flora & fauna. With a backdrop of snow-covered mountains, the valley lined with alpine trees and a river snaking through, Yumthang is straight out of a childs coloring book. From March to June, it transforms into a Valley of Flowers with many different varieties of rhododendrons and rare orchids. At this time of the year, however, it is a barren grassland, with patches of snow & frost on tree leaves, but a beautiful landscape nevertheless. Our driver said our visit to Yumthang was incomplete as we could not see the fields of countless rhododendrons & other wildflowers in full bloom.

We found this place extremely relaxing and decided to soak in the ambience instead of going to Zero Point. The last Jeeps with tourists returning from Zero Point passed us on their way back to Lachung and we were happy to be left alone, with no screaming or hyper-active tourists to disturb us. We managed to stall our driver for about two hours, egging him to tell us stories over hot food and several cups of tea. But, finally, we started back for the BRO guesthouse at Chungthang. Day 5- Frozen waters of a holy lake, source of River Teesta & an icy desert: Today was D-Day; we were traveling to Gurudongmar Lake at 17100ft. We left by 7:30AM, with the warmest clothing, packed sandwiches, lots of drinking water, spare batteries and most importantly an oxygen cylinder & its breathing apparatus. Even though we were shown how to use the apparatus, the sheer possibility of having to use it during the trip made us nervous. I wondered why oxygen was needed because in an earlier trip to Leh where I scaled higher mountain passes, I had not needed oxygen. Later, I understood that the rapid ascent and descent between 5,300 ft and 17,000 ft, within short spans of 8-10 hours necessitated the use of oxygen cylinders. We were off after a quick prayer at a local temple just after Chungthang. We crossed Lachen(9000ft), Thanggu(13500ft) and then Giaogong(15600ft) to finally reach Gurudongmar Lake(17100ft). Do note that foreigners are not allowed beyond Thanggu. Lachen has had a tourist boom due to increasing number of people visiting Gurudongmar Lake and consequently has some big hotels & restaurants. Tourists from Gangtok stay here overnight before going further to the lake.

We stopped at the Army checkpost at Thanggu which was dreary, foggy and cold, to acclimatise to the rapid ascent and have food. Frankly, it was just a token acclimatisation as the army camp CO explained to us. Army personnel acclimatise to weather & altitude changes by staying at a specific height for 7 days and then move to the next higher transit-post. This process is followed till they reach their final destinations and a similar reverse-routine is used to come down from higher altitudes. Some basic B&B options are available for tourists in Thanggu. The landscape is absolutely out-of-the-world from here on and trying to describe it is futile.

Enroute to Gurudongmar Lake just before Giaogong Army post Multiple army checkposts later we took a final break at Giaogong army checkpost, wherein we had to personally sign the visitors entry log-book, where we saw that we were the first tourists of that day. After hot cups of tea provided by the camps resident army jawans, we were on our final run to Gurudongmar Lake. All these multiple checkposts will ask for your Permits, so do carry copies of Govt IDs apart from your own North Sikkim Permit, procured on behalf of you by the tour operator/agent/driver at Gangtok/Mangan.

Under garb of opportunity to film the raw beauty of the barren icy desert, we actually take a break to rest our weary bones from 25-30Kms of unpaved, sometimes rocky path to the Lake

Finally after almost 4.5 hours since we started, we saw a signboard saying Gurudongmar, and we went up one final crest to see the Holy lake named after the Buddhist Guru Padmasambhava. The lake has many stories of religious importance for Buddhists, Sikhs and Hindus alike. Guru Nanak Dev had once visited this place on his way to Tibet and is said to have blessed the waters such that drinkers of water from here will gain virility and strength & will be blessed with children.

Another popular story is that Guru Rinpoche is said to have touched one corner of the lake and it has never frozen since. This seemed true to us since this huge lake of almost 3kms in perimeter was already frozen, but from only one corner of the lake water was flowing out easily as liquid to form the thin stream which is the source of the River Teesta.

We all started a parikrama/ circumabulation (going around) of the lake but felt very tired & short of breath and hence turned back to sit near the Sarv Dharm Sthal to soak in the beauty of the place. Maybe the parikrama could have been possible, using the oxygen we had brought along, but we would never know! It was very cold, surprisingly not windy at all and although we all had extreme difficulty in sudden actions & were breathing laboriously, none of us used the oxygen. After nearly 90 minutes of spending at the lake we headed back to Chungthang. By 8PM when we reached our base camp at Chungthang, we all had headaches and were told that if we would have taken in oxygen every now & then, on our rapid ascent & descent, we may not have had to face this problem. Next day saw us making the journey back to Gangtok and further to Bagdogra to catch our flights back to Delhi. Thus ended our fantastic road-trip with BRO to one of the worlds highest freshwater frozen lakes. All of us were extremely thankful towards BROs generous hospitality, patience & help provided to us at all steps of our trip and came back with a lot of appreciation of the efforts, hardships and selfless services that BRO personnel.

Road Distance & Altitude Summary: Bagdogra(400Ft) Gangtok(5500Ft): 130Kms Gangtok Mangan(3950Ft): 65Kms Mangan Chungthang(5250Ft): 38Kms Chungthang Lachung(8740Ft): 22Kms Lachung Yumthang(11800Ft): 24Kms Yumthang Zero Point(15700Ft): 24Kms Lachung Mt. Katao(15000Ft): 32Kms Chungthang Lachen(9000Ft): 27Kms Lachen Thanggu(13500Ft): 34Kms Thanggu Giaogong(15600Ft): 18Kms Giaongong Gurudongmar Lake(17100Ft): 18Kms
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Gurudongmar Lake is situated at an approximate altitude of 17,100ft, which is a high altitude mountain lake and needs special precaution. We had thus made our climb gradually and were pretty fit and steady to hit the roads for the final challenge. Gurudongmar Lake is 34kms from Thangu and is a significant 3200ft climb. Avik das FZ wasnt tuned prior to the expedition and it surely proved a little discomfort, however we tried different methods to make the mixture lean but werent hugely effective. With a crossed finger, we finally cranked the engines and got ready for the ride of a lifetime.

Act IV, Scene 2: Ride of a Lifetime

We started from Thangu at 5:20am with every bit of excitement that we could afford in that chilling weather. For the first hour of the journey it was pretty difficult coping with the very cold weather our fingers seemed to freeze under the gloves. The beauty of the snow-clad peaks and the sun rays lighting them up should be further blamed for our thinking powers to be affected. The beauty is not explainable and neither will I try to do so. At certain moments I was so lost in myself that it seemed like a solo trip and every other living being around me seemed to be moving in slow motion. At around 7am, we reached the last Army Checkpost of Giaogong at 15000ft. The Indian Army jawans greeted us with salutes and embraces and they also provided hot drinks which were the need of the hour for all of us. The Road-Rollers team was also there at the same time. All of us got our permits checked and got ready to ride onto the cold desert. The officers debriefed about the route to us and warned us not to cross any iron bridge and to keep to the right of the valley.

After refreshment and formalities we finally started from Giaogong at 7:30am. The cinematic experience of the wide open valley till the horizon was heart-stopping. The large fields were filled with small black dots, which were the Yaks grazing in numbers. We rode through the valley and every stroke of the engine seemed to be coming from our own heart and soul. The streams that crossed the roads were frozen to sleets of ice and they sounded like breaking glass. The roads finally led us to a very wide valley with dusty straight roads extending to as far as we could see. For a moment all the powerloss, low compression, rich mixture, etc were buried into the sand and we rode in top gear at speeds of 70+. I still havent re-gathered my free soul that I had left there that day. After riding for 3:30 hours we finally reached the landmark that pointed G-U-R-U-D-O-N-G-M-A-R.

Act IV, Scene 3: Dont stop at the top

Gurudongmar Lake was barely a 250m climb from the milestone, but this is where all the carburetted bikes were panting to death. Avik das agility was put to test here. He had to push his bike up now. The bike refused to take throttle and it barely stayed alive. Both of us had to give in our maximum efforts to push that 140kg beast to the top. We grew too passionate to leave the bike and walk up to the summit. The hard work finally paid up, we were at Gurudongmar Lake; the highest motorable road to a Mountain Lake.

But as soon as we reached there, the weather degraded and it started snowing. The condition was overcast and the scene was a little frightening. However, we gathered our guts and decided to hang around for the weather to clear out, whereas most of the tourists and even our RoadRollers friends withdrew fearing worse conditions. Our wait was worthwhile as the snowfall was just a routine one and there wasnt any blizzard and neither any whiteout. We stayed there for almost two hours offering prayers at the holy lake. Gurudongmar Lake is better known as Sarv Dharm Sthal and it truly puts up the best example of India being a secular country.

Doing little things at that altitude needed good amount of stamina and thinking and the world seemed to move slowly. The beauty had slowly hypnotised us and we were in no mood to return back. We had long chats with the Jawans appointed there, and they were very jovial and we had a hearty chat with them. All of us were appreciating each other for the feats of bravery, but deep down inside my heart they are the Unsung Heroes. Though we were feeling like guests, but they dint have a guest house for accommodation, who knows maybe we would have opted to stay there itself. Every good thing comes to an end, and the end finally came at 11:20am when we finally decided to climb down to Giaogong. Photography sessions were very frequent and for a moment Avik das eyes reflected that this was the best place in the world; again I wont try using words to explain the beauty. We finally returned back to Thangu at 1pm. The returned journey was very difficult for me, thanks to the extra thin front tires and the racing posture, which seriously caused a lot of damage to my shoulders. The climb down was almost like riding down an improperly built staircase. This was the part the FZ did with ease owing to its large tyres and a raised handlebar. However, no complaints for the discomfort every tingle was worth it. Act IV, Scene 4: Night Hawks After coming back from Gurudongmar, we both were extremely tired and almost felt like calling it a day. We had some tea and maggi with omelette, but still we didnt feel like riding anymore. As we were resting in our rooms, we decided that we shall ride down to Lachen (32kms) and rest there for the day. While resting Avik da repeatedly insisted on staying back at Thangu, I was wondering about my options when suddenly Avik da woke up and agreed to ride to Lachen. We packed up in 15mins and started from there at 3:15pm. The ride till Lachen was still quite difficult for me as my shoulder wasnt in the best of shapes. But without even discussing or stopping at Lachen, both of us continued the climb down to Chungthang. We kept on riding as

the roads gradually got better. The ride from Lachen to Chungthang was quite a fast one as we had mastered hill cornering by then. When we were in Chungthang it was already dark, but still unaware why we kept carrying on that day. Finally, after riding through the dangerous clayey zone from Chungthang to Mangan, we reached Mangan at around 7pm. It was a crazy night ride and it was a frightening experience when I recall it now. The low altitude and dense air felt amazing and we were soon rejuvenated. Act V, Scene 1: Stunts & Races The last ride back to the plains on 9th morning remained an eventful one as well, thanks to me I revamped our trip with some stunting and racing as well. While coming back from Mangan the roads seemed very good after Dikchu, with proper banking & tarmac and I was occasionally finding my foot scrap the road. In a photo break, I suddenly got hyper-pumped-up and tried pulling off some wheelies. Quite a few of them went off pretty well and Avik da was enjoying capturing the session until my foot slipped off the rear brakes & I broke my bikes rear fender from a 12o clock. As we were nearing Sevoke suddenly a RE350 & a black Pulsar 180 guy started enticing us. I suppressed my temptation and held on to their tail until blank roads came up, and then I could feel the air at xKmph speeds. So finally we had it, some Stunts, some Racing and a Mind blowing Trip. We are immensely thankful to the following who made this trip a success: Santanu Da Suman Da Santosh Bhaiya