INDIA TO PAKISTAN: LANDSLIDES, FUEL TROUBLE, MOUNTAIN PASSES

Rolling on fresh tires I left Delhi at 6 am with Chris on his KTM and Steve and Tobias in the Pajero. It wasn't the best start to a long day as 4 slices of bread had been stolen from my bike overnight... how devastating! Leaving the city on a multi-lane highway we headed North... Along the way I had to kick multiple cars that had tried to push me off the road, it was insane high-speed driving with absolutely no respect or clue how to drive... It was as if they don’t think about their actions whatsoever, I hadn't sworn that much in a long time! That night we found a quiet camp-site where after a few photos with the locals we were left in peace, got the sleeping bag out and enjoyed a nice cool night. We were all brimming with excitement for the coming days... MOUNTAINS and SNOW!

Doing my own laundry, mum would be proud!

First glimpse of the snow capped mountains, it was an amazing feeling.

Arriving in Jammu at sunset.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over this region namely in 1947, 1965 and recently in 1999. The tensions still continue and we were made aware of this by the extremely high military presence along the roads, towns and every high point.

Trying to find a camp location, the U-turn proved quite difficult!

Posing on Chris's bike, straight onto Facebook!

With an early start again our little convoy made it up to an altitude of 2000 m before heading back down into the valley, we were covering the distance relatively quickly until things changed and quite a few challenges were thrown our way...

A glorious morning with little traffic and amazing tarmac.

I just couldn't get sick of riding with this view.

Lot's of trucks transporting goods up the mountain to the isolated villages... and they drive pretty fast.

It was dusty and hot with the roads also getting worse... up we go!

The traffic ground to a halt with military and police telling everyone to park up and wait. It took a while to understand what was going on but eventually someone who knew a bit of English managed the words “landslide” and “one way traffic”. After more nagging the ‘dudes’ in charge we were told we could go at 2 pm, a 4 hour wait. So to pass the time we admired the local flora and went for a swim in the freezing river.

Chris, Tobias and myself "loving" the attention once again... featuring random guy with handkerchief in mouth.

The local crop behind the police station!

Today's shower was enjoyed in this river, a bit cold... but cleansing none the less.

2 o’clock came around and apparently we now had to wait until 6 pm... Things were already looking bad and then they said 11 pm or midnight at the earliest. All of a sudden they said to go now. It was 3 pm. Before they could change their minds we were off!

He even tweaked his mustache for the photo.

It's difficult to make progress when all you want to do is enjoy the scenery.

From here the road became incredible, stunning views and huge drops down to our left... no room for mistakes! The traffic jams on this mountain road were so frustrating, one lane in each direction can’t be that difficult of a concept can it??? It all came to a grinding halt as two lanes were occupied with oncoming traffic, with everyone behind bunched up so close that there was no way to get back in their own lane... therefore no one was able to move. We managed roughly 1 km per hour for 4 hours as they managed to keep doing it! It had been a long day, how could it get worse?

Goat herds, trucks and stop start traffic. At least it was pretty here right?

Just before sunset... Mid traffic jam, my bike started running rough and then stopped, it wouldn't start again. Someone yelled “OIL” and I looked down and saw a huge puddle under the bike. I instantly thought my trip was over. Upon inspection it was just a lot of fuel coming out of the overflow, that didn't change the fact that I’d just had a heart attack and that the bike still wasn't running! After some traffic cleared and there was a tiny bit of room I tried to push start the bike, still no go.

Broken down, one of those heart wrenching moments...

So here I was on the side of a mountain, dusty as all hell, sweating in the heat and my bike was not starting... 50 km from the closest town. After many more attempts the bike started reluctantly, ran very rough and stalled again. More attempts and I finally managed to get it to stay on. Rode about 500 m to catch up with the traffic jam where again “donk”, the engine shut itself off. What was already a long day was starting to look very hopeless as it was getting dark. I pushed another 600 m up the mountain to get to a small area off the side of the road where I began stripping the bike. Air filter was clean and unblocked, drained some fuel and tried again. WOMP it started! Packed up and rode another 200 m to join the queue again... praying the bike wouldn't stop. It kept running until we found a campsite around 9 pm! It was a tough day.

Our campsite the following morning, really great sleep in the cold!

At 25000 km my horn stopped working, which in India was practically as bad as having no brakes... but there wasn't really any mechanics around, so on I rode. By early morning we came across a blocked road, trucks parked across... no-one able to tell us why. We tried a side road but that too was blocked, we were ready to wait it out. It was just annoying. Luckily after 10 minutes the road cleared and we continued on, the scenery already becoming snowier!

Chilly mornings, it felt good waking up with the sun!

Snow in front and behind me, hardly able to contain the excitement!

I never imagined I'd ride my bike along a road like this... freaking' fantastic!

The weather was perfect and spirits were high... soon we'd be up at over 5000 m, or would we?

We didn't get much further before we were stopped at a military blockade and informed that the road was closed and this was the end. We were invited into the commander’s office and tried to convince him to let us try at least, but the answer was still “no”. 7 days it would take for the ice to melt and for the road to open... we were all devastated by this news. Most of us didn't have that kind of time to sit around waiting, when it could take even longer. So from here we turned around and made our way back to last night’s campsite, unfortunately the road was now closed in this direction as well and we stayed in a different spot. No point stressing over it now, sleep was first on the agenda.

Icy roads meant all non-military traffic was not allowed to continue...

A 4500 m peak behind me, sadly I didn't get to ride over any that high.

Sunset on our way back, leaving behind the snow...

Another huge day, totally exhausted!

The spot we’d used to camp was unfortunately close to the road and so we heard every car, truck and dog. From 3 am onward the trucks were racing past with horns blaring, it was loud. That morning the bikes split from the boys in the car and we made our way back down the mountain. Within the first hour we had overtaken most of the trucks that we had heard all night due to all the traffic jams... It was looking very bad again. Using footpaths, alleys and squeezing through every gap we managed to get past all the goats and trucks by 9 am where we then stopped for a drink. Here Chris and I were invited up into an observation post by some soldiers and given breakfast, tea and cookies! In 2 hours we had covered what had taken 8 hours two days earlier.

I could get used to waking up with this kind of view!

Straight into the hustling traffic, these sheep were pushy!

Breakfast with these guys was pretty sweet, one of the best so far!

The mountain roads had been tough on the bikes though and I had lost a bolt holding my bar protectors on, after a quick roadside repair with duct tape and cable ties we continued on until lunch time when we were pulled over by the cops. After a licence check we ended up hanging out with them for about an hour whilst they gave us drinks and proceeded to show us pictures of their cars, bikes, children and anything else they could think of... it was a nice break from the relentless heat we now had being almost at sea level again. That night we found a hotel in Amritsar that let us park our bikes inside the lobby.

Interesting signs were placed every kilometer up the mountains, one of many.

A bit more traffic, but we were almost back on flat land!

The Golden Temple, Amritsar... look at all that smog!

I ended up spending 3 nights in Amritsar where I caught up again with the guys in the car. Here we had quite a bit of whiskey with a few of the local beers... preparing for the alcohol drought about to begin. Here I properly repaired my bark busters and did a service on the bike. Before I had time to stop them the hotel staff had tipped the used oil into the street... I truly hope one day things will change.

Weapon shops lined the streets almost as much as food and mechanics!

Oil change for my baby!

Night markets were always interesting, with so much food and sweets to try... you could explore for hours!

One of the many strange things for sale on the street, coloured chicks.

The gang was back together for one last night. We watched the closing of the border together, a traditional ceremony at the Wagah border between India and Pakistan. The whole thing was a huge military display from both sides with a great atmosphere, lots of chanting and it really got the blood pumping with the energy from the crowd. We had one final dinner together as the following day we were entering Pakistan and we were going to cross at different speeds.

Indian SWAT team, for some reason everyone here was a lot taller than the other locals.

Border ceremony marching, it was pretty crazy!

Snipers standing watch above the border gate to India.

The border crossing was very quiet and relaxed. It took about 3 hours in total. Pakistan really surprised me at first. Smiling faces, super friendly hand-shakes, everyone glowing and happy to see us. I instantly felt comfortable with less traffic, almost no honking and a much less stressful atmosphere within the city.

I remember reading about Pakistan before I left... and now I'm here!

Not what we expected, 10 minutes in the country and we have locals dancing their way over to us!

After an hour of trying countless ATM’s one finally provided us with the much needed Pakistani rupees, then straight to McDonald's to eat a Big Mac... BEEF for the first time since Malaysia! From here we found a hotel and relaxed. Over the following days we explored the city, fixed my horn and I got a much needed haircut, I had now been on the road for over 4 months. I like this city so much that I’m staying another night before starting the ride across the country. Today’s agenda is sim cards and local clothes!

BEEF! Sometimes it's nice to just taste a bit of home...

Steve and I in a Tuk Tuk cruising around Lahore.

The Lahore Fort, built between 1556 and 1605 if accounts are accurate.

Badshahi Mosque, completed in 1673. It is the 5th largest mosque in the world!

You think it's hard to explain how you want it cut back home? Try doing it with charades!

From Delhi to Lahore, bring on the rest of Pakistan!