|
My MOTORCYCLE DIARIES .........................5
|
Apr 19, 2010 8:25 am
781 Views
|
Fun started about 10-14 kms before we reached Joshimath…the road beyond is an absolute no-nonsense, no-amateur type…We had been through pretty high hill roads and high bridges (when I say high bridges I mean bridges which are at a height of 1000’ or more) but these road had at least some protection that prevent you from falling off the hill ….concrete and steel ones …. but from now on, roads were very narrow and there were parts which did not had the comfort of railing ….so ur pretty much looking right into a 1000 feet gorge …the steepness of road increased significantly......The motorcycle was clearly having problems keeping up with the increasing gradient…We made our stop at Jhoshimath and had lunch there…..it was less than a shanty where we had our food but then this was our only option…..The only good thing was that the weather had cooled down quite a bit (Actually on the edge of being uncomfortable on the cooler side) and started to drizzle…… this is not good on a hilly road….so we decided to start our journey quickly as we feared rain….. we were all wearing t shirts (it is still summer haha) and the weather was too cold for them….
The drive beyond Jhoshimath was strange. We started to go down, It confused me and I stopped at least thrice to confirmed weather we were on the correct road …..I won’t exaggerate if I say that we had come down at least 1500 to 2000 feet from Jhoshimath…..Here the roads were surprisingly broad and very good and the sight was just out of the world…….It was like a place that you dream about...…..Let me try and picture it for you….fresh build, jet black broad and smooth road that is curvy but in a straight line, on the left were huge rocks that had been cut out to make this road so there were jutting out on the road, on the right side was the Beautiful Ganges flowing with all her power…………..and she was flowing close, and blue this time…….Not a human or Vehicles in sight ….this was actually the lowest point of a 1000’(or more) valley….so you are driving at the bottom of a valley of dark rocky granite hills along a beautiful blue river flowing very close to you with forested hills on the other side of the river ….. absolute solitude …... this scenery was magnified by the overcast condition….the whole place had only rocks, trees, river and a beautiful curvy road …….. rugged natural beauty that I had never seen before, easily the most beautiful thing ever………..I think heaven would be very similar….
While coming towards Jhoshimath we had seen a lot of “Jai Prakash Industries Welcomes you to the Land of God” hoardings. Then you see those bridges and Hydel Projects (in these terrain ) …simply world class....Makes you feel proud to be an Indian ……I don’t care how much money these companies make in building these structures the only thing that I care is that they are Indian. I have always thought and seen Indians, among the finest as far as mental abilities are concerned, but had not seen much of quality implementation as far as structures are concerned (I have had the privilege of seeing a few non-Indian structures that were quite phenomenal, does hurt a bit, Why can’t these be Indian)…………..……We are still not there but WE WILL GET THERE and beyond, much faster than the world thinks……Another important thing that comes to mind after seeing these structures is the strength of Human resolve…………..NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE……Be ready to give what it takes…….Take the first step….…….If one can think of something he can do it………..I think ive seen so many examples of this kind in this trip that I, for sure am convinced.
Road beyond this is the HIGHWAY TO HELL………(I think Bon Scott was here before he made tat song)…..Let me try and picture the road for u…….The roads were so steep that it was difficult to maintain even the second gear, it was really narrow, it was a landslide prone area so no matter how hard the Indo-Tebetian border police tried to make roads…..they spend even more time clearing debris of the landslide which occurs almost every second day….so the roads were really broken…..there were a few patches of tarmac but then it will see the same fate after a landslide….there were no railings whatsoever and the heights here would make you hmmmmmmm lets just say “dizzy”, don’t matter u have vertigo or not…..the deep gorges were on the left side of the road and since india is a Right hand Drive country …..guess wat….while going up we are going to be very very very close to the edge of this road….. Now this was a single road but had two-way traffic …..In case of two four (or more ) wheeler from opposite direction, one will have to back up to the point where there is enough space for both the vehicles to pass (these points are made at regular intervals)….its easier said than done….backing up and maneuvering on these steep, hilly, broken, without any protection is far from easy…(Needs a complex combination of holding ones nerves and driving skills)…………….
There were times when we were about 2 feets from a more than 2000’ gorges…..it was sick….whenever we saw a vehicle coming from the opposite direction….trust me, that was the sickest feeling you can ever get….We were right on the edge….Golden rule …….no matter what …DON’T LOOK DOWN……..The most scariest part was a place where there were rocks jutting out of the hill making a partial cave (like a semicircle) and the road was curving towards right, and on your left, as always a straight drop of a couple of thousand feet’s……I Cant say that I wont go on those roads again………but at that moment I was scared and really wanted to get over with it……It was raining all the while....Funny thing was whenever we crossed a vehicle and saw its scared passengers looking at us…..it was like “what the hell are these guys doing here”. Even the bus drivers looked surprised..they were not used to seeing motorcycles here….Bus reminds me of an intresting thing that happened…………just to let u know how narrow these roads were….Buses have four rear tiers (a set of two tiers on each side )…I saw, Out of the two tires on one side, one tire leave the road and hanging while the other tire (of the same side) was still on the road…This is how narrow it was…..
At some places there were small waterfalls formed on the road. Water was flowing from top of the hill onto the road and then across the road into the gorge and water had fair amount of force when it crossed the road…..This is no problem for larger heavy vehicles but for us ….it can easily let you loose balance and take you down the gorge…..plus the road condition near such place was terrible…..so we went as far away from the gorge as possible when we tried to cross any of these……
I can only imagine what was going on Serious’s mind all the while…..There was nothing he could do but sit tight ……and under the circumstances he did a great job (trust me its not easy)…..Putting myself in the shoes of Serious, I am sure that I cant trust anyone on these roads and would have preferred walking those last 15-20 kms……….But tats our Serious…… He is a very smart guy…. But when he says he trust you………HE MEANS IT………….U don’t meet people like Serious every day…….
|
|
|
3
Comments
|
|
|
My MOTORCYCLE DIARIES .........................4
|
Apr 12, 2010 10:26 am
815 Views
|
(CORRECTION: We had six days to start with instead of seven, I had mentioned earlier…. My apologies.......I didnt really enjoyed writing so much but its worth it if you like it )
We reached Srinagar good half an hour before the bus…..Srinagar is a small town with one main bus stand….We were not sure if we were the first one to reach so we decided that serious and practical would stay at the bus stand and I would look around for him in the market close by…..Srinagar is a small place with nothing in it except the Great Ganges. I would give it a few points for Its ok weather and I did see a few very pretty girls there. I wandered in the market especially on the phone booths, but couldn’t find a butt face guy. We were getting frustrated, we almost decided to look for a hotel and retire and let drama sell his clothes to give us a call of his where about………but then we are all kind hearted guys and we decided to do him a favor, stay there, find him and the beat the crap out of him.
And then we saw Drama getting off a bus (Apparently this cockroach had his wallet or some cash on him cause that’s how he would have paid for the bus trip) the first words that came out of his mouth on seeing us meant something very close to “ wats up dickhead” and guess whom did he say this to…. SERIOUS (not that the outcome would have been any different if he would have said this to me)…. WE WHOOPED HIS ASS LIKE A DOG……..right in the heart of Srinagar….there was even a police patrol about 25 meter from where we were but somehow they had an idea that drama was the bad guy so they didn’t bother (they would probly be thinking…one less serial killer on the streets…good for us )….we had planned to drag drama behind our motorcycles but then we dropped this plan ….we are all very kind hearted, forgiving and loving by nature.
It was 8 pm and Finding a hotel in Srinagar wasn’t easy but we managed to find one and it was really good and I think it was very reasonable priced in fact dirt cheap, we took two rooms there (I don’t remember the name of the hotel but it was on the banks of Ganges and a good one, You cant miss it, it is the only good hotel around). We were more tiered than hungry but we still ordered our dinner cause it’s a horrible feeling to get up in the middle of the night feeling hungry….I don’t think anyone ate dinner that night but we had it in our rooms for just in case….
Next morning I spoke to drama if he would like to continue, cause I really didn’t felt he should…He said he was fine…but I knew he was just dragging himself….Anyways we all sat down and decided that Drama will take a bus back to Rishikesh and we will join him by tomorrow night. While we were doing all this we had lost quite a bit as far as time was concerned (Drama is not an easy guy)….it was already 11 am and time for a quick review of our plans….We came to know that Valley of flower had about 10-14 kms of trek, time was a big problem here cause we had to start coming back by tomorrow early morning, if we had to reach Delhi in time plus with one member missing it was no fun staying anywhere….we somehow enjoy a lot more when we are together. All we had was about 5 to 6 hrs with us. Valley of flowers didn’t suit us…..so we were looking for a more “touch and go” place where we can have an accomplishment of being there as well as a sense of purpose……It was quite clear that without time and one member missing this “purpose” cannot be entertainment/enjoyment etc.etc…..
We pondered our maps and found Badrinath….this suited us most…we just have to be there….worship in the temple (sense of purpose) and start off….China is very close to this point so there is no roads beyond this point as far as being in India is concerned (sense of accomplishment)….
Target was set and locked………. it was time to zero in
We had a quick breakfast not sure what it was …but it was something desi….Not taking drama along beyond Srinagar proved to be the second best decision we made on this trip (first was still to come)…the drive was a bit more tricky, roads were narrow and more twisty than before…..One of the problems that we had here was availability of good fuel….I am in a habit of using premium or extra speed (high octane ones) whatever these companies call it….and they didn’t had any of these, in fact every two gas stations out of five didn’t had any fuel…..so the most sensible thing was to fill up our tanks with whatever fuel we got…..I don’t know whether it was physiological, steep roads or bad fuel…..I felt a drop in my motorcycle’s performance after the refueling.
We were on our way to Badrinath and Serious was my pillion now, By now I was used to the hilly roads and had no problems negotiating the curves (not that I had a prob before, just felt more comfy now) we started to see a lot more Sikh pilgrims now (we will have a common route to a point) Surds have a great attitude towards life. They were trying to challenge me even on those 100cc things (I love these guys) ..since some of their machines were much smaller than mine they were not making eye contact but still I could feel their challenge…while those with a little bigger machines were all out in the open..”do wat u can do” type… I humbly accepted their challenge and I cant remember losing any but one….he was a terrific rider but If I ever see him again on a red light I am not sure if I would let that happen again. Serious however was not enjoying all this but he knows me ….. unlike drama serious, doesn’t make a lot of noise………..HE JUST GETS PISSED ONCE and u don’t wanna be anywhere around…..I think, I and Serious understand each other best maybe cause we share the same 3 bedroom flat ……..(why did I mention 3 bedroom and what’s the use of it when two people has to stay?? Will let you know))and yes we are straight.
My attention was on the roads and its curves and didn’t really kept track of the places that went by and the way I was driving I am sure Serious was also doing the same. There was an interesting observation I made about the type of vehicles one should be watchful while driving here…they were 1. all the vehicles which had a UA number(A vehicle registered in the state of Uttrakhand ) and 2. Our (in) famous Army Vehicles.
I noticed that every 8 out of 10 vehicles, weather it was a small car or a commercial jeep,truck or a bus with a UA number had a tendency to come a little too close than our comfort zone would tolerate. I think the reason is that that these drivers are used to driving in these narrow, twisty hilly roads and what for us may be a close call for them it’s their normal style of driving in which its perfectly normal to drive at such close proximity of other vehicles. They have the skill to drive at a normal speed in such spaces, that a normal city person would slow down or even stop. So just keep an eye on the number plate. (if u can)
Another havoc on these roads are the army Trucks…..One of my close friend is a Captain in the Indian Army and Ive been to their clubs and “mess” ( as what they call)… they are the coolest dudes walking on the face of earth….chilled to the core… One member calls for help and the whole unit comes running for him…..I think these guys were so good and so helpful that Army had to rethink about their image and they selected an elite group of soldiers, the main qualification required to be in this group were a BIG EGO and experience in trouble making ….and they were all given wheels with a pledge that said something on the lines of “ I will give a new face to the Indian Army ,You better give me the whole Fukin road or I will screw your happiness” and so these men are just trying to do their job on road……Don’t take these experiences to your heart, Army guys rock…It is highly advisable to keep ur ego in check if u see these dark green vehicles….I normally give them all the space they need and even smiled at them a small salute to the driver makes him very happy.
All right Guys ………Buckle up………this is what the hills had been training us for ………We are at Joshimath now…..Drive from here to Badrinath is the most interesting……….(assuming: I can picture it as it was)
|
|
|
5
Comments
|
|
|
My MOTORCYCLE DIARIES .........................3
|
Apr 10, 2010 10:18 am
899 Views
|
(Hope you like this......please leave your comments and let me know if you want more of these)
It was already 1 PM……………. and we had to decide whether to go towards Neelkanth Mahadev or towards valley of flower. According to our calculation we would take two days to reach valley of flowers and two days to come back to Rishikesh that leaves us one day to explore and one day to return back to Delhi. If everything goes according to plan we would be able to cover Neelkanth Mahadev on our way back. So we hit the road again………
Valley of flowers………. WE ARE COMING………
We crossed one of the Jhulas (no sure wether it was Ram Jhoola or Laxman Jhoola) on our motorcycles..its narrow and crowded but we managed somehow..Exit from rishikesh proved to be a fight due to heavy traffic and hot sun (temp was around 40, pollution and dirt didn’t help either )..we somehow squeezed between trucks and cars and manage to beat the traffic..the road ahead were good and broad ..by now we were hungry and thirsty but there was nothing on the highway…. and then out of nowhere we spotted a lone Khera wala (man selling cucumber/zucchini for those sophisticated ones) had a few kheras and a few glasses of shikangi….it was good…. we were on the banks of Ganges again…with all the heat and tiredness it wasn’t a bad idea to relax a bit…….actually it was a brilliant one..the only problem was that none of us are good swimmers.. we still decided to give it a try….. The Khera wala showed us where we should and should not venture ….I volunteered to go in first, Drama had managed a long rope from the khera wala’s shack, just in case..the average water level was waist deep with the deepest being neck deep within the given area, so everybody jumped in,.. the water was refreshing, it was actually cold, it was difficult to manage more than 10 mins in the water and you had to either stand up or come out to warm up a bit.
We saw this as a good opportunity and made our 1095th attempt to kill Drama, but then he is a cockroach (Legend has it that drama once had sex with a genetically engineered male cockroach that explains his ability to survive anything)..Anyways We had fun for bout an hour and when we came out we were even more hungry and there was nothing in sight except our old friend Kheera wala…So Khera it is.. we ate and we ate some more and we ate kheeras to a point when there were no good kheeras left with him...so he had a good day and we had a good day, win-win for both,….. Sweet..doesnt happen often…….
Its was time to get back to business….. Actual hill drive started from this point onwards..the road was good, broad and twisty…and my bullet was doing an awesome job (cant say the same for Apache..we were loosing them more often now) ….Just an example…you need not shift down while overtaking, it was pulling just fine even in fourth gear on roads which had fair amount of steepness (tats not bad considering me and dramas combined weight to be 150 kgs or more)…so I pushed it harder..We are all city guys and were not really respecting twisty hill roads .…which was not good…
Not until we witnessed an accident victim…This accident had occurred minutes before we reached the spot..A middle aged man and an older women had fallen off their two wheeler…. Not sure if they were hit by something or they fell on their own… the women seemed fine although a little disoriented, she had minor cuts, bruises and few scratches, we stopped and offered her some water, we had lots of Band-Aid with us so we pasted them wherever we found cuts or blood and soon the old lady looked like an old mummy (just kidding) we did what we could . The man’s wounds were much gruesome .There was bone sticking out of his ankle and we don’t think we were of any help to him except giving him water which we did. Good thing was he was conscious and had himself called for an ambulance…There were many Sikh pilgrims on their way to Hemkunt Sahib had pulled over and soon there was a big crowd for help (not sure how). A guy showed us a spot where a truck has fallen off the railing and we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the truck…it was hardly visible..it was like a needles tip..That would give you a reference as to how high these hills were and trust me this was nothing compared to what was coming.
We set off with a heavy heart but were quite relived to see the Tehri Project Hospital Ambulance coming from the opposite direction….Lesson learned..respect hilly roads.
It wasn’t long before we were hungry again so we stopped at a self proclaiming restaurant..nothing fancy but the food was ok. We took a stock of the situation and decided to reach Srinagar(Uttrakhand) by end of day. Drama was not looking good and for a change it was for real..maybe it was because of the altitude or maybe because motorcycle trips are not everybody’s cup of tea….whatever…I was concerned about him. But what he did was not only unexpected but outrageous.
We were back on road after lunch and as far as I remember we were at Devprayag when I thought of stopping and stretching a bit….it wasn’t long before Apache joined us…..Serious was buzy taking snaps of Practical (He is the fourth guy…he is a funny guy, believes in being practical so a bit boring, he is going to get married this july, so he is done as far as life is concerned ) and surroundings while drama was trying to show me smoke rings…A Uttrakhand road transport bus was coming our way and suddenly without warning drama gave a hand to stop the bus..…the bus stopped and he got on to it saying his ass is hurting and he will see us in Srinagar ……..I didn’t stop him cause I knew he was telling the truth……
Serious and Practical had no clue what was going on……..But then I realized I had committed a blunder ……I remember drama giving me his cell phone to keep in the bag as he thought it was too big to carry in his track pants (it is big) , ……So he did not had a phone and while we were fooling in the river sometime back we had put all the wallets, watches and card holders in one bag, I was quite sure that he had not taken it back cause non of us had……..So this Asshole had no money no phone and no watch………And he was on a bus to an unknown place…….Awesome
First we thought of chasing the bus but there was a problem, we were not sure which bus was it…we remember it was TATA 608 mini bus and it was a state transport one but then all the busses (and they were quite a few) on those hilly roads were same small TATA 608 …there was a lot of confusion…so we decided to reach Sri nagar before the bus…..now there was a mad dash to Srinagar….We forgot bout the accident we forgot bout the hills……..Just drove…..
|
|
|
7
Comments
|
|
|
My MOTORCYCLE DIARIES .........................2
|
Apr 8, 2010 9:19 am
801 Views
|
(Thanks for your comments and appeciation...I hope you like this too)
I got a call from my friend on Apache (Lets call him Serious: This guy has a heart of gold…he is the kind of guy whose everything is a public property, I wont exaggerate if I say that we take all his stuff for granted as if it were Govt of India’s, we all owe him big, but he is a sleeping giant, God save you if you piss him off) that they had a problem, we took a u turn and came back to them…. There was a fuel leak ..it wasn’t very bad ,(bout 4-5 drops/min )…we checked the fuel lines and it was ok, we guessed it was from the carburetor (we latter found, it was a combination of dirty carburetor and its inlet valve).. we had no intentions of opening it, now there were two options A) wait till 10 when service center opens or  just drive and keep an eye on the fuel gauge. We took option B without much debate ( as usual Drama had an option C ).
So we took off again…Roads were empty and we were enjoying it. We decided that we will try and maintain a speed of 80 which was fair for the Apache so that we could be in sight of each other. First stop was Merut on our way to Haridwar.. we stopped at a line hotel and had our breakfast… some Gobi paratha with ketchup and Tropicana (veggies and pickels were not worth the risk). Fuel was still leaking from Apache but fuel gauge showed well within the green zone so it was all right, we guessed ….the locals gave us a short cut to Hridwar, along the canal ..it was a narrow road with almost no traffic ..the road condition was fair and it traveled though green farm lands………SO WE BLASTED ALONGE………
….We entered Haridwar at around 11:00 AM, went straight into the service center and got Apache fixed…….It was actually a good decision not to open the carb as we latter found ….there was no way we cud have fixed it on the streets. It was decided to drive a bit more(25km) and go to Rishikesh where we took 2 rooms in a hotel….it was comfortable.....
Anyways we had a big fat lunch and within mins we were all snoring, we hardly slept last night and were a bit tired from the trip …. When we woke up, it was morning….But the good thing was, we were as fresh and strong as a horse and were ready for the big day ahead…
After breakfast It was decided to leave for Neelkanth Mahadev ( about 40-50 kms of steep hill road where one cant get speeds more than 40 even on a bullet) by 10 in the morning and then return by 2 pm to the hotel, take our stuff and head towards Valley of Flowers ( Google it, Uttaranchal, close to china border) so the plan was to be on the road till there is daylight and when it starts to get dark we will take a hotel wherever, and continue with the journey the following day.
Firing up a bullet is such an attention grabber….even though it was an electric start…now we were speeding towards Neelkanth Mahadev……It was nice to breath fresh forest air and see the green Ganges flowing parallel to this road so the sight was pretty cool. We were bout 10 kms into the hill when we noticed a very tempting dirt trail , we stopped and decided to explore a bit, the trail took us good 100 ft below the road level and finally led to rocky banks of the Ganges ….This place is called Phool Chati bout 5kms from Gadud Chati (for those who have been there)….The sight was breathtaking and was actually in the middle of freaking nowhere, Ganges looked beautiful and majestic in her green robe..….
We parked our bikes and wandered a little and found, we had company and beautiful ones, there were some ‘Phoren Goris’ having a good time in the river….Now this is where drama is good..breaking ice, initiating conversations, I am not very bad either but he is a pro. We found that they were three American girls who had come to Rishikesh to do some soul searching; they were associated with some ashram and were learning yoga and stuff(we actually drank all their lemonade ). As we spend more time with them we found that they were dedicated for their cause and it became quite clear that we were not going to get what we are looking for (drama is a smart guy, I don’t know why he behaves like a retard sometimes…dude u wont get anything here), plus I had some respect for the girls because I would myself like to go on this journey someday..But its not my time now.. So we decided to leave the girls and explore more.
We continued on this dirt trail…there was a make shift wooden bridge over a small portion of the river that took us to the bottom of a rising landmass…we could clearly see a less used road and if the bridge was there obviously people would cross it to GO SOMEWHERE (these were the few reasons I gave drama to convince him that there was a road ahead and I was right), This road started to get narrower and steeper, On one side was a natural wall from the hill the other side was a straight 50 ft (this height grew as we moved forward) drop into river Ganges which was flowing with all her fury..This road was JUST broad enough for a small jeep, one wronge move and you are In the white waters . We kept moving cautiously….Drama was the very still and quite…..no fag and no piss…..
The road finally reached a gate of a Private Property…It was huge and also had a Helipad….there were some guards there and we found that this place was owned by a businessman from Chandigarh…The guards were cool and let us explore the property from outside…It had a Big mansion and the whole property was very tastefully developed.. It was at a good height and overlooked river Ganges on the east side, had forested hills on the south and west side and the entrance was actually along the hill on the North side. ….Honestly I was awestruck looking at this property I cant help myself but think…Is this just bout Money and Power?? I don’t think so..I think who ever made this place was a visionary… I was trying to put myself into the shoes of that person as he saw it before developing it..how did he visualized this amidst all the wilderness… why did he choose only this place ..how on earth did he manage to bring all the logistics here…Was there any practical side of this venture…( visionaries are very smart people)………Whatever…….I think who ever made this place is a Rock Star in my book. I am not sure that I would like to own this place even if I had that Money…but I have respect for his creation.
It was already 1 PM…………….
|
|
|
5
Comments
|
|
|
My MOTORCYCLE DIARIES .........................1
|
Apr 6, 2010 10:00 am
868 Views
|
(This is my first attempt at writing, I know it sucks but your patience and comments would be much appreciated)
This is an account of my motorcycle trip of about 1500 kms.
One of my best buddy was coming to India on vacation ......…. we spend the first few days doing the usual stuff ..getting wasted, watch movies and a few more things (Wat else can one do in Delhi and plz don’t get wrong idea about me I am teetotaler and a veggie for last 5 years but still enjoy pub and lounge scene)..…now tats no fun…. so I decided to have a little Adventure ..huh..I could think of two things at that time; trekking or road trip .Trekking was out of question as two of my friends (out of four of us) are chain smokers and I had no intentions of carrying one on my shoulders, just in case. But a nice mountain road trip would be fun…..We could have used my car but motorcycles And hills just sounded too good (even though it was may and Sun was at its arrogant best) ….now we didn’t had motorcycles and now we needed two of them …….I spend some time on the net and found that motorcycles are available on rent ,we rented a Enfield 350 Electra from Karol Bagh, Delhi…it was a new bike .. the oddo read less than 8000, had discs and 5 speed…….the bike was really cool in terms of looks and performance the brakes were not as good but then bullets don’t have a reputation of good brakes, the other bike was arranged from a friend who had an Apache.
…..Just for the records my UK friend is real drama and an ass and one of the chain smokers.…he takes pride in making you feel as if you are a piece of dirt, he loves to laugh when you fall and has a reputation of making plans and then chicken out at the last moment…(We call him drama) but he is my buddy and we know each other well enough and these don’t matter….and then I am no saint either so it cancels out…We had gone way too far to let drama destroy it now and laugh at us….So I had to do something about him….I asked him to sponsor the whole trip and that we will split at the end , to which he surprisingly agreed without much drama.
So the logistics had been arranged, and our leaves sanctioned…now we had 7 days at our disposal….but the problem was we had not decided where we were going and this was night 10 pm before our supposedly early morning departure. So we debated and fought for several hours and then finally by 12:30 decided to go to Haridwar first and then we will decide further….We decided to set off by 4 in the morning to beat the heat and Delhi traffic.
I think by 12:45 AM we had all started snoring at our best……We had set a 3:30 AM alarm on at least 4 mobile phones (if not more) and two table watches (the sound of this watch is really loud and irritating ) the noise that came out of my flat at 3:30 was just divine …. (as it is we have been in trouble for loud music)
Anyways we all somehow got up and those who didn’t..they woke up the hard way…we set off at around 4:30….Just in case u have lost track or didn’t follow…We were four guys and two bikes…I was driving the bullet and unfortunately drama was my pillion and he needed a piss break every 3 mins and a fag break every 6 mins….
My bullet drove like a dream, everything was just perfect, weather was cool and the thundering sound of bullet was super cool. It was quite amazing to see how fast bullet reaches 100 and more and how well it behaves at those speeds…it didn’t take us long to find that we had left Apache far behind so we slowed down for the Apache to catch up…and then disaster struck within 30 mins of our departure….
|
|
|
7
Comments
|
|
|
MOVE ON............................
|
Mar 16, 2010 3:36 am
764 Views
|
MOVING ON IS NOT EAZY... HOPE YOU DONT NEED THIS..BUT I DOUBT IF THER WUD BE ANYONE WHO WUD NEVER NEED THESE...
1. Avoid the former love.No, this isn’t being immature. Seeing your former flame can bring out emotions and may cause you do to or say something you will regret. In the first few weeks the best thing you can do for yourself is not be where you know they will be.
2. Talk out your feelings with close friends. Get everything out so that you won’t hold it inside. Your friends may get sick of hearing you talk about the situation but you need to let out all your feelings and thoughts or they may come back to bite you later.
3. Cry if you want to. It’s OK to cry over a loss. Don’t hold back, let the tears roll just do it in a safe and private place where it is unlikely to get back to your ex. You don’t want your tears to be used as a guilt trip. Their purpose is to cleanse you of any pain not make your lover come back.
4. Let go of mementos. Put away or give away anything and everything that reminds you of the relationship. Hide them out of sight so they will be out of mind until you are able to remember the relationship without longing for it to still be going strong.
5. Don’t slip up and get together with your ex. When you are feeling sad or missing a relationship it can be very easy to fall back in to the arms of your ex but DO NOT DO THIS. This will only set you back and let’s face it, if things ended the relationship wasn’t perfect to begin with so why would you want to rekindle things?
6. Focus on all the things about your ex that drove you crazy, turned you off, or that you just plain found annoying. Think about these things often and replay them in your mind over and over. Dwell on them. It will make you feel better to remember that your former flame was not perfect and that there are things you won’t really miss.
7. Think about the mean, or rude things your ex may have done in your relationship. Really give these things play in your memory. Remind yourself that somebody who truly cared for you would not have done such thoughtless things and tell yourself (over and over) that you are better off without that kind of ego crushing behavior in your life.
8. Maintain a strict no contact policy and stick with it. Don’t pass notes through friends. Don’t make any calls. Stay away from instant messaging or texting on your cell. Just don’t contact your ex until you are totally and completely sure you no longer want to be with her or him. It is the only way.
Mending a broken heart is not easy but it can be done. Just stick to the game plan and before you know it you’ll be just fine. Good luck
-Anonymous
|
|
|
3
Comments
|
|
|
|
|
LETS KICK SOME BUTT.............
|
Feb 28, 2010 3:48 am
822 Views
|
some were born to criticize, to speculate and hypothesize while others were born to achieve and execute as others look on with wonder. Thank the almighty that you were born to be among the latter.
Doing that which is uncommon, that which is difficult, that which can’t be done by most is naturally to be met by apprehension, for our inborn inclination is for self-preservation and while that shit may keep us alive it certainly doesn’t always help us prosper.. Fear like so many abstract concepts is only as real as we allow it to be, the determined man-he acknowledges it, he feels it on his skin and continues about his business undeterred.
Times are hard, but I’m harder (on…haha). Gotta be, cuz shit could always be worse. Never tempt the fates by wasting time sitting around pitying yourself. Things have a tendency to get a whole lot worse … If you let them. Hard times are a part of life, but whether or not you let them destroy you,.. well, that is up to you. . When the shit hits the fan, go to work. Rely on the ethic that has long served you so well.
We all know it well. Whether it is the nagging trepidation in the recesses of your brain or the skeptical glare of your “peers”, doubt surrounds you. Dare to dare and you put yourself out there. The longer and more directly you confront doubt, the less of an obstacle it becomes, the more easily it can be brushed off and cast aside. Embrace insecurity and that which seems uncertain. Believe in yourself, even when your better judgment doesn’t have your back. Stare doubt in the face and push forward.
dark days are more responsible for forming and molding us than any birthday parties or flower bouquets ever could .Dominate them within…. and the rest of the external world will have no choice but to fall in line. Conduct your own Manhattan Project… Just don’t let the world blame me when you drop the bomb.
|
|
|
3
Comments
|
|
|
BEER potential..........
|
Feb 22, 2010 4:42 am
751 Views
|
Two college kids cart trash to make some beer cash--and end up creating an empire
It's the universal cry of parents, generally heard by the second day of college breaks: "Get a job!" Omar Soliman's mother joined the chorus; she was not about to have her son hanging out at the neighborhood pool all summer. "You have to do something," she told him.
Soliman's friends had nailed down prestigious internships in his hometown of Washington, D.C. But Soliman liked to party; he couldn't imagine sitting at a desk all day. After years of delivering furniture for his mother's store, he remembered that a lot of people had stuff they wanted to get rid of. If he borrowed his mom's van, he could make a little beer money carting their trash away for them.
That night, Soliman came up with a name for his new business: College Hunks Hauling Junk. He distributed flyers the next day, and within hours, his phone was ringing. He asked his buddy Nick Friedman to help out. They made $220 in three hours cleaning out a woman's garage.
Soliman and Friedman pocketed $10,000 that summer. And now, just four years later, they run a nationwide company that pulled in $3 million in 2008. College Hunks employs 130 people and has 16 franchises in 10 states and D.C. They cart away everything from tattered sofas to ancient computer parts, and plan to expand to 80 franchises by 2012. "People love the idea of friendly, clean-cut guys slinging junk," says Friedman.
But the two weren't ready to become full-time trashmen after graduation. "We were trained to finish college and get a good job," says Soliman, who first went into marketing at a research firm. Friedman became an economic analyst for a consulting company. Within months, says Friedman, "we were pretty antsy. I sent Omar an e-mail: 'What's your timeline for the business?' He replied: 'RIGHT NOW.' " They quit their jobs but had trouble finding a bank willing to lend them money. "We didn't have much of a credit rating," says Soliman.
After five turndowns, one bank decided to gamble $50,000 on their idea. They put together another $60,000 from their parents and their own savings. To jump-start the business, they bought a truck, hired a graphic artist to design a logo, ran newspaper and radio ads, and recruited haulers on campuses. Wearing their new uniforms–green polos and khakis–they made presentations at county fairs, chambers of commerce, and real estate offices.
"At first, we lost money," says Friedman, "because we underbid the jobs." One customer hired them to dispose of a dozen trash cans filled with construction debris. They measured the job by volume instead of by weight and charged just $130. "The containers were so heavy, it took us two and a half hours," says Soliman. "And it cost us more than $250 in fees to dump the load."
But the tough hands-on experience taught them what–and what not–to do. They minimized the cost of unloading at landfills by recycling metals and electronics and donating to charities over 60 percent of what they collected. They hired consultants to help establish national franchises, bought a toll-free number, set up a website, and established a call center in Maryland. Last year, they relocated to Tampa, where the rent is cheaper.
These days, Soliman, 26, is the visionary, and Friedman, 27, the nuts-and-bolts guy. The pair are shopping around a book that encourages young entrepreneurs to take risks.
"I didn't realize I was an entrepreneur until I started driving the van," says Soliman. "Neither did Nick. I just knew that I wanted to do something on my own. I figured if Nick and I failed, we'd learn more from failing than from not trying at all."
Getting Ahead with Soliman and Friedman
Q. What did friends say when you quit your jobs to start College Hunks?
A. Nick Friedman: They thought we were crazy. They said, "What about your résumé?"
Q. Any regrets?
A. Nick Friedman: No. I felt like I was stuck in a rat race at the consulting company. There was just too much time in the workday. Now that Omar and I have our own business, there isn't enough time in the day to do everything we want to do.
Q. What's the strangest thing you've found in someone's junk?
A. Omar Soliman: There was the very long boa constrictor. We've also picked up World War II ammunition, a vintage set of Playboy magazines from the 1960s [the employee who found the collection sold it on eBay for $300], and baseballs signed by Hank Aaron and Willie Mays, which we keep on our desks.
Q. What's the most important thing you've learned?
A. Omar Soliman: People don't fail-systems do. If something goes wrong, you can't blame an employee. You ask, What in our system went wrong?
Q. What are the pros and cons of hiring college kids?
A. Omar Soliman: They're energetic, not as likely to complain or file grievances. The con is they're likely to go out partying the night before and not show up for work.
Q. What's the toughest part of your job?
A. Omar Soliman: Combating the too-many-ideas syndrome. We get off on tangents, like thinking about rolling out a recycling service. We need to stay focused on the job at hand. We are looking for a partner, though, for our next business-College Foxes Packing Boxes.
|
|
|
0
Comments
|
|
|
WHY DO MEN LOVE CARS.........3 REASONS
|
Feb 12, 2010 12:34 am
1149 Views
|
Satisfying the need for speed
I am not sure why, but put a man behind the wheel, he is a changed person. Even for a normally timid person. who pushes nothing but papers and pens in the office, he is transformed into a tiger when he gets behind the wheel. You find aggressions in him that is ever so well controlled normally. He overtakes anyone who dares to impede him by cutting into his lane and he gets angry with anyone who dares to overtake him when he is already doing 90 miles an hour!
When behind the wheel, he wants to be the first in front of everyone. He wants to get to where he wants to get to without hindrances. He wants to be the number one. Perhaps being so far down the food-chain in a large corporation makes him desire to be the hunter rather than be the prey. He has been behind the queue in his organisation but now he wants to go on top. He has a need for speed and in the world within his car he wants to be noticed. His car becomes his oyster. And in this world, he can, within certain limits, do the things he wants to do, anytime, anyhow without being told off. That is why he loves his car. She does not complain over what he does. He is the boss. Nobody tells him what to do when he is alone in his car.
Seeking for thrill that might kill
Perhaps in a mundane world where everything is being idiot proofed and is being made safe for everyone, he seeks thrills to get him out of his dull gray world. He wants to fantasise. Within his car he can get the thrills he desires for, even if kills him in doing so, so be it. He can be satisfied in his need for speed. He can also seek for the thrills that will make him a warrior in his own world.
His primordial ancestors were hunters, therefore he has the instinct to hunt. He needed to hunt for food, and the act of hunting was dangerous and might kill him but the thrill of hunting and killing the prey is something he needed. In this modern world, his search for money to put food on the table is no longer fun. No adrenaline rush in the killing of the animal for food. Today his hunting might kill him with boredom. There is no more thrill. His job might give him a heart attack through stress but this is not thrill he seeks.
Within the world of his car, he can hunt down those in front of him. He will 'kill' those that annoy him by chasing them down. After the 'kill' of overtaking and screeching round tight corners wiith sheer vertical cliff drop, he becomes satisfied. He seeks that thrill and the car allows him to live out that danger mission. He seeks for thrill even though there might be a risk in getting killed. He become a real man behind the wheel.
Getting the performance on demand
Men are performances oriented. He wants instant gratifications. He would like to have things done instantly, without any objections. His car does not object when he demands that it performs. The instant response to his pressing on the accelerator gives him the satisfaction of power. The immediate surge and the sound of engine gives him instant feedback. It can be orgasmic. His demands are being met right there and then. He can order her around. Not in his office, he cannot demand his peers or superiors to perform according to his wishes all the time. Not at home he cannot tell his wife to perform.
But in the car, she gives in to his demand, instantly. What more can a man ask for?
If only his wife is like his car! That is why men love their cars.
|
|
|
9
Comments
|
|
To link to this blog (hardon692) use [blog hardon692] in your messages.
|
|
|
| Sun |
Mon |
Tue |
Wed |
Thu |
Fri |
Sat |
| |
|
|
|
|
11
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
31
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Most Recent Comments by Others
|
