Travel StoriesAn all India trip was a dream that existed even before owning a vehicle. The lust was inside for almost ten years. After the marriage that desire intensified because Divya was also there with her full consent. So 2020 was fixed to give life to that dream. From that day we started saving a portion of our savings for the dream of travel. It has also been decided to start the journey in 2022 . The reason for choosing 2022 was that the leave would be credited in the account of both by then. Both will get leave for 30 days. We told about the same in office in January 2022. The managers agreed without raising any objections. So the first hurdle was over.
Next, some modifications were done on the bike. A saddle stay to keep the saddle bag, a tail plate to keep the bag on the back, a fog lamp to see in the fog, a knuckle guard for hand safety, a hazard indicator, Lluvia company’s foot rest for Divya to have a good footing, and the seat has been made with a little cushion to make the seat more comfortable.
After that helmet, riding jacket, pants, riding boots, riding gloves, saddle bag, tail bag, intercom, rain coat etc. were put on for our safety. The showroom for everything was in Chennai itself so everything could be done quickly without any hassle. Below is the link to the quilted items.
Saddle stay – https://mototorque.in/collections/dominar-saddle-stay
Top Rack – https://lluvia.in/product/bajaj-dominar-top-rack/
Fog lamp and hazard lamp switch – https://www.amazon.in/Gear-Up-Motorcycle-Handlebar-Headlight/dp/B08XXW1L68/ref=sr_1_2?crid=12NGM710UWR13&keywords=triple%2Bswitch%2Bbike&qid=1662703379&sprefix=tripple%2Bswitch%2Bbike%2Caps%2C234&sr=8-2&th=1
Saddle bags – https://rynoxgears.com/collections/saddlebags/products/rynox-drystack-saddlebags-black
Tail Bag – https://rynoxgears.com/collections/tail-bags-1/products/rynox-expedition-trail-bag-2-matte-grey
Wind shield – https://carbonracing.in/collections/dominar/products/premium-windshield-for-dominar-dominar-ug
Crash Guard – https://www.zanamotorcycles.com/product/crash-guard-texture-matt-black-dominar-400
The plan was a Chennai-Leh-Chennai road trip in 30 days as there was a month’s leave. I watched many people’s videos and looked at the routes. So a 30-day road trip was planned. The route and the time to reach each place were noted in detail. After that, I wrote a detailed post on the Sanchari Travel Forum group on Facebook, including the route we intended to go and the places we intended to visit, and asked for the opinions of others. The replies to that post and the phone calls helped a lot to shape our trip. Throughout the journey there was the kind help of the sanchari group members and many of my friends. I can’t thank them enough. The ones that are still close to the heart.
Our trip was changed to Delhi-Leh-Delhi considering the opinion of those who have travelled a lot. It helped us not get tired of running down on the first trip. We then decided to transport the bike by train both the ways; to and from Delhi. Read about it in detail here. It was the best decision we made on this trip. We got plenty of extra time. Because of that, we were able to see all the places in peace. We travelled very little distance in one day. We managed to ride without getting tired every day.
Below is the first plan of the trip. There have been changes in this since the start of the journey. It will be updated in the coming posts.
August is the rainy season in the mountains. That’s why we avoided Killar – Kishtwar route which is very risky and adventurous. The ticket was booked as soon as the train booking started. Grand Trunk express or GT Express was preferred for both directions. The reason for this is that the train route itself was starting from Chennai to Delhi and back. Because of that the bike could be parcelled easily. There will not be a problem of not having time to load and unload the bike. We went to the railway station and enquired about all the details to parcel the bike.
The next step was to get our daughter Nivedita, who is two and a half years old, to understand these things. She was told that her father and mother were going on a trip for a month and that she should stay with her grandfather and grandmother. This is the first time we are having such a big separation. She agreed to everything. We thought we’ll see what happens after we leave.
After this, the preparations for the trip were over. Now waiting to start the journey…
(To be continued…)
