Leh on Nexon

One of the bad place to get punctured near Sarchu considering altitude. But all experiences are to cherish. I'm sure you and your wife would have taken adequate precaution by being hydrated, taking diamox etc.,
 

J.Ravi

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Leh on Nexon

29/09 Sunday was supposed to be a rest day according to my original plan. But the puncture near Sarchu changed it to a business day as usual! I consulted Otsal about the nearby tyre repair shop. But, he told me that being a Sunday, all these establishments would be closed. I could try the next day. But, I was restless. We unloaded the luggage and stacked them neatly in the room. I wanted to get it repaired as soon as possible. We were treated with my favourite Ladakhi bread for our breakfast. We were taken to their garden by the hosts and shown around. Otsal's dad, Sonam visited Bylakuppe monastery in Karnataka. He suggested the oldest Alchi monastery for us. He told us, "If you visit Alchi monastery, you don't have to visit any other!". We were given garden-fresh apples and apricots. Very friendly people.

We left around noon. I started driving towards Manali NH. This is where I got the punctured tyre of my erstwhile XUV 500 repaired in 2017. But, all the tyre repair shops were closed. On the outskirts, I met one Norbu, who was pumping air using his portable pump into the rear right tyre of his Wagon R. I stopped by and enquired with him. He asked me to follow him as he was also in search of a tyre repairer. We drove upto Choglamsar, but could not locate even a single tyre repairer. By that time, Norbu's tyre became totally flat. He sought my help. I asked him to accompany me with the punctured wheel, so that we could search for the elusive tyre repairer. He did not have the wheel spanner. I gave him mine. He jacked up his Wagon R, dismantled the punctured wheel, put it in Blue Diamond's boot and jointly we started searching. Finally, we could locate one tyre repair shop near Kendriya Vidyalaya. He repaired my punctured tyre and put it back at the rear right with the alloy rim. The OE spare went back to the boot. Norbu's tyre was damaged beyond repair. As suggested to him, he bought a tube to be put inside the tubeless tyre for temporary use. I paid 80 rupees for the service rendered. We went back to Choglamsar to drop Norbu. He thanked me and we parted after shaking hands. Mentally relieved after the tyre repair, I started looking for a car wash. But again, all of them were closed. We returned to our home stay in the evening. We went for a long walk to the main market and had our dinner there.

On 30/09 Monday, I gave Otsal our Aadhaar cards and requested him to arrange for the permits for Nubra valley and Pangong Tso. Then, we started driving on Srinagar NH in search of a car wash. When I spotted one, I got Blue Diamond washed and polished thoroughly. The car wash owner Danish and his workers were all from Kashmir. Danish told me that his parents were in Kashmir. He requested us to pray for them and Kashmir. The boy, who washed the car, wanted to know the employment opportunities in Chennai or Bangalore. He wanted to come there for a better job. After the wash and polish, Blue Diamond started glittering again! I paid 500 rupees to Danish for the full wash. Then, we drove to Alchi monastery as suggested by Otsal's dad. We lunched there. On our way back, we visited Sangam of Indus and Zanskar. We also saw many Nexon, Tigor, Tiago and XUV 300 being test-driven on the highway with temporary registration plates.

We returned to the guest house in the evening. Otsal gave us our permits with some photocopies. I paid 1,200 rupees for the permits. We had our dinner there and settled our bills. I told my hosts that we would be checking out by 6 am, the next day. We loaded all the luggage in the boot and rear seat. We wished our hosts good bye and called it a day.

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Next: Khardungla
 
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Ravi_M

Member
Great tour and beautiful pictures!! J.Ravi, I have no words to praise the couple, you and your wife!!
Were the photographs (taken from the car) clicked by your wife? Actually, after reading the log, I tend to assume that you were driving throughout. That is what usually people comment about us too (I and my wife). We both share the drive and I had guessed that both of you must be sharing the driver's duty :).
 
I always keep tubeless puncture repair kits + 12V air compressor in my boot. Since I purchased plugs and tools all my punctures so far are DIY mode only. Quite helpful in such situations.
 

J.Ravi

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One of the bad place to get punctured near Sarchu considering altitude.
Yes. In 2017 too, I drove with a punctured wheel without noticing as the pressure loss was 3-4 psi/day. I did Leh>Pangong Tso>Leh and Leh>Diskit>Leh with that punctured wheel. Finally, noticed the puncture at Diskit, returned and got it repaired at Leh. HP roads are notorious with boulders and sharp stones.
Great tour and beautiful pictures!
Thanks for the compliments and appreciation.
Were the photographs (taken from the car) clicked by your wife?
Yes, all the photos clicked from the passenger side were hers.
I had guessed that both of you must be sharing the driver's duty.
I did the entire driving myself. No sharing.
I always keep tubeless puncture repair kits + 12V air compressor in my boot.
I too have puncture kit and portable pump. But then, the tyre was totally flat due to a deep puncture. I suspected a cut. Hence, I dismantled the tyre and replaced it with the spare wheel, which was much easier than locating the puncture spot and repairing it then and there. Thankfully, the puncture was caused by a sharp stone and repaired at Leh. Wait. My puncture problem did not end at Leh. There is another waiting for me at 5 am at Rohtang Pass in the return journey! Details later. Thanks for the appreciation and pressing the 'like' button many times.
 
There is another waiting for me at 5 am at Rohtang Pass in the return journey!
Oh God! That's a test of your patience or perseverance or endurance whatever! Point is not just limited to puncture but (1) 5 AM, (2) At Rohtang (3) Near Sarchu ;)

As the saying goes "God gives toughest battles to his strongest soldiers" the Himalayan roads give puncture challenges to strongest drivers/riders like you and not to many first timers (who eventually come out with out any puncture :))
 
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J.Ravi

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Leh on Nexon

We left Otsal Guest House, Leh at 6:15 am on 01/10 Tuesday to Khardungla, our first stop for photography. The ambient temperature at Leh was 7 deg C, which got reduced as we climbed up and up towards Khardungla. BTW, this was our third visit to Khardungla, but maiden one for our Blue Diamond. Our permits were checked at South Pullu and North Pullu check-posts. I spent about 10 minutes for clicking photographs. We were all alone there except the army personnel, who were watching us from their camp above.

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Previous: Alchi Monastery

Next: Diskit
 
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Alpha

Going to Neverland
Great going Sir.. on 27th September you covered 150 kms sheer off-road section with lots of steep climbs and descents from Bairagarh to all the way upto Udaipur, rally hats off to you Sir.. i too crossed Sach pass two days later. Also, you have covered these sections in much less time..it seems the Nexon has performed exceedingly well in these treacherous terrains
 

Ravi_M

Member
Beautiful pictures!! This looks like a grand adventure movie, where one after the other breath-taking events are appearing! Great going.

By the way, can you advice me on my query regarding Western Ghat tour. wherever you get time?
I am also contemplating a tour to northern part of MP, but can't find information on this forum or even on BHP. :-(
 
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