…Blame it on the rain
Blame it on the stars
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
You can blame it on the rain…

There I was sitting on the roof having my chai and garlic cheese naan for breakfast, staring at the stormy mountain range and suddenly, out of nowhere, this song came to mind. It kept playing every time it rains. I guess it’s automatic association; rain and Milli Vanilli, they were once synonymous back in the 80s.

storm was brewing while I was having breakfast

It is so true that something or somebody has to be blamed. I have been sitting and waiting for two days for the rain to stop. Locals told me when it rains, the condition will be really bad up there and the road will be closed. It has been raining with thunderstorms for straight two full days already and I am very sure that KL would be flooded in this kind of situation.

The non-stop rain in the Valley of God (as what they call it), is making the mountains turn white again and before we know it, thick snow will fall down. Then, later, there goes the landslide, avalanche and whatever relates to it. Looks like I might not get to cross to Manali-Leh Highway that soon.

This morning, in the drizzle, I packed my stuff and get ready to hit the mountains. I asked around whether the road to Rohtang pass is open and people told me that I can ride up. Once done with the breakfast, I was all set to ride.

Lil G and I started slow amidst the drizzle.

Along the way up, she was the center of attraction. People love her, wanting to get to  know her. Again, to me it’s dangerous when someone intercepted you when you are riding. The interception was all about how much is the bike cost, how fast can it go uphill, etc.  Tried so hard to ignore, but then again, this is India. There was once, during heavy traffic uphill, a guy jumped on Lil G and simply told me that he is going to the next stop with me. Excuse me? He later jumped off after a little argument.

It was a steep ride up for about 30km with heavy traffic before I was stopped at an army roadblock. They told me to turn back as road is closed. Went through about 30km and 3 hours journey, soaking in the rain, only to be told that I have to turn back due to a landslide and some avalanche ahead. 20 more kilometers to reach Rohtang.  Oh well, was already up on the mountains, might as well share my pictures:

At an altitude of 3300 meter above sea level and temperature below 10°c and chilly wind, sure it was cold. I was trying hard to get some space for pictures session. Yes, you guessed it right, there were people standing in front of my camera and posed for me. Some even have the guts to touch my camera. It was very annoying.

After 2 hours up there, I decided to come down. No point waiting, the road will not be opened that soon. Again on the way down, I was intercepted by drivers trying to make little conversation with me. It’s not I don’t want to talk to them, it’s dangerous to talk while riding. It can kills. I avoided as much as I could and headed back to the guesthouse I’m staying. As I got closer to the valley, sky started to brighten up.

To the cybercafe I went, trying to clear all my memory cards and sending some pictures home. Took me  2 and a half good hrs. Gosh, I seriously need to get back my laptop soon or I’m going to end up with just stories from my Blackberry. First 15 minutes was wasted while trying to upload using 3 computers. They were all virus-infected. Some was even multiplying my folder in the memory card. This is not good. So not good.

Anyway, after awhile, I was feeling hungry. I had to take my dinner as lunch has been scrapped off to pay for the cybercafe fees. Saw a place selling Japanese food. Am not a fan but I think their soup could be of great help to heat me up a bit. And indeed, voila! At 2100 meter above sea level in the Himalaya, the miso soup tasted good! Domo arigato!

Also had vegetable rice with fried egg and ginger honey lemon tea to end the day. It was a great dinner.

Here’s a video:

Khoda Hafez.