Felt a little like Alberto Granado as I rode pillion for my first long distance motorcycle trip with this nomad. While our ride will have no significance in changing the history of the world or the region; in Che’s words, we were on the road just to travel.
Riding from the hills to the plains and from the plains to the hills, we were in for many detours and diversions that only added more character to our already exciting trip. While the rains gave company during the first stretch of the trip, pleasant weather was to follow as the day progressed and we rode in national highways that led through bumpy country roads and smooth tea gardens. The sunset was faint in some distant horizon yet the grandeur of the vast silent sky looking down on us proved enough solace to guide us in to the night.
The initial plan was to reach our destination on the same day but we had to halt for the night due to unavoidable landslides. So, we started out next morning with the rising sun and were fortunate to ride above the mountains alongside a flurry of cotton balls. Nothing could have been more beautiful than traveling with these soft white clouds against the mighty blue mountains.
Having taken this trip with a veteran rider, I was given a chance to taste the thrills and joys of being on the road in a motorcycle with endless directions to go. There is a tiny desire to find myself on the back of a motorcycle someday soon and get lost in the highways that await us.
Route: Shillong to Gangtok
Total kilometers taken: 820 (detours included)
Mode of Transport: Enfield Electra
(muchas gracias to my awesome pilot rider)
destinednomad 