Getting Leh-ed: Day 4 – Keeping the Faith at Keylong

Morning at the Keylong circuit house. It’s cold and gray and we have work to do. A quick call to Lanky and we find out about Yogesh, aka Yogi, the lone motorcycle mechanic in town. Keylong, the capital of Lahaul & Spiti district, with a population of about 14000, remains cut off from the rest of the world for a good six months, blocked off by the Pir Panjal range at one side and Zanskar on the other. We’d be lucky to get Dhanno up and running in this little place.

Time to haul ass. And the heavy bike, all the way to the little bus station below which Yogi has his establishment, a photograph booth sized shop at the side of a small slope.

While pushing my bike down the road, as I brood over the fate of my ride, I am envious of a group of Malaysian tourists riding BMWs who are starting off for Sarchu, the next logical stop on the road to Leh. The beemers look comfortable and capable. More importantly, these guys are headed out, and we aren’t.

Thankfully, Yogi seems to know what he’s doing. He’s a young guy, but has the seasoned, quiet demeanor of an experienced mechanic. And we have Darius repeatedly asking us to ‘keep the faith’. Something he had been telling us last night as well during our predicament. Right now, we want to keep the bloody faith. We just don't want to be bloody told to. At 10000+ ft, Keylong is high enough for the thin air to make us irritable. Not like we didn’t have a reason anyway.

While he gets to work and we sip chai, the Himalayan Odyssey riders cross us one by one, roaring up the hill on their way to Sarchu. The lucky bastards. I seem to resent our situation even more, because we now have been struck with a double whammy. The busted bike and the fact that we didn’t fuel up. The next petrol station is in Leh. The last one, is all the way back at Tandi, and not in friggin’ Keylong.

The good news is that after a couple of hours, Yogi brings Dhanno back to life. I am always amazed at how competent small town and village mechanics are. They have to make do with limited spares and tools and have to know how to fix all kinds of vehicles. Specialisation is a luxury they can’t afford or need, actually. And the fact is, this is the reason the bullet is still the most trusted on long, hard tours. It is sturdy and can be repaired by almost any mech, anywhere.

Anyway, we have to head back all that way on that sorry road to Tandi, refuel, and return. This 14 km trip takes us more than an hour. And it’s raining again. While crossing the bridge at night, we missed the petrol station which anyway was shut down at that time, as also, a small liquor vend. A bottle of Old Monk is bought.

It’s lunch time, the weather has turned and rain in Keylong means snow at Baralacha La. We want to press on, but doesn’t look like a great idea. No way. We’re not risking being stranded in the rain and dark today as well. And something about having a bottle of rum so close seals the deal. That’s it, we’re staying back today. Heck, we’d earned it after yesterday. This was a holiday.

A late noon rum drinking session, comfortably ensconced in the circuit house ensues. This is followed by an early evening dinner of freshly cooked mutton curry and veggies. It continues to rain and the bad weather shows no signs of abating. It had made sense to stay back. Tomorrow, we’d have our first run in with Baralacha La. And what a badass it turned out to be.

For now, after last night, the hot food, the warm quilts and the sweet, sweet, everlovin’ rum, feel like heaven.