Leh to Manali is just 475 kms and we need to cross Rohtang Pass and hence we decided to stop over at Keylong in Spiti Valley.
Surely 360 kms in 1 day is easy!! Hmmm. Sometimes things aren't that easy!! Are they?
We left by 7:30 am post a good breakfast and after filling up gas, our first stop was Thiksey monastery. We were very lucky to attend their prayers and by 8:30 am we were on our way.
175 kms from Leh we had super 2 lane roads. And then the roads just disintegrated. We completed the first 175 kms in 3 hours and from there on began the bone rattling ride.
The balance 185 kms took us 9 hours.....yes!! There was just nothing even close to a road; all we had was stones, mud and water. It's like they forgot to make a road or there's a dispute between JK and HP govts on who should build the road!! We had more "shakes" in the car than there are in the whole Middle East!!🤣
We reached keylong by 8:00 pm. My back was completely stiff and the kids joined Lakshmi in giving it a well needed massage. Thank god for the massage and Moov, I hit the bed hard. The kids were in good spirits through the ride; thank god for that.
Tomorrow we attempt to cross Rohtang and I'm just praying they have roads - forget good, i just want roads.