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DARCHULA TO PITHORAGARH, PITHORAGARH TO DELHI
Day 11
Dharchula to Pithoragarh via Ogla, but before starting off we
even crossed the border and went to NEPAL.
We were all waiting for this day because we were excited about
riding into another country! Starting off at 9:30 from the army
camp in Dharchula we negotiated the customs and excise checks
at the Indian side and the Nepalese side to make it into Nepal.
The town in Nepal has a very small market and had nothing worth
purchasing. In fact, most of the goods out there were made in
India and also almost double the price! We spent around 3 hrs,
doing nothing, just being footloose, roaming around in the market.
Back in India, we had a late breakfast at the army camp napped
for a bit and then started back after our lunch, at 3:30 pm,
headed for Pithoragarh. The road itself was the ok-ok kind but
under construction with lots of blasting going on resulting
in lot of sand and mud raining down. We used to get covered
in sand the minute we used to pass a blasting site.
We managed to reach Pithoragarh army camp by 9:00 pm. My bike
had its first ever flat but luckily at the very entrance to
the Army mess. Tired and hungry we left the mending to the morrow
and winded up the day having dinner.
Day 12
Pithoragarh to New Delhi via Ghat, Tanakpur, Banbassa, Khatima,
Kichha, Rampur, Moradabad.
We started off at 9:00 am. The best part this day was that in
the night when I had parked my bike in the parking it had a
flat but in the morning it was all inflated. Needless to say,
the Army guys had got it fixed even before we woke up. A big
thanks indeed! This part of the ride was good, but the roads
were slightly bad at some places. We rode continuously and managed
to reach Delhi on 13th march at 9:00 am after being on the road
for 24 hours at a stretch.
Bonding on the road
Looking back, I would say that 11 days were just too short.
The positives from the whole trip were the camaraderie, the
warmth and the willingness to help each other. We met as footloose
strangers with a passion for travel. And we parted as friends
bonded for the rest of our lives by the code of the road. And
if you think I am getting wordy, just blame it on my thirst
for the road, or even better blame it on Uttaranchal.
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