Up early to make the most of our last breakfast in McLeodganj. Then down to the travel agent to book our taktal train ticket. The train from Pothankot is booked in standard tickets through to January, but under the Taktal released under three days from departure there are emergency tickets but at a premium. As it was there were only 3AC tickets available the 2AC having gone already. The main driver for our desire for 2AC was four people in the compartment versus six. This would give a greater chance of getting the bikes into the compartment albeit in their bags, but least certain they were heading in the same direction and not being knocked around. Still 3AC it is going to be, which means that a little tipping may be involved, still we will see what happens at the station. The downside of the Taktal system is that there is no refund available if you cannot make the train.
After locking in the tickets we hit the road but not before Soph helps our NY friend into his chair and gets fond fair wells from the Tibetan girls working at the hotel. We roll a little down the hill on Temple Rd to Moonpeak cafe for our last coffee for a while. Their macchiatos are the best in McLeodganj. Still surely there is a little caffeine in all the masala teas (chai) we are consuming.
We roll down to Dharamasala or should I say brake as the decline angles together with the road company especially when carrying weight mean that you cannot let the bikes really go. Though a Chief minister is in town we are allowed to roll down the main access road by the police which is great. Through the streets of upper Dharamasala, Bob can be a bit of a show pony.
Down to the bus stand and out through the back road to Rait on the NH 20 junction. Road is a bit rough and ready, but we have been on rougher. Come down around a corner and there is a single cyclist on a mountain bike coming up. Wave but he doesn't pick up until Soph also waves. We pull over to share stories. He is Dutch and has been cycling around for 8 months. He started in China and has been through central Asia, into Pakistan and then now into India via Kashmir. He swung above Tibet and thinks that we would be nuts to head that way in middle of winter. He identifies that the steppes above Tibet were frigid in May when he passed.
It is great comparing stories and though we are concerned about the delay we take the opportunity to share notes on bikes, locations, difficulties and recommendations.
He has rear panniers with backpack and pannier top pack as well as bed roll etc. He has the look of someone who has been at it for some time, shaved head, three day growth, piece of rope for a belt that was a clothes line in a previous life, a bit of red sting around his right pant leg ankle. He is heading up to McLeodganj and then is considering moving towards Manali but is uncertain. He needs some bike parts that he believes he will find in Delhi, hopefully we convince him to try Chandigarh Firefox rather then going all the way down to Delhi.
He identifies that Amritsar was fantastic and that Pakistan he found particularly hard. Strangely he had no hassles down through the Stans or in China that he mentions. He does say however that in some of the Stans you can go along way in monotonous country. He has definitely not splashed out on gear and this was part of his plan initially so if it did not work out he would just dump the gear and jump on a bus. Whilst talking we have formed a throng of young school boys who have swarmed around the bikes. Soph keeps the crew engaged whilst we chat. Sadly we have places to go and so we say our goodbyes and roll on.
Down through villages, a few rice paddies and then we roll down to the junction before Rait. Across a broad river below which on the Rait side are playing fields. We climb into Rait and stop on the far side of town at a Dhaba on the left hand side out of town just over a creek. We have stone oven cooked chapattis, Dal Makhini and Mixed Veg which is fantastic. Another Dhaba with soap and a sink out the front. Legendary. We share lunch with an over friendly owner and a young plain clothes policeman from Delhi. Good company overall and the chef appears stoked so it is a win win.
The National Highway follows the river for once rather then through the valleys and is greatly appreciated as it is getting late. Still we roll into Nadaun very close to sunset. Pathankot is a further 25 km and is looking tough. We have been recommended to a hotel near Chakki bank, just before the Punjabi state border. So we keep on pushing.
There is one thing more insane then normal riding on Indian roads and that is riding on Indian Roads when it is dark. More so when you have no lights and drivers appear to save for some reason their lights until it is really dark. It is like playing chicken where neither of the parties know where the other is. Not a good game. Still we are forced to play for a while. Tiring of the game with 5km left to Chakki bank we pull into the Mao Fort Hotel, which includes a bar and restaurant. Perfect. Unfortunately the shower leaves a lot to be desired (with a dribble of a shower head) we have a broken pane in the main window and the bed is board solid. The food, beer (kingfisher) and service however is brilliant.
So chill out watching Goldfinger for perhaps the fifteenth time, with beanies on as the missing pane has dropped the room temperature into the decidedly chilly spectrum. Maybe we should have paid for the AC room it came with a bar heater... We also appear to be near a train line. Things you can't see at night, still will be a novel change to the echoing of barking dogs.
At 11pm a beat kicks in, good beat/music but totally wrong time and place. Bar time seems to settle at about 2am. Again, they were playing some really good beats but.... The groovy entrance, fish tank and condom in the waste bin of the room make a little more sense.