Biking adventures
Three bikers successfully complete a 10-day biking expedition to Darma Valley at the India–China border
The pandemic-related lockdown had restricted travel and related activities, but as the ‘unlock’ started taking shape, Hyderabad’s 42year-old businessman Pruthu Mehta decided it was time to pay obeisance to the traveller in him. With his two Delhi-based biker friends, 38-year-old Deepak Gupta and 35-year-old Venkatesh Iyyer, Pruthu headed on a biking adventure from 24 October to 03 November, to the picturesque Darma Valley at the India–China border.
The ten-day road trip, which started at Hyderabad, stretched along Nagpur–Delhi–Rudrapur– Chempavath–Darchulla–Tawagh at–Darma Valley route. After reaching the Darma Valley village, the trio even trekked three kilometres to reach the Panchachuli Base Camp. On their return journey, the adventurists seeking to discover new terrains took a different route, via Darva Valley–DikthuTanakapur– Luknow– Nagpur– Hyderabad.
PREPARATIONS
A frequent traveller, Pruthu calls himself an adventure and
bike enthusiast. He starts off telling us how spending idle months at home during the lockdown felt like a nightmare. “I like to explore places and couldn’t wait to resume my biking adventures. But when I talked about the plan to my family, they initially resisted fearing the COVID-19. I had a tough time convincing them, but they eventually agreed though not wholeheartedly,” recollects Pruthu with a smile.
Given that the country was still only unlocking from the pandemic restrictions, Pruthu and his friends had assumed that
most restaurants across the country would be shut. “As a preparation for that possibility, we carried home-food during the trip, including dishes that last long, such as theplas and masala rotis. Additionally, throughout the trip we ate and drank only heated items,” states Pruthu.
CHALLENGES
Despite preparations, the trio endured huge challenges, including the Darma Valley villagers resisting their entering their village for the fear of COVID-19.
Deepak Gupta remembers how some villagers didn’t allow them to go near them despite their telling them that had got COVID19 tests done and were following safety precautions. “We respected their decision about restricting entry for outsiders but realised that the situation was very tricky as it was a remote area. It took us almost a whole day to convince them,” he adds.
However, all that effort in convincing did nothing to take away from what the picturesque locales offered them. “Spending time in the locality was like therapy,” shares the 35-year-old techie. “This was like a soulsearching trip, especially after
all that the pandemic brought along.”
DREAMLIKE ENDEAVOURS
For Venkatesh, the biking adventure was an opportunity to escape from the growing traffic snarls in the city, an opportunity that felt surreal. “Getting lost in the nature’s lap, especially in the current pandemic situation was especially overwhelming,” he points out.
Then emphasising upon the hygiene, food and safe accommodation they ensured throughout the journey, Venkatesh tells us that they were especially selective about the rooms they stayed in.
“While we ensured that the hotel rooms were sanitised in our presence, we carried our sleeping bags, too, so that we could sleep in them, without using the hotel bedsheets,” adds Venkatesh in conclusion.