Manali

Picture this: arriving at 4:30 AM in -10°C freezing cold with numb hands and zero plan, racing a Royal Enfield through landslide-scarred mountain roads, blitzing a 2-hour trek in 45 minutes, and riding like a maniac to return a bike with just 5 minutes to spare. This wasn't a carefully planned vacation—it was three days of pure, unadulterated chaos in the Himalayas, fueled by egg Maggi, freezing winds, and the constant rush of racing against time.

Pre Manali: The Unexpected Solo Detour

The trip actually started in Chandigarh. I had flown in from Bengaluru with my team for a hackathon. We managed to crack the top 10, which was a great feeling, but we missed the top 3 spots—which would have won us a visit to the F1 Haas team in the UK and an internship. Close, but not close enough.

We had a return flight booked for the next day, but there was an option to reschedule. I tried convincing my teammates, "Ayy, we're so close to the mountains, let's go to Manali!" but they weren't up for it. That's when I made a split-second decision: I was going solo. I rescheduled my flight from the 17th to the 19th, bid goodbye to the team, and prepared myself for a solo adventure.

Flight to Chandigarh

Day 0: The Sketchy Start

I reached the Chandigarh bus stand in Sector 43 around 7 PM. To be honest, the vibe was a bit off—the place felt creepy and the people hanging around looked pretty sus. I didn't feel comfortable waiting there, so I bailed and found a nearby food street. I settled into a dhaba, had a hearty meal to prep for the long journey, and headed back just in time to catch my 10 PM bus to Manali.

Day 1: Frozen in Manali

The bus was scheduled to arrive at 6:30 AM, but in a twist of fate, it pulled in way early at 4:30 AM. I stepped out of the bus at the private stand outside Manali, and the cold hit me like a physical blow. It was -10°C. My hands went numb almost instantly, and I was shivering uncontrollably.

I had absolutely no plan. Bike rentals wouldn't open until 7 AM, and I was stranded in the freezing dark. A shared taxi driver approached me and charged 100 bucks just to drop me 1km away at the HTRC bus stand. Standing there, I considered putting my luggage in a cloakroom, but it felt too risky. Thankfully, a hotel tout found me and offered a room. I had originally planned to stay at The Hosteller or Zostel in Old Manali for the backpacker vibe, but they were too far from where I was dropped. I just needed to escape the cold, so I took a room near Mall Road.

Royal Enfield Hunter 350

By 8:30 AM, I had rented a Royal Enfield Hunter 350. The moment I sat on the bike, the fatigue vanished. I gunned it towards Rohtang Pass, excited for the ride. But my lack of planning caught up with me—I didn't know I needed a permit, and bikes weren't even allowed on that road! I rode about 12km off-road on a treacherous path before being turned back. Disappointed but undeterred, I stopped near Kothi for breakfast to regroup.

Atal Tunnel

Plan B: Atal Tunnel. The road leading up to it was insane—winding, scenic, and challenging. The tunnel itself is a marvel, stretching 9km through the mountain. Inside, it was freezing cold, but emerging from the other side was a surreal experience. The landscape transformed instantly. I tried to reach Rohtang Pass from the other side, but hit another checkpoint blocking bikes.

I met two guys from Delhi riding an SP125. We teamed up and tried to find people to share a taxi to Rohtang, but had no luck. Instead, we found a snowy spot nearby and just enjoyed the moment. We then rode to Sissu Valley, which was breathtakingly beautiful. We checked out a cafe there, but one look at the menu told us it was way out of our budget, so we headed back.

Sissu Valley

The ride back to Manali was wholesome. We took a different route with narrow, winding roads that were pure joy to ride on. Back in town, I grabbed some dinner and crashed at the hotel. Later at 9 PM, I went out to Mall Road hoping to photograph the night sky, but the light pollution and a dusty lens ruined the shots. I ate a late snack and called it a night.

Night Sky Attempt

Day 2: The Maniac Ride to Bijli Mahadev

I started the day with the breakfast of champions: Egg Maggi and coffee. After a quick visit to a Buddhist monastery, I set my sights on Bijli Mahadev Temple near Kullu.

The ride was an adventure in itself. From Kullu, it was a 30km stretch of what I can only describe as "scary" roads. Landslides had washed away parts of the tarmac, leaving narrow, broken paths clinging to the mountainside. We reached the last motorable point and started the trek. It's supposed to be a 2-hour climb, but I was running on adrenaline and a tight schedule, so I blitzed it in 45 minutes. The Delhi guys struggled to keep up (one was vlogging, which slowed him down), but I raced to the top.

Bijli Mahadev Temple

We had a peaceful darshan at the temple, and I video-called my family to show them the view. We left Kullu around 6 PM, and this is where the panic set in. I had to return the rental bike by 7:30 PM. Google Maps showed a travel time of 1 hour 45 minutes.

I rode like a complete maniac. I was standing up on the footpegs whenever the road turned to gravel, leaning into curves like I was in a MotoGP race, and overtaking with surgical precision. It was dangerous, exhilarating, and completely reckless. But I made it. I screeched into the rental shop at 7:25 PM—with exactly 5 minutes to spare.

Mountain Roads

Adrenaline fading, I freshened up and went to Mall Road for some souvenir shopping. I picked up some fridge magnets for my mom and grabbed dinner. Back at the room, just as I was drifting off at 10:30 PM, my friend video-called me, who was completely drunk, and I spent sometime watching do crazy antics. It was pure entertainment and a chaotic end to a chaotic trip.

Day 3: The Long Way Home

Morning 8am bus to Chandigarh—7.5 hours of highway hypnosis. From there, caught a flight to Bengaluru and reached home around 11:30pm.

This whole trip was controlled chaos on two wheels, fueled by egg Maggi mornings and the constant adrenaline of racing against time in the mountains.