Papaki_2wheels - MC-ride in Himalaya in India, Aug.24th to Sept.6th 2025

After a long journey, first to Copenhagen where we met the rest of the group, we flew on to New Delhi with a stopover in Doha.

Immigration and passport control went smoothly and we got our luggage quickly. We also got a data sim card before the rest of the group got through.

We then took a bus to Ashok Country Resort, a simple but ok place to stay for one night. After lunch we took a rickshaw ride in Old Delhi - a special experience.

The next morning we were supposed to fly to Leh, the "capital" of the Ladakh region. (la dak means the "land of high passes". Ladak is its pronunciation in several Tibetan dialects)

We left the hotel at 4 am to fly on to Leh. After a lengthy check-in and security check, we arrived at the gate. Here the departure was postponed twice and finally canceled due to bad weather in Leh.

We returned to the hotel and those who wanted to took another trip into the city, to a mausoleum, but we rather took a couple of hours of sleep as we were supposed to leave again the next morning at 4 am.

Same routine at the airport and again the flight was canceled 😢.

Now it was decided that we "skip" the departure the following day and instead drove to Agra and visit the Taj Mahal 🤩. This time we stayed at a great hotel "Grand Mercure".

Taj Mahal - magnificent 🤩, great to have seen and experienced it 😊.

After the visit we drove back to New Delhi and Ashok Country Resort for an overnight stay and again departing at 4 am the following morning.

Finally, on the 3rd attempt (Thursday 28th August) we got a flight to Leh. When we landed in Leh we heard that the Dalai Lama was going through the airport for his departure. Lots of people were waiting to catch a glimpse of him, several military personnel were watching closely and when he walked through the airport supported by 2 monks he was only a few meters away from us - a very special and unique experience that was not on the program either 👍🤩.

Moving at 3500 m altitude is tiring until you are acclimatized - and then living on the 3rd floor without an elevator - phew... 😅. But we still managed to go for a walk and to see a bit of the city.

The next day we started the motorbike ride- it was just amazing, we drove almost only paved roads the first day, but still 220 km.

It just got more and more wild and more and more beautiful, impossible to describe. Pictures show some, but the experience …🤩😍.

The third day on the bike was a large part of the way in very difficult conditions, gravel, rocks and mud and over 2 passes of about 5000 m. Then I (Monica) sat in the support car, I had already overturned the day before when I couldn't control the muddy part, so riding in the car for part of the day was the right choice.

Kai was now able to ride a little more at his own pace and have some bigger challenges 👍😜.

It got wilder and wilder (the nature ) every day 🤩 and I (Monica) really got challenged. I had not driven offroad before and there were many places where the road was partially gone, gravel, bumps and dumps and stones in and near the road.

I was so lucky that Kai drove in front of me and guided me ALL the way 👍😍. We have intercoms in our helmets and Kai told me about clean, clear roads, sharp turns, oncoming traffic, gravel or mud in the road. This was an invaluable help to me and I would not have been able to drive in many of the places or as fast as I did without his help 😍.

We had changing weather, everything from warm, sunny days to rain and snow on some of the peaks.

On the way to Pangong Lake we were stopped by the military at 4800 m altitude due to snow and we returned to the hotel in Leh.

The planned route was again changed since we could not risk the pass over to the Nubra valley being closed so that we could not return to Leh and our departure back to Dehli.

The following day Kai and I went for a walk in the city, while a few others drove up to the Khardungla pass at 5359 m altitude. They got both snow (which settled on the visor and partly on the road) and fog and very poor visibility 😮, not good.

The next day, the last in Leh, it was sunny and a little warmer. Almost everyone made the trip up to the Khardungla Pass- yes!! We did it 💪🤩.

There was snow at the top and on the way down we had fog in some parts - it was challenging 😏.

I (Monica) have learned so much on this trip that I also managed the difficult parts 😃.

It was actually not just nervousness now, it was also fun now that I fixed it.

The next morning we left the hotel at 5 am 😮, and arrived in New Delhi where we visited a Sikh temple - interesting.

We had dinner and had a few hours at the hotel before we left at 11:45 pm for the airport and a long journey home, a total of 26 hours before we landed at Gardermoen.

We have had a completely wild and fantastic trip 🤩.

Everyone, the participants (15 Danes), guides and mechanics have all been very nice and helpful.

MC Asien is a very great and professional tour operator 😊 - recommended if others have the same thrill for adventure.

Monica og Kai Robert