Nieuw boek uit: Waar Boeddha en Allah buren zijn

Mijn nieuwste boek is deze week verschenen in de iBooks Store. In Waar Boeddha en Allah buren zijn vertel ik over onze fietstocht door een van de meest ruige en ontoegankelijke streken ter wereld: de Indiase Himalaya. In Ladakh legde ik samen met Rick het traject van Manali naar Leh af, dat een gemiddelde hoogte van meer dan 4000 meter heeft en vier passen van 5000 meter telt. De beruchte Manali - Leh Highway blijkt in de praktijk vooral 'high' en weinig 'way' te zijn. Het tweede deel van de route gaat over de Leh - Srinagar Highway, die deels door oorlogsgebied voert en tot op de dag van vandaag ernstig wordt getekend door het Kashmir conflict.

The picture book

It is still 'under construction, but the online version is ready. Can't wait to see the book 'live'.

Some statistics

We did it:

• 1040 km
• 20 days of cycling
• 50.000 burnt calories each (100 Big Macs)
• 4 peaks of 5000+ 
• 2 peaks of 4000+
• Highest pass: Taglang La 5360m
• Flat tires: none (!)

Some pics..?

Doing my utmost to upload some pics but Kargil internet is moody. I hope to get a few posted.... If it is black below, it did not worked out quite well...

And some more...

Kargil is cool

Earlier then expected, we have arrived in Kargil today. In the Lonely Planets of this world, this town is described as a bit grim, also called 'bed bug town'. The reason for this is, that most tourists arrive late at night from Srinagar or Leh and leave early in the morning. As soon as tourists can complain about filthy bed sheets and grotty rooms, they are on the road again. But hey, as soon as we entered this town, we liked it. We even found fantastic cookies and a hotel for a reasonable price with clean sheets and a hot shower (very welcome after a week only cold bucket showers or 'wetties'). We have decided to stay another day in this melting pot of Kashmiris, Dards, Tibetans, Sikh and many many many soldiers because of the never ending Kashmir conflict, so I hope to post a few more pics tomorrow. Inshallah, because electricity is quite fast, but very shaky...

Some more!

Yessss, we managed to post a few pics more!

Sneak preview

Despite bad internet connection, herewith a few pics to give an impression on what we are doing...

We did it - Part I

Yes we did it. Part 1 of our ride: the Manali-Leh highway. Yes, it was high but less way :)  We conquered 475 km with 4 passes of 5000 meter! Now we are in Leh, but internet is slow, so no pics (yet). Besides some headaches, we have been in good health. It was an amazing experience and the landscape hard to describe. Every day a change of scenery. We will stay a couple of days in Leh. Just enjoyed the first hot shower after 11 days :) 

Go to the start

After a good night sleep in the fantastic Mayflower hotel, we are now exploring Manali. It is a bit like Kathmandu, but very very small. Souvenir shops, tea shops, fruit bars and travel agents dominate the 'mall'. We are very happy to be here, because getting here was quite an adventure. We have seen too many road accidents - watching the towage of a truck that has fallen hundreds of meters down to the river is not a pleasant sight. Signs with texts as: alert today is alive tomorrow are not giving much energy either :( Fortunately, we can have a good laugh about the hotel names such as: Apple Villa, Sulphur Source Hotel (?) and Hotel Stay Home (???)
As per tomorrow, we will head to Leh. Our first destination is Marhi, 37 km away form here at an altitude of 3300 m. The next weeks, we will have no internet access. As soon as we arrive in Leh, we can post a new message.