Deosai and Babusar in a VW Beetle? Are you mad? Yes

[rebel]

moonraider...thanks a lot...thats pretty cool of u to appreciate whatever haphazard text i throw in between these images here...

[rebel]

that night my dad called me up...
are you guys going to babusar he asked...
the reply was no...to be honest, i was tired from the fever n all...n i wanted to get home...
he suggested we visit it still...afterall, how many such trips does one make in a lifetime??
his suggestion was that we hire a jeep the next morning....drive up to babusar, see the top, come back and head home from chilas...

agreeing to what he suggested, we decided to go...we however decided to do it differently...we got the bug ready wiht he luggage once again...and decided to go till whatever point she makes it..from where we shall return...we asked a few ppl along the way throughout our trip if she would make it to babusar...the response was the same from every1...NO!! and if out of 6 people we asked, one was less stern and we in our desperation did manage to get a glimmer of encouragement from him, he said it MIGHT be possible from naran to chilas...but not chilas to naran...the incline is simply too much for her...or any car without 4X4..

on detailed digging and questioning it was established, taht there was a series of bends near the top that was the killer bit...the rest was relatively simple...the bends too, were not too steep but the incline went on for miles at a constant gradient...to make matters worse, the dirt road with rocks and gravel and ice and snow and water and mud made it extremely hard to dodge rocks, keep the momentum going, deliver the power at the right moment and avoid wheel spin and sliding of the tail without slowing her down:P further still, crossing an oncoming jeep on a tight hairpin bend, going wide to miss the big rock and minding the very slight ground clearance...between this all and the glacier on the hairpin, i dunno HOW arlsan made it up!! u TOTALLY ruled mate!!!applause

to our surprise and against all odds however...the little beast kept powering on and not giving up...with an engine 1/3 the size of the jeeps, no 4X4, no diff locks and over 150Kg plus 4 passengers she kept going onwards and onwards with such determination that at places we too were amazed to say the least...the pictures tell the rest of the story...

checking if water was as old and dirty as the flask itself....

getting on the roads...

following the jeep...

and soon leading the way!!

[rebel]

The roads soon started turning ugly...

and uglier still...

till tehre was very little of them left...

[rebel]

The images dont truly represent what the roads had to throw at us...rocks...endless rocks and a constant grinding on the floor board...to make matters worse, the incline was starting to get to her...once again, the height was bothering her and she was having difficulty breathing...deosai was on an empty car...here she was fully loaded...

[rebel]

We carried on, up the incline slowly making it up using little other than the sheer torque of the 4cyl air cooled engine...which i have to hand it to the germans, is pretty darn impressive even on the 1200!!

[Xulfiqar]

I would strongly recommend you buy a tyre pressure gauge and check the pressure yourself whenever leaving on a long trip especially on the motorway. The tyre wala's gauges are not very accurate and they can over inflate your tyres by as much as double the recommended tyre pressure which not only affects the ride quality but can spell disaster when driving at high speeds for long stretches.

Absotively positlutely necessary to have your own decent tire gauge.

[rebel]

so we carried on some more...

amusing some kids...

some tourists...

and some locals along the way...

[rebel]

I kno its a lot of road pictures...but thats all the hype of babusar...there will be among u, those u deem these roads as doable...i warn u...just as a nice lens will hide the small acne marks from ur face, it has done with the road...this surface was like "driving on a teenagers face!!!" to quote Jeremy Clarkson

[rebel]

This gentleman came here on his bike and requested us to stop for a chat...we going at 5mph:P had plenty of time for a decent conversation and almost enough for tea even as we passed him so we told him we could not stop or she wont go again...he understandingly cheered us on while he made a video:P if u see this mate, i need a copy of that vid!!!

[rebel]

just one last set to try n express the road conditions...

[rebel]

drum roll!!!!!!!!!!!

[rebel]

and despite all odds, the lil bug conquers yet another serious bit of road in some pretty inhospitable terrain...from desert to snow to ice to rain...from hail to dust and through rocks and water...she has made it, where not many dare to venture...that too, without even the slightest break down...she has truly proved herself here and repaid for the love and effort that has gone her way all these years...

behold ladies and gentlemen...babuar top!!!

I would thank this gentleman here..i kno not his name or where he belonged to, but thank u very much! for stopping there on that hairpin with the glacier to pull us through if we got stuck...while luckily it did not come to this, the gesture spoke volumes...if u see this, Thank You!!

[rebel]

Babusar top was simply staggering!!! partly because of the loose rocky surface but mostly because of the awe inspiring views!! with clouds below us at a time and snow all around on the peaks...this place was surreal and almost heavenly!!!

[rebel]

and she stood there proud, among all those 4X4s...in the words of a jeep driver we met at rama...
"bhai is ka pani kahan dalta hai??"
nahin dalta is main...
"nahin dalta??"
nahin...
"aap jhoot boltay ho!!"
checks entire car from all angles...even the hood up front from the inside and under the car...
"ye tau ghalat baat hai!!"
almost as if to complain that while i fill her up with water twice on this route, its unfair we did it without any

This goes to show out there to all those who doubt the bugs air cooled engines potential saying it heats up...fix her right...take care of ur oil...n she will last!!

[rebel]

and this last post concludes the broadcast for today...i have an early day tomorrow...

we continue tomorrow from where i left today...we go to naran, spend the night and then islamabad....but dont think the excitement is over as yet...in true urdu digest fashion, just when u think its ended, the story takes a twist...there is action tomorrow!! stay tuned!!

[reezvaan]

This post was flagged by the community and is temporarily hidden.

[Xulfiqar]

Its more like a david and goliath right there

[ajab9007]

omg no words to express my feelings:-#.....u guys are awesome awesome awesome:P:P

[rebel]

@reezvan and xulfiqar...indeed!!
@ajab9007 thanks mate!!

[nn]

Simply Zabardast, thorougly enjoyed all the thread!

Waiting for the rest of safarnama!