UPDATE
It has been many years since I traveled with them. Someone with recent experience may be able to review them appropriately.
The issues that I faced were resolved by Thrillophilia
REVIEW
Hello adventure seekers!
My name is Ashutosh Pandey and I am a travel enthusiast just like yourself. Before I get any further into the review that I have for thrillophilia, let me tell you this, if you find long reviews boring / not useful then this post is not for you. The reason being, I want to honestly share the REAL feedback with all my fellow travellers(in a way!) so that you can make an informed decision and do not have to suffer and go through the same experience as someone somewhere has already received. After all, one cannot gain all the experiences in the world, we should be open to learn from experiences from others.
So, let me start with pre-booking discussions with thrillophilia. Before that, let me give a short background. My wife and I, had this dream trip(Bike ride - MAnasultanli Leh MAnasultanli) on OUR checklists for quite sometime now and wanted to check it off in 2017. I got to know about some tour operators, had discussions with some and finally landed on to thrillophilia.
I generally plan all my trips(within India or abroad) myself but Leh-Ladakh was something I wanted to go through some vendor who knows the ground reality and can help organize this for a seamless experience. After all, Leh-Ladakh as everyone knows, is a very unpredictable place, especially when you were to ride a bike for > 2000 kms within days. I was ready to pay a higher price but gain an awesome experience without any glitches(or minimal for that matter. Come on! let's be realistic, none of the trips are perfect). Anyways, so, I got onto calls with Thrillophilia(Mr. Tarun) who sounded like a godsend. He described the trip as if it'll be a perfect trip ever.
Here are some key highlights and promises:
1.Your bikes will be 2015 made or newer. So, don't worry about the conditions
2.There will be a guide / group captain who will guide your group throughout the trip
3.There'll be a backup vehicle, that will carry necessary items like Petrol, spare parts, first aid kit, oxygen cylinder(which is very IMP. BTW)
4.Backup vehicle will follow the bikes and will be the last vehicle of the convoy.
5.You'll get helmets(both rider and pillion) to ensure safety
6.The group will leave on time(in the mornings) so that the overall day is well planned
7.There will be 3 bonfires at the camps, different nights
8.There could be a thrillophilia personnel accompanying the group(group randomly selected) to ensure quality standards of the trip
9.You'd need to make full payment 1 month before the departure so that we can plan logistics, accomodations, etc.
10.You may find us little bit costly but that is because we should quality, safety, blah, blah, blah.
11.Yours will be a worry free trip
I was thrilled to listen to all this and made the biggest mistake of my life. I went with the booking. My booking date was 22 April 2017, travel date 22 June 2017, PNR number APYEDK. Check with thrillophilia for authenticity.
Here is what we found and this is actual reality.
2 days before the trip, We were told that there is a dispute between MAnasultanli and Leh bike unions and the bikes are not allowed across HP and J&K states. So, instead of getting bikes in MAnasultanli, you'd get J&K bikes in Sarchu and we'll transport your group from MAnasultanli to Sarchu in SUVs.
Okay, I said. This is a situation beyond control so fine, whatever!
Let's see about the promises from above.
1.Our group was of 15 people. 10 riders, 5 pillions. So, ideally we should have received 10 bikes. In reality, we got 9 bikes(remember all of us paid minimum 1 month in advance). They said, we cannot do anything about it, there are no bikes, deal with it. 1 of us had to become a pillion(though he paid more for being a rider). Bike condition could have sufficed(atleast something) but to our surprise all the bikes were atleast 6-7 years old and in the worst conditions possible for a royal enfield. 1 bike had gear broken, my bike had it's battery come out every now and then which caused an accident once, 2 bikes had wobbling tyres, and almost all bikes had weak brakes. Just to note, brakes are most important, especially on that terrain(jahan ek taraf pahad aur doosri taraf khaayi!).
Also, my wife had to hold the battery so that I can take the bike forward. It was painful to have troubled my partner because of pathetic bike conditions!
2.There was no guide throughout the trip. There was only 1 driver throught first half of the trip and 1 driver+ 1 mechanic in the second half of the trip. But no guide, they did not know anything other than what they do, which is fine.
3.There were instances where some of the group members felt need of oxygen at high altitude but because of the absence of oxygen cylinder, they could do nothing but wait to reach Leh where they(themselves) could go see a doctor, forget safety promised by thrillophilia. When petrol was over in few bikes, they took petrol out from other bikes and mAnasultanged till petrol pump. They did not have petrol with the backup vehicle.
4.There was no co-ordination backup vehicle wanted to do. The vehicle was many times ahead of the group. So if any bike broke, there's nobody who can be savior at this time.
5.Forget pillions, even all riders did not get helmet. There were only 8 helmets available at Sarchu, which you can mAnasultange somehow as they were low grade(were flying by air, when on bikes). 1 guy rode bike from Sarchu to Leh(250 kms) with pillion, without helmets and without gear where you push to change gears. He was using the rod to change the gears somehow
6.Everyday there was one issue or the other with the bikes. We never left before 2 PM, because of which we were riding late at night and reaching our destination near~10 PM. Forget enjoying ride and beautiful views on the way(not all but most)
7.We could not witness even a single bonfire. There was a chance for one in Nubra valley but remember we were reaching late, so we missed it. There was no other bonfire planned beforehand. So, 3 bonfires was a lie.
8.Nobody accompanied the group. If he/she did, you can imagine the wrath from the group
9.we made full payment beforehand but found at places / tents that there was no pre-booking for our group. And as there is very limited-to-no telephonic connectivity, we were helpless and had to arrange the accomodations ourselves.
10.Bullshit! we could have done the arrangements better if we just reached there ourselves and did not have anybody plan this trip for us.
11.Worst experience ever. Such a beautiful place but we have this scarred experience which we will never forget. Even the backup vehicle driver said, I have never seen any group being troubled like that. There were 3 more groups who booked through Thrillophilia(and their operator was also Mr. Omyer Lassu - cheater) who were troubled like this. They had similar yet different stories to tell. In the end, we agreed that the only thing that we can do is share review with the wider community so that's what I am doing.
Some of the things I regret:
a.I ignored few bad reviews which I read before booking with Thrillophilia. I gave these guys, benefit of doubt as not all reviews can be good. There was no Ashutosh Pandey to give such honest review. Unfortunately, I had to learn this myself.
b.I went with a trip organizer. Later, I learnt that you can directly go to MAnasultanli and arrange all the things yourselves without prior booking and have wonderful experience. It'd also cost you much less.
c.I thought that if I book it myself after reaching MAnasultanli, I would not have a good group, backup vehicle, etc. but actually you get all these as there ARE people you find everywhere(in MAnasultanli, Leh, etc.) who are doing all these and you can join such groups. People are friendly there.
d.I made all the payments upfront which always put me in disadvantage because the organizer always said that my hands are tied, there are no bikes, or helmets, etc. it's not possible to arrange so and so thing right now, and all that crap. You cannot deduct any money so, you have to go with the wind and accept your fate.
e.Tarun promised that you'll never forget the experience. He was true on that part.
To help you plan better:
1.Do not go through Thrillophilia. They are a big NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.
2.I will help you plan your MAnasultanli-Leh-MAnasultanli bike trip, (for FREE). Drop me an email @raxxxxxx@gmail.com
3.Take this review very seriously or you'll have to find these things out yourselves and scar your trip forever.
4.The place is amazing, so enjoy the place. Even though we had so many troubles from the organizer, we did not lose hope and enjoyed the trip and locations.
5.Most of the places do not have cellphone reception so be prepared.
Enjoy your time in the prettiest place of India. Proud to be an Indian!
Ashutosh
PS. I submitted my review at Thrillophilia website, they did not publish it.
