Thursday, December 31, 2009
Day 12: TOW End of vacation
So finally the vacation was almost over. We were staying in Ludhiana and it is 300 kms away from Delhi. We left quite early from Ludhiana as it was better to pass the checkpost of Delhi before policeman start collecting bribes. As it was the last day, every one was excited to return back as well as tired after almost 3500 kilometers of journey. As akahs had already left to his hometown, we were only five of us now.
Our flight to Bangalore was at 8:45 in the evening and we would reach Delhi by 2 o clock. We had planned to spend it in Airport itself. We had breakfast on the way to Delhi at around 10. As we had time, we also went to reebok showroom right next to restaurant. We did not buy anything, but just window shopped. Near Ambala we also went to a big shopping mall but then decided not to go in because there was nothing to do. So we were back on road. At around 2 o'clock we were at Airport. As Sunil and Adarsh was again going back to native, me, bui and Mayur got down at airport.
So we stayed in the lobby, eating and chatting for almost 3-4 hours. We were one of the first persons to check in. We got ourself checked by security and just recalled the best moments of the trip by seeing the photos. By this time it was already 8:20. Suddenly we saw that there was a Haldirams outlet. So we started buying sweets. Unsurprisingly our names were being called for boarding the plane.
Even the airhostess said, that we were the first to check in and the last to board. We reached at around 12 to home sweet home Bangalore. After 12 days of vacation it was back to work.
Our flight to Bangalore was at 8:45 in the evening and we would reach Delhi by 2 o clock. We had planned to spend it in Airport itself. We had breakfast on the way to Delhi at around 10. As we had time, we also went to reebok showroom right next to restaurant. We did not buy anything, but just window shopped. Near Ambala we also went to a big shopping mall but then decided not to go in because there was nothing to do. So we were back on road. At around 2 o'clock we were at Airport. As Sunil and Adarsh was again going back to native, me, bui and Mayur got down at airport.
So we stayed in the lobby, eating and chatting for almost 3-4 hours. We were one of the first persons to check in. We got ourself checked by security and just recalled the best moments of the trip by seeing the photos. By this time it was already 8:20. Suddenly we saw that there was a Haldirams outlet. So we started buying sweets. Unsurprisingly our names were being called for boarding the plane.
Even the airhostess said, that we were the first to check in and the last to board. We reached at around 12 to home sweet home Bangalore. After 12 days of vacation it was back to work.
Day 11: TOW Jallianwallah Bagh
Day 11: 28th September
So the agenda in Amritsar was to see Jallianwallah Bagh, Golden temple and Wagah Border. As the retreat ceremony takes place at sunset, we had lots of time at jallianwallah bagh abd Golden temple. So we woke up late and were in not much hurry as other days. We had oily fried stuff for breakfast in a small eatery right next to the hotel. We had oily stuff not because we liked it but because we had no other options.
So we checked out of Hotel at around 9 and as both jallianwallah bagh and Golden temple are adjacent to each other. We parked our taxi and as our luggage was tied at the top, naeem said he will rest in the vehicle. Akash had to look for train tickets to his home that night, so Mayur and Akash went to Internet booth to book train tickets. While going to Jallianwallah Bagh we came across a lassi shop. All four of us drank Lassi which is very famous in Punjab. It was thick and delicious.
Then we went to Jallianwallah Bagh. This is the place where Britishers mercilessly killed scores of people in 1919. Thousands of people had gathered for a peaceful demonstration on April 10. But general dyer ordered his army men to fire at unarmed people. The army emptied there ammunition at the end of which 379 people were dead and more than 1100 people wounded.
The monument is well maintained to this day and has bullet marks on its walls . There is also the well in which, people trying to escape bullets tried to jump in. We saluted the scores of unheralded people who had to give their lives for the freedom for our country. Jallianwallah bagh can be truly considered the turning point from where nationalism among masses truly erupted.
Adjacent to this is the Golden Temple. When I had seen the images of Golden temple in the midst of lake in movies or the TV, i had always imagined it to be in the outskirts of the city with vast land adjacent to it. Little did I know that it is right in the middle of the crowded city. Again Golden temple unlike some of the temples that I have seen is clean and neat.
As soon as we entered we could see the gurdwara which is situated in the middle of lake. It is Magnificent, serene in spite of crowd and eye catching. We first went around the lake first. Inspite of the day being hot, the flooring was cool. And at corner of the lake we can get cold potable water served by sikh volunteers. We waited at the side for some time so that mayur and akash could join us. The queue to temple was quite long. So it would take some time for us here.
While we stood in the queue we could hear the soft music humming in the background.
Bose speakers were all around the temple! The music in spite of such a large place was clearly audible from everywhere. So we entered the temple and looked around it was quite beautiful and with sikh gurus reading Guru Granth Sahib.
We did not stay for long after this as we had to go to Wagah Border. So it was already 1:30 and all of us were hungry. Wagah Border is around 40 kms from Amritsar and the road leading to it is called Grand Trunk Road. Remarkably this road connects from Bangladesh to Pakistan running through almost the breadth of India. We stopped at a Dhaba and had lunch here. This was the best lunch since the first day. So then we went to Wagah border. The entry for the retreat ceremony had not started yet. So we watched a movie for a while sitting there. Then the gate opened. Not surprisingly the security was tight. They checked us thoroughly before letting us through. As we entered early we got decent seats. The atmosphere was electric. While the number of people on this side of border was in thousands, the number of people on the other side was not even one tenth of this side.
The convener from BSF was aggressive. He encouraged us to shout but he was in control of what we shouted nothing blasphemous but only patriotic. The kids in the front row were given flags to run near the gate and come back. The senior citizens were given the best seat right next to where parade takes place.
There was also a band to play the patriotic songs. The crowd cheered and sang together with them. And then the parade started. The actions from each of the BSF soldier was aggressive and exaggerated. I remember one soldier who could shout at one breath. I tried it once and I had to take breath 4 times to shout for that length of time.
The convener was also aggressive and used to incite us to shout and cheer so that the other sides music, sound could not be heard to themselves. The retreat ceremony ended with flags from both countries descending and the gate shutting down. It had aroused passion, patriotism in me. It is one place where even the meekest Indian would cheer at his topmost voice.
The plan was to leave Punjab this day and stay somewhere in Haryana. But by the time we left Wagah border it was seven in the evening. Even though the road was quite good, the chances of going out of punjab was slim. So we reached Ludhiana at around 10:30. We searched for a few places to stay but they were not at all worthy.
Also akash had not got ticket to go to his place. So We first bought a ticket for him from local Railway station. Then we went to a eatery to have food. Luckily the shop owner also had a hotel and it was quite good. By the time we finished our food it was 1130 in the night. Akash's train to his home was just after mid night. So two of us stayed there to drop him while others went ahead and checked into hotel. Also 29th was Akash's birthday and we wished him. We waited till he boarded the train and we came to the hotel. The hotel was surprisingly good. We had taken 2 rooms. Three of us stayed in one room.
Finally the trip had ended. Tomorrow we would be back in Bangalore.
So the agenda in Amritsar was to see Jallianwallah Bagh, Golden temple and Wagah Border. As the retreat ceremony takes place at sunset, we had lots of time at jallianwallah bagh abd Golden temple. So we woke up late and were in not much hurry as other days. We had oily fried stuff for breakfast in a small eatery right next to the hotel. We had oily stuff not because we liked it but because we had no other options.
So we checked out of Hotel at around 9 and as both jallianwallah bagh and Golden temple are adjacent to each other. We parked our taxi and as our luggage was tied at the top, naeem said he will rest in the vehicle. Akash had to look for train tickets to his home that night, so Mayur and Akash went to Internet booth to book train tickets. While going to Jallianwallah Bagh we came across a lassi shop. All four of us drank Lassi which is very famous in Punjab. It was thick and delicious.
Then we went to Jallianwallah Bagh. This is the place where Britishers mercilessly killed scores of people in 1919. Thousands of people had gathered for a peaceful demonstration on April 10. But general dyer ordered his army men to fire at unarmed people. The army emptied there ammunition at the end of which 379 people were dead and more than 1100 people wounded.
The monument is well maintained to this day and has bullet marks on its walls . There is also the well in which, people trying to escape bullets tried to jump in. We saluted the scores of unheralded people who had to give their lives for the freedom for our country. Jallianwallah bagh can be truly considered the turning point from where nationalism among masses truly erupted.
Adjacent to this is the Golden Temple. When I had seen the images of Golden temple in the midst of lake in movies or the TV, i had always imagined it to be in the outskirts of the city with vast land adjacent to it. Little did I know that it is right in the middle of the crowded city. Again Golden temple unlike some of the temples that I have seen is clean and neat.
As soon as we entered we could see the gurdwara which is situated in the middle of lake. It is Magnificent, serene in spite of crowd and eye catching. We first went around the lake first. Inspite of the day being hot, the flooring was cool. And at corner of the lake we can get cold potable water served by sikh volunteers. We waited at the side for some time so that mayur and akash could join us. The queue to temple was quite long. So it would take some time for us here.
While we stood in the queue we could hear the soft music humming in the background.
Bose speakers were all around the temple! The music in spite of such a large place was clearly audible from everywhere. So we entered the temple and looked around it was quite beautiful and with sikh gurus reading Guru Granth Sahib.
We did not stay for long after this as we had to go to Wagah Border. So it was already 1:30 and all of us were hungry. Wagah Border is around 40 kms from Amritsar and the road leading to it is called Grand Trunk Road. Remarkably this road connects from Bangladesh to Pakistan running through almost the breadth of India. We stopped at a Dhaba and had lunch here. This was the best lunch since the first day. So then we went to Wagah border. The entry for the retreat ceremony had not started yet. So we watched a movie for a while sitting there. Then the gate opened. Not surprisingly the security was tight. They checked us thoroughly before letting us through. As we entered early we got decent seats. The atmosphere was electric. While the number of people on this side of border was in thousands, the number of people on the other side was not even one tenth of this side.
The convener from BSF was aggressive. He encouraged us to shout but he was in control of what we shouted nothing blasphemous but only patriotic. The kids in the front row were given flags to run near the gate and come back. The senior citizens were given the best seat right next to where parade takes place.
There was also a band to play the patriotic songs. The crowd cheered and sang together with them. And then the parade started. The actions from each of the BSF soldier was aggressive and exaggerated. I remember one soldier who could shout at one breath. I tried it once and I had to take breath 4 times to shout for that length of time.
The convener was also aggressive and used to incite us to shout and cheer so that the other sides music, sound could not be heard to themselves. The retreat ceremony ended with flags from both countries descending and the gate shutting down. It had aroused passion, patriotism in me. It is one place where even the meekest Indian would cheer at his topmost voice.
The plan was to leave Punjab this day and stay somewhere in Haryana. But by the time we left Wagah border it was seven in the evening. Even though the road was quite good, the chances of going out of punjab was slim. So we reached Ludhiana at around 10:30. We searched for a few places to stay but they were not at all worthy.
Also akash had not got ticket to go to his place. So We first bought a ticket for him from local Railway station. Then we went to a eatery to have food. Luckily the shop owner also had a hotel and it was quite good. By the time we finished our food it was 1130 in the night. Akash's train to his home was just after mid night. So two of us stayed there to drop him while others went ahead and checked into hotel. Also 29th was Akash's birthday and we wished him. We waited till he boarded the train and we came to the hotel. The hotel was surprisingly good. We had taken 2 rooms. Three of us stayed in one room.
Finally the trip had ended. Tomorrow we would be back in Bangalore.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Day 10: TOW travel only again!
Day 10: 27th September
I had almost not slept at all. We pulled an all nighter just to play cards and I was feeling the strain in the morning .We had planned to leave Srinagar at 6 in the morning. 4 of us had slept at 4:30 in the morning. So somehow I managed to wake up and get myself into the taxi. We left at 6:30 from Srinagar and I was very sleepy. Though I remember seeing Soldiers on the way searching the fields and road side with mine detectors. I assumed they did this everyday in the morning.
As Akash and Adarsh were going to their native places, they wanted to buy apples. We could see lots of Apple gardens on the way. So we stopped by roadside and bought two cartons of Apples from one of them. We came across Jawahar tunnel which facilitates round the year connectivity. Hence the tunnel was heavily fortified and before entering we were asked a few questions and our taxi was superficially inspected.
With Amritsar being 500 km from Srinagar, it was going to take the whole day to reach Amritsar. Also with initial part of Srinagar - Amritsar highway being hilly, the journey would be a long one. We had breakfast at a roadside dhaba at 11 o clock, which only had Paranthas for breakfast.
I hardly remember this day as I was asleep. As usual we were stopped needlessly by a traffic inspector and again in spite of having all the documents intact, he wrote a challan. I wonder whether they were a counterfeit ones. Though one advantage of paying the bribe at the start of the journey is that other officers did not irritate us. Atleast 3-4 times we were stopped, but as soon as we showed the challan we were let through.
We reached the Punjab entry checkpost in the evening. All of us were hungry and we had some biscuits and chocolates while our driver went to pay the entry fee. A few tens of miles before Amritsar we came across a dhaba, everyone was hungry so we were waiting for food.
The food was not good at all and it took almost an hour to serve.
Finally we reached Amritsar at 9 o clock, and after much bargaining we found a place which was expensive considering its state.
After a full day travel and no sleep at all the previous day, I was very sleepy. But after 10 days cold weather, the sudden change in temperatures to the mid 30s was frustrating. Thankfully there was cooler in room so we slept comfortably.
I had almost not slept at all. We pulled an all nighter just to play cards and I was feeling the strain in the morning .We had planned to leave Srinagar at 6 in the morning. 4 of us had slept at 4:30 in the morning. So somehow I managed to wake up and get myself into the taxi. We left at 6:30 from Srinagar and I was very sleepy. Though I remember seeing Soldiers on the way searching the fields and road side with mine detectors. I assumed they did this everyday in the morning.
As Akash and Adarsh were going to their native places, they wanted to buy apples. We could see lots of Apple gardens on the way. So we stopped by roadside and bought two cartons of Apples from one of them. We came across Jawahar tunnel which facilitates round the year connectivity. Hence the tunnel was heavily fortified and before entering we were asked a few questions and our taxi was superficially inspected.
With Amritsar being 500 km from Srinagar, it was going to take the whole day to reach Amritsar. Also with initial part of Srinagar - Amritsar highway being hilly, the journey would be a long one. We had breakfast at a roadside dhaba at 11 o clock, which only had Paranthas for breakfast.
I hardly remember this day as I was asleep. As usual we were stopped needlessly by a traffic inspector and again in spite of having all the documents intact, he wrote a challan. I wonder whether they were a counterfeit ones. Though one advantage of paying the bribe at the start of the journey is that other officers did not irritate us. Atleast 3-4 times we were stopped, but as soon as we showed the challan we were let through.
We reached the Punjab entry checkpost in the evening. All of us were hungry and we had some biscuits and chocolates while our driver went to pay the entry fee. A few tens of miles before Amritsar we came across a dhaba, everyone was hungry so we were waiting for food.
The food was not good at all and it took almost an hour to serve.
Finally we reached Amritsar at 9 o clock, and after much bargaining we found a place which was expensive considering its state.
After a full day travel and no sleep at all the previous day, I was very sleepy. But after 10 days cold weather, the sudden change in temperatures to the mid 30s was frustrating. Thankfully there was cooler in room so we slept comfortably.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Day 9: TOW Srinagar
Day 9: 26th September
Srinagar looks like a city in which the president is on visit, the security is so elaborate that every 50 metres you will find a CRPF policeman, every road junction has a sand bunker with armed personnel, every few blocks away you see army camps with the now familiar bunkers outside with entrance blocked by fence amidst all this it is a crowded city. It is as if people do not mind guns hovering around them.
Though it was our wish to stay in srinagar for 2 days to enjoy the beauty of Kashmir valley, shortage of time made us to stay for only 1 day. So we had time only to visit Gulmarg and Dal Lake.
We started at around 7:15 in the morning to Gulmarg. One of the most annoying things are the Corrupt Police Officials. They are fond of vehicles from which are not from J&K. For no apparent reason they ask you to pull aside and fine the drivers. We paid the customary fine and started towards Gulmarg. Again for every 100 metres there were many CRPF policemen guarding the roads and the fieldside.
Gulmarg is a hill station situated 52 kms away from Srinagar. Usually it is covered with snow, but as winter had not started, there was no snow. Though the place looked good with its tall coniferous trees on the outer ring and plain land in the middle of hill, the bill boards which showed gulmarg during winter season were more enticing. As soon as we reached Gulmarg we had breakfast. To roam around we could hire horses but as we had already experienced it in simla, there was no novelty to it. So we thought we will just go around walking. But Mayur and Akash were a bit hesitant to go walk for around 5-6 kms. So they inquired for horse and as there were lots of horses and less tourists, the horsemen were following both akash and Mayur for almost 1-2 kms and it was getting a little annoying. We stopped for a break and the horseman moved on.
There was a palace-which looked from outside more like a function hall- turned into a museum . But as the museum curator was on leave it was closed! There was also a lake on top of hill, on whose banks there is a garden. There was a small entry fee and we sat in the garden for around half hour. There were lots of school children out there to visit gulmarg. So when we entered the garden, it was quite crowded. There was nothing else in Gulmarg, though in snowy season the skiing resort as well as golf would have been available. There is also a rope car which takes to the top of a hill but considering there was no snow and 800 rupees for the ride, it was a waste of time as well as money. There was a herd of sheep. I touched one of the sheep it was so soft and puffy.
We came back near the vehicle. We were a bit tired after walking almost 3-4 hours. It was already 2 o 'clock. We had lunch at the same eatery in which we had breakfast and returned back.
While returning back we came across many army convoys. The convoy usually had a jeep with a strange device on top, maybe a jammer. As soon as the convoy came near us, our Fm music would get totally noisy. We reached Srinagar in the evening and we still had to visit Dal Lake. Naeem our driver took us to a shikhara(boat) operator and we negotiated for a shikhara for 650. We started sailing at around the time of sun set. The operator showed us a few shikharas which were used during filming of famous hindi movies of the past. There were quite a few good looking floating hotels. The sunset was beautiful with sun reflecting from surface of water. There was a garden in the middle of Dal lake we stopped there for a few minutes and went back.
One of the interesting things was that there were shikhara shops ranging from Pan shop to Photo studio. There was also wake-boarding indigenised by making the board broader and the speed slower. It was not scary at all. Initially it felt strange, but by the time i was getting the hang of it, it was over. Our shikhara operator took us to the market though most of it was closed. We did not wanted to buy anything so we just went to a garment shop and some of us had tea before returning back.
We went to a supposedly vegetarian Bengali restaurant only to find out it was non vegetarian. We had food there and it was already 9:30 by this time. We had not done any shopping in Srinagar which is famous for its dry fruits and shawls. Our Hotel Proprietor took us to a shop. Most of us bought shawls and few bought sweaters. We also came across the famous Pashmina shawl which was so thin and light, it hardly weighed 100 gms and costing 5000 rupees. There are more costlier ones which can cost even a lakh rupees.
We came back to hotel and there was a India - Pakistan Cricket match going on. So we started playing cards while we watched the match. Though India lost the match we continued to play till it was 4:30 in the morning. We had to leave to Amritsar early in the morning. Sunil was so sleepy while pllaying that at one time his cards slipped out of his hands while he was dozing off. We didnt let him sleep inspite of being very sleepy. We only had an hour of sleep before we started towards Amritsar.
Srinagar looks like a city in which the president is on visit, the security is so elaborate that every 50 metres you will find a CRPF policeman, every road junction has a sand bunker with armed personnel, every few blocks away you see army camps with the now familiar bunkers outside with entrance blocked by fence amidst all this it is a crowded city. It is as if people do not mind guns hovering around them.
Though it was our wish to stay in srinagar for 2 days to enjoy the beauty of Kashmir valley, shortage of time made us to stay for only 1 day. So we had time only to visit Gulmarg and Dal Lake.
We started at around 7:15 in the morning to Gulmarg. One of the most annoying things are the Corrupt Police Officials. They are fond of vehicles from which are not from J&K. For no apparent reason they ask you to pull aside and fine the drivers. We paid the customary fine and started towards Gulmarg. Again for every 100 metres there were many CRPF policemen guarding the roads and the fieldside.
Gulmarg is a hill station situated 52 kms away from Srinagar. Usually it is covered with snow, but as winter had not started, there was no snow. Though the place looked good with its tall coniferous trees on the outer ring and plain land in the middle of hill, the bill boards which showed gulmarg during winter season were more enticing. As soon as we reached Gulmarg we had breakfast. To roam around we could hire horses but as we had already experienced it in simla, there was no novelty to it. So we thought we will just go around walking. But Mayur and Akash were a bit hesitant to go walk for around 5-6 kms. So they inquired for horse and as there were lots of horses and less tourists, the horsemen were following both akash and Mayur for almost 1-2 kms and it was getting a little annoying. We stopped for a break and the horseman moved on.
There was a palace-which looked from outside more like a function hall- turned into a museum . But as the museum curator was on leave it was closed! There was also a lake on top of hill, on whose banks there is a garden. There was a small entry fee and we sat in the garden for around half hour. There were lots of school children out there to visit gulmarg. So when we entered the garden, it was quite crowded. There was nothing else in Gulmarg, though in snowy season the skiing resort as well as golf would have been available. There is also a rope car which takes to the top of a hill but considering there was no snow and 800 rupees for the ride, it was a waste of time as well as money. There was a herd of sheep. I touched one of the sheep it was so soft and puffy.
We came back near the vehicle. We were a bit tired after walking almost 3-4 hours. It was already 2 o 'clock. We had lunch at the same eatery in which we had breakfast and returned back.
While returning back we came across many army convoys. The convoy usually had a jeep with a strange device on top, maybe a jammer. As soon as the convoy came near us, our Fm music would get totally noisy. We reached Srinagar in the evening and we still had to visit Dal Lake. Naeem our driver took us to a shikhara(boat) operator and we negotiated for a shikhara for 650. We started sailing at around the time of sun set. The operator showed us a few shikharas which were used during filming of famous hindi movies of the past. There were quite a few good looking floating hotels. The sunset was beautiful with sun reflecting from surface of water. There was a garden in the middle of Dal lake we stopped there for a few minutes and went back.
One of the interesting things was that there were shikhara shops ranging from Pan shop to Photo studio. There was also wake-boarding indigenised by making the board broader and the speed slower. It was not scary at all. Initially it felt strange, but by the time i was getting the hang of it, it was over. Our shikhara operator took us to the market though most of it was closed. We did not wanted to buy anything so we just went to a garment shop and some of us had tea before returning back.
We went to a supposedly vegetarian Bengali restaurant only to find out it was non vegetarian. We had food there and it was already 9:30 by this time. We had not done any shopping in Srinagar which is famous for its dry fruits and shawls. Our Hotel Proprietor took us to a shop. Most of us bought shawls and few bought sweaters. We also came across the famous Pashmina shawl which was so thin and light, it hardly weighed 100 gms and costing 5000 rupees. There are more costlier ones which can cost even a lakh rupees.
We came back to hotel and there was a India - Pakistan Cricket match going on. So we started playing cards while we watched the match. Though India lost the match we continued to play till it was 4:30 in the morning. We had to leave to Amritsar early in the morning. Sunil was so sleepy while pllaying that at one time his cards slipped out of his hands while he was dozing off. We didnt let him sleep inspite of being very sleepy. We only had an hour of sleep before we started towards Amritsar.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Day 8: TOW Kargil
Day 8: September 25
Day 7 was the last day in Leh. We had to leave today to Srinagar. Srinagar is at a distance of 475kms from Leh. So the initial plan was to cover this distance over two days. So a stop at somewhere midway maybe at Kargil. But another driver for a group of tourists told us that we could do it in 1 day provided we start early. If we could pull this off, it would save us 1 day. Also Srinagar - Leh highway was supposed to be not as hilly as the Leh - Manali Highway. As our driver had taken almost 2 and half days of rest in Leh, we thought he wont get tired if he drives the whole day. Our driver was also for this idea.
So we started quite early this day even before sunrise. I remember sunrise in the midst of himalayan mountains which was absolutely gorgeous. We caught a glimpse of sun rise, though with roads usually in the valleys, it took 1-2 hours for the sun to be seen after that. We were travelling right next to a river. I think it was Indus river, though I am not all too sure. The roads were wider than the previous ones though the hilly quotient was not lower. This can be partly attributed to the huge army presence in this area. So with good roads, we could travel faster.
At around 7 o clock we stopped for a while for a bio break. As we were travelling in the river valley there was a river alongside the road.
The mountains were still barren but this part of the region was far more populous than the Manali - leh area. But Leh remains isolated during Winter seasons with both the roads being closed and open only if there is military traffic. So only way to travel to leh is by air.
After around 5 hours of travel, at 10 in the morning the first signs lush greenery that Kashmir is so well known for started appearing. So this meant we were nearer to Kargil, the infamous kargil.
So we passed Kargil. Kargil looks like just another city in the mountains though it is quite big. On the other side of the Kargil is the mountains where LOC is situated. It is here that the enemy militants tried to sneak through. Though before and after Kargil war, the militant activity was never high. Then we came across a stretch of NH1 highway which is visible from the enemy posts across the LOC. But sadly I came to know about this only after we passed it. Bui had seen the board that said " You are under enemy surveillance ".
The scenery started getting lively from here. for almost 5 days we were surrounded by barren mountains but from here the greenery and the snow at the top of mountains started to show up. Though the mountains looked as big or even bigger than before, the highway is so constructed that, for most part we travel all along the river valley, this made the travel more pleasant while Leh- Manali highway was more of adventurous.
Outside Kargil, there were quite a few army camps. Outside one of the camps, a soldier wanted a drop to army camp around 30 kms away. This was a nice way to get to know the situation at LOC from insider. He did say to us that Kargil and drass regions were never under fire from militants before and after kargil war. Only during Kargil war was the area dangerous with some of the shells fired landing on the highway we were traveling. We dropped him near his camp and soon after I spotted the scandal ridden Bofors guns nicely hidden behind the bushes with the barrel poking out. Soon after we came at the drass War memorial. This is dedicated to the heroes of the Kargil war.
The war memorial is right at the foot hills of Tololing mountain range. Apart from tololing , the war was also fought on the tiger hill range. The war memorial is a large complex with a wall dedicated to the fallen heroes. There was also a small museum with artifacts captured from the enemy militants like shells grenades and photographs brave soldiers and facts about war. One interesting fact i came across was that the food prepared for soldiers with the help of villagers took 3 days to reach the soldiers on the frontline.
So we saluted the brave soldiers and reached Drass at around 1 o clock. We had lunch here. There was a sign that said Drass was the second coldest inhabited place on earth next only to siberia. The temperatures drop to as low as -45 C. Food supplies were also low by now so we refilled them again with junk food and by 2 o clock we were back on road.
From Drass the highway was well protected. We would come across 2-3 soldiers after every 100 -200 metres. This made me feel insecure rather than secure. Seeing them would remind me that there might be an imminent danger. Looking at the beauty of the nature surrounding you but with soldiers carrying guns was a bit sad but the modern reality.
As we were playing cards in the back, we had not seen the beauty of the kashmir valley until suddenly we came across sonamarg valley. With its tall mountains covered with coniferous trees, river flowing in the valley and the temperatures back to normal, it was refreshing after the 5 days barren mountains. We stopped here for a few minutes enjoying the nature. By now it was already 4:30 pm with srinagar not too far away, maybe 2-3 hours away.
From here the nature started to take a different turn. The valley we were travelling in was large, so only on one side were the mountains close enough and the other side the mountain were far away.
Here you could see the houses you have always painted in your childhood. A small house with a sloped top in the midst of trees, a mountain in the back ground with sun setting behind mountains and birds flying to their nest in the evening. It was quite a sight. Add to this the paddy fields which looked golden was just a sight to remember.
We reached Srinagar at around 7:30 in the evening and settled into the hotel. The hotel was just behind Dal Lake though dal lake was not visible from there.
The hotel owner had suggested us a restaurant. So we reached there only to find out that it was ridiculously expensive. So we went to another restaurant and had food and returned to hotel.
Day 7 was the last day in Leh. We had to leave today to Srinagar. Srinagar is at a distance of 475kms from Leh. So the initial plan was to cover this distance over two days. So a stop at somewhere midway maybe at Kargil. But another driver for a group of tourists told us that we could do it in 1 day provided we start early. If we could pull this off, it would save us 1 day. Also Srinagar - Leh highway was supposed to be not as hilly as the Leh - Manali Highway. As our driver had taken almost 2 and half days of rest in Leh, we thought he wont get tired if he drives the whole day. Our driver was also for this idea.
So we started quite early this day even before sunrise. I remember sunrise in the midst of himalayan mountains which was absolutely gorgeous. We caught a glimpse of sun rise, though with roads usually in the valleys, it took 1-2 hours for the sun to be seen after that. We were travelling right next to a river. I think it was Indus river, though I am not all too sure. The roads were wider than the previous ones though the hilly quotient was not lower. This can be partly attributed to the huge army presence in this area. So with good roads, we could travel faster.
At around 7 o clock we stopped for a while for a bio break. As we were travelling in the river valley there was a river alongside the road.
The mountains were still barren but this part of the region was far more populous than the Manali - leh area. But Leh remains isolated during Winter seasons with both the roads being closed and open only if there is military traffic. So only way to travel to leh is by air.After around 5 hours of travel, at 10 in the morning the first signs lush greenery that Kashmir is so well known for started appearing. So this meant we were nearer to Kargil, the infamous kargil.
So we passed Kargil. Kargil looks like just another city in the mountains though it is quite big. On the other side of the Kargil is the mountains where LOC is situated. It is here that the enemy militants tried to sneak through. Though before and after Kargil war, the militant activity was never high. Then we came across a stretch of NH1 highway which is visible from the enemy posts across the LOC. But sadly I came to know about this only after we passed it. Bui had seen the board that said " You are under enemy surveillance ".
The scenery started getting lively from here. for almost 5 days we were surrounded by barren mountains but from here the greenery and the snow at the top of mountains started to show up. Though the mountains looked as big or even bigger than before, the highway is so constructed that, for most part we travel all along the river valley, this made the travel more pleasant while Leh- Manali highway was more of adventurous.
Outside Kargil, there were quite a few army camps. Outside one of the camps, a soldier wanted a drop to army camp around 30 kms away. This was a nice way to get to know the situation at LOC from insider. He did say to us that Kargil and drass regions were never under fire from militants before and after kargil war. Only during Kargil war was the area dangerous with some of the shells fired landing on the highway we were traveling. We dropped him near his camp and soon after I spotted the scandal ridden Bofors guns nicely hidden behind the bushes with the barrel poking out. Soon after we came at the drass War memorial. This is dedicated to the heroes of the Kargil war.
The war memorial is right at the foot hills of Tololing mountain range. Apart from tololing , the war was also fought on the tiger hill range. The war memorial is a large complex with a wall dedicated to the fallen heroes. There was also a small museum with artifacts captured from the enemy militants like shells grenades and photographs brave soldiers and facts about war. One interesting fact i came across was that the food prepared for soldiers with the help of villagers took 3 days to reach the soldiers on the frontline.
So we saluted the brave soldiers and reached Drass at around 1 o clock. We had lunch here. There was a sign that said Drass was the second coldest inhabited place on earth next only to siberia. The temperatures drop to as low as -45 C. Food supplies were also low by now so we refilled them again with junk food and by 2 o clock we were back on road.
From Drass the highway was well protected. We would come across 2-3 soldiers after every 100 -200 metres. This made me feel insecure rather than secure. Seeing them would remind me that there might be an imminent danger. Looking at the beauty of the nature surrounding you but with soldiers carrying guns was a bit sad but the modern reality.
As we were playing cards in the back, we had not seen the beauty of the kashmir valley until suddenly we came across sonamarg valley. With its tall mountains covered with coniferous trees, river flowing in the valley and the temperatures back to normal, it was refreshing after the 5 days barren mountains. We stopped here for a few minutes enjoying the nature. By now it was already 4:30 pm with srinagar not too far away, maybe 2-3 hours away.
From here the nature started to take a different turn. The valley we were travelling in was large, so only on one side were the mountains close enough and the other side the mountain were far away.
Here you could see the houses you have always painted in your childhood. A small house with a sloped top in the midst of trees, a mountain in the back ground with sun setting behind mountains and birds flying to their nest in the evening. It was quite a sight. Add to this the paddy fields which looked golden was just a sight to remember.
We reached Srinagar at around 7:30 in the evening and settled into the hotel. The hotel was just behind Dal Lake though dal lake was not visible from there.
The hotel owner had suggested us a restaurant. So we reached there only to find out that it was ridiculously expensive. So we went to another restaurant and had food and returned to hotel.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Day 7: TOW Khardungla
Day 7: 24th September
So today's plan was to go to Khardung La and Nuubra Valley. Khardung La till recently was the worlds highest motor-able pass. It is at a height of around 18000 ft. while Nubra valley is a high altitude desert with a river Shyok flowing through it which is actually on the way to Siachen Glacier, well known for being the world's highest battle ground.
We left early to Khardung La. Khardung La is just 40 kms from Leh. But while Leh is at 11000 ft height Khardungla is at 18000 ft. So the road from Leh to Khardung La is very steep. It took us more than an hour to reach there. We reached there at 7:30 am. The weather was cold and there was a shadow because of the mountain behind us. So we could not stay there for more than 15 minutes. We just took snaps and hurried out of there. Even walking at such height was strenuous.
From here at around 136 km away is a small town called Hunder which is in Nubra Valley.
The way to Nubra Valley was again beautiful and unique. Unique in the sense that the Valley between barren mountains was at some places lavishly green and at some places was a desert with a flowing river. When the fertile valley and the deserts met it was quite mesmerizing. Because it was end of summer and the river flow was less, there was less greenery. Surprisingly hundar is at a height of around 9k-10k ft.On the way to Hundar there were lots of army camps which are base camps for the army camp in Siachen Glacier.
Though we were descending down from 18k ft, I was feeling a bit sick. The road was curvy and i was nauseous. We stopped at around 10 o clock for breakfast. That's exactly what I wanted, a stop and a small nap time. So others went for breakfast and I slept in the middle seat luxuriously. So at the end of their breakfast, I was feeling back to full fitness.
At around 10:45 am we reached Hundar. Hundar is known mainly for two things, the sand dunes of Ladakh and the double humped camel Safari. But sadly there were no double humped camels to be seen. Supposedly as there was a fight between villagers and camel operators, the camel operators were banished.
But the Sand dunes of Ladakh was enough to lift our spirits. We stopped at the outskirts of the village on the banks of river. Though river would be a misnomer. May be it was a stream.
Also there were Leh-berry fruit trees and lots of them. The fruit was tiny and sour in taste but tasted good. Then we moved on to Sand dunes which were adjacent to the stream. It was like a vast desert with sun beating down on us except for the fact that it was quite chilly. Surprisingly there was one more family on holiday, who were also from bangalore. We played and enjoyed for some time in river till 12 o clock and started back to Leh.
With Ladakh being dominated by buddhist monastery also known as gompa, the trip would not have been complete without visiting a Gompa.
Fortunately on the way back our driver took us to Diskit gompa, incidentally one of the largest and the oldest gompa in Ladakh. The Gompa is at the top of mountain, though our vehicle did go to the entrance of gompa, the whole establishment was actually multi storied as you can see in the picture. So the climb to the top was tiring. But as soon as we reached there the view was spectacular. We could get the bird's eye view of the whole nubra valley. The monastery was colorful. Though there was no shortage of tourists, because we were interested in the monastery, one of the monks got one more prayer hall opened for us to see. It was filled with more statues than the previous one, smaller but equally captivating.
One of the features of gompa is the prayer wheels. A cylindrical structure with exquisite paintings or carvings on them and have a rod at the top so when rotated rings a bell at regular intervals. Its supposed to bring good luck. But for me more than good luck, the sheer novelty of it gave more enjoyment in rotating it.
So at around 1 o' clock we left gompa and back to Leh. We reached Leh at around 4:30. The cook at the hotel toasted us some bread to go with Omelet. We played cards till 7 and went out for dinner.
I do not remember exactly, but i think this was the day when we had the worst food. The food was served late after almost 1 hour of waiting and it was not tasty at all. So we came back to hotel and settled the bill as we had to check out early in the morning.
As had become practice we played cards for some time before sleeping. It was always me, Adarsh, Mayur and either of Akash or Sunil but most of the times Sunil and with Daya happily sleeping while we played.
So today's plan was to go to Khardung La and Nuubra Valley. Khardung La till recently was the worlds highest motor-able pass. It is at a height of around 18000 ft. while Nubra valley is a high altitude desert with a river Shyok flowing through it which is actually on the way to Siachen Glacier, well known for being the world's highest battle ground.
We left early to Khardung La. Khardung La is just 40 kms from Leh. But while Leh is at 11000 ft height Khardungla is at 18000 ft. So the road from Leh to Khardung La is very steep. It took us more than an hour to reach there. We reached there at 7:30 am. The weather was cold and there was a shadow because of the mountain behind us. So we could not stay there for more than 15 minutes. We just took snaps and hurried out of there. Even walking at such height was strenuous.
From here at around 136 km away is a small town called Hunder which is in Nubra Valley.
The way to Nubra Valley was again beautiful and unique. Unique in the sense that the Valley between barren mountains was at some places lavishly green and at some places was a desert with a flowing river. When the fertile valley and the deserts met it was quite mesmerizing. Because it was end of summer and the river flow was less, there was less greenery. Surprisingly hundar is at a height of around 9k-10k ft.On the way to Hundar there were lots of army camps which are base camps for the army camp in Siachen Glacier.
Though we were descending down from 18k ft, I was feeling a bit sick. The road was curvy and i was nauseous. We stopped at around 10 o clock for breakfast. That's exactly what I wanted, a stop and a small nap time. So others went for breakfast and I slept in the middle seat luxuriously. So at the end of their breakfast, I was feeling back to full fitness.
At around 10:45 am we reached Hundar. Hundar is known mainly for two things, the sand dunes of Ladakh and the double humped camel Safari. But sadly there were no double humped camels to be seen. Supposedly as there was a fight between villagers and camel operators, the camel operators were banished.
But the Sand dunes of Ladakh was enough to lift our spirits. We stopped at the outskirts of the village on the banks of river. Though river would be a misnomer. May be it was a stream.
Also there were Leh-berry fruit trees and lots of them. The fruit was tiny and sour in taste but tasted good. Then we moved on to Sand dunes which were adjacent to the stream. It was like a vast desert with sun beating down on us except for the fact that it was quite chilly. Surprisingly there was one more family on holiday, who were also from bangalore. We played and enjoyed for some time in river till 12 o clock and started back to Leh.
With Ladakh being dominated by buddhist monastery also known as gompa, the trip would not have been complete without visiting a Gompa.
Fortunately on the way back our driver took us to Diskit gompa, incidentally one of the largest and the oldest gompa in Ladakh. The Gompa is at the top of mountain, though our vehicle did go to the entrance of gompa, the whole establishment was actually multi storied as you can see in the picture. So the climb to the top was tiring. But as soon as we reached there the view was spectacular. We could get the bird's eye view of the whole nubra valley. The monastery was colorful. Though there was no shortage of tourists, because we were interested in the monastery, one of the monks got one more prayer hall opened for us to see. It was filled with more statues than the previous one, smaller but equally captivating.One of the features of gompa is the prayer wheels. A cylindrical structure with exquisite paintings or carvings on them and have a rod at the top so when rotated rings a bell at regular intervals. Its supposed to bring good luck. But for me more than good luck, the sheer novelty of it gave more enjoyment in rotating it.
So at around 1 o' clock we left gompa and back to Leh. We reached Leh at around 4:30. The cook at the hotel toasted us some bread to go with Omelet. We played cards till 7 and went out for dinner.
I do not remember exactly, but i think this was the day when we had the worst food. The food was served late after almost 1 hour of waiting and it was not tasty at all. So we came back to hotel and settled the bill as we had to check out early in the morning.
As had become practice we played cards for some time before sleeping. It was always me, Adarsh, Mayur and either of Akash or Sunil but most of the times Sunil and with Daya happily sleeping while we played.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Day 6: TOW Pangong Tso
Day 6: 23rd September
As Leh taxi union opposes the use of taxis that are not from Leh, we had to hire a local Taxi. Thankfully our hotel itself had 2 taveras, So they arranged the trip. Because it was off season, the hotel proprietor even gave us a hefty discount.
The agenda of the day was to see Pangong Lake. The Lake is at a distance of around 160 km from Leh and it takes around 5 hours to reach it. After seeing Deepak tal which was small but spectacular, I was excited of seeing a larger and even more spectacular Lake.
So we started at 6:30 from our hotel. We stopped at outskirts of the city for breakfast. Even though the restaurant looked like a shack, it was crowded with tourists like us. So there was no place to sit, but eventually after sometime when we were contemplating about not having breakfast we got seats. We had paratha here and we also bought bananas and apples from a shop on the other side of road. Here we met a person from chennai who was a journalist with Hindu. Maybe he was looking for a scoop. Because for the past few days we were hearing news reports of incursions from Chinese Soldiers.
As there were two vehicles from our hotel, and the driver of the other vehicle did not know the route,we had to stopp 2-3 times in between for the other vehicle to catch up. While whenever Naeem drove fast on the hills, we used to feel very nervous, this driver never made me nervous even though he was going at very high speed and far more dangerous looking hills.
On the way to Pangong Tso we came across Changla Pass. This is at 17800ft. And the Indian Army has a post here and they serve free Tea to all. The Tea that I had here was one of the best Teas I have ever had. With so much cold, the tea feels even more tastier.
There is also a souvenir shop. So we bought ourselves Pashmina shawl, Cups with Pangong Lake photo and A Pangong Lake Photo frames.
The Landscape was stunning, with vast barren plains surrounded by huge Mountains, it was awesome. We could see several miles of road from which we came from the top. Intermittently we also used to come across Army camps. Living in such High altitudes with such low temperatures and fighting our enemies, Our Jawans are truly brave.
At around 11:30 we reached Pangong Tso. Pangong Tso is one of the highest salt water Lakes in the world. It is situated at a height of 14000 ft. Only one third of the Lake is in India, the other Part is in China. It extends to about 134 km.
As soon as we saw from far away clear blue water body, we knew this was Pangong. I am short of words to describe this Lake. Any word will fall short of capturing the beauty of the lake. With its clear blue water surrounded by barren high mountains and extending to quite a distance on one side, this can surely beat every scenery at beauty contest. Add to this the shadows cast on the mountains by clouds on the bright day, made the lake look even more dramatic. Till that day I never believed such a beautiful place existed. We stayed there for almost two hours. There was even boating conducted by Indian Army. But only for relatives of Army men. So we missed out on this.
So we left Pangong at 1:30 pm. While going back we stopped near Shey, so that our driver could smoke. There was a small fishery pond where lots of beautiful birds particularly ducks were present. We took some pics and some kids needed drop on the way back from school. So we gave them a drop till a nearby village on the way and reached hotel by 5:30. We went outside for food and came back. The plan for next day was to go to Khardung La and Nubra Valley. But as Akash was afraid to go to Khardung La because of respiratory problems at high altitude he was not willing to go. Also strangely, our driver was saying that if we cannot leave that next day to Srinagar we will not be able to reach Delhi by 29th. But on checking we came to the conclusion that we could reach delhi on time if we skipped a day in Srinagar. No way we were going to skip the chance to be on the one of the worlds highest passes after coming so close. Though we were not okay with leaving him and going to enjoy ourselves , so we tried to convince him to come, he was not ready to budge. So finally after much deliberations, we decided that Akash would stay in Leh while we go see Khardung La and Nubra Valley.
After next days plan was finalized we played Cards till midnight before going to sleep.
As Leh taxi union opposes the use of taxis that are not from Leh, we had to hire a local Taxi. Thankfully our hotel itself had 2 taveras, So they arranged the trip. Because it was off season, the hotel proprietor even gave us a hefty discount.
The agenda of the day was to see Pangong Lake. The Lake is at a distance of around 160 km from Leh and it takes around 5 hours to reach it. After seeing Deepak tal which was small but spectacular, I was excited of seeing a larger and even more spectacular Lake.
So we started at 6:30 from our hotel. We stopped at outskirts of the city for breakfast. Even though the restaurant looked like a shack, it was crowded with tourists like us. So there was no place to sit, but eventually after sometime when we were contemplating about not having breakfast we got seats. We had paratha here and we also bought bananas and apples from a shop on the other side of road. Here we met a person from chennai who was a journalist with Hindu. Maybe he was looking for a scoop. Because for the past few days we were hearing news reports of incursions from Chinese Soldiers.
As there were two vehicles from our hotel, and the driver of the other vehicle did not know the route,we had to stopp 2-3 times in between for the other vehicle to catch up. While whenever Naeem drove fast on the hills, we used to feel very nervous, this driver never made me nervous even though he was going at very high speed and far more dangerous looking hills.
On the way to Pangong Tso we came across Changla Pass. This is at 17800ft. And the Indian Army has a post here and they serve free Tea to all. The Tea that I had here was one of the best Teas I have ever had. With so much cold, the tea feels even more tastier.
There is also a souvenir shop. So we bought ourselves Pashmina shawl, Cups with Pangong Lake photo and A Pangong Lake Photo frames.
The Landscape was stunning, with vast barren plains surrounded by huge Mountains, it was awesome. We could see several miles of road from which we came from the top. Intermittently we also used to come across Army camps. Living in such High altitudes with such low temperatures and fighting our enemies, Our Jawans are truly brave.
At around 11:30 we reached Pangong Tso. Pangong Tso is one of the highest salt water Lakes in the world. It is situated at a height of 14000 ft. Only one third of the Lake is in India, the other Part is in China. It extends to about 134 km.
As soon as we saw from far away clear blue water body, we knew this was Pangong. I am short of words to describe this Lake. Any word will fall short of capturing the beauty of the lake. With its clear blue water surrounded by barren high mountains and extending to quite a distance on one side, this can surely beat every scenery at beauty contest. Add to this the shadows cast on the mountains by clouds on the bright day, made the lake look even more dramatic. Till that day I never believed such a beautiful place existed. We stayed there for almost two hours. There was even boating conducted by Indian Army. But only for relatives of Army men. So we missed out on this.
So we left Pangong at 1:30 pm. While going back we stopped near Shey, so that our driver could smoke. There was a small fishery pond where lots of beautiful birds particularly ducks were present. We took some pics and some kids needed drop on the way back from school. So we gave them a drop till a nearby village on the way and reached hotel by 5:30. We went outside for food and came back. The plan for next day was to go to Khardung La and Nubra Valley. But as Akash was afraid to go to Khardung La because of respiratory problems at high altitude he was not willing to go. Also strangely, our driver was saying that if we cannot leave that next day to Srinagar we will not be able to reach Delhi by 29th. But on checking we came to the conclusion that we could reach delhi on time if we skipped a day in Srinagar. No way we were going to skip the chance to be on the one of the worlds highest passes after coming so close. Though we were not okay with leaving him and going to enjoy ourselves , so we tried to convince him to come, he was not ready to budge. So finally after much deliberations, we decided that Akash would stay in Leh while we go see Khardung La and Nubra Valley.
After next days plan was finalized we played Cards till midnight before going to sleep.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Day 5: TOW Leh
Day 5: 22nd September
Pang, the place where we had halted is at about 15500 ft above sea level. And the fact that 2 days ago we were practically in the plains, everyone had difficulty of coping with such high altitudes. Besides it was extremely cold. All of us were sleeping on bed but the bed was put on the floor, so the beds were very cold. Because the beds were very cold, I had lot of difficulty of sleeping, coupled with this I also had breathing problems in the middle of night. Whenever i had breathing problem, I used to sit upright and breath for a few times and again sleep. This happened for around 8-9 times throughout the night. I thought I was the only one to suffer, because no one else looked awake.
But at around 4:30 morning, Akash was having heavy breathing problem. He began to panic, and suddenly started saying " I cant breath" , "I am going to die" and loads of other hyperboles. Everyone of us was worried. We calmed him a bit, but still he had breathing problem. The other reason that we might have been having breathing problems could be seven of us were sleeping in the small tent. So akash wanted to go out of the tent, but it was cold outside too. He wanted someone to accompany him. But as soon as I sat up I was feeling tired. It was as if I had no energy to get up from that position. Others also sat up, but they were also tired to get up from that position. Somehow Mayur got up and took Akash outside, though Mayur also was feeling unwell from the day before itself. As soon as akash got outside he started feeling better. I was also not feeling well. All food that i had eaten came out. Akash insisted that we move out from such high altitude place as soon as possible. And everyone seconded it. By this time it was already 6:15 am. In all this only 2 people were totally unflustered, sunil and our driver Naeem. Everyone else was feeling unwell.
Immediately after we left, we came across a big army post. After that we came across one of the best part of the manali-leh highway, Morey plains. Its a vast plain land extending to 40 km at a height of 14000ft above sea level! This stretch of road is like a straight dirt racing track. On either side there are huge mountains only that they are almost 2 -10 kms apart. But everyone was tired and sleepy, so none had the courage to take photos, though this part of highway from Pang to Leh is also extremely breathtaking. I dont remember much of this part of journey, but with few glimpses I remember the morey plains and Tanglang La. Immediately after Morey plains, we came across Tangllang La Pass. This is the highest pass on this highway. We did not stop here, just passed through.
As we came near to Leh, the landscape started to change. There was a river flowing right next to the road. While description might sound same as Jispa, but here the river had cut right through high mountains and the mountains were rocky unlike the sand like nature of mountains in Jispa.
We came across first glimpses of villages after almost 300 kms of traveling. Also I was feeling better because we had descended to the more acceptable 10000ft range. At upshi we paid the taxes to enter Kashmir region and Surprisingly we reached Leh at around 12 o clock considering it was 200 km away from Pang. River Indus passes through Leh. Considering that it goes through barren land of ladakh, it is no surprise that it is muddy.
Reaching Leh at 12 o clock also saved a whole day for us. Because we had set aside 1 day in our itinerary, to get inner line permit to go to Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley, we could get these on the same day.
I was hungry as well as tired by the time we reached Hotel. Our driver knew a hotel, Hotel Abu Palace. So he took us there. The hotel was very good. And since it was off season, we got the rooms at a fraction of cost. Initially I think only we were the occupants. Only in the evening few more tourists came to the hotel.
There was a small restaurant nearby, we had rice there for lunch and came back to hotel and slept the till 7' o clock. I had a head ache from morning, after rest it had subsided. So we went out for Dinner. Though I do not remember what I ate.
Taxis from outside are not permitted inside leh region. So we had to hire a separate taxi here to go to Pangong lake and Nubra valley. The hotel proprietor itself owned taxis, so he himself arranged both taxis as well as inner line permit. So with everything in order for the next day and also with everyone back to full energies, we were looking forward to the next part. We played cards for some time before going to sleep.
Pang, the place where we had halted is at about 15500 ft above sea level. And the fact that 2 days ago we were practically in the plains, everyone had difficulty of coping with such high altitudes. Besides it was extremely cold. All of us were sleeping on bed but the bed was put on the floor, so the beds were very cold. Because the beds were very cold, I had lot of difficulty of sleeping, coupled with this I also had breathing problems in the middle of night. Whenever i had breathing problem, I used to sit upright and breath for a few times and again sleep. This happened for around 8-9 times throughout the night. I thought I was the only one to suffer, because no one else looked awake.
But at around 4:30 morning, Akash was having heavy breathing problem. He began to panic, and suddenly started saying " I cant breath" , "I am going to die" and loads of other hyperboles. Everyone of us was worried. We calmed him a bit, but still he had breathing problem. The other reason that we might have been having breathing problems could be seven of us were sleeping in the small tent. So akash wanted to go out of the tent, but it was cold outside too. He wanted someone to accompany him. But as soon as I sat up I was feeling tired. It was as if I had no energy to get up from that position. Others also sat up, but they were also tired to get up from that position. Somehow Mayur got up and took Akash outside, though Mayur also was feeling unwell from the day before itself. As soon as akash got outside he started feeling better. I was also not feeling well. All food that i had eaten came out. Akash insisted that we move out from such high altitude place as soon as possible. And everyone seconded it. By this time it was already 6:15 am. In all this only 2 people were totally unflustered, sunil and our driver Naeem. Everyone else was feeling unwell.
Immediately after we left, we came across a big army post. After that we came across one of the best part of the manali-leh highway, Morey plains. Its a vast plain land extending to 40 km at a height of 14000ft above sea level! This stretch of road is like a straight dirt racing track. On either side there are huge mountains only that they are almost 2 -10 kms apart. But everyone was tired and sleepy, so none had the courage to take photos, though this part of highway from Pang to Leh is also extremely breathtaking. I dont remember much of this part of journey, but with few glimpses I remember the morey plains and Tanglang La. Immediately after Morey plains, we came across Tangllang La Pass. This is the highest pass on this highway. We did not stop here, just passed through.
As we came near to Leh, the landscape started to change. There was a river flowing right next to the road. While description might sound same as Jispa, but here the river had cut right through high mountains and the mountains were rocky unlike the sand like nature of mountains in Jispa.
We came across first glimpses of villages after almost 300 kms of traveling. Also I was feeling better because we had descended to the more acceptable 10000ft range. At upshi we paid the taxes to enter Kashmir region and Surprisingly we reached Leh at around 12 o clock considering it was 200 km away from Pang. River Indus passes through Leh. Considering that it goes through barren land of ladakh, it is no surprise that it is muddy.
Reaching Leh at 12 o clock also saved a whole day for us. Because we had set aside 1 day in our itinerary, to get inner line permit to go to Pangong Lake and Nubra Valley, we could get these on the same day.
I was hungry as well as tired by the time we reached Hotel. Our driver knew a hotel, Hotel Abu Palace. So he took us there. The hotel was very good. And since it was off season, we got the rooms at a fraction of cost. Initially I think only we were the occupants. Only in the evening few more tourists came to the hotel.
There was a small restaurant nearby, we had rice there for lunch and came back to hotel and slept the till 7' o clock. I had a head ache from morning, after rest it had subsided. So we went out for Dinner. Though I do not remember what I ate.
Taxis from outside are not permitted inside leh region. So we had to hire a separate taxi here to go to Pangong lake and Nubra valley. The hotel proprietor itself owned taxis, so he himself arranged both taxis as well as inner line permit. So with everything in order for the next day and also with everyone back to full energies, we were looking forward to the next part. We played cards for some time before going to sleep.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Day 4: TOW only travel
Day 4: 21st September
Keylong was very cold. Thankfully the blanket was cozy and good enough to keep me warm. I had a good sleep. As we had reached Keylong late, I had not seen the surroundings. As i went upstairs, the beauty was simply awe inspiring. Keylong was at the foothills of huge mountains on either side. The mountains were covered with snow at the top and and small fields at the foothills up to our Hotel, one field right behind our hotel had cabbage.
As there was no chance of reaching Leh on the same day, we had 2 days to reach Leh, so a distance of around 430 km was to be covered in 2 days. So we had plenty of time to take it easy. So we had the luxury of sleeping till 7:30 a.m.
The Original plan included Tso Moriri and Tso Kar for which we had to take a detour. But as the plan had already been wrecked, we shelved the plan to go to these 2 lakes. Even by not going to these 2 lakes, we would be late by a day to reach Leh. So I was worried that we cannot reach Delhi on time.
There were only 2 or 3 tented accommodation from keylong to leh, - Jispa, Darcha, Sarchu, Pang, etc - with Darcha and Sarchu being too close from Keylong we had decided to halt at Pang, around 220 Kms away.
We checked out of the Hotel at 8:30 set towards Pang. Keylong to Jispa was around 21 km. It took us approximately 45 mins to reach Jispa and came across a Mosque or rather a small Praying ground. And a group of people were praying. As it was Eid-al-Fitr , we let our driver Naeem pray while we explored Jispa.
Jispa is a beautiful village at the foothill of the himalayan Mountains with a river also flowing right next to it. We stopped on the outskirts of the village and went to the bank of the river Bhaga. Though the river flow was high, as it was end of the summer , I guess the river was almost half as wide as it would be when the summer starts. We stayed here for almost 1 hour and started walking towards the town. Almost as soon as we entered the town, our driver came back and we again started traveling.
We had not done breakfast till 11 am. So as soon as we came to darcha we stopped there for breakfast. We ate Parathas and omlettes. Also our food supplies had depleted, so we refilled by buying junk food of about 700 rs. All the stuff we bought was overpriced 1.5 times the MRP. Understandable considering only tourists buy such stuff and the road is open only during summer time.
This day Mayur also was not feeling well, probably because we were traveling at such high altitude. The whole day we were consistently above 10000ft above sea level.
The Manali-Leh highway is maintained by Border roads organization. They have done a commendable job in keeping the road well maintained. Even some of the most busy roads in other parts of India are not well maintained as this one. Though this road opens only for 5-6 months in the year because of snow, it is very strategic considering it connects the border areas and are required to move the army.
Because the water at the top mountains melts in summer and the stream flows over road, the road gets washed away. Putting pipes under road for water to pass does not help because every year these small streams change their path. Add the land slides to this and the roads are in need of repair or are to be rebuilt every year. Because roads are repaired and rebuilt throughout the year, the travel speed is considerably lowered.
Majority of the day we spent going through brown barren mountains with some high mountains having snow at the top. When crossing these mountains, we came across snow. The whole day the atmosphere was chilly but with sun beating down on us.
At noon we came across deepak tal, a small stunning blue lake. The place was very refreshing. With two mountains on either side of lake and a snow covered peak visible between those two mountains directly behind the blue lake, it just looked unreal. With September last week being almost the end of tourist season, there were no other tourists apart from us.
Next we came across snow covered mountains. As soon as we came towards these mountains, we wanted to stop and play a bit in snow. But our driver was wary of these snow peaks because if the snow slides, we would get stuck over there with no one to help. We did not stop till we came across mountains which were not steep enough. We stopped at one of the places where there was less chance of snow sliding onto roads and played in snow and played for a while. Immediately after this stop, we came across snow covered barlach la Pass. Bhaga river that we came across in Jispa originates here as also the river chandra.
As we were moving at such high altitudes, even our vehicle started having breathing problems. So whenever we had a steep ascent, the vehicle- though would not breakdown- used to have problems with accelerating. So we stopped at lots of places on the road side, so that vehicle could get a breather. This only made the trip much more enjoyable. We used to just sit on the warm road, to get away from the freezing temperature.
At one point of time, we came across a stretch of road which was hardly a few 100 metres away from us, but to reach it we had go almost 10-15 kms because it was separated by a deep valley.
We reached sarchu at 4 pm and we had lunch here. If you think Sarchu and darcha are villlages, then you are totally wrong, these are just temporary settlements of hill people, who stay in tents and provide tourists with tents to stay and also serve food.
As there are no refueling stations on this highway for almost 400kms, we had got a 40 liter can filled with diesel. So we emptied the can into the fuel tank here.
We reached Pang at around 7:30. We ate Dinner in the tent. Pang was very cold at night, so cold that the chapatis that were being cooked, were getting cold the instant they were removed from the pan. So before eating we ourselves used to heat them and then eat. As it was the first we were sleeping in tent and also leh being only 200 kms away, everyone was excited. Little did we know what was to happen that night.
Keylong was very cold. Thankfully the blanket was cozy and good enough to keep me warm. I had a good sleep. As we had reached Keylong late, I had not seen the surroundings. As i went upstairs, the beauty was simply awe inspiring. Keylong was at the foothills of huge mountains on either side. The mountains were covered with snow at the top and and small fields at the foothills up to our Hotel, one field right behind our hotel had cabbage.
As there was no chance of reaching Leh on the same day, we had 2 days to reach Leh, so a distance of around 430 km was to be covered in 2 days. So we had plenty of time to take it easy. So we had the luxury of sleeping till 7:30 a.m.The Original plan included Tso Moriri and Tso Kar for which we had to take a detour. But as the plan had already been wrecked, we shelved the plan to go to these 2 lakes. Even by not going to these 2 lakes, we would be late by a day to reach Leh. So I was worried that we cannot reach Delhi on time.
There were only 2 or 3 tented accommodation from keylong to leh, - Jispa, Darcha, Sarchu, Pang, etc - with Darcha and Sarchu being too close from Keylong we had decided to halt at Pang, around 220 Kms away.
We checked out of the Hotel at 8:30 set towards Pang. Keylong to Jispa was around 21 km. It took us approximately 45 mins to reach Jispa and came across a Mosque or rather a small Praying ground. And a group of people were praying. As it was Eid-al-Fitr , we let our driver Naeem pray while we explored Jispa.
Jispa is a beautiful village at the foothill of the himalayan Mountains with a river also flowing right next to it. We stopped on the outskirts of the village and went to the bank of the river Bhaga. Though the river flow was high, as it was end of the summer , I guess the river was almost half as wide as it would be when the summer starts. We stayed here for almost 1 hour and started walking towards the town. Almost as soon as we entered the town, our driver came back and we again started traveling.
We had not done breakfast till 11 am. So as soon as we came to darcha we stopped there for breakfast. We ate Parathas and omlettes. Also our food supplies had depleted, so we refilled by buying junk food of about 700 rs. All the stuff we bought was overpriced 1.5 times the MRP. Understandable considering only tourists buy such stuff and the road is open only during summer time.
This day Mayur also was not feeling well, probably because we were traveling at such high altitude. The whole day we were consistently above 10000ft above sea level.The Manali-Leh highway is maintained by Border roads organization. They have done a commendable job in keeping the road well maintained. Even some of the most busy roads in other parts of India are not well maintained as this one. Though this road opens only for 5-6 months in the year because of snow, it is very strategic considering it connects the border areas and are required to move the army.
Because the water at the top mountains melts in summer and the stream flows over road, the road gets washed away. Putting pipes under road for water to pass does not help because every year these small streams change their path. Add the land slides to this and the roads are in need of repair or are to be rebuilt every year. Because roads are repaired and rebuilt throughout the year, the travel speed is considerably lowered.
Majority of the day we spent going through brown barren mountains with some high mountains having snow at the top. When crossing these mountains, we came across snow. The whole day the atmosphere was chilly but with sun beating down on us.
At noon we came across deepak tal, a small stunning blue lake. The place was very refreshing. With two mountains on either side of lake and a snow covered peak visible between those two mountains directly behind the blue lake, it just looked unreal. With September last week being almost the end of tourist season, there were no other tourists apart from us.
Next we came across snow covered mountains. As soon as we came towards these mountains, we wanted to stop and play a bit in snow. But our driver was wary of these snow peaks because if the snow slides, we would get stuck over there with no one to help. We did not stop till we came across mountains which were not steep enough. We stopped at one of the places where there was less chance of snow sliding onto roads and played in snow and played for a while. Immediately after this stop, we came across snow covered barlach la Pass. Bhaga river that we came across in Jispa originates here as also the river chandra.
As we were moving at such high altitudes, even our vehicle started having breathing problems. So whenever we had a steep ascent, the vehicle- though would not breakdown- used to have problems with accelerating. So we stopped at lots of places on the road side, so that vehicle could get a breather. This only made the trip much more enjoyable. We used to just sit on the warm road, to get away from the freezing temperature.
At one point of time, we came across a stretch of road which was hardly a few 100 metres away from us, but to reach it we had go almost 10-15 kms because it was separated by a deep valley.
We reached sarchu at 4 pm and we had lunch here. If you think Sarchu and darcha are villlages, then you are totally wrong, these are just temporary settlements of hill people, who stay in tents and provide tourists with tents to stay and also serve food.
As there are no refueling stations on this highway for almost 400kms, we had got a 40 liter can filled with diesel. So we emptied the can into the fuel tank here.
We reached Pang at around 7:30. We ate Dinner in the tent. Pang was very cold at night, so cold that the chapatis that were being cooked, were getting cold the instant they were removed from the pan. So before eating we ourselves used to heat them and then eat. As it was the first we were sleeping in tent and also leh being only 200 kms away, everyone was excited. Little did we know what was to happen that night.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Day 3: TOW Rohtang
Day 3: 20th September
The day started with a visit to the river side. But we could not find a way to the bank. We just stood there in the hotel and enjoyed the view. With a tall mountain on the other side of river and the early morning chirping, the surroundings was absolutely breathtaking. As the day wore on, the view would only get better.
So finally on the third day we woke up early and got ready on time. We left the hotel at around 6:30 in the morning. Manali was around 100 km from Mandi. On the way to Manali, with tall mountains on either side of road and a river flowing along the road with sparse hilly population, the land truly seemed heavenly. There were numerous waterfalls on the hill which made the whole scenery even more beautiful. We saw first signs of snow on the way, with coniferous forests at the top of hills.
We reached Manali at 10 am and had paratha for breakfast. We also did buy some winter clothing(read gloves, caps). The plan was always to leave Manali early in the morning because we had heard of the legendary traffic jams on the way to Rohtang pass. But considering that initial plan was completely thrown out of gear and we had reached Manali almost at noon, there was every chance we would get stuck at the traffic jam. We started the ascent at noon. Manali is at 6500 ft and rohtang Pass is at 13000 ft so it was a very steep ascent and with road distance of around 50 kms but the aerial distance is less than 15 kms away. On the way as there was heavy army traffic, we got stuck for around 45 mins and with traffic moving ever so slowly, we took almost 3:30 hours to reach rohtang. With clouds almost at our height and sun shining brightly with snow all around the view was amazing. The place where we had parked was quite far away from the place where we could find snow.
Before starting on expedition to explore rohtang pass, we had to have lunch. It was already late and everyone was very hungry. Each one of us ate 2 Maggis and lots of other junk food and started towards the pass.
Rohtang pass connects the kullu valley of manali with the lahaul and spiti valleys.
We had to climb a small mountain to reach snow. But to go into snow we did not have waterproof shoes. So we hired waterproof shoes. Initially we were skeptic about hiring the water proof shoes, but on hindsight that was the best decision we made on that day. Though the climb up the mountain was not long, it was quite tiring because of altitude. The temperature was quite low but the sun was also very harsh. So it was a new experience.
While climbing up the hill we found snow here and there in the shade of the rocks. As we reached the hill top, we could almost reach the clouds. and with snow capped mountains on one side and sun shining from the other side, the view was stunning.
We had to go quite a distance from the top of hill for snow. There was also skiing available there. So we skied there for an hour. It was first time skiing for all of us. It was simply too good. Almost all of us fell down while skiing for the first time and by the time we finished it was almost getting dark.
As it got dark and road was mountainous, it was a huge risk. But there was no other option but to go to Keylong. So we started towards Keylong. We reached Keylong at around 9 o'clock. The hotel was a pleasant surprise. Though it was small, it was very comfortable and good. We had food at the same hotel.
As we had descended from rohtang, the temperature was higher than rohtang but still cold.
This day was the real start of the trip. For the past 2 days, we were only traveling but no real sightseeing. But this day Rohtang pass was simply amazing and adventurous. For me this was one of the best days of the trip, though the fun started only in the afternoon at Rohtang pass. The skiing coupled with the amazing weather of cold and harsh sun made me a big fan of rohtang pass. The only complaint was we should have got more time to spend at rohtang pass. We had only stayed there for 2:30 hours
The day started with a visit to the river side. But we could not find a way to the bank. We just stood there in the hotel and enjoyed the view. With a tall mountain on the other side of river and the early morning chirping, the surroundings was absolutely breathtaking. As the day wore on, the view would only get better.
So finally on the third day we woke up early and got ready on time. We left the hotel at around 6:30 in the morning. Manali was around 100 km from Mandi. On the way to Manali, with tall mountains on either side of road and a river flowing along the road with sparse hilly population, the land truly seemed heavenly. There were numerous waterfalls on the hill which made the whole scenery even more beautiful. We saw first signs of snow on the way, with coniferous forests at the top of hills.
We reached Manali at 10 am and had paratha for breakfast. We also did buy some winter clothing(read gloves, caps). The plan was always to leave Manali early in the morning because we had heard of the legendary traffic jams on the way to Rohtang pass. But considering that initial plan was completely thrown out of gear and we had reached Manali almost at noon, there was every chance we would get stuck at the traffic jam. We started the ascent at noon. Manali is at 6500 ft and rohtang Pass is at 13000 ft so it was a very steep ascent and with road distance of around 50 kms but the aerial distance is less than 15 kms away. On the way as there was heavy army traffic, we got stuck for around 45 mins and with traffic moving ever so slowly, we took almost 3:30 hours to reach rohtang. With clouds almost at our height and sun shining brightly with snow all around the view was amazing. The place where we had parked was quite far away from the place where we could find snow.
Before starting on expedition to explore rohtang pass, we had to have lunch. It was already late and everyone was very hungry. Each one of us ate 2 Maggis and lots of other junk food and started towards the pass.
Rohtang pass connects the kullu valley of manali with the lahaul and spiti valleys.
We had to climb a small mountain to reach snow. But to go into snow we did not have waterproof shoes. So we hired waterproof shoes. Initially we were skeptic about hiring the water proof shoes, but on hindsight that was the best decision we made on that day. Though the climb up the mountain was not long, it was quite tiring because of altitude. The temperature was quite low but the sun was also very harsh. So it was a new experience.
While climbing up the hill we found snow here and there in the shade of the rocks. As we reached the hill top, we could almost reach the clouds. and with snow capped mountains on one side and sun shining from the other side, the view was stunning.
We had to go quite a distance from the top of hill for snow. There was also skiing available there. So we skied there for an hour. It was first time skiing for all of us. It was simply too good. Almost all of us fell down while skiing for the first time and by the time we finished it was almost getting dark.
As it got dark and road was mountainous, it was a huge risk. But there was no other option but to go to Keylong. So we started towards Keylong. We reached Keylong at around 9 o'clock. The hotel was a pleasant surprise. Though it was small, it was very comfortable and good. We had food at the same hotel.
As we had descended from rohtang, the temperature was higher than rohtang but still cold.
This day was the real start of the trip. For the past 2 days, we were only traveling but no real sightseeing. But this day Rohtang pass was simply amazing and adventurous. For me this was one of the best days of the trip, though the fun started only in the afternoon at Rohtang pass. The skiing coupled with the amazing weather of cold and harsh sun made me a big fan of rohtang pass. The only complaint was we should have got more time to spend at rohtang pass. We had only stayed there for 2:30 hours
Monday, December 14, 2009
Day 2: TOW Shimla
DAY 2 : 19th November
All the talk the night before meant nothing, the 5 am departure time turned into 7:30 am. More than 250 km to travel in hilly region coupled with sightseeing shimla, Manali by end of day was a distant dream.
We had stayed around 50 km away from shimla, at a place called Solan.
The thinking was that shimla(Kufri) would take an hour and a half to reach and 2 hours for sightseeing. But we reached kufri at 10:30 am although we did have breakfast on the way.
I had always imagined shimla to be cool and pleasant. But the season being what it was, shimla turned out to be hot and dusty. We rented horses to go up the hill of kufri, when we reached there it was just another undeveloped but heavily commercialized tourist spot with nothing to visit. Though I have heard when it snows in kufri, its usually a pleasant sight. But with no snow in sight, the visit to shimla was turning out to be boring. But the excitement of seeing apple gardens and the presence of yaks just made our day.
There were yaks on the hill. So that we could sit upon them get photos taken. The Yak owner had cowboy hats and a fake gun to pose for photos.
Everyone of us sat on the Yak and posed for the photos as bandits. It was immense fun.
Then from there we walked down to the apple gardens. We chit chatted there and returned back to the top of hill from where we took horse back to the Taxi. By this time it was already around 1 o clock and we left shimla for Manali.
But considering that we had left Shimla at 1 pm, we thought we will stay at Mandi instead of Manali, 100 kms behind manali. We stopped there early at around 8 pm. The hotel was actually a function hall turned motel. The rooms were quite big and comfortable and cheap.
The hotel was a bit outside the city. So after settling into room, we went for a walk towards city. The hotel was on the banks of a river and the city was on the other side. So we went till the bridge across the river which connected the city and came back. Then we had lots of food in the same hotel. Akash and few others also drank vodka.
We had taken 2 rooms, 1 with 4 beds and the other with 2. Adarsh and sunil slept in the 2 bed room and rest of us slept in 4 beds room.
All the talk the night before meant nothing, the 5 am departure time turned into 7:30 am. More than 250 km to travel in hilly region coupled with sightseeing shimla, Manali by end of day was a distant dream.
We had stayed around 50 km away from shimla, at a place called Solan.
The thinking was that shimla(Kufri) would take an hour and a half to reach and 2 hours for sightseeing. But we reached kufri at 10:30 am although we did have breakfast on the way.
I had always imagined shimla to be cool and pleasant. But the season being what it was, shimla turned out to be hot and dusty. We rented horses to go up the hill of kufri, when we reached there it was just another undeveloped but heavily commercialized tourist spot with nothing to visit. Though I have heard when it snows in kufri, its usually a pleasant sight. But with no snow in sight, the visit to shimla was turning out to be boring. But the excitement of seeing apple gardens and the presence of yaks just made our day.
There were yaks on the hill. So that we could sit upon them get photos taken. The Yak owner had cowboy hats and a fake gun to pose for photos.
Everyone of us sat on the Yak and posed for the photos as bandits. It was immense fun.
Then from there we walked down to the apple gardens. We chit chatted there and returned back to the top of hill from where we took horse back to the Taxi. By this time it was already around 1 o clock and we left shimla for Manali.
But considering that we had left Shimla at 1 pm, we thought we will stay at Mandi instead of Manali, 100 kms behind manali. We stopped there early at around 8 pm. The hotel was actually a function hall turned motel. The rooms were quite big and comfortable and cheap.
The hotel was a bit outside the city. So after settling into room, we went for a walk towards city. The hotel was on the banks of a river and the city was on the other side. So we went till the bridge across the river which connected the city and came back. Then we had lots of food in the same hotel. Akash and few others also drank vodka.
We had taken 2 rooms, 1 with 4 beds and the other with 2. Adarsh and sunil slept in the 2 bed room and rest of us slept in 4 beds room.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Day 1: TOW Delhi
DAY 1 : 18th November 2:30 am
Me, akash, daya and Mayur had planned to leave to delhi on 18th november. Thankfully our tickets were on Air India and not Jet(coz for a few days before 18th , jet pilots were on strike).
We left to Airport at around 3:30 am. and reached Delhi at 10 a.m
Adarsh and Sunil had already reached Delhi( he had come from his native place). He had also picked the vehicle and came to the airport to pick us up. From airport we reached the vehicle owners office and paid advance, picked some food, picked an empty can for diesel and left Delhi at around 1 o clock. The initial plan was to reach Manali by night. But considering that we left Delhi at 1 and Manali was around 530 Kms away, it was a long way off. So instead of staying somewhere on the road to Manali, we decided to take a detour and stay at Shimla. We had a wonderful lunch at a roadside dhaba.
The only thing I remember on this day of travel was that we stopped in the evening to buy some fruits
and later that night bui, mayur and akash bought beer. Until then everybody was asleep since no one had a sound sleep previous night.
At around 9:30 we realized we were still around 50km short of shimla and thought we will halt somewhere nearby. So the next town we encountered was Solan and on the outskirts we found a hotel and decided to stay there.
It was a strange hotel. The reception was at top floor and two floors down we had our rooms and the rooms were quite awful but we had no option but to stay there. We had food at the same place.
Since on the very first day the whole plan got changed(Shimla instead of Manali), now we had to decide how to tweak the plan. The discussion went nowhere and the only thing we decided was we will get up at 5 in the morning so that we can reach manali next day early.
Me, akash, daya and Mayur had planned to leave to delhi on 18th november. Thankfully our tickets were on Air India and not Jet(coz for a few days before 18th , jet pilots were on strike).
We left to Airport at around 3:30 am. and reached Delhi at 10 a.m
Adarsh and Sunil had already reached Delhi( he had come from his native place). He had also picked the vehicle and came to the airport to pick us up. From airport we reached the vehicle owners office and paid advance, picked some food, picked an empty can for diesel and left Delhi at around 1 o clock. The initial plan was to reach Manali by night. But considering that we left Delhi at 1 and Manali was around 530 Kms away, it was a long way off. So instead of staying somewhere on the road to Manali, we decided to take a detour and stay at Shimla. We had a wonderful lunch at a roadside dhaba.
The only thing I remember on this day of travel was that we stopped in the evening to buy some fruits
and later that night bui, mayur and akash bought beer. Until then everybody was asleep since no one had a sound sleep previous night.At around 9:30 we realized we were still around 50km short of shimla and thought we will halt somewhere nearby. So the next town we encountered was Solan and on the outskirts we found a hotel and decided to stay there.
It was a strange hotel. The reception was at top floor and two floors down we had our rooms and the rooms were quite awful but we had no option but to stay there. We had food at the same place.
Since on the very first day the whole plan got changed(Shimla instead of Manali), now we had to decide how to tweak the plan. The discussion went nowhere and the only thing we decided was we will get up at 5 in the morning so that we can reach manali next day early.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Cropped and resized on the fly
It was always going to be a tough ask to cover so many places in 12 days. In addition to that we had planned a few places like Srinagar and Amritsar without time for sightseeing.
So heres how it turned out to be
Day1 Friday, September 18, 2009
Left bangalore in morning for Delhi
Left Delhi for Shimla
Stayed in Solan
Day2 Saturday, September 19, 2009
Left Solan for Manali via Shimla.
Sightsee Shimla, Stayed at Mandi
Day3 Sunday, September 20, 2009
Left Mandi for Keylong,
Visit Manali and Rohtang pass on the way. Stayed at Keylong
Day 4 Monday, September 21, 2009
left Keylong for Leh.
Stayed at Pang.
Day 5 Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Left Pang for leh
Stayed at Leh
Day 6 Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Left leh for Pangong Tso via Chang La and return
Stay at Leh
Day 7 Thursday, September 24, 2009
Left leh for Hundar via Khardung La and Nubra valley
Stayed at Leh
Day 8 Friday, September 25, 2009
Left for Srinagar.
Stayed at Srinagar
Day 9 Saturday, September 26, 2009
Visit gulmarg and dal lake.
Stayed at Srinagar
Day 10 Sunday, September 27, 2009
Left Srinagar for Amritsar
Stayed at Amritsar
Day 11 Monday, September 28,
Sightseeing Amritsar
Stayed at ludhiana
Day 12 Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Left Ludhiana for Delhi
Flew back to Bangalore
So heres how it turned out to be
Day1 Friday, September 18, 2009
Left bangalore in morning for Delhi
Left Delhi for Shimla
Stayed in Solan
Day2 Saturday, September 19, 2009
Left Solan for Manali via Shimla.
Sightsee Shimla, Stayed at Mandi
Day3 Sunday, September 20, 2009
Left Mandi for Keylong,
Visit Manali and Rohtang pass on the way. Stayed at Keylong
Day 4 Monday, September 21, 2009
left Keylong for Leh.
Stayed at Pang.
Day 5 Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Left Pang for leh
Stayed at Leh
Day 6 Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Left leh for Pangong Tso via Chang La and return
Stay at Leh
Day 7 Thursday, September 24, 2009
Left leh for Hundar via Khardung La and Nubra valley
Stayed at Leh
Day 8 Friday, September 25, 2009
Left for Srinagar.
Stayed at Srinagar
Day 9 Saturday, September 26, 2009
Visit gulmarg and dal lake.
Stayed at Srinagar
Day 10 Sunday, September 27, 2009
Left Srinagar for Amritsar
Stayed at Amritsar
Day 11 Monday, September 28,
Sightseeing Amritsar
Stayed at ludhiana
Day 12 Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Left Ludhiana for Delhi
Flew back to Bangalore
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Engineering the trip
The planning started almost 2 months before the start date. Initially we had thought of going only to ladakh for 7 days. But later we changed duration to 12 days and planned to visit whole of kashmir. As 21st and 28th of september 2009 were holidays, we had to plan accordingly to go during these days. This would require us to take leave for only 6 days. This was because there was another long weekend during plan was to utilize the holidays that were
We had to be atleast 6 people to make the trip cost effective. Me , bui, akash and adarsh were in . So we had to find atleast 2 more people. Mayur was in Canada, so we hadnt asked him. He agreed immediately as soon as he came to know. Then adarsh's cousin also wanted to come.
So within 4-5 days , the group was decided.
Then came the most tricky part: getting leave from office. With Akash and Adarsh planning to go home after trip, getting 15-18 days of leave was always going to be a hurdle. Eventually we convinced our manager to give us long holiday. But 20 days before the trip, everyone's team got changed. We were apprehensive about our managers canceling the leaves but thankfully that did not happen.
Transportation was the next thing we had to solve. Most of our friends had been to leh by bike, but going on a bike would be too tiring. So we decided on hiring a taxi from delhi. So after days of searching travel agent from internet and calling them up, we decided on the person who offered cheapest fare. Plane tickets were done a month before. We had booked the tickets around a month back for to and fro. Me, bui and mayur were to return together on 29th september while adarsh and akash would return on 4th of october.
According to our estimate, the journey would be of around 3500 km.
We had always thought of booking the hotels beforehand but it never materialized.
While planning we referred 2 books. 1 of them was driving holidays in the himalayas by koko singh. This one mainly covers Ladakh region and is quite comprehensive. The book also has a map of ladakh region.
We had to be atleast 6 people to make the trip cost effective. Me , bui, akash and adarsh were in . So we had to find atleast 2 more people. Mayur was in Canada, so we hadnt asked him. He agreed immediately as soon as he came to know. Then adarsh's cousin also wanted to come.
So within 4-5 days , the group was decided.
Then came the most tricky part: getting leave from office. With Akash and Adarsh planning to go home after trip, getting 15-18 days of leave was always going to be a hurdle. Eventually we convinced our manager to give us long holiday. But 20 days before the trip, everyone's team got changed. We were apprehensive about our managers canceling the leaves but thankfully that did not happen.
Transportation was the next thing we had to solve. Most of our friends had been to leh by bike, but going on a bike would be too tiring. So we decided on hiring a taxi from delhi. So after days of searching travel agent from internet and calling them up, we decided on the person who offered cheapest fare. Plane tickets were done a month before. We had booked the tickets around a month back for to and fro. Me, bui and mayur were to return together on 29th september while adarsh and akash would return on 4th of october.
According to our estimate, the journey would be of around 3500 km.
We had always thought of booking the hotels beforehand but it never materialized.
While planning we referred 2 books. 1 of them was driving holidays in the himalayas by koko singh. This one mainly covers Ladakh region and is quite comprehensive. The book also has a map of ladakh region.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Proposed Trip itinerary
We read a lot of blogs, bought a few books and planned the trip. In the end though we had to make changes,but we saw almost 90% of the places
Day1 Friday, September 18, 2009
Leave from bangalore in morning to Delhi
Leave Delhi to Manali
Stay in Mandi
Day2 Saturday, September 19, 2009
Leave Mandi to Manali.
Sightsee Manali
Day3 Sunday, September 20, 2009
Leave to Leh and stay in Sarchu
Visit Rohtang pass on the way.
Day 4 Monday, September 21, 2009
Leave Sarchu to Tso Moriri via Lachung La, Tso Kar and Tso Kiagar
Stay at Tso Moriri
Day 5 Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Leave Tso Moriri to Leh via Tanglang La
Stay at Leh
Day 6 Wednesday, September 23, 2009
visit Leh and near by places, arrange passes for Nubra valley and pangong lake
Day 7 Thursday, September 24, 2009
Leave leh to Pangong Tso via Chang La and return
Stay at Leh
Day 8 Friday, September 25, 2009
Leave leh to Hundar via Khardung La and Nubra valley
Stay at Hunder
Day 9 Saturday, September 26, 2009
Leave Hunder to srinagar
Stay somewhere in between
Day 10 Sunday, September 27, 2009
Reach Srinagar
Day 11 Monday, September 28, 2009
Leave Srinagar for Amritsar
Sight seeing and stay Amritsar
Day 12 Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Leave Amritsar for Delhi
Leave Delhi for Bangalore
Day1 Friday, September 18, 2009
Leave from bangalore in morning to Delhi
Leave Delhi to Manali
Stay in Mandi
Day2 Saturday, September 19, 2009
Leave Mandi to Manali.
Sightsee Manali
Day3 Sunday, September 20, 2009
Leave to Leh and stay in Sarchu
Visit Rohtang pass on the way.
Day 4 Monday, September 21, 2009
Leave Sarchu to Tso Moriri via Lachung La, Tso Kar and Tso Kiagar
Stay at Tso Moriri
Day 5 Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Leave Tso Moriri to Leh via Tanglang La
Stay at Leh
Day 6 Wednesday, September 23, 2009
visit Leh and near by places, arrange passes for Nubra valley and pangong lake
Day 7 Thursday, September 24, 2009
Leave leh to Pangong Tso via Chang La and return
Stay at Leh
Day 8 Friday, September 25, 2009
Leave leh to Hundar via Khardung La and Nubra valley
Stay at Hunder
Day 9 Saturday, September 26, 2009
Leave Hunder to srinagar
Stay somewhere in between
Day 10 Sunday, September 27, 2009
Reach Srinagar
Day 11 Monday, September 28, 2009
Leave Srinagar for Amritsar
Sight seeing and stay Amritsar
Day 12 Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Leave Amritsar for Delhi
Leave Delhi for Bangalore
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