7th August: The day broke a bit late for us. The view from the room was astonishing. The far away snow clad mountains were inviting me for a trek... but...

My health was much better than yesterday so we freshened fast and left for site seeing.  We hired moped from another guy who had a shop right opposite our guest house.  Stanzin Tolden is a friendly young lad from a small village 80 km from Leh. We also asked Stanzin to arrange for a shared taxi to Pangong Tso next day. He let us the moped which already had a bit of fuel in it. Yet, we filled additional fuel worth Rs. 300. And sped fast to Spituk. On the way, we checked Hall of Fame, which is open till 7 PM every day.   

Spituk Gompa is said to be the traditional seat of HH Dalai Lama(s). So, I actually wanted to walk from Leh. We had to be careful with utilization of time hence chose to ride the moped. On our way, we saw a group of cyclists pedalling all the way to Spituk. (I was so jealous.)

After Spituk, we decided to head more towards west. On the way, an army officer stopped us. I was a bit tensed as my driving license was misplaced right before this trip and very shamelessly I had forgotten my PAN Card at the Hotel at Manali. They had stopped us to drink some “Abhishek” water. That rose flavored water-sherbet was much needed at that point of the day. Then, at the turn ahead the Army has put a hoarding of “Indus View”. The river looked brilliant from this point.

A few kilometres ahead of this is a gurudwara – Guru Pather Sahib. When we got there, it was well past lunch time but langhar was open as it always is. The officers of the Army Unit which takes care of this Gurudwara were everywhere.  After a long time, I was at a gurudwara. After praying, I headed towards the Langar Hall. They serve with so much respect that you can’t resist eating at a langhar.

It was early afternoon and we made our way to Hall of Fame. This museum – exhibition of achievements and gallantry of Army left me spell-bound. The stories of valour and heroism, the engineering miracles... Hats off to Indian Army. 

One wall post caught my attention and I was speechless. It was a post from October 2011; Indian Army had facilitated a Formula One car run at Khardung La, the highest Motorable Pass. OMG!!! They are fabulous, best in the world perhaps.  Another Army Unit is Border Roads Organization (BRO) ,  they call themselves “Mountain Tamers”. Trust me, they are “THE Mountain Tamers”. They had won a fan for themselves way back in July 2009, this time the fan became a die hard one.  

Post this, we returned to Leh. Praj was a bit tired, so she decided to head back to the guesthouse and after dropping her I decided to ride towards East.  First I rode to Thiksey Gompa. The Thiksey Monastery houses a Maitreya Statue of 12 meters height.  The serenity at Thiksey Gompa helped me gain control of myself again. (It was about time.) After seeing other halls, finally I went to see the Maitreya. The beauty of this statue is beyond words. 

From Thiksey, I went to Shey Palace and Monastery. Once upon a time, Shey was a royal home. Now, it houses only the Buddha Statue which is like 3 storeys high.  There isn’t  much to see here. I wanted to see the palace, but there were only ruins.

I climbed a bit but when I saw the mountain top still far away, I settled for what I had achieved so far.

Shanti Stupa 

When I returned, Praj was waiting for me. As advised by Stanzin, we went to Shanti Stupa in evening. The glitter sparkling all over Leh reminded me of my first sight of Simla city. It was probably not the right time, but I missed my dad.

When we were returning the bike, Stanzin informed us that he had arranged for the shared taxi the next day. So, that was great news for a heavenly evening.  We also requested him to get us shared taxis to Nubra Valley and Tso Moriri as well. We informed him, we wanted to go rafting as well. Again the dinner time at Woodland. (We rarely ate at any other place.)   

We were damn excited for next day... We were going to Pangong Tso.   

8th August: The day began too early for a late riser in me. We got into Innova and went ahead in city, first one to be picked up was Heiko, a German fellow. Later, it was Rohith from Varangal and Lalit Banglore. So a troop of 5 set for a drive to Pangong. Our driver, Zulfi was also a cute young boy.

At Karu, we took our first break for tea & breakfast. Aloo paratha served with Rajma and curd was something perfect on a morning like this. Now on our way to Pangong, we drove past Serthy, where BRO houses their oldest office.

Now, I was feeling something... Oops... I forgot my motion sickness tablet... So it was clear that entire day I am going to be in bad shape. “Sorry guys” is all I could think of...  

Soon we were at Chang La.  This pass is also well above than 5000 mtrs.  Me and Praj were discussing about Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS)...  Was it AMS or was it Motion Sickness... I don’t know... But whatever it was, it was killing my joy...

Rohith, Lalit and Prajakta tried their hand at DJing on the way. They also roped in Heiko in playing songs from his cell.

Few kilometres away we were near Pangong Tso. The first glimpse of this lake was like a trailer of a box office hit movie. We were on the road that runs on the bank of this lake. I almost begged to Zulfibhai,

“Please please let me drive. May be just for a kilometre, but please let me drive.” 

And... He actually stopped the car at a point, turned to me and asked,” Are you sure you want to drive?” What else I could have asked for on that day.  I got my first ever chance to drive in the Himalayas. I was so happy, so proud... The mighty Himalayas said they have accepted me as theirs... This was THE DAY of my life. It is like my life has changed forever. I belong somewhere... I belong to the Himalayas. I belong to someone... ... I belong to the Himalayas.

Now, we were at the bank of the Pangong Tso. This lake is like mini high altitude sea. We drove further, and now the shooting point.  Finally, we are near the water. It was so peaceful, perhaps it was the effect of yesterday’s visit to Thiksey. I felt so calm, at a moment I was scared to handle my inner peace.

All of us had some special photo sessions. Time flew fast. In a blink, it was lunch time.  We went to a nearby shack and had food. It was probably best cup of coffee I ever had.  Rohith also tried his hand at driving in Himalayas on our way to the shack.

Zulfibhai is one skilled driver, I must say. He drove with so much care yet with good speed. Soon we were back in Leh. Once at Stanzin’s office, we inquired if five of us could do go rafting next day.  He was arranging for Nubra Valley for Praj and me.  We requested if we could back out. It was a bad thing yet  we requested.  Praj told me that if he is unable to manage, we will have to go to Nubra valley. I was ok with this as I sincerely did not want any bad business name for this kind guy.

At 8:30, the dinner table at Woodlands (Yes, again at Woodlands), my phone rang... Seeing Stanzin’s number, I was nervous. It was like my school results were being declared. I answered and without any games he informed I have managed the thing and you can go rafting the next day. (Seriously, this was my day.)

Post dinner, we all retired to our respective guest houses. I was so excited for next day’s rafting trip that I even dreamt about it.

9th August: It was a happy morning for this late riser. We got into the bus, I already had taken my motion sickness tablet. I was a bit dizzy, but since the Himalayas had accepted me just previous day, it was a good drive.

We drove past the Gurudwara, then the magnetic hill, then the confluence of Zanskar and Indus at Nimmu.  Now, the Zanskar river on our left side. That patch of river which we would be rafting. Rohith had his eyes fixed on the river. I was still dizzy.

Then, some 2 hours later we reached Chilling. Changed into wetsuits and attended the briefing by our instructor. There was a elderly French couple, the man kept translating the instructions for his lady. The love of this couple was very touching.  All you need is perhaps the hand to hold when you are old.

So the rafts were allotted, we were given a separate raft. Rafting through Zanskar, a high altitude Himalayan river itself is an achievement. Again the peace... Like I am finding pieces of my heart and joining them back... Like nothing ever happened. 

At places the river flows with such a pace that you think you are going to fall out of raft. At times, the flow is so peaceful that you can view the banks, the road on the banks... There weren’t marbles but for a split second I felt I was at Bedaghat on a coracle ride. This lasted for 25 kms, we were rafting for some 4 hours before we got to the confluence.

Now, the Indus River. Rafting in Indus was a herculean task. The River has a slow pace, winds were flowing in reverse direction. We could see our camp nearby yet   it took long 30 minutes for us to raft there.

Once at camp, we changed, and had some real good food. On our way back, the bus was quiet as almost everyone was really tired. But at Magnetic hill, I requested our driver to stop for few minutes. I got couple of snaps and we were back on our way to Leh.

Five of us decided to have a dinner, for a change at some different place. This restaurant was chosen by Rohith and Lalit.

On the way, Praj looked for some T-shirts. And I was still excited cause we were going to Nubra valley the next day.  The camel with two hunches (Bactrian Camel) kept chasing a Formula One car in the Sand at Khardung La  all night.

Like every Year, Youth Hostels rolled out The yearly program brochure. Me being a mountain person, was (again) fascinated by Valley of Flowers. Friends from all over the country were also pitching in and the long distance calls of long durations were added to my schedule. Hence, soon the date was fixed and tickets were booked. Then...

Like every year, Valley of Flowers got cancelled (7th of July) (for 3rd consecutive year) and I was (again!) in middle of nowhere to go. This is when buddy called and said she wanted to go to Ladakh at least once before she gets married. So all the inquiries begaun, we had less than a month to prepare. But when the first quote came in and I was already dead looking at the figure (50K per head) quoted. A new business on its brim, few old loans to be paid... No, this cannot happen, I can't afford a trip to Ladakh is what I informed her.

Ladakh has been a long long cherished dream, something like 15 years or so... I wanted to push my limits. And give it a try. I was looking for cheaper options to reach there. Manali to Leh taxi (for two), the quote on Government's website was an expensive affair. Suddenly, a friend, who had travelled to suggested we could take bus from Manali, some other experienced people said, "NO!". Deadlock!!!

Bus from Manali... Hmmm... Let me search... Website - Devil on Wheels came to rescue. I found a comfortable bus from Himachal Tourism. Jackpot!!!

Travel cost to Leh was cut down by 90%! Ticket included stay and dinner and breakfast. Bigger Jackpot!!! So, we cancelled the train to Haridwar and zeroed down on Leh and booked tickets on the Himachal Tourism's website.

Devil on Wheels also suggested that there were guesthouses which provided cheap accommodation. But, me the one who generally follows “the costlier the better” was undecided about such accommodation. Yet, I had a handful guesthouses listed (Well! Well!)

The time passed rapidly during online searches, calls and the notes. And soon, it was 3rd August! I was a bit nervous. (The Pune airport is a bit far away from my home.) Praj had booked a auto for us to take there. I dropped Riki to his hostel and reported at Praj's place at 6:15 AM. I am sure she too was a bit nervous as I was a bit late. We reached airport in time and they consficated my lighter! (First Dash, very upset!)

We got into the flight and dozed off. When my eyes opened, we were about to land in the Capital.

We had booked a semi-sleeper from Delhi to Manali, which was to leave RK Ashram Metro station at 4:30 PM, so we had something like 5 hours in between. I had already done a bit of homework and wanted to visit Jantar Mantar and a few other sites. But the scorching humid weather and Prajakta gave me option of seeing only one site, I chose Jantar Mantar. (Last year, I had visited Jantar Mantar at Jaipur and got a few more sites added to my wish list).

We left the luggage at the Cloak Room of New Delhi Metro Station and went on with our odyssey to Jantar Mantar. The Local bus ticket of Rs 5 per head was a big big surprise to me.

The Jantar Mantar at Delhi wasn't a soothing at all. It was rather disheartening to the current state of this Heritage. (Dash two - my mood is further mellowed) The scorching heat and humid weather almost killed me. We soon got into a restaurant and had lunch, Post lunch, instead of torturing ourselves anymore, we went straight back to New Delhi Metro Station and reclaimed the luggage. We were heading to regular metro station to go to RK Ashram Metro station, this is when, I see a HUGE rush at the ticket counter, I turned to Prajakta and asked, "can’t we just take an auto to RK Ashram Metro station?”. Her reply was instant, "Sure, we can." (Sigh of relief, it was).

So were at RK Ashram Metro station gate 3 at about 3:30 PM. So, there was almost one hour to go before the bus would leave. We decided to relax at a park for a while, which offered pretty good shade. The sun had hit me by now and all I wanted was to get into the bus and doze. I took my (first) motion sickness prevention medication. (This trip has been all about motion sickness!)

After a long wait, finally at 5:30 the bus arrived, we boarded and the bus started... A well dressed guy approached with a tab in his hand, he gave some info of some blah blah application, I was so impressed that I forgot about my motion sickness instantly and hired the tab for viewing some documentaries. But as the bus started, I was visited my old friend (Headache due to heat) and soon I had keep the Tab away and sleep. It was at Ambala, that Praj woke me and I forced myself to eat.

Post dinner, I took another medication for headache and dozed off, next thing I recollect was something like 1:30 AM and the bus had stopped for some quick break... I turned my head and slept off... Then it was about 7:30, and we were in between Mandi and Manali alongside river Beas. It was a soothing site for sleepy eyes.

So the date was 4th August and we were in Manali. The Taxi drivers haunted us, but when we told them, we had further bookings made for departure to Leh their interest in taking us anywhere had dropped beyond our expectations. We cracked a deal of Rs. 100 to take us to some random Hotel near the bus stand.

The hotel was not something for up to the mark, but was ok to complete the morning chores. In less than 2 hours we were again in another bus which left on time from Mall Road in Manali and the feat began. In about 20 mins we were out of Manali town and into the Greater Himalayas. Then the first halt was at Marhi, first glimpse of snow... After long long 2 and half years... Slowly, I was getting back to life. Then Rohatang La (Pass), I was back there after 19 long years. Everything about me has changed these 2 decades. Yes, the time flies fast. Then another halt at Khoksar, next one at Sissu and then Tandi. We reached Keylong at about 6 in the evening. Freshned quickly and went for a small walk nearby.

The town Keylong, is a sweet little town – cum-village. There are several guest houses and couple of monasteries. Both the monasteries are located somewhere uphill, hence we dropped the plan to visit them and chose to chit-chat with co-travelers. Nishat aka Ana from Kolkata, my favourite metro. ( Not really favorite, but the only metro after Mumbai that I know well.) Then, Momo from Japan and Shimena from Mexico. It was a brief introductory chitchat and exchange of some travel stories. Then the dinner and then the much needed sleep. ( Technically, Keylong(3080 Mtrs)  is only 500 mtrs lower than Leh(3500 Mtrs) from sea level altitudes so say it was a acclimatization sleep.)

5th August, we left Keylong at 4:30AM. The attendant must have been happy that everyone had obeyed his previous day’s instruction. The travel continued, and we kept fighting to keep our eyes open. ( Motion sickness tablet, you know). The bus driver kept halting at various places and the attendant kept giving brief description of the place. Jispa, Darcha, ZingZingbar, Baralacha La, Sarchu, Pang, Tanglang La, Rumptse… We had some tea at Sarchu and some noodles at Pang. Then at Upshi I had a omlette and tea and then came, Karu. The military area of Karu was fascinating. Praj even read some milestone that said Lhasa & Beijing. Suddenly it occurred to me that we were much near Indo-China Border. After a journey almost 13 hours, we reached Leh at about 5:30 in the evening.

The taxi drivers didn’t haunt us here but they were available. I had called couple of guesthouses from Keylong the previous day, and we decided to head to Asia Guest House on Changspa Road. Kunzes, is a sweet young lady in the twenties and she showed us around. The room which was available did not have a attached toilet & bath but it was right next door and more importantly it did not stink. The rent was Rs.500 a day. We took the room, cleaned up and headed out to market in search of glorious food.

We had dinner at Woodland in lower Changspa and all we could think was sleep. I woke up with a upset tummy sometime during midnight and knew it was effect of untimely and untidy diet. I took required medication and unsuccessfully tried to sleep again.

6th August: At about 7:30 AM, we went to the restaurant next door and had Black Coffee with lemon. I decided to fast that day. (Langhan-This is an Indian way of dealing with dysentery.) I was determined with targets of the day and was ready to risk my health. We prepared some ORS and left for market. We hired a moped and decided to go to East of Leh.

The Dancers at Sakthi Monastery

The Homework had indicated a festival at Sakthi Monastery to celebrate Guru Rinpoche’s Birthday. So we headed to Sakthi, the vehicle was in such a bad condition that it drank petrol like a thirsty man and the fuel indicator was on reserve mark already. We had travelled barely 50 kms for Rs.300. I was surprised with this performance. But, we had to ignore this and we went to the Monastery, the Buddhist followers were everywhere. They prayed at the monastery and amused themselves funfair. At the other end of the fair, there was a tent with some people performing traditional dance. It was a feat to watch them. By the time we reached there, it was about lunch time and we could only catch a glimpse of the dance.

Sakthi Monastery 

On our way back, we visited Chemrey Monastery and the fuel tank was almost dry. There was a tar road to the monastery, but I decided to be a bit adventurous and climbed the hill. The monk at this monastery was a soft spoken young man who also guided us about places to see in the monastery. We purchased couple of postcards before we left.

Way to Chemrey Monastery

Once at Karu, we picked up a bottle of Minute Maid and water and went a few kilometers towards Leh to get some more fuel from the petrol pump. Once the tank was refilled, we made our way to Hemis Monastery. The largest and richest monastery of Ladakh was a worthy place for all the efforts. We went to the museum and the souvenir’s shop and picked up a few more post cards and some other souvenirs. The ride back to Leh was most hilarious part of the day. The bike was perhaps never serviced! We somehow reached Leh and handed over the bike to its owner. He gave excuses like its high altitude and blah blah… We had our points for counter arguments but there was no point in discussing further.

Post this, we went to Woodlands and had dinner and retired to the guest house.

Hemis Monastery - Panoramic View