TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 12. Scorching under the sun even at 2500 meters. But loving it.
26th May 2010, Wednesday.
Route : Srinagar to Pathankot via Udhampur. 385 Kms.
Woke up to another wonderful day in Srinagar and we all had caught up with the deficit by now. After a leisurely shower and a lavish breakfast at Raghvendra and Rakhi’s, our ever gracious hosts, we left Srinagar at 10.10 am, with Shekhar at the wheel. It was a great feeling to be back in shorts and T’s.
Most of the drive was through hills and we had to be vary of traffic jams and hold ups. We would be crossing Udhampur and Patni top. Jammu would be by passed as we would take the second part of the fork after entering Udhampur right next to the fuel station.
The drive was good in terms of the road but the traffic was extremely heavy and we had to negotiate some jams and holdups which put us behind the clock by almost an hour. After about 90 kms at Banihal, Vijay took over from Shekhar and it got hotter as we descended. It was now almost 42 deg C, and although the Fortuner was comfortable and chilled with the effective front and rear air conditioning. At around 2.30, we stopped at a JKTDC restaurant at Ram Baan, for a very basic lunch. The heat was at its sweltering best and we felt the blast each time we stepped out of the car.
Nisheeth was behind the wheel now and with his hourly stops reasonably reduced to longer intervals ( perhaps the weather had a part to play, rather than his intake of water), so it was smooth sailing. In fact, we had a consensus over the fact that Nisheeth had been the most accommodating out of all of us and we would even constitute and present him with an award! We crossed Kudh and some very green and red Anardana fields which blended beautifully with the lush green stretches which accompanied usWe highly recommend Kudh for a good break for anything if it is enroute as the infrastructure there is better than most places around. We stopped at a cute Dhaba, New Greenland, for our favorite Chai and Onion Pakoras.
We took the road to Sambha from Udhampur as planned and the track was picturesque with wild life protection measures taken all along the route. It was getting to be dusk and as we reached Sambha, Nisheeth handed over the wheel to me. AS we hit Sambha, the highway construction activity put paid to our intentions to reach earlier. The J & K roads were pitiful, especially near the border checkpost. When we reached the toll gate on the J& K and Punjab border, Vijay opened the window and asked the man incharge to pay us Rs 1000/- instead of charging us toll, for suffering the pain of traveling on roads that did not apparently exist. The hung jaw of the guy said it all. He then smiled and understood what we were trying to get at and told us he was just doing his job and sympathized with us.
It was dark now and we finally entered Pathankot city through the Cantonment, at about 9 pm. We were booked at Hotel Venice in the heart of the city which although a decent hotel was located close to the railway station and the approach was painful thanks to closed railway crossing. But Post a quick meal in the restaurant in the Hotel and were ready to go to bed. The next day was another long stretch to Chandigarh and getting hotter. We were lucky to have been away from these oppressive temperatures, but had to acclimatize again.
With Vijay ( Jahanpanah)and Nisheeth in their eternal role of the chaperone and chaperoned, constantly creating the lighter moments, it was on a happy note that we said our good nights. Some shopping at Ludhiana was also in store as was the famed Lassi that had been eluding Nisheeth. So Chandigarh here we come. We had kept an extra day at the Taj in Chandigarh ( also our co-sponsors in through their Vivanta brand) so we could catch up with some sleep as well.
Signing off. Catch you in and enroute to Chandigarh!
En Route in Hodal
Rajasthan Royals? Ready for the home stretch.
En Route to Pangong
At Changla Pass almost 17500 ft. the Third highest in the world.
En Route in leh
Testing the Magnetism of the foursome?!
En Route to Leh
Driving and living on the edge!
En Route from Leh to Kargil
The Colours that never cease to fascinate!
En Route to Pangong
Finding Alternate Routes
Sunny Toyota Lucknow
enroute pictures
connected always - wordsmith
enroute picture
dhabba lunch - kashmiri style
enroute pictures
kashmir valley - taking our breath away
enroute pictures
valley view break - on way to srinagar
enroute pictures
connected with uninor ready for day 3
enroute pictures
backing up at nirulas pathankot
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Day 11. Tough on us, but we made it across the Dzo Zila pass and to Srinagar. Warm weather was welcome too!
TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 11. Tough on us, but we made it across the Dzo Zila pass and to Srinagar. Warm weather was welcome too!
25th May 2010, Monday.
Route : Kargil to Srinagar via Drass and and Sonamarg.
We were up at 1.30 am and departed from Kargil at around 3 am. Barely having slept for 3 hours we were like zombies but raring to negotiate this crucial stretch across the Dzo Zila pass. Which had a been closed for 5 days when we had come up the same way.
It is a pity that the timings for traffic to and from Sonamarg are not part of standard tourist information in Hotels in Leh as it could leave people stranded in Kargil or Drass since hotel availability is limited.
Tip: Must find out about these traffic ‘release’ timings since these keep changing and on a particular day ( Friday as was told to us), the road is closed for maintenance.
I took the Steering wheel to start with. The road from Kargil to Drass was also in pitiable condition towards the approach to Drass in particular and we reached around 5 am, at the crack of dawn, soon after the traffic had been released and had to be content with following some of the trucks and buses. Shekhar was driving and we managed to overtake a few and with cold temperatures of as low as 6 deg C, we climbed and negotiated the Dzo Zila pass and down into the valley en route to Sonamarg.
We entered Sonamarg at around 8 am for a welcome toilet and breakfast break of freshly cooked Masala Omlettes and toasted bread, sitting in the very pleasant outdoors, in the lawns of Snowland Hotel. Everything seemed so familiar around , obviously. But it was a relief that we were headed in the opposite direction. The weather was holding and it was nice, bright and sunny as Vijay took over the wheel at around 9 am. We were now headed for Srinagar via Gund and some small Kashmiri villages along the Sind river. Srinagar was 85 kms away and would take around three hours now.
An hour and a half later Nisheeth took over for the last stretch and just about 30 kms short of Srinagar we had a flat tyre again. Dunlop tyres licked by a sharp pebble again. Point to note for Toyota. Fortunately again, we had a Tyre repair shop close at hand and we spent 20 minutes getting the job done. At 12.30 we were in Srinagar, dying to bathe and sleep. Vijay had organized another guest house and we just crashed out after lunch. Vijay’s brother in law who had been our gracious hosts when we were stuck on our way up, invited us over for drinks in the evening and we all had a wonderful time together. Relaxed and refreshed. Later we invited them for a meal at the famed Arabica restaurant in the Broadway Hotel for some char grilled platters which tasted heavenly. We turned in by 11 pm and had to prepare for the journey ahead, the next day, to Pathankot, a 10 hour 385 km stretch.
What was welcome was the warmer temperatures in Srinagar and the fact that our mobile signals were back! And believe it or not, so were the MISSed calls! Nisheeth logged in half a dozen starting with the first as we approached Srinagar. And the mystery just deepened, and so did our amusement. By now our hosts had also become accustomed to the fun element that followed Nisheeth and were equally amused.
The Fortuner was sent for a clean up job to a local service station after a thorough mud pack treatment received from its journey from Leh. It looked spanking clean and pretty too! So we parked her after refueling and gave her a well deserved rest. The plan to leave the next day at around 10 am and arrive in Pathankot by 9 pm or so. Sleep overcame us as we hit the sack.
Day 11. Tough on us, but we made it across the Dzo Zila pass and to Srinagar. Warm weather was welcome too!
25th May 2010, Monday.
Route : Kargil to Srinagar via Drass and and Sonamarg.
We were up at 1.30 am and departed from Kargil at around 3 am. Barely having slept for 3 hours we were like zombies but raring to negotiate this crucial stretch across the Dzo Zila pass. Which had a been closed for 5 days when we had come up the same way.
It is a pity that the timings for traffic to and from Sonamarg are not part of standard tourist information in Hotels in Leh as it could leave people stranded in Kargil or Drass since hotel availability is limited.
Tip: Must find out about these traffic ‘release’ timings since these keep changing and on a particular day ( Friday as was told to us), the road is closed for maintenance.
I took the Steering wheel to start with. The road from Kargil to Drass was also in pitiable condition towards the approach to Drass in particular and we reached around 5 am, at the crack of dawn, soon after the traffic had been released and had to be content with following some of the trucks and buses. Shekhar was driving and we managed to overtake a few and with cold temperatures of as low as 6 deg C, we climbed and negotiated the Dzo Zila pass and down into the valley en route to Sonamarg.
We entered Sonamarg at around 8 am for a welcome toilet and breakfast break of freshly cooked Masala Omlettes and toasted bread, sitting in the very pleasant outdoors, in the lawns of Snowland Hotel. Everything seemed so familiar around , obviously. But it was a relief that we were headed in the opposite direction. The weather was holding and it was nice, bright and sunny as Vijay took over the wheel at around 9 am. We were now headed for Srinagar via Gund and some small Kashmiri villages along the Sind river. Srinagar was 85 kms away and would take around three hours now.
An hour and a half later Nisheeth took over for the last stretch and just about 30 kms short of Srinagar we had a flat tyre again. Dunlop tyres licked by a sharp pebble again. Point to note for Toyota. Fortunately again, we had a Tyre repair shop close at hand and we spent 20 minutes getting the job done. At 12.30 we were in Srinagar, dying to bathe and sleep. Vijay had organized another guest house and we just crashed out after lunch. Vijay’s brother in law who had been our gracious hosts when we were stuck on our way up, invited us over for drinks in the evening and we all had a wonderful time together. Relaxed and refreshed. Later we invited them for a meal at the famed Arabica restaurant in the Broadway Hotel for some char grilled platters which tasted heavenly. We turned in by 11 pm and had to prepare for the journey ahead, the next day, to Pathankot, a 10 hour 385 km stretch.
What was welcome was the warmer temperatures in Srinagar and the fact that our mobile signals were back! And believe it or not, so were the MISSed calls! Nisheeth logged in half a dozen starting with the first as we approached Srinagar. And the mystery just deepened, and so did our amusement. By now our hosts had also become accustomed to the fun element that followed Nisheeth and were equally amused.
The Fortuner was sent for a clean up job to a local service station after a thorough mud pack treatment received from its journey from Leh. It looked spanking clean and pretty too! So we parked her after refueling and gave her a well deserved rest. The plan to leave the next day at around 10 am and arrive in Pathankot by 9 pm or so. Sleep overcame us as we hit the sack.
Day 10.Homeward bound. Dissapointed that the Manali route was closed.
TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 10. Homeward Bound. Disappointed that Manali was closed
24th May 2010, Sunday.
Route : Leh to Kargil.
It was a short and sweet end to our short stay at Leh. Having lost two and a half days waiting at Sonamarg our options in Leh were cut short drastically. The Manali route being closed due to inclement weather was a dampener, as I had mentioned earlier and our side trips to Khardungla Pass and Tso Moriri had to be abandoned due to bad weather but we had been fortunate as Changla was closed soon after we came through. Both Pangong and other locations to sights around were cut off as well. We tried to extend our stay to catch up with what we could not cover but no rooms were available anywhere. Having said our goodbyes to our spouses who left at 9am, after a hearty breakfast together, we also left for Kargil.
To make a change in our route to Kargil, we opted for another route via Batalik along the Indus river. Our first concern was to cross the Dzo Zila pass and reach Sonamarg. Moreover we did not have a Hotel booking at Kargil and Shekhar had made some calls to get one. We had to wait, for the same to be confirmed.
It was a wonderful sunny day and the first stretch out of Leh had Nisheeth on the wheel. The roads leading us out were four laned flatland as mentioned before and we stopped a half hour later at the famed ‘Magnetic Hill’ where gravity is defied. A square which is painted on the middle of the highway marks the spot where, if one were to leave the car/vehicle in neutral, would experience a movement UPWARDS on the incline, defying gravity! We did just that but not before placing a half full bottle of water on the square to confirm that the ‘incline’ was not an optical illusion. Our Fortuner touched a speed of 60 km as we rolled on to the incline and as the road dipped, we sped. It was a unique experience alright.
Just a few kilometers on to the Batalik route, we noticed a cluster of rock formations on our right which glistened in the sun. These were obviously geological marvels, looking polished and lacquered and again a deft display of God’s artistic prowess. Soon after, 45 km from Leh and 15 km from Saspol on our new route, we were enthralled and mesmerized by the terrain that we saw. As we sidetracked of the road, we soaked in the view, all 360 degrees of it. On one side we could see the magnificent snow capped Himalayan range, and on the other, a stretch of stone mountains, in hues of brown and burnt sienna each block further streaked in mauves, pinks, greens and more. It was a sight to behold and we silently stood there and soaked it all in. Then, still spellbound, we took pictures which somehow would never convey the emotions generated by the landscape around us. There is no doubt in the fact that every stretch of road and turn exposes God’s handiwork in all its splendour and a million pictures would not do justice to what the eyes can see and convey to those rose bushes in the barren terrain laden with healthy, beautiful and fragrant flowers. These sporadic bouquets added a mystical tinge of color to what the eyes could behold.
The road was decent in comparison to the treacherous track we had traversed, coming up to Leh. I took over the wheel from Nisheeth at around 12.30. We crossed several army battalions and Border Police posts where TCP’s were placed for security reasons in this sensitive and porous area lining the borders.
Tip: It is advisable to take a Tourist permit from Leh when traveling on unconventional routes as we had taken.
We climbed up and down several mountains and kept marveling at the sudden change of terrain every few minutes. There were stretches of emerald green crops step farmed and patches of brilliant yellow mustard which looked refreshingly wonderful too.
At around 2 pm, after having covered 110 kms, I handed the wheel to Shekhar at a place called Skurbachan, just after Dunkar village. By now our appetites were also getting the better of us and we stopped at some small villages to check out some eating place. At a village called Alchani, we stopped again and were told to go further to the next village as it was touching 3 pm. However we spotted some bananas at the shop, we stopped to ask and decided to buy some to at least get a filler snack. The bananas were more than welcome as we were famished and more so because we bought them at Rs 60/- a dozen!
The next village was encouraging as we were directed to a roadside place run by a family with two tables in a small but warm surroundings. The place was right next to a Hydro electric dam project up stream and as we went over a bridge next to the restaurant we saw an incredible sight…..the merging or sangam of two rivers, the Indus and the Zanskar.
The restaurant had momo’s on their limited menu and our mouths watered at the thought. Our joy, however was short lived when the lady who ran the place, told us, she was sold out. But seeing our plight she offered to give us a Maggi masala concoction with tomatoes and onions, followed by some well brewed tea. We were satiated and on our way again at 3.45 pm. Phone signals were non existent, with BSNL waking up to connectivity, here and there. We were now about 70 odd kms from Kargil and still waiting for a Hotel confirmation. At around 4 pm, with Vijay now at the wheel, as we crossed some more fascinating vistas of the Himalayas at 4000 meters, BSNL started to appear. We checked about our Hotel booking and were told there was no room available in Kargil for the night. Vijay then made some calls to Srinagar to get some alternative options and we managed to get a guest house accommodation with meal service and this was a big relief.
As we approached Kargil, the road deteriorated and despite the fancy claims of BRO and BEACON, the Border Road Organizers and contractors, the condition was deplorable. We finally made it to Kargil at around 7 pm after refueling on the outskirts and moved to the guest house. We enquired about the road conditions and were surprised to hear that there was a fixed time for traffic to be released from Drass, for Sonamarg which incidentally was 4 am tomorrow. Kargil to Drass was a two hour drive which meant we had to leave at 2 am or so. We had little choice since the later we left, the more the chances of our getting stuck behind heavy vehicle traffic. This can be very painful on a single track road such as the one between Drass and Sonamarg.
After a hearty meal of Chicken, rice, vegetables and daal, we turned in early only to be up at 1.30 am.
Day 10. Homeward Bound. Disappointed that Manali was closed
24th May 2010, Sunday.
Route : Leh to Kargil.
It was a short and sweet end to our short stay at Leh. Having lost two and a half days waiting at Sonamarg our options in Leh were cut short drastically. The Manali route being closed due to inclement weather was a dampener, as I had mentioned earlier and our side trips to Khardungla Pass and Tso Moriri had to be abandoned due to bad weather but we had been fortunate as Changla was closed soon after we came through. Both Pangong and other locations to sights around were cut off as well. We tried to extend our stay to catch up with what we could not cover but no rooms were available anywhere. Having said our goodbyes to our spouses who left at 9am, after a hearty breakfast together, we also left for Kargil.
To make a change in our route to Kargil, we opted for another route via Batalik along the Indus river. Our first concern was to cross the Dzo Zila pass and reach Sonamarg. Moreover we did not have a Hotel booking at Kargil and Shekhar had made some calls to get one. We had to wait, for the same to be confirmed.
It was a wonderful sunny day and the first stretch out of Leh had Nisheeth on the wheel. The roads leading us out were four laned flatland as mentioned before and we stopped a half hour later at the famed ‘Magnetic Hill’ where gravity is defied. A square which is painted on the middle of the highway marks the spot where, if one were to leave the car/vehicle in neutral, would experience a movement UPWARDS on the incline, defying gravity! We did just that but not before placing a half full bottle of water on the square to confirm that the ‘incline’ was not an optical illusion. Our Fortuner touched a speed of 60 km as we rolled on to the incline and as the road dipped, we sped. It was a unique experience alright.
Just a few kilometers on to the Batalik route, we noticed a cluster of rock formations on our right which glistened in the sun. These were obviously geological marvels, looking polished and lacquered and again a deft display of God’s artistic prowess. Soon after, 45 km from Leh and 15 km from Saspol on our new route, we were enthralled and mesmerized by the terrain that we saw. As we sidetracked of the road, we soaked in the view, all 360 degrees of it. On one side we could see the magnificent snow capped Himalayan range, and on the other, a stretch of stone mountains, in hues of brown and burnt sienna each block further streaked in mauves, pinks, greens and more. It was a sight to behold and we silently stood there and soaked it all in. Then, still spellbound, we took pictures which somehow would never convey the emotions generated by the landscape around us. There is no doubt in the fact that every stretch of road and turn exposes God’s handiwork in all its splendour and a million pictures would not do justice to what the eyes can see and convey to those rose bushes in the barren terrain laden with healthy, beautiful and fragrant flowers. These sporadic bouquets added a mystical tinge of color to what the eyes could behold.
The road was decent in comparison to the treacherous track we had traversed, coming up to Leh. I took over the wheel from Nisheeth at around 12.30. We crossed several army battalions and Border Police posts where TCP’s were placed for security reasons in this sensitive and porous area lining the borders.
Tip: It is advisable to take a Tourist permit from Leh when traveling on unconventional routes as we had taken.
We climbed up and down several mountains and kept marveling at the sudden change of terrain every few minutes. There were stretches of emerald green crops step farmed and patches of brilliant yellow mustard which looked refreshingly wonderful too.
At around 2 pm, after having covered 110 kms, I handed the wheel to Shekhar at a place called Skurbachan, just after Dunkar village. By now our appetites were also getting the better of us and we stopped at some small villages to check out some eating place. At a village called Alchani, we stopped again and were told to go further to the next village as it was touching 3 pm. However we spotted some bananas at the shop, we stopped to ask and decided to buy some to at least get a filler snack. The bananas were more than welcome as we were famished and more so because we bought them at Rs 60/- a dozen!
The next village was encouraging as we were directed to a roadside place run by a family with two tables in a small but warm surroundings. The place was right next to a Hydro electric dam project up stream and as we went over a bridge next to the restaurant we saw an incredible sight…..the merging or sangam of two rivers, the Indus and the Zanskar.
The restaurant had momo’s on their limited menu and our mouths watered at the thought. Our joy, however was short lived when the lady who ran the place, told us, she was sold out. But seeing our plight she offered to give us a Maggi masala concoction with tomatoes and onions, followed by some well brewed tea. We were satiated and on our way again at 3.45 pm. Phone signals were non existent, with BSNL waking up to connectivity, here and there. We were now about 70 odd kms from Kargil and still waiting for a Hotel confirmation. At around 4 pm, with Vijay now at the wheel, as we crossed some more fascinating vistas of the Himalayas at 4000 meters, BSNL started to appear. We checked about our Hotel booking and were told there was no room available in Kargil for the night. Vijay then made some calls to Srinagar to get some alternative options and we managed to get a guest house accommodation with meal service and this was a big relief.
As we approached Kargil, the road deteriorated and despite the fancy claims of BRO and BEACON, the Border Road Organizers and contractors, the condition was deplorable. We finally made it to Kargil at around 7 pm after refueling on the outskirts and moved to the guest house. We enquired about the road conditions and were surprised to hear that there was a fixed time for traffic to be released from Drass, for Sonamarg which incidentally was 4 am tomorrow. Kargil to Drass was a two hour drive which meant we had to leave at 2 am or so. We had little choice since the later we left, the more the chances of our getting stuck behind heavy vehicle traffic. This can be very painful on a single track road such as the one between Drass and Sonamarg.
After a hearty meal of Chicken, rice, vegetables and daal, we turned in early only to be up at 1.30 am.
Snow-clad Fortuner
Sheep, snow, brook
Pangong in the morn
Pangong Lake with its pristine blue colour
On the way to Pangong
Hmm.....
Inside Leh City Palace Temple
The Indus
A beautiful patch of water on the way back to Leh
Thicksey Monastery
Alchi- Ladakh's oldest monastery, built in 1100 AD
A view of the Indus from Alchi Monastery
Lamayuru Monastery
Stuck in an army convoy on the way to Lamayuru
Moonscape at Lamayuru- a 100 km or so from Leh
Temple at Likir Monastery
A statue of Buddha at Likir Monastery
Confluence of rivers Indus and Zanskar
Friday, May 28, 2010
Day 8 and 9. Mesmerized and Floored by God's Artistry....A truly unforgettable experience!
TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 8 and 9. The Rest of it.
A Truly Unforgettable Experience
22nd and 23rd May 2010, Saturday and Sunday.
Place : Pangong and Leh
Sorry for the gap in the post but had been totally disconnected at Pangong and have been on the move since, with timings that were crazy and locations that did not allow me to use the Internet.
Nonetheless, to continue from where I left off.
After the forced refuge from the sudden change in weather, while we were soaking in the Pangong views, we settled down with some amazing tea and pakoras. The Dining hall in the tent was cozy and the weather improved with the winds receding. The temperature however was close to 3 degrees Celcius and the wind chill made it feel like -2 degrees C.
We somehow made it to our tents to freshen up and settle down. There was no water at that time and what had been provided in buckets was bone chilling. Having said that, the spirits were high and with spouses and friends who had flown all the way from Lucknow to cheer our adventurous effort, had us in good spirits.
We headed back to the Dining tent and cozied up to enjoy some drinks and snacks. Dinner was about to be served, and we decided to start a game of Antakshar. The Leh Jayenge team with the rest. It was us five ( including Jayant, from Lucknow) against the 7 ladies. For some strange reason, N.K chose to be a fence sitter and was neither here nor there! While he took his time to figure things out, we began and were shooting songs in response, quite easily. V.S and J.K being our star singers. When things had started to warm up, some more residents of the camp walked in to join us. They were from Delhi, Gujrat and Maharashtra and we all introduced ourselves. The ladies ( about 6 of them) outnumbered us as only two men from their group came over to our side. The three Gujrati girls however were just too good and we were playing catch up now. What followed was a medley with quips and remarks that had us all in splits. We finally gave up as the ladies deserved to win and dinner was announced. It was fun while it lasted.
The dinner was simple but very camp like and we were hungry. After dinner again, since it was too cold to do anything, we just continued with some request numbers for the start singers to sing and they did so with élan. It was getting late so we bade good night to each other and with most of us not having the courage to change or get out of whatever warm stuff we were wearing, slept as we were as the cold breeze rattled our tents and the wind whistled in through the crevices and slits in the tent. It was an enjoyable though not very comfortable experience, but we slept the night away.
Dawn in these parts is early and at 5.30, heads peered out of some tents to see the magical sunrise followed by the changing colors of the lake as the suns rays danced on the terrain and the lake. Those who captured all this on camera as we did, cannot possibly capture the emotions generated by God’s canvas of creation that we all experienced. It was truly breathtaking and an experience none of us will ever forget.
The weather was perfect and the sun shone bright. We had planned to leave by 9 am after breakfast and tea and we did, since bathing in these conditions was out. We took some packed lunch boxes and all other residents also ready to say good bye to this glorious destination.
The convoy, lead by the Fortuner left and were again witness to the awesome terrain which we traversed back. Less than a couple hours later we were stopped by the TCP at Tangsey, having been told that Changla Pass which we had to negotiate and had done yesterday, was blocked due to heavy snow which had fallen early morning. The pass was a few kilometers from Tangsey so we anxiously waited, with many others. The weather was turning bad abut soon the sun was up again bringing some relief.
Two hours later they let us go and sure enough, in a few minutes the Fortuner had successfully crossed the snow bound patch. The other vehicles following us including the ones with our spouses and friends, stalled as one of them had started to slip in the fresh and soft snow. However with the help of some other taxi drivers who were stuck behind us, we heaved and pushed the vehicle out and were soon at Changla Pass again. Thereafter the path was snow free so we moved on. Late in the evening we were back at the comfortable Grand Dragon Hotel and after a long shower, assembled in the lounge common to our floor, to share the day’s experiences. N.K as usual was being naughty and turned up with a part of a trouser leg missing! After the laugh riot and some drinks and snacks, we headed for the dining room to have the buffet dinner laid out for us. Food was average and we were all tired and hungry. The next morning we all had to leave. Our spouses for Delhi by air and we on our Fortuner, The Manali route being closed ( which was a terrible blow and disappointing), we decided to take a route via Kargil, Drass, Srinagar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Hodal and back, in 5 days. We said our good byes and were on our way, having tanked up. We had to reach Kargil by sun down as we intended to take an alternate route from the one taken on our way up.
It was a nice bright sunny day and as we checked the average Diesel consumption of our vehicle it turned out that we were maintaining an average of between 8 and 9 km/liter. This was contrary to advice from leh veterans who claimed that the rarified air increases consumption of Diesel substantially. Maybe our car got gradually acclimatized too…………just as we did!!!!!!! We were just hoping that the roads have been cleared for traffic and we got the news from the local Taxi stands nearby, that the route had been open so we rushed on our way.
In the meanwhile with N.K’s spouse overly concerned over his well being for the rest of the trip, asked us to look after him, and V.S. volunteered. So while V.S took over chaperoning duties for N.K. and Shekhar for V.S, I was left holding the laptop so I could write all about this. More later as we progress.
Till then, bear with me as I have some interesting side shows to talk about. Day 10 had begun.
Day 8 and 9. The Rest of it.
A Truly Unforgettable Experience
22nd and 23rd May 2010, Saturday and Sunday.
Place : Pangong and Leh
Sorry for the gap in the post but had been totally disconnected at Pangong and have been on the move since, with timings that were crazy and locations that did not allow me to use the Internet.
Nonetheless, to continue from where I left off.
After the forced refuge from the sudden change in weather, while we were soaking in the Pangong views, we settled down with some amazing tea and pakoras. The Dining hall in the tent was cozy and the weather improved with the winds receding. The temperature however was close to 3 degrees Celcius and the wind chill made it feel like -2 degrees C.
We somehow made it to our tents to freshen up and settle down. There was no water at that time and what had been provided in buckets was bone chilling. Having said that, the spirits were high and with spouses and friends who had flown all the way from Lucknow to cheer our adventurous effort, had us in good spirits.
We headed back to the Dining tent and cozied up to enjoy some drinks and snacks. Dinner was about to be served, and we decided to start a game of Antakshar. The Leh Jayenge team with the rest. It was us five ( including Jayant, from Lucknow) against the 7 ladies. For some strange reason, N.K chose to be a fence sitter and was neither here nor there! While he took his time to figure things out, we began and were shooting songs in response, quite easily. V.S and J.K being our star singers. When things had started to warm up, some more residents of the camp walked in to join us. They were from Delhi, Gujrat and Maharashtra and we all introduced ourselves. The ladies ( about 6 of them) outnumbered us as only two men from their group came over to our side. The three Gujrati girls however were just too good and we were playing catch up now. What followed was a medley with quips and remarks that had us all in splits. We finally gave up as the ladies deserved to win and dinner was announced. It was fun while it lasted.
The dinner was simple but very camp like and we were hungry. After dinner again, since it was too cold to do anything, we just continued with some request numbers for the start singers to sing and they did so with élan. It was getting late so we bade good night to each other and with most of us not having the courage to change or get out of whatever warm stuff we were wearing, slept as we were as the cold breeze rattled our tents and the wind whistled in through the crevices and slits in the tent. It was an enjoyable though not very comfortable experience, but we slept the night away.
Dawn in these parts is early and at 5.30, heads peered out of some tents to see the magical sunrise followed by the changing colors of the lake as the suns rays danced on the terrain and the lake. Those who captured all this on camera as we did, cannot possibly capture the emotions generated by God’s canvas of creation that we all experienced. It was truly breathtaking and an experience none of us will ever forget.
The weather was perfect and the sun shone bright. We had planned to leave by 9 am after breakfast and tea and we did, since bathing in these conditions was out. We took some packed lunch boxes and all other residents also ready to say good bye to this glorious destination.
The convoy, lead by the Fortuner left and were again witness to the awesome terrain which we traversed back. Less than a couple hours later we were stopped by the TCP at Tangsey, having been told that Changla Pass which we had to negotiate and had done yesterday, was blocked due to heavy snow which had fallen early morning. The pass was a few kilometers from Tangsey so we anxiously waited, with many others. The weather was turning bad abut soon the sun was up again bringing some relief.
Two hours later they let us go and sure enough, in a few minutes the Fortuner had successfully crossed the snow bound patch. The other vehicles following us including the ones with our spouses and friends, stalled as one of them had started to slip in the fresh and soft snow. However with the help of some other taxi drivers who were stuck behind us, we heaved and pushed the vehicle out and were soon at Changla Pass again. Thereafter the path was snow free so we moved on. Late in the evening we were back at the comfortable Grand Dragon Hotel and after a long shower, assembled in the lounge common to our floor, to share the day’s experiences. N.K as usual was being naughty and turned up with a part of a trouser leg missing! After the laugh riot and some drinks and snacks, we headed for the dining room to have the buffet dinner laid out for us. Food was average and we were all tired and hungry. The next morning we all had to leave. Our spouses for Delhi by air and we on our Fortuner, The Manali route being closed ( which was a terrible blow and disappointing), we decided to take a route via Kargil, Drass, Srinagar, Pathankot, Chandigarh, Hodal and back, in 5 days. We said our good byes and were on our way, having tanked up. We had to reach Kargil by sun down as we intended to take an alternate route from the one taken on our way up.
It was a nice bright sunny day and as we checked the average Diesel consumption of our vehicle it turned out that we were maintaining an average of between 8 and 9 km/liter. This was contrary to advice from leh veterans who claimed that the rarified air increases consumption of Diesel substantially. Maybe our car got gradually acclimatized too…………just as we did!!!!!!! We were just hoping that the roads have been cleared for traffic and we got the news from the local Taxi stands nearby, that the route had been open so we rushed on our way.
In the meanwhile with N.K’s spouse overly concerned over his well being for the rest of the trip, asked us to look after him, and V.S. volunteered. So while V.S took over chaperoning duties for N.K. and Shekhar for V.S, I was left holding the laptop so I could write all about this. More later as we progress.
Till then, bear with me as I have some interesting side shows to talk about. Day 10 had begun.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Day 8. Romancing the Pangong Tso .........and the Spouses!
TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 8.
Romancing Pangong Tso ( Lake)………and the Spouses
22nd and 23rd May 2010, Saturday and Sunday.
Place : Leh-Pangong-Leh
Hey guys, its good to be back and communicado. Our arrival at Leh early in the morning was a reunion of sorts with the painful wait at Sonamarg. We all knocked on the rooms of our respective spouses and yelled ‘Tea madam, room service’. At 5 am this would have been normally an irritating call so we were fortunate the calls were answered with warm welcome hugs, except Vijay who got a curt ‘ I don’t want tea at this time’! But on second thoughts he got his welcome hug too!
After a much needed three hours of sleep, and a hearty breakfast we were all set to keep our date with Pangong Tso ( lake) the highest salt water lake which stretches for 135 kms, a third of which is in India and the rest in China. Two Taxis and our Fortuner with its mud pack still intact and purring like a dream headed for Pangong at 11.30 am. The route was via Durbuk, ChangLa ( Pass), Tangsey. A total distance of 150 kms, one way. Having heard so much about this one of a kind destination and seen a glimpse of this nature’s marvel in the movie ‘3 Idiots’, we were eager to get there asap.
None of us fortunately felt any altitude related symptoms as we had been religiously taking our ‘ Diamox’ and of course acclimatizing as we ascended. The unscheduled stay at Sonamarg at 2950 meters for two and a half days, perhaps helped.
It was a beautiful and sunny day, around 17 degrees and sunny. Sandwiches were packed and the convoy of three vehicles stopped at a TCP ( Tourist Check post) to log our departure. The gentleman at the post insisted that we must have chains as there was likely to be fresh snow at Changla Pass at over 5300 meters. I was driving the Fortuner on this leg and insisted that we be allowed as we had a all time four wheel drive with options for an additional low and high 4 WD. Somehow he allowed us through, though reluctantly.
The terrain to Changla was a combination of rubble mountains, barren glory of the flatlands, snow capped Himalayas as a backdrop and the ever changing colours of the slate, stone and mineral rich mountains. The soil that was gravel like suddenly changed to very fine and soft sand and back again. One could only marvel at natures bounty that was strewn around in its opulence.
Two hours later we stopped just past Durbuk for a photo session with the spouses. We were climbing now and the drive was getting more interesting and the weather colder. An hour later we were at the third highest pass in the world, Changla, at 5380 meters, surrounded by snow. The temperature was 3 degrees Celcius so we had enough time for a 10 minute photo session before we were on our way, through snow lined roads, gleaming and stark white on all sides. Such conditions necessitate the need to wear UV protection eyewear.
The Fortuner just didn’t feel a thing. At any point and had covered every terrain with consummate ease.
Just 10 odd kilometers and downhill, we crossed the village of Tangsey after negotiating another TCP. An hour later, the road suddenly roughened and single tracked. The terrain became sandy again and the mountains changed colours again. Just then we got a distant glimpse of Pangong lake. The view was truly mesmerizing with a turquoise patch that is so Pangong.
Ten minutes later we were there……..truly breathless at a height of 4000 meters plus, watching shades of Turquoise and pink changing with the movement of the sun’s rays and the clouds. Words cannot describe the expanse of this 135 km long wonder of the world. The salt water lake, the highest in the world, had the clearest blue water I have ever seen. The surrounding terrain just enhanced the magnificence that is Pangong!
The approach to our camp, the Watermark camp was a rocky one as there was really no road and we had to traverse more than a km of pebbled and stones, almost like going over a river bed. The camp, on the banks of Pangong lake was more than picturesque and we just devoured the surroundings in every possible way with whatever equipment we had. It was too good to be true! It was almost sunset now and we couldn’t take our eyes off the view, literally, with popping eyeballs.
While we all sat on the banks of the lake, we saw a cloud of snow building up at one end. A snow blizzard was almost in the offing and the wind picked up speed, blowing our headgear away and sending a chill up our spines. We quickly headed back to the safety of our tents. As the evening set in, we decided to freshen up and meet again in the Dining area ( also a tent of course) for hot chai and pakoras!
Am signing off for the day and will get back with more as I may be disconnected from the Internet for a day or two, while on the move.
Till then savour the pictures that will keep you abreast with all that’s happening with us! Loving every minute!
Day 8.
Romancing Pangong Tso ( Lake)………and the Spouses
22nd and 23rd May 2010, Saturday and Sunday.
Place : Leh-Pangong-Leh
Hey guys, its good to be back and communicado. Our arrival at Leh early in the morning was a reunion of sorts with the painful wait at Sonamarg. We all knocked on the rooms of our respective spouses and yelled ‘Tea madam, room service’. At 5 am this would have been normally an irritating call so we were fortunate the calls were answered with warm welcome hugs, except Vijay who got a curt ‘ I don’t want tea at this time’! But on second thoughts he got his welcome hug too!
After a much needed three hours of sleep, and a hearty breakfast we were all set to keep our date with Pangong Tso ( lake) the highest salt water lake which stretches for 135 kms, a third of which is in India and the rest in China. Two Taxis and our Fortuner with its mud pack still intact and purring like a dream headed for Pangong at 11.30 am. The route was via Durbuk, ChangLa ( Pass), Tangsey. A total distance of 150 kms, one way. Having heard so much about this one of a kind destination and seen a glimpse of this nature’s marvel in the movie ‘3 Idiots’, we were eager to get there asap.
None of us fortunately felt any altitude related symptoms as we had been religiously taking our ‘ Diamox’ and of course acclimatizing as we ascended. The unscheduled stay at Sonamarg at 2950 meters for two and a half days, perhaps helped.
It was a beautiful and sunny day, around 17 degrees and sunny. Sandwiches were packed and the convoy of three vehicles stopped at a TCP ( Tourist Check post) to log our departure. The gentleman at the post insisted that we must have chains as there was likely to be fresh snow at Changla Pass at over 5300 meters. I was driving the Fortuner on this leg and insisted that we be allowed as we had a all time four wheel drive with options for an additional low and high 4 WD. Somehow he allowed us through, though reluctantly.
The terrain to Changla was a combination of rubble mountains, barren glory of the flatlands, snow capped Himalayas as a backdrop and the ever changing colours of the slate, stone and mineral rich mountains. The soil that was gravel like suddenly changed to very fine and soft sand and back again. One could only marvel at natures bounty that was strewn around in its opulence.
Two hours later we stopped just past Durbuk for a photo session with the spouses. We were climbing now and the drive was getting more interesting and the weather colder. An hour later we were at the third highest pass in the world, Changla, at 5380 meters, surrounded by snow. The temperature was 3 degrees Celcius so we had enough time for a 10 minute photo session before we were on our way, through snow lined roads, gleaming and stark white on all sides. Such conditions necessitate the need to wear UV protection eyewear.
The Fortuner just didn’t feel a thing. At any point and had covered every terrain with consummate ease.
Just 10 odd kilometers and downhill, we crossed the village of Tangsey after negotiating another TCP. An hour later, the road suddenly roughened and single tracked. The terrain became sandy again and the mountains changed colours again. Just then we got a distant glimpse of Pangong lake. The view was truly mesmerizing with a turquoise patch that is so Pangong.
Ten minutes later we were there……..truly breathless at a height of 4000 meters plus, watching shades of Turquoise and pink changing with the movement of the sun’s rays and the clouds. Words cannot describe the expanse of this 135 km long wonder of the world. The salt water lake, the highest in the world, had the clearest blue water I have ever seen. The surrounding terrain just enhanced the magnificence that is Pangong!
The approach to our camp, the Watermark camp was a rocky one as there was really no road and we had to traverse more than a km of pebbled and stones, almost like going over a river bed. The camp, on the banks of Pangong lake was more than picturesque and we just devoured the surroundings in every possible way with whatever equipment we had. It was too good to be true! It was almost sunset now and we couldn’t take our eyes off the view, literally, with popping eyeballs.
While we all sat on the banks of the lake, we saw a cloud of snow building up at one end. A snow blizzard was almost in the offing and the wind picked up speed, blowing our headgear away and sending a chill up our spines. We quickly headed back to the safety of our tents. As the evening set in, we decided to freshen up and meet again in the Dining area ( also a tent of course) for hot chai and pakoras!
Am signing off for the day and will get back with more as I may be disconnected from the Internet for a day or two, while on the move.
Till then savour the pictures that will keep you abreast with all that’s happening with us! Loving every minute!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Day 7. The waiting prolongs but we manage to get away!
TOYOTA Leh Jayenge
Day 7.
The pain of waiting……..again. And the rough ride to Leh.
21st May 2010, Friday
Place : Leh
The excruciating pain of waiting was now getting to us and while we did our best to be cheerful seeing the bright sunny morning, we went through the motions of tea, breakfast and packing up, said our thank you’s to the CRPF incharge and as per schedule lined up outside the Poilce Post in Sonamarg.
It was an amazing sight around the entire little one street township. There were hundreds of buses lined up, taxis with anxious passengers, the restaurants were jammed with tourists trying to grab a quick bite and a frenzy of activity was visible, since the news of the roads opening finally seemed to be a reality. There was some movement in the hundreds of trucks who had been waiting for the last five days which was a positive sign. However ironically, the SHO was missing again. We waited patiently outside his office hoping there would be some communication but that wasn’t to be. The wait continued.
We then saw a convoy of official cars whiz past and the SHO was accompanying them. Apparently some minister who had woken up to the woes of the stranded thousands of tourists was going to inspect the road ahead before traffic could be released.
The wind had picked up speed by now and we had no choice but to breathe in all the diesel fumes and the dust being raised by vehicles preparing to depart. It was noon and we were feeling hungry. There was no news whatsoever yet and we got through to some friends in the Government who in turn informed us that the likely time for being allowed to go ahead was 2 pm.
We decided to have a quick bite in a Punjabi Dhaba, comprising of some chola and roti and continued our patient wait outside the police post. We got through to the SHO who was unreachable till now, and he confirmed that the likely time would be 2 pm and we should stay put since he was returning with the minister. Having little choice we just waited in the car, waiting for something to happen.
The Drive from Sonamarg to Leh, via Kargil:
All of a sudden at around 2 pm, there was a rush of vehicles driving out of Sonamarg apparently based on info that the road was open to pass through.
A tip here. If roads are blocked and you want accurate information about the road conditions, a local Taxi driver is your best bet. They have their own network of Taxi drivers giving them updated info on road conditions. In case you are driving at night on these unpredictable and treacherous tracks, keep behind a Taxi driver and you will arrive in good time and safe.
Another tip. Since you will be climbing up several hundred meters in quick time, you need to take diuretics an hour before you start the drive. Or even a few hours before. Diamox is the commonly used tablet you can have everyday if you’re going to spend time at heights in the vicinity of 4000 meters and above. For traveling on the mountainous roads with repetitive bends, and to avoid travel sickness thereof, one can take 2 or 3 Avomines a day, depending on the terrain you cover. As you ascend, you do acclimatize gradually but the heavy headedness can occur. The degree of the same could vary from person to person. The same is recommended for those who also fly into places like Leh at heights in excess of 4000 meters.
Leg 1. Sonamarg to Kargil, a destination of around 130 km. Shekhar at the wheel:
We departed at 2.10 and crawled at a snails pace with the roads hardly existent. What we went through was slushy, freshly cleared of landslide rubble roads, severely undulating. It took us an hour to traverse 10 odd kilometers on a single track road in a convoy of several hundred vehicles, who had just left Sonamarg. We were informed that traffic from Kargil usually, under normal conditions is released everyday at 4 am and from Sonamarg to Kargil at 8 am. Friday usually is the closed day for maintenance. However in our case, since the roads were closed for 5 days, this Friday we were allowed to pass through.
We passed stretches of road that were cut through glaciers of ice and a vista of white snow and grey slate, peppered with black patches of rock. The sights were mesmerizing to say the least. Temperatures were around 9 deg Celcius at 4 pm in the afternoon. The height around 3500 meters for a fair stretch till Matiyan at around 3300 meters.
38 kms from Sonamarg and about 2 kms before a little village called Matiyan, we ran into a massive traffic jam caused by unruly merging of incoming traffic from Kargil. A result of the 5 days of stalling at both ends. While stalled, we were informed by a kind following driver that we had a flat. Fortunately we veered off the road on to a soft clearance and with team effort managed to replace the huge Dunlop tyre in 10 minutes. Despite having to remove the bags over the tool storage area. A recommendation to Toyota. We need better quality tyres on a an SUV like the Fortuner. It may be matter of chance but none of the other brands of MPV’s, SUV’s Maruti low end models etc, seemed to be stranded en route. Another recommendation is for the quality of headlights. The light though adequate belies the USP of the car.
Leg 1. Matityan to Kargil via Drass. 22 km.
V.S at the Wheel. Time 6.00 pm
We drove on past Matiyan on to another treacherous and undulated stretch of road to Drass which took us an hour an thirty minutes. Drove alongside the Drass river. Kargil was next, about 57 Km ahead. Its dark now so I quit taking up the arduous task of being thrown around in the backseat with the laptop in the undulating road conditions. Will update the rest tomorrow.
Am back again!
The traffic was still heavy on the route to Drass with Vijay at the wheel and the sun started to set. Drass is a small village which had a lot of end of the day activity as we passed it. Shekhar and me thought we saw some boiled eggs but the narrowness of the main street would not allow us to stop and look. So on we went. We crossed some rural outskirts of Drass and road quality was good. Whatever little we did get to see was breathtaking and different from what we had viewed earlier. However as it turned close to dark we could only got a faint idea about the surrounding terrain and the road ahead. But the half moon helped a bit by showering its moonbeams on the Drass river and the glistening effect was romantic and dreamy, to say the least. With the usual ‘relief’ breaks more on account of Nisheeth, and music changing genres we saw the Drass river streaming and gushing along. We also passed the sign which said that we were in view of Pakistani outposts and towers and should not stop at any time. So we pegged along. We truly missed the beauty of the landscape along this route and as it turned dark, we felt deprived of it due to our rescheduled late departure from Sonamarg. In fact we had traveled alongside the Jhelum, The Tawi, the Sind, the Drass and the Indus rivers and each terrain was distinctively different yet breathtaking. We hoped to reach Kargil just before 9 pm so at the first opportunity of getting the BSNL signal, the only that worked amongst us, called the Kargil agent to book us rooms for the night as there was no way we could reach Leh in good time as the distance from Kargil to Leh was around 235 Km and the estimated travel time 8 hours if driving conditions were anywhere near decent. We continued to pass and be passed by familiar cars who were all coming from Sonamarg after being stranded.
We reached Kargil at around 8.45 and tanked up at the pump on the outskirts on the Kargil Leh route. Just reaching this gas station, about a kilometer out of Kargil city center was an experience as the road was dug up completely for repairs, loose mud and stones on the surface with clouds of dust being raised behind each passing vehicle. Just across was a Tyre repair shop which surprisingly was open at that time. Fortunately though not surprisingly, he was well equipped to handle a tubeless tyre repair job although Toyota had provided us with a complete repair kit as well as trained us to do the job. However in the interest of saving time and since it was getting cold, we got the repair shop to do a quick and good job for just Rs 50/-.
Just then the bombshell. With the exodus out of Sonamarg, the Hotels in Kargil were sold out and the agent called to say there was nothing he could do. It was just after 9 pm we had two options.
Either to spend the night in the car or take the road ahead to Leh, all of the 235 Km. 8 hours of night driving. We put that to vote and we agreed that there was hardly anything to choose from and agreed to drive on. And we were famished.
We asked the tyre repair shop how the road ahead was and he told us that quite a bit of it was like the run down ramshackle tack we had just come on! We just looked at each other, smiled and got into the car, headed for Leh. Nisheeth was at the wheel and would do so for the next 55 km.
Leg 2: Kargil to Leh.
First 55 Km, Nisheeth at the Wheel.
It was around 9.15 pm and we were on our way. We were told that a Dhaba was on the route, just outside Kargil so we thought we would stop for a bite and just go on, non stop.
The road was in a bad shape, as informed and Nisheeth was helping us build up an appetite with a ‘rocking’ time finding potholes with diligent consistency. However that was not to be. We were famished. We had traveled awful roads and a wretched track in the first hour, without finding any useful place to eat. The road was climbing and with unpredictable twists and turns. At some points we were unable to figure out where really the road was. At 10.50 we spotted a dhaba with some traffic and stopped immediately. The restaurant was busy but almost closing. All he had was rajma and rice and some dal. We could have eaten anything at that time so asked for it, pronto. The owner told us that electricity here went of at 11 pm sharp so we had precisely 5 minutes to eat. How on earth did he expect that when he hadn’t yet even served the food! Food was served though in a record 5 minutes, looked inviting and before we had two bites, the lights were out. Our torch was the savior and with a 10 minute torchlight dinner break, and we were on our way again.
The route we had chosen was the usual NH1A to Leh but it was everything but a highway. We stopped an hour later and I took the wheel. It was around midnight. The traffic was intermittent but still there. Perhaps as a result of all the anxious tourists wanting to get to Leh like all of us. Also because Kargil was not ‘accommodating’ enough. The landscape and surroundings had paled into insignificance as one of the most treacherous parts of this leg had me glued to the road following the headlights and looking for the non existent road. The precipice on the side was perhaps thousands of meters. The embankments were missing except on the curves and the road very very winding. We crossed village after village in pitch darkness and the temperature touched 0 degrees as we climbed to almost 5000 meters. The only blessing was that since the eerie height was disguised by the darkness, we were not affected by the same. Moreover the thin traffic at that hour most of it unidirectional was a big help in maintaining a reasonable speed. While Shekhar and Nisheeth tried to catch a nap in the back seat, Vijay who was next to me, also followed the headlights with his heart in his mouth.
After almost 3 hours of crazy driving we descended downhill onto some flat land and stopped at a Tourist check post. Once in Ladakh, it is a must to carry your personal ID and Drivers license.
I handed over the wheel to Shekhar with about 120 kms to go. We were pleasantly surprised by the sporadic 4 lane highway stretches and sudden vanishing of the road, which was affected by either repair work or had been affected by landslides. An hour and a half after Shekhar took over, we stopped to relieve ourselves in freezing conditions. Vijay took over the wheel on the last stretch and we had made very good time. About half an hour later, about 30 kms from Leh, we saw dawn breaking. Amidst the glorious mountains with fascinating paint brush streaks and snow capped mountains all blending together to make a dreamy horizon we all broke the silence that had been prevailing since the dinner break as our destination was almost there and the rising sun evoking the natural oohs and aaahs! We stopped to take some pictures and hit the by now fairly motorable four lane well metalled highway touching speeds of 130 km/hr.
At 5am we drove into the Grand Dragon, Leh and headed for our respective rooms but not before we surprised our spouses with our unscheduled arrival. It was already the 22nd May and as per a pre-fixed schedule had to leave for Changla and Pangong Tso later in the day. So we just crashed out, travel weary but spirits high, looking forward to what looked like another fascinating part of our trip.
Day 7.
The pain of waiting……..again. And the rough ride to Leh.
21st May 2010, Friday
Place : Leh
The excruciating pain of waiting was now getting to us and while we did our best to be cheerful seeing the bright sunny morning, we went through the motions of tea, breakfast and packing up, said our thank you’s to the CRPF incharge and as per schedule lined up outside the Poilce Post in Sonamarg.
It was an amazing sight around the entire little one street township. There were hundreds of buses lined up, taxis with anxious passengers, the restaurants were jammed with tourists trying to grab a quick bite and a frenzy of activity was visible, since the news of the roads opening finally seemed to be a reality. There was some movement in the hundreds of trucks who had been waiting for the last five days which was a positive sign. However ironically, the SHO was missing again. We waited patiently outside his office hoping there would be some communication but that wasn’t to be. The wait continued.
We then saw a convoy of official cars whiz past and the SHO was accompanying them. Apparently some minister who had woken up to the woes of the stranded thousands of tourists was going to inspect the road ahead before traffic could be released.
The wind had picked up speed by now and we had no choice but to breathe in all the diesel fumes and the dust being raised by vehicles preparing to depart. It was noon and we were feeling hungry. There was no news whatsoever yet and we got through to some friends in the Government who in turn informed us that the likely time for being allowed to go ahead was 2 pm.
We decided to have a quick bite in a Punjabi Dhaba, comprising of some chola and roti and continued our patient wait outside the police post. We got through to the SHO who was unreachable till now, and he confirmed that the likely time would be 2 pm and we should stay put since he was returning with the minister. Having little choice we just waited in the car, waiting for something to happen.
The Drive from Sonamarg to Leh, via Kargil:
All of a sudden at around 2 pm, there was a rush of vehicles driving out of Sonamarg apparently based on info that the road was open to pass through.
A tip here. If roads are blocked and you want accurate information about the road conditions, a local Taxi driver is your best bet. They have their own network of Taxi drivers giving them updated info on road conditions. In case you are driving at night on these unpredictable and treacherous tracks, keep behind a Taxi driver and you will arrive in good time and safe.
Another tip. Since you will be climbing up several hundred meters in quick time, you need to take diuretics an hour before you start the drive. Or even a few hours before. Diamox is the commonly used tablet you can have everyday if you’re going to spend time at heights in the vicinity of 4000 meters and above. For traveling on the mountainous roads with repetitive bends, and to avoid travel sickness thereof, one can take 2 or 3 Avomines a day, depending on the terrain you cover. As you ascend, you do acclimatize gradually but the heavy headedness can occur. The degree of the same could vary from person to person. The same is recommended for those who also fly into places like Leh at heights in excess of 4000 meters.
Leg 1. Sonamarg to Kargil, a destination of around 130 km. Shekhar at the wheel:
We departed at 2.10 and crawled at a snails pace with the roads hardly existent. What we went through was slushy, freshly cleared of landslide rubble roads, severely undulating. It took us an hour to traverse 10 odd kilometers on a single track road in a convoy of several hundred vehicles, who had just left Sonamarg. We were informed that traffic from Kargil usually, under normal conditions is released everyday at 4 am and from Sonamarg to Kargil at 8 am. Friday usually is the closed day for maintenance. However in our case, since the roads were closed for 5 days, this Friday we were allowed to pass through.
We passed stretches of road that were cut through glaciers of ice and a vista of white snow and grey slate, peppered with black patches of rock. The sights were mesmerizing to say the least. Temperatures were around 9 deg Celcius at 4 pm in the afternoon. The height around 3500 meters for a fair stretch till Matiyan at around 3300 meters.
38 kms from Sonamarg and about 2 kms before a little village called Matiyan, we ran into a massive traffic jam caused by unruly merging of incoming traffic from Kargil. A result of the 5 days of stalling at both ends. While stalled, we were informed by a kind following driver that we had a flat. Fortunately we veered off the road on to a soft clearance and with team effort managed to replace the huge Dunlop tyre in 10 minutes. Despite having to remove the bags over the tool storage area. A recommendation to Toyota. We need better quality tyres on a an SUV like the Fortuner. It may be matter of chance but none of the other brands of MPV’s, SUV’s Maruti low end models etc, seemed to be stranded en route. Another recommendation is for the quality of headlights. The light though adequate belies the USP of the car.
Leg 1. Matityan to Kargil via Drass. 22 km.
V.S at the Wheel. Time 6.00 pm
We drove on past Matiyan on to another treacherous and undulated stretch of road to Drass which took us an hour an thirty minutes. Drove alongside the Drass river. Kargil was next, about 57 Km ahead. Its dark now so I quit taking up the arduous task of being thrown around in the backseat with the laptop in the undulating road conditions. Will update the rest tomorrow.
Am back again!
The traffic was still heavy on the route to Drass with Vijay at the wheel and the sun started to set. Drass is a small village which had a lot of end of the day activity as we passed it. Shekhar and me thought we saw some boiled eggs but the narrowness of the main street would not allow us to stop and look. So on we went. We crossed some rural outskirts of Drass and road quality was good. Whatever little we did get to see was breathtaking and different from what we had viewed earlier. However as it turned close to dark we could only got a faint idea about the surrounding terrain and the road ahead. But the half moon helped a bit by showering its moonbeams on the Drass river and the glistening effect was romantic and dreamy, to say the least. With the usual ‘relief’ breaks more on account of Nisheeth, and music changing genres we saw the Drass river streaming and gushing along. We also passed the sign which said that we were in view of Pakistani outposts and towers and should not stop at any time. So we pegged along. We truly missed the beauty of the landscape along this route and as it turned dark, we felt deprived of it due to our rescheduled late departure from Sonamarg. In fact we had traveled alongside the Jhelum, The Tawi, the Sind, the Drass and the Indus rivers and each terrain was distinctively different yet breathtaking. We hoped to reach Kargil just before 9 pm so at the first opportunity of getting the BSNL signal, the only that worked amongst us, called the Kargil agent to book us rooms for the night as there was no way we could reach Leh in good time as the distance from Kargil to Leh was around 235 Km and the estimated travel time 8 hours if driving conditions were anywhere near decent. We continued to pass and be passed by familiar cars who were all coming from Sonamarg after being stranded.
We reached Kargil at around 8.45 and tanked up at the pump on the outskirts on the Kargil Leh route. Just reaching this gas station, about a kilometer out of Kargil city center was an experience as the road was dug up completely for repairs, loose mud and stones on the surface with clouds of dust being raised behind each passing vehicle. Just across was a Tyre repair shop which surprisingly was open at that time. Fortunately though not surprisingly, he was well equipped to handle a tubeless tyre repair job although Toyota had provided us with a complete repair kit as well as trained us to do the job. However in the interest of saving time and since it was getting cold, we got the repair shop to do a quick and good job for just Rs 50/-.
Just then the bombshell. With the exodus out of Sonamarg, the Hotels in Kargil were sold out and the agent called to say there was nothing he could do. It was just after 9 pm we had two options.
Either to spend the night in the car or take the road ahead to Leh, all of the 235 Km. 8 hours of night driving. We put that to vote and we agreed that there was hardly anything to choose from and agreed to drive on. And we were famished.
We asked the tyre repair shop how the road ahead was and he told us that quite a bit of it was like the run down ramshackle tack we had just come on! We just looked at each other, smiled and got into the car, headed for Leh. Nisheeth was at the wheel and would do so for the next 55 km.
Leg 2: Kargil to Leh.
First 55 Km, Nisheeth at the Wheel.
It was around 9.15 pm and we were on our way. We were told that a Dhaba was on the route, just outside Kargil so we thought we would stop for a bite and just go on, non stop.
The road was in a bad shape, as informed and Nisheeth was helping us build up an appetite with a ‘rocking’ time finding potholes with diligent consistency. However that was not to be. We were famished. We had traveled awful roads and a wretched track in the first hour, without finding any useful place to eat. The road was climbing and with unpredictable twists and turns. At some points we were unable to figure out where really the road was. At 10.50 we spotted a dhaba with some traffic and stopped immediately. The restaurant was busy but almost closing. All he had was rajma and rice and some dal. We could have eaten anything at that time so asked for it, pronto. The owner told us that electricity here went of at 11 pm sharp so we had precisely 5 minutes to eat. How on earth did he expect that when he hadn’t yet even served the food! Food was served though in a record 5 minutes, looked inviting and before we had two bites, the lights were out. Our torch was the savior and with a 10 minute torchlight dinner break, and we were on our way again.
The route we had chosen was the usual NH1A to Leh but it was everything but a highway. We stopped an hour later and I took the wheel. It was around midnight. The traffic was intermittent but still there. Perhaps as a result of all the anxious tourists wanting to get to Leh like all of us. Also because Kargil was not ‘accommodating’ enough. The landscape and surroundings had paled into insignificance as one of the most treacherous parts of this leg had me glued to the road following the headlights and looking for the non existent road. The precipice on the side was perhaps thousands of meters. The embankments were missing except on the curves and the road very very winding. We crossed village after village in pitch darkness and the temperature touched 0 degrees as we climbed to almost 5000 meters. The only blessing was that since the eerie height was disguised by the darkness, we were not affected by the same. Moreover the thin traffic at that hour most of it unidirectional was a big help in maintaining a reasonable speed. While Shekhar and Nisheeth tried to catch a nap in the back seat, Vijay who was next to me, also followed the headlights with his heart in his mouth.
After almost 3 hours of crazy driving we descended downhill onto some flat land and stopped at a Tourist check post. Once in Ladakh, it is a must to carry your personal ID and Drivers license.
I handed over the wheel to Shekhar with about 120 kms to go. We were pleasantly surprised by the sporadic 4 lane highway stretches and sudden vanishing of the road, which was affected by either repair work or had been affected by landslides. An hour and a half after Shekhar took over, we stopped to relieve ourselves in freezing conditions. Vijay took over the wheel on the last stretch and we had made very good time. About half an hour later, about 30 kms from Leh, we saw dawn breaking. Amidst the glorious mountains with fascinating paint brush streaks and snow capped mountains all blending together to make a dreamy horizon we all broke the silence that had been prevailing since the dinner break as our destination was almost there and the rising sun evoking the natural oohs and aaahs! We stopped to take some pictures and hit the by now fairly motorable four lane well metalled highway touching speeds of 130 km/hr.
At 5am we drove into the Grand Dragon, Leh and headed for our respective rooms but not before we surprised our spouses with our unscheduled arrival. It was already the 22nd May and as per a pre-fixed schedule had to leave for Changla and Pangong Tso later in the day. So we just crashed out, travel weary but spirits high, looking forward to what looked like another fascinating part of our trip.
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