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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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| The Dancers at Sakthi Monastery |
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| Sakthi Monastery |
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| Way to Chemrey Monastery |
Post this, we went to Woodlands and had dinner and retired to the guest house.
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| Hemis Monastery - Panoramic View |