Year: 2012

September 6, 2012 

Woke up at 4:30 in the morning, had a shower, picked my bags, and walked to the bus stand near the post office. I had booked the front window seat of the HPTDC bus, and had paid Rs. 1500/- for it. A Korean woman was sitting next to me, and there were people from different nationalities accompanying me. The bus took off from Leh at around 5:15 AM. I wanted to sit up and enjoy the beautiful landscapes, but was still too tired and dozed off soon. We stopped for tea in a small town on the way at around 7:00, and after getting back, slept till past 10:00.

When I woke up, I started enjoying the beauty around me and clicked a few pictures. A little after 1:00 PM, we reached the second highest motorable road in the world, Taglangla pass. We stopped here to click a few pictures. It had snowed the previous night, but most of the snow had melt by the time we reached the pass.

We were hoping that the bus would stop for lunch sometime soon, but it was not until after 4:00 PM did he stop. And that too, he had stopped at a location where there was nothing but bun and tea available. Everyone on the bus asked him to move further and instead stop at a better place. At around 6:00, we stopped at a place which had quite a few food stalls. Had a cup of tea, which tasted very much like Hyderabadi tea, and then got back onto the bus.

At around 8:00 PM, we reached the HPTDC guesthouse at Keylong. We were told that we had to share a tent put up outside the guesthouse with few others. There was also an option of renting a room in the guesthouse by paying 300 bucks per person. I decided I was gonna stay in the tent, and was put in one with a Brit, an American, a German and a Swiss. Dinner was served in the guesthouse a while later – there was rice, dal, subzi and roti. Over dinner, I mingled with a lot of people apart from my tent mates. I became friends with a Czech girl who was trekking all by herself near Leh, and an Indian woman from Mumbai, who has taken a number of trips by herself in the recent past. We discussed politics and various other issues before we finally hit the bunk past 11:00 PM.

September 5, 2012 

I was supposed to report at the taxi stand by 8:00 AM for the taxi. On my way, I stopped at a German Bakery and grabbed a ready-made Veg Cream Cheese Sandwich. The bread was hard, but the stuffing was decent. I was picked up in a Xylo, and was joined by a young lady from Delhi, a German Couple, an Israeli and two Brit Indian women for the rafting trip. All of them seemed fun, and so I was getting all excited.

The rafting was from a place called Chilling, on the bank of river Zanskar, to a place called Nimmo, where Indus and Zanskar merge, a total stretch of 28 kms, which would take about 3 hours to cover by raft. We reached Nimmo at around 10:00 AM, and were asked to suit up. I wasn’t told that a wet suit would be provided, so carried extra pair of clothes  which turned out to be unnecessary. There was a small tent where we could change into the suit. In hurry, I initially manged to wear the suit back to the front and made a fool of myself :P. Then I was asked to wear a windcheater over the suit and a helmet. We had an instructor on board our raft, and there was a gonna be a safety kayak travelling with us. The instructor, Kali, was a super fun guy and the safety Kayak guy, Himal was even more fun. Both of them hailed from Nepal. They gave us basic instructions, what to do incase we fall off into the water and stuff. And then we got into the raft. The water was freezing cold (as one would expect). We were told that this was a level 3 rafting stretch but on this particular day, the current wasn’t too high, so it could be rated less. The initial few minutes were spent on the basics. Rafting with the flow was alright, but against seemed a little difficult.

The scenery around was beautiful. We were surrounded by high mountains on both sides, and it was magnificent. I so wished to capture the beauty, but my cam was sitting in my bag in the car.

About 30 minutes through, we passed through a pretty heavy current. I was sitting second to the right of the raft, my leg loosened a little from the lock position, and I fell back into the water when a tide hit me. The feeling was just awesome!! Cold water rushing through every part of your body, your hands and legs going numb for a second or so, the adrenaline pumping in, it was just so bloody amazing. When I got into my senses and opened my eyes a couple of seconds later, I realized I was right under the raft. I waited for it to move away, and then made me way up. I immediately got into the safety position without panicking. Hemal came and pulled me onto the kayak, and we slowly moved towards the raft, and I got back in. Those 5 minutes is one experience I’l cherish forever.

We had super fun in the raft, spoke on various topics. Kali thought the Delhi girl was my wife and started asking all weird questions like where we first met and all. It was not until a while did we realize that he thought we were married. He also thought she was one of the Brit Indian women’s daughter. Super fun!!

We stopped at around the 14 km mark for about 10 minutes. The currents were down after this stretch, and it was easier to raft. About 2 kms before we reached the end point, Hemal came and pulled everyone into the water (when the water was still). I swam a little before I got in, but the Israeli guy just kept sailing. He sailed for more than a kilometer before we could reach him. He went super numb by the time we pulled him in.

We reached Nimmo and changed into our clothes before we took a small drive to the restaurant, where food was arranged for us. We were initially served tea and coffee, and thereafter, lunch was served. All this was included in the rafting price of Rs. 1600/-. There was Dal, Aloo Gobi and Rice. The food was pretty decent. Once we finished lunch, we were dropped back in Leh, at around 4:00 PM.

Tip: Try to bargain a little on the rafting price. More than bargaining, try enquiring at a couple of places before you get the best price. On our trip, people paid from 1200 to 1800 for the same rafting trip.

The previous day, I went to the HPTDC center on Fort road and booked a seat for the bus to Manali for the next day. I went there and conformed on my seat before going to the room to get some rest. At around 7:00 PM, I got out to find a place for my last meal in Leh. I roamed around the place to find a good restaurant, and finally zeroed on a pizza place next to Lamayuru (not sure on the name, probably Summer Harvest). I ordered for a Veggie Pizza with my choice of vegetables. It was served in about 10 minutes and turned out to be really good. Crispy and cheesy, just the way I like it!!

I got back to the room, packed my bags and was all ready to leave the next morning. After a fun-filled day, it was time to hit the bed.

Day 13 : Leh
Day 15 : Leh – Keylong

September 4, 2012 

This day in Leh is one of the most unproductive and lazy days of my trip. Got up late, really late and somehow manged to get my ass out of the room past 10:00 AM. Walked around the city a bit, and then stopped at Neha Snacks on the Market road for some breakfast. I ordered for a Chole Poori. I’ve heard some good things about this place and so my expectations were high, and I wasn’t disappointed. The Poori was very good, not oily, and the Chole was yum. They even served extra aloo curry. These guys apparently serve yummy Aloo Patties in the evenings as snack. Hmm.

Roamed around a little more and checked out all the markets in town for about two hours. And it was time to hog again. So went to Lamayuru restaurant on Fort Road to try their Indian food. I had Stuffed Tomato with Roti. The curry was awesome. The gravy was rich and creamy, the tomatoes were ripe, and the stuffing delicious. Happy tummy.

I went back to the room and slept till about 6:00 in the evening. I again had to force myself to get out of the room. This time I headed to the Leh Palace. The walk up was exhausting, and there was nothing much to see in the Palace. There was a photo exhibition on, but there were no lights at the place. I managed to see a couple with the torch on my phone. I sat on the top for a long time, clicked a few pictures, and then went on to hog again.

This night, I decided to try Tibetan Kitchen, apparently one of the best restaurants in town. The place was packed but I managed to find myself a table in the corner, right next to the entrance. There was a lot of choice for meat lovers, but no so much for vegetarians. I asked the waiter for some suggestions and we finally zeroed on Veg. Sabaclev (That’s what I remember the name to be). I was told that it was a Tibetan bread sandwich, stuffed with cheese and veggies.

The place got fuller as I waited for my food. The Sabaclev arrived and was served with Tomato chutney. It turned out to be delicious. The bread, or roti was crunchy, and the stuffing inside was tasty. It was the best food I’ve had in Leh.

Once done, I headed back to the room, and slept. I managed to book a seat for myself for the rafting the next day before I got back.

Day 12: Leh (Khardung La)
Day 14 : Leh (Rafting)

September 3, 2012

Now that I didn’t have to catch a taxi or anything, I got up leisurely at around 9:00 AM. Got ready and headed off to get my bike which was all ready by the time I reached. I was contemplating whether to have breakfast or not, for it was almost 10:00, but stopped by at the restaurant next to the bike place (the same place I stopped at on the other day) to have yummy Cheese Toast. Once done, I was on my way to Khardung La pass, the highest motorable road in the world!

I wore a sweater over my t-shirt, and a sweat shirt over the sweater. I had a pair of gloves on, but I forgot to carry my muffler (I was too lazy to go back to the room for it). I had an extra sweater in my bag, just in case. Khardung La is about 40 kms from Leh. The initial few kilometers were plain road, nothing great. It wasn’t even cold or anything, and I was getting suffocated. After about 20 kms, where I had to submit my permit, the ghat road started and it got cold. My hands and arms were protected, but my face was freezing. I managed to tie the extra sweater I had in my bag as a muffler on my face and took off further.

Now starts the fun part. About 5 minutes from the point where I cover myself, it started raining, but since it was so cold, the rain drops turned into ice before they hit me. My clothes were getting wet and I started shivering for the cold was getting worse. The bike started to skid, and the roads suddenly became empty for most people stopped on the side because they didn’t want to drive in this weather. But I kept going, on and on, till I reached 18,379 feet (disputed) above the sea level. The feeling was wow, but my whole body was too numb to realize its surroundings. I parked my bike and rushed into the shack. It was as if the Gods were waiting for me to take protection, for the moment I got into the shack, it started pouring cats and dogs outside. I felt so god-damn lucky!!

I ordered a black tea, and used it to warm my hands and get into my senses. My phone got wet, which was my primary concern, so dried it off before I settled in the place. Five minutes though, the rain stopped, and the whole place was covered in close to 2 feet of ice. I got out and clicked some pictures and enjoyed the beauty. It was magnificent, and I felt awesome. It wasn’t an easy ride up, and I felt great for I did it without any problems. I was shivering, but still manged to roam about the place a bit. I got back to the shack and ordered for maggi and another tea.

The roads got pretty bad, and people stalled their taxis and bikes on the road. Army troops were helping public move their vehicles. But I had to go down somehow for I was freezing. I needed to go down. I put all my gear up, and started off slowly. I rode in the path the trucks had made, so as to avoid the ice as much as possible. The bike still kept skidding, so I had to avoid using the brakes as well. Trust me when I say this, it was the most difficult and adventurous ride of my life thus far. One wrong move, and forget hospital, you wouldn’t even be able to find my body!! The first 5 kms were really bad, and then, it was normal. Uff.. one hell of a ride.!!

The ride down seemed longer than while going up. I lost one of my gloves mid way through, so turned around and went looking for it for a while (which I couldn’t find), so this made it even more longer. I finally reached Leh at around 3 PM. I roamed around the city a bit on the bike, and stopped at a sandwich place in Changspa to grab a bite. I ordered for a Veg Sandwich with some Mushrooms and Onions. What they served was exactly the opposite of what I had imagined it to be. They served something similar to a Subway sandwich, with cold veggies and cheese, without proper dressing. I was so disappointed, for it even cost me 80 bucks.

I came back to the room, watched some TV and slept for a while. Late evening, I got out, returned the bike, and then went to dine at Dolphin Bakery on Fort road. It was a garden restaurant, and I ordered for Veg. noodles. I asked him to make them spicy, and they turned out to be yum. I was so craving for some spicy food. Once done, I bought a huge chocolate doughnut and ate it on my way back. It was alright, not so great.

I had planned to go rafting the next day, but I was too tired from the ride in the morning. I was initially planning to finish rafting the next day and take the bus to Manali on day 14, but the bus I wanted to take, the deluxe bus run by HPTDC runs only on even dates. So I had to wait till Sept 6 for it. I had one free day, and decided to just stay in the room doing nothing the next day.

Watched some more TV before calling an end to the second most thrilling day of my life.

Day 11 : Leh (Pangong Tso)
Day 13 : Leh