Better Leh'd than Never - a 3,004 kms round trip of a lifetime!

[tsk1979]

Great pics suman da!

lordofgondor, in that case its best to break at keylong, and then do keylong Sarchu and break at sarchu.
The water crossings will get better with time. June is usually tough.

[vijaythacker]

wow, what a splendid journey you are having, and the pictures shared are simply mouthwatering to visit those places in future, keep them coming sir, awaiting for more from you.Which net connection were you uploading from there and which cell tower was available?

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

lordofgondor, in that case its best to break at keylong, and then do keylong Sarchu and break at sarchu.
The water crossings will get better with time. June is usually tough.

I guess I'll do just that.
Yeah even I am keeping my fingers crossed for the water crossings to become less troublesome.

Pardon my persistence, but any info about Kothi/Marhi?

One more thing, I have gotten a skid plate installed for the engine & transmission protection, do I need to get it for fuel tank also? The reason I am asking is that if I find that the front portion of the underbelly does hit something, I'm gonna stop and take it more cautiously for the rear part to clear the obstruction. The fuel tank is now sitting higher than the skid plate.

[suman]

Shanti Stupa was a couple of kilometers away from our Hotel. Apart from the Stupa itself, the USP of the place was the great views it afforded of the city. And, if you were lucky, you got to see a good sunrise or sunset as well. We clicked a hell of a lot of pics that evening, uploading a few








Recognize the rear view of the Old Palace?


And Hey, that's our Hotel down there!


And that's the Gate at the entrance to the City


The Stupa itself was mindblowing









After spending close to an hour at the Stupa, we wound our way back to our Hotel. The permits had arrived, checked them out & they were fine. A couple of views of our Hotel & the entrance



We were (me in particular!) quite excited about next day's trip to Khardung La - not everyday that one gets a chance to drive on the Highest Motorable road in the world & reach an altitude of 18,000 feet plus! With those thoughts in our minds, we had a good dinner & went off to sleep. We planned to have an early breakfast & leave the Hotel by 8........

[gowda79]

Suman Bhai, you are utilizing your office time very nicely

Great Pics keep them coming and what is the that turning wheel of dharma in Stupa ??? put some details on Stupa.

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Great pics suman da!

Thanks Tanveer, that's a huge compliment coming from a master

Originally Posted by vijaythacker

Which net connection were you uploading from there and which cell tower was available?

Vijay, I didn't upload anything from there. As far as cell phones are concerned, we had Airtel, Vodafone & MTNL with us, the last named was the most consistent in terms of connectivity.

Originally Posted by gowda79

Suman Bhai, you are utilizing your office time very nicely

Kya karein Raghu, saare peeche padh gaya.

Originally Posted by gowda79

Great Pics keep them coming and what is the that turning wheel of dharma in Stupa ??? put some details on Stupa.

Thanks! I believe this Stupa was constructed by a Japanese Buddhist organization, known as 'The Japanese for World Peace'. It was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in the year 1985. The aim behind its construction was to promote World Peace & to commemorate 2,500 years of Buddhism

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by suman

Thanks Tanveer, that's a huge compliment coming from a master

I am not master Suman Da!
Keep them coming. Waiting for Khardungla now. Forget about work shark. Kaam karne ke liye zindagi Padi hai

One question though, whats the driving time from Leh to Kargil (if army convoy is not there?)
This time you had the worst roads, so I guess your time would be close to worst case time, right?
I presume there are fuel bunks in Kargil, whats the diesel cost?

[suman]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

One question though, whats the driving time from Leh to Kargil (if army convoy is not there?)

I have mentioned driving time in post 138 - it was 7hrs 30 mins. Total journey time was, of course, longer (including the delay on account of the convoy etc) - nine & a half hours

Originally Posted by tsk1979

This time you had the worst roads, so I guess your time would be close to worst case time, right?

To a certain extent - between eight & nine hours is apparently the norm (including a break for lunch)

Originally Posted by tsk1979

I presume there are fuel bunks in Kargil, whats the diesel cost?

Got one on the outskirts on the way out, 4 kms from the Hotel; Rs 32.81 per litre for Regular Diesel.

[rkbharat]

super trip Suman da. I guess your trip was comparatively more relaxed.

[suman]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

super trip Suman da. I guess your trip was comparatively more relaxed.

Initially, we were running all the time. That is why we took a conscious decision to cut out overnight halts at two locations - Nubra & Pangong.

That gave us a little more time to take it easy at Leh itself. In hindsight, it was a wise decision we took.

[rkbharat]

Originally Posted by suman

Initially, we were running all the time. That is why we took a conscious decision to cut out overnight halts at two locations - Nubra & Pangong.

That gave us a little more time to take it easy at Leh itself. In hindsight, it was a wise decision we took.

Very wise one.

Its not wise to swallow rasgulla without chewing it, and enjoying it, which takes its own time

[vnabhi]

Suman, I think this is the best travelogue posted so far! Great going, man! I really envy your spirit for adventure at high places!
Your pics provide a welcome relief to us IT folks who sit glued to a computer for hours together!

[kaushik_s]

Woww, how did I missed this travelogue? Lovely it is and the photos are making me nostalgic about my trip last year. Feeling like penning down my travelogue too ;-)
So you've finally decided to give Nubra and Tso-moriri a miss? Anyway, there is always a next time he he.

[rajneeesh]

Suman,

This travellogues makes me wish that I could some how fast forward life by 5 years. Then my sons will be old enough to accompany me on a such a trip. The narration and the photos are simply awesome.

[suman]

Khardung La - for a while now it had been my dream to drive up there with the family in the Safari. And it was on the verge of coming true. Call it over-reaction, call it what you will, but to me it was a big deal! 18,380 feet! Mind boggling!

We set out on our quest on 5th June at 7.50 am after Breakfast - followed the same route as we'd done for the Old Palace till just past the Bazaar, left turn just before the Gate & and then a right turn on the road to Khardung La (which went onwards to Nubra Valley)


The sign made it obvious where we were headed


and we kept climbing higher - there, far below was where we'd come from!





We arrived at South Pullu approx 50 minutes later - this is where the permits were to be handed over before proceeding



The views, as expected, were to die for!



Despite the altitude to which we had to climb, the drive itself wasn't so steep or frightening & roads were in reasonably OK condition except for a few kilometers towards the top


Don't miss that aircraft up there in the sky - though I feel our experience would have been way better going by road


Our excitement was building up & it wasn't very long before we sighted the pass!


Reached & got off & went berserk clicking away & for far too long!







Ladies & Gentlemen, I proudly present The First 3 litre Team-Bhp Safari Dicor on Khardung La



And of course, this absolutely narcissistic one - The Beast & Its Master!!


By this time, we realized that we had overstayed on K Top - almost 50 minutes!! Time to move on, back to lower & mundane heights. Soaking in these wonderful sights, we returned to the Hotel






through India Gate (its everywhere isn't it! Even up on Zoji La!!)


And how could we forget this cute Khardung La frog!!!


We reached back at 11.44 am, having covered a distance of 84 kms - we had conquered Khardung La! I was elated! After relaxing for a while at the Hotel, it was lunch time. Today's venue was Leh View Restaurant in the main market. They were supposed to be serving excellent Wazhwan Cuisine & it would be a good opportunity to check out the market offerings


A disappointment when we climbed up the stairs to Leh View - no lamb preparations! That meant - no Rishta or Gustabha or Yakhne. Anyway, they prepared some excellent chicken for us & we decided that we'd go back there some other day for the lamb.

Next day was our Pangong Tso visit so it was time to Tank up with Xtra Premium. Total Distance travelled - 146.7 kms, Diesel filled - 15.8 ltrs, Mileage obtained - 9.28 kmpl. Gone up despite the climb!

The rest of the day passed off fairly uneventfully & we did call it an early night since it was going to be a long haul the next day