[suman]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

But get ready for an earful once you're in phone network range.

LOL! Ditto - my sentiments exactly!

[MileCruncher]

@ADC: All the best for your trip. A very nice idea to spend Durga Puja in Ladakh

[anujmishra]

Since long there is no update about you and your Ladakh trip. I hope it is more than 15 days and you must have returned to Kolkata. How was you Ladakh trip?

[SS-Traveller]

An update on adc's behalf. Spoke to him a little while ago.

Adc was stuck snow-bound on Zoji La for the last 48 hours and more, and has arrived at Sonamarg at 5AM today. He was planning to stay over and drive through past Srinagar late at night on account of curfew and stone-pelting, but apparently curfew has been lifted for today and things are quiet. The plan therefore is to drive down in the day to Patni Top, and stay over for the night. He's in touch with a friend of mine posted at Srinagar, who would be in a better position to update him on current situation and guide him.

I wish him a safe journey back to the plains.

[sen2009]

This is good. I was getting sort of a bit worried.
It seems ADC had a chance to tour Ladakh in great detail, in true ADC style.

[amitk26]

All the best ADC waiting to see your travelogue

[SS-Traveller]

Adc reached Pathankot this morning, driving all night from Sonamarg to avoid the curfew in Srinagar and the valley. His plan is to leave PTK sometime late tonight or early tomorrow morning, reach Delhi and rest up for a few hours, before embarking on an overnight haul on the NH2. He has to reach Calcutta latest by Sunday, and is a bit worried about the current election-time scenario in Bihar.

I hope to meet up with him tomorrow night to drive to Kanpur, and from there we'd part ways sometime @dawn on Saturday, with him heading to CCU and me going to Lucknow.

Wait for one crazy travelogue from adc! From what I hear, he's had more than ANYBODY'S fair share of adventure on this trip.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Adc reached Pathankot this morning, driving all night from Sonamarg to avoid the curfew in Srinagar and the valley...

I must agree this would be helluva Travelogue in Team-BHP. Congrats adc for completing Ladakh trip. One more thing worth need to mention he has driven Ladakh in his 4X2 Safari in gruesome of weather and month. Heavy snowing already started in those areas. I have hardly seen any travelogue of Ladakh done in October month even in 4X4.

[adc]

Online after a huge month, and it was great to get calls from many a bhpian. And of course it was journey to remembered. Each and every moment was cherished - from the number of people we met, from a changpa who took a lift towards to Leh to a gentleman in remote Nubra side who personally showed a revolver he bought all the way from Calcutta [!] to the personal invitation to a Ladakhi kitchen at ex-panchayat at Saboo to amazingly crude yet warm home stays [remember this is way offseason mid October] to the invitation at Dah for a festival that takes place once in 3 years to amazing lone soldiers that we met at the frontier posts to the personal letter by a Major so that we travel along Fukche to Demachok - the last of the border posts and we look to China a mere 30 feet away and many many more memories - and absolutely some great memories and experiences with truck drivers we spent 2 days and 2 nights at Zojila top - to the pushing of boulders with them to repairing trucks to sharing cigarettes and bidis and tea and biscuits. Its been a very tough but greatly satisfying journey.


And of course as usual the Safari VTT-TMT excelled all along in the journey, made sure that we with a small child we are able to come back safely each and every time - particularly the way it was at Zojila - for continuous 48 hours the engine was on with heater plus the knocks it took on the underneath as we crossed some treacherous trenches. It still has to make another 1600 km back, so just hope it continues this way.

Just a couple of pictures from the 2 nights at Zojila



By 2nd day, some black clouds appeared at the horizon and many people stuck in tempo buses felt it prudent to walk the 4 hours to Sonmarg.


Broken trucks and long waits at hairpin bends

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

I hope to meet up with him tomorrow night to drive to Kanpur, and from there we'd part ways sometime @dawn on Saturday, with him heading to CCU and me going to Lucknow.

Missed out with SS-da on the journey towards Kanpur.

Actually at Pathankot, though planned to start out at 3 am from there for Delhi - overslept[!] - before that 3 nights were spent in the Safari VTT - at the hotel and woke up at 6 am. By the time we left it was almost 10 am, as thought would rest some more and hoped to make to Delhi by 4 pm. But it was crazy traffic all along Punjab and full tired - reached at almost 10 pm, decided to take a break in Delhi at a cousin brother's place.

The only thing that it makes the journey through Bihar on 31st, and hope they dont close the border for the elections on Nov 1. We leave for Calcutta for a straight run at 4 pm on Saturday from Delhi, hoping to reach Calcutta by 2 pm afternoon on 31st Sunday.

[tsk1979]

Welcome back ADC!
So you made it to Fukche and Demchok.
This is indeed a first for anyone.
Normally nobody is allowed beyond Dungti!

[adc]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Welcome back ADC!
So you made it to Fukche and Demchok.
This is indeed a first for anyone.
Normally nobody is allowed beyond Dungti!

Thanks tanveer. There is village called Koyul around 3-4 km from Fukche. I heard about Koyul from a Nubra person who said it is amazing and there is one great plateau beyond Dungti and continues till near Demchok.

Now Koyul permission is not given as at Dungti they hold you back. The good thing about going in off season is there's no rush and we were the only ones taking permits and as such could meet up with the additional DM for a few seconds, was asked some basic questions and must was in good mood, gave permission to Koyul via Fukche. From Fukche to Demchok, it was just on the hitch went to meet the commanding officer at the Fukche base, the same unit is at Demchok. The fine gentleman as is in the Army, he came down to meet with us, seeing the 3 of us trudging so long, gave a personal letter to his unit at Demchok - telling us not to cross the river or go leftwards as we may drift off to China, reaching at Demchok we were shown around by a soldier with other branches of the Govt out there at the very sensitive post wondering how these touristy travellers reached out here!

And again just as each and region of Ladakh is different, this was one great plateau between 2 mountain ranges.


Oh! We even tried for the Siachen Base, again on blank call went to the Army unit at Leh, a defense officer tried a lot for us, we almost got the permission - before Delhi intervened and said it has to be taken from there for some more scrutiny or something. Thats then next year we will be trying for it for sure!!

[tsk1979]

Yup, that plateau is very very lovely, infact its an extension of the changthang plateau itself.
That said, did you try going towards the twin lakes of Kyun Tso and Chumur?
Its a short drive from Hanle.
Normally its a 4x4 only track, but in oct, with complete dryness, even a 2WD can probably manage it!

[HappyWheels]

ADC:

Nice to hear from you and also about your about your adventure!

Doing all this in your 2WD, I must say, you make the guys going down there looks like kids!

Have a safe and peaceful journey back; and as soon as time permits, the whole deal - travelogue!

[MileCruncher]

@Adc: Hats off to you and your family for the "wanderlust". I now await to read the whole travelogue.

P.S: Have you thought of writing a book compiling your travel saga and interesting anecdotes .

[suman]

I'd always thought that Anirban's Leh escapade, as & when it happened, would be very very "different" from what all of us have read or experienced. I can see already that I wasn't wrong

48 hours at Zoji La with the engine running & heater on!!! Safe travels back to Kolkata, looking forward to the real "Mother" of Leh travelogues in a while