3rd July 2011, 20:17
| #91 |
| Senior - BHPian  Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times
| Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve 1. Nice to see The Sikh regiment still in charge of the Drass War Memorial. Wonderful lot they are. Always willing to tell you about all the peaks where the war was fought and the valor of the brave men that fought the war. 2. What a difference in climate that has taken place over last 21 years. When my dad was posted in kargil and we drove from Leh to kargil, most of the route used to have snow (in June/ July). Now I dont see snow even at the passes. 3. We did dharchik Aryan village 21 years back and that time even Indians except Army, were not allowed. Now they have opened these villages but I am pretty sure you need permits to get into the village. One of the reason is that a lot of Single white women go there to conceive babies from the original Aryan Men and pay them money. Aryan community I believe are not allowed to marry outside their community. These Aryan villages are very strict with their rituals. 21 years back they even used to check the bags of the visitors so that no alcohol or and other unwanted stuff entered the village. Some tourists also had to under go purification ceremony by the head priest before he was allowed in the village. What I can tell you from what I saw 21 years back that the Dharchik village was the most picturesque of the places I have ever visited in India and abroad. It was just like what you see in post cards without being photo shopped. Also the women were very very pretty, I fell in love with all the women that I saw there Thank you Doc for posting beautifull pictures with the details. One can never have enough of Ladakh!! regards EDIT: Even though you did not visit the Dras War Memorial  I am still Rating this thread 5-stars for all the effort and the details you have poured in. I love travelogues with such details which are helpful to future travelers.Last edited by deky : 3rd July 2011 at 20:25. |
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3rd July 2011, 23:11
| #92 |
| Distinguished - BHPian   | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Thank you, deky, for all those interesting observations. We missed a lot of places, indeed, including the Drass War Memorial, though our salute to the Indian soldier is always a whole-hearted one. One trip doesn't cover Ladakh, obviously, and travelling there is an addiction that just begins with the first trip. Here are the visuals of the road from Khaltse to Leh, a perfectly smooth runway of a road, arrow straight in places, where speeding is a passion with the local cab drivers. Watch out for them doing breakneck speeds and trying to overtake you dangerously on blind curves.     It's THAT smooth...  Rideon tries to get a closer view of the road. No, it wasn't as soft as he thought...   Not all that smooth in a short stretch...    Off the road - not doing an OTR though.      First hint of car trouble - minor hiccup for a part-time mechanic . Rideon learnt fast to keep a close eye on early signs and symptoms of impending trouble. No more car trouble for the rest of the trip.             9 more km to Leh, and a very relaxing 2 days ahead  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 3rd July 2011 at 23:17. |
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5th July 2011, 15:25
| #93 |
| BHPian  | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Thank you so very much SS-T for posting the pics and the constant update on the travelogue. Apologies to others as I have been superbly and awesomely busy after the trip..work pressures  Shall try to sort things out and post some updates from my side at the earliest. |
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9th July 2011, 10:43
| #94 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Leh So finally, we arrived at Leh in the late afternoon of 8 June 2011. We were finally Leh'd!      Checked into the Kidar Guest House (Kidar Guest House (Leh, India) - Guest house Reviews - TripAdvisor). No wonder they get those great reviews on TripAdvisor, they are certainly excellent in all departments. We were completely smitten by the place and the folks that own & run it.  New wing being constructed to add 9 more rooms  View from KGH  Dining room in traditional Ladakhi style  Great thukpa for dinner  The team with rideon's family  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 9th July 2011 at 10:49. |
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9th July 2011, 11:05
| #95 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve What did we do in Leh from 8th to 10th June? We acclimatized! We shopped, ate (try the tuna pizza at Gesmo Restaurant), drove around (and got lost at one point, couldn't find our way back to the guest house), met an old friend after 25 years and renewed bonds, and generally enjoyed the weather. Some photographs...The Shanti Stupa        Zorawar Fort    Museum closed when we arrived...  ...but that's what rideon saw inside when he went at a different time.  Part of the fort walls - something looks delicious here!  Shopping!   Last edited by SS-Traveller : 9th July 2011 at 11:07. |
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9th July 2011, 15:42
| #96 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | The Road from Leh to Khardung La 11 June 2011. We were driving to the highest motorable road in the world. IN THE WORLD! Sends a little thrill down the back of one's spine. 39 km to the famed Khardung La top from Leh, and the altitude changes from about 11,000 feet to 18,380 feet between South Pullu and K-top - a whopping climb of 2 km over a distance of around 15 km. And we did it. Neither vehicle faltered. Initially I thought my engine was choking on a clogged air filter (a new filter inserted just before the trip), and the ECM light came on for a short while, but in a few km the choking feeling was gone, and we had power on tap back again - nor was there heavy smoke from the tailpipe of either car. I am given to understand the ECU resets itself based on the ambient conditions, and changes fuelling accordingly. For now, enjoy the pictures... GPS trail from Leh to K-La  The roads and views as we make our way from Leh. Smooth till South Pullu, rough (and tough to drive on for a low-GC car) thereafter till North Pullu (a stretch of about 30 km). Otherwise a smooth drive.        South Pullu - pull over and show your permits please! Oh, and get your pullovers out too, it's going to be cold up at K-La top!   Rocky and rough road after South Pullu...  ...is marmot country!   More roads and views...       Gateway to Nubra, with 500 metres to reach...    ...the top of the world!  Looking back towards the climb...   Images form K-La top...  Always knew that... chai piyo, mast jiyo! Though tea might just put dentists out of business - read the last bit!!!    Looking forward to the next 100 km to Hunder...  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 9th July 2011 at 15:49. |
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10th July 2011, 10:59
| #97 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Khardung La crossed, the descent to North Pullu was tougher than the ascent (it was worse when we climbed back up the slope the next day, with drizzling rain and snowfall).      Time to park and have some fun and photos in the snow.      Anybody guess what this is?  The rest of the road to Khardung and Khalasar was much, much better.     Getting into each other's ORVMs   The road goes on...   Yakking away...  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 10th July 2011 at 11:04. |
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10th July 2011, 13:12
| #98 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve GPS track of the road from Khardung La to Hunder  The road...   ...climbs down towards the valley...  ...and runs beside the Shyok River.  Straight run after Khalasar.    The Diskit Loops     Sandy zones become more apparent after Diskit Loops   Small patch of bad surface   Reflections  Entering Diskit  Sand on the road towards Hunder...  ...sand everywhere.  |
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10th July 2011, 13:36
| #99 | |
| Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Jaipur
Posts: 1,194
Thanked: 1,214 Times
| Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Quote:
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10th July 2011, 16:16
| #100 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Quote:
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10th July 2011, 17:09
| #101 | |
| BHPian  Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Bangalore
Posts: 437
Thanked: 183 Times
| Re: Hawk-On-Fours® (H-4®) Roadtrip: Leh(t)'s go to Ladakh & Srinagar with QuickSilve Quote:
You are right. Permits are required for Dah which is duly checked by at the security post before we reached Dah. In 2009 while we were going to Kargil via Batalik couple of times the Army guys stopped to enquire about the purpose of our visit. I guess it is b'cos Batalik is a very sensitive forward area. | |
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15th July 2011, 12:50
| #102 | |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Hunder Quote:
We landed up at Hunder with the phone number of a guest house we had called & booked earlier. Either we didn't understand his language or he did not comprehend ours, but when we called after reaching Hunder, he said our booking was cancelled! We were, however, parked right in front of a signboard indicating Habib Guest House, and that's where we checked in - for a princely sum of Rs.400 for a 2-bedded room, and Rs.600 for a 4-bedded one. Curious kids  View of Habib GH as we approach  The building  Contact details  View of room  The owner's nephew  When we arrived, the guest house was empty. After we came back from riding camels in the afternoon (more about that in the next post), there was another group of young men in a rather sorry looking DZire, who arrived and checked in. Then came this group of riders, who had to be unfortunately turned away because there was not enough room for them!  The owner lit up a bonfire for everyone in the evening, though it was not too cold.  The minimum temperature readout that night was a comfortable 11*C.  We ate well on Ladakh-style home-cooked food in the dining room...  Time for some moonlight photography.    | |
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15th July 2011, 13:12
| #103 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Camels at Hunder Bactrian camels are the chief attraction of Hunder, and the kids were looking forward to it. (A quick note: If you really want to see bactrian (2-humped) camels but cannot make it to Hunder, there is a government-run camel farm at Leh itself, which is easier to access, rides are cheaper, and the kids would be equally happy. We would visit that farm after returning from Hunder. However, this farm at Leh does not get any publicity, apparently because the authorities and locals think that the tourist traffic to Hunder would drop then.)    We rode camels here...  Camel photoshoot     Playing possum   Dental examination!  Distasteful sight - camel owner perks up an animal with nicotine.   Sheep crossing   Toe wash - after this the ladies wouldn't step into the dirty cars! (Watch what happens when we start cleaning our cars - in the next post.)  Last edited by SS-Traveller : 15th July 2011 at 13:16. Reason: A quick note added |
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15th July 2011, 13:54
| #104 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Car wash at Hunder After 9 days of travelling and no effort put in to clean them up, both cars wore a coat of mud and dust that was highly objectionable to the ladies. Rideon and I got the ultimatum of cleaning up our cars of having the ladies return to Leh by cab! Now this was a serious ultimatum, and we just HAD to get to work. But then, we figured there's a quick way to loosen the dirt and clean up the car without putting in too much effort - and in the event it proved to be fun too!           Fun time over, time to roll up those trousers!   Was it worth it? Yes, it was fun. But now, back to getting dusty again.  |
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16th July 2011, 18:04
| #105 |
| Distinguished - BHPian | Hunder to Leh The next day: Time to go back to Leh.  Imposing Buddha at Diskit, visible from miles away  Road through Diskit  Camels running wild. The camels one rides at Hunder are left to fend for themselves in the wild throughout winter, and are captured again to be put back to commercial use at the onset of summer.   Diskit Loops.  A photo stop on the long and straight stretch after the Diskit Loops.        QuickSilver crossing...   Wild a$$ crossing...  H-4® shortcut...   Heading up to the snowline again.      Last edited by SS-Traveller : 16th July 2011 at 18:12. |
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