[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by laluks

Day 14
25th August 2011
Kargil - Leh


Easily, the most photographed road in Leh. This was clicked on the move from inside HVK scorpio.
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KSM Vtec - All for you
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continued...

Thanks a lot Lalu!!!!

Originally Posted by rajeev k

It is a part of the standard tool kit of Swift.

Well it does but some how we dint have even one with us...i guess the car owners can answer that question better

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

...overtake them one by one provided you flash your headlights, honk and ensure that you are not executing a rash overtaking manouevre, such as round a blind curve, etc

Originally Posted by deky

I know of an incident when a civil vehicle was pushed off the road...
...most important is the rear guard...
Do not show aggression (excessive honking or headlights) while overtaking it, they usually are co-operative and will let you pass.

Glad that you folks brought up this topic for discussion...

Used to have an ex-army driver as our chauffeur a long time ago - taught me a lot about how to go about overtaking an army convoy safely. One of the biggest no-no's was (and still is) honking & flashing lights behind them, unless you are driving a tank (and they can't/won't ram you)! Else, as deky said, you risk being pushed off the road, whether in the mountains or in the plains. As deky said again, the rear guard vehicle is THE most important vehicle as far as overtaking is concerned - if he allows you to pass, you can go through and break convoy to slot in between two trucks further ahead, to avoid oncoming vehicles before continuing to overtake the rest of the convoy.

If, OTOH, the rear guard obviously doesn't want you to pass, forget it; park the car and take a tea break in such a situation in the mountains. In the plains, he will only let you pass on a long straight section, when you are expected to complete the manoeuvre and cross the lead vehicle, and not slow down just ahead and hold up the constant speed of the convoy.

Another obvious thing to look for - are the trucks driving close to each other, or do they have gaps of a few hundred metres or more between each other? Convoys with big gaps between them will let you through happily, but avoid trying to break into the convoys driving in close formation (even in the plains) - overtake the latter at one shot, or don't.

Originally Posted by laluks

The feeling about them was the same even in 2009 when we dined there.

Masochistic streak?

[hvkumar]

HVK Scorpio
Aug 12, Bombay-Behror, 1402 kms
Aug 13, Behror-Rampur, 692 kms
Aug 14, Rampur-Chitkul, 144 kms
Aug 15, Chitkul-Pooh, 207 kms
Aug 16, Pooh-Kaza, 178 kms
Aug 17-19, Kaza, 291 kms
Aug 20, Kaza-Jispa, 236 kms
Aug 21, Jispa-Leh, 374 kms
Aug 22, Leh-Kargil, 343 kms
Aug 23, Kargil-Padum, 248 kms
Aug 24, Padum-Kargil, 275 kms
Aug 25, Kargil-Leh, 259 kms

Aug 26, Leh, 148 kms

Bus Services in Ladakh

Thanks to AK, we had our permits arranged for all the sectors that we planned to visit - but....for TS, the lone foreigner in our team, the permit did not bear reference to Chushul & Hanle, which meant that he could go till Merak on the banks of the Pangong lake (road to Chushul) and also he could go to Tso Moriri but not Nyoma or Loma.

So we started working on Plan B for TS - how does he avoid the prohibited sector but also catch up with us for the other sectors? As I mentioned, taxis are super-expensive in Leh and not worth considering, so TS and I said, let us check out the scene on public transport - buses.

Mountains, cold, high altitude sickness, gompas, chowmeins, river water rafting......all available aplenty in Ladakh, but buses?

The best joke I heard last year was when someone started talking about the "Volvo" bus service that had started between Manali & Leh. We were too astounded to react to that! These are tracks which give an Indian Army Stallion a tough time, and here this gentleman is talking about Volvo buses!! The reality is that JKTDC and HPSRTC have regular 2-day bus services from Manali to Leh but they are the normal rickety aam janta buses which are short wheel-base (almost mini-buses) because only they can negotiate the sharp curves and "tank" their way through slush & loose soil.

So TS & I decided to visit the bus stand in Leh to find out more. We were looking to a way that TS could connect between Pangong (where he is allowed) & Mahe (where we planned to come after we complete the "Indians only" Pangong-Chushul-Hanle circuit 1 day hence.

The Leh bus stand is on the entry point to town, and is divided in 4 parts:
- JKSRTC
- Local town private buses
- Local mofussil private buses
- All other buses, including taxi stands

Each has its own enquiry and "booking" counters.

I am reproducing excerpts from the bus timetable from Leh bus stand which are self-explanatory

Dha 9 am, Daily
Achinathang, 10 am, Thu
Domkar, 930 am, Mon/Thu
Hemis 200 pm, Alternate Days
Chumathang, 100 pm, Alternate Sun
Tso Moriri 630 am, 10th/20th/30th

I guess you get the drift of things - what is the state of bus services. And now you also know why taxis are charging extortionist prices like Rs 11,000 one way Kargil-Padum 250 kms (or Rs 44 per km!).

The "booking" counter guys were pretty nonchalant when you enquire within, this is supposed to be the "peak" season timetable! Anyway, we got what we wanted, TS could get a bus starting from Leh for Hanle or Nyoma on the day which we wanted, so I guess we were lucky!

[hvkumar]

HVK Scorpio
Aug 12, Bombay-Behror, 1402 kms
Aug 13, Behror-Rampur, 692 kms
Aug 14, Rampur-Chitkul, 144 kms
Aug 15, Chitkul-Pooh, 207 kms
Aug 16, Pooh-Kaza, 178 kms
Aug 17-19, Kaza, 291 kms
Aug 20, Kaza-Jispa, 236 kms
Aug 21, Jispa-Leh, 374 kms
Aug 22, Leh-Kargil, 343 kms
Aug 23, Kargil-Padum, 248 kms
Aug 24, Padum-Kargil, 275 kms
Aug 25, Kargil-Leh, 259 kms

Aug 26, Leh, 148 kms

The Morning Session

Today was breakfast day - after this one, we were never long enough in the morning in any place in Ladakh to have breakfast in the hotel!! The usual fluffy omlettes washed down by chai. The agenda for the day was pretty clear for each member of the team:

HVK Scorpio - finished its repairs the previous day, all set to go!
The Mumbai Roadster Swifts - as good as new
"Baby" Alto - groaning under some suspension problems, needed to be wheeled inf or some surgery at the ASC
Jeep Captain/ Bol Bolero Boleros - delayed the previous day, needed to spend some time in the workshops today

I had refilled the water. Cleaned out the dirty insides of the car. Found new ways to fit in things inside the car. Repacked all our personal stuff, having done some clothes washing too (had been given to the laundry at Santhi Guest House while we were away to Zanskar Valley). Permits in place. Next destination hotel booking done. Extra fuel can purchased.

During the last 2009 trip, Lalu was disappointed that he could not cover the gompas and other sights around Leh, so this time he had extracted a promise even before the trip that I would not let him down again! So the Leh circuit was scheduled for this day.

But before that:

- DB wanted to check out the shopping scene in Leh, he had his wife back to please, and so we set off to the main market - and peeked into the "Tibetan Market" even as all the shops were being opened that morning. The usual trinklets - masks, prayer wheels, prayer flags, and some precious stones claimed to be from Tibet!

- Mumbai Roadsters were found munching dosas (they were apparently fed up of omlettes & Maggi) in the Leh market and haggling on rates for self-drive mobikes

- TS & I went around to the bus stand to check out timings

- I needed an extra fuel can to take us through the petrol pump-less 1,300 kms circuit that we planned to start the next day, and after lots of searching, I failed but KSM-vTEC managed to procure something

- AK who had arranged our permits and also the owner of the Turtuk Holiday Camp wanted us to carry our "dinner/breakfast" materials (bread, rice, etc) in our cars

- I had to make phone calls to a contact at Chamba to check out the state of our return route (through Sach Pass), lots of strategising on options before us, probing whether it was raining heavily in Himachal, and so on. If the road was to be closed, then we would have to rethink our return route plan.

...so by noon, we were satisfied that our agenda in Leh was truly complete.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

Well it does but some how we dint have even one with us...i guess the car owners can answer that question better

Perhaps, what i meant was, if the service station had tool kits available for sale, it could have contained one.

[codelust]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Perhaps, what i meant was, if the service station had tool kits available for sale, it could have contained one.

In my 2009 trip, where I 'accidentally' wound up in Leh, trying to spend a quiet week at Kasol and ended up missing Kasol entirely, there was an episode in Manali where I spent the better part of a day trying to find a mech who would weld a tow hook to my Swift. All of them refused. The simple answer was to read the farming manual. I never did, so I never knew. But I was, really, really lucky with the level of prep that I had, considering I was driving solo. It comes standard with the Swift toolkit; you need to peel off that little thingummy on the front bumper, screw it in and you are in business.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Glad that you folks brought up this topic for discussion...

Used to have an ex-army driver as our chauffeur a long time ago - taught me a lot about how to go about overtaking an army convoy safely. One of the biggest no-no's was (and still is) honking & flashing lights behind them, unless you are driving a tank...

My experience with the convoys in the past few years is to never flash or to rush them. I often stick behind them and more often than not, they let me pass them if I don't hustle them.

[KSM-Vtec]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Perhaps, what i meant was, if the service station had tool kits available for sale, it could have contained one.

Yep we did try the ASC and many more part shops in Leh...but no luck.

Well the workaround we had come up with had worked well in the past so we decided to move on and use the same if we needed any towing.

[KSM-Vtec]

Back in 2009 i had the good fortune to make my first trip to Ladakh. It was during that trip itself when i had decided to come back multiple times in different months of the season and using different type of automobiles.

In 2009 i was lucky that i could find the time and money to build a Gypsy King from scratch (army auction) and then drive it from Mumbai to Ladakh and back with a childhood friend of mine who was not comfortable driving a gypsy in the hills. So the pleasure was mine for all the 6k+ kms and we had a lot of fun. Each and every moment and rupee spent in building the gypsy for over 6 months was completely worth it!

Then came 2010 and we decided to cover the North East of India and unfortunately i couldn't do Ladakh that year.

2011 we were planning to do another trip which had to be cancelled and i was free to do Ladakh again. Got to know about the IPHE from HVK and i told my self that this is going to be a great opportunity to make my dream of riding to Ladakh come true. ( I had the best possible people and vehicles to back me up)

Kunal, Yogen, Ankit, Ramie and a few more guys from out TBHP group had expressed their desire to do a road trip to Ladakh together but you know how it is with the COE's of Kalti.com so i was also keeping my option to ride with the IPHE open.

Finally things worked out and the 4 of us actually made it. I had to shelf my plan of riding to Ladakh for sometime.

Cont.....

[KSM-Vtec]

Aug 26, Leh

So we had finished the Leh - Padum - Leh sector and we were now in Leh for our one and only rest day.

Our cars were all ok and we had done whatever little maintenance and service work was required. We drove around the Leh market looking for some good breakfast and a few extra fuel cans for our next marathon sector.

Went to the workshop to say hi to the team members there and see if they needed any help. Picked up GB from the ASC dropped him to the hotel and noticed SS and AR heading for the market. We picked them up and decided to look for a place where we can sit and have some JUICE. But we all know how bad the parking issue is in Leh and so we decided to take a parcel.

Chiller day but a plan at the back of my mind. We have 2 drivers in each of the swifts so what if i can manage to ride to Khardungla!!!! and then send the bike back somehow. I told KP AP YP about my plan and KP and AP said they wanted to do the same if it was possible!

Well i don't agree with the first part of the statement because 4 wheels move the soul in their own way...just that both are different.


So started looking for a guy who could give us a package deal consisting of the Bike+Fuel+RIDER (rider to ride the back from Kla). Finally we closed the deal with this 1 guys for INR850 per bike all inclusive.They were ok with it because we were gonna leave very early and they would be back by shop opening time.

So now who will drive APs swift ?? The obvious answer was Lalu! He owns a swift himself, has insane amount of driving experience, has been to Ladakh before and knows its dynamics well....but will he want to miss the opportunity to click some photos in this section??

[laluks]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

So now who will drive APs swift ?? The obvious answer was Lalu! He owns a swift himself, has insane amount of driving experience, has been to Ladakh before and knows its dynamics well....but will he want to miss the opportunity to click some photos in this section??

Wow! Feels so great to remember this day. I always wanted to drive to KLa. But many logistical and dates related issues always made me a passenger in one of the vehicles in the convoy both in 2009 and 2011.

This was like all of a sudden. Early morning I got a question from AP - "Can you drive my swift to KLa ?" My answer was an overjoyed "YES".

So thanks to Mumbai Roadsters I drove a swift to KLa, and thus got into the list of people who had driven to KLa.

A dream come true Thank you Mumbai Roadsters.

Photos always takes a back seat while driving, and KLa the second time for me - it was never a priority.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by KSM-Vtec

Well the workaround we had come up with had worked well in the past so we decided to move on and use the same if we needed any towing.

The innovative alternate you worked out has delivered and so fine. It is seen in the pictures and is safe for the car being soft.

[JeepCaptain]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

On Aug 25/26, we stayed in Jorchung Guest House, which is on the Thukcha Main Road off the main market, but in a secluded part of Leh, and on the road connecting the "bypass" which links up to the Airport Road & Manali road. Charged around Rs 700 or Rs 800, not sure. Great place. Car parking inside, all our cars went in without any trouble. Friendly owner Sonam. Tel: Sonam 01982-242491/07298794156, 01982-252463/ 9419818756/ 9469297884
Location: Mahey Guest House, Tukcha Main Road, Leh - Google Maps, next to Mahey Guest House

Jorchung Guest house was one place where we stayed maximum during this trip. I had stayed there in June 2010 when I went to Leh with Team Bangalore Bolero Club. That trip was the inspiration for this IPHE 2011.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Our team has photos of the Jorchung Guest House, let us await their uploading some. Pretty place with orchards around, very quiet and very good rooms

Now Sharing some pics of Jorchung Guest house and the orchards around it.

For your info


Relatively new building- Very clean and friendly owner and staff



Nice small Garden where you can sit and relax



That's were the owner and Family stays.



Our breakfast table.







Spacious Parking, USP of this guest house

[JeepCaptain]

Jorchung Guest house, Leh and Orchards Around it.

All pics by JC & NJ

HVK & TS in Serious discussion about next fews days Plan of Action. While JP is clicking pics and NJ is getting some help from the guest house staff


HVK Explaining to TS about how to get to Nyoma since he couldnt get permit to Hanle. Lalu and DB also joined the discussion.



TS bought nice handy Map of Ladakh from Leh (lying on the table)



TS the careful listener



SS the senior most also joins the discussion.



Nice umbrealla's



Another view of the Guest House.



Discovery Bolero ready to go for a service



JC amidst flowers -clicked by NJ.



JP & TS

[hvkumar]

HVK Scorpio
Aug 12, Bombay-Behror, 1402 kms
Aug 13, Behror-Rampur, 692 kms
Aug 14, Rampur-Chitkul, 144 kms
Aug 15, Chitkul-Pooh, 207 kms
Aug 16, Pooh-Kaza, 178 kms
Aug 17-19, Kaza, 291 kms
Aug 20, Kaza-Jispa, 236 kms
Aug 21, Jispa-Leh, 374 kms
Aug 22, Leh-Kargil, 343 kms
Aug 23, Kargil-Padum, 248 kms
Aug 24, Padum-Kargil, 275 kms
Aug 25, Kargil-Leh, 259 kms

Aug 26, Leh, 148 kms

The Afternoon Session

At 1215 pm, the HVK Scorpio team set off on its sightseeing trip around Leh, leaving the rest of the team busy with repairing cars, hiring mobikes, shopping and generally taking a break after the rigorous schedules of the past few days. I guess my Scorpio was back to its total age of 228 years (the total of the ages of the team members).

We took the Manali road to visit the Gompas, something which Lalu missed during his last trip. Past Choglamsar, which doe snot look like the vllage that was totally wiped out after the cloudburst of last year. The roads are narrow, but traffic is light and the only tourists are the foreign variety, I guess many of the "conducted tour" Indian tourists must be busy visiting 3 Idiots Schools and 3 Idiots river bridges.

Shey Palace - the first of the gompas on the road, like all Gompas atop a hill up a very steep road which we regretted taking (the taxi guys park on the main road itself) since we had to return in reverse down the steep slope (no place to reverse at the top). I use my FIRST GEAR technique to reverse down the slope. Engage first gear, slide down with the clutch pressed down, release the clutch pedal to get some resistance (instead of using brakes and risk skidding), etc.

Thikshey Gompa - probably the grandest of the Gompas in the region with a nice road leading all the way to the top. Surly Innova taxi drivers hanging around in the car parking, smirking at the audacity of the 4 Indian tourists in their own Scorpio, depriving them of one fare! More entry tickets. No video shooting before the Golden Buddha which is as tall as 2 floors. The views from the top are great, you can see the River Indus coursing through the Leh Valley with some green sticking to its banks but otherwise surrounded by brown & yellow mountains topped with some snow at the top.

Stakna Gompa - across the river through a narrow suspension bridge, and some lovely views from the the top

Karu - after Stakna, the road clears up beyond all the innumerable settlements that have slowed us down so far, and we are speeding to Karu, one of the largest military camps in the Leh region, also the junction for roads branching off to Pangong Lake (via Chang la) and the Markha Valley. Hemis Valley. We looked at our watches - it was 250 pm - and decided we must have lunch now. Roadside dhaba, a nice Indian meal of rotis, bajis & rice.

Markha Valley - we crossed the River Indus to the other bank. No signages in the roads, I simply go by my memory of the previous trips. Ahem, that sometimes misfires and the left turn I took headed into the Markha Valley (instead of Hemis). We were delighted of course as the road became dirtier and dirtier and the water clearer and clearer as we were surrounded by steep cliffs, crossing some tent camps but lots of green fields. This is the route into Markha Valley, one of the most popular destinations for trekkers. 15 kms into the Valley, we reached Shong Gompa, and decided to turn back since there was lots of Leh region yet to be seen.

Hemis Gompa - Back to the main road and the Hemis Valley. Another Gompa, but this one the largest in Leh region. No more entry tickets, please. We looked at the watch, let us move on, we have 3-4 more gompas to see before the sun sets!

We cross the Stakna Gompa again. Some nice landscape views. NO, I told Lalu, we have no time to go to the Mato Gompa, Lalu is not pleased.

Hello, water on the road. Prospecting in this dirty water - sorry! Dipped the car into it, oh no, the water is getting into the exhaust and the engine almost splutters to a stall, but somehow power my way through with engine and ego intact.

Stok Palace - the home to teh Royal Family. His Highness comes out driving his Mahindra Thar, his other car is a Bolero! We did not step within, an eye on the setting sun.

Back to Choglamsar, Leh town, on the airport road.

Spituk Gompa - the most interesting Gompa in town. If you come here, you will not ever take a flight into Leh. The planes come past the towering cliffs and then suddenly dips and sneaks in through a gap - with the Gompa in between - and then touching down just before the runway itself runs out Anyway, this is a lovely place to watch planes land and take off, although I am sure a visit to see Buddha inside may be the main purpose of the visit.

Sun down, back to Leh. Some of the team still in the garage, giving us some surly looks when they hear of our Gompa tour!

75 litres - that is the quantity of fuel I bought that evening, both to fill the tank as well as the reserve fuel cans.

Back to our hotel, old guys like me crash for the night, the younger ones decide to treat themselves to some Tibetan cuisine in the Leh market, on what was to be our last day in Leh. During the day, I had contacted my contact in the Himachal town of Chamba and ascertained that the road across the Sach Pass was open, that was to be our return route instead of via Srinagar or Manali.

[JeepCaptain]

Sharing some pics of Jorchung Guest house and the orchards around it.

All pics by JC & NJ