[bharat4ever]

Very good pictures Anshuman. The Laura compliments the landscape excellently. Skoda should do a photoshoot there, or better yet, take your pictures and pay you royalty.

How do you think an i20 will fare on these roads? I've been thinking of a trip, but not sure if i should do it in a hatch.

[.anshuman]

Now was the time for look for our accommodation for the night. We started with the first one, it had nice maintained rooms with attached Toilets and hot water facility, they had a kitchen with good list of options, negotiations started from 2000bucks and he finally stopped at 800bucks, looked great deal to me but my friend said lets explore more options. We drove all the way till Spangmik, most other options with exact similar accommodation were more expensive crowded.

Spent some time at lakeside and left for the first one we negotiated. This one was more secluded and a silent place in comparison. Distance from lake was not more than 100 meters.












^ Mercedes Unimog, the right vehicle for the terrain. A german tourist( i am sorry i forgot your name) drove all the way from Germany in this awesome truck, alone only companion was his dog, who proudly sat on the passenger seat all the time.

[.anshuman]

Sat at the lakeside, moved luggage to the tents and had yummy tasting north indian dinner that tasted like authentic north indian food, wow! that too at a very reasonable price.

Some more pics from the day-





















Witnessed a very beautiful sunset. I missed my Tripod Pangong lake in moonlight was even more beautiful. The silence after everyone went to their tents was unbelievable.

[mempheS.D]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Rough road package is standard for Yeti, Laura and Superb. I do not know about Fabia, Rapid does not come with proper rough road package(It's not a proper Skoda anyways). Rough road package is not a jugaad for India, it is designed at the time of development of the vehicle.

Just checked this up on the Skoda site and confirms that the Fabia does come with an RR package.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by mempheS.D

Just checked this up on the Skoda site and confirms that the Fabia does come with an RR package.

You sure that is a proper kit, unlike the Rapid which AFAIK also has Rough Road Package mentioned. Just check the underbody, do you see a black metal plate protecting the engine, knock on it to check if it is metal one. I will check it out of curiosity next time i visit a Skoda dealer/Service station.

[.anshuman]

It was hard to wake up at 5 in the morning, we slept very late but i wanted to observe sunrise, which i was sure was going to be beautiful. Did not bother to wake anyone else, just picked my Camera bag and car keys and left the tent.

It was cold outside, the wind blowing outside was freezing. The silence was deafening, was the wind and nothing else. Just to check the temperature, inserted the key in and cranked the engine, normal crank and CR TDI engine fired and settled at rather high 1100 rpm, cold clatter was rather smooth compared to other CRDIs i have owned.

Some pictures-

[.anshuman]

Some more pictures from the morning-










^ Bedroom with a view, Unimog parked for the night

[lsp]

WOW!!
Just one word sums it up for me. Amazing pics and very crisp writing.

This surely is the first laura from TBHP in Ladakh but did you spot any other Lauras?

Why didn't you take the Fortuner? I believe you own a T-Fort as well.

[.anshuman]

Some more pictures from the day-

[.anshuman]

Another set of pics from Pangong Tso-














^ Our cook

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

If i had a Superb instead of Laura would i attempt Ladakh trip?
Yes, with no second thoughts, probably not the Manali route.

So, you went via Srinagar and came back via Manali, right?

I was at Ladakh for the past 12 days and had been to most places that you ve mentioned thus far and Rangdum on the Kargil-Padum route.

That Unimog fellow crossed paths with us at Rangdum.

Zozi La was smooth sailing, Khardung La was acceptable, Baralacha La and Nakeela were in their usual form. It was the popular Rohtang La that was the worst.

We were 4 people in a 2wd Scorpio SLE and I must say that the 2.2 felt underpowered at a few places.

Did you face any such issues with the Laura?
Did you have to keep up the momentum at the cost of bouncing the car and passengers around while climbing/negotiating the Las'?

What was your FE figure while at Leh and around?

What was the passenger feedback? Did you ever get to sit in the rear seat?

Waiting for the rest of your travelogue and congrats on the successful completion of the trip.

[fi.robin]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

You sure that is a proper kit, unlike the Rapid which AFAIK also has Rough Road Package mentioned. Just check the underbody, do you see a black metal plate protecting the engine, knock on it to check if it is metal one. I will check it out of curiosity next time i visit a Skoda dealer/Service station.

Fabia's RR package is not as elaborate as Laura's. There was no plastic cover under the engine of 1.2 petrol, at least not in mine. I had checked a few others too. 1.4 PD has it I guess. I remember there was an underbody difference in diesel and petrol Fabia. It does have the side yellow part shown in the picture posted by anshuman. The transmission hump is very useful in hiding the exhaust and other major stuff underneath. It is good to know which side the sump lies to be protective. I think it is right side.

[Omtoatom]

Stunning shots and a deeply engrossing travelogue Anshuman.

What can I say? Take a bow man!! Oh how I feel proud right now to have a Laura in my stable! She seems to have taken on Ladakh with aplomb and gusto!

That Laura is an extraordinary car is pretty well known around the forum. I think your journey has just given that term a new definition.

Originally Posted by Hatari

Great pics. I think you have just given Skoda their 2013 calendar!

Superlike!

I couldn't have put it better, my friend. Skoda has their 2013 Calendar!

[vidyabhushan]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

BTW,I haven't heard a single Horror story of any CRDI/TSI Laura/Yeti. If you know one exists on the forum, please point it out to me..

Hi Anshuman,
As much as I am liking this travelogue of yours and planning one simultaneoulsy, thought to bring out the issues I have faced first hand with Skoda -
The machine definitely is one of the best (comparable to the Germans at <half price). However, Skoda suffers badly with their service operations in India. If you are unlucky enough to run into some issues, Skoda India experience has been found sub-optimal more than once. I was a proud owner of Skoda Superb (Diesel AT) 2005 model, until we faced some abnormal engine and transmission issues after some water logging issues. The car spent several months at Marikar Motors in Kerala (at different times) with several trials-and-hits being performed at my expense but the issues remained.
Later, had a chance to meet one of the service advisors when I was getting my Honda serviced, he joined Honda after Skoda and recognized me immediately. He spilt the beans - Marikar hasnt had Engine Oil for last 6 months, but the cars serviced have been billed for Engine Oil Change. Most drivers probably may not identify the difference at first, which has been exploited by the dealers.

Is this a problem with Skoda? Yes and No. Yes because they need to choose dealers and inspect the service delivered more closely. No because Skoda machines by themselves are one of the best I have ever seen, but probably the service personnel are not trained well enough to be able to identify issues and correct it.

[shabash]

Great pictures and narration. Wanted to check one thing. As I am from Bangalore and as I love driving on my own, what are my options if I fly in to Delhi? I presume Rental cars is an option. Or another (may sound crazy) option is to drive all the way to Delhi and then onto Leh/Ladakh....just over 3000 Kms (as per google maps).