[unoczar]

See?
We don't want this travelogue to continue...
we NEED this to continue.

Jaldi aaja bhai..

[tsk1979]

Sorry to keep you guys waiting.
Was away with no internet or phone for the last 7 days. Normal service will resume shortly.
"Rukawat ke liye khed hai"

[tsk1979]

Most miss the second Kyun Tso.
Its called chilling Tso, and the first one Ryul Tso? Or was it the other way round. It is said that only the Changpas know which one is Ryul, and which one is Chilling.
But then, Alexander the great said, whats in a name.

Coming back to the lake, as I said, most miss it because it does not lie on the main route from Hanle to Chushul.
A big hill stands in the way. Even when you start northwards towards Nidar, the lake comes into view much later, as its tucked away far from the road.

The "road" to the lake is a tough walk through quicksand like marsh. Do not even think of taking any kind of vehicle there.

We were not in mood for a long walk, so whats the best way to enjoy the lakes? Climb the hill of course!

And with that idea, Sonam guns his old truck towards the hill.
She is old, and has just about 60 horses on tap, but she can pull. Slowly but steadily he guides takes us towards the top.

Midway, we stop. "Thats it" Any more, and she will overheat.
And from here, we go higher on foot.
Yes, the views were awesome


Towards the left, I can barely make out the first lake


WE walk higher...
More Kyun Tso II




Somewhere behind those mountains lies Nidar. You have to cross Thit Zarbo La to reach it


From our higher vantage point, you can see the Kyun Tso I too!


And of course number nine


However, I cannot get them in a single frame. How about a panorama?


And with this we must say goodbye to our lakes.
The long road back to Hanle awaits.

[motomaverick]

Absolutely brilliant, was waiting for the Lake II photographs. Do you have any of the 2nd Lake with those snow capped mountains in the background? Would be a lovely wallpaper. May be a 2013 Lakes calendar

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Absolutely brilliant, was waiting for the Lake II photographs. Do you have any of the 2nd Lake with those snow capped mountains in the background? Would be a lovely wallpaper. May be a 2013 Lakes calendar

For that you have to go towards the east of the lake, which is a long walk/trek. So no such pics

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But then, Alexander the great said, whats in a name.

Even Shakespeare wouldn't have thought someone would use his words on Shakespeare himself
By the way, TSK, what happened to Sonata Europa? Looks like you might have to change its status from Walking to Sitting

[gkrishn]

Attachment 1002144


the one near the middle of the pic, is that a galaxy or some thing? amazing!!!

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by gkrishn

Attachment 1002144


the one near the middle of the pic, is that a galaxy or some thing? amazing!!!

That is the andromeda galaxy.
Its one of the easier galaxies to spot. If I had a tracker, I could have gotten the pinwheel galaxy also.

[vinayrathore]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

That is the andromeda galaxy.
Its one of the easier galaxies to spot. If I had a tracker, I could have gotten the pinwheel galaxy also.

You can use Google Sky Map as a tracker. It does not always require Internet and is a charm to search anything in the sky.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by vinayrathore

You can use Google Sky Map as a tracker. It does not always require Internet and is a charm to search anything in the sky.

Err, I meant a "tracking mount". To enable longer exposure which is needed for nebula and fainter galaxies.
I use google sky, and skyview already

[vinayrathore]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Err, I meant a "tracking mount". To enable longer exposure which is needed for nebula and fainter galaxies.
I use google sky, and skyview already

Oops! My bad.

[tsk1979]

The sun will do down quickly now. Its getting cold, and the winds are quite icy too. So what should be the conversation in such cold weather.
Well its Caprine excreta.
Yes, goat droppings.

Sonam tells us about the wonderful properties of caprine excreta. light it up in a smokey slow burning fire, and it cures common cold, in a baby's diaper, it keeps the baby warm and absorbs ... whatever comes out of there.

Also powdered and used in traditional medicine.

And last but not the least, he wants to carry a lot of it in the cargo bay. We don't mind stopping, don't we?
Well we do not since it will be in the cargo bay and not the cabin.

Now Sonam is no physician. Neither has he sired a hundred babies. So why so much goat droppings?

Here we learn something new again. When kept in a room, these slowly release warmth, and therefore they make great warmers in winter. You can keep these on the floor of a room, and the room will be warmer. Now I am sure nobody will have trouble sleeping in such a room(if you consider unconcious sleeping), so I ask him, what does he intend to do with such a room.

Well its going to be the parking lot for his truck. Over the top he will put a transparent sheet. He told us that by evening, the temperature will touch 15-20 degree C (its -5 outside during daytime in winters), so if he wants to go out thenext day, he can start the truck without using ATF(which eats engines btw).

So we park, and he starts collecting the droppings


Towards the left is the field where some changpa nomads must have rested their herd for a while.


Since sonam collects the droppings, its my job to bring around the truck and align the truck for loading


Now this old beast has done 130000kms +
And she is made my Tata.
But listen to this now.

Till date, no hose pipe, no part, not even the clutch plates have been changed. Battery has been changed twice(due to long cranks required in winter, batteries die out sooner).
So all he does is change oil every 5000-7000kms, and thats it.

Much later I get to know that tata commercial and tata passenger do not see eye to eye. Well, considering tata commercial can make such vehicles, they would be to proud to associate with passenger cars division.

While this tata is running around carrying 200kgs of goat dropping, our beloved elephant is getting a silly hose pipe repaired.



Nevertheless, I am digressing.
We load up the truck, and this causes two effects. My nose burns. Yes they are in cargo bay, but I keep my window rolled up.
Secondly, the ride softens with the extra weight.

The road ahead is good for only a very short while, and then the madness will start


We also come across a Equine group. Sonam tells us its not wild horses. There are no wild horses here. All are owned. They just look wild, like ladakh looks wild




But its not the horses we want to see. Its the kiangs, and we get the sightings.... yay!


Within 15 days even they will leave to lonlier places in search of pasture




As we reach Hanle, the sun is about to set




And clouds give us nice colors too


As we reach the sun goes down, and we head towards the BRO camp. Will our elephant be okay?

[akbaree]

As always, excellent travelogue and photographs. Thanks for sharing.

The night shots really stand out. Is it possible to share the Exif data for the night shots? And in the andromeda galaxy shot those blue coloured stars: are they blue giants (if you know)

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by akbaree

As always, excellent travelogue and photographs. Thanks for sharing.

The night shots really stand out. Is it possible to share the Exif data for the night shots? And in the andromeda galaxy shot those blue coloured stars: are they blue giants (if you know)

The fisheye shots are taken at an exposure of around 40s with the 8mm Rokinon(Samyang) fisheye
As for the blue stars, its due to CA. the 50mm 1.8 has a Chromatic aberration when will wide open

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

But its not the horses we want to see. Its the kiangs, and we get the sightings.... yay!

Well a question was popped yesterday on 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' as to where these Kiang's are found in India. And it was worth 50 Lacs!!!