[me_sid]

Amazing set of pictures and a lively write-up, inded a lifetime experience. What’s more assuring is that the XUV completed this entire 10K trip without any niggle. It would be nice to know about the essentials that you packed in for the XUV.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by shivag

I being with my little baby Ertiga and 6 pax family cannot even thing about your achievement.

I hope your baby Xuv is all fine without any issues after the gruelling journey.

Thanks Shiva.. and fyi, I saw a few Ertiga's doing the inner circuits in Leh - I saw an Ertiga at K Top and Pangong. So you can definitely plan. All the best.

My XUV is ready for another 10000kms No issues whatsoever.

Originally Posted by ashphil

Please do PM me with your contact number. I would love to meet up with you when I am in Chennai next.
Regards,
Ashok

Thanks Ashok. We can definitely meet. have shared my number in a PM. Pls check.

Originally Posted by me_sid

It would be nice to know about the essentials that you packed in for the XUV.

Thanks Sid. I packed the following for the car and for personal use -

1. Tow rope - 5Ton with D shackles
2. 2L Engine Oil
3. 2L Coolant
4. All other fluids (1L each - Brake / Power Steering oil)
5. 5, 10, 15 Amp fuse - 2 each
6. Car grease
7. Polythene - Transparent - if any glasses break
8. Wooden planks of varying sizes
10. Strings to fasten anything
11. Quick Fix, Anabond
12. Nuts and bolts of varying sizes
13. Pair of gloves
14. Tent Lantern (Remember there is no power in Turtuk, Pangong, Hanle and Tso Moriri in the nights)
15. Powerful torches (2 of them)
16. Monkey wrench
17. Spanners of all sizes
18. Screw driver of all sizes
19. Allen key
20. Shovel
21. 3 Ton Hydraulic Jack (floor type)
22. Tyre inflator
23. Puncture repair kit
24. Hammer
25. Few nails
26. Wind screen wash
27. Cloth for wiping windscreen
28. Tarpolin (to cover the car if temp goes below -10C)
29. Lots of batteries (for torches / tent lantern)
30. Jump start cables
31. Rubber Ballons for sealing the diesel cans
32. Big funnel with a hose
33. Small funnel for engine oil, coolent and stuff.
34. Swiss army knife
35. Immersion heater
36. Belkin car inverter
37. Cigarette lighter
38. 1 Car electric socket to 3 socket converter
39. Multi pin electric holder
40. Car mounts (2 of them to hold phone, GPS and DVR)
41. 2 Umbrellas
42. 2 Diesel cans (20L and 35L)
43. 4 phones (eventhough 2 of them has no sim cards - just in case)
44. Wire cutter (sharp ones)
45. Knifes and blades
46. Goggles (2 of them)
47. Spare battery for camera (D3200 Nikon)
48. Spare memory cards (total 20GB)
49. All car chargers and wall charges for all the electronic equipments
50. Tent (4Pax)
51. 2 thick bedsheets (Came handy in Tso Moriri at -5C)
52. Lots and lots of nuts to eat (just in case we are stuck without help)
53. Long range whistle (which can produce sound upto a few kms) - specifically needed for chushul route
54. Steel rod (just in case - for our own safety)
55. Bathroom seat sanitizer (From Elavo) - remember, we are going to change hotels every day
56. Lots of tissue paper
57. Hand sanitizers
58. Liv 52 tablets for digestion
59. Diamox tablets and other basic medicines
60. Borrowed a few sarees.. plain ones.. to cover the luggage and my sub-woofer in the XUV. We did not want anyone to see whats inside the car.
61. 36 bottles of 1 L Aqua Fina (3 cartons bought in Leh each with 12 bottles)
62. Bread, butter, jam and some badam drink etc., to have if we are stuck anywhere.
63. ...

I remeber these, for now. Hope this helps.

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by AMP

Hey Sathya, This is old friend Gaurav. Excellent travelogue! Wish I could also explore the route to Leh-Ladakh some day but don't have saved that much which can allow me to take my petrol car there

Sid informed me that you reaching to Pune around 4 pm and asked if I am coming to meet you but that was very busy day in office so could not make it.

Its one life my dear friend. So plan, save and go for it. It will be life changing for sure. It would have been great of we would have met. I still remember the good old days.. It was awesome having you and Sid with me. Thanks guys for everything.

[HillMan]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Its one life my dear friend. So plan, save and go for it. It will be life changing for sure.

Good writeup Sathya and lot of information. Liked your ingenuity. And a thanks for listing out the items your carried along. That is very helpful.

To our bad luck, the diesel started leaking because of pressure differences and we had to work hard to tightly seal the Diesel can caps. We tried to seal it with rubber Balloons and viola, it worked.

The plan was to leave two Indian Oil tankers ahead of my Hawk while I get sandwiched between the second and the third tanker. This actually helped us in two folds. The first two tankers ironed out the roads for us aiding in some traction and the third tanker behind us ensured we gained enough respect from the local taxis;

One thing in the thread no one talks about are the preparations. How did you find hotel bookings. Any issues or best approach.
License / Permit requirements and how to go about those. (I see you mentioned a permit requirement in one of your posts).

It is always good to learn from experience of those who have Been There Done It. It will be good info for anyone planning for a similar trip.

[specialedition]

Wow, that was some call to take this trip. Great pictures and route details from your end, this will serve as a great log for anyone taking this beautiful journey. Such journeys give a lot of boost and help for people who wish to take on this journey, including me. Thanks for putting this one up.

[lucifer.gld]

Awesome and Amazing Adventure Dude, I saw your thread on the Mainpage and read it in one Go. You have inspired me to dare this in the near future with my Better Half. Congratulations on a fantastic Achievement... It takes guts to think of achieving such a feat ( 10000 kms Road Trip), Hats off to your Wife who was equally supportive. Lovely snaps and mesmerizing terrain.

One small query, Is it not advisable to take kids between 2-6 to Leh-Ladakh due to the altitude factor.

[vu2pmc]

Hi,

Congrats on this wonderful adventure, and this beautiful travelogue. I join you in saluting our martyrs. I have sent you a PM already.

Regards,
de
VU2PMC

[Nagesh]

Awesome stuff Sathya!! Agree with you on "Don't think too much.. just go". After seeing the hits your XUV has taken, wonder if a liva can make it!!

[supertinu]

Wow, pretty amazing stuff Sathya. Thats one hell of a travelogue covering all parts of India. Definitely a very enriching experience. Hats off to you and your wife and your daughter as well for staying back without parents for so many days .

[Vihari]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Being a S/W project manager by profession, the concept of project planning, strategizing and execution was applied even in this case and truly it helped (crazy isn’t??).

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

Some tips, that I followed which helped ME.

Must DO's -
1.Take it slow, don't plan for 1000+kms every single day; your being alert on the road is EXTREMELY important. Once in a while is OK.
15. ABOVE ALL, RESPECT NATURE. REMEMBER WE ARE AT ITS MERCY THERE.

What I avoided -
1. Night travel (atleast within Leh)
2. Strict NO NO to Alcohol

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

I packed the following for the car and for personal use -

1. Tow rope - 5Ton with D shackles

62. Bread, butter, jam and some badam drink etc., to have if we are stuck anywhere.
63. ...

I remeber these, for now. Hope this helps.

Yes, it shows! The planning, the strategy and the execution...you are a TRUE BLUE Planner and Leader.

For such a trip to be successful, the above qualities are required.

Thank you for a wonderful travelogue. It really took some time to go through the whole log (almost 15 days) and then to say something about it.

Actually my cousin who is not a member, called me up and told me that there is a travelogue by one Sathya and it reminds of our trips. This was with regard to the initial rains that you encountered, since whenever me and my cousin venture out for a trip it rains heavily even if it is not rainy season!

- Sai

[Sathya_sc]

Originally Posted by HillMan

One thing in the thread no one talks about are the preparations. How did you find hotel bookings. Any issues or best approach.
License / Permit requirements and how to go about those. (I see you mentioned a permit requirement in one of your posts)..

Thanks Hillman. HVK sir helped me with my hotel bookings. The bookings were done dynamically depending on the speed at which I travelled. Basically, I stuck to the plan that we had put together. There was not much deviation. Couple of occasions I was doing better than what I had planned.

Reg. permits, I visited DC office at Leh. Basically did the following the order specified -

1. Visited the xerox shop nearby to get the relevant forms
2. Filled the details in the form - specifically I had a list of places to be mentioned - I had already prepared the list and carried with me. So it was just a re-write into the form - places I mentioned were - Khardung La, Hunder, Nubra Valley, Turtuk, Chang La, Pangong Tso, Maan Merak, Chushul, Tsaga La, Nyoma, Loma, Hanle, Upshi, Chamtang, Tso Moriri, Polokong La and Tso Kar.
3. Paid the relevant money and got the forms sealed and signed by the officials.
4. Took 30 copies of the permit and stored it in the car.

Point to note - they were not giving permits to Chushul for all people. We made a personal request to the higher ups there and got the permits for Chushul. They said, it is useless anyhow since army will not allow us. Luckily we did not encounter issues enroute. I heard that army intercepted an Innova (previous day to our travel) and sent them back. We were lucky in that sense. So, not all will get permits for sensitive routes like Chushul.

And to add, better avoid Chushul since there are no roads and we have to figure out our own roads. Conditions are not good with trenches and moon craters every few kms. The tracks near the banks of the Pangong are gone and I saw only the lake there. The lake has eaten into the land actually. So why take risk/ chances.

Originally Posted by lucifer.gld

One small query, Is it not advisable to take kids between 2-6 to Leh-Ladakh due to the altitude factor.

Thanks GLD. I would NOT definitely suggest to take them. Some people take the kids without issues, but in my perspective, I will NOT take chances. Reasons - weather, altitude, terrain risk and food.

Originally Posted by Nagesh

Awesome stuff Sathya!! Agree with you on "Don't think too much.. just go". After seeing the hits your XUV has taken, wonder if a liva can make it!!

Thanks Nagesh. I think the Liva can make it if you take the normal routes. Avoid Chushul in the Liva since I am sure it cannot make it. Rest of the places, yes it can. So its time for you to plan!

Originally Posted by Vihari

Actually my cousin who is not a member, called me up and told me that there is a travelogue by one Sathya and it reminds of our trips. This was with regard to the initial rains that you encountered, since whenever me and my cousin venture out for a trip it rains heavily even if it is not rainy season!

- Sai

Thanks Vihari. Definitely a lot of planning is required. It helps in setting the right expectations within yourself about the terrain, weather and risk involved.

And as I read your last statement, have you been to Leh by road already?

And yes, rains, play havoc in Karnataka. Man, it just pours and blinds you totally.. In TamilNadu, we dont see such heavy rains esp for 3-4hrs continuously.

[Vihari]

Originally Posted by Sathya_sc

And as I read your last statement, have you been to Leh by road already?

Oh come on, the comparison was absolutely limited to the rains part and you have gone far off in thinking that I visited Leh.

I own a Ritz and the longest drive done till date one side is 300 Km. You know how far I would have went from Hyderabad.

I just went to Srikshethra, Ganagapur. (Sri guru Duttathreya Temple).

I know people are going even in Altos to Leh (recently spirit of mars) but somehow, I feel that having a bigger vehicle would always be better. Leaving the technicalities aside, some how I LIKE XUV. I cannot say why. Seeing your XUV in this log, wonderful photos, my lust towards XUV has increased.

Some times I am entertaining thoughts of exchanging my 9 month old Ritz with the Cheeta!

- Sai

[vskesavan]

This is a dare devil action thriller. Your must have brave heart and your wife must have lionheart. kudos to her. Both of you set an example to those who want to take their family along for such challenging trips. My mind is started working on one such a trip like this.

[Dieselritzer]

Sir, i went through your entire travelogue, and here are my thoughts :
- I salute you guys, seriously, you and your better half are just amazing ( touch wood ). She gathered the courage to participate in this with you.
- The visit to Army memorial is just so heart touching. I believe we do so much little as compared to them, those words truly touched our heart.
- Mahindra should have covered your journey and made a documentary of it. Its adventurous, and shows how capable the machine is.
- A salute to your family, they trusted you enough to allow you to undertake this insane task.

I am in my office, scrolling through excel sheets, seeing your travelogue, You made my day Sir, a big big Thank you.

[TaureanBull]

Wonderful TL and good pictures specially of THE HAWK! A very detailed packing list. Wish could have seen your HAWK loaded, if there was any space left for personal luggage?!

I don't know the reason why you did not take your daughter with you? I could have been a wonderful trip for all of you. Just my take.