[ramkya1]

Great write up and clicks Anirban and thanks for sharing the exciting story. Inspiring is the world about Marsmik La, at least for me. Been wanting to climb the unmarked roads to the post up there, could not do that on my last 2 trips. During my next trip, would want to do that. Will hound you for details on this strip

The parts where you had to calibrate tracks on the GPS /without GPS was hair raising, I know it would have been tense making those decisions to keep to the right track and not drive to China!

I know from experience to stay inside a building is 100 times better than a tent, I was miserable inside a tent and sleeping bag in Pangong Tso, with temperature around -3, we were lucky we found 3 beds inside the only building there late into the night.

Enjoyed your story thoroughly.

--Ramky
=====

[Traveller Nayak]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Yes, the one on my daughter is a Canon powershot SX40HS that I used to solely use. Surprisingly many pics that appear good are from this camera. The other one is a new Canon DSLR with which, I am still on a learning curve and also sufferred from sensor dust mid-trip. Being new to DSLR's, I did not have a cleaning kit available with me.

But then, there is only this much (or even if a lot more) that pictures can capture Ladakh in, but nothing beats being there, which no picture can convey. But thanks for the great words.

I have always felt cameras seldom capture what the eyes see. Yes, a camera does help keep memories. What lens did you use with the DSLR? I recently bought a D5300. I have the stock 18-55 and I also have a Sony point and shoot. I am hoping these should do. I don't have a camera cleaning kit. Point noted on the kit and one will be acquired over the next week.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by premjit

Super thread Anirban. Almost felt as if I am there itself, such was the brilliance of the pics and the writeup. Can't wait to hear more about in our next meet.

Regards
Premjit

Thanks Premjit. Infact, I am yet to comment on your NZ travelogue, the problem is, I cant proceed further from looking at the pics of the Falcon!

Originally Posted by SRKHYD

What an amazing trip and photography

For a guy who shivers to the colds of Hyderabad, seeing those photographs is enough to get some hot tea !

Thanks for sharing. Image# 3918 is the best one to my eyes.

I am not sure, how the pictures managed to convey temperature! But any excuse is good enough for a cup of hot good tea!

The credit for the image you mentioned should go to my daughter, infact I managed to frame this travelogue on stolen pictures.

Originally Posted by Styler

Sharp, Crisp, gripping. Great Travelogue ! Thanks for Sharing.
You and your family have got memories of a lifetime.

I had two trips to Leh, First when my son turned 3 and my daughter was 8.
Next one was when my daughter was 10 and my son was 5 in 2010.

It is very difficult to decide on these trips with kids. You are never sure if they will enjoy the trip or it will just be an ordeal for them, driving all day in tough conditions.

What are your thoughts on this ?

Styler

I have probably been lucky, or, since my daughter has been acclimatized with long road trips almost from birth, keeps her charged up. The camera is her new toy. So far so good. Infact I was a little worried this time, so bought her a portable DVD player, but she did not require it, moreover, as already mentioned the DVD player did not work also!

But I also guess, the more they travel, the more they get interested in clocking the miles. Moreover, I think, if they get to do what they like to do, in the car while travelling, that also might help with the boredom.

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Great write up and clicks Anirban and thanks for sharing the exciting story. Inspiring is the world about Marsmik La, at least for me. Been wanting to climb the unmarked roads to the post up there, could not do that on my last 2 trips. During my next trip, would want to do that. Will hound you for details on this strip

The parts where you had to calibrate tracks on the GPS /without GPS was hair raising, I know it would have been tense making those decisions to keep to the right track and not drive to China!

I know from experience to stay inside a building is 100 times better than a tent, I was miserable inside a tent and sleeping bag in Pangong Tso, with temperature around -3, we were lucky we found 3 beds inside the only building there late into the night.

Enjoyed your story thoroughly.

--Ramky
=====

Thanks Ramky! Feel free. I agree with you on the so called "tents" 100%, but there are some folks who find staying in these metal-rod reinforced tents very adventurous. Probably it is!!

Originally Posted by Traveller Nayak

I have always felt cameras seldom capture what the eyes see. Yes, a camera does help keep memories. What lens did you use with the DSLR? I recently bought a D5300. I have the stock 18-55 and I also have a Sony point and shoot. I am hoping these should do. I don't have a camera cleaning kit. Point noted on the kit and one will be acquired over the next week.

I was using a 24-105 1:4 and a 50mm 1.8 for the low light shots on the DSLR.

[TheIndian]

Originally Posted by 1100D

........

Bridge across the river at Turtuk

........
But we still had our mind intact (not blown), this was a good place to visit but a little over-hyped I must say

Exactly what we felt while on the way back from Turtuk.

If you've abundant time at disposal, it's fine. If you feel that your itinerary is a bit hectic due to limitations of no. of days at disposal, and if you're looking at skipping something to make the the trip a bit relaxed within the limitations, Turtuk it is, at least to me.

[TheIndian]

Originally Posted by 1100D

The Road to Chusul is not limited to one road, its multiple tracks, as long as there is one, "all roads lead to Chusul"

You can say that again!

We used a desi jugaad (though we had GPS). After driving for 10-15 minutes on this route, I figured out a line of telephone poles running alongside the route & if we don't lose track of this line of poles, we won't lose the track / route. And surely that line of poles didn't disappoint & continued all along.

Originally Posted by 1100D

On this day, we needed the GPS navigation to work, it did. We were using "Openstreetmaps" as it supports the offline mode.

Though I also had "OpenStreetMaps" on my mobile, somehow even after I tried a couple of times, I felt that I'm not quite comfortable/ familier with it. Hence used Sygic offline maps (in addition to inbuilt car navigator) in the entire trip.

Any idea on advantages of OpenStreetMaps over Sygic?

[The Adventurer]

Hey

Amazing travelogue. A ladakh trip has been on my cards for quite some time. But I'm still sitting on the fence. One of the main reasons being finding the suitable vehicle.

Your travelogues is very inspiring.

How comfortable is the scorpio (especially in the middle row) on long journeys?
We have an Altis, but I have my reservations on whether the car can make it through those roads.

The scorpio is one contender that is affordable. We're also thinking of a used Endeavour(The record drive team driving Kochi to London chose an endeavour)


And this happens to be my first post on Teambhp. Glad to be here!

[1100D]

Originally Posted by TheIndian

You can say that again!

We used a desi jugaad (though we had GPS). After driving for 10-15 minutes on this route, I figured out a line of telephone poles running alongside the route & if we don't lose track of this line of poles, we won't lose the track / route. And surely that line of poles didn't disappoint & continued all along.

That was a fantastic idea from common sense, not that it did not strike us, but then wasn't sure of that the destination/route of the telephone poles were supposed to overlap with ours and till what point.

Originally Posted by TheIndian

Though I also had "OpenStreetMaps" on my mobile, somehow even after I tried a couple of times, I felt that I'm not quite comfortable/ familier with it. Hence used Sygic offline maps (in addition to inbuilt car navigator) in the entire trip.

Any idea on advantages of OpenStreetMaps over Sygic?

I intended to use Sygic, but a week from the trip, Sygic India was not available for download, the Sygic world one wasn't working in our hometown. However Openstreetmaps turned out to be pretty accurate in Ladakh with good detailing. A little tricky to start with but quite nice when you get the hang of it.

Originally Posted by The Adventurer

Hey

Amazing travelogue. A ladakh trip has been on my cards for quite some time. But I'm still sitting on the fence. One of the main reasons being finding the suitable vehicle.

Your travelogues is very inspiring.

How comfortable is the scorpio (especially in the middle row) on long journeys?
We have an Altis, but I have my reservations on whether the car can make it through those roads.

The scorpio is one contender that is affordable. We're also thinking of a used Endeavour(The record drive team driving Kochi to London chose an endeavour)


And this happens to be my first post on Teambhp. Glad to be here!

My honour that this thread was the vehicle to launch your Team-bhp journey.

The scorpio Middle row, once pushed back is quite comfortable. Its also reclinable and has a good and wide center armrest. Ride quality in that row is good too. I had the last row removed for this trip and has not been installed back since. Its a very good 5-seater I must say!

The endeavour for Kochi London expedition is not a used one!

However Endeavour ride quality improves substantially once loaded, and is much better to drive. But then, its a decision to take, prices for Endeavour spares are in-line with a segment expectation of a 2 million rupee vehicle. Besides availability of spares is not always prompt, atleast in our parts. On the other hand upkeep of a Scorp is much easier on the wallet and watch!

[Styler]

Originally Posted by 1100D

I intended to use Sygic, but a week from the trip, Sygic India was not available for download, the Sygic world one wasn't working in our hometown. However Openstreetmaps turned out to be pretty accurate in Ladakh with good detailing. A little tricky to start with but quite nice when you get the hang of it.

Did you use Openstreetmaps on a Phone ?
What's the App to use on an Iphone IOS if one want's to use offline mode of openstreetmaps ?

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by 1100D

But one thing to note with the present scorp will be, that, they made a few silent upgrades to the chassis of the present one and iteratively they went on adding remedies to counter problems introduced by making changes to an existing chassis (if you note, the new Scorpio has NVH damper, precariously hanging from the right side of the rear axle). Besides, the present vehicle has and will have a very short life-cycle run till the new one comes out, so with lower number of cars, demand/availability of its specific spares might turn out an issue (the stress is on the word "might").

The all-new scorpio will have a new chassis and one that promises better ride and handling (and marginally better space) package.

My intent is not to discourage you, but just to put this in your mind upfront as you might still have time.

You do make some good points. But I'm more or less committed to the decision now, have closed the financing, and am "psychologically" prepared for the new car. Will be really hard to go back now . There's also the fact that the new model will likely stretch the budget whereas with the current one I am fairly comfortable.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by Styler

Did you use Openstreetmaps on a Phone ?
What's the App to use on an Iphone IOS if one want's to use offline mode of openstreetmaps ?

Yes I used OSM on my cellphone (android)

As far as I know, iTunes store has OpenMaps that utilises Openstreetmaps data.

Originally Posted by ajitkommini

You do make some good points. But I'm more or less committed to the decision now, have closed the financing, and am "psychologically" prepared for the new car. Will be really hard to go back now . There's also the fact that the new model will likely stretch the budget whereas with the current one I am fairly comfortable.

All the best! Here is wishing you a terrific time with your beast. When is the delivery?

[ajitkommini]

Originally Posted by 1100D

All the best! Here is wishing you a terrific time with your beast. When is the delivery?

Thanks a lot. According to the dealer 5th but I'm estimating more like 10th or so. Hopefully we'll be able to meet in Kolkata and Marengo will make a new friend

[nkrishnap]

A beautiful travelogue. Read it at one go. Very nice writing skills too. A road trip experience is good to have, especially to cherish down the memory lane and your kid definitely will cherish this for a long time.

A 5* rating for the thread.

Thanks for sharing

[himadrimondal]

Awesome travelogue which I somehow missed. Even more credit goes to your beautiful little angle and family, they were such an excellent support on this great trip. The Photographs really seeds special mention. The lack of pollution gave the frames awesome clarity and colours, seems like I am seeing them for real. I too regret the tyre loss, something like this really bugs but all's well that ends well, happy and safely back home with loads of memories.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

A beautiful travelogue. Read it at one go. Very nice writing skills too. A road trip experience is good to have, especially to cherish down the memory lane and your kid definitely will cherish this for a long time.

A 5* rating for the thread.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks A lot!

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

The lack of pollution gave the frames awesome clarity and colours, seems like I am seeing them for real.

Thanks for your words Himadri, coming from you, these are priceless, as pictures from your threads makes me go drool. However, as I was mentioning to many folks offline, even the best pictures will only be able to capture a fraction of the legend, that is Ladakh. Perhaps one area where even countless travelogues can't really convey the true essence. Even the loneliness adds to the charm of it, where you long to see another individual, doesn't matter if he/she is not known to you!

Originally Posted by himadrimondal

I too regret the tyre loss, something like this really bugs but all's well that ends well, happy and safely back home with loads of memories.

Yes, one of those things sneak up on you, on an otherwise well safeguarded trip. Moreover, it didn't even happen in Ladakh! Agra of all things! Anyways, looking forward to switching to an entirely new set already.

[Sleeplessdriver]

The cross country Ladakh travelogue ever. Great narration and wonderful pictures, Makes me wana go there every year....