[Snehal Sekhar]

Absolutely stunning pictures! Pictures like these and the superb narration makes me want to plan a ride there one of these days. Kudos man.

[Samba]

First i saw the title of this travelogue then the writer's name 'Sayakc'! As soon as i saw your name the very moment i knew am not going to read this from my mobile. So after i came back home, i finished the whole travelogue in one go from my laptop.

As-usual excellent photography and narration. You have shown Ladakh in a different perspective. I have become a fan of your travelogue's. Rated 5*.

[Dieselritzer]

Dear Mods and fellow BHPians,

Just like how we vote for the Team-BHP Car of the Year, i really feel we should start voting travelogues, not for any serious competition, but i feel that the kind of effort that has gone into capturing the moments, writing them down, putting in words that are so amazingly close to that place, so much that we feel the cold air around, i believe such amazing travelogues deserve a lot lot more in terms of appreciation and recognition.

And for the dude who wrote this travelogue, you've set a new bench mark. The pattern and story flow with pictures taking us to those places is just amazing. Thank you !

[BLACK1]

Sir, thats absolutely professional stuff. Both the photography as well as your writing skills. Thanks a lot for such beautiful narration .

[sayakc]

Thank you Avisidhu for your comments and the rating!

Originally Posted by avisidhu

Breath taking images!! ...And superb narration, rated a well deserved 5 stars!

Thank you Saket!

Originally Posted by saket77

Beautiful pictures Sayak. They are really breathtaking.Thanks!

Thank you Lalvaz!

Originally Posted by Lalvaz

Excellent pictures, You have captured the spirit of the place well.

Thank you globemaster!

Originally Posted by globemaster

Man, you know the art of Photography!! This is simply superb.

Thank you Tushar!

Originally Posted by Tushar

The poetic narration combined with the jaw dropping images can make anyone go through the "introspective experience".

Thank You!

Originally Posted by catchjyoti

When I see a travelogue from you I know two things for sure - there will be superb narration and breath-taking pictures.

Thank You!

Originally Posted by Dushyanth

Whoa! Now that i have read this, I have a new life goal.

Thank you Blue Bird.

Originally Posted by Blue Bird

Superb Narration, Stunning pictures , what better way to capture the mesmerizing beauty of heaven on earth.

Thank you Snehal.

Originally Posted by Snehal Sekhar

Absolutely stunning pictures! Pictures like these ... Kudos man.

Thank you Samba for the appreciation. You have always been generous with your comments

Originally Posted by Samba

First i saw the title of this travelogue then the writer's name 'Sayakc'! As soon as i saw your name the very moment i knew am not going to read this from my mobile. So after i came back home, i finished the whole travelogue in one go from my laptop.

Thank you Dieselritzer for the gracious comments. Actually people say "in Ladakh even a blind man can take beautiful pictures" and I saw it for myself the truth.

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Dear Mods and fellow BHPians, Just like how we vote for the Team-BHP Car of the Year, i really feel we should start voting travelogues, not for any serious competition, but i feel that the kind of effort that has gone into capturing the moments, writing them down...And for the dude who wrote this travelogue, you've set a new bench mark.

Thank you BLACK1

Originally Posted by BLACK1

Sir, thats absolutely professional stuff. Both the photography as well as your writing skills.

[r.praveen]

Beautiful Pictures and a equally capturing write-up. We would have seen many pictures of the landscapes of Leh, but you have taken time and effort to capture the people and their emotions. Kudos!

[Rudra Sen]

Very nicely written travelogue. Somebody mentioned 'introspective experience' and I quite agree with him.

Originally Posted by sayakc

Black Tarmac

Where was this taken? Most of your shots were taken on Leh - Lamayuru stretch as you mentioned, that's why my question.

That apart, what exactly you've done with your image processing?

[sayakc]

Rudra-da,

I used Photoshop for most of the photos and Lightroom for some of them.
The Black Tarmac photo was taken during the Leh-Lamayuru stretch.
--
Sayak

[srikrishna717]

Sayakc,
Beautiful summary and stunning photos. Rated five star!
Please also share the camera equipment, and any filters used, the colors are surreal !

[abhii176]

They say a picture speaks a 1000 words, nothing could exemplify this more than this beautiful travelogue of yours. Absolutely stunning pictures, just goes to show the kind of beauty nature has bestowed upon us. Loved every shot. And the icing on the cake is the beautiful narration as well, poetic I say!

[Bhodrolok]

A lovely read... I was blown away by Leh in October, the place in January must be something else. The pictures are terrific but I am sure the OP will vouch they don't do justice to the sheer majesty of the place.

Sorry for meddling into the gory details, which hotel did you stay when you were there?

[Alfa Romeo]

really awesome travelogue and amazing captures. T-bhp should get a publishing house print our best travelogues and am sure it will sell like hot cakes. the way its tild makes a difference and you have achieved that. kudos

[rajeevn]

Wow! This is amazing stuff. Not just the pictures, and all of us have talked of them; but the narration, and the inner soul searching.

So very true.

We all get caught up sub-consciously (though with our eyes wide open) in the race of life to create a better tomorrow; and by the time we reach the "targeted spot", we realize that life has passed us by (or is just about to, as in my case!).

Superlative writing and insights, verging on being so poetically philosophical.

The stuff of dreams.

[sayakc]

Blades of sunshine pour through the glass panes in my room when I wake up in the morning. The sun is up, but its rays haven’t made it to the valley it. The wind blows through the barren trees that flutter and gets very cold. We leave for Lamayuru in a hired cab.

We see monasteries, gurudwaras, praying lamas, Ladakhi locals and a few foreigners.
And there are arrow straight stretches of black top, turquoise blue rivers and villages.
And we see the history of war, military installations and the men in olive green.

But what pervades everything. Domineering. Powerful. Omnipresent - like a guardian angel was the landscape. Any description of Ladakh will have a void if its land is not described. Such a landscape needs to be seen to be believed. It contained everything from lakes, rivers, waterfalls, glaciers, mountains, trees, deserts, snow fields. Every time I looked into the view finder, I could see “layers” of different colours. Mountains of varied hues – yellow, brown, purple, magenta rose to gigantic heights surrounding the plateau.

When J D Hooker visited the Tso Lhamu plateau, he had remarked “Here the land resembles a desert, but the climate is that of the poles”. For Ladakh, that seemed to be more apt.

It is a morning of the brightest kind, the kangri snows sparkling in the sun and dazzling our eyes. There is not a wisp of cloud and the sun creates an intense effect everywhere. Endless stretches of roads that have ended in a turn, on which the vehicles seemed to roll in a slow motion and disappear. The intensity of the sun is unbelievable as we approach noon. It gets difficult to wear the jacket in the closed cabin of the car. There are forests of birch and poplars along the river banks. The vast open spaces, that’s what the plateau is and its periphery is bordered by mountains of high prominence is one where the winds play hard and strong, shaping the landscapes.

We pause at a shop somewhere midway between Leh and Lamayuru for a lunch of maggi, momos, thukpas. Again the momos seemed to disappoint. Apparently the momos served at the fast food shops near our Lake Gardens crossing make better ones. No one is complaining. Just comparing. I enjoyed the maggi more anyway. Instead, considering the fact that we are getting to eat, is a highly welcome thought. Such difficult was the life of the common people that they have to store the produce from the autumn for the long, endless winter ahead.

The shadows grow longer as we drive further ahead. We are travelling through a gorge very close to the river bed, surrounded by high, rocky hills that rise vertically. It is a region of perpetual shadow. The river has frozen in several places. And there is ice and snow scattered along the road. And a couple of frozen waterfalls.

And then we rise, gradually. The Omni feels under powered at times, bogged down by the steep inclines, but it still pulls through. We emerge from the shadows and the hair pins increase and the turns get narrower. We have reached moon land and pause at a brilliant turn which offers fascinating panorama. But it’s not about the photo. We were seeing such an unreal land, that we felt that we should pause – even though for a moment. Furrowed mountain sides, white out tops, strange shaped ridges, craters, mole hills shaped structures – the mind captured it all. It was a strange, strange land .

We visit the Lamayuru monastery and break for a cup of tea at the only outlet open.

The sun has started to sink down. And the far peaks appear golden, and dusk has hit the low lands over which we travel. I see a titled tree against a mountain slope, a lone woman walking along the road side, twinkling lights of a few houses, snow on the ground and on the road sides. And a couple of Ladakh Scout jeeps with “KiKi Soso Lharghyalo” leading a convoy of trucks against the serpentine roads, up the mountain in fading evening light. And in our car, we listen to “Om Mane Padme Hum” chants as the body gets a little weary. But the mind is beaming with energy.
It’s a moment which I always love because its gratifying and happy. Its the sweet spot and every journey has its one. It’s a day well spent.

It is the experience..and that’s what makes every journey unique.

[sgiitk]

I thing a line or two thanking the Border Roads Organisation - HIMANK will be in order.