[siddarthab]

Fabulous travelogue !!!

Kept me hooked till the end and I finished it in one go. (That explains the time of posting !!)

Thanks for taking us along on this wonderful journey.

Warm regards,

Siddhartha.

[Zahoor23]

Originally Posted by arun_747

Hi Zahoor,
Firstly, Congratulations on completing Your dream trip.
Secondly, the write-up is excellent. The photographs just complement this.
It's quite surprising that You guys managed to cook that much. Very nice.
Just one question:
Do You think an AWD vehicle is required to travel around Leh-Ladakh-Khardung La ? I've seen many Innovas, Maruti 800, Maruti Vans, Tata Sumo, Indica, etc. in many pics. As i currently own a Vento TDi & live in Bangalore, i would like to know if it would be possible for such a trip without AWD. Kindly let me know.

Happy Motoring.

Thank You,
Arun

Hello Arun, Thanks a lot for the compliment. An AWD would be an added advantage but definitely a 2WD can make it through Leh-Ladakh and Khardung La. I saw a Maruti 800 doing the Zoji La, A santro doing the Khardung La and Baralacha La with without any fuss. You can surely do the entire circuit in your Vento provided you take the Wari La route instead of Agham - Shyok to reach Pangong Tso.

[NPV]

Excellent travelogue with good narration and some wonderful pictures, Thanks for sharing
The smile on your faces really tell the story of how much you must have enjoyed the trip!

Since you went upto Amritsar, you could have added a visit to Wagah as well, but I guess you were running short on time based on your plan ?

[GKMahajan]

Dear Zahoor23

Wow!

Fantastic marathon trip. AND an equally fantastic marathon presentation. I guess both must have taken similar effort and time!
Rated this a well deserved 5 stars!

I am more than double your age - but now you have got me thinking!! I expect to get my Scorpio is the next few days.
Unfortunately, I do not have friends who would do such a trip with me. And - my family, which loves trips, hates extra long trips! Ouch! Let us see....

I might contact you for details.

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

[Zahoor23]

Originally Posted by siddarthab

Fabulous travelogue !!!

Kept me hooked till the end and I finished it in one go. (That explains the time of posting !!)

Thanks for taking us along on this wonderful journey.

Warm regards,

Siddhartha.

Hi Siddhartha, Thank you so much for those kind and supportive words.

Originally Posted by NPV

Excellent travelogue with good narration and some wonderful pictures, Thanks for sharing
The smile on your faces really tell the story of how much you must have enjoyed the trip!

Since you went upto Amritsar, you could have added a visit to Wagah as well, but I guess you were running short on time based on your plan ?

Thanks a lot for those encouraging words. I tried a lot to include Wagah border into the itinerary as I wanted to visit it from a really long time but I was bound by time constraint to an extent that with a sleepless night previously, I just managed to reach Patnitop somewhere after mid-night. Moreover the 'lowering of the flags' and ‘Beating the Retreat’ ceremonies take place in the evening and this would lead to further delay. For someone planning to go to Amritsar with some spare time, Wahag border should definitely be on the list as the distance between Amritsar to Attari is merely 30 kms.

Originally Posted by GKMahajan

Dear Zahoor23

Wow!

Fantastic marathon trip. AND an equally fantastic marathon presentation. I guess both must have taken similar effort and time!
Rated this a well deserved 5 stars!

I am more than double your age - but now you have got me thinking!! I expect to get my Scorpio is the next few days.
Unfortunately, I do not have friends who would do such a trip with me. And - my family, which loves trips, hates extra long trips! Ouch! Let us see....

I might contact you for details.

Regards,

Girish Mahajan

Hello Sir,
First of all, thanks a ton for those supportive words. Trust me, Age is just a number! Scorpio is a great car to take on the mountains. If you are planning to get a 4WD that's going to be an icing on the cake! Nevertheless, A 2WD Scorpio can do wonders and bring a smile on your face every single time you take it on those long drives. The best way to execute a plan is to start planning, and thing will automatically fall in place. Please reach out to me anytime and I shall be extremely delighted to help you in every possible way I can.

[RAPTOR-XUV]

Excellent Travelogue with some exquisite pictures Zahoor23. I have been planning for long to take my RAPTOR to Ladakh, and unfortunately it never went beyond planning because of friends bugging out etc. Your journey has certainly ignited the passion back in me. Will make my trip some time soon and if none of my friends turning up, will try making it alone. Thanks for the detailed description of all the stay and accomodation, is indeed very helpful to book a place for stay in advance.

[Zahoor23]

Originally Posted by RAPTOR-XUV

Excellent Travelogue with some exquisite pictures Zahoor23. I have been planning for long to take my RAPTOR to Ladakh, and unfortunately it never went beyond planning because of friends bugging out etc. Your journey has certainly ignited the passion back in me. Will make my trip some time soon and if none of my friends turning up, will try making it alone. Thanks for the detailed description of all the stay and accomodation, is indeed very helpful to book a place for stay in advance.

Thank you! Just make some time and head out to the Himalayas. It's simply magnificent. With XUV, Its not impossible to do it alone. But I strongly advice you to take your friends along as you will have a great time there. My only motive to post the details of all hotels was to help fellow BHPians and others to plan their expedition competently.

[bhansali_hardik]

Amazing travelogue mate! Complimented with amazing photography too! Thoroughly enjoyed each bit!

[Dieselritzer]

Your travelogue is really special, not just because of the pictures and the awesome journey you have had, but also for the fact that you ended it with a fitting tribute of words for our armed forces. And thank you for mentioning the hotel details, really very helpful.

Thanks a lot man, and keep travelling in your beast.

[B103]

What an awesome travelogue. I am stunned and spellbound with your narration and those beautiful pictures.

Good job, brother.

[anandkumargb]

Wow! I am so jealous that you could do this trip at 23!! I am been dreaming of this trip since 4 years and still dreaming..don't know when this turn to reality. But your thread has definitely reignited the fire. Stunning write up and mesmerizing pictures. Your itinerary is too tight and too much of driving in a day for me. Can't recollect any thread that I read in one sitting...was hooked till the last. 5 stars rated!

I am little surprised at the FE of 13 KMPL on the highways; expected it to be a little more. White looks pristine and elegant!

[sunilp.rao]

Very well written travelogue. It has been my dream also to drive from Bangalore to Leh for sometime now. Havent been able to take enough time out to plan this. I have plans to stretch it over a month to visit all the places enroute in peace. I will be probably trying this journey in my Honda City..not sure if many have done it before.

Fantastic pictures and congratulations on completing this fabulous journey.

[CarMind]

An amazing travelogue indeed that kept me hooked till i finished. Well deserved 5 stars. To add to your writing, the pictures are worth a thousand words, those mesmerizing, magnetic hills, awesome. Your determination and craving for the roads kept you going throughout. The Cheetah served you well and looked fantastic with those hypnotic back-drops.

All the very best for your future trips.

[Zahoor23]

Originally Posted by bhansali_hardik

Amazing travelogue mate! Complimented with amazing photography too! Thoroughly enjoyed each bit!

Thanks Hardik Glad that you enjoyed reading it!

Originally Posted by Dieselritzer

Your travelogue is really special, not just because of the pictures and the awesome journey you have had, but also for the fact that you ended it with a fitting tribute of words for our armed forces. And thank you for mentioning the hotel details, really very helpful.

Thanks a lot man, and keep travelling in your beast.

Thank you! I greatly appreciate your valuable words. It's the least I could do, the hardship and deprivation of our Jawans is truly commendable. I will be really happy if the hotel details are going to help you in any way when planning your expedition!

Originally Posted by B103

What an awesome travelogue. I am stunned and spellbound with your narration and those beautiful pictures.

Good job, brother.

Thanks a lot for those highly encouraging words

Originally Posted by anandkumargb

Wow! I am so jealous that you could do this trip at 23!! I am been dreaming of this trip since 4 years and still dreaming..don't know when this turn to reality. But your thread has definitely reignited the fire. Stunning write up and mesmerizing pictures. Your itinerary is too tight and too much of driving in a day for me. Can't recollect any thread that I read in one sitting...was hooked till the last. 5 stars rated!

I am little surprised at the FE of 13 KMPL on the highways; expected it to be a little more. White looks pristine and elegant!

Thanks a ton! I am indebted to you for those brilliant lines of appreciation. Let me know when you are planning to go, I shall attenuate the itinerary in a way that is suitable to you. My agenda was to cover as many places as possible, having done multiple road trips before, driving for long hours was never an issue. If you follow a sedate driving style on the highways you can definitely touch 15 km/l as the 6th gear really helps in maintaining a great FE for a vehicle of this size.

Originally Posted by sunilp.rao

Very well written travelogue. It has been my dream also to drive from Bangalore to Leh for sometime now. Havent been able to take enough time out to plan this. I have plans to stretch it over a month to visit all the places enroute in peace. I will be probably trying this journey in my Honda City..not sure if many have done it before.

Fantastic pictures and congratulations on completing this fabulous journey.

Thank you! I am so obliged. That's the best way to do it. You can cover a lot more places in a month including Pahalgam, Aru valley, Rangdum, Zanskar, Tso-moriri and you could take a quick de-tour and visit Shimla as well. It is definitely possible in a Honda city provided you avoid certain routes like Agham-Shyok which is prone to under body hits. I have seen people doing it in Punto, Santro and Civic as well! All the best for your great escape to the mountains!

[rajeevn]

Wonderfully written and nice pictures indeed... Well done: I am itching to log off from office and start the car to head to the hills. Alas; work beckons for another 10-12 days minimum. Great T-Log.