[HappyWheels]

Thread given a 5 star rating!

Nothing more to write about! One word - WOW!

[adc]

Enroute to Gurudongmar Final Part, #5








Some wild yaks grazing at that height!!!




And then after a 4.5-hour rough and tough journey up to the lake - the temple by the lake can been seen faintly.

[kingshukt]

ADC:

Beautiful Travelogue .

It has made me think about my daily life. Work-home-work and no play. .
We should all take some time off for ourselves (this includes the family also - they also should be given the oppurtunity to - break free - like in the song by Bruce Springsteen)

BTW the below photo made me wonder - does your son travel in the front or is he usually strapped on the 2nd row of seat. I have a few not so good memories of my daughter sitting on my wife's lap and I having to brake suddenly.

[akas_chauhan]

Nice picture there Anirban. I always like to go through your threads. Hope to see thread on Ladakah sometimes in July/Aug.

[jaysmokesleaves]

For many this is the kind of stuff that dreams are made off. For some they remain dreams and for others they are goals. Some live their dreams and help others create new dreams.
The desolate hills have their own magical charm. Captivating and yet humbling. Wow adc. One lucky man I must say. Determined yes, but very lucky too. May you never run out of it(goodluck).
Cheers,
J

[maddy42]

@jaysmokesleaves I think i know where your next destination would be to:-)
Looking at your previous travellogue i am so sure plans are being made.

@adc man your pictures are inspiring to say the least man. Best of luck

[shabahmad]

Wow, ADC you have capture the beautiful sikkim in pictures.
I think there are many to come, also the story of Hail Strom chasing you.

Eagarly waiting for further posts.

[arindamray]

ADC - simply wonderful.

Missed the chance of meeting you in Kolkata. But will try to meet you next time, if you are not out on a trip .

[adc]

Originally Posted by kingshukt

BTW the below photo made me wonder - does your son travel in the front or is he usually strapped on the 2nd row of seat. I have a few not so good memories of my daughter sitting on my wife's lap and I having to brake suddenly

Absolutely strange as it sounds, he likes the jump seats the max - so whenever there is no luggage out there - he goes over to the last of those seats. Otherwise for a overnight journey he is in the middle seat along with mother, and very rarely at the front seat. It was more like a tiffin break in Thangu and he came to front for that. Of course, on a highway it is not good to have a child on the lap in the front seat. We too had one such situation ighwwhen he was in front and I braked hard - now no front seat on a highway surely.

Originally Posted by akas_chauhan

Hope to see thread on Ladakah sometimes in July/Aug.

Around late Sept-Oct if things go okay work-wise

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Determined yes, but very lucky too. May you never run out of it(goodluck).Cheers,J

Hey thanks, may never luck run out for all us. Though it does sound like all good, the Safari purchase sure does extract a whole lot from me now - with Bullet riding days all over with a child now, the Safari came into the picture with 3-4 L over budget and a stiffling 3-year EMI [should have gone for a 5-year loan].

Things are tough now all around and tougher for a freelancer like me - I am sticking to it purely since the I have got used to the independence. But not working in a office, does give you less money, less perks, and all things good that come up when one works in a structured organisation.

Whatever, you gain some you lose some. But still its aint funny to start from zero at the age of 35!!

Anyway, again, lets all may never run out of luck!!! God bless each one of us.

Originally Posted by maddy42

Looking at your previous travellogue i am so sure plans are being made.

Yeah whers next JSL??

Originally Posted by shabahmad

I think there are many to come, also the story of Hail Strom chasing you.

Well I have one single picture of storm approaching, the sinister thing isnt that reflected out in the snap, but still that is one and only image that I have of it - after that it was a mad dash to that intersection [from where the Chopta Valley road meets with the Gurudongmar road].

Originally Posted by arindamray

Missed the chance of meeting you in Kolkata. But will try to meet you next time, if you are not out on a trip .

Sure we will meet again somewhere, and are we not all glad to hear that both of you are okay!!


Gurudongmar Lake pictures coming up...

[adc]

Gurudongmar Lake - Part 1

Gurudongmar Lake (also known as Gurudogmar Lake) is one of the highest lakes in the world located at an altitude of 17,100 feet (5,148 m). It lies on the North side of the Khangchengyao Range in a high plateau area contiguous to the Tibetan Plateau. The stream emerging from the lake is one of the source-streams of the Tista River.

The lake is named after Padmasambhava, the Indian tantric Buddhist who conducted rituals here. It is said that this is why, even at the height of winter, one portion of the lake never freezes. Guru Nanak, also known as Nanak Lama, who was a devotee of Padmasambhava, visited many of the places where Padmasambhava prayed at, including this lake in North Sikkim.

It is located close to the Indo-China Border in the province of North Sikkim, Sikkim, India.

The lake remains completely frozen in the winter months from November to Mid-May except for one small part of the lake which is supposed to be touched and blessed by the Guru Padmasambhava.

The lake is highly revered by the Sikkimese and Buddhists and the waters are supposed to have curative properties. The Indian Army got into a conflict with the Sikkim Government when they erected a gurdwara (a Sikh temple) near the lake in the 1990s : the gurdwara has now become a 'Sarva Dharma Sthal'(House of worship for All Religions), and ruffled feathers have been smoothened.

Due to the extremely inhospitable terrain and the difficulties associated with reaching the place, the lake sees only a handful of visitors each year. Access is strictly controlled at the Army checkpost at Giagong. Due to the altitude, there is a scarcity of oxygen. Visitors are advised to acclimatise overnight at Lachen, carry medicines like Coca 10, Deryphyllin etc., and to descend quickly in case of acute or persistent discomfort. Over-excitement and loud, stressful talking should be avoided.
Source: Gurudongmar Lake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

At the Lake




And the first view of the Lake



Local Sikkimese pile up stones per Buddhist tradition.



And look at the hillock at the backside - local people tells like after 12 o’ clock winds so strong starts blowing that stones actually starts flying around - and really the winds do pick up at noon as we later find out - its like a switch - everything changes after noon.


More pics of the Lake

[gowda79]

ADC mindblowing and this is like the heaven on earth.

Thanks for bringing these pictures onto T-BHP and sharing with us.

The water is pure blue in colour.

[adc]

Gurudongmar Lake - Part 2

A walk along the edge of the Lake


to close to the base of the Lake - each and every step in ultra-low O2 a big tiring effort





And now we both start to have some mild headaches and uneasiness and the child some drowsiness - there is no question of acclatimization at 18k height, after a ascent of 9k feet in 5 hrs. We spend around 2 hours over here at the Lake, much more than one should at such heights.




And the weather starts to fog up as noon approaches, the already fast winds are now faster - it is leaving time for whosoever is still out there. And we leave with only those Army guys still around - they will also leave soon, no one stays out here.

[BlackPearl]

Awesome pics of Gurudongmar. It is looking better at this time of the year than what we saw during December. The colour of the lake is just too good.

[razor4077]

Mindblowing travelogue ADC! Love the narration, love the pics and admire your sense of adventure a lot! Yet another 5 star thread
You're living the Safari "reclaim your life" tag line. Your travels would fit in well in the ad - "When you look back at your life, what would you remember?". You have quite a few candidates already!

My health permitting, how about we join forces in your next trip? I think you mentioned Ladakh in Sep-Oct. My Scorp's been itching to do a good trek!

[planet_rocker]

Anirban da, awesome stuff - just finished going through the entire thread - feeling sleepy - hope to reach there in my dreams and lets hope the dream comes true someday.

Rated 5 stars