[n.devdath]

Amongst the most awaited trips to Leh is finally here. Great photos and narration. Looking forward eagerly to the next update..

[kpzen]

The road to Padum are so bad or shall i say non-existent that it can loosen a few bolts of both man & machine...



First stop to tighten the bumper guard bolts. One had fallen off...

[arjun_crsce]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

Yes, I belted the Wolt a little more than usual, was cruising mostly 120+, throuoghout the trip it behaved amazingly, the torque at any gear is a please to experience. Yes, the traffic blocks at Shahpura and other junctions are a pain, but we buldozed through, as you can find from the exel sheet of trip logs.

We went through the city, not much of a problem. The border also was OK for us, one cop tried to flag me down, I flashed my lights and drove at him, he jumped out of the way.

Yes, road widening is happening and slowing down traffic between Jalandhar to Jammu section, there are switch backs but many sections are done.

Dont remember specifically about Pathankoat flyover.

Udhampur we were at Hotel Dolphin, Anuridh gave me the contacts, it was 1400/- non A/C with extra bed, but lovely rooms, will give you numbers later.

Srinagar was fixed by my colleague, not the best, but for a 3 bed, it was 1200/- and near the lake, was OK, I guess.

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Kumar, pathankoat flyover still not complete...road widening b/w jalandhar and mukerian is going good. lakhanpur and madhopur sections are still bad..sometimes very bad. dyalachak shortcut to udhampur is super smooth except to a few broken patches. the road condition update is as of 11 days back.

Ramky...nice pics sir..

[kpzen]

The terrain was treacherous but the landscape was mind boggling...

Scorpio making its own way.....


Stunning is the word isn't it ?






I had never seen snow before.. So, it was time to P L A Y

[TaureanBull]

Awesome pics. I liked the one in which the WOLT is crossing the water. great pic. The puppy one is nice too. How did it land up there? That leads me to a question. Is that area inhabited at all? or just plain wilderness.

BTW I can see you people taking "token" pic of playing in snow but shying away from doing so.

[MX6]

+1 to TaureanBull. That's exactly sprung up in my mind as well. How does the puppy survive the wilderness? Looks like Wall-e in flesh and blood. Look at the expression on his face. He's taken company so obligingly!

[kpzen]

Eh! I guess the order of pics has confused ppl. The puppy was found at the camping site in Rangdum.

Rest of the pics are in order

[tsk1979]

Another one bites the dust!
Well we also turned back from Rangdum last year. We reached rangdum in 5 hours, and then ate lunch, and turned back to Kargil, reaching around 7pm.
Its a killer stretch. We did not have water crossing troubles, but even with my continental ATs I was scared that the road will kill the tires! Its such a stretch!

Thankfuly, on the return we had 3 taxis to follow, and being locals they knew exactly when to take the bypass, and when to drive through!

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

In the middle of nowhere we were thinking of direction at a fork and a French guy in flaming red was riding a bicycle, we stopped to ask him directions Is this the route to Randrum and he said yes!!!! Wonder what he was doing all alone in that wild wild place.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Another one bites the dust!
Well we also turned back from Rangdum last year. We reached rangdum in 5 hours, and then ate lunch, and turned back to Kargil, reaching around 7pm.
Its a killer stretch. We did not have water crossing troubles, but even with my continental ATs I was scared that the road will kill the tires! Its such a stretch!

IMO the Frenchman had the right idea. May be next time the BHPians can load a bicycle in rear and go ahead. I mean the cycle can be pretty useful at times. . But that would some energy!

[ramkya1]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Another one bites the dust!
Well we also turned back from Rangdum last year..............

Thankfuly, on the return we had 3 taxis to follow, and being locals they knew exactly when to take the bypass, and when to drive through!

I am planning to do Padum yet, may be I'd plan 4 days, up and down on a Gypsy, have already talked to a friend at Leh to hire it out for a week, just to see Zanskar Valley & Padum when the road becomes better.

On a side note, 3 days after we did the stretch, a local sumo taxi went off the road into a ravine after Panzi La, 2 locals died!!! Jus to highlight how cautious one need to be and the need to choose the right time of the year to do the stretch.
========

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ramkya1

I am planning to do Padum yet, may be I'd plan 4 days, up and down on a Gypsy, have already talked to a friend at Leh to hire it out for a week, just to see Zanskar Valley & Padum when the road becomes better.

On a side note, 3 days after we did the stretch, a local sumo taxi went off the road into a ravine after Panzi La, 2 locals died!!! Jus to highlight how cautious one need to be and the need to choose the right time of the year to do the stretch.
========

Don't worry, Ramky. Your Scorpio can do it, just that you were too early in the season. Last year, our 2 Scorpios and Pajero made it to Padum without any problems in September. Roads were terrible, it was snowing in Pensi la, but overall it is a great experience in your own car.

[kpzen]

Our Home Stay @ Rangdum




Frankly we never expected the room to be this Good..
On the right, Ramky ji is snoring away gloriously.

[TaureanBull]

Thats a very cosy bedroom. No wonder ramky is fast asleep. The rest of the portions actually does look like part of the same setup.

I see the light from a battery and probably a solar lantern. IMO there is no electricity there. Is that correct? How is the battery charged? Solar?

[hvkumar]

TB, most of Ladakh has no electricity. Villages rely on solar lights (Ladakh has the most ambitious solar energy programs in India) and the towns (like Tangtse, Karzok, Padum) on diesel gensets, where power is supplied only for 3-4 hours in the evening hours.

That is why all of us carry inverters in our cars when going to Ladakh so that mobiles and cameras can be charged on the move.

[StarVegabond]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

TB, most of Ladakh has no electricity. Villages rely on solar lights (Ladakh has the most ambitious solar energy programs in India) and the towns (like Tangtse, Karzok, Padum) on diesel gensets, where power is supplied only for 3-4 hours in the evening hours.

hi kumar ji.

apologies for the off topic, staying on the solar enegry..

i would like to tap on to your solar energy expertise in your real life. can you share some information about the effectiveness of solar panels in regions like Ladakh, Leh, interior Kashmir etc, What is the effect of the fog, snow etc on the solar energy generation ?

Are these solar power stations manned 24x7 ? or are they under remote video survailance ?,