Delhi Manali Leh 28th May - 8th June 2008

[xydan]

Finally found some time to post a few pictures and post a few lines about our Leh trip.

Been on many holidays but this is one holiday i need to share with people with a penchant to travel, people with a fire in their bellies to see more and experience more.

Yeh dil maange more.

Despite a lot of advice against going when the roads were not yet properly done or open, decided to leave on the 28th May finally as it was a holiday for my wife as well thanks to the gujjar stir. Left at 2100 hrs. Drive to Manali was a dream, completed in 13 hours. Love driving at night, less traffic, drive at a steady pace no one troubling you to give way or honking away to glory. No offence but that is a typical Dilliwala for you.

29th May 2008


Twilight, early morning driving is a little dangerous. The ambient light is very low and yet the headlights don't work too well. And on top of that the body is craving for sleep by now. One has to be very careful and wary.


Morning on the way to Manali


Of course there was a slight traffic hiccup on the way into Manali, but this traffic nuisance only helps to warm the heart.


The greenery enroute is astounding. Roads are pretty good, atleast till Manali. Almost at the end of the first leg of the journey.


Reached Manali, wanted to check in at the log huts, HPTDC, but unfortunately they were totally booked. However found a hotel next to the HPTDC office called The Connifer. Had a good view of the really really green valley. Do I look tired yet? No way we have to go to Leh.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


It was like the whole of Delhi and Bengal and Gujarat had descended on manali. Or should it be ascended to? Take your pick.

30th May 2008


Left Manali early in the morning around 0700 hrs. Roads had already started to get crowded, with loaded taxis belching smoke rushing to Rohtang. And I thought 7 in the morning Manali would be dead.

My mistake.


On the way to Rohtang, buses taxis, cyclists you name it and they were there. Major traffic jam, stranded for almost 40 minutes. We did not stop on the way to Rohtang.


This was my first brush with real snow/ice on this trip. Amazing 10-12 feet of snow/ice on both sides. Stuff which dreams are made of and a few scenes in the movies


And it grows in stature. Amazing how roads are cut out of snow piled this high. A large heartfelt thanks to the BRO.


Finally reach the other side of the pass after smoking an equivalent of about 5 packs of carbon mono oxide charged cigars, thanks to all the exhaust fumes. Who says smoking cigarettes is harmful? At least the filter tips filtered some of the more harmful exhaust fumes from reaching my lungs. Last time when i was here there was so much snow we could not reach the pass, had to make do by reaching Gulaba. As the snow builds up here the tourist spots move down.


Ok had to post a picture of my car as he was feeling left out.


This picture is just pure narcissism and nothing else.


The road after Rohtang turned a little nasty. A few stream crossings but nothing major yet. Roads were not very good and in a few patches it was just rubble. Somewhere before Tandi. The view was just mesmerizing. Thanks to Roopa (that's my wife) I got thousands of pictures. Our daughter Meghna was asleep for most of the journey on the back seat.


This part of HP has plenty of water. An abundance of waterfalls. Beautiful streams meandering all over the picturesque mountain slopes and valleys.


The road was totally washed off here. Had to cross a stream to move on.


This is what the road was like at patches.


No road, just a stream to cross, tyres or oars take your pick.


Wow I never thought i could cross that. I am INVINCIBLE.


Not one drop of alcohol during the entire trip. I was high on adrenalin anyway.


You don't need whiskey to get high when you have something like this in front of you.



Haven't seen skies so blue in quite some time.


Now starts the serious snow, but of course later on this would seem miniscule


These are scenes dreams are made of.



Roads like this make a road trip really worthwhile.


Swiss Alps? I am sure we have a bit of the whole world here at our own doorsteps.



Icicles frozen in the sub zero temperatures.


Dangerous weapons.


Amazing scenery.


This was a particularly nasty spot on the road. Big boulders and no road. Reminds one of the Tata Safari Ad. Make your own road. My poor brave Baleno. There was another really bad spot near Baralacha La. We were so tense that we forgot to take pictures. By the time we remembered we had gone quite some distance.


We thought about staying at Keylong but decided against it as we were not feeling tired at all. Thanks to all the advice we already had our quota of Diamox and were feeling very brave and excited. So we decided to push it to Sarchu.


Finally reached Sarchu. There were two sets of tents put up. One of them did not have anything available so we went to the other one. 1000 Rs a night.


It was freezing cold, and as we reached it started snowing. Almost like a blizzard.


The cup of coffee did help of course.


Food was daal chawal and one sabzi which we had no idea what it was. I had a soup as well, again totally undeterminate quality and composition. It was 5 degrees below zero and if you take the wind chill factor it must have been way below -10. We were told not to be scared if there was a loud trashing sound on our roofs later at night as the people would have to beat the snow off the roofs if it piled up too high.


The green tent tops were white in the morning. The windshield of the car was totally frosted over. The wipers stuck to the windshield, Had to use warm water to clean it. Cold water just sat there and froze over. We had an attached toilet and the water in the WC and bucket were frozen in the morning. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
31st May 2008


Left early morning.


Nakeela, serene desolate absolutely beautiful.


Another milestone ticked off.


Do these really answer our prayers? I do not know but they add a little bit of colour at least to the desert I guess.


Pristine white snow fields.


Waterfalls. Looks like they are frozen in time.


It was just an amazing sight.


Looks like a Swarovski crystal design. Wish I could bring it home and display it in my living room.


Chai stalls just before Pang. Had eggs and coffee here. At pang there are a couple of tents, Dhabas really. 100 Rs will get you food and a bed there. Very rustic but useful information in case one gets stuck or something. Had tibetan chai there, butter tea. Really loved it.


More Plains. Free run across the fields, Be careful on the plains if you get off the road. There are a few places where the soil is loose and marshy. You might get caught in it. Just follow the tracks. It is amazing. 45 minutes of Salt Lake City Utah.




Tanglang La, another colourful outpost.


Entering Leh. A series of stupas. You see these littered all over Leh. Varying sizes and shapes.


Some images of Leh. These are pictures of the Hemis Gompa. The word GOMPA means a Bud dhist temple. It is like a campus with big prayer halls, quadrangles, quarters for the monks etc. The Hemis Gompa is the most famous one and is supposed to have been built around the 10th century.


Meghna finally out of her slumber.

Prayer wheels. A prayer wheel is a 'wheel' (Tibetan: 'khor) on a spindle made from metal, wood, leather, or even coarse cotton. On the wheel are depicted or encapsulated prayers, mantras and symbols such as the Ashtamangala. According to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, spinning such a wheel will have much the same effect as orally reciting the prayers. Short cut to achieving bodhisattva????


A giant prayer wheel.


These monasteries are normally built on top of the hills with small townships springing up at their feet. All houses here are built of sun dried mud bricks. Any other place with rainfall would have rendered this method of construction a total failure. But in Leh with almost no rainfall houses built of these mud bricks stand for hundreds of years. The mud helps insulate the insides from extreme heat or cold.


Buddha's idol in Tikse Monastery




A monk and (below) my daughter deep in thought about bringing in world peace



One of the stupas. It is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics--typically, the remains of a Buddha or saint.

There are said to be more than 300 monasteries in Leh alone.


Food in Leh. Another one of my favourites. It mostly comprises of Tibetian food and some local stuff. Momos, (steamed dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables, accompanied by a fiery chili sauce). You have many different kinds of momos, fried, steamed, in soup, half fried. Thukpas, (a thick soup with vegetables that provides a complete meal). They have a kind of steamed bread or Timok served with a meat gravy. Being a meat lover i did not try anything that was vegetarian so am describing only the meat and chicken stuff. Street food included some barbequed meat pieces rolled in some kind of a roti. Similar to the kathi rolls in Delhi but I guess the mountain air must have added to the taste. Butter tea, strange but very refreshing. It is said to cure you of headaches and many other low oxygen ailments. Must try it if you are there.


On the way to Pangong lake. Chang La. It is named after the saddhu Changla Baba, to whom the Pass temple is dedicated. The small town of Tangste is the nearest settlement. The Changla Pass is the main gateway for the Changtang Plateau situated in the Himalayas. The nomadic tribes of the region are collectively known as the Changpas.


Wild? horses, donkeys and Yaks graze the fields all around. Actually they are not wild but owned by the nomads who pitch tents there. Fancy nomads. All of them have a gypsy or a tata sumo tied to a post in front of their tents along with a couple of dogs.




A couple Yak calfs. They looked so cute had to get off and take a few pictures. Fluffy frisky creatures.

The mother??? The way she is looking at us, I guess should have asked for her permission first.



Shaggy coats perfectly suited for the freezing temperatures


A wild ass encountered on the way. These are really wild. However due to loss of habitat their numbers are dwindling. Due to such sparse vegetation in this area the nomads chase them away so their own can eat.


Our first glipse of Pangond Tso. I had seen many pictures but still the view really caught me unaware. Such brilliant colours in the middle of the desert.



Pangong Tso (or Pangong Lake; Tso: Ladakhi for lake) is a lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,250 m (13,900 ft). It is 134 km (83.3 mi) long and extends from India to Tibet. Two thirds of the length of this lake lies in Tibet. The lake is 5 km (3 mi) wide at its broadest point. In winter, the lake surface freezes completely despite being salt water.


There is a place to stay here for about 1500 Rs a night, basic accommodation, if you need to go to the loo it is outside and you have to walk out around 20 metres to reach it. In the freezing cold and gale speed winds even if you dare to go out at night I am sure nothing will come out as it would freeze inside you. Food wasn't bad. We had packed lunches from our hotel but we still had chole bhature and coffee and a few more things. Maggi is available everywhere.



Breathtaking. There is no aquatic life in the lake no fish or crustaceans yet you see numerous ducks and gulls around the lake.


A piece of paradise in the desert


Ice frozen on one of the tiny streams. This slab was about 10 feet thick and hard as concrete.

The skies looked really angry on our way out from Leh, but fortunately the weather held out.


Magnetic hill. It has a strong magnetic property strong enough to pull cars and vehicles towards it. Roopa video taped the whole thing and the car was actually running towards it at considerable speed. I checked the compass on my Tissot T Touch, and there was no variation, no anomaly. It showed normal north south. On reaching Delhi I checked on wiki and this is what I found. I am not saying which is correct and which is wrong, you take your pick lest the magnetic hill loses some of its charm. My wife refuses to believe it is an optical illusion. She was the one who recorded the video while I was driving. Incidentally she is an accomplished engineer not used to trusting dumb myths.

"Magnetic Hill is a gravity hill located near Leh in Ladakh, India. The hill has alleged magnetic properties which are strong enough to move vehicles, so if a car is parked at the bottom of the hill and put into neutral gear, it will be pulled uphill. In reality the "magnetic" effect is an optical illusion created by the level of the surrounding terrain, giving the impression that a slight downward slope is actually an uphill slope.

Magnetic Hill is said to have more far-reaching effects than many other gravity hills; the Indo-Tibetan border police claim that aircraft have to increase their altitude when flying near it, in order to avoid the magnetic interference caused by the hill." Source Wikipedia.



On leaving Leh towards Kashmir the scenery changes dramatically. Suddenly everything is lush green. I am not writing about my return via Kashmir/Jammu as I am sure there would be many more of them and besides my intention was Manali Leh only. So just leaving some images of our road back to Delhi.

[hiambuj]

Part 2 was equally yummy.. you had an excellent time

[xydan]

Yes we really did have a wonderful time, thanks for the comments. Glad you liked it.

[prem.arora]

Fantastic log Xydan...I loved reading every bit of it and more of the photos....
Its a huge motivation to take one's own car for this trip.
Tell me one thing. How much average does your car used to give on the highway and how much did it give u on this trip.

[rkbharat]

Boss I don't know how many Thumbs ups you deserve but you have all two of mine.

Three cheers....

[Rossiter]

Great pics, and nice log. Looks like a memorable vacation for you and your family

[xydan]

Originally Posted by prem.arora

Fantastic log Xydan...I loved reading every bit of it and more of the photos....
Its a huge motivation to take one's own car for this trip.
Tell me one thing. How much average does your car used to give on the highway and how much did it give u on this trip.

Truthfully i tried maintaining a mileage record till upto Sarchu but after that lost track. Till Sarchu about 14 Km/L.

[anupmathur]

Enjoyed that thoroughly, xydan! Great pics too!

If would be really helpful for a lot of 'potential' travellers if you could also please list what exact 'changes'/mods you made to your car for this trip.
There are relatively very few sedans (as opposed to hatch backs) doing this trip, and this first hand experience in a Baleno would be quite inspiring for many!
Did you have any trouble with the Chang La and Pagal Nalah stretches?
How was the road condition at Taglang La when you crossed?
Did you go to Khardung La? etc..

[akshay4384]

Nice trip you had there especially at this time of the year

beautiful pics

[xydan]

No changes except for Spacers on the rear suspension. Raised it by 1.5 inches approx. New tubeless tyres normal. Not extra profile. Some really bad patches around the passes. One needs to really think like a chess player before moving. Tanlag La was bad, mud slurry and boulders. I saw several sumos, qualises being towed out of the mud. Sedans unless stuck in mud are excellent. But yes you have to find your way out in the rocky patches.