Leh by Thar

[J.Ravi]

Glad you crossed it safely.

Thanks, pops8906.

its was great to meet you on your way down from K-top

Thanks, trance_nut, for the compliments. We could have spent some more time but for the vehicle coming behind me on that narrow road at that time!

Lovely set of pictures, especially the Fotu La one with Linea showing off its broad grinning grill

Thanks for the compliments, once again, mindless wanderer.

 

[ToughGuy]

Again nice pics dirty Linea pic is my favorite, fuel average was not up to the mark!

 

[J.Ravi]

dirty Linea pic is my favorite

Thanks for the compliments, ToughGuy.

 

[J.Ravi]

Leh - in and around

We were free from acute mountain sickness [AMS]. No Diamox. No other drugs. We drank plenty of water, ate dry fruits and nuts and avoided exertion at high altitudes. On the first day of our stay at Leh, we were confined to our room only and spent time by watching a couple of Tamil movies on my laptop stored in my external HDD.

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We got up late, breakfasted at the in-house restaurant, visited Shanti Stupa, got my Linea tankful of petrol at IOC petrol pump and returned to our room in the evening.

We were incommunicado at Leh as our BSNL prepaid cell phones were dead as soon as we entered J&K. But, Padma Hotel & Guest House had wi-fi connectivity [chargeable at 60 per hour, outside 90 per hour!]. So, I updated my children and friends through emails. I also updated my Linea ownership threads about our safe arrival at Leh. We called it a day after eating a good dinner at the in-house restaurant.

Many more photographs are waiting in the queue.

 

[ToughGuy]

Waiting for pics In queue

 

[mindless wanderer]

Nice pics again!!!

A small observation: Some of the pics, there seems to be some issue with the focus. Pics going blurred in the middle (for example the first pic in this lot "view from Padma Hotel". Is it just me (screen issues) or somebody else is also experiencing this?

Nonetheless, waiting for more....

Cheers

 

[John Mathai]

Nice set of pics...too much of "My Linea", we agree it is your Linea

Your love for your Linea would have been more conspicuous if the title was "Leh in my Linea"

Splendid pictures and great narration. truly enjoying it.

 

[J.Ravi]

Waiting for pics In queue

Nonetheless, waiting for more.... Cheers

Thanks. I am still editing the next batch of photographs!

:Your love for your Linea would have been more conspicuous if the title was "Leh in my Linea"

Thanks, JOHN MATHAI, once again. The title Leh in my Linea won't as rhyming as Leh in a Linea!

 

[Rahul Thakkar]

In your first pic is that a Monastery?

 

[J.Ravi]

Leh-Khardung La-Leh

I found Leh very congested with narrow roads. I found it difficult to find a slot to park my Linea at the main bazaar. So, during our stay at Leh, my Linea was confined to the secured car parking at Hotel K'Ser. Leh roads were not safe for walking either with taxis zipping at break-neck speed.

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On 19 September 2011 [Monday] morning, we breakfasted and left for Khardung La by 8:30 am. Earlier, there was a discussion between me and my wife regarding driving up to Nubra Valley as planned. We were told by the owners of Padma Hotel that the road for 14 km each on either side of Khardung La, totalling 28 km, was bad and comparable to Zoji La. The moment Zoji La was mentioned, I decided to avoid Nubra Valley. Then, the next option was to take a cab, but I vetoed it. Finally, we were unanimous that my Linea should go up to Khardung La, come what may, but not further. We also dropped Pangong Tso for the same reason. So, our stay at Leh, originally planned for a week, was cut short to three nights.

The Leh-Khardung La [35 km] road was a 2-lane State Highway, but could beat many good National Highways easily. The first 25 km stretch of the road to Khardung La comprised freshly laid tarmac and the work was still in progress near Leh. Then came the Indian Army check post at South Pullu, where I had to hand over a copy of the inner-line permit to the check post personnel. He noted down my Linea's registration number, my name and my wife's name on the reverse of the permit copy and kept it. He also confirmed that road ahead was not good. But, I must admit that Khardung La road was much better compared to Zoji La. I drove my Linea carefully, avoiding craters, sharp stones and boulders.

From Khardung La, we returned to Leh, got my Linea filled with petrol up to the brim, lunched, returned to our hotel room and rested. I settled the hotel bill by evening as we planned to leave the hotel by 4 am the next day to Srinagar. The owner arranged for opening of gates of car parking. After dinner, we watched a movie on my laptop and slept.

More to come.