L.A.D.A.K.H - Leg 2 (Leh-Nubra-Pangong-Tso Moriri)

Day 4, 30-06-2010 (Leh-Khardungla-Nubra Valley)

All the pain and agony we had gone through now suddenly seemed well worth it. We were in Leh. We were in Ladakh. It was an amazing feeling that couldn’t be put in words. You would know what I am talking (or actually not talking) about if you have been there. For those who haven’t, you would get to know once you get there.

Sunshine and we were up. By the time we got ourselves the permit (that all non-resident Kashmiris need for travelling in Ladakh), it was 11ish. Soon we were ready to go and we got down to doing what we do best – Driving (always wanted to use that in a sentence).

We were climbing up to Khardungla Pass, the home to the world’s highest motorable road. Don’t know if it was our mood or were the roads really good and the weather pleasant that time flew pretty quickly and we were there standing atop Khardungla in a couple of hours. Once there, all of us drove the customary bit - just to add ‘motored at the highest motorable road’ to our checklist (or CVs, like we like to call it amongst ourselves).

Soon we started descending the slope on the other side, heading towards the famed Nubra Valley. Barren mountains. Green valley. Ancient silk route from China to Central Asia. Double humped camels.

In spite of knowing what we would be presented with when we entered it, the Nubra Valley just blew our minds away. I had never seen, and probably never will, nature this creative.

Reddish-brownish barren mountains were hiding the valley within themselves. And huge green patches were only adding to its mysticism. The road bisected the sandy valley perfectly. The silvery river that we had seen from afar so far was now flowing right next to us. The strong wind that was blowing was creating magical sand dunes at more than 10,000 feet above the sea level. Was I dreaming? There was just too much detail. All in one canvas. No camera in the world could ever capture that.

After silently adulating and soaking in all the nature’s antics, we headed to a small village called Hunder and checked into a plush Forest Department Guesthouse. And like all good anticlimactic endings, watched ‘Haseena Maan Jayegi’ on TV while having dinner. And finally, fell asleep singing ‘Cheenti pahad chhade’ and ‘Kundi khol’. We love Govinda.

Day 5, 01-07-2010 (Nubra Valley –Leh)

After a good night’s sleep and a hearty breakfast, we set out to ride the most famous animal in Nubra – the double humped camel. These camels were the mode of transport for the silk traders back in the old days. A few got left behind and were now numbered in a few hundreds; and were now mostly being used as a means to entertain tourists. I was riding the ‘ship of the desert’ in a ‘cold desert’.

After the ride, we started to head back to Leh. We met another group of 3 (on two bikes – an Enfield and a Pulsar) who were coming from Mumbai. On bikes. They were already in their 8^th day of trip and looked exhausted. I felt sad for the guy who had been riding pillion.

We reached North Pullu and found ourselves in the middle of a huge traffic jam. We learned that the movement of traffic is restricted from North to South Pullu every TTS and vice versa on every MWF. Since, it was a Thursday that day, it was our turn to wait for the traffic to be allowed from North to South.

It started to snow. Then after about an hour we were let through. It took us quite a while to climb to Khardung with all the snow and rain. The visibility had gotten poor. But the sky cleared up once we reached atop. After that it was a pretty smooth and uneventful ride up to Leh. We listened to the legendary ‘Ooh la laa’ on our way down. (‘Ooh la laa’ is the best available collection of the raunchiest bollywood numbers on Earth. Compiled by Parag Taneja himself. Let me know if you would like a copy for yourself.)

Once in Leh, we checked into a hotel and watched FIFA live on a big screen in one of the garden restaurants whose name I forgot.

Day 6, 02-07-2010 (Leh-Pangong Tso-Leh)

We started very early the next day. Parag was surprised that Abhay and I were all set and in the car at 6 in the morning. The climb up to Chang La, the third highest pass of the world, was very steep but the road was nice. We left soon after having a free black tea at Chang La top.

Further down the other side, we found the valley getting greener and greener as we drove further towards Pangong Tso. On our way, we saw horses, yaks. And a cute little squirrel-like thing called Marmot.

The view of the lake from the ‘first-view vantage point’ was magical. It was even more so once we got to the lake. To our surprise, there was a huge crowd at the lake. About 20 odd tourist cars. Paggi told that there was just one other car when he had come there 3 years back. 3 idiots had had such an effect on the audiences that almost everyone fantasized about standing at the same place Aamir was standing towards the climax of the film. Thankfully, all the touristy-crowd there with us at that time wanted to be at that exact same place. And that allowed us to find a suitable secluded place where we could park right next to the lake and have good time.

After spending a good one hour at the lake, we headed to the cluster of small huts serving food. These huts, no matter wherever you find them, have pretty much the same menu. We got our MTR readymade food made. And am pretty sure there were a few tourists who turned envious seeing us have those awesome chhole masala and palak paneer.

After lunch, we tried to shop from the souvenir shop there. There was nothing good. So, we started to head back to Chang La and then, Leh where another non-descript evening (read dinner with FIFA on the big screen) waited for us.

Day 7, 03-07-2010 (Leh)

Paggi wouldn’t like me mentioning this day. We had had a change in our itinerary and were left with one entire day with nothing to do. So we spent the entire day in Leh town. Lazing around. Shopping. Getting the customary t-shirts made. A FIFA match, now a regular feature in our evenings, marked the day’s end.

Day 8, 04-07-2010 (Leh-Tso Moriri)

Tso Moriri, a brackish and also the largest among all the high altitude lakes in the Himalayan region. Not many know and not many go. And that’s why we wanted to go there.

We started early again and took a diversion from Upshi for Tso Moriri. It was a beautiful road with mountains on one side and a river flowing all along on the other side. Clear blue skies with patches of white clouds. And no traffic. Literally. Ours’ was the only car for most part of the journey.

On our way, we came across a hot water spring and got our fingers burnt in the boiling water. Another item on the checklist now checked.

After driving off-road for about 20 odd kms, not by choice, we got a glimpse of Tso Moriri from a distance. If there were many awesome moments, this was the awesome-est of all. We were speechless at the sight of the lake. If Pangong Tso was blue under clear skies, Tso Moriri looked silvery-gray under overcast conditions. If Pangong Tso was still water, Tso Moriri had ripples in it. If Pangong Tso had a huge crowd, Tso Moriri was quiet interrupted by only the sound of ripples or flutter of birds. Migratory birds.

It was the migratory season and numerous birds had come there from different parts of the world. Tso Moriri is a part of a bird conservatory reserve and therefore, legitimate camping is only limited to inside the Kurzok village. And that’s where we camped that night.

Our tents were pretty luxurious. They had amazing beds and blankets. Also, had an attached wash-cum-loo. There was also a common dining area where we were served a nice buffet for dinner.

The tents’ manager, a lively guy named Gitso Kurzok, had quite a few stories to tell. Right from how originally ‘3 idiots’ was being shot at Tso Moriri but the film crew had to shift base to Pangong Tso after the weather got really bad to how he had scolded the careless film crew when they were littering around the lake. And many more such that couldn’t be disclosed here.

We descended to our plush tents after dinner and slept well. We were to begin our journey back home the next day.