my escape diary

7/27/2019 My Escape Diary

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My Escape Diary!!!

20th June 2009 is a dream date for me. This is the day when I started my trip for Leh. We had secretly booked our

train ticket to Delhi and return flight from Srinagar to Mumbai, that was it, rest all the travel was un-planned. Thats

the way we love to travel. (We were four of us)

What to see in Leh? Where to stay? What kind of food would be available (since I am a vegetarian)? These arethoughts which always keep my parents mind engaged whenever I am on a trip. Also this was probably the longest

(both in time and distance terms) we would ever be. Our PLAN is actually having NO-PLAN, just be there and

decide.

After more than 14 hours of train travel from Mumbai to Delhi, 9 hours of historic monuments seeing & enjoying

the North Indian cuisine in Delhi, more than 13 hours of bus travel to reach Manali, Leh was now on the cards. Theexcitement to see Leh and the surrounding places was so much that even before finding a place to stay & get fresh,

we first started searching for vehicle operators who would lead us to Leh. Within 20 minutes we had finalized a

Tempo Traveler (Indian mini-bus 13 seats capacity) to reach Leh the next night.

We had some 16-18 hours in Manali before we could start. So it was time to see the Rohtang pass, the famous

summer holiday spot for Indian tourists. Bad luck though for us. It was heavily crowded and we could not manage to

reach there. However as per Indian tradition, it was time to seek blessings, before the long and tiring trip to Leh. We

visited the HIDIMBA Mata Temple and prayed for our safe trip. Had a chance to see the tall trees of Manali, againhave some North Indian fast food and play around with the boys selling so called imported stuff on MAAL Road.

HIDIMBA MATA TEMPLE

Its 2.00 AM on the 23rd of June and its time to embark on one of the most famous journey of my life. Rather than

seeing Leh there was more excitement to reach Leh. All we had heard was of the awesome views the journey wouldbring in. After several trips, it was time to see snow for the first time in my life. The journey started right down from

my hotel. There were 3-4 pick-ups before we were 13 and it was time to start. There are several vehicles which carry

tourists, locals and parcels to Leh. All these ply together, so that they can be helpful to each other.


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It took me almost an hour before getting adjusted to the road conditions, the continuous twists & turns. It was time

to get some sleep. I enjoyed those 3-4 hours of sleep as the previous trips were tiring and we had not slept the earlier

day. It was soon time for the day light to come out of its bed and make the night go to bed. The first view from the

window of the bus was just AMAZING. Snow clad mountains, serene blue sky and the view of twisted road werebrilliant. Just could not stop gazing through the Himalayas. I had braved myself from the cold winds to feed my

brain with some of the best pictures my eyes could ever capture. I captured some on my camera also. I stillremember the first un-official stop for attending Natures call and getting down and clicking pics with snow,

throwing snow over each other and the driver yelling at us to come back. It was soon time for the first official halt

and have some hot tea to warm us up. After having tea we started moving ahead, continuing the journey through the

Himalayas, enjoying some of the best views I had ever seen till date in my life. Time was flying by and it was

difficult to judge time from the day light. It was soon 9 AM and the official Lunch Break. Yes Lunch at 9AM is a bit

shocking, but it was easy to have Maggi in lunch at 9AM.

FIRST GLIMPSE OF SNOW FROM BUS

Post lunch, we saw some villages passing by, which are official halts for a trip which drops you in Leh on the

second day. There were workers from the BRO (Border Roads Organisation) who were busy working on making the

roads better. They were to be thanked the most. The roads between Leh & Manali get damaged every year and are

built every year. They are in operation for just 4-5 months in a year.

The villages had soon disappeared and so had the snow clad mountains. I was wondering who generally travels on

these roads? At times they were dangerous, an ice wall on side and a valley on the other side, a small mistake and no

one would ever find our remains. But then it was soon time for a traffic jam, a long traffic jam. There was a big

battalion of Indian Army Trucks and the nearby make-shift bridge could allow only one vehicle to pass. The trafficjam was a very long one similar to the one that generally happens in a big city. There were no signs of human life

for almost 6 hours on the trot. But soon around 3 PM in the afternoon it was time for another halt. There were many

tents, which served in multiple ways. They were make-shift restaurants, hotel rooms and only sign of human life in

between.


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TRAFFIC

DESERT IN BETWEEN THE HIMALAYAS


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The journey post tea time brought another set of surprise. It was now time to pass through a sandy terrain. It was like

a desert in the mountains, something very unique and the weather too changed suddenly. It was also time to get rid

of the heavy jackets and enjoy the amazing driving of our Bus Driver. He took an amazing short-cut, our hearts in

our mouth. He made me realize Experience Counts and he totally displayed his amazing experience of drivingthrough the dangerous terrain. It was evening, late in the evening and time again to see some villages pass through.

Suddenly the roads started getting better and we started getting desperate to reach Leh. After more than 17 hours oftravel and sipping over a cup of hot tea (made from Yaks milk), we still had 3 hours to reach Leh. It was night and

the views had all gone. Almost around 9PM it felt like reaching somewhere and soon around 10PM we were in Leh.

Finally after 20 long hours we were in Leh. Counting right from the start we had passed more than 3 days to reach

the dream destination. But believe me those 20 hours were amongst the best 20 hours of my life.

Mr. Tenzing (this is a common name in Leh, more than 60% of males are Tenzing just some changes in the words)

approached us and took us to a nice budget hotel. We had a peaceful nights sleep.

BEST PLACE FOR A CUP OF TEA

The next day was seeing the around the Leh town. The amazing monasteries, The Indus River, The palace converted

to a monastery and moving around the local market and getting a feel of being a foreigner in your own country. Mr.

Tenzing meanwhile was getting our tourist permits getting ready. During the next days we saw The Pangong Tso

(Tso means a lake in Leh), the worlds highest salt water lake, took a ride on a double humped camel, saw theofficial residence of The Dalai Lama, been closest to the Siachen Glacier the highest battle point on earth, visited

the traditional Aryans (we are off springs of the Aryan culture), been somewhat near to the Line of Control (Indias

unofficial boundary with Pakistan).


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INSIDE THE MONASTERY

ANCIENT PALACE NOW A MONASTERY


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We also passed through the first, the second and the third highest motor-able roads on earth. 18380 feet above the

sea level is some height. We also visited the Army memorial museum, paid our homage to the brave soldiers of the

India Army. I still cant imagine how do these men survive such harsh conditions, -40 Deg. C, carrying your guns onthe shoulder and protecting someone who is hardly related to you. Guess that is The Indian Army. My salute to the

brave soldiers of our Army!

THIRD HIGHEST MOTORABLE ROAD

PANGONG TSO (LAKE)


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It was our last day in Leh, we had some amazing travel pictures during these four days. Had good food and

refreshing Jasmine Tea. Our favorite companion MAGGI Noodles was there at all the places. It was soon time to

leave Leh and start on another long road journey to Srinagar. This journey would pass through the war town of

Kargil, Drass and Batalik sectors. I knew this would be another amazing journey on road, but it turned to be a

frightening one. This was not on the cards.

We started at 4PM from Leh towards Srinagar. The roads leaving Leh are good but only for an hour long journey.We had one more member apart from our group of 4, who was a teacher at the Army school. As soon as the good

roads were about to come to an end, we reached a place which had two ends. One the National Highway 1A, the

standard road to reach Srinagar and the other passing through villages and supposedly had good quality roads which

would save in some time. It was soon 7 PM and the first break down of our vehicle. We were lucky to have day light

and the vehicle responding to the steps taken by the driver.

The moment we left after that it started getting darker. And by now there were no vehicles either following us or

ahead of us. It was very dark and no sign of human life around. Almost an hour later we saw a soldier standing

guard alongside his post. Suddenly the driver uttered something and we were shit scared. He came on this route for

the first time and was not aware if we had selected the right route. Worse he was not willing to return back.

Everyone was reciting prayers deep within his heart and tried showing a brave look on the face. We kept on moving

ahead. And again there were cross-roads where suddenly the Army came out with their weapons and we were shit

scared now. Luckily they guided us on the right path. The roads were better, the weather was pleasant and all the

conditions to take a short nap, but NO chance anyone could fall asleep. There was no sign of human life on eitherside of the road, same as earlier ours was the only vehicle running and the atmosphere was dead silent.

All our hunger got vanished. It was around 12 midnight that we heaved a sigh of relief. We had reached Kargil.

Suddenly hunger pangs started creeping in but it was too late and places which served food were all closed. But we

had company, 4 more passengers joined our vehicle. It was now a bit comfortable for all of us. Soon we reached

Drass and it was time for a tea break. We snacked on biscuits, trying to fill in our stomachs. We were all sleeping,

suddenly we noticed that the vehicle isnt moving along. I noticed the driver was not on his seat and the bonnet of

the vehicle was open. I decided to check it out and immediately lost all my sleep. Both my feet were 10 inches deep

inside icy cold waters. It was super, super cold and had to remove my footwear. We were stuck up at the famous

ZOZILA Pass. Luck was on our side and we managed to see ZOZILA Pass also.

By the time the night was over and day light was shining brightly, it felt as if we were in Europe. We were passing

through Sonmarg and it felt as if we were passing through a European landscape. The scenes were amazing. Soonwe had reached Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir. We searched around for a decent house-boat,

finalized one. Spent the day having a small tour amidst Dal lake. Enjoyed the Mughal-era gardens in Srinagar. The

best part was yet to come. The food served on the house boat was delicious. Very hot, very spicy, very tasty and was

served with warmth. Just loved the night sitting alongside the Shikara (House-Boat) and enjoying the moons

reflection on the lake.


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DAL LAKE SRINAGAR

This is the last day of the Tour. As per plan we had reached a day in advance and had time to relax before flying

back to Mumbai. A really amazing trip coming to an end!!!!

Apologies for just giving the headlines of the events and places seen during those 4 days in Leh, because the journey

to reach Leh and from Leh to Srinagar were super amazing and were the main crux of the trip. I can never ever

forget them in my life.

Happy Traveling to Leh in Ladakh! If possible add a few more days to complete a tour of Srinagar also.

my escape diary

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