[tsk1979]

Terrific pictures.
October is indeed a great time. Infact, the scientists at Hanle told me that I should have come in oct instead of sept(2009), as the skies are much clearer.
Thankfully, our night in hanle in june 2010 gave us the clearest skies we have ever seen.
Waiting to read your account of Fukche and Demchok.
BTW, your changthang circuit is still not complete. You need to come back to see the Kyun Tsos

Anyways, carry on! Waiting for more

[ampere]

Asking the same question again:

Is there a route from Chandrataal to Hanle via Tso Moriri or Kyon Tso?
This was one gets to do a Himachal circuit via NH22 instead of Manali.

Since snaps of both Hanle and Chandrataal are posted, I was assuming there would be a route!

[A M]

There's no fuel station anywhere near Zoji-La. One has to carry fuel in jerry cans. After Leh one can get fuel only at Kargil. And on the other route, you get the fuel station at Tandi.

Absolutely awestruck by your photos. Just amazing. It brings back the memories of the most cherished 11 days of my life. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Fauji]

Amzing pictures!! Reliving our trip did last year. Keep it coming.

[adc]

Originally Posted by PAVAN KADAM

You threads can straight go into a making of some very nice adventure book

How many kms have you clocked so far sir......?

I will write one day, you bet!! km are around 68k km, the last 4 months it has been in garage just standing due to the elections [catching SUVs left and right] and myself having a wrist injury.

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

Finally. What took you so long? Been waiting for this t-log for ages!

Originally Posted by gowda79

ADC waiting for this travelogue since long and hope to read the same in one go instead of part by parts and wishing you & your family(Including the King) to burn more rubber and bring us more adventurous travelogue.

Originally Posted by Fauji

Amzing pictures!! Reliving our trip did last year. Keep it coming.

Thanks much.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Superb adc. I should say its been a "Poora Paisa Vasool" for you on this Safari.

And still it has to go on, thought of a 4wd, things are way too costly nowadays - but the wish always remains - may be some day!

Originally Posted by AvonA7

Stuck for 2 days at 13k feet and that too with family - hats off to you for keeping your cool. Superb snaps, am sure lot more snaps coming up and your trip adventure details. to your SAFARI from my side, 5*

Originally Posted by bhunu AMG

wow! wow! what to say Man..am not getting words to express my mind after seeing your pictures and your writings.SUPERB and especially i have to salute your five year old hero for the kind of resistance and will,he showed through out the trip.Only i can say " thanks a billion " for putting this thread for us. Great and eagerly waiting for the rest...

Originally Posted by zipperone

Amazing thread and great pictures. I am glued. Please keep it coming. A salute to your courage going out to the trip with a five year old.

Yeah we too appreciate this small fellow's temperament, he just whiled away time inside the VTT playing games on the mobile and sleeping on the back seat, it is tough for a child to remain in those small confines for hours together. We had basic rice and dal with us, but the decision was that lets finish up with the buiscuits and dry snaks and we stretched it for 2 nights, and kept the ration for the 3rd night if we had been stuck.

Originally Posted by jaysmokesleaves

Simply FaNtAsTiC. The motivation has rubbed off but im not saying anything yet and you know why.
Looking forward to the full episode.

Cheers,
Jay

Absolutely Jay, but you know you have to tell me! Sending you my Sep-Oct trip schedule to you.

Originally Posted by ampere

Question: Is there a route from Chandrataal to Pso Moriri and thus touching Hanle?

Ampere, these are just random images from the pictures we took at different times and days. There is no road route from Chandrataal to Tso Moriri, but a trek route is there. To go to Hanle, you have to Nyoma and then to Hanle. The beautiful vardhan harsh's self-made map is the perfect road map.

Originally Posted by Sutripta

Hi,
Kept us dangling for six months, you sadist. As penalty, you have to write the travelogue of your life.

Amazing start.

Regards
Sutripta

What can I say, travelogues from June 2010 are remaning, dont know why - just lost interest in all the writings and forums. Even the website I was making was neglected. Then this bike wrist injury, but I am back with definite resolve to complete all the logs.

Originally Posted by Ragul

Didnt you add any additives to the diesel to prevent it from freezing? So you kept the car running for 03:3am till what time?

I didnt know the Safari can idle non-stop for 2 days and still have fuel left over to continue the journey. Or did you have a fuel station close by on the way out?

What camera and lens did you click those great pics with?

--Ragul

Originally Posted by A M

There's no fuel station anywhere near Zoji-La. One has to carry fuel in jerry cans. After Leh one can get fuel only at Kargil. And on the other route, you get the fuel station at Tandi.

Absolutely awestruck by your photos. Just amazing. It brings back the memories of the most cherished 11 days of my life. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Ragul, this trip was done with a 12-hour notice, and you will read the details. Plus even if I had the anti-freeze, I would not have been taking a chance. This Safari is 3 years old, with a 3-year-old battery, and was worried about how it would drain away.

If you see one picture has the fuel metre at half stage, and what is the distance between Kargil and Sonmarg - it is just some 80 odd km. The tank was almost full by the time we got stuck, some 35 litres of diesel was spent idling and still there was some 6 hours before we got free after that image.

I did put the engine off initially for a few minutes but the coldness made the engine temp metre to go so fast down, that I was again worried about batteries and things - and when you see so many trucks stuck in so many different ways, the best way I figured out was "just dont stop the engine"

Fuel was least of the worries, the 65-l tank, plus we had 70 extre litres in a container.


As mentioned, the camera is Canon 450D/Xsi with lens mostly used being 11-16 Tokina and the 18-55 kit lens. The 55-250 was also used sometimes for some intimate landscape and for those cranes.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

BTW, your changthang circuit is still not complete. You need to come back to see the Kyun Tsos

Absolutely correct! How many times did we not try to go back to Kyun Tso, seeing your pictures. The first time from Hanle could have been done if not for the warning from the locals as no one would find you as even the nomads would rarely go around mid to late October plus they said 2wd would get us stuck definitely. Backed off very reluctantly, then again tried the next day or around from that village off Nyoma, but suffered a puncture before Nyoma and with no spare tube or tyre had to go back to Leh, and then on the 3rd time when we were moving towards Demchok, there was some high altitude ice slide near Kyun Tso, and the track was absolutely blocked.

You bet we will try again this year.

[rkbharat]

absolutely stunning pics and this I am sure this will another legendary log of yours.

Stuck for two days in zozilla sounds scary

[zipperone]

you might want to consider a dual battery setup for your future trips. It helps in very cold starts and the second battery is added to the circuit by a manual switch so no worries about draining both the batteries. A dual battery kit should not be very expensive. Also curious to know about what caused the zoji la to lock up for two days and what was the army doing to help clear the pass.

[lordofgondor]

This is gonna be one helluva adventure and I just can't wait for the tales to begin. Crisp and jaw dropping intro mate and the pics are fantastic! Three cheers to you, your family and your VTT.

[supertinu]

wow ADC. I am speechless . What an adventure. Just makes me continue to wonder when will I get my chance . Looking forward to rest of your travelogue and some more mind blowing shots. Thanks for sharing.

[adc]

The last batch of the highlight pictures as we go into the text

Dah village and an invitation from the village headman to a festival that takes place once in 3 years, end of October.


The gentleman whom we came across at Panamik, showed us the double barrel revolver which he bought at the Gun and Shell Factory here in Calcutta. He also gave us a lot of apples from his own garden and took us for a visit at the nearby gompa of his village, Tiger


Puncture No. 2 [The 1st one was at on Kunzum pass track] at Nyoma while going to Fukche and they [GREF labourers from different states] all helped me to change the tyre, humanity and selflessness at this best!!!



Among the numerous people who had a lift with us -- an intern doctor and a nomad.




Pangong Tso (or Pangong Lake; Tso: Ladakhi for lake) is an endorheic lake in the Himalayas situated at a height of about 4,350 m (14,270 ft).





Tsomoriri or Lake Moriri , in the Changthang (literal meaning, northern plains) area, is a High Altitude Lake (HAL) with an altitude of 4,595 m (15,075 ft) in Ladakh





Another view of Shey monastery on another day as we started our journey early morning for Koyoul



Enroute to Pangong before Chang la





On towards Chandrataal Lake in Lahaul, Himachal, via Batal and Chota dhara.



Shanti Stupa of Leh as seen from our hotel room.


Give me light: Bambi reacts to sun rays after climbing up a dark stairway, Leh Palace.


At Saboo village at ex-panchayat's house. As we moved around, garden fresh apple was what we had soon enough.



Along the high altitude road of Sarchu and Pang



















Between Fukche and Demchok









And for the first time on the internet, a place for where no photos exist till now. A place beyond Koyoul as we go towards Demachok, through a cold desert plateau of 15-16k feet, precariously close to India-China border - sometimes we veer almost to China to go back to India.




contd..

[HappyWheels]

5-star rated!

ADC - it is always a pleasure reading your travelogues. Time for you to put them all together and get a book out!

[adc]

Originally Posted by rkbharat

Stuck for two days in zozilla sounds scary

Originally Posted by zipperone

Also curious to know about what caused the zoji la to lock up for two days and what was the army doing to help clear the pass.

Yes it was becoming scary from the 2nd day onwards as all bus passengers and extra lorry helpers and even some bus drivers turned back [remember these were locals] walked by foot to Sonmarg. The biggest fear was that if weather suddenly would have turned nasty much more, everyone would have been buried in snow.

The lockup was totally manmade, the roads before the days we came up to here, were closed for 2-3 days continuous and only a single vehicle track was cleared subsequently and from both sides, from Drass and from Sonmarg, the trucks were released. I, was following rules, going in line whereas all local sumos and scorpio taxis jumped the line and went away. By the time I made my resolve to break the line, I was too late! There was no army to help - they were stuck too, a huge convoy of 70 trucks or so while approaching Zoji la, so they could turn back.

Had this dual battery idea for long, would be definitely consulting you when I do this setup.

Originally Posted by supertinu

Just makes me continue to wonder when will I get my chance

Of course, you will one day, but then any travel is good travel.

Originally Posted by lordofgondor

This is gonna be one helluva adventure and I just can't wait for the tales to begin. Crisp and jaw dropping intro mate and the pics are fantastic! Three cheers to you, your family and your VTT.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

ADC - it is always a pleasure reading your travelogues. Time for you to put them all together and get a book out!

Thanks much, good to hear from you both. HW, hope this writing phase continues! Otherwise, for the last 6 months, absolutely got cut off from all the logs and forums, but travel will continue as long as feasible/possible!

[kaushik_s]

Oh My God!! I'm just lost for words seeing this travelog. Sir, you had done an amazing journey and hats off to you. Loved the photographs and waiting eagerly for more and ofcourse the story.

[sanjoy50]

Pl accept my respectful "Nomoskar".
You certainly deserve it.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by adc

Absolutely correct! How many times did we not try to go back to Kyun Tso, seeing your pictures. The first time from Hanle could have been done if not for the warning from the locals as no one would find you as even the nomads would rarely go around mid to late October plus they said 2wd would get us stuck definitely. Backed off very reluctantly, then again tried the next day or around from that village off Nyoma, but suffered a puncture before Nyoma and with no spare tube or tyre had to go back to Leh, and then on the 3rd time when we were moving towards Demchok, there was some high altitude ice slide near Kyun Tso, and the track was absolutely blocked.

You bet we will try again this year.

A very wise decision. A 2WD has real danger of getting stuck, esp near the second lake (closer to Nyoma). The track goes through a partially dried marsh, and I got out just because of momentum inspite of being in 4x4. In a 2WD, we could have been stuck at 5100m above sea level, with the next army truck probably a week away.

On a related note, we need to petition Tata to start releasing 4x4 in LX trim also